2009 Year In Review

2009 was a busy year full of traveling, events + changes. We cherished time we spent with friends and family as we prepared for our big move. Instead of a Christmas newsletter we are posting our happenings here in our 2009 Year in Review:

JANUARY

In January we spent time in Nueva Vallarta, Mexico, with Noah’s family. They own a timeshare and invited us along for a week stay. It was Kate’s first time in the country and a perfect time to escape the cold Colorado winter. Each morning we joined around the balcony table for breakfast, overlooking the resort’s beautiful pools and the Pacific Ocean. The most memorable day was when we all braved the zip lines at Chico Chico Paradise. Soaring along the tree line was remarkable. We also got to see baby turtles released into the ocean, and enjoyed many hours reading under the shade of our palapas. Soon after our return to the States, Noah and I really felt God open the door for the NZ dream to get rolling. It was hard to believe the time had come!

FEBRUARY

In February our house church gathered for a weekend retreat at YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park. We shared a large cabin with a stunning view of the Rocky Mountain skyline. It was relaxing and memorable to have a mini vacation with friends where hiking, games, food and impromptu music sessions filled our time. For Valentine’s weekend, Kate surprised Noah with an overnight trip to a local hotel with a hot springs pool. It wasn’t the best we’ve visited, but it was charming for it’s history and vintage appeal.

MARCH

March was a very snowy month. One weekend we rented some snowshoes and set out for a trail just below Guanella Pass. It was Kate’s first time! We hiked into an aspen forest and enjoyed a winter picnic in a quiet meadow. Later, after we returned to the car, we attempted to maneuver up and over the pass. There were fallen boulders all across the road. At the top, we were forced to turn around due to rough conditions that were impassible.

APRIL

April brought the opportunity to participate in a peaceful protest to raise awareness of the “Invisible Children”—child soldiers forced into a brutal rebel army led by Joseph Kony. We had a successful Denver protest along with over 100 other cities around the world. We raised enough awareness that we got many governmental leaders in our communities, including Oprah and musicians, to get involved in making change. Later in the month our house church gathered ’round to celebrate Passover by having a traditional Jewish seder dinner. It was moving to experience the ancient custom that celebrates God’s faithfulness to His people—a custom that Jesus was very familiar with in His life here on earth. This evening was one of Noah’s favorite experiences with our church.

MAY

At the end of May, after Kate finished up her second year working the Aurora Public School system, we boarded a plane and headed to Christchurch, New Zealand. We found tickets for a third of the normal cost + spent a week networking with new friends in the Christchurch, including other house church folk, local church leaders and Youth With A Mission staff. We toured our future home, attended a local organic church gathering, scoped out the beach, and went through a supermarket to make sure we could still cook our regular meals when we moved there! We also took a couple of days to drive through the countryside. We stayed near Hamner Hot Springs and visited Kaikoura to celebrate our one year anniversary of marriage.

JUNE

June was a month of change. But first, a quick story. Not that’s it super significant, but I just remembered it + thought it was funny. The morning following our flight back from New Zealand, we were asleep in our bed when we awoke to the sound of people in our house! I am a light sleeper so I shook Noah awake as soon as I heard people enter our house. (I knew my light sleeping would come in handy some day!) It was around noon, since we were recovering from jet lag. We blearily scrambled out into the living room to find our landlord showing the space to some potential renters. They were like a deer in headlights. We were moving out that week, but he didn’t know we were back  from our trip yet! We liked our landlord, though, so it was funny rather than frustrating! We tried to assure them they could stay and look around but they quickly left! So that’s my story. Later that week, we packed up our things and said sadly good-bye to our first home together. (Thanks again to the church friends who came over to help us repaint + clean our space.) We moved into a friends’ house in Littleton. After both living in the city almost two years it was ridiculously strange to now only see a glimpse of the city skyline from afar. This was our first major step in saving money for the move to New Zealand—cheaper rent. That same week Kate began a daily nannying job for four children, in south Denver. A week after that, she competed in her second half-marathon race. Thank you to the friends who came to show support!

