Happy New Year!

I just heard the neighbors running outside clanking bottles and screaming, "Happy New Year"! It must be that time of year again. I can't help but reminisce about the previous year...the blessings, the trials, and everything in between.

Overall, it's been a great year:

• We were miraculously granted the ability to purchase our home for way less than it's worth. 
• Sara got a house cleaning job that helps to pay for our slightly higher living expenses now that we're paying a mortgage. 
• Our kids are all in the same charter school and they love it. 
• We got another puppy, and she is so good so far

Here are some of the challenging parts:

• Aubri is still struggling with her mood stability. We do our best to stick to our gluten/dairy/grain/starch free diet, but it's hard to tell if it's making a difference. We're working with a natural-path to find some natural remedies that could help, but so far it's only gotten worse with the ones we've tried.
• Gavin is entering the "tween" stage, which means video games, friends, and "being cool" are all of a sudden more important than the things that are really important. We've got some re-guiding ahead of us.
• The puppy is great, but Sara has discovered she is greatly allergic to her. We are not quite sure what the solution would be. The kids would be devastated if we had to sell her.

When I look back at the year, the one thing that comes to mind is how faithful God is. No matter what our circumstance is, it's so evident that He is there with us. I would be so lost without His guidance.

So, the new year, as usual, comes with lots of unknowns attached to it. I celebrate 4 years of serving as the worship pastor at North Point Fellowship this summer and I have to take a six week sabbatical. We've decided to do a road trip during that time up to Yellowstone, through the Black Hills, and then visiting friends and family in the mid-west. We'll have to be creative about how to make the long travel days somewhat enjoyable. It'll be interesting. I have a difficult time taking time off, so 6 weeks off will be really strange... probably good, but it'll take a little time to get used to. I'm excited to see what God has in store for us this year!

Meet Lucy!

Sara and I decided to get another puppy to add to the family. This time we were a bit more specific on breed and narrowed it down to a golden retriever. All the local breeders were charging around $1500 for a full bred golden, but Sara found a family selling full bred golden pups in Phoenix for $500 a piece. Sara and her friend went down and picked out the ones they wanted a couple weeks ago and we got it set up for a Christmas morning surprise with the kids. We decided to name her Lucy. She is about 7 weeks old right now.

It has actually been a really easy first day with Lucy. She's not really potty trained yet, but she knows what to do when we bring her outside. She eats and plays, then she sleeps quite a bit. She loves laying and sleeping in her kennel, which is great! The kids absolutely adore her. She's already turning out to be a huge blessing to our family!

Happy Harvest!

Gavin's Mud Run

Last Saturday we took a family trip to Phoenix to watch Gavin run the Mud Run with a few of his student friends. It's a 5K run that has lots of obstacles and lots of mud. He had a great time! He also ran it really well. Out of the 100-150 people he started with, Gavin finished in the top 5. Most of the runners were adults too! We may have a runner on our hands. :-) There's more pictures in the Photo Album.

First Flagstaff Snowfall

Camping With Gavin

We got invited to go camping with some other dads and sons from church. The rain has finally stopped around here which makes the weather perfect for camping and we're actually allowed to have campfires too (which is usually illegal because of the severe dryness here and the constant threat of forest fires.) Everybody had a great time. The boys brought their BB guns and hunted down a squirrel. One of the dads prepared the squirrel for eating and all the boys had some. I didn't try any, but everybody said it tasted pretty good! 

This morning, after breakfast, one of the dads took us on a mountaineering adventure. He set up the course the day before, gave all the boys compasses, and gave them coordinates for each destination. It was so fun and educational for the boys. We're gonna have to do some more of this type of stuff before it gets too cold around here!

Today We Own a House Again!

We love Flagstaff, but it's an expensive place to live. We spent all of our big savings from the move from Minnesota to Colorado, then Colorado to Arizona so we have not had a big enough savings to put together a down payment on a house. We've been renting our current home for about two years and the owner was letting us know that he'd like to sell it in the next year or so. He agreed to work with us to buy his home, but he still owed over $100,000 on it so he wasn't able to carry the financing if we were to buy it. With the market the way it is, it's hard to get anything without a down payment, but we checked anyways.

