Ok, for the record... We LOVE Oakdale CA. It's like the the town that my boys were born in, only bigger. 17K people. AKA "Cowboy Capital of the World". Every other house has a big 4X4 truck in the driveway. And when I say big, I mean BIG. I've never seen so many big trucks in all my life. This is an agricultural community that produces Almonds, Tomatoes, Strawberries, Beef and Dairy. Our neighborhood's smell depends on the direction of the wind. There is a Con Agra food plant up the street so some mornings the air smells like Pizza. And who doesn't like Pizza for Breakfast?
Modesto is about 10 minutes away and it's about 180K peeps. so we get the small town life with all the amenities of a big city.
The church here has really welcomed us. We are on what looks like the 3rd of twelve days of Christmas. For the past three mornings we have waken up to a gift on our front porch. A pillow, two candles and 3 different brownie mixes. Oh my, i just figured out that the gifts are adding up according to the day. Nice! :) I can just hear it now... "Five Car Wash Coupons!" Ba dum dum dum. :)
Leading worship at River Oak Grace has truly been an experience for me. I went from leading behind a pulpit to leading behind a keyboard or dancing around on stage (just a little bit). It is a lot more work though. I don't mind it at all. The volunteers that serve with me are awesome.
Making friends here has been quite easy. People here are quite sociable and we have a lot in common. We've had that experience before, but you never know what might happen when you move.
The boys are doing great in school. James and Joey are in one school and Joshua is in another. There wasn't enough room in James and Joey's school for Josh this year, but next year should be different. Jacob spends the day with a mom who has two adopted little girls. She and her husband love Jake to death and we are falling in love with their family as well. :)
Well, that's it for now. I'm going to try and blog more as the new year starts. (me and how many others?)
God Bless!
Modesto is about 10 minutes away and it's about 180K peeps. so we get the small town life with all the amenities of a big city.
The church here has really welcomed us. We are on what looks like the 3rd of twelve days of Christmas. For the past three mornings we have waken up to a gift on our front porch. A pillow, two candles and 3 different brownie mixes. Oh my, i just figured out that the gifts are adding up according to the day. Nice! :) I can just hear it now... "Five Car Wash Coupons!" Ba dum dum dum. :)
Leading worship at River Oak Grace has truly been an experience for me. I went from leading behind a pulpit to leading behind a keyboard or dancing around on stage (just a little bit). It is a lot more work though. I don't mind it at all. The volunteers that serve with me are awesome.
Making friends here has been quite easy. People here are quite sociable and we have a lot in common. We've had that experience before, but you never know what might happen when you move.
The boys are doing great in school. James and Joey are in one school and Joshua is in another. There wasn't enough room in James and Joey's school for Josh this year, but next year should be different. Jacob spends the day with a mom who has two adopted little girls. She and her husband love Jake to death and we are falling in love with their family as well. :)
Well, that's it for now. I'm going to try and blog more as the new year starts. (me and how many others?)
God Bless!
