Recent weeks have been busy ones at the Balsley household. But they have been very enjoyable ones as well, because we have had opportunities to spend time with members of our family and our church family celebrating important events and occasions, and we have even managed to get in a little recreation from time to time. On the recreation side, we enjoyed exploring the Tin Mine Canyon Trail in nearby Corona – a surprising find in a generally dry region.


Jan and Caroleen peered into the tin mine for which the canyon trail was named, though entry was prevented to preserve wildlife habitat (and preserve human life, no doubt, in view of the danger of mine collapse).

Easter if always a wonderful time of celebration for those who know the crucified and risen Christ! We also enjoyed a visit on Easter Sunday from Stephen, Meagan and Ryan in the early afternoon – prior to their visit with Meagan’s parents as well.

Ryan is about as cute as they come, and has recently taken to walking, so the pace is picking up!

The Saturday following Easter our church participated in the annual Faces of Fullerton event in downtown Fullerton, where a variety of community organizations engage the community by offering some activity for families and their children.

Our church’s activity was the opportunity to create wire sculptures – something both the children and adults seemed to enjoy doing.

Later the same day we drove to Foothills Ranch to join with Meagan’s family in celebration of Ryan’s first birthday. Ryan’s two grandmothers brought him from his room where an intended nap wasn’t happening.

Ryan was soon well-dressed for the auspicious occasion.

And what would a birthday celebration be without a birthday cake?

As you can tell, we have been enjoying some busy but happy times with family and friends – always grateful for the Lord’s goodness to us in so many ways.

Julie Andrews is (and long will be) remembered for her beautiful renditions of much of the music from the movie The Sound of Music. The movie begins with the message that “the hills are alive with the sound of music, a song they have sung for a thousand years.” The music of the hills, including the sound of breezes rustling in the trees and the songs of various birds and the sound of running water, has been enjoyable this year in southern California. As a result of recent rains, the hills are also alive this season with plenty of plant and animal life to be enjoyed by those who have ventured into the hills. Jan and Caroleen, for example, recently enjoyed venturing into nearby Chino Hills State Park.

The park is often pretty dry, but this year’s rains have created a beautiful carpet of green on the hillsides.

The view from some of Chino Hills State Park’s hilltops offers a nice panorama of the urban sprawl toward the coast not too many miles away.

A recent visit to Black Star Canyon led Dave and Caroleen up the creek bed in search of the “falls.” Jan’s sensitive back probably wouldn’t have taken too kindly to the boulder-strewn path, so she returned to the car, but the musical sound of running water always adds to the pleasure of any trip into the hills.

The only thing which prevented a view of an impressive water fall at the end of the trail was the minuscule amount of water coming over the rock ledge towering well above the canyon floor.

Dave has been enjoying bicycle trips into a growing list of Southern California open spaces suitable for trail bike exploration. His most recent ride led to the “discovery” of Weir Canyon Wilderness Park where some wildflowers dotted the grassy hillsides.

At the Weir Canyon Park he got a nice view of some of the animal life which occupies the hills when a coyote stepped out of the underbrush on the trail ahead.

The roads and paths of Weir Canyon Park and many others invite further exploration as we continue to enjoy the many life-forms in the hills and valleys of Southern California.

We celebrate the fact that “the hills are alive” with the author of the 104th Psalm, verses 10-13 (NASB):
10 He sends forth springs in the valleys; They flow between the mountains;
11 They give drink to every beast of the field; The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; They lift up their voices among the branches.
13 He waters the mountains from His upper chambers; The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.

Our Christmas trip to the Monterey area was blessed with beautiful weather – even though it was a little cool at times. Here is a very “cool” fountain in the courtyard at our motel on the morning of January 1.

The New Year’s Day drive down the coast route (California Highway 1) was incredibly beautiful, with sunshine all day long and arguably some of the most beautiful coastal scenery to be seen anywhere.


But Southern California has its share of coastal beauty as well, and the weather was perfect for a visit to the beach when Andrew, Alissa, Levi, Elijah and Silas arrived for a week-long visit from the frigid temperatures of a South Dakota winter.
Andrew was able to share with Levi and Elijah the joy of replicating the construction of South Dakota snowmen with the construction of a California sandman.

This was the first chance for Andrew and Alissa’s newborn, Silas, to spend some time at a California beach.

It was also the first time to enjoy all four grandsons and their parents at the same location – as we did during a visit to Stephen and Meagan’s at Foothills Ranch.

We all enjoyed a picnic at a nice park located just across the street from the condominium complex where Stephen, Meagan and Ryan are living. Stephen and Alissa enjoyed spending time together with each other and the recent additions to their families.

This is how the family looked when they lined up on the park’s triple teeter-totter for a family photo.

Elijah and Ryan were able to spend a little time “hanging out” together in the double swing at the park.

Before Andrew and Alissa and their sons headed back to the cool climate of South Dakota they enjoyed some time at a new water park recently installed at Pathfinder Park in nearby Rowland Heights.

Today we are enjoying some much-needed rain in Southern California, but we are grateful for the fun times we all have enjoyed as a family on some of the beautiful California sunshiny days of recent weeks in the new year.

The final weeks of the year present many occasions and opportunities for celebration. One of our favorites is the celebration of Thanksgiving. We have so much for which to be thankful, and we find it very heartwarming to try to express our appreciation to the Lord for His many blessings in our lives! And a good meal with family is certainly something we are grateful for – like the meal we enjoyed with the Seymours (Meagan’s parents) in their home Thanksgiving day.

Meagan’s 30th birthday offered another occasion for celebration. We thank the Lord for providing Stephen with a wonderful wife – and for providing us (in the process) a wonderful daughter-in-law. The birthday celebration was held this year at Stephen and Meagan’s apartment.

Christmas, of course, is always a great time of celebration. We find it fascinating that the Lord has arranged for a celebration of the incarnation of His Son, Jesus, which has spread to so many places around the world – even in places where the reason for the season is not fully appreciated! But we who know Jesus as our Savior and Lord find many occasions to celebrate the birth of Jesus – like the musical celebration we enjoyed this year (as in previous years) with the musicians at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Orange!

We were back this year on Christmas morning for another worship experience at St. John’s in the beauty of their historic building with its tasteful Christmas decorations.

Our Christmas celebration continued the day after Christmas when Stephen, Meagan and Ryan joined us for a fun time of gift exchange, a second “Christmas dinner,” a tour of some of the area’s more spectacular Christmas lights, and an enjoyable Christmas dessert and game time with new games Stephen received for Christmas.

The Monday after Christmas found us on our way to the Monterey Bay area for a nice time with Dave’s sisters and their families. We stopped in San Luis Obispo on the way to celebrate our 44th anniversary in the colorful surroundings of the Madonna Inn over a very nice meal in the Steakhouse Restaurant.

And the most recent cause for celebration was the birthday celebration we hosted for Caroleen, the Japanese young lady who is living with us this year as she waits out her residency status in the state in anticipation of the beginning of college studies at Fullerton Junior College next fall.

We have enjoyed, as you can tell, a very nice season of celebration. And we are grateful to the Lord for so many good things to celebrate!