A Year In Review

It's hard to believe another year has come and practically gone- each year seeming to pass faster than the one before. 2007 was no different. It's been a year FULL of difficult trials and temendous blessings, often simultaneously. Instead of typing up a letter, much too long for any of you to read at this busy time of year, I thought I would take a glance back at the last 12 months and hit some of our highlights.

To be perfectly honest, the first few months of the year are a blur- not a big surprise considering the last 24 hours are also somewhat of a blur. :) In January, I began taking on a few more hours at the office preparing for the biggest stewardship campaign in our church's history. The land had been paid off and it was time to break ground on our new campus. It's not easy being a portable church of 2000+ people. We hit the ground running with meetings, phone calls, and endless amounts of Excel spreadsheets in an attempt to keep ourselves organized. As one of the campaign leaders, a great deal of those responsibilities fell on my shoulders and I found myself with an additional 20+ hours of work each week. No surprise that I don't remember much between January and May. :)

Februay brought the celebration of our 4th anniversary, which was spent up in the pine trees of Payson- a much needed weekend away.


On April 1st we moved into a much larger home with the intentions of purchasing it when ours sold. Daniel adjusted right away and quickly learned how much fun it was to climb up and down the stairs- all day long. I wish I could say that we lost weight chasing him around, but we weren't that lucky. :)


May brought the close of our church's Seize the Moment campaign and a collective sigh of relief from our family. It was a tremendous time of growth personally as we committed to giving a substantial amount more to the Lord. We were humbled and amazed at the outcome and sacrifice of our church family and so blessed to be a part of what God is doing at Palm Valley. We were also very blessed to be able to spend Mother's Day with our families. We were thrilled that Daniel was able to celebrate, not only with his grandmothers, but with his great-grandmothers as well.

The month of June was a difficult one as we said goodbye to Fernando's grandmother, Nana Sarah. She was such a blessing to all who knew her and we rejoice that she has gone home, though she will be missed.

July brought with it a considerable amount of business travel for Fernando, which he is still enjoying- for the time being. :) In the meantime, I finished my training as a permanent cosmetic technician. I enjoyed the training process immensely and love having the opportunity to make life a little easier for so many people- myself included. We did manage to sneak away to California for a few days of relaxation in sunny San Diego. Daniel loved going to Sea World and to the beach. Fernando and I enjoyed just sitting on the back porch and reading. I wish I was there right now! :)
We also received some exciting news that a new baby was on his/her way. We were so thrilled, but that joy soon turned to sorrow when we lost the pregnancy a few short days later. It was so comforting to know that God is in control and we experienced such peace during that time. In spite of the bad news, we were able to joyously celebrate Daniel's 2nd birthday on the 21st. What joy he brings to our life! It was so fun to see him enjoy his cake, presents, and being the center of attention!

Fernando started the month of August with a trip to the Alltel Communications headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas, to interview for a position as the national manager of sales and business recruiters. A few short days after his return, he was offered the position and accepted it. Preparations began immediately for a trip to Little Rock to find a home. We traveled to Arkansas in mid-August and were able to find a place to rent that is just big enough for our family, until our house sells in Arizona. The end of August is somewhat of a blur as well.....

We spent the first week or so of September, desperately trying to see all of the friends and family we could before it was time to go. We also had a very tearful Sunday as we led worship at Palm Valley for the last time. On September 10th, a crew arrived at the door and packed our entire house in 8 hours. The next day, the giant United Van Lines truck appeared out front and was loaded with everything but a few suitcases. What a strange feeling it was to stand in the doorway of an empty house and watch our belongings drive away. That was a very difficult day. We spent the evening with Fernando's family and cried as Daniel waved and said, "Bye Nana, bye Tata" as we pulled away. The next day, we loaded into one vehicle (my parents in the other) and headed east towards Arkansas. We were amazed at how well our little boy did in the car for three whole days. Thank God for the person who created the portable DVD player! Our trip was smooth and, dare I say, somewhat enjoyable. We arrived in Little Rock on September 14th and picked up our keys the next day. What a thrill it was to see our friends on the United Van Lines truck pull up in front of our apartment, after sleeping on egg-crate matresses for two days! We were blessed to have my parents there to help us unpack and get settled before they left. A few days later, we received another miraculous blessing- another baby on the way!!!

October brought with it cooler temperatures and the change of leaves- something we have only experienced in pictures for the last 30 years... We had such grandious plans of spending time outdoors, but unfortunately the nausea and mind-numbing fatigue that accompany pregnancy kept me inside most of the month. We did have the pleasure of spending a week with Fernando's parents who came to visit us at the end of October. It was fun to show them around our new town and watch them interact with Daniel, who was thrilled to have Nana and Tata around!


The first few weeks of November flew by as we enjoyed experiencing Fall and lighting our fireplace. We had to buy quite a few new clothes as we adjusted to the falling temperatures. We celebrated Thanksgiving with my mom and dad who came out for a fun week of fishing, eating, and shopping. We kicked off the Christmas season with them and have been going full-speed ever since.

We are happy to announce that as of today, December 3rd, we have a healthy baby and have officially entered our second trimester. We are looking forward to the next few weeks as we prepare for the holidays and, even more importantly, as we prepare for our first trip home. We are so blessed to be able to spend Christmas in Arizona with our families and can't wait to see all of the friends we left behind. We are also excited to be taking Daniel to Disneyland for the first time and can't wait to see the look on his face when we arrive.

The next few weeks bring so much to look forward to, but that is just a prelude to the coming year. We are constantly amazed and humbled at what God has done in our lives over the last twelve months and wait in eager anticipation of what is to come in 2008, including the birth of a new baby in May.

We hope and pray that you are blessed beyond belief during this holiday season.

With love,
The Orona Family