First Sunday at New Life Church

Yesterday we made it to New Life Church in Colorado Springs. This is where my worship leader school is based out of. It was fun to see how they operate there, and it was really great for Sara and I to worship together. It feels like it's been a while. The two older kids had a great time in their Sunday school classes, but Micah wasn't too happy we left him in his room. He made it about 20 minutes before our number showed up on the screen (our kids had numbers assigned to them and the parents are notified when they are needed by watching the numbers that appear on the screen.)

The church building itself is certainly bigger than what we've been used to, but not overwhelmingly big. The upstairs was mostly dedicated to kids' ministries (where Gavin and Aubri went) and is set up really cool. It's almost like you're walking through a 3-Dimensional forest as you walk the halls and enter the classrooms. They seem very structured too, and actually teach the kids things rather than popping in a video to pass the time.

I'm sure we'll try to get plugged in in other areas as time passes. Sara went to a home schooling conference there on Saturday and met some great people and learned more about the home schooling community within the church. Sara was on the fence a little as she debated whether to go down the home school road or send Gavin to public school (which would be MUCH easier). The public schools in this area are pretty good, but she's decided to home school Gavin for sure. Ultimately, it gives us the ability to control what's being mentally and spiritually fed into our kids.

Today Sara found a trampoline on Craigslist that I drove to get, disassembled, loaded up, drove home, unloaded, and reassembled. It took a few hours, but we promised Gavin we'd get a trampoline soon after we moved in. He loves it! The other two kids love it too, but they don't love having to take turns. We have to be careful when Micah's out there because he likes to go under the trampoline which is obviously a little dangerous when someone's jumping from up above. There's always something to be worrying about when it comes to our kids' safety... especially when they're all fearless daredevils!

We Made It!

The last week has been an exhausting one, but we finally made it to Colorado. We had a moving day on Sunday and filled a 24 ft. truck and a 12 x 8 trailer with all of our stuff. We had a good handful of people to help with the move, so that made things move along fairly quickly. The last half was the most challenging, as it became a puzzle for us to fit what we had in the limited space. To our amazement, we didn't have to leave anything behind.

Zac's dad, Steve, agreed to drive the big truck to Colorado Springs and was also supposed to pull one of our minivans behind it. Budget goofed up and didn't have a vehicle towing trailer available for us, even though we made the reservation weeks in advance. Zac's mom, Pam, requested time of from work at the last minute to drive our other van down for us. It all worked out and we were set to take off on Monday.

Steve left Monday morning, but the rest of us had to wait because we had our Minneapolis house closing at 4pm that day. After the closing, we got a bite to eat and hit the road. We basically drove non-stop through the night with only an hour or so to rest at a rest stop. Steve stayed in a hotel that night, so we ended up beating him to The Springs... which is good because we had to go get the keys to our new home once we made it into town.

So now it's Saturday and the exhaustion is beginning to fade. We've already met a few of the neighbors and we found some kids in the neighborhood that have been keeping our kids occupied. So far, everything feels very comfortable. We are very thankful for Steve and Pam helping out, it would have been extremely stressful if Zac and I had to move in without the help.

Steve flew home on Friday and Pam will fly home on Sunday. We were able to have one fun day together on Thursday as we visited Garden of the Gods and drove up to the top of Pikes Peak. Click on the album below to see some pictures:

Move to Colorado

Micah's Getting "Pumped" to Go To Colorado!

No, I did not make him pose for this picture... in case you're wondering :)

The whirlwind continues: On Monday, the 10th, we'll be venturing out towards Colorado. We don't close on the house until 4pm, and then we'll leave after that. We plan to drive straight through so we can hopefully be there the next morning. We figured this would be the best way to keep the kids sane (and the parents) if they slept most of the way.

So, on Sunday we'll load the truck and my dad will start driving that Monday morning. He'll spend the night at some hotel along the way, and meet us in Colorado Springs later on Tuesday. He'll also be pulling one of our minivans behind the truck. I'll be driving the family in our other minivan, which will be pulling a small trailer as well. Hopefully we'll be able to fit everything.

We ended up getting the house we wanted in Colorado Springs so we'll head straight there. I hope we'll have time to show my dad some of the sites before he flies back that Friday.

The business transfer is scheduled on Aug.25th. I'll fly back Minnesota to take care of that, and then head back as my school starts orientation on the 31st.

Sara will be homeschooling Gavin this year. She's already getting plugged in to the big homeschooling community through New Life Church (same place I'm going to school). Sara's actually quite excited for the big move. I think we were both ready for a new chapter in life.

We've had a few "going away" parties so far, and I'm sure we'll be saying our final good byes to a lot of people who are helping us load the truck on Sunday. It's a little bit sad to leave people, but we know it isn't goodbye forever. We'll still come to Minnesota to visit on occasion.









There's a ton more we could be writing about, but it's been hard to find the time lately. We'll do our best to keep everyone updated on what's happening once we get out there.