What's Up

Proud as Punch

• Joshua brought his report card home at the end of last week with straight A's. We were pretty jazzed and excited about that and then it kind of got overshadowed because of Christianne's spelling bee excitement. I just look at both of them - all three, truly, because Grace is remarkable to me as well - and I just am in awe of how wonderfully God has blessed us.

PS to HOLW

• If you don't geocache, this may not make much sense. The night I posted about HOLW, Ro and I had just finished watching some TV and were ready to go to bed, when we noticed that a new geocache had just been published and it was less than a mile away. Yes, it was after 11pm but that opportunity doesn't come along very often. Ro quickly got ready while I printed out the cache page, and he high-tailed it over to claim the coveted First to Find (FTF) title. Except this is HOLW: he came in second. To go out near midnight in the cold to claim FTF, to arrive just minutes after the first finder - this is HOLW #6. :P

Do You Know?

• 16% of Americans admit to having caught their finger in one of these. Ro knew the correct answer, called in to WAY FM today, and won the new Veggie Tales CD for the kids. :) The answer is at the bottom of this post.

Meetings, Meetings

• We went to an informal meeting Monday night to learn more about the church we've been attending the past two weeks. It was a nice night, very casual, just chatting. There were 7 other families there, and 5 of them are relatively new to the northern CO area as well. Thought that was interesting! Anyway, the church looks solid and healthy and we are planning to attend here for the time being.
• Last night I attended a parents' informational meeting at Christianne's school. Seems they are becoming an IB school. I'd never heard of the IB program before a few months ago, but the more I'm learning about it, it seems like an excellent program, and after last night's meeting, I'm excited that we have the opportunity to be in it! It isn't a different curriculum* so much as it is a different way of teaching, engaging the students more deeply and teaching them to think more critically. (*The one curriculum difference is that Chris will begin studying a foreign language next year! She'll take an equivalent of a semester next year, and have a full year of it in 8th grade, enabling her to continue in high school to Spanish 2 (or French 2, if that's the route she chooses).) Again, I'm thankful that God moved us to this particular place. Christianne's school and the HS we are zoned to attend in 9th grade are the only IB schools here in our town, so we're thankful for the opportunity!

Praises:

• M had her baby this week, a healthy baby boy. :)
• A's pre-term labor should be fine now - OK to deliver anytime

Prayer:

• Preggies: Andrea, Kathy, Talena, Brandy
• Sickies: Ro, Daniel, Christina, Melissa

Answer to Question Above:

• A mousetrap.

How Our Life Works (just one day's example)

We decided to attend the early service at church this morning and busted our tails to get ready in time. I wanted to leave at 8:05, thinking the service started at 8:30, and I was a little frazzled that we didn't back out of the driveway until 8:15.

On the way to church I looked over some of the information from the paperwork we'd received last week (and hadn't looked over until now) and noticed, when we were about 1/3 of the way there, that the class for Chris didn't meet during the early service. After a little bit of debate, we decided we'd go to Wally World and knock out our shopping before church instead, and go to the regular service.

Turned around, headed back to town. As we arrived at WM, we saw signs everywhere by the new car wash on the outskirts of the plaza that say FREE CARWASH. Cool - after all we did get a little snow this week and the slush makes the car look nasty, especially the undercarriage. We'd been using a coupon for a deluxe wash a few miles away for $5 here and there, but we made a mental note of the FREE wash in case we had time after our shopping.

As we got out of the car, I asked Ro what time the service started, so I could gauge our time in WM. 10:45. I said, "Are you sure? I thought it was 10:30." He said, "No. It starts at 10:45 and the early service starts at 9." Nine?! I thought it started at 8:30 and I was yelling at everyone to get in the car at 8:05. Wouldn't you ask the person why we needed to leave nearly an hour early for a destination 20 minutes away? Ro said he just figured I knew it was at 9 but wanted to be early. :: sigh :: This is How Our Life Works #1.

So we did our shopping, spending way too much money, as we always do when the five of us go to WM together. We loaded the car and decided to take advantage of the free car wash. We pull into the line and up to the gadget where you tell it what you want, and nowhere does it say anything about free. A van pulled in behind us, so there's no way out now. Frazzled again, we swipe our debit card and pay $6 for a basic wash, figuring the free wash for the self service ones... as the van behind us backs out of the line. This is HOLW #2.

So we get our car washed. It was basic, all right. Not much to it besides a quick spray of soap and water - no drying or anything else. We paid $6 for this, and we could've had the undercarriage done, a better wash, and a dry for $5 at the other place if we'd known. This is HOLW #3.

