We'd love to Introduce to you...

This was an email sent on October 15th, 2012.  

Hannah Lynne Bruecker.  Born October 15th at 3:41am.  7 pounds 3 oz, 20 1/2 inches long.  Mom and baby are both doing great and we are so in love with our little girl.  You know what a journey this last year is and continues to be, and Hannah, a name that means grace and favor, is such a clear picture of God's incredible love for us.  Thank you for your prayers and support.  

We will send out an email soon with more details about these last couple months.

But we wanted to make sure you met our little princess.

Love

Jeff, Jen and Hannah

Pregancy Update! We're having a...

This was an email that was sent on May 24th, 2012.  


Hello,

We have a fun baby update for everyone!  Yesterday we went to our 20 wk ultrasound.  Baby is doing great, totally healthy and kicking up a storm.  We also had the opportunity to find out the gender, something we were not sure we wanted to know beforehand.

After deliberating about it for months, we decided we couldn't wait any longer.  It would be nice to know one thing in the midst of a season where everything else is up in the air and unknown.  But...in classic Jeff and Jen style, we had to have a little fun with this surprise.

During the ultrasound we told the doctor not to reveal the gender to us just yet, and instead, give us the top secret information in a sealed envelope.  We then went to a baby store and picked out a pink bathing suit and also blue board shorts.  We told the cashier that we don't yet know the gender and would like her help keeping it a secret.  We gave her the sealed envelope, told her to pick the baby item that fits the gender and we would be back to pick it up in 15 minutes. 

When we came back to purchase "the secret item" we had to scan our credit card but avoid all eye contact with the price because the two items cost different amounts.  It was a minor miracle we didn't see any evidence that gave it away. 

We walked away with our precious, unknown clothing item in a bag (what kind of clothing store doesn't have boxes?), still nervous we were going to feel what it was or drop it and the bag would pop open.  So we headed over to a gift wrapping store, explained the situation to the guy working there (I think we made his year) and left for 10 minutes while he wrapped the goods in very gender-neutral wrapping paper. 

10 minutes later we picked it up and headed home.  At 4pm Jeff's sister came over to the house, along with his mom, for the big reveal surprise.  But 4 people isn't a big enough party!  So we purchased Skype Premium for a day, which allowed us to Skype with up to 10 people at the same time.

We invited Jen's two brothers and their wives, her dad, mom, step-dad, step-sister, and my dad who was out of the country in India!  On top of that we had Jen's two younger step-sisters on speaker phone who were in Vanuatu (look it up).  This was a world-wide experience.

When everyone was ready we opened the present to find out if we were having a boy or a girl...

It was a...............................you'll have to watch the youtube video to find out!!!!!  Click on this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmOiNsSH5L4&feature=youtu.be

Thanks for your love and support. 

We can't wait for everyone to meet this little one.  We attached a 20wk ultrasound pic and also a belly pic for your viewing pleasure.

Proud parents-to-be, 

Jeff and Jen

P.S. For those wondering about the job situation, we are actively pursuing a couple different church positions.  Would really appreciate your prayers as this has obviously been a lengthier experience than we anticipated.  We are trusting in the Lord's plan for our next stop.  We're currently still staying with the Bruecker parents in Escondido, CA.

One More Important Update...

This email was written on April 10th, 2012

Much to our surprise, we're pregnant!!!!  We found out 10 hours before Jen was going under for a surgical procedure called a "laparoscopy", at which time the doc would be able to diagnose whether or not she has endometriosis (click this link here < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endometriosis > for a full description of that fun medical term).  One second we were preparing for surgery and the next we're being told by the doctor that surgery was cancelled because we're pregnant!  What!?!?!?!!! 

It was a crazy ride to say the least, but one that we are so thankful to be on!  The Lord is humorous in his timing.  We have tried for 3 years and then all of the sudden, 10 hours before surgery, we find out we're pregnant.  This pregnancy is such a picture of God's grace in our life and a very tangible reminder of how thankful we have been to be on this sabbatical.

