Cars

Soooo... we went to see Cars, and I laughed so hard I had tears running down my cheeks. From the character voices to the animated scenery to the great one-liners and visual gags... it was great. It's sorta ironic... probably wouldn't have gone to see it at all if Kaleb hadn't been here, but I think VJ and Kapil and I enjoyed it as much or more than he did. And... it even had heart. I think the four of us would give it 4 thumbs up! Start your engines!! :-)

Friday

Friday at the office is usually a day of "finish up" and "catch up and "get ahead" if possible. Most of the time it's a pretty predictable day, and today was one of those days.

Our copier had "gone down" again, so we were expecting to have to scramble to get the bulletin run elsewhere, but the repair guy showed up early, and the fix was pretty easy this time. Hooray!! We really need to see about getting another machine.

We use volunteer cleaning teams to clean our building instead of a janitorial service, and today a grandmother and granddaughter showed up to do their share. What a neat thing... watching them work together to help our church family. And the young girl approached me with an idea for the youth group to help with a project to raise some money for a shelter for abused kids. Really cool... I encouraged her to take the idea to Leslie and the other youth leaders after Tuba City.

I think things are ready to go for Sunday. Part of what we'll do is look back at last Sunday... Sunday of Service... and just say thank you to God for the blessings of working side by side. Of course, we'll pin a patch on our 2006 banner, writing another page in this year's story of God among us.

Kaleb and Virginia are at the neighbor's pool right now... just enjoying the water and so Kaleb can practice his swimming strokes. Cameron sure did a good job with him on Wednesday at the Lescures'.

Kapil, Kaleb's biological dad who lives in SF, came out last night for supper and to stay a couple of nights. Saturday Kaleb will go back to spend a few days with him. We'll miss having him around, but Kapil has taken time off work and has planned several things for them to do together. Right now Kapil is getting some stuff done for his work. His job is sort of like Jeremy's in that he can work with clients from anywhere that has an internet connection... the work is different, but the flexibility is similar.

Anyway, when they all get back to the house I think we're all going to the movie... probably to see Cars. I'll let you know later how good it was. I think after the show, we'll come back here and grill burgers. Sounds like a good way to wind up a Friday.

Kaleb

We're sure having fun with Kaleb here. Last night after church he and Brad and I were talking about the words "bicycle" and "tricycle"... you know, how "bi" means 2 and "tri" means 3. He said something like, "So that's why a unicycle has only 1 wheel." Brad asked him what one with 4 wheels would be called, and he wasn't sure, so I asked him how many sides a quadralateral has. He said he didn't remember, but that a hexagon had 5 or 6 and he thought a pentagon was the other. Then he said, "Can we go get some ice cream?" Gotta love how a kid's mind works.

Here are a few pics:

Jen, Fok and Kaleb out back before we took Jen and Fok to the airport.



















Silly face pic.

With his Uncle Jeremy.

Fun at the neighbor's.















Helping in the garden.

More later...

Relay for Life

Here are some pics from the Relay for Life on Saturday/Sunday. Anna Williams told me that between web site donations and other donations, our Eastside Team raised almost $4000 for the American Cancer Society.



Carol came up with the cool banner.













Lots of walkers and joggers.












I managed to stay up with Jenny.

Sooo many people all doing a really good thing to help others. I'm glad Eastside was able to be part of it. Next year... maybe we'll be even more involved.

Sunday of Service

This Sunday all of Jarrod's and Butch's planning and lots of prayers all came together in our first Sunday of Service. It was part "work day" to accomplish lots of things that needed to be done in the buildings and on the property, but more than that we wanted to share in an experience through which we "worshiped" outside the usual place in ways other than the usual ways. We wanted it to be a Romans 12:1 experience... and I think it was.

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. (Romans 12:1, The Message)

Here are some more pics to give you a feel for the day...





Kids had some special projects









There were inside projects











There were outside projects

There was painting and trimming and juniper duty and flower planting. It was a great day... with a wonderful spirit shown by all. Thanks to all who worshiped with their hearts and hands!!

Follow-up

Well, once we got started, the wedding went smoothly and lasted only about 30 minutes. Pictures were taken, clean-up was done, and they all headed out to the reception. I finished putting some things back together for Sunday, and headed home to change clothes.

