Merry Christmas to all our family and friends! I hope this holiday season finds you in love with the Lord and enjoying life as much as we are. This year was filled with milestones and celebrations.

We started off bird-sitting for our next door neighbor and discovered that they had hatching eggs! We soon became the proud owner of two baby finches, Rocky and Adrian, who now fill our house with adorable chirpings throughout the day!

This year, we did a lot of visiting local wineries with friends and family…Solvang, Paso Robles, Los Olivos, Napa…

Sadly, on Easter Sunday, my grandma passed away. It was a sad time filled with family and memories of a very special woman. During that time, we were blessed to have Uncle Jim, cousin, Heather, and her boyfriend JonJon, come visit and spend some time with Grandma and the family. It was great to see them, even if it was for a sad reason.

For Spring Break, we flew to Chi-town for a rainy, deep-dish pizza, hot dog filled trip. We got to visit Wrigley Field (though the game was cancelled due to rain), shopped on the Magnificent Mile, and saw THE BEAN.

 

Summer brought graduations, daily beach trips of course, visits from friends, and a new nephew! Kinzie (one of our flower girls) graduated from high school; The Kitchens came to celebrate the 4th with us; Jaden Thomas Madsen was born to Michael and Vanessa (bro and sis-in-law) on July 16th;  and we celebrated 8 years of wedded bliss!

I continue to work in Moorpark as the Technology Trainer. The county has been using me as well to do trainings for them, and in June, I became PROMETHEAN certified which means that the company of the board in which I train will also contract me to do trainings wherever needed! This was a huge honor for me, and I have actually done two trainings for them so far. I have learned so much in the technology world…making Victor oh-so-proud of me J

Victor continues to serve deeper life church as well as play beach volleyball, cook YUMMY meals, and reduce our expenditures! However, the biggest milestone he encountered this year was turning FORTY!!! In October, we celebrated his birthday and all the things he has done in the years God has given him. I took him to Paso Robles for the weekend for some relaxing, and we also had a small friend gathering in November to celebrate!

 
  

Now as this year draws to a close and we prepare for a new year, we are heading to Nicaragua once again, this time with members of deeper life to see what God has in store for us. We hope that you will keep us in your prayers for this trip and throughout the year as we also pray for you. May God bless you and your families this year as you draw closer to HIM!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!