As of today, Jen is 14 weeks pregnant and our ultrasounds and blood work have looked great!  We heard the heartbeat again yesterday and are still in shock every time. Though Baby Bruecker is giving Jen a run for her money with morning sickness we are incredibly grateful for this little miracle and excited for what God has in store for us moving forward. 

We wanted to send this email out to you before we made this "public."  Thank you all so much for your prayers, love, and support during this season of our lives. 

Jeff & Jen + 1

P.S. We attached a pic of Jen's growing belly at 14 weeks.

It's the end...wait, no it's the beginning...no, the end...no...

This email was written on March 12th, 2012


It was 1:30 in the morning when my eyes popped open.  “What is that smell?!” I thought to myself.  “Did something die in the trailer?”  I rolled out of bed, checked on our dog, Tucker, to make sure he hadn’t decomposed at an alarming rate, and made my way outside to try and locate the source of the smell.  Tucker sleepily followed, seemingly unconcerned with anything happening.  But unless food is involved, Tucker is always unconcerned with anything happening.

Not finding anything outside I went back into the trailer and crawled back into bed.  Jen rolled over, “What is that smell?”  “I don’t know,” I replied, “but it is burning my nostrils.”  “Is it a gas leak?”  “I don’t think so,” I said. 

I had never encountered a smell that took on physical form.  I literally felt like I could touch it.  We tried to get back to sleep but every time we started dozing off to sleep we would inhale a huge breath through our nose and the smell would jolt us back awake.  This was not the way we wanted to spend our first night, as we made our way north toward Portland. 

The next morning we hazily rolled out of bed and made our way to the main house.  The smell had gradually subsided to a more manageable level.  And we were just excited to get on the road and continue on our way.  You see, we had traveled to San Luis Obispo from San Diego the day before and needed a place to crash.  A friend of a friend had a trailer on their property that they offered for us to sleep in.  We thought that sounded great.  It was only one night, what could go wrong?

We stumbled toward the house and the smell that haunted us during the night came back in full force.  We were unsure who the carrier of this most ungodly aroma was until the family dog came running around the corner.  This dog stunk so bad I wanted to put it to sleep just to put it out of its misery.  Terrible. 

We soon found out that the night before, at around 1:30a, their dog had been sprayed by a skunk.  The smell had kept the family up all night and had worked its way into our trailer and into our nostrils.  Wow, what a way to start a trip.  In the end we laughed about the whole situation, loaded up on caffeine, and hit the road for what would inevitably stretch into 2 months time in the Northwest.

We have been asked by many of you if we either kicked you off our email list or are we not emailing any more.  Did we get a job? The answer to both questions is no.  You are not off our email list, we are still planning on sending out more emails, and we don’t have a job.  What we do have, though, is the final chapter of our sabbatical written in the rain and clouds of Portland. 

We had decided in December to house/dog sit for Jen’s brother’s friend who was gone all of January.  Practically speaking we didn’t have a place to stay so we thought there was no better place to be unemployed than Portland.  They know how to not work really well (if you watch Portlandia you will understand).

There is too much to share in one email, but we will do our best to give you some highlights and then fill you in on our current situation. 

Highlights

Good drink, good food, good company: Portland is king when it comes to the quality of coffee and the amount of coffee shops.  We were in cold, rainy coffee heaven.  Also, Portland has more breweries per capita than anywhere else in the world so we also tasted some delicious brews.  Lastly, Jen’s dad, brother, and sister-in-law all live in Portland and we had an incredible time living near them for this season.  Jen and I found out we dominate at the game “Settlers of Catan”. 

Oregon Surfing:  We had the opportunity to surf one time while up in the Northwest.  We put on the extra thick wetsuit, the hood, gloves, booties and paddled out into the freezing Oregon surf.  The best part of the experience was the water “escalator” hugging the cliff.  The rip tide was so strong that you could walk over to the cliff, lay on your board, and without paddling you would get sucked out to the lineup.  It was amazing, especially after our arms tired out quickly. 

