Home in Michigan

We are currently at our home in Michigan.  We took some time off of traveling for a bit to take care of some needed repairs on our house.  We do not have a scheduled place yet for where we are going next but are focusing our attention on finding something by the middle of August.

Natomas, Sacramento, CA

We are currently living in the Natomas area of Sacramento, California.  Sacramento is broken down into different areas and Natomas is in the Northwestern part of the city.  The city of Sacramento is very large and has a wide range of both wealthy, middle class, and lower class homes, spread out all over.  Sacramento is mainly industrial and is most known by the fact that it is the state's capitol.  If you are not familiar with where Sacramento is located it is in the Northern part of the state right in the middle.  If we wanted to go to the ocean it would take us about two hours heading West.  If we would like to go hiking on some wooded trails or in the mountains we would travel about two hours East.  We are right in the middle of many different places that one would commonly visit in California.
We are enjoying our stay here and have made many new friends.  One of our friends is an Evangelist by the name of Tim Schmidt.  We have heard Tim preach several times and are encouraged by his ferver to accurately spread the gospel.  Tim is a godly man who continues to Love, Honor, and Serve Christ.  The proof of God is evident in his life through not only what he says but by his actions as well.  We have also been enjoying the core preaching and teaching that we have received from Faith Baptist Tabernacle in North Highlands, about twenty minutes away.  Pastor Mike Rodgers and Pastor David Welch are both men that have a servant's heart and continue to preach and teach God's Word accurately.  We are thankful that God has allowed us to be a part of this ministry while we are in Sacramento.
 

Sacramento, CA

We are currently visiting Sacramento, California.  Tracy is working at Mercy General Hospital in downtown Sacramento.  This area is more of an industrial city area, for our friends in Michigan it could be compared to Madison Heights or the north side of Hazel Park.  The area reminds us a little of home including the cold weather- who knew that California was so cold??  It does have some nice historical spots in downtown and a Chickfila right around the corner! 

Walnut Creek, CA

We are currently visiting Walnut Creek, California.  Tracy is working in the Walnut Creek Kaiser hospital.  If you are unfamiliar with the area you would find us on a map approximately thirty-five minutes North East of San Francisco.  The area is quite a change from Michigan.  While we were leaving Michigan we were able to see the trees changing from green to bright hues of yellow and auburn.  In California there are very few trees that change in color for the fall and you see much more green all around.  We are also surrounded by mountains (a definite change from Michigan).  The mountains here actually show snow caps in spots, and are more stone than grass and trees.  The weather here has been a bit rainy and a little cool.  We've been told that Fall and Winter here is cooler weather and rain, and that we can expect intervals of rain for as long as we can normally expect snow in Michigan. 
The people in this area are very laid back and normally friendly.  Downtown Walnut Creek is a great little shopping area with stores, cafes, and restaurants all over.  It reminds us of a theme park- like downtown Disney without the Mickey Mouse.  It's set up with lots of little spots to enjoy yourself and with things to catch your eye.  This particular area of California is very expensive, even food and general merchandise cost us a little bit more than back home.  The sales tax has two parts a local and a state, together they average about ten percent.  Overall it's a great place to visit and puts us in the middle of many different areas that we would like to see like: San Francisco, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Sequoia, and more.  Keep checking out the blog and as we get opportunities to visit these beautiful places we'll write about it and maybe even add some pictures.
If you do get a chance to visit this area plan on stopping by Cornerstone Baptist Church in Pleasant Hill, less than ten minutes away.  We have made Cornerstone our church while here in Walnut Creek.  We have enjoyed making new friends and sharing with this group of believers who obviously Love the Lord as it is evidenced in their lives.  We thank God that He brought us here to Cornerstone and that we have had the opportunity to be a part of this church, even if it has been for a short while.  If you are going to be staying in the area for any length of time and you want to worship with a group of believers that preach and teach God's Word accurately from the Bible, we would whole heartedly suggest Cornerstone.

Where We Are Now

We live in Hazel Park, Michigan located just North of Detroit.  We have lived together in this house for eleven years.  We bought the house from Tracy’s parents; which means that Tracy has lived in this house her entire life.  We love our house and neighbors, many whom Tracy has grown up with.

For those of you who have never been to Michigan, it really is a beautiful state.  We enjoy living in Michigan, not because of the humid summers or because of the snow, but because of the fall.  We believe the best time to visit Michigan is in the fall.  Autumn is such a great time of year; when the trees are turning to their brightest colors, the air turns a slight cooler, and of course the cider mills open for business.

Living in Michigan all of our lives we can tell you for sure that it has much to offer the average traveler.  Locally we have the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village that are great attractions to take you back in time and teach you the history of some of the greatest inventions and people.  If it’s the great outdoors you seek we have a plethora of lakes, rivers, and forests to enjoy.