I got to the Antioch HS track for the Relay for Life about 6:30 and walked until about 8:00. What a wonderful and festive event. We had quite a number of church members involved, and next year we'll have more for sure. This is just the kind of event that we want and need to be part of. VJ and I survived the heat and made it home. Now it's time for a shower and bed. God bless!!

Wedding Weekend

The last few days have been great... having Jeremy, Fok, Jen, and Kaleb around has been a real blessing. We missed Amber being with us, but word has it she and Tracey have been having a blast with their "girls' weekend" activities.

Yesterday about 3:00 we all piled into the Moser's van (they graciously swapped out for our Honda for the weekend) and headed to SF to rendevous with some of Fok's family at SFO and dinner. They are all in the area this weekend for a friend's wedding in Palo Alto today. It was HOT in Antioch when we left... 99 I think. When we went through the tunnel, the temp as registered on the van's thermometer just began dropping until it was aorund 61 by the time we go to the ariport. The fog was spilling over the coastal hills into the bay... pretty cool sight (and the pun is intended).

We had a great visit and dinner with some of the Leung family... such gracious folks... eating dinner at a sort of "old world" Italian place in South SF. Jen and Fok and found it online, and everyone patted them on the back for the find. We bid them goodby and headed back to Antioch. When we got home... even at 11:00.. it was still in the 80's.

This morning Jen, Fok and Kaleb drove to Palo Alto, and VJ and I took Jeremy to the airport. Right now I'm at the building running sound for a wedding. It's now 4:30 and the wedding was to start at 3:00. At 3:00 a few folks were here, but not nearly everyone. By 4:00 most of the guests had arrived... and the bride finally pulled up in the limo, so I started the first song on the CD. The men were to go to the front on the 2nd song, but we didn't get that far... at least not yet. It seems as if the bride's bouquet is nowhere to be found, so I played that first song a 2nd time (the song title is "At Last"... maybe I should play it again!). Right now Fred Ford is up front leading enthusiastically leading singing and wiping sweat from his face as we all wait. Everyone seems to be in remarkably good spirits as we are "standing on the promises." Cynthia Ford just handed me a CD with some gospel on it, so we may play that a while to give Fred a break... we'll see.

I was supposed to walk with VJ for an hour as part of the American Cancer Society Relay for Life at 5:00. Not gonna make that, but she's found a ride, and I hope I'm done here in time to pick her up.

Well, it's 4:42, and I need to start... more later. :-)

Good Day!

Well, most of our kids flew in last night (all but Amber, who is enjoying a "girls' weekend" with one of her best friends whom she seldom gets to see... we miss her, but I know she and Tracy are having a ball). Jeremy got in about 9:45... we picked him up and went to Starbucks to sip and visit until the flight From Boston got in. Marlene had swapped vehicles with us, so we were able to get all of us in her van quite easily.

Today was hot again here in Antioch, but we just enjoyed hangin' out. Virginia had to work but got off early. Jen and I fixed a noonish breakfast for those of us at the house. Jeremy worked with clients on and off all day.

As evening approached Jeremy grilled tri-tip and corn, and we all pitched in to make a wonderful supper... including a few fresh green beans from the garden. We all ate too much... at least I did.

Since this was my belated birthday dinner, I had a couple of more cards to look at, and we did crepes with fresh strawberries instead of cake. Jen and Fok brought some fudge from Boston, so there was chocolate as well. All in all a great day!!

Fok's family flies in tomorrow for a friend's wedding in Palo Alto on Saturday. I think we're going to try to hook up with them in SF tomorrow evening for dinner. Hard to believe it's been almost a year since Fok and Jen were married. I guess time flies when you're having fun, right!?!

Getting Hot!

Well, it seems summer is arriving just in time for summer temperatures. It was 95 today and is supposed to continue to climb to 100 by Thursday and hover in the upper 90s at least through the weekend. One of the nice things about it being hot here... the humidity is low. Not at all like it was in Houston.