Condo for pizza lovers:  The condo we house sat in Portland had a wood fire pizza oven.  We had three pizza parties, including the Super Bowl, where we made pizzas in the oven.  Someday I’m definitely getting a pizza oven in my house.

Here are a couple quick videos we shot while we were in Oregon:

Visiting Multnomah Falls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA_SQH3G6jE&list=UUF60i0BaET_ijJ4_DI8XCNQ&index=2&feature=plcp

What happens when the sun finally shines in Portland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-Cv19AbPyQ&list=UUF60i0BaET_ijJ4_DI8XCNQ&index=1&feature=plcp

Hiking along the Oregon Coast

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBLitd9jHc8&list=UUF60i0BaET_ijJ4_DI8XCNQ&index=3&feature=plcp

Driving across a huge bridge in Astoria, heading into Washington

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G8gk_JH3F0&list=UUF60i0BaET_ijJ4_DI8XCNQ&index=4&feature=plcp

Being back in San Diego, it has been insightful to look back on these last 6 months and remember our mindset when we started this sabbatical.  We didn’t know exactly what we were getting into when we decided to go, but we did know that God was calling us into a season of rest.  So when we rolled out of California for Breckenridge in late August we really had no clue where we would end up or when this season would end.  Both of us were fairly confident that it might extend at least 3 months, maybe 4, but at the very most 5.  But even 5 months sounded crazy!  How can we be unemployed for that long?  By the time we left Portland and started driving back to San Diego it had been exactly 6 months from when we first started this whole adventure.  Half a year! 

We can look back on these last 6 months and tell you that we have needed every day the Lord has graciously offered us.  When we returned to San Diego in late November, both of us felt like we were not ready to jump back into a normal routine.  We can’t really explain why, but there was an urgency to continue this journey.  Portland was such an affirming time that there is absolutely no regrets about our time we spent up there.  But, as we slowly made our way South, through rain and snow, we both had a firm realization that this season of rest is over.  Again, there is no explanation as to why we sense it is finished.  It has nothing to do with length of time or financial restraints (though both reasons are valid).  We just know that it is done.  And it feels great.

So we are officially done with this journey.  But the big adventure has just begun.  We are currently back in Escondido living with Jeff’s parents, getting our footing and actively seeking employment.  We are so grateful that we have a place to come home to for a bit, though it is a little sobering to realize we are in our 30s and living with our parents.  The only comfort we have is that nothing we have done these last 6 months makes a ton of sense.  Why change that now?  At least my (Jeff) parents are great roommates and incredibly gracious to have us.

We still need your support, encouragement and help.  If you hear of any job opportunities, please let us know.  We are pursuing work in the church but in the interim may have to get another job to pay the bills.  God has been faithful to us these last 6 months and we have every reason to believe He will continue to be faithful as we move forward.   

You have been a huge source of encouragement for us as we feel like we are not alone.  Thanks for your prayers.  We will try and send out our next email a little sooner than this one.  But….you never know where the wind will take us.

Jeff & Jen

Merry Christmas and Updates from the Brueckers

This was an email that was sent on 12/18/12 

Dear Friends and Family,

There’s no place like home.  There’s no place like home.  As I am writing this email, Jen and I are currently sitting at a coffee shop called, “The Pannikin” in Encinitas, CA.  It is one of our favorite places to hang out, not only because it has great coffee but also because it is just down the street from our “December” house, and sits about 3 blocks from the beach.  But before we get into how we got here, we’ve provided a quick, fun list of places we’ve been and things we’ve learned during the past 6 weeks (otherwise this email would turn into a novel).

Beds we’ve slept in since leaving Denver on November 10^th:

1.  Grand Junction, CO: We spent a night with 2 of Jen’s close friends.  It was fun, cold and way too short.

2.  Phoenix, AZ: We dropped off our dog, Tucker, with Jen’s brother and future sister-in-law as they agreed to take him for the week while we embarked on another adventure to……

3.  Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point), MX:  A family at Daybreak gave us the gift of one week on the beach in Rocky Point.  We celebrated Jen’s birthday.  Amazing week (more info below).

