Team Tiderman 2022 Year In Review

Individual Updates

• Overall we find ourselves in a new season of growth and adventure. We are loving the adventure we are on as we live and grow as a family team on mission together. We remind ourselves often that God put us together on purpose, with purpose.

• Mercy turned 6 this year. She is constantly dancing, singing, smiling and sharing her gifts of love and encouragement with everyone around her. She has a deep and sincere love for people and everything that’s beautiful. This past year she has learned to read and has enjoyed helping Mom cook, ballet, basketball, cross country, swim team and snowboarding.

• Selah turned 10 this year and her musical talents are starting to flourish. She has been a fast learner on the piano and each day fills our home with beautiful music. This summer she performed in the musical The Newsies where she definitely found her home on the stage. She’s an avid reader, an eager learner and is always up for trying anything including basketball, softball, swim team, cross country and snowboarding.

• Isaac turned 12 this year. His creativity has exploded as he spends his free time studying to be a videographer. He loves all aspects of shooting and editing and has created impressive videos on the Youtube channel he is building. When he is not behind the camera, he loves helping Mark with house projects, playing baseball, swim team, snowboarding and making us all laugh.

• Marcos turned 15 this year and is growing in the gifts God has given him as a leader — he’s a force on the football field, brings strength to our home and is learning to live as a light in the darkness. He is up for anything fun, intense or involving people and has enjoyed gathering his friends and teammates for fun and getting involved with Young Life. He loves snowboarding, training for football and CrossFit, and bragging that he is now stronger than his dad.

• Michelle continues to lead the homeschool charge and the overall operations of Team Tiderman. She coached a cross-country team for our kids and their friends and continues to invest in relationships in our community whether on the sidelines of a game or the side of the pool in the summer. She enjoyed a few fun getaways this summer, including a chance to see extended family and re-live childhood memories in New Jersey and New York with her sister. She also goodbye to her childhood home of 30 years this summer.

• Mark is grateful for the chance to lead Team Tiderman and is constantly helping us level up as a family team. This year he has continued to lead out of his passions in many ways — training his kids in audio and video production, encouraging men through the Fatherhood Roundtable, investing in the global Business As Mission community, teaching on Family Teams and partnering with Young Life to invest in high school guys. He is also thankful for how God continues to lead and bless the leadership coaching business he is building with his mom. He turned the big 4-0 this year, is loving his CrossFit training and is excited for the next decade of life.

Team Wins

1. We got a dog! After years of the kids asking, we finally decided to add a puppy to our family in February 2022. She is a Brittnepoo (brittany spaniel/poodle mix) named Sunny and we’re all in love.

2. In May, we had the privilege of traveling to Florida to teach alongside our mentors, the Pryors, and share the incredible Family Teams movement that has transformed our home.

3. We had a blast at the pool over the summer where we organized Family Fun Sundays and enjoyed a rare opportunity for all four kids to compete on the same swim team.

4. We completed another year of learning together and other homeschool adventures.

5. We spent a lot of time at Grandma Peggy’s house in Pennsylvania (aka summer camp!), including a chance to spend time with Mark’s grandpa and his two siblings and record their memories and stories. A multi-generational gift for sure.

6. We discovered an ancient holiday! This year we celebrated our second Sukkot gathering and a week of Sukkot celebrations. It has quickly become our favorite holiday. If you are not familiar, it is a Biblical harvest festival that looks forward to second coming of Christ. It is the only holiday that looks ahead instead of celebrating something that has already happened. You should join us next year!

7. We completed the 1000 Hours Outside Challenge, which was so good for us all. Tag - you have been challenged!

8. We launched two Youtube channels. Both are really simple and just getting started. FairfieldOne is a fun collaboration with Marcos’ friends and football team and TeamTiderman Productions is where Isaac and Selah have all their fun.

9. This winter, we are taking a break from sports and swapping the basketball and wrestling gear for snowboards, skis, and lift tickets. It’s been life giving in so many ways.

10. Our favorite time of the week is our Sabbath dinner, where all the movement stops, the tech gets turned off, and we all rest and celebrate. We pray that during this holiday season you could create space to experience that rest and celebration as well.

Final Words