February = Lots of Snow

It's been over a month since I've posted, and quite a lot has happened with the Rocky Mountain Tribe since then. February has held a few pleasant days of warm weather, but this past week we were hit with  big snowstorm. Wednesday was the beginning (and the worst of it), and we got some more Friday and today as well. It's been out of the ordinary to see so much gray sky, but there's usually at least part of every day when we see the familiar Colorado blue! 

• We're excited to begin digging the foundation for our new home within the next couple of weeks! 
• I began my Learning Links observation program at Memorial Hospital two weeks ago. I am in the Emergency Department on Wednesday nights from 7-11 until the end of March, and I have enjoyed it immensely. Every night is so different of an experience, and I'm always seeing something new and fascinating. One of the most interesting opportunities was watching a plastic surgeon suture a man's nose back together. It was only held on by one side of the right nostril; the septum and left nostril were both severed. Once it was no longer flapping around, the patient (still in good spirits) asked if he was still modeling material. Another crazy case was that of a young hitchhiker. He was looking for a ride while drunk and decided the best way to get one was stand in the middle of the highway to flag someone down. It was already dark, so the semi had no chance of seeing him. The young man was airlifted to the hospital, yet the only injuries he suffered were a swollen ankle and a head laceration. Pretty miraculous! After my shift on Wednesday, the snow storm was so bad that it was too dangerous to return home. I waited in the nurses' break room until 1:00 AM, when Care Unit 3 (which handles less serious cases) closed down. I spent the night in the ED in a hospital bed, which was just another neat part of the experience. I'm sure that was the cheapest overnight stay I've ever had in a hospital.
• Our family has come to the prayerful decision of church search. We went back to Pulpit Rock today to say goodbye to our friends there, and next week we will begin "more officially" attending Front Range Alliance Church, Grandpa and Grandma Paige's church (which is now ours too!). Although it has been hard to make yet another change, we feel God's peace about this transition. There are things we love about both churches and we have relationships within both congregations, but it will be nice to finally start settling in and feeling that we are where God has for us to be. Mom and I have auditioned for the worship team; she will be on the vocals, helping out more during the summer, and I will be alternating on electric, acoustic, and bass guitar. The youth group has been a great fit, and we really feel that we will have many opportunities to plug into ministry and relationships at Front Range.
• Josh is quite the busy little man, sometimes a bit too busy and intelligent for his own good. Last week he decided to see what would happen if he put his metal Lightening McQueen car in the microwave. The instantaneous fire seemed to let him know that it was not quite the amazing recipe he had hoped, but Mom was able to save the situation from disaster. Once the paint chips were cleaned out, the microwave is still going strong. Josh also loves music, particularly guitar and piano. Whether we're having family worship time or he's just on his own, Josh usually finds his toy rifle, Star Wars ship, or his air guitar to strum along with the music as he dances. He loves singing his favorite two songs as well: The Veggie Tales theme song and The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. We love our Joshy-boy!

Here are some pictures to go with the update:

Me in Learning Links uniform 

Matt is ready for the big snow!

Will and Matt--prepared for winter fun

Snow fort made by Luke, Becca, Anna, and Ben

Ben and I helped out with the fort's wall this afternoon

Luke, Becca, Anna, Ben and a neighbor friend)

Where'd the mountains go?!

Monarch Ski Trip

School is back in session for all of us, but before the fun of Christmas break ended, many of us had the opportunity to go to Monarch Mountain to hit the slopes! Dad, Mom, and Elissa through Becca had a  great day of skiing. The weather was perfect, and no one was seriously injured--though a few of us ate snow our fair share of times. Katie and I tried snowboarding for the first time; Becca looked as if she had been born with skiis, only falling once during her entire first experience of the sport.

It was sad to say goodbye for now to Elissa (who just turned 20 today!) when she left this Wednesday, but we're looking forward to seeing her again out here for Spring Break.
Enjoy the pictures!

Katie tearing the powder up with her board!

Happy New Year!

All,

It's hard to believe I haven't posted since November, but time flew and the Christmas season has come and gone! We had a wonderful visit with the nearly the entire Jarrett family while in Indiana. The school semester begins on Monday the 7th, so we are enjoying this last week to prepare our hearts and minds for the upcoming year. From the Jarrett Tribe, we wish you a Happy New Year--not because of the circumstances we will find ourselves in or the events that will take place, but because of the incredible love that God has displayed to us all. May you have joy and peace in these next 12 months!

 -Nate, for the Tribe

November Update

Good Morning All,

It's hard to believe that October is gone! November is here, and that means Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Although there is never a day where we don't have many things to be thankful for, it is always a blessing to set aside time to make it a point to give thanks. With the new month comes more birthdays for our family: Only eight days left until Christie's birthday, and eleven until Becca's!

On Wednesday of this week, we enjoyed getting to meet some of our new neighbors that have recently moved into the houses that Challenger Homes has built in our neighborhood. For Halloween, we set up a table with candy and hot chocolate at our house; we were also able to pass out Gospel tracts with the treats. I've included some pictures of all of us in costume below...

In the past week, we've also enjoyed visiting with Uncle Gary and Aunt Darlene (Mom's aunt and uncle) who are here from Tennessee.

This morning, we will head out soon to participate in NiceServe with our church. NiceServe happens a few times a year, and is a practical way of serving our community with the love of Christ. For example, the first time we participated, we were able to assist an injured Iraqi veteran and his wife by totally transforming the landscaping at their house; today we will be helping out a local elementary school that is in need of some restoration. Pray that we are able to bless those that we come in contact with today.

For the Tribe,

 -Nate

Josh and I were cowboy buddies; I took him trick-or-treating, and everyone thought he was pretty cute!

Switchfoot & Paper Route!

As a birthday present, Dad took me and my friends Nate and Jon to see two amazing bands--Switchfoot (my favorite band ever) and Paper Route--in Denver this past Monday. Here are some of the pictures from the concert (and waiting in the long line)!

To give perspective on how big the crowd was, the line that you see in front of the entrance wrapped around the side of the building for an entire block (about 4x) what you see, then turned around the corner and continued for more than another block. We guessed that there were probably around 1,200 in attendance (keeping in mind that the max occupancy is 900), but even though it was packed, we had a great time.

   

   

A few other pictures...

For those of you who were wondering, if you receive this update in email form, you can click on the link at the bottom of the email, and it will take you directly to the blog post. Once on the blog, you don't have to click on each picture to load them individually; they can be viewed similar to the web album, so you just click on one, then use the arrows to flip through the photos.

I forgot to add the nostalgic pictures that a kind aunt sent me on my birthday (thanks Laura).  ;) So without further ado...

October Update

All,

It's been another busy week, complete with sports, school, homecoming (the theme was Hollywood, see the picture below), and my 18th birthday. I'm adding some pictures from both Josh's and my birthday, our school's Powder Puff game (Katie was the quarterback for the Juniors!), snowy Pikes Peak, and a few nostalgic pictures that I was sent on my birthday.

Softball is over for Christie, and almost done for Katie, who is finishing the season with the Varsity. Soccer ends on Thursday for me; even though we've had a rough season, I've enjoyed playing and am grateful for this opportunity God has allowed me to have during high school.

On Friday, Katie, Christie, and I went to our school's football game (it was a bit chilly!); last night, both girls went with some of their friends from softball to the homecoming dance.

I'm going to try something new with this post. Instead of adding pictures to different pages, I'll include them in the actual post. I thought it might be easier to see them, rather than having to search for the latest ones. Feedback is always appreciated!

For the Jarrett Tribe,



 -Nate