Saturday, September 27, 2008

Saturday Wanderings

We heard that the fall colors were at their peak is Estes Park and made a quick decision to venture up to the park today. We loved seeing the changing colors on the aspen trees, watching the elk look for a mate and being able to listen to their mating call.  The park was insanely busy but we all had a wonderful time. 

wandering off to explore





the changing colors


The elk that was greeting us as we came out of the trees.  Yikes!


Tuesday, September 23, 2008

My Life's Work

A talented woman was asked by a friend, "Why have you never written a book?"

"I am writing two" was the quiet reply.  "I have been engaged on one for ten years, the other five."  

"You surprise me!" the friend said.  "What profound works they must be!"

"It doth not appear what they shall be," said the woman, "but when He makes up His jewels, my great ambition is to find them there."

"Your Children?"

"Yes, my two children.  They are my life's work."
 From Elisabeth Elliot


Monday, September 22, 2008

It's The First Day of Fall!

Pictures from a day that was loved by all...



The invitation inviting our friends to join us on the first day of fall


Bobbing for apples



Our thankfulness tree
 

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Lord, I would trust Thee completely; I would be altogether Thine; I would exalt Thee above all.  I desire that I may feel no sense of possessing anything outside of Thee.  I want constantly to be aware of Thy overshadowing presence and to hear Thy speaking voice.  I love to live in restful sincerity of heart.  I want to live so fully in the Spirit that all my thoughts may be as sweet incense ascending to Thee and every act of my life may be an act of worship.  Therefore I pray in the words of Thy great servant of old, "I beseech Thee so for to cleanse the intent of mine heart with the unspeakable gift of Thy grace, that I may perfectly love Thee and worthily praise Thee."  And all this I confidently believe Thou wilt grant me through the merits of Jesus Christ Thy Son.  Amen A.W. Tozer
 

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Dreaming...


I guess it all started when I was younger and loved to watch Little House on The Prairie.  I fell in love with Laura Ingalls, the Ingalls family and their homestead.  I knew in my mind that life was harder back then but still my heart had fallen in love.  Even if I could not go back in time and live as the Ingalls family did, we could still live on land and in a sense, live as they did... right!?  

When I was eleven years old my family moved to a town two hours north of where we were. I'm sure my parents had talked of land before we moved but I guess I just don't remember the conversations, maybe I was just too young.  Once we moved though, I remember the drives in the country, the talks, looking and dreaming together.  They wanted land and they had dreams of building their own home.  Sadly, for whatever reason this never came into fruition and I am sure this dream is still there for them. 

As a teenager I would dream of moving to Colorado... or Montana...  anywhere really where we could afford land.  Anywhere.  Somehow, it has been etched on the canvas of my life...  

Brent grew up on five acres of land in the country and his best friend raised sheep on hundreds of acres.   He loved growing up on land and has many, many stories to tell of his days out exploring the area around him.  

We were married and started off in a little apartment and then moved to our first house when John-John was a year old.  We were so thrilled to have a yard for our little guy to romp around in and to explore.   Benjamin came and still the yard was amazing, it served us well.   We had a huge side yard and built a large planter box so that we could grow our own organic garden. God had blessed us... He had provided so much for us through this backyard...  Sweet, sweet days... precious memories.

Then our two little boys began to grow and we were reminded of our dreams...  Brent growing up on land and knowing how good it is and me dreaming of it.  Our boys needed room, room to grow, to build, to play, to work.  

I don't remember how it started but somehow my whole family began looking for land together but it just never came together and we ended up moving to Colorado.   

And now, here we are in Colorado.  We love where we are...  a little larger home then we had in California, a little larger backyard then we had in California and an amazing neighborhood.  It's been so wonderful living here as we've discovered our new town.  Still, that ache for land is there...  

We've talked, dreaming with family and friends... I'd love to raise our own chickens and cows... to have a large organic garden and some fruit trees...  I'm not sure what the future holds and if we will end up on the land we dream of or if we'll end up right here in this home for years to come or if we'll end up in another country serving the least.  

So, because I want to embrace today, do all I can with it and enjoy it to it's fullest, I am starting my own Operation: City Backyard.  I don't want to just sit around dreaming of my land that hopefully will become a reality    but I want to make our backyard a place where the boys love to play...  A place where their imagination sores... where they can work and play.  

Our friends were over for dinner the other night and some of our talk surrounded around city backyards and land...  City backyards worked when our parents were growing up because they had the freedom and safety to go and explore the local creek or a neighbors farm in the afternoon.  They were not confined just to their backyards but instead their backyards were a useful tool in their afternoon adventures.   It's different now...

