Home & an Update

We made it- we're home!!!

I know it's been a while, but it's been a very full (sometimes very hard) week and a half since I last wrote.  As we got closer to the end of project things got a little crazy.  On our last day with the students I was all dressed up and ready to take (and be in) our project photo when I got the news that our wonderful childcare worker (sweet, 18 year old Paula) blacked out, fell, and hit the back of her head/neck on the table.  Instead of being a part of the group picture, our project banquet, and the final student sharing time I experienced my first ambulance ride and spent the evening with Paul in the hospital.  Thankfully she is just fine (just a really bad bruise on the back of her head).  I was sad to miss the final student sharing time (I guess I'll just have to learn about what God was teaching them in the end from their evaluations) but I was more than happy to be there for Paula. 

The next night we got the sad news that one of our staff guys had lost his father totally unexpectedly.  It was such a sad time for all of us, but it was also beautiful to watch the body of Christ come together the way it did.  Not only did our staff family rally around this couple to help them pack, feed them, clean their car, pack their car, provide food and toys for the trip for their kids, pray for them, etc... but almost more impressive is that this couple let us.  They welcomed us into their pain and accepted our love and support and physical help.  It was hard.  And beautiful. 

And thus the schedule, feel, and pace of our last few days on the project were changed and I was reminded once again that this project was God's...not mine.  And that's how it ended...probably just the way it should be...not my plans, but His.

And then we loaded up the van and drove down from the mountain to Fort Collins to spend the weekend with our good friends The Hoskins.  I could go on and on about how sweet and relaxing the time with them was, how wonderfully our kids played together, how much I enjoyed simple conversation with them, and just how much I love, love, love this family...how I leave each encounter with them wanting more of them and of the Lord but I'll save all of that for another time!:)  I also got to visit with my dear friend Kate and all I can say about that right now is that it wasn't nearly long enough...not nearly.  Oh sweet friends of Colorado please come East!!!

Joe started the very long drive home on Saturday and the following day the kids and I took the easier route (or so I thought) flying home (I'll have a whole post on that adventure for you, I promise)!  Joe joined us yesterday at his parent's house and this morning we drove the final two hours HOME!!!  We unpacked for a short bit and then I headed right away to have surgery on my toe.  My doctor turned out to be an incredibly faith filled Christian who just encouraged me through the whole thing and even prayed for me before he started (the nerve block still hurt like a bugger....but everything else went incredibly smoothly)! 

And that brings us to right now (minus of course two months full of stories and pictures I have yet to share).  For now I am resting my poor big toe, trying to unpack, and attempting to catch up a tiny bit at home before we leave for a camp vacation with Joe's family on Saturday!

Nearing the End

We are nearing the end of our summer project and our time here in Crested Butte.  We leave a week from today.  We have just a few days left with our students and just a few more days than that with our staff.  Would you pray for us, our staff, and our students that we would finish this project well?  Would you pray that what the Lord has been teaching us here would stay with us, continue, and grow?  Would you pray that the Lord multiply what He has done here and that He would use the life change from this project to bring glory to Himself?  Please pray that God would give us wisdom in these last few days here to make good use of our fleeting time.

We leave Crested Butte a week from today (Friday).  Joe will start driving back to Maine on Saturday and the kids and I will fly back on Sunday.  Would you also pray for our safety while we travel? 

We so appreciate your prayers and look forward to sharing more with you soon!

Safe

I know it's been a while and I know that some of you are wondering how we are so I just wanted to share that we are doing well and that we are safe.  Yes, a lot of Colorado is on fire, but we are safe and a good 3-5 hours from most of the wildfires.  Three of the biggest ones are around the Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Boulder areas.  I have close friends in these areas and we have staff on our project who's family has been evacuated from their home so, although we are not personally affected, we would love to ask for your prayers for protection for these loved ones.  Please pray for the firefighters that are fighting these huge (historic really) wildfires...pray for their safety and pray that they would be able to contain these fires quickly. 

It is dry here...incredibly dry.  In fact we didn't have any rain (as in absolutly none) for the whole first month we were here (we had a few minutes of snow flurries the 2nd day we were here).  And then, interestingly enough, right after the wildfire broke out around Colorado Springs last week (and when much of the country took notice and started asking for prayers for rain) we started to get a little bit of rain.  No rain for months and then after an outcry for rain we got rain a little bit each day for a few days in a row!  I just don't think it's a coincidence.  I snapped this picture just the other day from our building...the incredible rainbow was such a good reminder of God's promise and faithfulness to us. 

