Father's Day

So I am really late with this. I tried earlier to post it but the silly blog site wouldn't upload this picture. So now you have it! Isn't his smile amazing??

T is a great dad. He leads the family by example. They see him pray, they see him work and work hard I do say. They see him serve, they see him work on our finances and learn about responsibility, they see him do whatever he can himself before he ask someone else.. build walls, fix cars, hang lights, maintain lawns, refinish decks. You name it. His son is capable now to fix and change his truck from his dad's leading. His daughters mow lawns and budget money from his leading. They read the Word and pray from his leading. The list goes on. I am grateful for my husband.

So here's to Terrell. Happy Father's Day... again. :)

Desperation

Gabriel, my boy.

Phil Whitcome

These kids are on fire for Jesus!

The Desperation Conference is an AMAZING youth conference. Lives ares transformed. My friend, Laura, and I had the blessing of taking some kids from our church. We heard Holy Spirit powered speakers, we were a part of SO GOOD worship, and watched kids make decisions for Jesus. There were kids from all over our nation that came. YOU CAN TOO! Check it out online and consider coming. Oh yeah and the lights.. my oh so gifted and creative brother. Yep! And the guy on Spot..my son.

http://www.desperationstudentministries.com/

8000 Foot Shrine

On top of the world!

High above the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is the Will Rogers Shrine. Apparently, Mr. Penrose, the builder of MANY things in our area, including the zoo, loved his friend so much he built and named a shrine after him. The road is long and very curvy to the top. Once there though, the views are spectacular. The stairs just about kill you up and down. When we finally reached the top my old " Hey why don't you jump" voice came in my head so I inched my way to the wall to check out the view. The bigger lower levels were fine but with shaky knees and the voice almost screaming JUMP! I veered away from the small confined edges. The girls sang a song in the Music Suite and we peered into the Chapel not sure who was being worshiped in there. I kept thinking this place is a good pondering spot. I think I shall come back and ponder.

I'm Sane

I love the warmth. I also love sleep. Both of which are happening more lately. What does this all mean... Sanity my friend!

I can work and work and work some more. I have cleaned out drawers, cleaned out the fridge, cleaned out my dresser, planted in my garden, and watered my garden, all because of heat. The sun is my friend and so is the thermometer when I see the number 80. Someone walking out of a building the other day said, "Oh it is hot." I smiled and said,"Isn't is great!" He just stared at me. So he must be a native is what I figure. When it's cold, I don't do much moving. It just binds me up, including my brain. And my body. I wear so many pieces of clothing when it's cold who could move? Let alone feel free as I do with shorts, a t-shirt and bare feet! Oh the joy of heat.

What else should I clean? Hmmm...

A little Bit of Cali

ScOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOre!

We took off for the pool at the Briargate YMCA which, by the way, is much nicer than our pool AND they have an area (even if it is small) to lay out!!! The Y pools here are indoors here due to inclimate weather but to find a place to soak up vitamin D, I am so happy! Yeah!

American Girl.. Denver

One Happy Girl!

Oh Happy Day! My baby waited and waited to see a REAL American Girl store. When we found out the store was coming to Denver she decided that would make one great birthday! I totally agreed. I told the family. They complied.. hard to do for the grandparents ya know. A big fat Thank You to the grandmas and grandpas! Okay back to the story.. so why did we go in June when her birthday is in April??? Oh that's right.. we got a HUGE. fat. very wet, closed down the highway snow storm the day we were all dressed up and ready to go! Patience paid off. She contemplated and thought and contemplated and thought some more. Which doll? An iPad instead? For over a month we, WE meaning she would have long discussions with me, no.. to me, when I was ready to turn the light out and tuck her in bed. I was pulling the covers up ready to walk out and it would start. My hand on the light switch saying uh huh, uh huh. Over and Over. Finally she decided to spend her b'day money at American Girl and so it was planned. And so we went. Now for the moms out there, you know when those infamous American Girl magazines come in the mail, your daughter spends hours over them trying to decide what is on her wish list and to actually walk in the store and see the real thing, IT'S MAGIC!

Dreams do come true.

TnT: Downtown Denver

This building was right across the street from our hotel.

Lots of old churches in the Downtown area.

View from pool top.