One of the weird things about weather here is what they call micro-climates. These are created by the ocean on the west, the valley on the east, and lots of hills and valleys in between. Here's an example... later this week when the air flow at the beach begins to blow off the ocean, kicking in the area's natural ac, the high in SF is supposed to be only 65. That same day here in Antioch, several hills and valleys away, a high of 98 is predicted. Sooo... assuming light traffic, we could drive 45 minutes and need a jacket. Go figure!!

Because my left calf is not yet up to a good run... and because it was hot today, I did about an hour pedaling hard on my bike this afternoon. Good workout... I worked steadily, kept my rpms up, and worked some hills. I was feeling pretty good about the time I was making on my 25 year old bike... then, while laboring up one hill, a real cyclist pulled along side, chatted a bit, then pulled away. It was pretty deflating... but just until I crested the hill. I got over it and enjoyed the rest of the ride. Hope you enjoy your ride as well... no matter what you're riding.

Birthday

When I passed the age milestones of 30 and 35 and even 40, I was not only not sad... I was excited. You see, back in those days (and 25 pounds ago) I used to run lots of miles and lots of races. Passing those ages meant that I moved up an age group in most races, supposedly enhancing my chances of winning a cheap plastic trophy to go along with my "free" T-shirt. Some Saturdays it actually worked!
By the time I hit 44 (that's 44 magnum, right?!?) I was no longer racing much. Then came 50 (the 1/2 century mark), and last year I hit 55 (double nickels). As I got older, I think my favorite year was 54... that year was the only time I'll be twice as old as my daughter, Jennifer... just fun thinking about.

This year, 56, is kind of innocuous, but I did have a few things happen to make it memorable. First, Mom wrote me an email saying that the year I was born, June 19 was also on a Monday. Here is some of what she wrote.

I very well remember that Monday morning. I had been staying at Gertrude and Guy's for a couple of weeks, and on Sunday we had
attended a family get-together at Carter at my parents house. Afterwards, we went to Cordia and V. T.'s house on a farm close to Guy's farm. After we returned to Gertrude and Guy's, I started having problems; so they took me to the hospital, and you put in an appearance about six a.m. Monday, weighing eight pounds and fifteen ounces. We had had home made ice cream at Carter, and I had eaten a very large amount. I thought maybe had I eaten just one more bowl, you'd have made your appearance weighing a full nine pounds.

This evening I had a surprise phone call from Roland and Norma... singing me a very harmonious rendition of "Happy Birthday." Speaking of songs, our Birthday Gang from Sugar Grove in Houston called last night with the old favorite, "It's Your Birthday, It's Your Birthday, Yes It Is" (to the tune of "She'll Be Comin' Around the Mountain"). So, I've had two surprise and phone enhanced birthday serenades.

This afternoon my brother, Kent, called me, and we talked for about 30 minutes. Mostly we talked about the total devastation he saw last week while their youth group was on a mission trip to New Orleans to clean out houses that had been flooded. Of course, the purpose of his call was to razz me a little about my birthday, so we talked about that as well. I told him that if 50 is indeed the "new 30," then I was doing pretty well. He told me that he had been thinking that 56 wasn't so bad until he realized that in a short 4 years I'll be 60. I told him, "Thanks!"

Then later today I got to thinking... I know a bunch of folks who are 60+... and about many of them I just hope I continue to be a vibrant and alive as they are... true living examples of how to continue to use your gifts for God throughout your life. And, of course, the other thing is that year, 2010, I'll be twice as old as Jeremy for the only time in our lives... and that should be fun!!

Father's Day

This morning my alarm went off at 6:15, and, as is usual, I groaned, rolled over, turned it off, and plopped my head back on the pillow so I could wake up. You see, when Virginia gets up, she more or less hits the ground running... wide awake... ready to go. I'm just not wired that way. I can get up as early as needed, but I simply gotta work through the waking up thing. Well, this morning... about 5 minutes after the alarm the phone rang. It was Jennifer, in NYC for a conference, calling to wish me a Happy Father's Day. That sure made waking up a little easier this morning.

Speaking of FD... I got a great card from Jeremy and Amber. It was really cool... honoring the time-honored place of duct tape in the family system. Drop by the house and I'll show it to you. :)

I hope all you dads out there had a great day today, and may God help each of us see all the ways we are blessed by family and friends... and through Jesus.

