A Year in Review: 2006

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year! It seems crazy to be saying that already, but it appears the calendar says it's that time of year. 2006 has flown by. I'm not ready for 2007! We have had a great year full of many, many changes! God has been faithful (is anyone surprised?) and we have learned to be patient and wait on his timing.

The beginning of 2006 brought with it the winds of change. By summer time we had experienced the change of a new job, a new house, our car being stolen & many travels. I will try to highlight them for you!

January: A quiet start to the new year & the birth of our new niece, Avery (below with sister Faith).

February: I went to visit Avery in Virginia for a short weekend. She sure is beautiful! Annual Jacobson ski weekend in Vail & Core Knowledge Conference were up next (back to back). The trip to San Antonio was fabulous and included lots of eating along the Riverwalk!













March: Spring Break trip to Virginia. Everyone now has Crocs! (minus Avery, but she'll get hers soon, I'm sure!)
March also brought major discussions about purchasing Joel's childhood home from his mother, securing a loan & talk of a new job at the school where his mom actually works (D'Evelyn Jr/Sr High School).



















April: A closing date for the sale of Rhonda's home is set for the end of May. The planning for fixing it up begins! Joel headed off to Las Vegas for a weekend with his brother! We also learned that Joel is invited to work at D'Evelyn!



























May: On Mother's Day our car was stolen & found all within about 24 hours. God really protected us both physically & financially through this whole process. You can visit the blog entry "Car Violation" to see pictures. It is all fixed now & running smoothly.

We sure do love to cram everything into the last week of school! Two years ago it was our wedding, this year, the purchase of our home!
The day after school got out we both traveled to Vegas to visit with Joel's brother & his family (Charis & Arden above and Tobin on the right) and to celebrate our SECOND anniversary! We had a great time visiting with them & staying overnight at "Treasure Island".















June & July: Much of these two months are a blur. The first two weeks of June we helped Rhonda clean up & move out of her home and worked on projects to get ready to move ourselves. We moved in on June 29 and my mom & dad came June 30. We were very grateful for their help with MANY projects. Somewhere in June we also had a great time camping with our friends Garrett, Jordan (above) and their two dogs, Glacier & Arya. It was much needed resting time for us! Check out the blog entries below for pictures of our house projects!

At the end of July my sister, Aimee & her husband Gary came for a visit. They left their two kids in the care of my parents "Oma & Opa" (Grandma & Grandpa in German). We had a great time for the three days they were here.

August: In August, I went to Wisconsin to be with my sister & family while Joel stayed in Colorado for a while. Gary was in Wisconsin, but busy working, so Aimee & I had a great time traveling to Rockford to visit with family & get in good "sister time". At the end of the week, Joel flew in & we all went on a true vacation. We rented a house up by my parents sailboat, so we could go out on Lake Michigan. It was a great trip! You can visit the blog entry "Family Reunion" to see more pictures.

September: At the beginning of September we went to Wyoming with Joel's mom for a Jacobson family reunion. We had a great time visiting with family members we don't see often. It was also a nice break from the daily grind of school. OK, so it was the first week of school, but everyone needs a break, right?!

We learned how busy our new life was with Joel driving 30+ minutes each way to work every day & with a new load of preps. He teaches High School English to Freshman & Juniors and it is a very academic school. He stays late most days & brings work home.

I am still working at Lincoln Academy & am the Instructional Coach (I work with teachers) and the Enrichment Director (I worked with gifted/advanced students). We both love where we work!

October: In October I went to Albuquerque to visit my friend Jeni (you can see a post on that below--Albuquerque) and Joel went with his mother to Buffalo, WY. His dad is buried there & it has been six years since he passed away. It was an emotional & encouraging weekend for both of us!

My parents came at the end of October and we cleaned out the garage! Miracle of Miracles! We love it!

November: My favorite season of all! We have so much to be thankful for, including the joy of adding a new niece to the Jacobson family in March! The first three weeks of November were very busy with church obligations, work commitments and of course, Bronco football! Joel was able to go to the Chargers/Broncos game (disappointing, but fun).

Thanksgiving brought with it much needed rest & a great visit with Joel's brother and family. We had beautiful weather, so we were able to get outside a few times. Joel, Ted & their mom went skiing one day!

December: December holds another great season for us--the birth of our Savior. Our Christmas tree is up and we are eagerly awaiting another vacation and time of rest. We look forward to visiting with my parents--they will be here for a ski week the first week of January!

We would love to hear from you! Our guest room is all set up now and we would love to have you come through Denver for a visit, too. Colorado is beautiful all year round & we don't get nearly as much snow as the news would lead you to believe!

With much love,
Joel & Sarah

PS I update our blog fairly regularly, so check back throughout the year for updates!