First Show a Success!

Well, our first Spring Dance Concert for Pasadena High School was a huge success! It was such a thrill to put on, but man, was it a lot of work! I am secretly relieved its over so I can spend time with my husband now without fighting the urge to work on something for the show. The details definitely consumed my mind for the past two months.

God definitely blessed it though! We had sold almost 500 tickets ahead of time which I was thrilled with. Our auditorium seats over 2,400...its pretty large. But to our surprise, more than half of it filled up the night of our show last Friday! We couldn't believe it. There was an energy in the audience that has not been seen in years apparently at the school. Now, with my stage manager going to the hospital and having to take over calling all the show's cues 5 days before the show, I was juggling quite a bit at once. I had help from parents and students, but this definitely couldn't have gone as well as it did without the Lord! He was present the whole way, even when I didn't acknowledge Him. I praise Him for the success of our show. The students were amazing! So many of them had never even performed on stage before. Although I made some mistakes that night with some cues and not making some acknowledgments that took me a few days to forgive myself, in the end, I was so proud of my students and the history we made that night for PHS! Praise God for it all! May He continue to bless the program that He so distinctly and unexpectedly called me to 3 years ago.

God's creativity...

For the past few months Jud has been taking classes at Eaton Canyon Nature Center right behind our apartment which has been great for him. As you can guess Jud has definitely been missing the ocean since we've moved to Pasadena, but he now has the Angeles Crest Mountains which he's been hiking almost everyday now. Last week he officially graduated from his docent class is allowed to volunteer as a trail guide taking kids on field trips throughout the canyon! I am so proud and excited for Jud, as those of you that know him well, know that it is outside that he feels most alive.



To add to God's creativity to this season of our lives, my family on my dad's side reunited last weekend to celebrate my Grandpa's life and come together to support one another in this time. I was excited and hesitant about seeing relatives I hadn't seen in 12 years! I thought it was going to be awkward and a bit fake. But, God surprised me! (as He usually does!) It was the most amazing time. I related with my cousins like I never have before. We talked and talked. We talked about God's sovereignty and how good He is in His timing of taking not only our grandpa home with the Lord, but their mom as well this year. I got to meet their adorable children for the first time. One of my favorite moments of the time was listening to my grandma share how her and grandpa met and how he had to ask her three times before she said yes to marrying her. I think it was healing for her to share all those memories with us. Praise be to God for bringing us all together and giving us the hope we have in eternal life with knowing Christ!


Here we are with my grandma Tures...she's hanging in there, holding on to the hope that grandpa is in heaven enjoying the presence of our Lord!


It was so good to see my sis and our cousin Dustin!


Here are my three cousins: Nannette, Janette, & Danette with Danette's little girl Emma.


This is a stepping stone that we all took part in decorating for my grandma to take back home with her in memory of my grandpa. That was really special to do.

Our trip to the state of cheese curds!

So, here we are in Plymouth, Wisconsin with Jud's grandparents, Doris & Flare. They so graciously flew us out to spend time with the family for my spring break!


This is us out to lunch by Lake Michigan.


We played lots of the game Sequence as well as Continental Rummy.


Then, we went up north to visit Jud's cousins Kim & Ted. This is their daughter Anie. She is absolutely adorable.


Anie had to show us her clam she kept in her sand box...that's when we played "Monster & Jaguar" (Jud was the monster and I had to help her protect the Jaguar from getting eaten) =)


We also got some great quality time in Madison with Uncle Bob & Aunt Kristi. This is Anie's little brother Jack. Isn't he so cute?!


Our night out on the town for Wisconsin Friday night Fish Fry and cheese curds. Kristi, Bob, & Ian took us to the Old Fashion restaurant for our last night in Madison, WI.

We are so thankful that God provided the time and finances for us to go on this trip. We had such a wonderful time! Thank you so much Grandma & Grandpa Fred, Kristi & Bob, and Kim & Ted for having us in your homes and spending the quality time with us that you did. We love you guys so much and Happy Easter!

Olly's BACK!! (aka "Mr.Betsy")

Hey guys! You'd never believe what happened two nights ago. After being gone for 6 weeks and eventually settling with the fact that he wasn't coming back, we got a phone call from a woman across the street that has had him for the past 2 weeks! We couldn't believe he'd survived this long. That means that he somehow survived these neighborhoods for about 4 weeks on his own, and Olly's not the bravest of cats. We think it was his caution that saved him. Especially being mostly white in color, he must have hidden himself pretty well from the coyotes. He also miraculously crossed the busy street of Washington Blvd. in front of our apt and reached the porch of the lovely woman that returned him.