Weekend Events

Yesterday afternoon Virginia and I planned to attend the Deer Valley HS graduation at 5:00. Two of our kids from church were graduating, and one of the families had several extra tickets given to them by another Eastside member. The graduation was held in the football stadium, so a little before 4:30 we put on our sun screen, grabbed a bottle of water and headed out the door. Yesterday was the hottest day of the year... 99 in Antioch, so we were planning on a sweaty evening. When we got to the school every single parking place in both lots was taken, and there were lots of cars (presumably containing family members) futily looking for a place to park. We decided that if there were any spots left they should go to those folks, so we navigated through the traffic and headed home. When we talked to one of the families today, they told us the stadium was packed as well... and it was quite hot. I'm glad we were able to be of service to someone wanting to see their love one graduate.

About 3 weeks back family from the community came by the office to talk about doing a memorial service for the oldest son in the family (early 60s) who had died unexpectedly. That service took place at 11:00 this morning. About 25 or so family and friends gathered as we looked at some Psalms and took time to remember. A service like this is always difficult in one way... because I didn't know the man who died and because he and most of the family are not really "church" people. However, it is a real blessing to be able to be of help to a family in that way. I think at those times we are standing right along side Jesus.

Next Saturday a sister from the Diane Ave congregation is getting married in our building. Lamont, the minister there, is doing the ceremony, but I agreed to be the sound guy. So, this afternoon we had a rehearsal to make sure everyone walked down the aisle on the right song and so forth. It went OK, but what they really need is one of those "drill sergeant" types to run the show in the lobby. I'm sure it will all go well, and the kids in the wedding will be cute no matter what else happens.

Brian and Laura invited us over for dinner this evening... a big family celebration for Amanda's graduation. The food was good, and we got to meet lots of family from both sides. Jarrod and Lauren were there as well, and we all had a good time. Brian and Laura are always "comfortable" to be with... one of those qualities that make them so good with the kids.

Tomorrow... Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there. God bless!!!

Commute

Monday and Tuesday Virginia got to drive to Cal State Hayward for a software training class... some kind of mapping software that cities and agencies use to keep track of all sorts of things. Virginia uses it at the PD to produce maps for the department... for a variety of uses.

Anyway, for her training she had to commute all the way to Cal State Hayward. That's a pretty long commute, even for folks around here. Well, she made it just fine both days... even if she had... let's say a "varied" route home each day. One thing for sure, she's even more appreciative of her 7 minute commute to the PD. And I agree with her. Even on my bike I can make it to the office in less than 20 minutes.

I guess you can say we're doing our part to reduce traffic on Hwy 4.

Graduates

I remember back in the 80s when we were teaching in Arkansas that the school district quit having their annual baccalaureate service. Don't remember why, but the result was that we decided to do one at church. So on a designated Sunday night each spring we put together a service to both honor and challenge our graduating seniors. As a gift to those seniors, the other youth workers along with VJ and I would throw a cookout for the youth group. It was a fun time each year... usually with a pick-up basketball game in the driveway sometime before dark.

When we moved to Houston the Sharpstown (later Sugar Grove) congregation had a standing tradition of the Senior Tea. We usually introduced the seniors and had a special message in the morning, and the Junior moms would decorate the fellowship hall and arrange the eats for the evening festivities. When the church gathered that evening for the Senior Tea, we usually had a video of their growing up pics, set to an appropriate song, followed by sort of a roast of the kids... sharing humorous and usually embarrassing stories provided by the parents. I remember being totally blown away at our first Senior Tea by the generosity of the church... lots of gifts for each senior... it was a real party. As far as I know they're still doing it that way... each year the Junior moms set out to match or outdo the effort of the previous year... what a tradition.

When we came here to Eastside we were introduced to yet another way for a church family honor their graduates. The festivities happen Sunday morning and include both a special service and a potluck in honor of the grads. One of our elders, Brad, takes time to talk about the kids... he's a good story teller; Ruth and Virginia collaborated on the video this year. It was a special time for our six graduates... and for their church family. This is our third time to be part of this tradition. It looks a little different than either of the other two... but it's still a church family surrounding loved ones to honor and encourage.

