Family Update

This year so far has been so busy and full of change. We added a new family member, which always comes with a lot of adjustment and at the same time we have been adjusting to loosing a family in a sense. After having Hudson in October we made the decision to find a new church. Justin has gone to Hinson since he was 5 years old and we have been going together since I was 16. It's the only church us and our children have really ever known. Justin and I were both baptized there, all our children with the exception of our newest, have been dedicated there. Justin and I have served with youth or college for a combined total of about 15 years (which is half our age!). We have made most of our deepest friendships there and our children have been nurtured there since they were infants by the loving children's department workers. So why leave? Good question. There are many reasons really and it was not an easy decision. We have lived in Vancouver for about 6 years now and have continued to drive to Portland to go to church. With our level of involvement this was starting to become quit tiring, especially after adding our fourth. Tuesday nights for college group, Wednesday nights for youth group and kids club, Sunday mornings for church and then any events that went with those different ministries. Our kids are also getting to an age where they really want to invite friends to church with them. It's not that realistic to think that many of their friends' parents are going to say "sure, take my kid and drive them over to Portland and have them home by 9pm, no problem". We just really felt like it was a good time for transition and to start plugging in to our community. Be closer to home and give our kids the opportunity to bring friends and possibly go to church with some kids they go to school with. We want them (and ourselves) to feel more connected to our community. This also gives Justin and I more opportunity to invite parents to church as well. The process of searching for a new church has not been easy. In fact, at times it has been scary depressing. We have visited about 7 different churches in Vancouver. At this point we like about 3 of them enough to go back. I think we have about 3 more we want to check out before making our final decision. It's been tough though. I have struggled a lot with wondering how we were going to make the right decision and if we were making the right decision by leaving. God is good though and we continue to lean on him for guidance and peace through this process. As soon as we know for sure where we will end up we will let you all know. We are still going to Hinson on Wednesday nights so our kids can be involved in something while we are using Sundays to look at churches. Justin and I are taking a Financial Peace class on Wednesday nights and we have learned so much and really love it. Business for Justin has been pretty good but now he is predicting a major slow in business because it looks like the rates are going to continue to rise. For us this will be difficult times coming up if that is true. I am still staying at home with the two youngest kids and loving being an at home mom. I have been getting a lot of cake orders this year though so that is nice to have a little extra income on the side, even if it's not a lot. So far this year it looks like I will be doing 4-5 wedding cakes. I'm keeping busy at home as well. I planted my herb garden and planted a bunch of seeds inside and am planning on building two raised beds for my garden in May. I'll keep you posted on how that goes. I've never made anything myself before. The older girls are doing great in school. Katrina is still taking piano lessons (we are looking for a new teacher right now though) and we are thinking about getting her into soccer in the fall. Dad is also going to put her in golf school this year. Surprising to us she seems to have a lot of natural athletic ability. Emma on the other hand is totally uncoordinated and has zero interest in doing any sports. She however shows some pretty amazing (for her age) artistic talent. I am thinking we should get her into art classes and I'm also trying to talk her into doing soccer but so far no luck. We kind of want them each to be taking some kind of arts class and one sport. Keep them well rounded ya know. Addy is doing great at home. Amber and I have been meeting on Monday mornings and doing some preschool type activities with our three year olds. They really enjoy it and it has been fun. It appears to me that Addy may be developing some artistic talent as well. Up until she got sick I had been taking her to the library each Tuesday for storytime too. Hudson just turned 6 months old yesterday. He is in the 95th percentile for his height and 85th for weight. He is such a joyful little boy and such a blessing to our family. Today he woke up with pink eye (that Addy had last week) and he is still smiling and happy as can be. We are looking forward to the summertime, warm weather, no sickness, and a few vacations hopefully.