Martin Kids to NCS 2015

It's that time of year again where we are graciously asking for tax credit donations to be made to lighten the

cost of sending the kids to Northwest Christian. It is a win-win for everyone.

This year we are also raising funds to send Brynn to NCS next year as well.  This will make 4! Whew...they grow so fast.

The program is a tax CREDIT program, which means you will receive a dollar-for-dollar credit back on your taxes when you give.  Everyone has tax liability to the state, this is a way to tell your funds exactly where you want them to go. It makes it easier and for many, possible, to attend a private school such as NCS.  We are so thankful for this ability here in Arizona.

It is very simple.  Once you begin filing your taxes you will see how much AZ State Tax Liability you have for the 2014 year.  You can then pause, momentarily, go online to www.azto.org and make a tax credit donation in our family's name. You just need Cole, Brody, Trace and Brynn's names and the school they attend (Northwest Christian School).

You then make a donation online.  If you happen to have more tax liability than the maximum amount for the standard credit, you can give in the PLUS credit option up to the amount you have in State Tax Liability.

You then finish your taxes noting your donation in order to receive your credit. If you have a tax accountant, well, they should know exactly what to do! :)

Here is the link to the form in case someone wanted to mail in their donation. And, our family letter!

2015/2016 Family Letter and Donation Form

Sending the Twins to Northwest Christian School

We would like to send the twins, with Cole, to Northwest Christian in 2014.

We have spent the first two months of school working on reading, math, money, time, writing, sentence structure, punctuation, verbs, nouns, bible lessons, memory verses, and so much more in between.  We have been considering transitioning the boys to NCS next year but I wanted to get a little further along in their skills to make sure when they transition they wouldn't be behind.  I DO NOT want little boys coming home defeated and frustrated.  That is just no way to live! I also wanted to be sure the Lord wanted us to make that move.

I think we are making excellent progress and although at times they seem to need reminding and prompting to remember things we went over, they have done remarkably well.  They are a whole year younger than Cole was in first grade.  Cole was 7, the twins are 6.  This makes a huge difference, along with their personalities, in their desire to learn, their ability, their interest.  Until recently I can say for a fact, Trace had little to no interest in learning to read.  And that is okay.  But, I wanted to encourage them to have more interest if we were going to consider them attending NCS.

I am not 100% sure as to the Lords wishes, but I do know we must take steps, in prayer, in order to find answers. Justin and I are stepping out in faith, considering it will cost about $16,000 to send all 3 boys to NCS.  The good news, after these three attend school, the 4th, 5th, and 6th ones are free! Wahooo.  But, raising, through tax credits, $16,000 will still be the LORDS total provision for our family and confirm we should be sending them there.  It is not an easy task to raise the money.  It takes planning, applications, letters, posts, swallowing one's pride :) and faith. We are acting in faith and allowing God to provide for the boys to attend school.

So, we are again partnering with AZTO.org, sending out letters, posting this to the blog, and sharing through social media the opportunity to designate your Arizona Tax Dollars towards Cole, Brody and Trace attending Northwest Christian in 2014/2015.

It might seem like a long time from now, but we have managed to get ahead of the fundraising curve.  Last year we were able to raise full tuition for Cole to attend school.  Praise the Lord, isn't HE good?!

By sending out letters now, we make the opportunity for our friends and family much more sweeter.

If you donate prior to December 31, 2013, you can claim your donation on BOTH your federal and state tax return.  The federal would be for donating towards a 501(c)3 and the state is for your state tax liability dollar-for-dollar credit.

If, for some reason, you would rather wait until 2014 to make a donation you can actually make a donation up until April 14, 2014 in order for it to be applied to your 2013 state liability tax filing.

Our family would be so BLESSED if you would partner with us by designating your Arizona State Tax Liability towards our boys attending Northwest Christian School.  It is a dollar-for-dollar credit so you will not lose anything by making this possible for our kids.

Please prayerfully consider making this donation on our behalf.  We are confident God plans to do great, amazing things through each of our readers who visit our blog and receive our letters.

If you have any questions, please contact us. We'd be happy to explain some things or direct you to where your answers can be found.

We are so thankful we live in a place where we can be intentional with our children's education. Second to homeschooling, which is incredible and absolutely what we recommend, Christian school is the only choice we would make.  We, as their parents, believe they should be in a place that honors Christ, puts Him first and into all aspects of education, and shows our children the righteous path. Thank you in advance for your consideration to help our family.

You can download the letter and donation form HERE!

If you desire to give but do not live in Arizona, we would certainly accept your donation, which cannot be applied towards your taxes and would simply come from the goodness of your heart, towards their tuition. You can contact me for more information about this type of donation as it cannot be made through AZTO.

Good News

Thanks to all of the supportive efforts of family and friends Cole will be attending NCS next year!! 

We are thrilled.  He is very excited and ready to make new friends.  We, of course, are also excited for him to make friends, but we are most excited he is able to school in a place (if it is not going to be our home) that honors the Lord and includes Him and the word in each part of the day and learning.  

I am also excited to have some additional one-on-one time (although that isn't really true because they are twins and its two-on-one) with my boys.  They are entering 1st grade and we will be continuing with reading, writing, math and bible as our primary focus and history and science as our secondary focus.  Also, my little miss will begin Kindergarten (although she will have 2 years of kindergarten due to only being 4).  She is ready and I'm excited to spend some time with her.

We will be spending each day praying that being at NCS is the right place for Cole and watching to see if attending school will be positive for him or perhaps negative.  I'm aware that long term school might not be what is right for him, but confident the Lord both led us and provided for us to send him there this year. Our intention is to move forward as though he will be attending again next year. 

This is where our blog readers can continue to help us with the Arizona State Tax Credit. You can find information HERE about donating your AZ State Tax Liability towards Cole's education at NCS.  We are so grateful for those who have given so far and we will need to maintain those donors as well as add more donors as we look to transition our children into private school.

Cole Attending 2nd Grade

Cole, age 7, has prepared a little video to share his feelings with you about attending NCS next year.

Thank you all for your support and love in this adventure.

You can go here to read our letter of intent and about donating. 

Go here to download the donation form for AzTO in order to assist with Cole's tuition.  The PLUS donation does apply to Cole, so feel free to go above and beyond if it fits your income level and liability.