This is 2018
Christmas letters seem to be going out of fashion a little. I used to love writing them. Maybe before facebook. Also before I had much to write about. The irony of the Christmas letter is often that the more life there is to write about the less time there is to do it. And sometimes they're braggy, which is a whole other irony because...why? I think what I love about them though is the purpose of truly just connecting with others and also creating space for self-reflection. If, despite my best of intentions, this begins to seem anything other than authentic, please close your eyes and picture that big pile of dishes that I'm trying to pretend isn't in my sink. And also know that my kids might have been throwing blocks at each other AND drinking soda today. You're welcome.
For me, 2018 can be summed up in the title of my blog. It all boiled down to momming and ministry. I began the year with my very first trip to Florida for Children's Pastor's Conference. I spent the week rooming with MY children's pastor from almost 30 years ago and gleaning from her wisdom, witt and experience. How cool is that?!
Ministry "busy season" runs from June through July. Our church ran our Vacation Bible School the week before we headed to kids' camp where I co-led daily Bible study with an emphasis on prayer stations for about 200 children. Then a few weeks later I coordinated the preschool ministry for our denomination's district camp meeting back in Prescott. It's wonderful that my kids can be involved as well as gain such cool experiences along side me for these.Camp Pinerock has been a special place for me and now for my family as well.
In August, right around my two-year hire-a-versary, I received my local minister's license for the Church of the Nazarene. If you are not familiar with the lingo, this is like getting engaged to the church. It shows my intentions to start taking steps towards a district license and eventually ordination. Making good on that commitment, I enrolled in the ordination program through Nazarene Bible College. I have been taking online Bible classes. While it's added some busy to my busy, I love it more than I ever remember loving school.
Daniel's now half way through sixth grade. School work's not his favorite thing in the world but he's social, funny and smart and loves to tell you all the things he knows. He shows up early to do news crew at school, reading the morning announcements and plays trumpet in the band. Having broke his arm a few week's into spring baseball practises, he missed a full season of his favorite sport. So, we signed him up for fall ball this year, which was a lot of fun. He ended up on a team with one of his favorite coaches and quite a few past team mates. He's enjoyed being parts of lots of church activities during his last year of children's ministry, including quizzing and our Christmas skit.
Moses received some awesome news. After needing a retake on a fuzzy and somewhat funky looking MRI, everything showed up clear for another year of No Evidence of Disease. He has now "graduated" to just once a year oncology appointments and scans and we're so happy to see those hard days looking smaller and smaller in the distance. Mo is well loved and does great and school as well as on the church quiz team. He has a vivid imagination and wants to be a zoo keeper when he grows up. One of his highlights this year was the week they spent in ninja camp while I worked on Vacation Bible School prep.
Dan continues to work in nuclear medicine and enjoys getting to know his patients and offer comfort during what he knows all to well, can be scary times for those waiting on important test results. He's a great dad and is especially enjoying this new season of parenting in which he can share the things he loves like music and baseball with his two boys.
Recently he's become especially interested in photography and does an excellent job capturing breathtaking views of Arizona.
As a family we've enjoyed exploring, adventuring and experiencing new things. In the spring, our whole family, like 19 of us, all met up in the magic kingdom to celebrate my great-niece, Natalia's first birthday. It was seriously a dream come true to be in one of my favorite places with so many favorite people all at the same time. And, while I miss my littles, there's something kind of extra magical about experiencing it with two children who are potty trained, stroller-free and tall enough to ride the wild stuff.
Dan's love of photography and our mutual quest towards better health, has pulled us into hiking, something I would have never imagined enjoying. We've been setting little goals of trials to conquer. We're also mildly obsessed with staycationing. Every summer we take advantage of those hard-to-fill spots at the local resorts offering motel 8 prices...champagne tastes on a beer budget? Or something like that. This year we enjoyed stays at the Scottsdale Princess as well as the Hotel Valley Ho. We're pretty proud of a lot about our state and can definitely help you navigate the yummiest restaurants and most fascinating museums if you ever come for a visit!
We're looking forward to seeing what 2019 looks like. We definitely have plans and goals. Next week Dan and I plan on celebrating New Year's and our 15th wedding anniversary in San Fransisco. My memories of San Fransisco include jumping out of the car for a quick picture in a park where we bought a sweatshirt. I was maybe six? Then I remember an extremely stressful attempt by my parents to drive across the bridge on our way home from Oregon. So, really settling long enough to stay and explore San Fransisco at a leisurely pace has been on my bucket list for years. I want to eat cioppino with real sourdough and take pictures of graffiti.
