Happy Birthday G'ma Pam!

Belated Update

We've been trying to find the time to update here, but life has been busy. There's just lots of little things that need to get accomplished when you move into a new area. And, it seems like nothing gets accomplished in a very efficient way when everything's a little different.

I'm loving my role at the church, but there are tons of technical things for me to know and oversee; and there are many people to get to know and organize to accomplish what needs to be done. Those things will be easier as time goes on, but for now it's not difficult to stay busy. As we get to know more people and get a better sense of the community of Flagstaff and North Point Fellowship (church), we recognize how God has been preparing us for this. Sara said the other day, "This is exactly the church we've been praying for, isn't it?" I don't think we recognized that truth right away because we had a slightly different picture in our head of what we thought we were looking for. It's amazing to look back and see how God orchestrated every step of the way to bring us here.

The kids are doing well as they are getting to know more kids from the church, and we finally found a family in the neighborhood with a boy about Gavin's age. Sara's thankful for that family, but wishes there were more young kids in our area. It's a little quieter than what we were used to in Colorado Springs. We also live about 7 miles out of town right now, so it would be a little different if we lived in town for sure. We'll eventually post some pictures of our house, but it doesn't seem to stay clean long enough to take pictures... maybe we'll have to do one room at a time :)

I can't remember if I put up our new address, but for those that are interested, it's:
2553 Mesa Trail, Flagstaff, AZ 86001. We're still using our same cell phone numbers for now.

We posted a few pictures in the Photo Album of some of the scenery on our way through northern Arizona. (Most of which are taken while I was driving) It looks a lot like what most people picture Arizona to look like until you get to Flagstaff. Flagstaff looks like a dryer, mountainous version of northern Minnesota. I heard someone compare it to a Brainard or Bemidji sort of feel, which I kind of agree with. It's not that different than what we're used to, but it's drastically different compared to most of the surrounding cities.

We'll do our best to keep updating this blog more often as we settle in a bit more. We welcome your continued prayers for us as we step into the less familiar territory of ministry leadership. The journey continues...

Happy Birthday to Micah

Micah turned three on July 13th. Being that he is more the quiet introverted type, we decided just to keep it to family members. It was also easier to do that since we were still getting settled in. We went swimming at the Aquaplex which has a great preschool/toddler area with slides and fountains. Since pizza is his favorite food, we went out to eat at Pizza Hut. His whole birthday was Buzz Lightyear themed so Zac made him a cake with Buzz on it. Being that he is particular, we weren't sure if he would notice that Buzz's stripes on his cake were blue instead of purple, but it passed with no trouble. He opened his new scooter and gifts (thanks to family members sending money to buy him something he would like). Now he can cruise with his brother and sister on the back deck! He was very thankful and happy for everything we did on his birthday. There are some pictures in the Photo Album link.

Here's some "Micah-isms" to remember:

• "I want my blue blankie."
• "I want my buzz towel."
• When he gets angry he always adds a "I said" onto it. With angry eyes and a scowling voice, "I said I want a muffin I said."
• "Uhh huh...I did, I did last night." He claims to do a lot of things last night.
• "I want to jump on the whole big trampoline."
• He does not like change at all. If there is a toy in his room that doesn't belong, he whips it out.
• He is the most thankful, saying "thank you mama" for the simplest of things.
• "I don't want you, I want mama."
• When he prays his eyes go into a fast rem stage as he says, "Dear God, hear my heart and all things."
• His favorite song, Jared Anderson's "Oh Lord."
• "Where's my Gavin?"
• "Your a cutie, I just love you."