Latest from the Kuzma’s

16 Dec Latest from the Kuzma’s

It’s been a sometimes exhilirating, sometimes frustrating, always interesting couple of months since I last posted.

Some highlights:

We closed escrow on our home!

One of the best parts? We didn’t even have to move!! After 12 years in the “parsonage” (church-owned home provided as part of a pastor’s compensation package), we were able to strike a deal and buy the house our kids have known throughout their entire academic years. Now, they’ll get to graduate High School living in the same house, which was much different from my life experience. By the time I was 18, I counted about 18 different houses we lived in and four different states!

We took our longest trip yet in the RV!

For Thanksgiving, we traveled to Lincoln, CA, where Colleen’s brother, Sean, his wife, Jenny, and their son, Sean Conor, just moved into a beautiful home they built almost entirely with their own hands on a 40 acre lot. It was a grand time of Colleen’s entire family being together for the holiday. It was our longest trip in the RV, and it was very comfortable in every way. We loved it! This trip was a precursor to our upcoming trip to Texas with my sister, April and her husband, Tom, and kids, Sarah and Evan. All 8 of us will depart on Christmas morning with Tom and I taking turns driving around the clock. Should be great fun! We’ll return January 3.

Jonathan transitioned away from “brick & mortar” public school.

After facing some unique challenges for the first time in school, we took Jonathan out of the traditional setting. He is being home schooled through an online public charter school called California Virtual Academies (CAVA for short). Being the technology lover, we think it will suit him well. He says he just wants to do this for 8th grade and then return to the traditional setting. We’ll see how it goes. So far, he is still trying to catch up, but one of the great things about the program is that it is self-paced. He can move at his speed.

Colleen’s last surviving grandmother passed away this week.

I was raised without the presence of grandparents in my life. Because of a divorce in the family, Colleen had three sets! Her last surviving step-grandmother, Marge Henderson, passed away suddenly yesterday at home in Arizona. I am honored to have been asked to officiate her memorial service, which will be this coming Monday afternoon. It will be an emotional week with Grandma Marge’s service bringing family we didn’t expect into town the week of Christmas. Then, final preparation for Christmas Eve Celebrations at church and the big trip to Texas. It will be the first time my side of the family has been all together in 11 years!

We finally got our building permit for our Breezeway Remodel at the church!!

After more than two years of planning and refining our Breezeway Remodel project at NewHeart, we finally received our permit to build. Matter of fact, as I write at this moment, we are sifting through bids from contractors to hopefully make a decision this Sunday afternoon. January 10 will be our last Sunday in the Sanctuary before construction begins that week. The project is slated to take 6 months.

Can’t think of anything else for now. I’m sure I’m missing something!