Remembering Carla Pipes Wolf...

On Wednesday, I learned that I had lost a dear godly Christian friend to her fight with cancer. Carla and I worked together for a little over a year at Loudcloud and we remained good friends even when I moved to Virginia and Carla took a position with Intuit.

Carla had such a wonderful, up-beat personality...a magnetism that drew people to her like a light draws moths out of the darkness. She touched everyone and everything around her and life for those who came in contact with Carla will never be the same again. Carla's love for the Lord was evident in everything she did and said. Even when she was diagnosed originally with breast cancer, she was praising the Lord!

I had the privilege of introducing Carrie to Carla shortly after we got engaged and Carla accepted and loved Carrie immediately. Even while going through chemotherapy, Carla and Crystal (her daughter) came out to Virginia to our wedding in June 2004. It was shocking yet not surprising to see Carla in the crowd at church and I was thrilled to see her at the reception.

Carla was such a strong believer and follower of Jesus Christ our Lord and risen Savior. What a wonderful gift to those she left behind to know that she is rejoicing with our Lord in her glorified body! You know she is with our Lord singing in the heavenly choir!

Carla, you were loved and will be missed greatly by all who's lives you touched...especially me! Your memory will never die and neither will the impact you made on my life!

Sightseeing with Julia...

On a beautiful Tuesday morning in April, Carrie, Julia and I set off to see some of the wonderful sights Northern California has to behold. We started off driving over to the coast and seeing Muir Woods National Monument where we were able to walk amongst some of the tallest trees in the world, Coastal Redwoods.

We continued on our way down the coast crossing over the Golden Gate Bridge, driving alongside and inside the Presidio near the Golden Gate Bridge and much to Julia and Carrie's delight, we drove up and down the steep hills of San Francisco. Julia and Carrie got to experience driving down Lombardi Street, the crookedest street in the world. We also drove by Pier 39 and Ghiradelli Square as well as driving through some really beautiful areas of San Francisco where the homes were spectacular to see.

We continued our trip by driving down the coast from Half Moon Bay down to Monterey where we saw everything from lettuce, strawberries, and artichokes being grown to the pounding surf of the Pacific ocean. In Monterey, we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium where we were able to see the opening of the new African Spotted River Otter exhibit as well as viewing the sea otters (my personal favorites), penguins, and an enormous sun fish that is less than a year old and weighs in at over 2,000 lbs already (full grown they can weigh as much as 5,000 lbs).

After enjoying a brief visit to the aquarium, we continued our trek down the coast stopping to see and feel the surf pounding the coast and seeing the magnificence of God's creation. We drove through Pacific Grove and Carmel-by-the-sea and headed down to Highland's Inn where we had dinner. Carrie and I had been there before with Aunt Barbara in December and while we were not able to pull any strings to get food up in the lounge, we did manage to enjoy ourselves on the patio overlooking the ocean.

As we drove home, the most enjoyable part of the trip happened for me and that was the sweet, sweet fellowship of like minded believers. Julia, Carrie and I had such a great time conversing with you during the drive back and we are so looking forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for you. May God richly bless you as He shows you the next steps in your life!

Resurrection Sunday...

What a blessing Resurrection Sunday was for us here in sunny California! We pray that you received the same blessing wherever you were on Resurrection Sunday. Sunday morning, my parents, grandma and my brother Karsten and his family joined Carrie and myself at our church. I was part of a mixed vocal group that sang a selection of arrangements which I was blessed to be a part of and hopefully blessed those in the audience.

We were able to witness several individuals get baptized which was a tremendous blessing. KJ and Noah, my two nephews, did really well during the service even though the service was longer than what they were expecting it to be. The message was great as usual!

Everyone then came over to our home in Elk Grove for an early dinner. Janice and two of her friends from Davis joined the family as well. It was an amazing time of reflection, conversation and fellowship. Karsten and Kim stayed for a long time allowing us to enjoy our nephews. They are both so cute and Karsten and Kim will have to be on the guard with them.

Anyway, hope you all had a blessed Resurrection Sunday!

Joshua