As a family we've set some typical health goals. But, I also want to practice hospitality more. To make room in my life for agenda-free relationships. Our fresh start is almost here? What's your plans?!
For me, 2018 can be summed up in the title of my blog. It all boiled down to momming and ministry. I began the year with my very first trip to Florida for Children's Pastor's Conference. I spent the week rooming with MY children's pastor from almost 30 years ago and gleaning from her wisdom, witt and experience. How cool is that?!
Ministry "busy season" runs from June through July. Our church ran our Vacation Bible School the week before we headed to kids' camp where I co-led daily Bible study with an emphasis on prayer stations for about 200 children. Then a few weeks later I coordinated the preschool ministry for our denomination's district camp meeting back in Prescott. It's wonderful that my kids can be involved as well as gain such cool experiences along side me for these.Camp Pinerock has been a special place for me and now for my family as well.
In August, right around my two-year hire-a-versary, I received my local minister's license for the Church of the Nazarene. If you are not familiar with the lingo, this is like getting engaged to the church. It shows my intentions to start taking steps towards a district license and eventually ordination. Making good on that commitment, I enrolled in the ordination program through Nazarene Bible College. I have been taking online Bible classes. While it's added some busy to my busy, I love it more than I ever remember loving school.
Daniel's now half way through sixth grade. School work's not his favorite thing in the world but he's social, funny and smart and loves to tell you all the things he knows. He shows up early to do news crew at school, reading the morning announcements and plays trumpet in the band. Having broke his arm a few week's into spring baseball practises, he missed a full season of his favorite sport. So, we signed him up for fall ball this year, which was a lot of fun. He ended up on a team with one of his favorite coaches and quite a few past team mates. He's enjoyed being parts of lots of church activities during his last year of children's ministry, including quizzing and our Christmas skit.
Moses received some awesome news. After needing a retake on a fuzzy and somewhat funky looking MRI, everything showed up clear for another year of No Evidence of Disease. He has now "graduated" to just once a year oncology appointments and scans and we're so happy to see those hard days looking smaller and smaller in the distance. Mo is well loved and does great and school as well as on the church quiz team. He has a vivid imagination and wants to be a zoo keeper when he grows up. One of his highlights this year was the week they spent in ninja camp while I worked on Vacation Bible School prep.
Dan continues to work in nuclear medicine and enjoys getting to know his patients and offer comfort during what he knows all to well, can be scary times for those waiting on important test results. He's a great dad and is especially enjoying this new season of parenting in which he can share the things he loves like music and baseball with his two boys.
Recently he's become especially interested in photography and does an excellent job capturing breathtaking views of Arizona.
As a family we've enjoyed exploring, adventuring and experiencing new things. In the spring, our whole family, like 19 of us, all met up in the magic kingdom to celebrate my great-niece, Natalia's first birthday. It was seriously a dream come true to be in one of my favorite places with so many favorite people all at the same time. And, while I miss my littles, there's something kind of extra magical about experiencing it with two children who are potty trained, stroller-free and tall enough to ride the wild stuff.
Dan's love of photography and our mutual quest towards better health, has pulled us into hiking, something I would have never imagined enjoying. We've been setting little goals of trials to conquer. We're also mildly obsessed with staycationing. Every summer we take advantage of those hard-to-fill spots at the local resorts offering motel 8 prices...champagne tastes on a beer budget? Or something like that. This year we enjoyed stays at the Scottsdale Princess as well as the Hotel Valley Ho. We're pretty proud of a lot about our state and can definitely help you navigate the yummiest restaurants and most fascinating museums if you ever come for a visit!
We're looking forward to seeing what 2019 looks like. We definitely have plans and goals. Next week Dan and I plan on celebrating New Year's and our 15th wedding anniversary in San Fransisco. My memories of San Fransisco include jumping out of the car for a quick picture in a park where we bought a sweatshirt. I was maybe six? Then I remember an extremely stressful attempt by my parents to drive across the bridge on our way home from Oregon. So, really settling long enough to stay and explore San Fransisco at a leisurely pace has been on my bucket list for years. I want to eat cioppino with real sourdough and take pictures of graffiti.
As a family we've set some typical health goals. But, I also want to practice hospitality more. To make room in my life for agenda-free relationships. Our fresh start is almost here? What's your plans?!
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