Bring On 2010

Well, it's that time of year again...where we look back on the past year and look forward to the next. So here it is, my ramblings of the past year and next.

2009 has been such a busy year! Some of the highlights include finding out we were expecting and then finding out he was a baby boy! Nothing can compare to that feeling when you walk into the doctor's office the day you are supposed to find out, looking at your little one on the sonogram and finding out the gender of your baby! Everything starts from there, decisions on names, nursery decor, little outfits, and everything else that comes from finding out.

We also enjoyed having Justin's family here for the first time. We had a great time and especially enjoyed seeing our niece and nephew...they get bigger every time we see them!! It was also a joy to work with a refugee family from Afghanistan as they transition from one country to another. It was such a blessing to help provide for the family coming with nothing to the States and ministering to them over the past few months.

Justin and I both started new jobs working in after school programs this year as well. It has been such a joy to me to return to working with children. As many of you know this is a passion of mine and gift God has given me. It will be sad as the school year ends and we will have to say good-bye!

And that leads me to what is in store for us in the months to come of 2010. First of all we are looking forward to our little bundle of joy to arrive in February...our baby boy Noah Thomas. We are so excited for him to be here! And believe me my aching body is ready as well. Please pray for us as the time comes closer that we the rest of the pregnancy will go smooth and the labor and delivery won't be the end of me;).

We also have some job changes this year as well. Justin has been offered a contract to teach at a Christian school in Japan starting in August. We are so excited to be given this opportunity and to spend some time overseas in ministry. We will be spending two years there starting August 2010. But, we have a long journey to get to where we need to be by August. First off there is the fund-raising part of the ministry. We'll be spending our first few months of 2010 raising money for this adventure and although we have no clue where the money will come from, we know God will provide as we seek to serve Him. Also, we will be traveling, traveling, traveling starting in June! As you can imagine this will be more challenging with a 3 month old, but again God will provide;) We will be spending time in June training for Japan and then we are blessed to be going home to spend time with family in the month of July. And we will be off to Japan around the 1st of August! Please keep us in your prayers as well as we begin this adventure starting in January as we fund-raise, travel, prepare ourselves spiritually and look toward this ministry opportunity.

Other fun things in 2010...my brother Tucker will be graduating high school! Wow! Time so flies when you leave home. It seems like yesterday he was still 10 and young and...this is making me feel old. I am so proud of him and can't wait to see what God is going to do with his life! And this will also be the year that every single person in my family will have drivers licenses! Yes, it's true..my youngest brother Thomas will be driving!! We are all getting too old;) We will also have some visits from our family members to see baby Noah and we are really excited for that time we will have with each one of them.

So, as you can see we are looking forward to a full year next year! And of course the year will fly by too fast, it will seem like I just wrote this yesterday when I am writing the letter that ends 2010. Do you have some exciting things happening in your life next year? Let us know how we can pray for you as the new year begins. Happy New Year everyone and may God bless you and your family as we begin a new decade!