It is beginning to feel more and more like summer every day. With temperatures this week in the 90's everything in the back yard is blooming. This afternoon when I came home from work I noticed how many strawberries are ready to be picked...Yum! It is truly a blessing to live here. You all can come by anytime and enjoy it too!

Ladies Spring Tea... "Creative hands, giving hearts" that was the theme of our annual tea at church today. My friend Laura and I had a wonderful time sharing ideas, decorating and hosting our table. The theme verse was from Hebrews 10:24 "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." The devotional given by our special speaker encouraged us to continue to find creative and uplifting ways to share God's love with each other. You can see more pictures here: http://chiarapics.spaces.live.com/

Happy 14th Birthday Christine! Love you so much and can't wait to go on our Italian adventure together!

What a beautiful weekend this was. After church this morning I walked around the garden at home and couldn't help but enjoy the beautiful flowers and roses that seem to be bursting with color all around. The message today at church reminded us to continue to hope and long for what is to come. This world is not our home but we should be looking ahead for the eternal and incomparable things that God has prepared for us.

Sungard Summit 2008

This week a few of my work colleagues and I attended the Sungard Summit. This year it was held at the Anaheim Convention Center. Sungard is the company who's software (Banner) we are implementing at work. The days were spent attending sessions and seminars all day long. It was a lot to try and wrap your mind around but hopefully one of these days it will all make sense!

In Memory of President Emeritus

Clyde Cook
June 1, 1935 - April 11, 2008

"It is with profound sadness that we mourn the loss of our beloved friend and leader, President Emeritus Clyde Cook.
After returning from speaking in Houston, Dr. Cook was at home on Friday evening, April 11, with his wife Anna Belle when he passed away and entered the presence of the Lord.
This news has stunned us all. We grieve deeply with Anna Belle, Laura, Craig and their family. I promised Anna Belle that night that their Biola University family would prayerfully stand with them through these days of extraordinary loss.
Dr. Cook was long loved by this community and has truly impacted the world for the Lord Jesus Christ through an influence on countless lives.

We will miss him dearly. "

Barry H. Corey
President

Can I just say that I love being an Auntie! Alyssa and Joshua just spent the last week with Mom and I at my place. I think this is the longest amount of time we have spent together ever! Mom stayed with them during the day and worked on a little school work with them then I got off work a little early every day so we could spend a little more time together. We took a culinary "trip around the world" this week for each dinner time. Sunday was Greek and Mediterranean. Monday we ate traditional British food at the Olde Ship. That evening Aunt Grace showed them the trick of how to make sorbet in just a few minutes. Tuesday was Alyssa and Josh's pick... Sushi! Wednesday we headed over to Brea to eat delicious Cuban food. Thursday we "travelled" to Italy and had a build your own pizza night. The kids had a fun time choosing their very own combination of toppings. Friday I took the whole day off work so Grace, Mom and I took the kids to the beach. First we drove out to Laguna Beach and went to our favorite spot, Shaw's Cove. It is a beautiful little cove with some really interesting tide pools. The kids had a good time running from the waves and finding little creatures in the tide pools. Since it was a little overcast we decided to drive up the coast to Balboa Island. The sun kept playing hide and seek but that didn't deter the kids from running in and playing in the water. They ran around chasing the seagulls, building little sand castles and getting buried in the sand. After all that fun in the surf and sand we walked to the end of the pier and ate dinner at Ruby's. Saturday, Aunt Sara took them to Disneyland for the day. For dinner that evening Grace, Jon and I got to share our favorite restaurant (Lucca's) with Donna and Greg. We enjoyed an amazing gourmet dinner and had a great time together. It was a full and wonderful week that I hope we can repeat again very soon! You can see several picture albums of the fun week here: http://chiarapics.spaces.live.com/

A Fun Dinner at the Greek Restaurant

Last night Mom, Donna, Greg and the kids came up to LA so we all met up at a Greek Mediterranean restaurant in Pasadena for dinner. What a great time we had just being together and eating and talking and enjoying each others company. We were seated in the patio area and there were musicians playing Greek and middle eastern music which I love. I was feeling my middle eastern roots coming out! The food was fantastic. Aunt Grace and Josh were the bold ones and ordered the Spicy Mediterranean Frog Legs. They were pretty good, we all tasted them =) Then it was time for the dancing! We all got to give it a try! You can see all the fun, funny and entertaining pictures here: http://chiarapics.spaces.live.com/

Happy 4th Birthday
to my sweet Margie!

Dear "little thing",
I can hardly believe you are already turning four years old. It seems like yesterday when I first met you. You were a little ray of joy and happiness that year for all of us. I pray that you will continue grow into the beautiful young lady that God wants you to be. I love you very much and can't wait to see you in May!
Love, Auntie Ruth (your "little toy")

A looooong week.... I'm tired and ready for the weekend. This week was quite busy with more "all day" Banner sessions. Our IT guy and I worked several days on data mapping. It was very intense and long! Trying to figure out and map where the data from our old system will go in the new Banner system. Thankfully it was Easter break so my "real job" was relatively quiet. Yesterday, several of us got away for lunch and celebrated Abby's 26th birthday at one of her favorite places, Chick-fil-A. They even came out and sang happy birthday to her and gave her a birthday strawberry shake. Coming up this weekend... I'm looking forward to the Myers' visit! Hope to have a blast with the kiddies during the week while mom and dad take a well deserved mini vacation =)