Heather & Jeff's Shower at Sunny Hills Church of Christ

After the monthly potluck, there was a shower today for Heather & Jeff at Jeff's church. It is Sunny Hills Church of Christ, and is around the corner from our house. Notice the picture of them on the wall in the background. Someone had a cake made, which we all enjoyed.

Heather had the mic while Jeff opened the gifts.
Here's the gaggle of girls who were sitting in the front.

We gave them "Buckets of Love" which were filled with practical things We gave Heather cleaning supplies and Jeff got a 5-gallon bucket with tools from Sears & picture hanging items.

They also received lots of gift cards from Target & Sears. :-)

One of the ladies in the church made beautiful corsages for Karen, Heather & I.
What a lovely group of people!
(Jeff is 3rd generation at SHCOC just like Heather is at Granada).

Heather's Shower at Aunt Robin's

Aunt Robin hostessed a lovely bridal shower for Heather last Sunday afternoon.
She made delicious desserts and veggie pizza.

Here we are before the other guests arrived.

It was so sweet of Robin to have a family shower for Heather!
Jeff's mom, sisters, some aunts & cousins were able to come. There were 15 altogether.

Here Heather is telling how she met Jeff (on her choir tour in Italy),
while his mom, Karen, & I listen.

Heather has now joined the ranks of lucky ladies who have received
a copy of Aunt Robin's coveted cookbook!
I gave Heather 4 nesting baskets & 2 beach towels for Hawaii.

Gretchen made the ribbon bouquets while she chatted with Jeff's cousin's wife.

Jeff came at the end of the shower & helped load the gifts into my car.

Lovely Spring!

Easter Sunday in the garden at church

Jerry gave Mina 2 baskets of Helen's knitting supplies which Mina
will use this summer to teach the MOPS Moms how to knit.

The day after Easter, Kirk & I drove down to Coronado
Island for a few days away.

The Coronado Island Bridge
Kirk is talking to Heather about the wedding photographer she
chose with the San Diego skyline in the background.

We got dressed up and went out to dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant on the bay.
This is the view from our room before we left.

Then we went to the Lamb's Players Theatre to see "The Rivalry." I would highly recommend seeing it when it comes to your local theater. It is the dramatization of the debates between Stephen Douglas & Abe Lincoln.

The next day we went on a tour of the Gem Institute of America in Carlsbad.
Here is an amazing display of handmade jewelry, all in platinum!

This chess set weighs in at 12 pounds of GOLD! (@$1,600 an oz!)

There were many displays of all different types of gems. I learned a lot!

The huge Swaroski crystal rotates and refracts the sunlight.

This year, we skipped the tour and parked out car above the Field of
Flowers & ate a picnic lunch.

We had a wonderful 3 days!!

San Diego on Dwellable

Heather & Jeff's Engagement Photos

Heather's bridesmaid, Amber Nunez, is a professional photographer,
who offered to take their engagement photos as a wedding gift!

The 3 of them used the old artsy buildings in downtown Fullerton for backdrops.

Jeff had Heather's ring made by our jeweler, Larry Schuber. It's beautiful!

Our wonderful daughter!

It was pouring rain the entire morning, so many of the shots included the big black umbrella. This is one of their favorite one.

Some Pre-Wedding Activities

I love this picture of Kirk seeing Heather in her wedding gown for the first time! Of course, I have more pictures, but I don't want Jeff to see her in her dress before the wedding.

KeriAnn Weber, Jeff's mom, Karen Himes, & I went to David's Bridal to help Heather choose her gown. Keri was a huge help, getting Heather's hair just right with a veil. She will be the Maid-of Honor in the wedding.

Here are Kirk, Heather, Jeff & the Best Man, Jeff Livings, tasting gelato. Since Heather & Jeff met in Italy, the wedding will have an Italian theme. They will be serving 2 flavors of gelato instead of a wedding cake Will it be: Chocolate, strawberries & cream, raspberry with chocoalate slivers or vanilla? Yum!

Here I am outside painting 22 paper pots to look like Roman urns.
They will holding the grapes on the tables.

Heather is spraying 22 baskets black to hold
the sliced baguettes and cheese for the reception.

Dad's Cochlear Implant "Hook-up" Appointment

On Tuesday, 3/2 I drove Mom & Dad to the House Ear Institute for his cochlear implant "hook-up" appt. It was interesting being on the "watching" end instead of the "new hearer" end. Here are a few photos.

Here, Dad is hooked up to the computer. He is signaling with his hand as he hears the tones in the sound processor. Doctor Mills programmed the processor for about an hour before Daddy could actually hear voices, etc.

Dad & Mom holding hands-so sweet!
She & I both starting crying when he answered the doctor's questions correctly.

Dad & Mom learning how to use the remote control.
(His model is newer than mine!)

Doctor Dawna Mills is the audiologist who painstakingly programs the processor at each of 4 appts. By the end, he will have 4 custom-built programs just for his needs.

Like father, like daughter. Dawna is so great to work with!

Mom & Dad had not yet looked at the EAR, so they posed by it just like I did.

We ate our picnic lunch on the 5th floor patio overlooking LA and the Hollywood sign. The hospital at the right is where we both had our surgeries.

Here you can see the processor hanging on his ear.
The round part is a magnet that is "talking" to the magnet inside his head!
Amazing technology!

Valentine Weekend

After all the rain we've had, our flowers are all mixed up!

But, we sure are enjoying these "daffy down dillies."

Here Grandpa Stevens is seeing Heather's engagement ring for the first time. Heather got red roses, a card & a California Bride's magazine from Jeff today.
This morning they went to both churches to announce their engagement.

I went to Mina Taylor's on Friday night and had a fun time decorating
cookies with a few other ladies from church.
You can see part of my Valentine mug collection from Kirk in the tray on the table.