After a day of unpacking and repacking, we went back to work for a week long respite on December 27th. This was the first time we stayed at a house for 7 days and I was pretty intimidated by the idea since it was all during school vacation. We prayed a lot and headed into it knowing there would probably be challenges. There were definitely moments of angst but all in all it was one of the most fun respites that we have done. Every day the kids were excited to go play in the park or go to the zoo or celebrate New Years. We watched movies at night as a way to chill out and calm down and for most of the week there were only 5 kids so it was easy to pack up quickly and go out to eat or go find something fun to do. Below you can see some of our pictures from an afternoon at the zoo in Tucson. It's a small place but still pretty cool to see real lions and tigers and bears! Sadly, we were informed that we won't be doing respite with those kids anymore because they trained another couple to take that house. However, we are moving to a house that we really like and we have become good friends with the parents so we are excited about this new opportunity.
We were looking forward to a week long break before we started our next respite but our plans changed this past Wednesday when we were asked to take over a house for a few days while one of the parents was in the hospital. She collapsed on the bathroom floor on Tuesday and didn't come home until Friday. They did lots of tests on her and couldn't find anything wrong but she is very tired and weak now. All of their kids have been distributed to other houses for the weekend so the parents can have a chance to recover and then go on respite. We finished there last night and then went out to enjoy the Olive Garden after a crazy few days.
Today we have the day off and tomorrow we are starting our regulary scheduled respites. We've been trying to take today as slow as possible but it is finishing up quickly as I write this. Eric is trying to install a new sound system that we purchased today with a lot of help from Christmas gift cards. This new system has in iPod dock for our newly purchased used iPod (also thanks to Christmas money!). I never thought I would own one but the day has come. I think it will be a lot of fun to use. We have also been busily cleaning up the apartment and hanging some more pictures and posters because the couple we are doing respite for tomorrow is going to stay at our place this week. It's fun to know that others are enjoying our little nest but it also means lots of extra tidying up! As you can see from the pictures, Eric is enjoying his new Braveheart poster (a present from his wife) to go along with the Gladiator poster that he got on our first Valentine's Day.
Our other exciting purchase of the day was a new pair of roller blades for Eric and some bike helmets so that we can go roller blading with the kids and use our bikes. We have ambitions about being more physically active in 2009 but our days never seem to go just as we planned in this job. Perhaps the only resolution that we are still intentionally pursuing after 10 days of 2009 is spending time with God and desiring to know Him even more this year. We have both separately been reading The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer which we highly recommend. It has challenged us to get back on our knees and to continue to cry out to God to know Him more intimately. We are so blessed by the church and small group that we attend because they encourage us whenever we are with them to keep seeking God.
The rest of the month is busy for us. After this respite we will take next weekend off and then do another two respites almost back to back. One of them will only be 12 hour day shifts because we have been having a difficult time establishing order at that house. With the 12 hour days there will be time at the end of the day when the parents come back to talk about how things are going. It has turned out to be a busy month for us but also a month where we can see how God has taken very good care of us in our transition to Tucson. We are developing wonderful friendships, have a fun nest to come home to, and we left a very supportive and encouraging family that will hopefully come visit soon!
Praises: Safe travels, a great Christmas visit, new friends, a great week long respite, our fun and cozy apartment, being happily married for 6 months!
Prayers: 3 respites to go this month! GAP has lost more staff and others are sick or stressed. Prayers that we continue to find a sense of purpose and belonging here and that we are contributing and using the gifts God has given us.
Because we are without a car up here in the north, we have had to rely on our family to transport us from Reinholds to Adlers and back to Reinholds. The last transport took place yesterday when almost all the Reinholds (except Caleb) drove over to VT for an afternoon of sledding and to bring us back to NH. They were enticed by our sweet video that we posted a few days ago. 
About two feet of powdery snow has fallen in the last couple of days. This snow does not accumulate on the ground near our new home in Tucson, so it must be taken advantage of while we are here in New England! So Bethany, her sister, two friends (who are twins) and myself grabbed sleds and began a short hike to an open patch of mountain slope.
