We did arrive safely in California nearly three weeks ago. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and it was the first time celebrating with them since we have been married. The first week here was pretty low key; visiting Noella's grandparents and trying to catch up on some must needed rest after our previous eventful weeks. Samuel is doing great and bounced right back to his normal self within a week of being released from the hospital. Jonathan is doing great as well and seems to have passed his kidney stone about a week ago. Apart from Noella & her dad catching a bad case of gastroenteritis everyone has been healthy.
We had the wonderful blessing of seeing our Italian friends: Raffaele & Manuela Spitale and their two precious children on two occasions. They drove up to see us the weekend after Thanksgiving and then we drove down to see them at their home today in Sylmar. They arrived in California almost two months ago and can now simpathize with our lives, emotions, language learning and stresses that come along with a cross-cultural move. What a joy to see them again! We are going to miss them greatly when we return to the field as they were our closest friends and neighbors in Italy. Thank goodness for Skype and MagicJack so we can keep in touch often, right Manu?! Raffaele is currently studying the language and hopes to pass his language exam so that he can begin seminary at Master's in January.
Jonathan has been preaching every Sunday and also has been able to teach in the prison several times through my dad's prison ministry. He has enjoyed these opportunities to preach and teach God's word (in English). It has been a joy to reconnect with our supporting churches once more here in California.
Jonathan & I had to reshcedule our overnight getaway since I had the flu, but we were able to squeeze it in this past week. We headed north to Avila Beach on Tuesday and had an incredible time together. We walked along the beach catching lots of magnificent shots of the sunset, dining out, relaxing, exploring Pismo Beach & San Luis Obispo--all without the kids which made our 24 hours away feel so much longer than that. The weather was great--nearly 80 degrees! You gotta love California winters! On our way home we stopped by Nana's (Noella's grandma) house and took her out for Chinese food. It was an amazing time of refreshment for us both and we are so glad we were able to do this one last time before heading overseas.
This blog is getting way too long so I'll save a post about our trip to Disneyland for a later time.
Sunset at Pismo Beach
The moon peeking through a Mellaluca tree
California Palms at dusk
Avila Beach by night
We enjoyed dining at the Custom House twice in Avila while overlooking the ocean
Avila is a quaint little beach town and off the beaten path. Such a great place...we'll be going back on our next furlough for sure!
Avila beach landscapes
We stayed at the La Fonda Hotel that had a 19th century Mexican village atmosphere both inside & out. 
Our room
We may not have snow, but the fires were enjoyed around the Christmas atmosphere as Jonathan treated me to an early birthday celebration.
1 comment:
Happy Birthday! What a lovely place you were able to visit together. Great photos as always. And I like the new family pic, too. Hope you have a great day!
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