December 2012

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

The Scottsdale Bible Church Christmas 'Winter Wonder' program was held December 7-10.  Micah and Matt were both involved.  Matt was a shepherd in the Nativity scene.  Micah was ... in the large group kids choir, was one of the Hot Chocolate dancers on 'day 11', was in a small group of the choir that did hand motions up front, and was one of the robe-holders for a Wise Man in the nativity scene.  Many of our family members were able to watch it 'live' online thanks to our tech crew.

During one of the performance nights, Jodie & Lilly went to the Eastside Explorers' Christmas Party.  We spent part of the evening riding Ollie The Trolley through town to see Christmas lights.  It was super fun!

We are relaxing this month with puzzles, baking, celebrating Jesus' upcoming birthday with our Advent Jesse Tree devotions, Christmas parties with friends, and a fun field trip to Cerreta's Chocolate Factory (Can you see Lilly's tongue hanging out?  It was!).  This week we are spending time with our neighbors as Lilly delivers cupcakes and Christmas cards and Micah practices his piano and gives a "Christmas Concert" to them.  Matt is hiking quite a bit, getting ready for Kilimanjaro in February.  He is taking December 19 - January 6 OFF for Christmas vacation (Hooray!!).  We are traveling to Indiana this year for a Neihardt Christmas.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Cousins:  Christopher, Mackenzie, Micah, Sarah, & Lilly

November 2012

Both Matt & Lilly celebrated their birthdays this month.  Lilly turned 5 with a 'Ponyville Carnival'.  Nine of her friends joined her in the backyard with games, trampoline jumping, and yummy birthday snacks.  Matt turned 41 and we celebrated throughout the weekend with picnics and hikes.

Thanksgiving was a 15 hour drive to Denver, Colorado to spend a few days with Matt's parents (drove from Chicago) and Matt's brother, Andy, & his family.  The weather was wonderful and we had some fun bike riding, going to the park, playing mini golf in the Christmas lights, and going to Valmont Bike Park and mountain biking in their designated levels of difficulty.  Carrie had the house decorated beautifully with Christmas decorations (Matt & I got to sleep by the tree!) and Andy deep-fried a yummy turkey for our Thanksgiving meal.

October 2012

Jodie celebrated her 42nd birthday!  It was a wonderful Saturday with my family and spending time in the garden.  In the evening we went to Desert Ridge shopping center for supper and Cold Stone ice cream.  By the big firepit was a man playing the accordian.  It was a serenade to always remember.

Matt continues to expand his missions for the schools in Tanzania with his participation in the Tour De New River (planning committee, training and riding).  His new adventure is leading a team to hike Mount Kilimanjaro and raise funds for the next grade levels in the schools of Kondoa and Mairowa.  His teammates are:  Chris & Stacey Seikman and Jim Haberstock.

The weather is becoming nice to be outside at any time of the day.  The neighborhood kids are coming out again - riding bikes, jumping on trampolines, playing flag football and wrestling around.  Yeah!  Micah, Lilly and I went on our annual field trip with Eastside Explorers to Schnepf Farms.  The kids had a blast on the bumblebee!

September 2012

School begins - Micah is officially a 3rd grader and Lilly is a pre-schooler.  We are continuing to homeschool and you can visit our website at:  www.richhomeeducationgrade3.blogspot.com.  Other activities got underway as well - gymnastics (Lilly), basketball (Micah), piano (Micah), P.E. class (Micah), Mystery of History (family), and Barton House (Jodie & kids).

Labor Day was a 'date morning' for Matt & I. We went on our first (for each of us) hot air balloon ride.  It wasn't a very windy day so we traveled a distance of 3 miles, but were up as high as 1 mile.  It was graceful and fun!

Matt and I also began another adventure as we accepted the lead position of our Sunday School class 'Strong Families'.  We have been on the leadership team, but are now more officially 'in charge'.  It is an honor to work so closely with Dr. John Trent and his wife, Cindy.  Our first social of the year was a bowling night.  It was a fun kick-off event with 7 families represented.

August 2012

We celebrated Micah's 9th birthday throughout the entire month!  First ... his official birthday on August 6th; second ... his camping weekend - Whitehorse Lake with the Gravel family; third ... friend party on August 25th.  Whew!
Another devastating blow of the summer, occurred during the second week of August.  I decided to spend some time in the garden - catching up on weeding, pruning, etc.  Our fruits & vegetables were looking great before traveling to Mexico.  When I walked through the middle of the garden and then lifted some leaves (to see the cucumbers) ... there were white flies.  The garden was infested.  It was to the point where EVERYTHING had to be pulled and we needed to start over.  It reminded me of the lice (in June) - little white bugs invading our family.  Uhg!

To ease the pain (it was painful pulling up the garden) we headed to Whitehorse Lake on August 10th for the weekend.  We were having our annual summer (birthday celebration) camping trip with the Gravel family.  It was a beautiful location with wonderful weather.  The lake was down about 4' and we were awed by the thousands of frogs that surrounded the edge all around the water.
The week of the 20th was our annual summer 'vacation' week with Alice & Charlie Rice in Flagstaff, AZ.  For the past 3 years we have joined them at the Wyndham Resort to enjoy the free amenities of: swimming pools, pool tables, ping pong tables, a movie theatre (with very large beanbags), putt-putt and cheap delicious ice cream.  The kids chose to not have any 'field trips' this year and only spend time at the resort's campus.  For the first weekend (17-19th) Ty & Dawn Rice, and Matt joined us.
The kids and I were having such a nice time in Flagstaff that we stayed until Friday morning to leave.  We hit the ground running when we arrived home ... preparing for Micah's birthday party (including 22 friends) that was scheduled for Saturday morning at 9am.  You can see more details about the amazing day on our school blog:  www.richhomeeducationgrade3.blogspot.com   

July 2012

This month turned into a whirlwind as we participated in play dates (mostly swimming), a weekend retreat in Pine Top, and preparations for Jodie to return to LaPaz, Mexico on the 28th.  Matt's parents (Julie & Dave Rich) were available and excited to travel to Phoenix and spend a week with Micah & Lilly.  God gave Jodie a travel-buddy (her very own sister - Tonya Porter), great airline flights & costs, fundraisers, curriculum organization, and health for the trip.

