WBC February Women's Retreat

We had a women's retreat with our church during the first weekend on February at a beach house in Capistrano. It was beautiful and refreshing... here's a few pictures:Mum and I in front of the house

Most of us

Playing games

Seagulls on the beach

Jennifer & Carrie

Travel to the USA

Goodbye to Susan's house in Elmira, Ontario...

Passing snowy fields as we head towards USA...

Heading straight towards the border... ("the road goes ever on and on")

The bridge across the river dividing the two nations...
Waiting at the border crossing... (took about an hour of waiting in the car line)

Niagara Falls in the Winter

We had a little road trip with the family over to Niagara Falls on New Year's Day. It was soooooo cold! We thought about tailgating our picnic lunch... for about 10 seconds before deciding a picnic in the van would be much better:

It was a beautiful view... lots of ice, powerful falls etc. The rest of the photos are taken on the edge of the Niagara Falls, Canadian side.

Christmas in Canada

First cousins: Julie, Joshua, Jeannie & Nathan (their dad, Uncle John, is a missionary pilot in Africa), Susan (Bill's sister) and Bill

Empanadas in Canada - we found a little Colombian bakery a few minutes from where the Letkemans live. They were yummy. (Meat filled turnover cornmeal pastries.)

Games played at Letkeman home.
The Letkemans - Ron, Susan (Bill's sister) with Lindsay, Matthew and Daniel.

Our New Year's Eve feast - cheese fondue, fresh bread sandwiches.
The countryside around here. Bill's sister lives in a small town in Ontario... about 15 minutes from "city".
Puzzle time.

The weather... comparing Celsius to Faherenheit and Canada to California!
Uncle John and Bill fixing his laptop.

Christmas Caroling

A group from our church sang Christmas carols at a convalescent home yesterday afternoon. We had a good time sharing a little of the joy of the season with these folks.

The Carolers:

Eric & Darlene - a beautiful duet:

Bill's Graduation - Part 3: Graduation Party

We invited our church friends over for dinner to celebrate Bill's accomplishment... I didn't quite get everyone captured on my camera (sorry Lukes!) but here we are, enjoying the time of celebrating with Bill.

Enjoying unexpected gifts!

Bill's Graduation - Part 2: Commencement Ceremony

Bill's graduation ceremony (aka "Commencement") was yesterday afternoon at 2pm. We enjoyed the ceremony and the time dedicated to bringing this chapter of our lives to a close.

The view from our seats. Bill is in the mass on right hand side.

Lee Strobel was the invited speaker.

Shawn & Dawnita came to celebrate with us!

All done!

Mum and Dad also joined in to cheer for Bill from the bleachers!

Bill and Shawn - almost graduated together!!
(Shawn finishes up in the next couple of months.)

Bill's Graduation - Part 1: Baccalaureate

Tonight we went to the Talbot Baccalaureate where they have a "hooding ceremony" and bless and dedicate all the graduates. Bill just finished his last paper today and tomorrow we'll be off to his official graduation ceremony at Biola University. Tonight was a special celebration just for the seminary graduates with their professors and invited guests. We invited the family and had a nice time celebrating Bill's accomplishment: two master's degrees in 4.5 years! A Master of Arts in Old Testament and a Master of Arts in New Testament. Yaye! I'm proud of my hubby!

Us and the local family! We wish everyone else could have been here too!

Reformation Party

We had a reformation party on October 31st this year with some people from our church. In memory of the day when Martin Luther nailed his "protest" to the door of the Wittenburg church.

I tried to dress up as a medieval woman and Bill as Pope Leo the 10th. We did our best to scrounge around and not spend money on the outfits! How did we do? =)

Jon as a vagabond... but a fully armed one!

Shawn as Martin Luther vs. Bill as the Pope.

All of us who came in costume: Carrie (as the door of Wittenburg church), Rebekah (as a servant girl), Jon, Bill and me.

Talbot Marriage Retreat

We went on the Talbot Couples retreat two weeks ago - held at a hotel in Costa Mesa. It was a really good time of learning how to better communicate with each other and just have some solid time to spend together without the distractions of work!

Courtyard of the Hotel

We enjoyed a small hike in Newport - just 5 minutes from the hotel.