Countdown to 6- Year 3

Here it is! This is a big one! Our third year of marriage saw 3 moves, one birth, two pregnancies, and a church split!

Things seemed to be going well at the church where we served, but things were happening. Letters were being sent. Phone calls were being made, and who knows what else. The troops were being rallied, and the mission was to get the senior pastor out of the pulpit.

Meanwhile, Norah was growing in my tummy. Spring was coming and flowers and my figure were in full bloom! About a month before Norah's due date, we moved from our little duplex into a 4-bedroom, 2 bath home that had a living room and family room! Wow! We were excited!

But... oh there's always a but, isn't there?!

All the scheming that was happening behind the backs of leadership was about to come into the public eye of the church. About a week before Norah was born, things really started to unravel.

Norah was born on April 3, 2005. And she was beautiful, one of the prettiest newborns you'll ever see (don't know where newborn pics are, but someday we'll have to show ya'll). In the happiness of the moment, there was a cloud hanging over our heads because we had a battle ahead of us.

In the coming months we had to move out of the home that was Norah's first home. The owners were wanting to move back in, and we didn't want to live there anymore anyway. You see, they were plotting against leadership. The house we were once so happy to live in was now just really awkward to live in.

Two months after moving, we began the process of clearing out all our stuff. We would have to move again. Those who wanted to take over the church and boot out its godly pastor, won. My husband resigned from his post, and with no job and little severance, we looked to return to Oregon where we would live until Casey began seminary.

Norah was 6 months old when we left Woodland, California. We were so blessed to be surrounded by the people we knew there, and even still hold friendships so dear to us. We learned the value of holding to convictions no matter what the cost, and we know now that this time in our lives was a launching point for greater maturity and deeper love for the church.

Upon arriving in Oregon, we lived with family and began planning for seminary. But God had different plans.

The pregnancy test was positive. Norah was only 7 months old, and things were different. Instead of going to seminary, Casey decided that he would pursue a full-time ministry search.

In December he inquired about a position in Grand Junction, Colorado.

We welcomed 2006, and looked to what the year would bring.