Our hotel...The Warwick. Great place to stay.

Downtown Denver with lots of clouds on the horizon.

The CheeseCake factory... Oh Yummmy!

This delicious thing is a Pineapple Upside Down Cheesecake.

Downtown!

The long awaited time away finally came... but went too fast. I finished up my 27 units for the semester on Friday and was ready for a break. T and I decided to be spontaneous and chose a "Secret Place" through Travelocity. Okay, so we needed budget friendly! The only parameters we chose were Downtown Denver and 4 stars. The place we ended up with was wonderful! Warwick Hotel is an older place full of character. The pool on the rooftop was very creative. I'd recommend it to anyone. So, in trying to decide what to take, you know Denver and its weather, I packed three, yes 3 suitcases. Summer and Winter clothes. Turned out to be a chilly weekend with rainy days and cloudy skies. We DID, however, swim in the 85 degree pool and we DID walk everywhere, umbrella in hand. The culture is wonderful and once again I am reminded city life suits me just fine. We went to a jazz club for music, walked and walked some more on and around the 16th Street Mall (much needed considering the calorie intake), saw a movie, played cribbage, had champagne and sat quietly... all in a matter of 48 hours. We explored different restuarants, had martinis while people sang Ole Ole Ole and watched the World Cup updates. There were no less than 10 Starbuck's in the small area we walked. No lie. Now it's over, we're back home and honestly, I'm ready to leave again. I loved being away with my husband to reconnect. Must it end so soon?

Human Trafficing at the World Cup

Guatemala Mission Trip July 23-31

My girls and I are traveling to Guatemala this summer with our church to serve the people. Many of you may have heard recently about the tropical storm that hit and left much devastation to the country including the sinkhole that swallowed a building and people. We will not be in this area but this again creates chaos and much heartache for a country that is already challenged. I have shared here a few pictures of the kids in our 1st meeting doing trust and cultural exercises. The group of young people and adults are working well together and building unity amongst ourselves. We have amazing group leaders that previously served the people we are visiting and they are offering a wealth of knowledge to help us enter their world with much respect and the Joy of Christ . I won't kid you, this will stretch up far more than I can explain here. The little bit we get to take over, the difficult sleeping arrangements, the lack of showers and the sameness of food will cause me and the rest of us to become what we are not today... changed. We have 1500 dollars left to raise between the three of us. If you are or anyone you know has a heart for the people of Guatemala, please help us go. The girls and I have worked hard doing projects and bake sales here on this side and will continue to do so in hopes of raising money through work but want to open the door for you to contribute to the movement of Christ in our lives as we go to Guatemala. IF you are interested in contributing to our mission trip you can send a check here:

Tri-lakes Chapel

1750 Deer Creek Road

Monument, CO 80132

Please put our last name in the memo column. We have a family fund for the three of us.

Here is the website of our church: www.trilakeschapel.org There is also on option for online giving.

Thank you for even considering this for us. We go in the name of Jesus, representing Him and loving the people the way Jesus would.

Horses, Kitties and Dancing

Another exciting day! We went to my friends barn today to see her horses, pet her kitties, and be country if only for a few moments. So she only lives 7 minutes down the road.. I can pretend to be country right? After that we headed to Focus on the Family to play. Didn't stay there as long as I figured but got some dancing in while we were there. The big slide was closed and the smaller area wasn't quite right for little K. So.. off we came home for more home fun! Toys, food, naps, grass, chalk, pizza and ice cream. All done. Time for bed.

Life and Times of Littlekins

Could two kiddos be any cuter???? I love this age! Toddlerhood and Preschool... the age of discovery. We spent the day exploring life.. why does the tree look like this? Why does Charley do that? Why doesn't this McDonald's have ice cream? What does Ola mean? What color is this flower? On and on went the questions. So much fun! We went on two walks together, one in the morning, one after dinner. They convinced Uncle Rell to go the second time. How quickly he forgot what walking with littles is like. A rock here that needs to be kicked, a flower that need to be picked, a bug that needs to be squashed, questions and intrigue! Uncle Rell convinced K to catch up using his infamous one line.. FOCUS. Little Man now has a new word and uses it well. Such a joy! The day was a blast and we have more tomorrow planned. Can't Wait!