Spring is on its way here in the mountains. Some days it is so warm you can take your jacket off and other days it is snowing hard. Slowly but surely the snow line is receding up the mountains and fresh blades of grass are starting to find their way to the surface. We look forward to enjoying the new smells and life that this season brings. It is certainly a time of joy and excitement.

Our lives continue to transition with our little boy. At the end of March, I (Jo) regretfully resigned from my work with Pinebrook Vacation Rentals. I started this small little vacation rental business with our landlady, Sandy Nelson and have really enjoyed the experience. The business that started out so very small last year has now grown to management of 15 vacation properties, but with this success has come a significantly increased workload. I have found it more and more difficult to meet the demands of work and at the same time to do a good job looking after Luke and caring for his needs. Something had to give and after much thought, discussion and prayer we decided I should let Pinebrook go (it still continues however with Sandy and some other helpers). We’re not at all sure how we’ll meet the extra financial challenges that now face us, but we’re looking forward to seeing what God does in our lives these next weeks and months.

Erik has been extremely busy these last weeks. His last module of courses was especially heavy and demanding and the next one is likely to be fairly tough as well. However, he has had a little time off before the next set of classes start which he is using to prepare for the summer art fairs and to try and push to get the photography business off the ground. He is also getting more involved in our local church’s missions committee and in some of the things happening on a city-wide level. We hope to update you more on those as they develop.

During the break in his studies, we took our first long road trip with Luke. We decided we’d drive down to Arizona to visit Erik’s parents. It’s about a 15 hour drive. We were a little apprehensive about how Luke would manage being stuck in a car seat for so long, but were pleasantly surprised at how well he did. He actually seemed to enjoy the experience and was happy and excited the whole time we were away. Erik and I even managed to get a couple of dates in as Luke was happy to be left with his grandparents.

Please know how much we appreciate your love, friendship and support.

Love Jo, Erik & Luke