Friends...

Here are some pictures that we took in Virginia at Christmas. Kate (in the middle) and her husband had their little boy on New Year's Day, and Leslie and her husband Jeremy are on their way out to Portland. We are so glad they will be near us on the West Coast.
Our good friend Juliet from Wednesday Night Bible study.
Three of the five couples from our Tuesday Night Bible study.
Andy and Kate, Jeremy and Leslie, and Joshua and me

Jonathan, Christine, and Timothy. They are expecting baby number 2 in June. Jonathan was in our wedding, and he and Christine hosted the Tuesday Night Group until little Timothy arrived.

If only Virginia and California were next door... We miss everyone in Virginia!

Links...

For whatever reason, the Folsom Zoo link isn't working exactly as planned. This is a really cool zoo that takes in abused and neglected animals. If you want to see the animals, you will need to look under Activities (left hand side) and look at the link for the City Zoo Sanctuary. If any of our friends come out to visit, we will definitely have to take you there.

Additionally, I've added a link to my website that I've created for my students and parents at the middle school where I teach. In order to view it (if you so desire), you will need to scroll down the page, look on the right hand side for the Class Homepage Login link. Once there, for the Classroom User Name type in lifescience and the Classroom password is sciencerules.

Prayer...

Pray for the Lord's leading as to the direction of my job here at the middle school. After speaking with my parents last night, I realized that with my credential I'll be able to teach anywhere. With that said, I still would like to stay here at this school, Lord willing, and make an impact on the lives of the students in my care. It is tempting to teach a higher level where parental involvement is less and grades matter when it comes to further education.

The administration will be making their decision on March 15th as to my tenure here at the middle school. Pray for the Lord's Will!

Prayer requested...

As most know, I am a 7th grade Life Science teacher at a middle school in the greater Sacramento area. The scope of this prayer request is somewhat wide. First of all, next month, I begin teaching through the Family Life unit. Pray for guidance on what to say, how to say it, and carefulness as I teach through it. With that being said, please pray for my affect and testimony with the students. Carrie and I really feel like I have been under spiritual attack this year from parents, students, etc. My heart is for reaching the students, affecting their lives, getting them to think through their life perspective....oh, and learn to love science like I do. :)

Lastly, please pray for the Lord's leading concerning my job. I really don't get a strong reading one way or another from my principal. Pray for guidance! I am very strong in my subject field although I have very high standards which I expect my students to adhere to or rise to.

HOUSE HUNTING...

Today, I went with our realtor again to look at a variety of homes. Four were definite NO's while one is a slight maybe (leaning in the direction of no). The house that we put the first offer on is looking really good right now. LOL We are waiting on the Lord for the perfect home for us (not a perfect home rather the perfect home for us). The Lord continues to lead us withersoever He desires...He has given us our new church, River City Grace and a new body of believers to fellowship with which we are eternally grateful. We are excited about moving closer to church in order to fellowship and assist in any way possible.

Family Fellowship Dessert...

Tonight, Carrie and I had the privilege of attending another Family Fellowship Dessert hosted by Matt and Rebecca Tennis. The fellowship was great and the message/challenge given by Sean Wallentine from I Peter 2 was equally poignant. It was a great time to just gather and reflect on the Lord, eat great desserts and play some games.

P.S. On the food note, Carrie and I brought homemade blueberry chessecake and a cinnamon-apple-cranberry-blueberry-crunch dessert. Anyone still hungry 'cause we still have plenty back here at the apartment?

House update...

Well, the house that we submitted an offer on has not panned out as yet. Their realtor is also their mother and so wants the most for her daughter's family. We submitted a offer on Monday which they "countered", really a slap in the face because they only came down $2K, with a sentimental letter about how "no other home compared to this home" etc.

We have decided to continue looking around the area surrounding our church. If there has been no further action on this home or we have not found anything better in the next two weeks, then we will resubmit another offer on this particular home.

Why the area surrounding our church? Carrie has felt for a while now that she would rather live closer to our growing church community and fostering the developing relationships within the church body. Honestly, it has taken me a longer time giving up the dream of providing Carrie with the perfect house which we could make a home with Carrie staying at home when we start a family. The idea of being closer to church, participating more in church ministry and developing relationships/opening our home up to others has definitely been growing on me.

Please continue to pray for wisdom for both of us as we continue to strive for Godly wisdom in our home search! We think of our friends and family spread across the nation and the world and pray for you all continually!

New Year's Eve...

Carrie and I had the privilege of attending a New Year's Eve bash at the Elkhorn Country Club...
Doesn't Carrie look great!

Even Harrison got into the spirit of things...

House search...

As many of you already know, Carrie and I have been waiting for a new home builder to release prices for a new home community located in Rancho Cordova, CA (Southeast of Sacramento). They have delayed releasing prices several times for "various reasons" which we know is the Lord ordained.

Additionally, we have become more involved and are in the process of becoming members of River City Grace Community Church in north Sacramento. With that being said, we have, in recent weeks, begun to have a change of thought about where we will settled down. Since Carrie is playing the harp more at church and we are getting involved in different ministries, we are thinking about finding a home in the area around the church.

I've been online looking at homes and then this last Thursday, with a realtor, I saw several homes. One in particular stood out. So today, Carrie and I saw the home again. Carrie and I both really like it although it is slightly out of our price range. It is a home that we both could easily live in and raise a family in.

We are hoping the trend downward continues for a little bit or the owners accept a lowe offer. Please pray for guidance in this matter.

Update...

Hello Friends,

As Carrie pointed out, we have not been keeping up our blog as we should have and we will endeavor to faithfully update the blog. I did want to include some pictures from our recent (1-2 months) events while here in CA. Pictured above is Carrie on the shore of Lake Tahoe...we definitely need to go back now that there is snow everywhere. :)

Joshua and Harrison on the shore of Lake Tahoe

Uncle Joshua and Aunt Carrie with Isaac on his first birthday

Ok, I am a slacker...and house shopping

Yes, it has been a while since we posted, and even before the last post, we haven't been on top of things. I hope that I can be more timely with future postings, but I'm not promising anything!

Today, we started looking at homes. We are still waiting to hear prices for a new home development, but Joshua and I want to be proactive and start looking at resales since the odds are that we will be buying a resale. As we get more connected with our church, our desire to live close by to River City Grace increases, so that is where we started looking. Joshua has been watching resales online faithfully, and we had a handful to drive by today after church. Of that handful, a few were actually open for show today, so we took the opportunities to tour the homes. The result was we ruled all but one home out, and the one home we just drove by. Not a great start to house shopping, but God is in control.

Well, we are off to visit with friends from church. Hope you are all well!