Friday, June 30, 2006

Jeanne Fernandez



Jeanne Fernandez was found dead in her room last Saturday. Jeanne was the woman that Teri took care of for many months. I spoke with Jeanne a day or so before she died. We had a very deep and meaningful conversation. Jeanne had been ill for quite some time and her whole life revolved around doctors, medications and hospitals. There was little joy in her life. She called and told me that she had decided that she didn't have to be a victim to cancer. She realized that she could start getting out of her room, finding positive activities and live a meaningful life and give something back in spite of her physical problems. This was amazing for Jeanne because so much of her life revovled around being ill.

This is a picture of a small plant growing out of a crack in the sidewalk by the downtown bus station in San Jose. Jeanne saw this plant and asked me to take a picture of it for her. She said seeing the plant grow out of such a hard place was God's way of telling her that she could make it after she got out of jail a few years ago.

For Jeanne pain is over, sorrow has ended and she is rejoicing in the arms of Jesus.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Video chat with the Mann's



I got to talk with Melia, Micah and Lily via iChat. It was very cool. I even got to hear and see part of Melia's concert. Here are some snapshots:

Monday, June 26, 2006

The Melia Mann Show is On The Road


After two days of packing their trust VW van, Micah, Melia and Lily took off on Melia's US Summer Tour 2006. We prayed that God would use them as they make the pilgrimage to Cornerstone. Melia has some great gigs set up and who knows where God will lead them to play and share along the way. I bought at special camera for my computer so I can video chat with them as they travel. I needed to be sure that my granddaughter doesn't forget me while she is a way.

Clicking the title of this post and will take you to Melia's web site where you can click on 'calendar" to find her itinerary.

New Jedi video coming soon -

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Fishing Trip






Here are some pictures from the camping trip. We had a great time, but it was very very hot. We played cards and we all caught fish - and isn't that what camping is all about? Due to the heat we ended up at the movies everyday - which is not what camping is all about - but I was very happy that we could head off to the matinee when the temperature reached 100 plus every afternoon.

Aric and Abel will be off to Hawaii to visit their dad for the summer. They were a lot of fun this last week.


Even Peter caught a few fish. Peter had been feeling like he was under a curse because he hadn't caught any fish for the past few years - but he broke the spell this week!


We had a bit of excitement when the rangers came through and told the campers about a new rule that declared it was cruelty to trees to tie a clothesline on them. People started yelling at the rangers saying they had been camping at Clear Lake for over 15 years and never heard of such a thing. The rangers were very apologetic and said they were only carrying out orders from the new superintendent. You could tell the rangers were not happy and there were not many happy campers. We figured out that we could rig a clothesline around our cook tent and survived but it was sort of strange to ban clothes lines on trees at a lakeside campground. I don't think the trees really mind all that much

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

New Baby video

This a short quicktime video of Jediah - click to play
Jediah Video

Jediah Norman arrived last night

It has been a crazy couple of days around the Norman house. Sunday night Kimberly and Micah came over to visit and Kimberly was not feeling well. They were thinking of going to the hospital the next day, but ended up going in at about 10:30 PM that night. Kimberly had severe swelling and was eventual diagnosed with preeclampsia. The doctors decided to induce labor. Kimberly was very brave and wonderful and Micah was a great coach and took good care of Kimberly. By Tuesday at around 7 PM Kimberly was having strong contractions but Jediah's heart rate was slowing. The doctors felt that it was becoming to hard for Jediah, so they opted for a C-section. Micah went along and stayed with Kimberly during the operation. Sometime soon after 8 PM Jediah entered the world four weeks premature weighing 3 lbs and 10 oz. Praise God for a wonderfully beautiful baby boy. Kimberly was doing well afterwards and her family all gathered around to see her and Jediah. Micah, Melia and Lily Mann were there to welcome Jediah.