Family update

Emily and Ashley are doing well with their cochlear implants. They got their second ear activated last week. They like them a lot and always want them on. They enjoy making sounds-tapping their spoons on their plates, lifting the toilet seat up and letting it fall, stomping on the floor...They make a noise and then smile and say, "I hear that."

Roland and I had a great time celebrating our 20th anniversary with a week in Hawaii. We went to the Big Island, to Kona. We hiked to a waterfall, snorkeled, went to a beautiful botanical garden, visited the macadamia nut factory. Our favorite part of the week was snorkeling.

Roland has been candidating for the preaching pastor position at a church in Albany, Oregon. He applied to the church last December and was told that we was one of the top candidates earlier this summer. Since then, he has had many interviews, phone calls, written many position/doctrinal papers, etc. He has visited the church four times, and preached there twice. (I have gone down twice and we as a family have gone down once.) This past Sunday, Roland preached his final candidating message and had a church-wide Q and A. The elders and search committee are unanimous in calling him. But,the church votes in a couple weeks.