Counters and Sod 2

Well, the guys from Granite Transformations finished up today. I promised some pictures, so here they are.



Here's a shot from the dining area.













A little closer look at the new really deep sink and way different faucet.










Looking back toward the dining area.












The counter and sink in our little downstairs 1/2 bath was really bad, so we had it replaced as well. The tape is still there until the glue dries.








Here's a shot of the new sod patch. Sure looks better than the dirt patch it covered up. Notice the "stripes" in the sod? It's because I worked unrolling the sod one way and then back the other. I'm hoping the grass will eventually all grow the same way. If not, oh well, guess it can be a converation starter.







Looking back across the grass to the garden.










From the patio across the beans looking at the tomatoes. That last green thing in the corner isn't a tomato plant... it's a little tangerine tree with 2 tiny tangerines. It had one last year, but it was really sweet!!

Counters and Sod

Today was a busy day at our house. About 8:30 this morning a bit truck rolled up with 300 square feet of rolled sod on a pallet. The driver expertly maneuvered his fork lift to place the pallet on the driveway near the garage. It was in the shade, and I was working on a cup of coffee, so I went back inside. About 15 minutes later the guys from Granite Transformations pulled their truck up to begin installing our new counter tops. It's a different procuct and process... a Manufactured product using approximately 95% natural stone combined with a specially formulated polymer... then they install it over your existing counter tops, eliminating the demolition costs. Check out the link if you want details. They started unloading, taped heavy paper all over the floor to protect the surfaces, and began the installation.

In the mean time I headed out to lay the sod. Last fall I had gotten so frustrated with the little patch of grass we had... so much crab grass and weeds... that I used Roundup to kill it all. After it dried up I tilled it up, raked it out, smoothed it over, and let it set up over the winter. After the dirt dried out, I tilled it up again a couple of weeks back, spread some fertilizer, and smoothed it out again. Thus prepared, it was a pretty easy job today. I pulled up the few weeds that had grown up, laid the sod, and watered it deeply. It looks pretty good now... hope it still does in a couple of weeks.

The granite guys didn't get all the way done, and will be back around 8:00 in the morning to finish up. I'll post some counter top and sod pics tomorrow.
Went for a short run in the hills today. My leg is not all the way well, but I made it back home. Hopefully it will continue to heal. Later...

Weekend with the Cliffords

Well, we had a pretty full weekend. Graham and Brianna Clifford (and their girls, Isabella and Abigail) were with us looking at our youth minister position. It was a good weekend, and now we will prayerfully consider the possibility of them coming here. They have one more church they are looking at this weekend, and our elders will seek input and guidance from our church this Sunday. Please pray along with us.

If you've been following this saga, you know that Eastside has been looking for over a year now. It's been an interesting and sometimes challenging journey. We looked at several candidates and brought in 3 late last summer, but, for one reason or another, none of them seemed a good match. At that point our elders and staff thought it wise to "rest" and pray for a couple of months. In November we posted the position again and re-started the process.

We were contacted by a number of quality candidates with whom we journeyed through a process to decide who might be the best match for us and we for them, finally narrowing the list to two. We feel blessed by God to have been in this process with these two guys, and leadership prayerfully decided Graham might be our best match... led to us by God.

As I said, it was a good weekend, and we are trying out best to leave it all in God's hands... whether Graham and Brianna partner with us or we take different step. He has certainly been faithful to us thus far, and I trust that will not change.

Music and Ice Cream

We had a pleasant and nostalgic experience tonight. One of the 8th graders at church is a French horn and trumpet (jazz band) player in his jr high band, and tonight was their pops concert and ice cream social. So, we took the short drive to his jr high and partook of an evening of band music... and some ice cream to boot. It was fun, and it reminded us of the many band and choir concerts we attended in which Jennifer or Jeremy were participating. I even gave Jeremy a buzz so he could share in the nostalgia as well... actually I needed to call him about something else, but it was a good excuse.

I'm glad band and choir are still part of the public school experience. There's just something about that learning process that shapes who you become in those formidable years. If you were in band or choir, take a few minutes to sing "thank you" in the shower in the morning.