Since we no longer do Christmas letters at the end of the year, I thought we would do a quick recap on this wild and crazy year we just finished.
As we thought back, we remembered many things that seemed like such a long time ago, but in reality were just a few short months ago.
January began one of the best years in a long time. Mike took a crazy step when we decided that he should leave his job at Results Direct and start focusing more on his contract jobs. He began working from home again and we were flooded with work. He had to turn down jobs because he just didn't have the time to do them. Amazing when we take a step of faith that God asks us to, that He blesses beyond imagine. The kids were starting their second semester-Bethany and Niko at Ironwood Elementry, Matthew at home with ACA. It was also the month that I decided to finally resign officially from the Mesa Fire Connectors program. Sad day! It was in January that we also prayerfully made the decision as a family to begin preparing for our move to Prescott.
In February the kids kept busy with school activities. Niko had a concert/play with his class and Bethany was busy with Honor Band playing her flute. Her and Mike also went to a fun Father/Daughter dance at school. We got a visit from Mike's mom that month also. We got a special behind the scenes tour of the Tucson Zoo with our brother-in-law's sister, Lacy, and we also took Nana to a fun show at the Gaslight Theater. We were blessed with beautiful sunsets and our first snow in Tucson right out our door. So fun for the kids.
In March I began working out with Mike at CrossFit Northwest. Mike also started working as a reserve with Avra Valley Fire in addition to his contract jobs. Luke and Carol came down for a visit to celebrate Luke and Bethany's birthdays. And we all went on a field trip with Matthew to the Bontanical Gardens in Phoenix. It was also the month that drama in the apartments began to heat up. Our car got egged and we began to be harassed by the ghetto kids both at home and at the school. It became clearer that our time at the apartments was ending soon. Bethany celebrated her 12th birthday.
April was a busy month seeing family. We celebrated easter in Phoenix with Mike's dad, finally getting to meet our sweet niece, Mackenzie. We also met the DiValerios in Phoenix on a separate trip and enjoyed a fabulous weekend at a resort there. Fun times in the pool and playing around with them. We made a quick trip to San Diego to visit my Dad who was down from ID. A treat to celebrate my Nana's birthday with her while we were there too. And then I was also able to get out to Vegas for a DiValerio girls weekend. Always fun and this time we kicked it off by watching the Royal Wedding...The kids also started CrossFit that month too. We went to a cool vintage air show. And Niko and I had a mother/son night at the school.
May was a month of recovery and preparation for our move. We began finalizing our living arrangements in Prescott as the school year came to a close. Mother's day we headed to Chiriaco National Monument to soak up some of Southern Arizona's beauty before it was further away. I also got to make a trip with the Biddle gals to Cannon Beach OR. It was great to spend time with my dad and Kristi and my sister's. The retreat in OR was a blast and the speaker was very insightful. I got to see Brad's new house in Portland and even squeezed in breakfast with Mike's mom and sisters and met our nephew Parker! Bethany also had her belated birthday party with her friends at the Gaslight Theater. One of her friends gave her a parakeet for a gift. She named it Poppy Popcorn.
June started with the chaos of moving. And a day after it started, Mike was able to escape for a few days up to Idaho and visit his Mom and family up there. He had a great time with them celebrating birthdays and visiting. We continued moving throughout the month. Biggest news of the year happened this month also. Mike got hired with the Prescott Fire Department! Mike went to CA for father's day with his dad and visited his grandfather. The kids and I kept busy with all the fun summer small town activities of Prescott-swimming, festivals, hikes-and also our trips to and from Tucson. We got all moved in before Mike got busy with his new job with the fire department. Still had to get the apartment ship-shape for inspection by the end of July though.
July was filled with more summer fun. More swimming, hiking, playing. We had our taste of 4th of July in Prescott. It was so fun-parades, rodeos, the fire departments hose cart races and bucket brigade. Also had the fire departments Luau/volleyball tournament. Luke and Carol came up for Matthews 8th birthday. We had a picnic at Goldwater Lake and enjoyed the company. Niko got his braces off in July and we finally finished up with the apartment and were able to seal up our business in Tucson. Because Mike had been so busy with work, we were glad to squeeze a camping trip in too. It rained the whole time, but we survived. Speaking of rain. It rained A LOT during the summer. Love the clouds and the rain. SO beautiful.
The summer fun slowed down in August when school started. Bethany entered junior high, matthew went to the neighborhood school and Niko started back at ACA. We still made time for lots of hiking though. They rain let up a bit and it got quite a bit warmer, but still loved the cool nights. I celebrated my 34th birthday in August and Mike and I took a trip to Seattle to play and spend some time with the DiValerios. Bethany started the process of trying out of volleyball, but tweaked her knee and ended up on crutches.
In September the weather began to cool. The kids started with swim lessons to prepare for swim team at the YMCA. We took some family day trips to enjoy northern Arizona, going to Sedona and Jerome and a field trip with Niko to Flagstaff. Bethany played with the high school marching band at a football game. Mike started working out with CrossFit Prescott. We also headed to CA for Kevin DiValerios wedding. We spent some time at Mike's work, STAR Education in Culver City seeing all the animals there. We also went to Knotts Berry Farm with the kids while we were there too and spent some good family time with relatives.
October was another recoup month. The kids had a week off of school. We relaxed and took a break from schedules. We took a couple hikes and enjoyed to cool fall weather. Matthew got an award for perfect attendance at school. And the boys started going to Royal Rangers again. We found a great church to be a part of and I joined Mike and started back up with CrossFit Prescott. I headed to Vegas for a quick weekend of wedding planning and PBR. And we finished the month with a fun Trunk-or-treat on Halloween. Bethany was a nerdy pirate, Niko was a knight, and Matthew was a ninja yet again.
November the fall colors were in high kabang everywhere. We got our first snow and it encouraged the leaves to die out and fall. Winter was upon us. Mike and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary. We went to dinner at the Brewery, watched the light parade downtown, then went to a hockey game here in town. We celebrated Thanksgiving in Phoenix and had a great time seeing Randy and Holley from Chicago and seeing Jennifer and her family. On November 28th, Mike's grandfather DiValerio passed away. He will be missed, but passed on a true legacy to his family.
December was busy, busy with holiday activities. It was fun experiencing Christmas in Prescott and as members of the fire department family. Mike celebrated his 37th birthday and Niko celebrated his 11th birthday. Bethany made a trip down to Tucson with my mom and met up with my Aunt Gail who was visiting from Northern CA. After Christmas we headed to CA for Grandpops funeral services. We had a nice visit with everyone that came out.
Throughout the year Mike and I taught a marriage class, were part of two parenting classes, and took training for the pre-marital class as well. We stay involved with our marriage and family ministry of 2=1 and remained blessed by it.
Looking back through the year we can create a list of the events and happenings, but what fails to resonate through it is the Hand of God that directed us through the year. I am in awe and amazed by how much He loves us and protects us and cares about us. We took many steps of faith this year, leaps out of a boat, and he was there every time to meet us. Action was required on our part, but He deserves credit for all of it. Such grace and provision. Praise be to God for the mighty and wondrous things He has done in us, for us, and through us this year!
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