4.  Phoenix, AZ Part 2 (same house, different bed): Birthday weekend with Jen’s family and also an engagement dinner party for Jen’s brother and future sister-in-law!!!

5.  Escondido, CA: Back home in So Cal with Jeff’s parents for Thanksgiving week full of wonderful food and family.

6.  San Luis Obispo, CA (aka SLO):  We spent an extended weekend with Jeff’s entire family in one of our favorite places in the world.  We also celebrated our 5-year anniversary there!

7.  Escondido, CA Part 2:  We were still looking for a place to live for the month of December. 

8.  Encinitas, CA: We found our home for most of December and it is a great story (see below). 

Things we’ve learned along the way:

1. We really love our community of friends in Denver and can’t wait for all of them to finally move to warmer So Cal (because three snow storms in October seriously affected our desire to live in a snowy climate).

2. Being on a sabbatical means getting to celebrate many birthdays, in person!  Happy Birthday once again to Mom, Aunt Judy, Trisha, Dan, Dave, Jen and Jeff.  Whew.

3. Ya know the saying, “I’ve gained the freshman fifteen”?  Well, we’ve just coined the phrase, “sabbatical seven”.  No more birthday cake.

4. Going to Phoenix to celebrate your younger brother’s 30^th birthday and engagement dinner means lots of cacti, paintball with your mom, meeting Charles Barkley, and feeling really old.

5. Rocky Point, Mexico (located on the Sea of Cortez), is a great place to celebrate an “off-season” birthday.  It means 75 degrees, perfect blue skies, having heated infinity pools by the ocean all to yourself, eating fresh fish that costs next to nothing, a lost-in-translation birthday cake with your name spelled wrong on it (hilarious), and something called a tequila-popper.

6.  Flat tires are better experienced 3 miles from the Mexican border as opposed to 3 miles on the other side (true story).  

7. We’ve slept in 13 different beds since Aug. 28^th, and the verdict still rules that there’s no bed more comfortable than your own (although the bed in Encinitas came to a close 2^nd.  Thank you again, Stone and Shelby).

8. You're never too old to spend your birthday at Disneyland.

9. Without the generosity of so many incredible people, we wouldn’t be writing any of this.  We are completely blown away by the Lord’s provision in this way.

10.  We serve a God who loves to surprise us.  We had the hardest time finding the right place to live during December.  We thought we had a place nailed down, but at the last minute it fell through.  While staying in Escondido (part 2), we went to the beach to check the surf and ran into a couple friends coming out of the water.  After explaining that we were still looking for a place to live, one of our friends said that we should live at their place for the month.  They have a little 2-bedroom duplex near the beach, which we immediately thought would have been great but we weren’t ready to live in that small of a place with another couple.  When we told them this, they clarified and said they were going to be gone all of December and had actually been looking for someone to live in their house!  We couldn’t believe it.  In an hour we saw one place fall through only to be replaced by a 2-bedroom house 3 blocks from the beach.  Swwweeeeeet!

Where we are presently:

We have actually begun job searching and trying to figure out what God has for us (if you have any ideas for us, please let us know).  It has been an encouraging and discouraging process, which I’m sure most of you have experienced.  We are holding onto the hope that God has something for us, and looking back on these last months we have no doubt that He has been with us each step of the way. Thank you for your prayers and support.  This journey is by no means over, and in reality the faith-testing time is just beginning.  We would appreciate your continued prayers and support and will keep you up to speed on the future.

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Where we are headed:

In a few short days we will be celebrating Christmas with Jeff’s family back in Escondido.   Then we’re off to Phoenix again to bring in the New Year at Jen’s brother’s wedding, which Jeff is officiating!!!

Straight from there we’re traveling up to Portland, OR for the month of January.  We can’t wait for rainy days filled with incredible coffee, food and fellowship with Jen’s family (and of course at least one freezing surf session on the Oregon coast).