It turns out that there's a government grant available in Arizona to assist folks with the down payment for buying a home. We qualified for the grant and the financing we needed to buy the home. Our home appraised for $250,000 and we offered the seller $230,000 since he wouldn't have to pay realtor fees or go through the hassle of showing and selling a house from out of town. I also asked that we split closing costs, but roll our half into the loan. He accepted our offer, and even paid for a couple big repairs that the inspector found. It's pretty crazy to us how God provided this opportunity for us to start building some equity again! It seems like the market is going up again around here too, which is great so maybe we can ditch the PMI sometime next year. We'll see... For now, we're just happy to not have to move again any time soon!

Gavin's Last Soccer Game For the Season

Today Gavin played his last soccer game for the season. The team had a difficult time winning any games, but most of the players, including Gavin, showed a lot of improvement over the summer. Basketball season will be starting next and he's excited for it. Here's a few pics from today:

Church Getaway and Micah's Baptism

We just got home from a family camp get-away with our church. It's a very busy work weekend for me with four services to plan, but the kids always love going there. It's in Williams, Arizona, which is only about 40 minutes from us. We did a baptism service on Saturday morning. I wasn't planning on baptizing Micah even though he's made it very clear to me that he's accepted Jesus into his heart. I kept telling him we'd baptize him when he's a little older. In the midst of the baptisms that were happening, I sensed the strong desire to baptize him. I asked Micah if he was ready to be baptized and confirmed his acceptance of Christ. I asked Sara to run and get us a couple towels so we could dry off when we got out of the pool. As Pastor Paul was about to dismiss people, I asked if we could do one more. So Micah and I jumped in the pool, and I had the awesome privilege of baptizing him. But, I made one tragic mistake in the midst of the spontaneity... I didn't notice that Sara had not yet gotten back with the towels  :-( She was not very happy with me that she missed it all. It still makes my heart sink as I write this. The  church had dispersed by the time I realized what happened, but after lunch we gathered everyone around the pool again and I baptized Micah for the second time with Pastor Paul's blessing; this time with Sara present. Maybe he received a double-dose of the Holy Spirit :-) Needless to say, Sara's still working through the process of forgiveness for me, but I think it helped to do the second baptism.

Overall, the weekend went really pretty well and we're all a bit tired after the jam-packed weekend. I'll be taking Monday off for sure to recover a bit.

Visit From Grandma Pam

Grandma Pam came to stay with us for several days last week. We had a great visit, but the time went by too fast. Here's a few pictures:

Grandma Pam, Aubri, Gavin, & Micah

A late birthday celebration for Grandma Pam

Teaching Aubri to crochet

Successful Drop-Off!

The kids were super excited about school today! No anxiety, no stress... thank God! It'll be fun to hear how they're first day was when they get home!

Micah, Aubri, and Gavin in front of Mountain School

Kids Start School Tomorrow!

All the kids start school tomorrow at a small charter school called Mountain School. This will be the first time in a while that Sara will have a break from homeschooling. I think everyone is prepared to go except Micah. Last night he was crying and saying he's NOT going to school. Today he had to go in with Sara and meet his teacher. Sara had to bribe him with fruit snacks and hotdogs, and I hear it turned out to be a good visit.

We are praying for the kids to transition well and that they enjoy their school, their teachers, and their new friends. Will you join us?

Gavin Hiked Elden Mountain

Today Gavin and I and a few other boys and their dads hiked one of the smaller mountains in Flagstaff. It's certainly still a challenge though since its about 5 miles round trip. I was proud of Gavin for pushing through the tiredness and made it all the way to the top.

Micah's 6th Birthday

Ice Cream!

Lots of friends helping to celebrate the day

Micah got a new motorized scooter for his birthday

Micah's First Soccer Game

Kidless in Cali with Sara! What?!

The church paid for me to go to a worship conference in California and we figured out a way for folks back in Flagstaff to watch our kids so Sara could come with me. I have to say it was pretty amazing just having the freedom to drive out here and enjoy a uninterrupted conversation for several hours. Yesterday we hung out at the beach and walked around. Today, tomorrow, and half of Saturday I have the conference so Sara will have so relax time. We feel so blessed!