Originally posted on Facebook July 31, 2007 
Doug and I have had all sorts of crazy changes over the last several months, so this seems like a good place to keep you all updated. Obviously, having a baby was kind of a big one. :)
Danika Kay was born December 29, 2006 and so far this whole parenting thing has been one fun ride. She is just a blast...even if she has no respect for her parents need to sleep.
Not long after Danika was born, while still on maternity leave, I was offered this great promotion that now allows me to work from an office at home. I love what I do...it is practically a job that was made for me. Nobody really dreams of working for a state-funded highway safety grant when they grow up...but as weird as it sounds, it is perfect for me. I've been in the field for 5 years...but my new promotion basically got rid of the crappy parts of the job and now I get nothing but the best parts of the job with an awesome boss just to add icing to the cake. I get to learn new things all the time, I am constantly being challenged...I work with the media, law enforcement, government officials...you
name it. One day I might be wearing a suit and holding meetings for all the District Judges in a county, the next I could be dressed in high-vis yellow-green standing next to a roadway at 2am helping with a DUI checkpoint...the next I might be judging teenagers who participate in a closed course driving competition..and then another day I might be on a live interview with the local TV station about the increased speed enforcement we are funding for our local police department to reduce aggressive driving. It is the best parts of everything college trained me for... people skills, poise, professionalism, organization, computer skills...I really, really love what I do. It is a great feeling to say that. I am responsible for 15 counties in my new position and travel frequently, but it is awesome. The only bummer is that even thought I work at home, Danika still had to go to daycare. I can't get anything done if she is home with me....and it kind of kills the professionalism thing when you are trying to negotiate with a police chief and there is a baby crying into the receiver. :) But since I work from home and daycare is only 1 mile away, I normally go up for my lunch and feed her myself...that makes it seem like we aren't really apart that long.
Danika goes to daycare at Bethel Christian School and we are extremely grateful for the wonderful people who take such great care of her there. They seriously love on her more than I could if I had her home. I feel so safe with her there...I love all the workers and couldn't ask for a better situation.
Our biggest life change has to do with Doug. In April Doug announced that he was resigning from the Associate Pastor position at Bethel Baptist Church. Lots of reasons...but most of all, he really needed a change. He is currently working with his Dad remodeling houses. So far, he loves the increased physical activity and the satisfaction of building things with his hands. Doug is wired for physical work...sitting behind a desk, as meaningful and wonderful as his job was...really was killing him. I see such a change even in the few months he has been away from it....it's like he is relaxing for the first time in 4+years. I'm so proud of him for making the change...I know it was a hard decision and he was very afraid of letting people down. But it was the right choice...and not a doubt in either of our minds that it was the one God wanted us to make this year.
With Doug’s resignation we felt that we needed to leave the church entirely and find a new church home so that we would not hinder the process of Bethel finding a new associate, or be an obstacle to that person once hired. We pray that God brings the perfect fit for an Associate Pastor to Bethel. So…as I write this, we are looking for a new church home. That's been a wild ride too! We started at Bethel the week after we got married...we love the people there and that has been our "family" ever since we came to Erie. It was so emotional to leave. But at the same time...we have tried to communicate how much we love them all and want to stay in touch...and I believe we can do that. As we have been visiting churches, it has been amazing seeing how many wonderful churches are out there and it has been an incredible encouragement. Everyweek we have worshipped with a different body of christians who just love Jesus and want to share that love with us...if that doesn't just make you feel better about the community you live in, I don't know what will. With all the churches we have been in, it gives you a much, much better appreciation of what God is doing in Erie, not just at Bethel Baptist Church. We have really enjoyed the search and hope to settle into a new "family" this fall.
Whew! Talk about a lot of change in a few short months! We sometimes still feel like our world is spinning, but things are starting to calm down and we are settling in to all our new roles. We appreciate your many prayers and encouragement as we have entered this new phase of our lives. Thanks. So, with that...I guess I'll end this long update. Just wanted to give you all a feel for where we are at.