After Portland, we’re planning on returning to So Cal (to live where????) for some much needed sunshine!

Thanks for being a part of this wacky and crazy journey we have been on.  We love you all.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

Jeff and Jen

Jeff and Jen's Excellent Adventure

This was an email sent on October 26th 2011 while living at Corrigan's house in Denver.

"Because we can."  This is the phrase that has reverberated through each location we lived these last 7 weeks.  William Wallace had his battle cry of "Freedom."  We have our battle cry of "Because We Can."  It has been a fun reminder that this season for us is about rest, relaxation, doing things we wouldn't normally be able to do, meeting people we wouldn't normally get to meet, and not dwelling on the unknown future.  Let me give you an example of how our battle cry plays into everyday life.

Jeff:  Well, the movie just ended.  What do you want to do now?
Jen:  Lets watch another movie!
Jeff:  Why would we do that?
Jen:  Because we can.

I can't believe it has been over a month since we sent our last email.  Time really does fly when you're not doing much. :) Thank you for your emails, thoughts, prayers and support.  We have felt so loved and cared for by so many since we began this process.  It really is a comforting thing knowing we are not on this journey alone.  We do value each one of you and have been so excited to bring you along for the ride.

Our time in Breckenridge during the month of September was amazing.  We tried to focus on resting and relaxing as much as possible.  Besides daily watching the leaves go from green to gold to red, our month consisted of watching movies, celebrating family member's birthdays, biking, climbing, hiking, fishing, Starbucks, lots of Starbucks and more movies.  By the end of the month we finally began to feel like our wheels weren't spinning anymore... we felt rested (even though feeling rested in itself has been a daily process altogether).  The Lord knew a month in Breck was just what we needed to start our sabbatical.  Thank you again, Mom and SD, for giving us the gift of staying there during that month.

To bring you up to speed, we are currently "living" in Denver.  We've been house sitting for one of our friends since October 7th.  It has been so good to reconnect with some of the great friends and family we have here.  We will be resting and playing in Denver through the first week of November, at which time we will very slowly start making our way West.

Here are a few highlights from the last month:

The Coldest Most Beautiful Wedding Ceremony in History: Jen's step-sister, Lauren, married Jen's sister-in-law's brother (try to figure that one out) at a beautiful mountain ranch 45 minutes outside of Vail, CO.  Jeff had the honor to officiate the wedding and we spent 3 days in Vail celebrating with family and friends.  The ceremony itself was cold (the temp coincidentally fell into the 30s during the outdoor ceremony).  It was breathtaking.  Everyone had to huddle together family-style which made the ceremony feel very intimate.  Such a celebration of love between Ben and his gorgeous bride, Lauren!  Immediately following the ceremony, the rain stopped which allowed the sun to peek through and warm everything up.  The photographers were able to capture some of the most beautiful wedding photos ever.  Incredible day.

The Scariest Bike Ride of My Life:  While staying in Breckenridge we took an entire day and rode bikes all the way from Breckenridge to Vail, which is about 36 miles and takes you up and over Vail Pass.  To help paint the picture, try and imagine yourself riding a bike over a mountain pass at an elevation of 10,600 ft. The oxygen gets a bit thin up there.  Thankfully, we were distracted by the scenery around us since the leaves had started to turn at this point and the mountains looked like they were on fire.  At the top of Vail Pass we embarked on a crazy 15 mile downhill ride into Vail.  This was not a gradual downhill.  We were flying for 15 straight miles.  It was too painful to try and brake the whole way down so we just kind of let it go.  I (Jeff) had to ride in front of Jen because I was so worried that she was going to fall (and I would have to witness the wreckage).  There were pieces of the downhill where we were probably going 40 miles per hour.  It was so much fun and stressful at the same time.  Luckily Jen's mom was gracious and picked us up in Vail so we didn't have to ride back up that monster pass.  Instead, we went to one of those posh high class movie theaters and ate delicious food in comfy chairs while we watched Moneyball (great movie).  That day was definitely a highlight for us.

