What about your family?

Yeah, our family doesn't want to talk about it. Can you blame them?

They are heartbroken, sad, understanding and supportive...occasionally they admit they are excited for us!

The upside? Denver is a 2 hour plane trip and we will be living about 10 minutes from the Denver airport. it really is a quick trip!

Grandma Shiralyn is hoping to retire in about 4 years...so we're planning on a LONG trip to see us as frequently as possible. (We'll probably pay for some trips out as it is a lot cheaper and easier to fly 1 person our way then for all 5 of us to make a visit!) She is going to come and visit as often as she can..we'll make sure of it!!

Mimi (Janice) doesn't have a lot of time, but we're hoping for a few weekend trips! It turns out she actually likes Denver a lot...just not the idea of us living there! :)

Papa & Nana (Gary & Deb) love Colorado! Deb's parents live in Colorado Springs so they will definitely be coming out often. Gary hopes to retire in about 6 years and Deb's son, Cailean, will be graduating from high school in 5. So....there is some GREAT talk about them moving to Colorado at that point. How fun would that be?!

Katy's brother, Mark, is also a huge CO fan. He is marrying Jaclyn Luke in April. Jaclyn has family in Westminster, a couple cities over from where we'll be. They are actually flying out there tomorrow to spend Christmas snowboarding with her family. We're trying to convince them that Colorado would be a fabulous place for them to "settle" down in one day....

We will also attempt to come out here when we can. As I mentioned, it's a pretty tough trip for a famiy of 5. And none of our family actually has room to house us all! :) But I forsee a lot of "parial family" trips. Mommy and Kenna or Daddy and Brooklyn to come out for a few days or something like that. And as the kids get older...I'm really hoping for some grandkid trips so Mommy and Daddy can have some time alone. What a concept!

Again, this is an incredibly difficult decision for us. Especially when considering the precious relationships our kids have with their grandparents. We are all committed to making it work, though. So if you have any suggestions for long-distance relationships, let us know! :)

What about your church?

Words cannot describe how difficult it is going to be to leave our church, The River. www.gototheriver.com

This has been our home and our family for the last 5 1/2 years. We have done just about everything there is to do at our church. It has been our LIFE. The relationships we've experienced there could never be duplicated. I get emotional about it evereytime I think about it.

Our pastors, Jim & Karin, have been our mentors, friends, encouragement, strength, ministry partners, parents at times, game buddies, counselors and the list goes ON and ON. Their influence on our lives is impossible to measure.

The good news is that God doesn't reside just in Long Beach! The Lord is alive in the Denver area and there are so many churches! We are already praying that the Lord will lead us to the right place where we can connect with other believers and the Lord in a significant way. Where we can bring the people we come in contact with and be apart of a community that seeks to glorify Christ in every way.

What about John's work?

A huge concern that the Lord has already taken care of!

Turns out a nurse is needed pretty much everywhere in the world. John has SO many options! There are many hospitals in the Denver area and he literally has choices everywhere.

John has actually decided to go with a traveling nursing company. What's that?

The company has contracts with lots of hospitals. You sign on with the company and then choose which hospital you want to work with. The company takes care of all the details. You do an assignment for 3-6 months at a hospital and then can move on to another location.

John will be able to begin work immediately with full benefits right away. The pay is actually more than a full-time rate at a hospital and he will be getting a housing stipend on top of that.

He's thinking about doing this for the first year or so and check out some of the local hospitals before "settling" down at one of them. It's a great opportunity for him!

10127 Quintero, Commerce City, CO

So here are some pictures of our new home!

We will be living in a wonderful new community called Reunion. Find out more at: www.reunionco.com


The home we fell in love with is by Richmond American Homes. It is 2270 square feet. It has a living room, kitchen, kitchen nook, family room with fireplace, study, bathroom and huge walk-in hall closet on the first floor. It has a 600 sq ft. partial basement. Upstairs, there are 4 bedrooms, a full bathroom, a master bathroom with one of those fabulous round bathtubs, and a laundry room. We will have a permanent guest room and we really want/expect to have lots of visitors!

There are some pictures of the model home. Of course, the model shows the highest of upgrades! Ours won't look qutie like that. :)

The other really fun news, is that our close friends, The Teague's are moving with us! www.teaguekids.blogspot.com Phil & Heather have 2 kids, Ally 2 1/2 and Travis (who was born 21 minutes after Josiah). They fell in love with Richmond homes as well and we ended up buying homes on the same day. When it came time to choose our lot, we ended up with lots next door to one another! So we won't be alone in this new venture....we'll have fabulous friends next door!

The home across the street from us is owned by a family that moved from California. The man who sold us our home joked that we are moving to "Eastern California" because of all the Californians relocating to the area.

You're Doing What?!

Pictures: #1 the community center in the area we will be living. #2 A picture of what our home will look like. #3 Choosing our "lot".


Yes, it is official. After much prayer and consideration, the Yates family is moving to Colorado at the end of June.

I know everyone is in shock. It is shocking news. I'm hoping this site can help everyone be a part of this process with us.

Everyone wants to know why. Bottom line, we can't afford to live in So Cal. We have chosen to have 1 income so that I can stay home with our kids. God has blessed us enormously with the house we have lived in the past 3 1/2 years. But we are rapidly outgrowing it. Our best option was to move out of state. (Kind of our only option seeing as a 3-bdrm home costs $550,000 at the low end)

Why Colorado? For me, it was the only other state I'm really willing to live in! :) (Spoken by a true Californian, right?) I met a lot of people from CO while at Pepperdine and I really liked all of them! It offers all 4 seasons in a mild form...at least in the Denver area. (Except for the blizzard currently hitting the area!) John loves the outdoors: boating, hiking, snowboarding, skiing, etc. CO has tons of open space and so many places to play. We want our kids exposed to all sorts of activities. It's affordable. Has clean air. You can even drink water out of the tap! And many other reasons. None which will be "good enough" for anyone, I'm sure.

I know there lots of other questions and concerns and I'm hoping to get to them over time. I don't have answers to everything. I know this sounds strange...maybe even wrong to some of you. But we feel God's peace in this. Every step of the way we have been gently led by the Lord. So many doors have been opened to us...and so easily. We have seen God's hand in many of the small and large details.

I'm excitied, scared, nervous, sad, freaked out, optimistic and overwhelmed by what this all means.

I have lived my entire life here. And you all know how much I love to connect with people. How I'm disappointed if I don't see someone I know when I go to the grocery store or if I don't get a chance to meet the new guest at our church. I love my life here. But at the same time, I don't see my children growing up here.

When John and I drove around this last weekend in CO it was so easy to see McKenna, Brooklyn & Josiah thriving in a community like that. It was exciting to dream for them and their future.

I have deep roots here. Those will not be moved easily. There have been a lot of tears and I know there will be a lot more. Please don't assume we made this decision lightly.

We covet your prayers and your support of us as we go through this moving process. If you are reading this, you are loved by the Yates family. We value your role in our lives and will continue to do so.