We've Moved In!

God has been so good to us. The girls were great on the 5 1/2 hour flight out to Virginia, we stayed with sweet friends when we got here, and then have had an amazing amount of help moving in. We got to our house Sunday and the moving truck pulled in just about the same time we did! Soon our home was flooded with help all the way from Sunday to Wednesday. Each day people came to help us unpack, bring food, and play with the girls. Here are some photos from this week.

These lovely ladies helped on Tuesday.

(This is the basement)

Robin came by to play with the girls- she was so sweet!

(This is Maddie's room)

Kathy and Deshua helped organize the kitchen and the girls' rooms.

Here's a meal the Sunday school department brought one night- an amazing amount of delicious food!

(This looks into our family room)

Our family started to arrive Thursday. Deb, Aunt Jennifer, Aunt Dottie, Dad, Mom, Homie, Gale, Grandpa, Grandma, and Aunt Deb.

(This is our dining room).

Taking a little walk in our backyard!

We can't believe how beautiful it is!!

Papa helped move the rocks so the stream flows better.

Jesse's dad gave him a really nice watch, and there's a cool story that goes along with it.

Gale and Savannah in our living room.

We are so thankful to have all our family here to support us for Jesse's installation at the church tomorrow. Please do pray for Jesse. He's got the stomach flu today (he got it from Savannah who had it the last 2 days). Please pray it won't spread to the whole family! Thanks for your your prayers and love!

Giddy Up

One of our fun spots in LA is Griffith Park. There's the zoo, carousel, Gene Autry Museum, hiking, train rides, and pony rides.

We had a family day with Papa and Mimi, and we sure had fun!

Savannah LOVED riding the horses! She had a huge smile the whole time.

Look at me all by myself!

Maddie also was excited to ride, even though she looks pretty serious.

She rode the horses that trot- super fun!

Snuggle time.

After the horses, we rode the train, and then went to lunch. It was a special day!

Tomorrow we hop on a plane and fly to NOVA. Please pray for our girls to do well on the flight, for us to honor the Lord in this transition, and that we will have fun doing it!

Open House

My parents hosted an open house to celebrate our move to NOVA. We had a wonderful time with friends, and are so thankful for their influence on our lives!

Tanya, Karina, and Vanessa. Love these girls!

Melissa, Hilary, Jacob peeking through, and Michelle- dear friends!

The house was full with people!

Verdugos, Lemans, Harasicks...

Hannah and Rachel!

Brianne and Anna!

Robyn and her sweet girls!

Can you spy Karen, Drew, Mike and Janet?

Jessica, Brianne, Jenny, and Jen from our CSUN Bible study.

Jesse loved holding Hudson (Drew and Sarah's new baby). He's just precious.

We are thankful beyond words for these relationships. Some I've known since I was a little girl, others have only been in our lives the last few months. What they have in common...a sincere love for the Lord. We are so blessed to have been touched by these people!

In the Last Week...

In the last week the four of us moved from our house in Chatsworth to my parents house in North Hills. All of our belongings are in a truck headed to Virginia!

Here we are having a little PJ dance party at Mimi and Papa's. We've had fun dancing, playing, reading, going to the zoo, and even sharing the stomach flu this past week!

Brooke Moore threw a little Valentine's party for the ballet girls. The time with friends was even sweeter than the food!

My dad and I went deep sea fishing! You might ask, "What made them do that??" Well, let me tell you...since I was about 7 years old, my dad and I have enjoyed going fishing together. It's "our thing". I've always had a close relationship with my dad. He's a humble godly man. I've always been able to talk with him about anything and am thankful for his wisdom and leadership in my life.

We hit some swells, so a few of us got sea sick.

As we were fishing, pelicans and sunfish followed the boat.

Between the two of us, we caught 11 fish! My dad definitely caught more than me!

He even brought in a crab!!

Here's the guys cleaning the fish. It was a gorgeous day...complete with a rainbow as we pulled into port. We plan on frying them up this week :)

This morning Pastor MacArthur brought up the elders to lay hands on Jesse and I. We are officially sent out by Grace Community Church to Immanuel Bible Church. It was a surreal experience. I've been at this church for 30 years, Jesse's been here 11 years. We have been the ones sending others off, and now we're up! We love this family of believers, and will miss them. Here is an article Jesse wrote in the Grace today that sums up our thoughts. Yet, the Lord has so evidently directed us to go to Immanuel Bible Church. We are excited and look into the future confident in God's plan! Already we have been blessed by this new body of believers. They have flooded us with kind emails, messages, and are even working on our new home! We are anxious to get to know them and make IBC our home. God is so faithful!

Rachel's Photos

I love my dear friend Rachel. This morning she built a tent fort in our living room with the girls. We had a Chick Fil A picnic in there and the girls haven't stopped playing inside of the fort all day. Madison and Savannah just love Rachel.

Rachel recently offered to take our family photos at the beach. If you want to see her blog post of the photos go here.