Mr. Denver:  I (Jeff) had the privilege of competing in one of the most prestigious, well-respected competitions in all of Colorado.  A competition so fierce that the champion earns the right to be called, "Mr. Denver".  This years competition featured 10 well trained professional athletes performing at the top of their game.  The competition started Friday night, October 7th, with a 2 hour beating at a place called Xtreme Challenge.  Basically, a former contestant on the old American Gladiator TV show purchased their equipment and now lets groups come in and beat each other silly while pretending they're competing in American Gladiator.  Which was a great reminder to each of us that we are getting old.  The next morning (early) we drug our beat up, sore bodies out of bed and engaged in the most difficult of the events: running the stairs at Red Rocks.  What made it even more interesting this year was the fact that we woke up with a few inches of snow on the ground.  My thin California blood almost drove me out of the competition that morning.  Red Rock is a famous outdoor amphitheater with long cement stairs.  The race is to the top of the stairs and back down.  It sounds easy but this event is feared by each of the Mr. Denver participants every year.  I have never done something that has the effect of making me believe my lungs might literally explode.  The whole group was wheezing and coughing for an hour after the run.  Painful.  I finished 5th out of 9 places on the run.  Then we move to a field goal kick challenge, bowling, trivia, the urban obstacle course (which is how it sounds - jump fences, weave around poles, do a car push etc...) and finally the competition ends with the boot-n-bike.  This is a 100 yard dash in ski boots (yes, ski boots), followed by a half mile bike ride around a track (still in ski boots), then off the bike to throw a ski pole through a football upright from 25 yards out (in ski boots).  If you miss the throw, you have to run (in ski boots), retrieve the pole, and try again.  It is brutally funny (unless it is your turn, then it is just brutal).  After all was said and done, I finished 2nd in the competition and can point back to bowling as the event that really destroyed my chances for victory.  It was an amazing day nonetheless and I can't wait for next year's Mr. Denver.  For those of you in San Diego, I would like to bring this event West and start "Señor San Diego".  Any takers???


One of the fears we have had throughout this process is that we would waste this time.  We were given an unbelievable opportunity-- a "timeout" on life so to speak-- to rest and focus on areas of our life that we think are really important.  But we don't know what this time is supposed to look like.  There's no book on "Sabbaticals for Dummies".  We don't know how it is going to play out and certainly have no idea how it is going to end.  We have to hold true to the belief that in the stillness and quiet of this season God is working in our hearts and lives even if we can't tangibly see much change right now.  Throughout the Gospels, Jesus often left people who were in real need to retreat into the mountains to be alone.  He modeled this kind of behavior.  Almost 2 months into this Sabbatical we are still learning what it means to take a step back and allow God to direct our paths.  And up to this point we honestly have nothing figured out.  But...we know that God is moving and working.  We can slowly see our hearts melting and aligning more closely with Him and each other.  Would you continue to pray for us in this?  We're absolutely ecstatic to look back some day and see all that God did during this special season, but today, would you join us in praying that we would be totally present to the work he is doing in our hearts right now.

Here are a couple prayers that we listed in the last email: 

• That we would seek the Lord each and every day and be still before Him,
• That our marriage would be strengthened and taken to new levels through this season of rest, and
• That we would fight the desire right now to figure everything out and plan for the future.  I (Jeff), as the provider, have a hard time letting go of the future and being fully present.

These are still the most important lessons that God is teaching us right now.  Thank you for faithfully joining with us in this fight.

Here are a couple verses from Mark that were especially meaningful to me recently.  May those of us who fervently seek God live in the power that we have in God through prayer.  

"And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God.  Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."                             -Mark 11:22-24


Lastly, a little business.  As of now we do not have any solidified plans for December but would like to continue our sabbatical throughout that month.  Will you let us know if you have any ideas on a place we could go during that month?  Ex: House sitting somewhere?  Thanks.

Because we can,

Jeff and Jen