Our weekend retreat was our 'summer get-away' with our Mystery Of History small group.  The Skotnick family has a cabin in Pine Top and this was our 2nd year to spend a weekend there.  The dad's did an amazing job at having Family Devotion times, and pulling in some History from our state.
Jodie's 2nd trip to LaPaz, with Tonya, was incredible! For one week she was able to: *attend the Sunday service at El Faro (and see first-hand some of the fruits of June's labor); *Be the pre-school teacher for 5 amazing children Monday-Friday, while their parents (TEAM Missionaries) shared experiences, got encouragement, and relaxed a little. We arrived home on August 4, 2012 (just in time for Micah's birthday.)

June 2012

This was a 'roller-coaster' month, with extreme highs and lows.  The month started by putting Sydney, a foundational member of our family, into her forever sleep.  It was heart-wrenching (still is).  LOW.  (See previous blog entry.)
The next week Micah and Lilly attended VBS at North Bible Church.  It was Lilly's first time as a VBS participant. HIGH.
June 10-17 we were in Bethel, Maine - enjoying time with Nana &  Papa Joe, our friends - the Scholz-Lagues, and some cool weather.  HIGH

While at home preparing for our first family mission trip, the kids started their summer swimming lessons with Mrs. Stacey (NORMAL), and ...we noticed live lice on Micah's head, Lilly's head, and my head.  We scurried to get it under control on ourselves and in our home before flying to Mexico.  LOW.  (See new hair-do photos!)

The last week of June we spent in LaPaz, Mexico with 2 other 'Strong Families' families and missionaries Martin & Susie Gonzales.  We visited the surrounding neighborhoods and put on a VBS for their church, El Faro.  HIGH

Click here to see Mexico pictures (1,750 narrowed down to 77).

Click here to see our June favorite photos.

Sydney Summer

This summer is dedicated to our beloved and faithful companion Sydney.  She was almost 17 years old.

July 28, 1995 to June 1, 2012



None of us have been together as a family without her in our household.  She is greatly missed!!!  Here are a few of our favorite photos over the years ... puppy, prime, and senior.



May 2012

May wrapped up a lot of activities and we began looking forward to a lighter and different schedule.  This month almost needs to be bulleted, so here we go...
*Micah got braces!
*Baseball - went to the championship game (Micah called it the "World Series")
*Gymnastics - Lilly wrapped up a semester and completed her 'tumblers' class
*Piano - Micah's recital with Mrs. Cline was Thursday May 31st
*Barton House - visited in May and taking off until September
*Mystery of History - wrapped up our year; will have a summer weekend retreat at the Skotnick's cabin
*Boys Weekend - Matt & Micah camping with other Fathers/Sons in our Strong Families Sunday School class
*Girls Weekend - Jodie & Lilly invited Janice & Kelli over for a "girls evening" - Lilly came up with the list of activities and foods
*Hosted a yard sale for our Lapaz, Mexico Mission Trip
*Made our homeless outreach ministry official (CARE CANS)
*Celebrated our school year with the Eastside Explorers (homeschool co-op) camping in Cottonwood, AZ

Click here for May favorite photos.

April 2012

Matt & I began the month celebrating our 12th wedding anniversary 4/8/12.  We took a 'cooking class' on Saturday evening.  We made meatloaf, green beans, mashed potatoes, and mac & cheese, with bananas foster for dessert.  It was a fun evening!

On Easter Sunday we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our savior and the best role model of servanthood we could follow.  The kids had their first experience of 'washing mom & dad's feet' as we talked about Jesus' Passover Meal with His disciples.  While Matt & I washed their feet we took the time to pray over them.

As the month went on we had many opportunities to continue serving others through our regular activities and some extra ones.
Pictured:  1.  Neighborhood Ministries (Monday meals) - our Home Fellowship group goes 2x/year  2.  The 'Be Kind Project' started by our friend, Marcia Meyer.  We filled pouches for Teacher Appreciation Day that were going all over the world.  3.  Micah, Lilly and I had a special "Appreciation Day" given in our honor at the Barton House.  Ellen and the residents thanked us for our monthly Bible Study lessons and loving on them for the past 3 and 1/2 years.

Click here for all of our April Shutterfly pictures.

March 2012

Time for a vacation - spring break is here!  The kids and I tagged along with Matt on a business trip to the Clearwater Honeywell Plant.  We spent a week with Nana, Papa Joe, and the Kauffman family.  We went to the beach 3 days, ate at Post Corner Pizza, visited Aunt Vivian & her doggies (Skyler Jo and Savannah Belle), and watched NCAA March Madness basketball.  Micah's baseball season began this month, and he is playing on the Colorado Rockies team.  This month was his Eastside Explorers' piano recital - he played 'Tarantella'.
Feel free to view our favorite photos of the month:  click here.

Click here to see all of our FL pictures.

February 2012

The month of LOVE provided plentiful opportunities for quality times together for all of us.  Matt & I had our 'date nights' with the kids AND we had a weekend get-away together in Flagstaff.  Lilly began a new semester of gymnastics classes.  Micah participated in the Science Fair and got an expander device in the roof of his mouth from the Orthodontist.
Feel free to view our favorite photos of the month:  click here.