It is still very dry here and there are extreme fire bans (including, sadly, no fireworks on our little mountain).  Please continue to pray for rain- this land needs it very badly...it is a bit desert-like here. 

Beyond that we are well.  This last week was much more laid back for us and our children have been sleeping later in the mornings than usual (nothing short of God's mercy on us)!  So we are feeling a bit more rested and I think we might just make it through the next two weeks!:)

Thank you for your prayers for us...we look forward to sharing soon all that God has been doing here!

The Zoo

I grew up going to this little zoo in my hometown.  I remember that watching the turtles in the turtle pond was my favorite.   I also remember being afraid of the peacocks that they would just let roam free (they would spread their feathers wide and I would be too afraid to pass them)!  So, this may not be the biggest or best zoo, but it's special because of these memories and thus is feels special being able to now take my kids to this zoo!  We had a great morning there with the kids and my parents and I think most of us agreed that the camel was our favorite...as you can see he was very friendly and very interested in us!:)

That seems like a long time ago now even though it was just May.  I have many more pictures to share from our time with my family in Wisconsin (including our awesome vacation at the water park) but for now I have to start editing some of my pictures from Colorado (because we will need them for the end of the project) so you'll probably start seeing some of those before the rest of the ones from Wisconsin!:)  We are still here in Colorado working like crazy and playing a bit too!  I believe that God is really using this project and it's been an honor to be a part of it even if we are a bit exhausted!  More to come from Colorado soon I promise!

Happy Father's Day Bubba!

When asked the kids told me that they love Bubba because...

He does big boomers (fireworks) for them

and because he snuggles and watches cartoons with them.

Personally I'm loving my dad right now because he's the kind of dad who's willing (and even excited) to ride the craziest ride at the waterpark with his grown daughter (not just once, but twice)!

Those are just a few of the reasons we are loving Bubba this Father's Day.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

P.S.  In case you are wondering what is going on in the first picture...the kids are yelling out "Bubba!"

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

There are many reasons that we love daddy.

Right now the kids are loving daddy because he is fun and because he pretends to be a monster (one of their favorite games to play with daddy).

I am loving him right now because he is always up for an adventure with us...even if it's not simple, even if it's crazy, even if it involves a lot of stuff, even if it means going on another hike after he just spent three days backpacking and hiking! 

This life is an adventure and our children are INCREDIBLY blessed to have such an incredible father to share it with!

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Redneck Waterbed

I found this idea on a blog I love called Play At Home Mom and I just couldn't resist.  It was pretty hot while we were visiting my parents in Wisconsin and it just seemed perfect.  All I did was buy a roll of heavy plastic sheeting , folded it in half, and duck tapped the open sides together (if I do it again I'll fold the sides over twice before I tape it) and also taped it together around the hose, then turned the hose on and filled it up with water (and a little bit of blue food coloring)!
Truth be told Joe thought I was crazy.  He watched me do it totally thinking that it wouldn't work.  And I'll admit, when I started filling it up it did leak a bit and I started to have doubts myself.  Then I realized I didn't put it on a part of the lawn that was totally flat, so my ever growing water blob starting creeping down hill.  But, Joe came to my rescue and helped me move it to a flat part of the yard.  And then...and then... the rest was a TOTAL success!!  As you can see the kids LOVED it.  They played on it for a big chunk of the morning (we had to make them stop for lunch) and again for most of the afternoon after nap time. 
They loved running and sliding on it, jumping on it, and just laying on it!  And after a while we  added a little water and soap to the top to make it even more fun and the kids really loved that!  Yes, it did start to form weak spots and a few holes, but I was able to fix most of those with a little bit of duck tape- I was amazed at how well it held up!  In fact later in the afternoon Joe even picked me up (fully dressed and screaming) and threw me into our water blob!  Once I was all wet and soapy I decided I might as well take a few running superman slides into it- which really was pretty fun.  And then we even convinced Joe to join in the fun!  And it help up through it all.
Yep, this one was a keeper!  For $10 we had a full days worth of water, soapy, giant bubble fun!  I'm sure that this is one we'll do again at some point and maybe Joe and I will even join in the fun from the very beginning!