We did make it home, and actually got the car cleaned out nicely as a family, everyone cooperating together (that means for her part Gracie didn't run away or into the street). It was a nice 43-degree day, chilly but nice in the sunshine. We went to church and enjoyed it very much... grabbed a geocache and dropped off a travel bug on the way home... had a decent lunch at a Mexican restaurant (although it was quite stressful with the wait and all), and finally made it home by 3:00! What a day.

Ro and I watched an episode of 24 and then he decided to run back up to Wally World for some bratwurst for dinner. He arrives... to see the sign still up... FREE CAR WASH... and a line of cars throughout the car wash area... We had simply come before they opened. They *were* free ~ just not yet. This is HOLW #4.

And... they were deluxe. HOLW #5.

Bildungsroman

Yesterday I got a call that Chris was sick and I had to pick her up from school. 'Twas quite a bummer ~ she had a tummy bug and spent the rest of the afternoon with her face in a bucket. We zipped a quick e-mail to a few family and friends to pray for her, as her spelling bee was today. God is good, and by dinnertime Christianne was feeling much better.

So today we went to the district spelling bee. Part one was a written test of 100 words. There were 192 participants and only the top 24 would be allowed to move on to the oral round. They said that most years there are only 100 participants, so to double in number was pretty amazing.

When Chris finished, she didn't think she did very well, and she pretty down on herself. We went home for lunch and played a couple of games as a family before going back to the school for the results.

She was pretty shocked to hear her name called as one of the top 24! She thought she had only gotten 50% to 60% of the words correct on the written test. She made it to the oral round. We were pretty jazzed.

Then the oral spelling bee began... students began to misspell a word here and there, a couple in almost every round. But we are pleased to report that Christianne hung in there! She made it to 5th place in the district, getting out on the word Bildungsroman.

Duh, anyone can spell that one. ;P

I cannot tell you how excited we are for her. The top six finishers move on to the state spelling bee at the end of March. She was also awarded a little goody package including a water bottle, some candy, and a gift certificate to Best Buy.

Incidentally, Christianne's school only had five students participate in the district bee (most schools sent ten), and three of them made it to the top 24, and two of them (including Chris) were in the top 5. Pretty stinkin' impressive, even if I am a little biased.

I have to tell you, too - most of you know that English is my thing, and Ro's too - but by the round when Chris was disqualified, I had never heard of most of the words these kids were asked to spell. It was a pretty serious bee. That makes me all the more proud of my daughter. Maybe I'll buy her a Bildungsroman to celebrate.

Christianne's medal

Choose

Ro's having dinner with a friend tonight in Boulder. I think it's great that he can do that, but man I miss him. With him working full days and commuting (35 minutes each way) ~ I miss him. You'd think by now I'd be used to it, but I'm not. By 6 in the evening I'm really wishing him home. And tonight it will be even later, since he's going out, but I'm glad he has a chance to see his friend anyway. :)

So, since he's gone tonight I took the kids out to Runza for dinner. My goodness, I like this place. We haven't been in a long time. I'm not sure I've been since I took my dad there back in October. I really like their food, and it's so encouraging to sit and eat with Christian praise music playing over the speaker. We had a good time.

All is well here. It was a balmy 34 degrees today. Believe me, after yesterday, it felt balmy. :) When I took Josh to school yesterday it was only 1, and overnight it had been several degrees below zero. In fact our kitchen sink pipes froze. :( It was weird, because there aren't any pipes exposed outside, and none of the other pipes froze, but those did. It could be because they're still on an outside wall, or it could be because the previous owners had routed some of those pipes into the basement or something and it's cold down there. Whatever happened, they froze. We got the cold water going through there in the afternoon, and by evening we had hot water through there as well.

At least it didn't affect our showers and such!!!

The cold doesn't bother me much, because frankly, I'm not in it a lot. Some days I'm not in it at all, since I don't even have to open the garage door until I'm buckled in the seat. But even when we do go out, like tonight, it's not so bad just walking from the car to the business, because there's no wind. What a difference that nasty wind makes. That is one thing I do NOT miss about soCal.

Someone asked me how cold it is here. I said, "It's a toasty 68 degrees." Yeah, inside, but hey, that's where I'm at. :)

This week the kids began the second semester of school. The big difference (not much other difference, either, except that report cards come home this week) is that Chris will be taking PE instead of health, and they'll be dressing out beginning tomorrow. That, to me, is such a milestone in growing up. I remember clearly how I felt a little anxious about dressing out in front of all those other girls when I began junior high (although we started dressing out in 7th grade, not 6th)... She, too, is a little nervous, but we've been doing our best to make her realize that it's really not that big a deal. Funny enough, she's actually looking forward to gym, although I never really considered her the athletic type. She's also planning to go on a ski trip through the city for students from her school in March. Can you believe that? Chris skiing?!?! Who'd'a thunk it? :)

Josh's OM team is working hard and gearing up for their competition in March. He really amazes me with all he is learning, and one of the best parts is that he engages us in what he's learning. Today he came home talking about how Bush is in the Middle East and there are people running for President. He told me that his OM team has to change to a different type of dinosaur, (insert whatever he called it here), because it was important it was an herbivore and not an omnivore. And tonight he debated with me about what technically the word "guy" means. What a kid.

