11 MONTHS AGO WAS MY LAST BLOG?!?!?!?

If anyone is still checking this pathetic excuse for a blog, I'll be shocked! But just in case...

We've been in our new house almost a year. I LOVE IT! We are so blessed to have such a great house. It is seriously my favorite place to be in the whole world.

Buying a home has been the most significant change in the last year. Everything else has pretty much stayed the same.

Aaron is still at the same schools--and loving it! The weeks/months go by so rapidly. I'm still doing stuff at church--preaching/teaching occasionally; counseling people weekly; singing with the worship band; and now helping out with youth group again-- and I'm loving it!

This past summer was pretty difficult. My previous caregiver, Anna, quit very suddenly last June. For the entire summer I didn't have a caregiver. My friend, Joy, worked with us helping with housework (which was a HUGE help). In August we tried hiring 2 more caregivers who did not work out at all! And then in September, we hired the greatest caregiver in the history of the world. SANTINA! She is awesome. She always has a great attitude, she's funny, she's a very hard worker...and has only called in sick ONE time since September. We absolutely adore her and hope she sticks around forever!

One other significant change has been the addition to our extended family. Micah Breann was born to Rick and Desiree in September. She is a beautiful wonderful baby! We met her in December when we traveled to Chicago for Christmas. Going to Chicago was our trip for the year. It had been 2 1/2 years since we had been there.

This summer we return for the third and final time to Oregon where Aaron will be able to complete his Masters Degree! I'm so glad he's almost done!

There really isn't any more immediate news. God is beautifully faithful to us. We are in a healthy and prosperous season in our lives and we thank God for his goodness.

May God bless all of you.

(Check us out on Facebook for a more day to day glimpse of our lives!)

Love~ Kari.

My Quarterly News Update

Hello dear friends-

It does seem that I'm updating on a quarterly basis. I've been thinking for awhile that I needed to write to all who read this. There are several updates that I will categorize here for easy reading.

Aaron and Kari
Aaron and I have bought our first home! I have been watching the market for about a year. When prices started really dropping last fall, I started watching closer. Then in January we started seriously looking. One of Aaron's colleagues also works in real estate so we hired her. After looking at about a million houses and putting a couple of offers out there, we finally found one that we love! We are currently in escrow and should be closing at the end of March and then moving towards the end of April. So by my next update we should be enjoying a house!

Aaron's job is going great. Even though this has been such a scary month for teachers, Aaron's job is safe. We are so thankful.

Church stuff has been really good. Not too much to report- it's just been good. The biggest change is that I have been sharing in Worship leading. This is great fun for me as I get to sing a lot! My voice and breathing muscles have become so much stronger. It really is amazing and even surprises me at how much stronger I am.

We also have finally been approved for receiving in-home support services through Medi-Cal. The story is way too long and traumatic to explain here...but we are finally at a place where we don't need to pay for my caregiver-- except for a small monthly share of cost. They also allowed Anna to remain as my caregiver!

Sarah
If you've followed this blog at all, you know the Sarah was diagnosed w/ pancreatic cancer last summer. In spite of extremely aggressive chemo and radiation and some surgery, the cancer has continued to progress rapidly. It is in her liver, stomach, abdominal wall and pancreas. A few weeks ago her kidneys started failing and she's on dialysis. I know her pain level is quite high. Please pray that she wouldn't hurt so much. Pray for a miracle. She's an amazing person...and doesn't deserve this. I know God can heal her. Please please pray.

That's really all I have for now. I'll try to write sooner.

Please remember my dear Sarah.

The Last 3 Months

Hello dear friends-
If anyone is still checking my blog on a regular basis, I think you are amazing. I have been seriously delinquent in keeping up w/ this. Time has flown by so fast--I can't believe it's been 3 months. Anyway, please forgive me and thank you for reading.

Some of my "excuses" for not writing sooner is this:
Our pastor took a 3 month sabbatical from Sept-Dec. During that 3 months I preached 6 sermons at our church; spoke at an elementary school; spoke at a senior citizen's lunch; spoke in a university class; and spoke at 2 other church services. I also was keeping up with my weekly counseling ministry; leading my LIFE group weekly; and leading/participating in a myriad of meetings and planning sessions to keep our church moving forward while our pastor was gone. Whew! I was busy and having a blast! I love my ministry, my church and my pastor...and I was so thrilled that he and his wife were able to take some much needed time away.

Aaron has been quite busy as usual. My busy-ness contributed to his as he is also my chauffeur! I found other drivers when I needed to, but usually Aaron cheerfully took me where I needed to go. Aaron always has such a good attitude about everything. He still the same cheerful, silly and goofy Aaron. We get along so great and I'm so thankful every day that God gave me such a great husband.

We also were able to go to Omaha for almost a week at Thanksgiving. We had a great time with my parents, my brother Dustin and neices and nephew. We actually were able to be at Dustin's graduation from the Omaha Police Academy. He is officially an OPD officer! I was so proud of him.

And next week Aaron's mom and brothers and Desiree are coming to California for Christmas! We are so excited for them to come out here. Yesterday was the 2-year anniversary of losing our precious Bryan...it will be good to be together with family next week.

I wanted to give an update on Sarah. Sarah was diagnosed w/ Stage 4 pancreatic cancer around Aug. 1. She has been through extensive chemotherapy and radiation that have produced very little results. The cancer also metastasized to her liver and abdominal wall. They had to stop treatment several weeks ago b/c her body could not handle the drugs. However, 2 weeks ago her team of oncologists decided to perform an "experimental surgery" where they basically go in laproscopically (sp?) and suck out some of the cancer w/ a vacuum. Anyway--the surgery actually worked! They were able to remove the cancer from her abdominal wall, the lower lobe of her liver, and about 2cm from her pancreas. It was enough to put her into partial remission. The doctors were so amazed. They are planning on trying more chemo in a few weeks. Sarah was very encouraged. Even if they can't put her into full remission (which we of course hope for!), they can at least buy her some more time. She left yesterday to go a cruise to the Carribean with her mom and grandma!
So please keep praying for Sarah. She still needs a miracle. Pray for her joy and encouragement.

Well- that's about it. If you want more daily type updates you can check out my facebook page! I'm on there all the time.

Many blessings to whoever reads this. Thanks for your prayers and encouragement!
Merry Christmas!