Friday, March 24, 2006

March 24th 2006

March 24th
Hello again,
Since our last update we've been debating back and forth as to whether or not we can/should move before the end of March.On Monday we said, "No way! It's not going to happen." On Tuesday, "There's no way! On Wednesday it was the same story. On Thursday Dad said, "Looks like we're going to do it!"
The Lord brought a bunch of things together that seem to indicate such as providing a place for us to rent a shop/office in an ideal location for our work! It also will have enough space for us to store our extra stuff that will not fit in a 900 square foot house!
Since the debating started we stopped packing boxes, so next week is promising to be crazy!
In the meantime we started our one week kitchen renovation on Monday. Day 1- Demo'ed everything and did most of the rough electrical and plumbing Day 2- Finished the rough ins', patched all the drywall and mudded and textured everything Day 3- Went skiing while Dad and Mom primed the kitchen (Short day) Day 4- Laid a stone floor in a diamond pattern and grouted it Day 5- Installed the cabinets
On Wednesday Dad and Mom met with the county workers again and obtained permission to live at the church property while we build. They gave us one year, which they said was very generous. It's supposed to take 3-6 months still for the conditional use permit to be finished, and then we can start getting our drawing approved which could also take 3-6 months...
Last week 11 of us hit the slopes and went skiing for the first time. We're looking forward to going 2 more times. (It was a 4 week package!) Some of us are getting hooked! Dad says we're on our own with snow skiing.

(L-R)Merrie, Annie, Mandy, Sarah G., Joanna, Chris and Trevor.

Trevor and Jack ride the lift.

A new grinding technique!?

Willie gets some air!

Annie

Trevor tops the jump...

Jack shows us what it's all about.


While we were returning our skis and boots a lady was sitting in the room where we were putting our shoes on. She watched us with open curiosity, and finally asked, "Are you brothers and sisters?" We all smiled and said, "Yep". She asked, "How many?" "14." She gasped! "All from one mom and dad?" We laughed and said, "Yes!" Her next question was almost answered before she asked... "Are you Mormon or Catholic?" We said, "No, and we're not from Arkansas either!" She laughed and continued grilling us with questions, "All from one mom and dad?" was asked at least 3 times! A few minutes later her husband walked in and she turned to him and enjoyed telling him all about us! He had a hard time believing it too! It's so much fun being in a big family!!!
We've been enjoying having some company lately. On Friday we saw John Fiala and his family from Houston. This week we had one friend from KY and one from main land China. We're hoping to see another friend from Oregon soon. Thanks for stopping by guys!
May the God of all peace bless and keep you,With Love,The Dortignac Family
"They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for He that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall He guide them."- Isaiah 49:10
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Tuesday, March 14, 2006

March 14th 2006



March 14th, 2006
Please pray for our friends the Creighton Family. They are missing their son Zachary. They haven't seen him for almost a month now. For more information, click the link on the left.Edit: Zachary has been found. He is OK. Please continue to pray for the Creighton family as they sort out what happened.
Last week we started packing up boxes. It's an exciting time for our family! We haven't permanently moved for over 12 years, so as you can imagine, we have accumulated an incredible amount of stuff...I guess our 1,300 sq ft house was too big for us because we're planning to downsize to a 935 sq ft house while we wait for permission to build a new one! It will be fun... I think...right? Of course right!
In the meantime we're hoping to move before the end of the month! (I think we'll need a miracle to meet that deadline!) But there are several reasons why we think we should!
On Sat we met the Duggar family from AR. They have 16 kids and their oldest is 18! You've probably read about them or seen them on TV. They came on Saturday with a video crew from the Discovery Health Channel. It was so neat to line up our two families and have a total of 30 kids!!! You can read more about their visit here.
Could you imagine what the Christian population in our country would be in two generations if all Christian families trusted the Lord to give them the amount of children He wanted them to have?
The Lord has blessed southern CA with some beautiful weather lately. Here is a picture that Chris took on Saturday.
Work has been keeping us very busy as well as preparing to move, and continuing with beach nights and pizza nights, and Church all day Sundays. This week it looks like we're going to be seeing friends from northern CA, KY, TX and AR!!! We're looking forward to that! We'd love to see y'all too if you happen to be in the area!
We'll probably start updating this more frequently after I (Mandy) learn how to do the html for it.
Hoping that all is well with you and yours!
With love,The Dortignac family
"...I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it." De 30:16