Miss Grace has learned to undress herself. The first day she did it all day; now she just does it I think when she's bored. She moos, howls, and honks all day long. She pushes her baby (or duck or elephant) in the decrepit stroller she got for Christmas. She keeps me entertained all day long.

Ro and I are doing well. We've been talking lately about making choices. I'd been dealing with some (negative) things and one day I literally woke up and heard in my head, "Choose this day Whom you will serve." I realized that I could continue to mope and pout and deal with those things that were growing old (serving myself), or I could choose to change my attitude and my focus to serve Him fully. Maybe it doesn't sound like much to you, but the idea of making a choice - a conscious choice - to change my attitude, outlook, productivity, and more - was profound.

So, for about the last week, we - Ro and I - have been conscious of making that choice each and every day. And guess what? It's been a great week. No more blahs, no more dealing with those other things (or rather they're dealt with and over now). We're choosing to give our best to God, to be disciplined, to honor Him with our best. And it's been cool.

Monday Monday

I love the weekends. I think I value them more here because Ro's work schedule is such that he isn't home in the afternoons or at lunchtime anymore. This was another good weekend.

Went to a late holiday party for Ro's work on Friday night. C and J both spent the night at their friends', so we only had Miss Grace with us. She was a hit, entertaining the adults. Emphasis on the word hit. Grace was running around one lady, laughing and giggling, when she suddenly stopped and whacked the lady upside the head. Nice. :(

Saturday Ro and I finished up the first season of 24 on DVD. That's good stuff! We've been watching an episode whenever we could and we really have gotten into it. We started season 2 this weekend as well.

Ro BBQd on Saturday night - mmmmm... For the first time in many moons we had steak, baked potatoes, and corn on the cob. It was pretty cold - probably about 20* - and I'm sure the neighbors thought he was nuts. But man, we love to BBQ!

On Sunday we visited a new church. Looks very promising. We'll stick with it for awhile and see what happens.

And yesterday afternoon I took the kids to see The Water Horse. We loved it. We had a great time, and when we got home, Ro Q'd again. Mmmm!

It's been cold - 10* outside right now, and snowing lightly. Nice and toasty inside, though! :) One thing I've learned is that it's pretty dry here. I knew that they called it a semi-arid climate before we moved here, but coming from the desert I figured it'd be pretty similar to what we are used to. But I'm seeing for myself how dry it is in the winter time, much dryer actually than where we moved from: itchy skin, flyaway hair, static electricity, etc. Surprises me, actually. Maybe the dryness would actually help Mom's and Pop's arthritis, if I could ever manage to get them out here. :)

Not much other news to report. Busy today paying bills and working on getting things lined up to do our taxes. Yes, already. Wishing I was in Vegas with my mom and sister... Catching up on housework and laundry. Yada. Yada. Yada.

Prayer Needs:

• I missed a couple of preggies the other day; I'm sorry. B is pregnant with her first baby and due in June. A is due in 6 weeks and actually has had some early pre-term labor issues. Please keep them both in prayer.
• A's hubby D is having some heart issues.

Two for the Price of One today

I tried, but I couldn't do it.

I've been about halfway through a book of Christmas suspense short stories for awhile. It's not a bad read, but I'm just kind of lagging through it. So I tried.

Grace was down, and I had some quiet time. I got another book off the bookshelf, one I've been looking forward to reading for some time. I got my glasses out of the other room. I got comfortable on the couch.

I read the back of the book, and the title and dedication pages. I read the first sentence.

And then I couldn't do it.

I don't know how you people do it. I don't know how you can read more than one book at a time. It seriously made me feel anxious to just attempt it the other day. It makes me anxious to see all the novels Chris has going and to think that all the books Mom left here were read at the same time (finished while she was here). All I can manage is one book for me, and the family read, and, if you count it, the Bible. That's it. Ugh.

~~~~~
Guess what we did this past weekend? We got to do one of our most favorite things for the first time in many moons. We went geocaching! We haven't been since July, although I have to note that the last caches we found in soCA in July were among my favorites ever, learning about a socialist colony that had once lived so close to us. Anyway, we had attempted to cache our way to CO but that just didn't work out, and so this weekend, we took advantage of the warmish weather and the fact that most of the snow has melted off and we scored four finds, picked up a travel bug, and did a long puzzle multi-cache that ended up with a DNF (did not find). We had a blast. Can't wait to go out again, but it was pretty cold today, so we'll have to see how the weather goes. So far living here where it's colder hasn't bothered me much, but that doesn't mean I really want to go caching in it. Yet. (On the other hand, we cached in 100* heat, so, hmmm...)

