I don’t anticipate writing here any longer, so be sure to head on over and subscribe to our new blog!

I prepared a few words for the occasion, just in case I was asked to say anything. So, here we go, assuming I can make it through without getting too choked up. (And I certainly did get too choked up…)
First, I would like to thank the hosts of the party: My Mom – Karen Scott, and Christina’s mom – Tara Cromp, and my daughter Morgan.
And I know she doesn’t like to be the recipient of all the attention, but I did want to express my deep gratitude to my mother-in-law, Tara Cromp. She in many ways was the catalyst for all of this. She took the initiative several years ago to get her bachelor’s degree. And she faced all the challenges and more that any working professional, spouse, and parent could face. She’s been a huge inspiration. I would be hard pressed to think of anyone else quite as ambitious and dedicated when it comes to the many responsibilities set before her. So I think she deserves a big round of applause. And she has just begun her Master’s program so think of her in your prayers.
Next I would like to thank my wife and children. Christina was a rock for the family during this time, despite having her hands full with her own new responsibilities. I shared many times with my classmates that my kids were one of the biggest reasons I was working for my degree, and truthfully, their support – especially during the last nine months – is what got all of us through. They put up a countdown on the wall and faithfully checked off every day until the end.
I’d also like to thank each and every one of you coming to help celebrate. We have an assortment of guests: family, old friends, new friends, and even some folks from out of town that it is absolutely great to see. I think My Aunt Jo gets 1st place for distance traveled, coming all the way from Cuchara, CO. Everyone here has in some way touched our lives, whether an inspirational example, a word of encouragement, or walking right beside of us during life’s challenges. The way I see many of you face your own challenges inspires me to face life head on and with joy.
We even have a few representatives from my work here. Concert has been a family to me for the past eleven years, and I have done much of my growing up there. So I’m very thankful for their willingness to put a little faith in me.
For those of you who don’t know the whole story, I’d like to share a little background and then close with a few thoughts. I guess I could go back pretty far, like to when I was nine and carried around my Dad’s old briefcase pretending to be a businessman with a laptop. That was after I concluded that Zorro probably wasn’t going to work for a career. A decade later I found myself at George Mason studying business, as my friend and I dreamed up how we could start our own Empire Records style music store. But, smitten with love, life headed in a different direction. I took a full-time job at Concert, married my beautiful wife, and we had a baby… and another… and another… ahem. Except for a class here and there, it felt like completing college was pretty much out of the picture. A few years into it, we tried our hand at our own business, mainly out of desperation. We racked up a lot of debt, and basically failed miserably. But we did learn a lot through the experience.
Fast-forward, to 2008… another critical piece to the story. By this time we had four children, and God tapped my shoulder to step up and lead our family out of our financial debt. So we began what we thought would be long years of arduous work. However, with some sacrifice, a lot of rice and beans, and a bit of good old fashioned work, we surprised ourselves and paid off 25,000 of debt in 9 months, remaining debt free to this day.
So now we found ourselves committed to being debt free, but what exactly did that mean for our future. It looked like a lot of waiting, patience, and trusting God for every next step. Just as we were tucking away most ambitious goals, my mother-in-law approached me about a chance for a scholarship to get a bachelor’s degree from University of Phoenix. She had recently finished her degree, and the school had a program called Pay It Forward where alumni could write in recommending someone for full scholarship. So we said, “why not?!” with only remote hope I would be chosen. A few months later, and I remember the day well, I was working back in the warehouse at Concert when I got a call. With jaw dropped, I listened as they told me I was awarded the scholarship. Accepting it as an answer to prayer and confirmation of our debt-free commitment, we began the new adventure in March of 2009. We made some adjustments to family life, but there were times when we thought the work would never end. We had our share of challenges and doubts, but kept pressing on by the grace of God, and eventually found ourselves on the precipice of 2011. Just a couple months before, I had received a call from my advisor that I could double up on classes if I wanted. After entertaining the idea for the remainder of the year, we got some additional news… we were expecting our seventh bundle of joy. So as a family, we sat down New Year’s Day and laid out a plan for me to double up and finish by September… what would be 4 days before the baby’s due date. We knew the next few months would be hard, and that we might question our sanity at times… especially with statistics in the first two sets of classes. But everyone pitched in and picked up responsibilities. The end day started to come more quickly and we were all motivated by the progress. Henry, here, threw a slight wrench in our plans by showing up a few days ahead of schedule, so I ended up turning in my last assignment in the hospital. But I graduated from the University of Starbucks…ahem… Phoenix on September 5th with a sigh of relief and some tears of joy.
Through the experience, I learned a lot besides just what the textbooks taught, and I did want to share one major thought or lesson I learned and still am learning. As I interacted with classmates it was very evident that (1) everyone has challenges and (2) that we can face them in various ways. Some students dropped out because they didn’t like the instructor or the work load. But then there were a couple ladies that gave birth 4 weeks into a 5 week class and still completed everything. A few months ago our pastor asked us to rate on a scale of one to ten how we handle change, challenges, or just when things don’t go our way (1 being we have a complete mental and emotional breakdown, and 10 we don’t miss a beat). This was actually right around when I was studying change management. I really wanted to say I was at least a 5, but the more I paid attention to my reactions, I’m probably closer to a 3. And it has much to do with how I like to be in control of my circumstances. Can anyone relate? I can grit my teeth and get through just about anything, but I don’t always do it with joy. Our friends, the Ferrantes came to visit us in the hospital after Henry was born – the evening I graduated. And Rick reminded me that although life like that is possible, it is exhausting and it is not life to the fullest. Peace and joy actually come from handing over control to God rather than holding tighter to it. So as we all go through life with a degree of uncertainty, I would encourage you and myself to view peace, joy, and purpose not as something that you achieve through control or when you accomplish your goals, but rather something you need to embrace and practice on a daily basis as you go through the twists and turns of life.
Thank you again for coming out, and please enjoy the rest of the celebration!

