Made it to Nashville

We arrived safely in Nashville last night after a near touch-and-go in our Airbus as we came into Nashville International Airport. The pilot reported that a plane had not cleared the runway and so we needed to make another go around.

Please pray for Jon. He came down with a bug Sunday night and did not feel well through out our day of travel and had a bad night last night. He's up now (noon) taking a shower and hoping he'll be able to make it to dinner tonight to celebrate Grandpa Baker's 100th birthday. Joshua and I are still feeling fine, although freezing.

We walked across the street to Target this morning and couldn't believe how cold it is outside. But is beautiful -- clear, blue sky -- just cold.

Happy New Year everyone.

Sheryl

Christmas Eve 2009

We had a wonderful, worshipful time at the 5:30 pm Christmas Eve service at our church tonight. Then it was home to chicken noodle soup provided by our good friend Kris. We followed that with a showing of "White Christmas." We were all together cuddled up in the living room. I finally got Joshua to sleep at 11:00, filled the stockings and uploaded the pictures from this evening. :)

Merry Christmas. We are off to Sandy and Sonny's in the morning. We should be reachable on my cell phone, assuming I hear it ring. :)

Sheryl

Happy 10th Birthday to Joshua

We celebrated Joshua's birthday in style at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor with 10 other members of my family. We had a great time and stuffed ourselves. I can't believe my baby has reached double digits. We head to Nashville next week to celebrate Jon's Grandpa Baker's 100th birthday!

Sheryl

Our church builds a home in Mexico

Last weekend Jon spent two days in the rain building a house for a family on the outskirts of Tijuana, Mexico. He was there with a team of 23 from our church. One man took hundreds of pictures, another made a slide show with music and now it is on YouTube, so check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxyb7_05uEY

Joshua's Soccer Season Ends

Yesterday Joshua's soccer team had a win and a rough loss to one of the stronger teams in their group. Today their team played the weakest team in the group and won 4 - 0, but unfortunately it was not enough for them to make it to the top two in our group, so the season ended at about noon today. The kids all played a great game today and Joshua was a forward for a quarter and a half and had some great shots on goal. Unfortunately he did not score, but he did save a goal from going in when he was playing defense, so I think he is starting to realize how important good defenders are. He is one of the best defenders on the team and so has not had a lot of opportunities to score this year. I was very proud of him and it has been a fun season to watch the boys as they have improved in their skills.

Jon had a useful first day of the job fair and will have two interview tomorrow with potential employers. We don't know when yet, so if you could pray for him throughout the day, that would be great. Thanks.

Sheryl

Jon's Job Search

The Census Bureau job turned out to be a project that involves 3 days of work (1 day of training and 2 days of testing the Census Bureau computer system). Today is his 3rd and last day of work with them. He was told that they have other short project that he may be called for, but it is definitely not a 20 hour/week job, like I originally thought. But every little bit helps, so we are thankful.

For those of you in the immediate family, you have probably seen the information below, but for anyone else trying to keep up with our family, here is the latest on an interview Jon had on Tuesday for a job with US NORTH COM that will start in April and will be in San Diego. Here is Jon's report.


"The interview went well. There are four different parts to landing this job: one, the guy I'm replacing has to recommend me; two, my current commander (Reserve unit) has to agree to putting me on orders (he loses me for the duration--so I can no longer contribute to his unit as a subordinate leader--but having a Marine on Active duty is a positive for the Corps and reflects well on the unit); three, I have to pass an "administrative" screening "phone interview" to determine my qualifications and skill levels as they relate to the job at hand; four, the 2-star general who will be my boss will need to confirm the appointment following a short introduction.

As of today, we have just passed step one, and the current billet-holder will make a positive recommendation to his chain of command that I be selected for the billet (I do not believe there are any other contenders at this stage). Steps two through four will start taking place after 01 January, concluding with me potentially coming on orders during the month of March (during which time contenders may emerge, they will be considered based on merit, etc., possibly snagging the billet instead of me if they come out smelling better than me following the four step process above).

I'll keep you informed regarding how the process goes, please keep praying (as there is still much that needs to happen if I'm to get this job). Our prayer is not to land this job, necessarily, but that I will end up spending my time and effort in a place and in a way that most aligns with what God wills to accomplish through me for His Kingdom. We're currently NOT convinced that relocation would be best for our family right now, which is why we're pursuing local options--but we know relocation will quickly become necessary should doors close on local options."

Jon will be participating in a Specialized Job Fair this weekend in San Diego. He has already been told which companies will be there and what the positions are that they are looking to fill, so Jon will go prepared to interview for the specific jobs that fit his interest and ability.

Thanks for keep us in your prayers.

Oh, I should report that Joshua's soccer team will go to the AYSO Regional Championship Tournament this weekend. They have three games scheduled and depending on how well they do, they may have a 4th game. It will be a busy weekend, but lots of fun.

Sheryl