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2009 turns into 2010, and I wonder… will ‘10 come in nearly as epic as ‘09 did? I’m not much for big “year in review” posts, and I’m even less for “resolutions that I’ll break before February” posts. But I think this year deserves something of a tip of the hat. Here are the highlights:

April – Disneyland trip. This was the first of our 2 vacations this year – included a quick stop in Vegas, a full-blown Disneyland experience, a little Route 66 driving, and a stop in Santa Fe, which is a new favorite destination for us.
July – PNW trip – almost 3 weeks on the road, including much needed rest at the beach in Bandon, and wonderful time reconnecting with family and friends.

Also during the year, my freelance business made some very significant strides. In fact, as this year wraps up, it is our sole source of income. I never thought I’d be able to grow it into a self-supporting venture, but it seems that has happened, and I’m very grateful. That it supports me and allowed almost 4 full weeks of vacation… unbelievable.

It seems like this was the year that Colorado really became our home. The trip to the PNW was significant because in many ways it felt like a watershed moment for us. Because of various factors, it would have been easy to go back to Vancouver, get all misty-eyed, and decide to move back. But this time, on our drive home, it felt like just that – home. When we arrived, it was good to settle back into life refreshed, and with a renewed vision for what our life here is, and what it will become.

Then to top it off, a little bit of extra work came in around Christmas time which allowed us to enjoy and experience the holidays without the added stress of wondering where our rent money would come from. What began as a year full of uncertainty and stress, still ended with uncertainty but with a level of peace about where we are that we haven’t experienced in a long time.

So what does that mean for 2010? (Two-thousand-ten? Twenty-ten?) First of all, it means that as we approach the three-year mark since we moved here, we’re ready to make some pretty significant decisions that will affect us for many years. Decisions about when/where/how to plant a church. Decisions about how to move forward in business. Decisions about how we approach the kids’ schooling. Things are not the same as when we moved here, and we are not the same. (I’d be disappointed, in fact, if we were the same as 3 years ago)

So with that, since I don’t make “resolutions”, I offer the following as a bit of a preview of what’s to come for us. I’ll be interested and entertained to read this one year from now and see how off-base I was.

In 2010, we will begin our church plant. Not just the “process”, but the community of people will begin to form and we will start journeying together as we discover who God is calling us to be as a church, and how we can together live on mission.

In 2010, my business will take another step forward, finally settling into a company that can provide a more predictable income stream. Health insurance coverage would be a dreamy addition.

In 2010, we will welcome into our family Nick’s new wife-to-be, her 7 year old daughter, and their baby that will come into the world this summer. I have been asked to officiate the ceremony, and for this I’m extremely honored and excited. These events also will bring a stream of family visiting town, and we’ll get to see everyone then.

See, nothing resolute, just a forecast of what’s on the horizon. Like I said, 2009 was epic in our family, bringing travels, changes, growth, refocusing. It’s my hope that 2010 is equally as moving. I’m sure it will be, in its own way. Regardless, we will remember 2009 fondly, and look to 2010 with anticipation.

It’s hard to disagree. We were at the Museum of Nature and Science, and on the west side they have a terrace which looks out over downtown and the Rockies are in the distance. I didn’t have a tripod with me, but I thought the only way to even catch a glimpse of this view is with a panoramic shot. So with no tripod, and about 45 minutes in photoshop to manually stitch together the poorly aligned shots, here’s the view of our great city from the Museum of Nature and Science, 4th level, looking west towards downtown. On the very right (north), you can barely make out the water towers of Westminster and Thornton. If you look close enough, you can also spot all my stitches. The photos didn’t go together too well in parts, but I think I recovered nicely. Enjoy. Click on the tiny version below for the larger (approx 4000 pixels) version.

that’s how lazy i’ve become. i don’t have any recent photos, so you get a BORING words only post. sorry about that.

things are getting kinda crazy around here. it’s currently sunny and 25, with 3 or 4 inches of snow on the ground. it will be gone in a day or so, and by the weekend it should be 55 degrees. so weird.

i’m currently hanging at this new coffeeshop in town called forza… it’s a franchise from a seattle place. it’s pretty decent, they definitely are better than any of the other shops here in the suburbs. it’s still got that suburban vibe, but i’m enjoying it. the customer service is outstanding… these are definitely the friendliest baristas in town.

speaking of coffee, it looks like ray will be heading this way, as our little suburban enclave is holding a regional barista competition. it’s a good excuse for him to come out. should be fun… hopefully it’s snowy, that would make it even more fun.

the final bit of news is that i’m finalizing some details with a church in the area to do the worship pastor thing, while working towards planting a campus (i’ll write more about the multi-site thing as we move along) in the downtown area of denver in the next couple years. lots of fun to be had. heck, lots of work to be had, but it seems like this is going to be the gig for us. i’ll write more about it in a couple weeks. and since i only write every couple weeks, it might be in my next post!

so for now, i’m just sitting at forza, writing in the ol’ blog, wrapping up a website design proposal, and generally enjoying the fact that i can sit at a coffeeshop and call it “work”.

i’m currently teaching a web design class, and the students are diligently working through a project, so i thought i’d complain/brag/comment about the weather. no photo today due to me not being at either of my own computers. check this page, it’s a camera pretty close to where i am now.

it’s cold. frickin’ cold. it’s currently 7 degrees with a wind chill of -5. it’s snowing ever so lightly. i gotta say, winter here is fun. it is cold, which makes driving hard sometimes, and heating bills are high… but it’s a fun kind of winter. it actually FEELS like winter, unlike much of the NW winter, which feels like spring. and fall. and summer.

so the class i’m teaching is a Dreamweaver class… which i don’t like. Dreamweaver is a great tool, but i just don’t really use it that much. it lets too many people design web pages who have no business doing so. that being said, i’ve worked with the folks at the school here to actually flip the web design curriculum over, and do it more logically. students will start with an “integrated web design” class (which i’m writing!), that covers html/css, image optimization, design principles, as well as an overview of cms, blogging platforms, design tools, etc. then once they understand the CRAFT of web design, they can proceed and use some of the TOOLS of web design, like dreamweaver, flash, stuff like that. then, students coming into the dreamweaver class won’t be completely clueless about web design. just mostly clueless, like me.

curriculum issues aside, this teaching thing is fun. i’ve enjoyed it quite a bit… what’s funny, is my most enjoyable classes have been the uber-basic– the mostly older folks who have next to no experience using computers at all… it requires more patience, but it’s so much more fun than the more advanced classes.

led worship at a church in thornton last week– there’s some long term possibilities at this church. i’ll know more later in the week. i’m leading again this weekend. they do a saturday night service only, so after that i busted it up to eagle to lead sunday morning, which was not a good idea. my voice was completely trashed, and i was tired… it worked out fine, but i won’t be doing that on a consistent basis, thankfully.

i’m hoping the students choose an hour-long lunch break (i offer the choice of 30 minutes and an earlier release to help beat traffic, or an hour for lunch and normal release) so i can go back over to the coffeeshop and get the latte i was denied by them being closed when i showed up due to the holiday. the sign on the window said they would open at 8, i had to stop waiting by 8:15 and get to class.

monday afternoon, it was approximately 78 degrees at our house. now, less than 40 hours later, the yard is blanketed in snow and it’s barely 25 degrees.

i love colorado weather patterns.

now we settle in for sam’s birthday, and a delightfully white thanksgiving.