The first months’s results are in. And although there are big holes, I know that setting the goal has helped me accomplish more than I would have without setting the goal. And since family life is solid, my job is going well, and I’m still maintaining a 4.0 GPA in school, I won’t beat myself up about missed days.

The goals I have set are: (1) Waking up at 5 AM. Ambitious, but that extra time allows me to do so much more. (2) Read my Bible daily. I’m using the YouVersion app on my iPhone. (3) Pray. As simple as it sounds, a concerted effort and focused time to pray about all the things on my heart is a big deal. (4) Exercise. No, not P90X this time. I’m just doing whatever I can fit in for the day.

1. Christina is pregnant with baby Scott # 7, due in September!
2. Nathaniel has set a course to graduate with his bachelor’s degree in… September
3. As a family we have committed to say NO this year to spending so we can save towards a house.

Well, if you can’t tell, that’s some big news. We are super excited about another baby. We will write more about this soon, but for now if you read this and this, you will get a good glimpse of what’s been going on in our hearts and minds.

Here is a look at the year through the family members from youngest to oldest…

Thomas:

Thomas had an eventful year. He was born! We welcomed him on April 25th. He is 8 months old and mobile. He’s one of the fastest growing of our babies, almost as big as 2 year old sister Lily. He has a very sweet personality and can melt you with his smile.

Lily:

Lily just turned 2 on December 27th. She grew in character… not necessarily in stature. Her vocabulary has expanded this year, and she has picked up a lot of the older kid’s behaviors. She is the epitome of cute, although she already expresses her 2 year old “tude.”

Peter:

Peter survived the year without any visits to the ER! He has enough energy to power a small town. We can’t wait to have a BIG yard for him to play in. Peter turned 3 in July, loves Buzz Lightyear, robots, Scooby Do, and Pirates.

Clara:

Clara “Cord Winder” Scott, turned 5 and started gaining more responsibilities. Yes, she is the official vacuum cord winder-upper. She is learning how to read and write is having fun in her CO-OP class with other spacey 5 year olds. Clara? Clara? Earth to Clara!

Morgan:

It is amazing watching our kids mature. Morgan turned 7. She loves action and attention. Her big moment this year was praying with Dad for Jesus to be her Lord and Savior. She can’t wait for next year so she can join the KIDTeam with James. As you can see her smile is huge!

James:

If you look up responsible in the dictionary, there will be a picture of James. He is Peter’s big buddy (aka helper) and he is the Household Laundry Manager. He received his first pet – Petunia, a corn snake. He has been reading non-stop and hopes to become a herpetologist.

Christina:

Christina spend the first four months of the new year pregnant. We had hoped for another pleasant natural birth as we had with Lily, but a cord around the baby’s neck meant a little more intervention from doctors and drugs. But Thomas was born healthy and we were thankful for that. Christina experienced some PP Depression, but we reached out and she made some great friends – especially the Butterfields. Which then lead us looking into Classical Conversations to help with the kids education, which lead to more friends and an all around good year. She turned 26 this year.

Nathaniel:

He started the year of juggling work, school, P90X, and 2 feet of snow. He kept a 4.0 grade point average and finished his 15th class with University of Phoenix. He was promoted to manager in May, and eventually got his actual title in December. Some not-so-fun digestive problems (including gallbladder attacks) led to researching the Weston A Price Foundation, and a significant diet change for the whole family. He got to run in his first 10K on new Years Eve.

And here is brief timeline of major events…
January:
Christina was five months pregnant. Nate started P90X.

February:
Clara turned the big “05.” We got buried in snow.

March:
Morgan turned 7.

April:
Nate finished P90X. Thomas was born on April 25th!

May:
Nate was promoted to manager. Friends and family came to our rescue as we battled our way through some depression.

June:
The World Cup! Christina turned 26, and Nate turned 28.

July:
Peter turned 3.

August:
Nate’s digestive issues led us to WAPF and some significant dietary changes. Classical Conversations Co-Op began!

September:
James joined the KIDteam at church. We visited the Outerbanks with the Cromps.

October:
The kids dressed as cowboys (with their cow and horse) for halloween.

November:
James turned 9. We made a trek down to Harrisonburg for a cousin’s wedding (plus a little family reunion).

December:
Nate finally got his title and role as Process & Systems Manager with Concert Technologies, and finished his 15th class with University of Phoenix. James performed in the church’s Christmas Eve services as a KID Team dancer and the little drummer boy. Lily turned 2. We had a wonderful Christmas with family.

We’re looking forward to an exciting 2011!

But these ones in particular hit home (in a good way) since, well, that’s our life, most days!

• College is 52% complete. One year down, two to go. Maintaining a 4.0 GPA
• The kids are starting Classical Conversations this school year. We are all excited. Especially about conjugating Latin verbs. Or is that just me.
• We (Christina and I) are doing TurboFire which is a mix of kenpo, hip-hop dance, cardio, resistance, core. It’s a good challenge for my coordination and really wakes up your brain if you do it early in the morning.
• I’m about 99% sure that my periodic pains in my stomach area are gallbladder related, and thus we’re all on an adventure learning about better eating, cleanse diets, juicing, and all sorts of fun stuff. Did you catch all that? My wife suggest we become certified food nuts.
• We are learning American Sign Language, watching Signing Time every night at 8. Join us?
• We are prepping ourselves and finances for another exciting saving/giving/growing extravaganza. Now if someone would inform the cars.

Taken with iPhone using “Instant” from CameraBag