Operation: City Backyard will hold my brainstorms and projects for making our backyard a place for two growing boys and two little girls to dream, explore, work and play...  at least until, Lord willing, somehow, our dream becomes a reality... 

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Run

Go to the Bravehearted website and watch the video Run.  

Amazing.  Soul-Stirring.  Convicting.  

Remembering...

In some ways, it seems like it was only a year ago, not seven.  

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Fall Time

The days are starting to shorten, the mornings are just a little cooler and you can begin to see the leaves starting to change.  It seems like everyone is beginning to welcome fall...   

I use to be the girl whose favorite season was the next one coming but I guess I have changed... I still love the changing seasons but somehow and at some point Fall seemed to creep it's way up to be my favorite season.   Maybe it is the welcoming of the cooler days or the start of a new school year and the schedule it invites into our lives...  maybe it is the smell of candles in the evening or being able to now enjoy a warm soup for dinner...  maybe it is the changing colors on the trees around us or the preparations that start for the coming holiday season.   Although, I don't really think I can just single out one thing that causes this season to hold such a treasured place in my life, instead it is the combination of all that it welcomes.  

This is our first fall in Colorado and I am anxiously awaiting the experience all of the new sights, sounds, smells and touches that will be surrounding us.       

Monday, September 8, 2008

We are obsessed with our presentation and our appearance.  We've been so concerned about being cool, relevant, and fun that we have forgotten to be bread, light, and life to a hungry, dark and dying world.  We have forgotten that we are not here to make people feel more comfortable about themselves and their time spent inside the Church building.  That is simply not what Christianity is about.  Christianity is about a kingdom, a glory, a power, a love, a grace, a righteousness, an eternal triumph, and yielding to the all-powerful King who is bringing it all about.          Eric Ludy 

Friday, September 5, 2008

What's going on?


My little girls has been pretty fussy the last couple of days and we just did not know what was going on...  last night as Brent was holding her he said, I hope it's not the new diapers that are bothering her.    Ack!  How could they be?  She wasn't like this last week.  I just don't understand.

Then today as I was sweeping my finger through her mouth to take something out, I realized why she has been so fussy.

Teething.

Why had this not crossed my mind? My poor baby.  

I'm just thankful it's not the new diapers.  :)

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Family Worship

I think if was about a year and a half ago that I received an email from a friend, a momma of five, telling me about a set of CDs that her family loved.  They were geared towards children, all scripture yet even her husband loved them and listened to them while he was alone in the car.  
She really encouraged me to get them.... it was  Seeds of Worship.  I think they had the whole collection but I just got the Faith and Courage CDs and  really loved them.

I recently received The Power of Encouragement - a new CD that will be released in October.  It came in the mail right before we left for vacation last week and we found ourselves turning it on each morning filling our minds with verses such as Philippians 4:12-13, Psalm 55:22, John 16:33 and Mark 9:35.  It follows the same line as the other Seeds of Worship CDs and we loved it just the same.  

It's a good thing.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Ramblings

The funny thing is that as I sit here, starting to ponder what I was going to write about today, I started to title this post Monday's Musings...  pretty cute (although, I'm sure it's not an original)... the only problem is that it's not Monday.  I think I somehow lost a day with yesterday being a holiday.   

Last Wednesday we left for five days in Garden City, Utah for a little family vacation.  It's always so nice to get away for a few days with those you love and call me crazy but I always love going on road trips with the kids.   We spent our days around the swimming pool, watching the boys play volleyball, reading and relaxing and we threw in a couple of field trips for fun.    It felt wonderful to come home though...   

Brent's Grandma is not doing very well health wise and may be entering the final stage of her journey here on earth.   She has moved rooms where she lives and they sent out an email to all of her grandchildren to email a family picture so that they can put them on the bulletin board in her room.  This morning found us with the tripod set up in the back yard trying to get that perfect picture.  Oh boy, is it hard with six different people in the family, four being children.  


The camera started off on the wrong setting... oops!



Take one... nope.  Take two... nope.  Take three... nope.  


We finally got the one.  Yay!!  
... but now blogger is not wanting to add anymore pictures so it will have to wait.  :)

We have a sweet friend from Church that will be taking our family pictures for us in two weeks and it made me realize that I really feel pretty sorry for her.  She's going to have to take SO many pictures.    Mom... Dad... Kim... can any of you come help????  I know, I know we are sadly alone on this one.  

All the boys have been talking about today is having an apple smear.  A nice, clean game they want to play.   Other then that, I have so many thoughts swirling through my head right now that it's hard to think of writing anything deep.  

So for now, here are some ramblings...