Nana moves to Lancaster!

It has been a long time coming, but the day finally came on November 5th! Duane's cousin, William, helped Nana (aka Loree, Mom) drive from Waxahachie, Texas to Lancaster, California - about a 1,500 mile drive. Her belongings arrived early the next morning - before she and Bill even had a decent night's sleep. We were all blessed that William could stay that first week and help Nana's transition into her new place. She had plenty to keep him busy! Thank you, Bill. It was great to be with you again.

Our Pastor's mom brought flowers to welcome her.

Duane turns 50

Duane turned 50 on November 18. He says he wants to grow old quietly. Yet he wears his new birthday present: "Old Guys Rule" shirt proudly.

The Frevert Family

These are our friends, the Freverts (Marcy, Marianne, Mitch and Marilyn). Last Sunday they shared about their missions trip this summer to China. They were a blessing to a ministry called "Circo Redempto" that ministers to the children of the Nosu tribe in China. This summer the Freverts taught English, music, dancing - among other classes - to the Nosu children who were a part of the camp. Each day began as early as 5:30 a.m. when they would get up and run 3 miles with the kids before the day of classes began. God taught them so much as they gave of themselves to these children.

Their dog Max lived at our house while they were gone, so we had a daily reminder to pray for them! We are blessed by their friendship and their example of selflessness. For a single mom with three kids at home, Marilyn has a really good excuse NOT to "go onto all the world" and share the gospel, but instead she feels even more compelled to teach her kids that this is what life is all about - bringing hope to a dying world.

Sisters

While I was in Texas to help Nana pack, my sister, Cyndi treated me to a John Mayer concert in Houston area. I drove from Waxahachie, she drove from San Antonio (where she was training for her new job - praise the Lord!) and we met in the Woodlands for Chinese food, a John Mayer concert, and staying up half the night talking. We're not as young as we used to be - staying up half the night was all we could manage! It was really fun to be together, even it was such a short visit. Thank you, Cyndi!

Answered Prayer

Escrow closed this week for Mom's new place! We are so excited! I leave Monday for Waxahachie, TX to help her however I can for this major move to California. For a lady who will be 80 years old in April, she has blessed me with her willingness to make changes, even when they are really big ones. Please pray for her! We'll be getting things ready on this end. Our friend, Brad, will paint. It was so fun yesterday to go to Dunn Edwards and fill the back of my van up with cans of paint for Nana's house. It means that it won't be long and she'll be here!

Still praying

Well, the second deal has fallen through for "Nana" to buy an affordable place and move to Lancaster. We're not sure what God is saying, but we are praying for God's wisdom and timing. We'd appreciate your prayers too!

Another thing you can pray for... Eternity Bible College is going to be a lot of work for Nici and Jason. This is Jason's first semester of college. I think his head is spinning and he's wondering if he'll ever have a life again. Pray he can soon get into the groove of school, homework and all the ministry responsibilities he has at Grace Chapel. On a fun note... Duane and I are auditing their Theology I class. It is awesome! But I also realize how much work it is!

He passed!

Jason passed his driver's test this morning! Yipee... I think.

Starting School at Eternity Bible College

Jason & Nici begin their school year Tuesday morning (bright and early) as they commute to Simi Valley for classes at Eternity Bible College. Please keep them in prayer for safe travels as well as a great school year. They are both really excited. And yes, Jason is sporting a beard these days. After several camping trips with the high school and junior high ministries, and a trip to Oregon with the college pastor, Jason just gave up shaving for awhile.

My Turn

I awoke this morning to breakfast in bed and my family singing "Happy birthday to you." Balloons floated in the front lawn announcing to the neighborhood that it was my birthday... Thank you, Bartletts, for not advertisizing my age with that!
I was blessed all day long with a wonderful birthday! I thank the Lord for blessing me with such wonderful family and friends.

Nici turns 21

On August 16th Nici officially became an adult. We began celebrating on Aug. 8th by taking her to dinner at Sisley Kitchen in Valencia. The gold locket she is wearing was a special gift from her family heritage. My mother (who passed away in 1990) had been given the locket by my dad and it is inscribed with a sweet sentiment. I think she likes it!

On the morning of her birthday she was served breakfast in bed compliments of Mary Bartlett, complete with scones from Panera Bread, her favorite! In the evening we had a few friends over for birthday cake and coffee.







"Charm is deceptive, and beauty fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Prov. 31:30

I read this quote last night in Newsweek magazine. Billy Graham is interviewed and looking back over his 87 years he said, "The greatest regret that I have is that I didn't study more and read more. I regret it, because now I feel at times I am empty of what I would like to have been. I have friends that have memorized great portions of the Bible. They can quote (so much), and that would mean a lot to me now."

His wife, Ruth, has spent these summer months memorizing and reciting Psalms 90. She suffers from macular degeneration and so her secretary types out the psalms on a word processor, printing the words in huge type - there might be six or eight words on a page - and then collects the text in big black binders, from which Ruth reads.

Lord, help me learn from their example!

Nici & Nana

Duane's mom (Nana to her grandkids) will be moving to Lancaster before very long! We can't wait! It will be wonderful to have her closer. She has given this family a godly heritage that we don't take for granted.

A few of my favorites from Jason's camera

Our last sunset in Ft. Bragg. I miss it.


Jason takes better pictures from a moving vehicle than I do standing still.


This is Sarah Green. Even behind a corn on the cob, her personality shines through. I think this is my favorite picture of her, ever.




Jason took these with his new camera. He will do anything to get the shot that he wants (as you can see). It's pretty fun seeing life through his camera lens.

My son, the photographer

Bridget, me and Nici

It ended too soon. But we had a great time with our friends, the Greens, in Ft. Bragg. My friend Bridget is a gift from God to me. I am thankful for her friendship through the years. And that she lives in such a beautiful place and we can come visit!

Saturday on the coast

Today we drove to Mendocino and ate at the Bayview Cafe overlooking the beautiful Mendocino coast. This is where Erin, Amy, Nici and I ate on Nici's 18th birthday - almost 3 years ago! It is very warm by Ft. Bragg standards. They claim we brought the heat with us, but it is still wonderfully cool to us. We (and the Greens) went to the Gilman's house last night for a barbeque and a game of Balderdash. Duane won hands-down.

Ft. Bragg

We've been trying to hit the beach every day around the "magic" hour so Jason can take photos. These photos, however, were taken by Erin. Maybe soon I can post some of Jason's. We're relaxing and having a good vacation.

Vacation time!

God has blessed us with some vacation time on the coast! It is cool, moist and wonderful.