Talk to you soon!
Doug and I have had all sorts of crazy changes over the last several months, so this seems like a good place to keep you all updated. Obviously, having a baby was kind of a big one. :)
Danika Kay was born December 29, 2006 and so far this whole parenting thing has been one fun ride. She is just a blast...even if she has no respect for her parents need to sleep.
Not long after Danika was born, while still on maternity leave, I was offered this great promotion that now allows me to work from an office at home. I love what I do...it is practically a job that was made for me. Nobody really dreams of working for a state-funded highway safety grant when they grow up...but as weird as it sounds, it is perfect for me. I've been in the field for 5 years...but my new promotion basically got rid of the crappy parts of the job and now I get nothing but the best parts of the job with an awesome boss just to add icing to the cake. I get to learn new things all the time, I am constantly being challenged...I work with the media, law enforcement, government officials...you
name it. One day I might be wearing a suit and holding meetings for all the District Judges in a county, the next I could be dressed in high-vis yellow-green standing next to a roadway at 2am helping with a DUI checkpoint...the next I might be judging teenagers who participate in a closed course driving competition..and then another day I might be on a live interview with the local TV station about the increased speed enforcement we are funding for our local police department to reduce aggressive driving. It is the best parts of everything college trained me for... people skills, poise, professionalism, organization, computer skills...I really, really love what I do. It is a great feeling to say that. I am responsible for 15 counties in my new position and travel frequently, but it is awesome. The only bummer is that even thought I work at home, Danika still had to go to daycare. I can't get anything done if she is home with me....and it kind of kills the professionalism thing when you are trying to negotiate with a police chief and there is a baby crying into the receiver. :) But since I work from home and daycare is only 1 mile away, I normally go up for my lunch and feed her myself...that makes it seem like we aren't really apart that long.Danika goes to daycare at Bethel Christian School and we are extremely grateful for the wonderful people who take such great care of her there. They seriously love on her more than I could if I had her home. I feel so safe with her there...I love all the workers and couldn't ask for a better situation.
Our biggest life change has to do with Doug. In April Doug announced that he was resigning from the Associate Pastor position at Bethel Baptist Church. Lots of reasons...but most of all, he really needed a change. He is currently working with his Dad remodeling houses. So far, he loves the increased physical activity and the satisfaction of building things with his hands. Doug is wired for physical work...sitting behind a desk, as meaningful and wonderful as his job was...really was killing him. I see such a change even in the few months he has been away from it....it's like he is relaxing for the first time in 4+years. I'm so proud of him for making the change...I know it was a hard decision and he was very afraid of letting people down. But it was the right choice...and not a doubt in either of our minds that it was the one God wanted us to make this year.With Doug’s resignation we felt that we needed to leave the church entirely and find a new church home so that we would not hinder the process of Bethel finding a new associate, or be an obstacle to that person once hired. We pray that God brings the perfect fit for an Associate Pastor to Bethel. So…as I write this, we are looking for a new church home. That's been a wild ride too! We started at Bethel the week after we got married...we love the people there and that has been our "family" ever since we came to Erie. It was so emotional to leave. But at the same time...we have tried to communicate how much we love them all and want to stay in touch...and I believe we can do that. As we have been visiting churches, it has been amazing seeing how many wonderful churches are out there and it has been an incredible encouragement. Everyweek we have worshipped with a different body of christians who just love Jesus and want to share that love with us...if that doesn't just make you feel better about the community you live in, I don't know what will. With all the churches we have been in, it gives you a much, much better appreciation of what God is doing in Erie, not just at Bethel Baptist Church. We have really enjoyed the search and hope to settle into a new "family" this fall.
Whew! Talk about a lot of change in a few short months! We sometimes still feel like our world is spinning, but things are starting to calm down and we are settling in to all our new roles. We appreciate your many prayers and encouragement as we have entered this new phase of our lives. Thanks. So, with that...I guess I'll end this long update. Just wanted to give you all a feel for where we are at.
Talk to you soon!
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