We weren't sure if he'd remember us or our home, but sure enough, within 30 minutes after bringing him home, he found his litter box, his favorite place on the couch, and was immediately up on the table again while we played cards. And yes, he still spoons with me at night with his head right on my pillow. It is such a special little blessing to have Olly back home with us. I still can't believe he's alive!

The "Mr.Betsy" name was the lady's name for him when she had him. Because of Olly's beautiful markings and sweet face, she thought he was a girl. So, she named him Betsy and then when the Humane Society told her he was a boy, she called him Mr. Betsy. =) Olly's definitely lost weight since he's been gone and is a little bit dirtier than before, surviving all the dirt and rain we had for those couple weeks straight. In the picture Olly is playing with his new homecoming toy we bought him. =) So good to have him back!

Trip to Kentucky!

This is the company of women that I dance with in Benita Bike's DanceArt Company (from left to right): Laurie, Tiff, Teya, Kim, and myself. We were invited to Louisville, KY to teach and perform for middle school students plus the surrounding community. This pic was takin' after performing in a classroom for a small class of 6th graders and the director of the county's arts center treating us to lunch.


This next picture is from our second day in KY when we performing on a small piece of marley floor they put down for us in their gym to perform for all the school's 8th graders. The unique thing about our company and Benita's vision is to educate the audience about modern dance as we perform. So, she talks in between each of our pieces (to allow us to change of course) but to ultimately interact with the audience and allow them to share their reactions from the previous piece.















The pic below is of us performing for 6th graders on their little stage in their gymnasium. It was funny because they initially wanted to have the stage closed off with a curtain and a small group of students with us on stage while two classes played dodge ball for P.E. But, we insisted that the P.E. simply join the audience and watch us dance instead. It worked out, the teacher was flexible, and we got to reach a lot more kids that way.





































This is me on stage during our tech rehearsal doing my solo to "Jimmy Crack Corn" in our dance titled "A Few American Songs." Teya's knee has been bothering her so I was asked to learn her solo before we took this trip. It has a lot of jumping in it, so I'm enjoying it. Plus, its a joyful solo, so I get to smile.

Below is the beautiful space we got to perform in for our Saturday's full evening length performance. This is Oldham County's Arts Center stage, but it used to be a church (obvious by the pews still there). It was pretty cool with its unusually shaped stage, high ceiling, and audience seated at different angles.















If you wanna see more pics from our incredibly fun trip, you can click on the link below.
We did go out to a Kentucky bar Saturday night after our show and danced the night away until 2:00am. Mind you, Benita was picking us up at 5:45am for our flight home. =) I'm still catching up on my sleep.

Link

Answers Already...

Thank you for your prayers!

To my surprise, our family IS getting together. In fact, in a few weekends we're all getting together (including extended family I haven't seen in 15-20 years) at my parent's house in Riverside. And beyond that, we are having a memorial service at the church up the street that my parents have been going to which is in walking distance. So, pretty exciting. There is much potential for some healing and reconnection to take place throughout the Tures Family. Praise God for that!

Also, I spoke with my Grandma on Sunday and it was such a joy to hear from her personally how God has shown Himself to her. First of all, my grandma told me she has been praying all year that God would take grandpa home to heaven before the new year. And guess what...(its just like God)...grandpa went home with the Lord New Year's Eve! Isn't that just awesome. I think God loves to just show off sometimes. =) He is so perfect in all that He does.

My grandma also described to me what a beautiful moment it was to have her hand on her husband's chest when his heart took its last beat here on earth. She had never imagined or asked if that was possible; she simply wished to be there in his last moments. She thanks God so much for being able to share that very last moment with him (having been married over 60 years). What an incredible love God built in their marriage.

Thank you for your prayers.

Prayer Requests...

My grandpa, Marvin D. Tures, passed away last night at 2:00am over New Year's Eve. He is home with the Lord now and we rejoice in that, but I have a few prayer requests.

Please pray:
1. For my grandma, for not only comfort and peace from God but also the courage for her to leave her place and possessions if necessary. It is not the healthiest situation for her to be out there in 29 Palms alone.
2. For wisdom for my parents in how to help at this time. Unfortunately, this is the 3rd death on my dad's side this year and our family has yet to come together to share in these hard times. Pray that if its God's Will for us to come together, either for a simple gathering or an actual service, that God would provide the means to do that.
3. For the entire Tures family to find hope in the reality of heaven for those who know and confess Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. And if they do not yet know the Lord personally, that they would make that life-changing decision now.

I praise God for making it possible for us to spend eternity with Him where there is no pain or fear. Grandpa is no longer in pain and discomfort but enjoying the presence of the Lord now.

Thank you for praying for the Tures family,
Jess & Jud