JULY

July brought friends our way as we helped facilitate a YWAM reunion in Keystone. We rented a cozy mountain condo and spend several days with Kate’s old YWAM teammates. Before and after the reunion, we had several of Kate’s friends stay at our home for extended hang-out time. It was a precious time seeing them again before leaving the country.

AUGUST

In a cabin tucked away behind Ft. Collins, 45 minutes into the mountains, we gathered for a weekend with two families who have been considering joining us in our New Zealand move. The purpose of the gathering was to get to know each other better and discuss the purpose of the move and the direction God was leading us. It was a house full of six adults and four children under the age of four. We even had two moose hanging around outside. It was a good gathering and we were able to get on the same page. August brought on the school year, so Kate’s summer nanny job ended. She enjoyed the time spent with her kids at the pool, museums, parks and library. The end of the summer also brought on many moving sales in Littleton and Castle Rock to lighten our load for the move.

SEPTEMBER

In September, we traveled to California to celebrate the life of Noah’s Grandma (his dad’s mother). She had been suffering from Alzheimer’s the last several years and passed earlier in the year. All the Cremisino relatives gathered on a yacht to say good-bye. It was a beautiful and moving ceremony as her ashes were spread in the Pacific Ocean. Later we enjoyed a meal together and spent some time at the beach. Before heading home, we visited Tonnie’s brother in Ramona, CA. Later in the month we were hooked up with free tickets to a Cirque du Soleil show that was in town because Noah’s business did shirts for the entire troupe. This month we also started the visa application process, which was quite a hefty task, and we said good-bye to some dear friends of ours who moved to volunteer with the San Lucas Mission in Guatemala.

OCTOBER

In October Kate started a short-term nanny position for a 2-month old. Kate’s parents also came out for a weekend and we all stayed in a cabin rental home in Keystone. It was our first little vacation together. We were able to cook meals together, hike and sight see around the mountains. October was also a busy month for Noah and his company as they spent many hours working overtime building a whole new part of the business, Atlantis Apparel, which is targeted at the Collegiate Greek community.

NOVEMBER

November 2nd marked Noah’s 30th birthday! We celebrated with a “Where the Wild Things Are” party and a Rob Bell event from his tour “Drops Like Stars.” November was also our “get ready to move” month. We really began selling all our furniture and appliances in preparations for a shipping the basics with us overseas. We hosted an open-house sale for two days and had a decent turnout. It was strange to see most of our things go, but it was equally exciting to pair down our belongings knowing we just had to do it in order to go. Thanks to all the friends who supported our move by buying our stuff! We also sent our visa applications out near the end of the month and excitedly awaited their return. Sometime in the late fall, Kate’s dad was pronounced cancer free. After much testing and a round of radiation in the summer, he’s get back on track to a normal life.

DECEMBER + JANUARY

As usual, December was a busy time! We moved to Castle Rock to live with Noah’s parents to not only save on rent, but to also spend time with them before leaving the country. That same week we said good-bye to our kitty (super hard, many tears), were denied by New Zealand immigration (again, super frustrating, some tears), Kate’s regular nanny job ended and she also celebrated her 26th birthday. We enjoyed a Nuggets basketball game—Kate’s favorite sport and first NBA game. It was an emotional, crazy first two weeks. At the end of that week, Noah sold his portion of the business, and his brother, Nathan, came to visit for several weeks over the holidays. December also brought on several holiday parties, get-togethers and snowshoeing! For Christmas we traveled to Nebraska, Wisconsin and Iowa to visit family. It was hard saying goodbye since we don’t know for sure how often or where we will be able to visit once we live overseas. Kate also left her car with her family, who bought it for her sister. Then, back at home, we ushered in the New Year at a friends’ house where they hosted an Iron Chef competition. It was a busy month filled with alot of change. After such a hectic few weeks, we actually saw the benefit of waiting a little longer for visa approval. We needed time to process everything before rushing into the scheduled big move a few weeks into January. We spent January preparing our personal website, working odd jobs and spending time with friends. Kate’s cousin, Heidi, who was nearly 7 months pregnant at the time, came for a quick visit since we are leaving the country soon and they are close friends. It was a beautiful time. In the third week of January we also sent off our second visa application for our two-year work permit for New Zealand.