~~~~~
Grace is such a crack-up. She started this thing when Mom was here... First of all, she loves to dance and does it quite often. But she likes to say, "Dance!" and grab both of your hands and then she starts wiggling crazily and then... she sticks her leg out and back like a very awkward and not-Grace-ful arabesque and sort of poses. Then she cracks up and does it again. Every time she does it I have to laugh out loud.

She's also started howling. We taught her the general howl, but then on her own figured out it's more effective (or at least it gets a greater response) when she throws her head back and does it, like a real coyote or wolf.

And lastly, she has a MagnaDoodle that she LOVES. She brings it over and says, "Picture," and then you have to hold it and draw (when she wants you to), etc. Anyway, she can identify happy and so I decided to draw a face with a downturned mouth. As I told her it was sad, she looked at it, said, "Awwww," and hugged the MagnaDoodle.

Okay, so it wasn't lastly. She loves to watch Blue's Clues, and asks for it with a wiggle of her fingers and a "Boo Coo."

She's pretty rad.

~~~~~
Praises:

• We got a note from Renee! She has just finished chemo in the treatment of ovarian cancer. Her note was such a blessing to me. If you're praying for her, please continue to do so as the Lord brings her to mind. :)

Prayer Needs:

• We're back on a church hunt. :(

I Might've Missed Something

Two years ago this week, Robert and I were dealing with (although you might argue about how well) the possibility that our baby could have Down syndrome.

Of course you know how it's all worked out ~ how Miss Grace is perfect and healthy and beautiful, and why she's named Grace. And for that I am incredibly thankful.

But in thinking about that trying period in 2006, a couple of things are on my heart that I thought I'd share.

First, I recall the attitude of several of the health care people that surrounded me at that time... putting across the feeling or idea that modern medicine is so wonderful, that we would know so early that there was a problem with the baby, so that we could take care of that problem.

Take care of it - interestingly the same vocabulary Carl used with Jack Bauer in season 1 of 24 just before the subject of that conversation ended up dead.

Some did use more clinical, politically correct terminology. I was counseled that I needed to have an amnio as soon as possible, because timing could affect the termination of the pregnancy.

Take care of it. Terminate the pregnancy.

Interestingly just before I had the amnio I had a lengthy, extensive ultrasound. Perhaps the technician was pro-life, or maybe she was just doing her job. But every moment I saw my baby move on that screen, kick her feet, turn her head, suck her thumb, beat her little heart ~ the intensity of the mother-babe bond already there just... exploded.

I never, ever would have considered taking care of this problem or terminating the pregnancy. Yet watching my little one wiggle and move on that small ultrasound screen in a cold basement room in an ancient hospital sent my instincts for protection into overdrive.

Coincidentally (maybe), all of this unfolded around the time of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and the observance of Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. My heart grieves over the nonchalant attitude of so many in taking care of the problem when that problem was a gift, a gift from God. This morning, two years out of that emotional time in my life, I can still hardly wrap my mind around it. I can't understand how we've come so far in trivializing human life.

Children are a reward from God, the Psalmist says.

Sanctity of Human Life Week begins this Sunday, January 20.

~~~~~
I was blown away by the news that my child could have Downs. I grieved. I cried. I poured my heart out to God. And now I look back and honestly say to myself, what was all the fuss about?

Yeah, it would've been hard. (But guess what, it's already hard!) Yeah, I would have had to learn to parent with a different commitment, if you can understand what I'm trying to say, than even with my other children. But in the past two years, I've come across a number of DS children who have such joy about them. God chooses special people to parent His special children. And now, to be honest, I feel a little disappointed in myself for my hissy fit. I feel like maybe in my selfishness, maybe in my desire for "just" a healthy child, maybe in my need for control and order and perfection, maybe I missed out on an opportunity to do something extraordinary. Obviously I wasn't the right person for that job, and I'm ashamed to say that.

Does that make sense? Or do you think I'm sounding like a rambling idiot? It's hard for me to put it all into words. Grace brings me such joy ~ she really is a gift and a special, special little girl. And I'm SO thankful that she's perfectly healthy and bright. All three of my children are amazing blessings, gifts from God, and I treasure them and value them and thank God for them. I guess I have peace in the knowledge that God knows what's best for me, and I think He answered my prayers accordingly. Still, it's quite a lesson I think I've learned in trusting Him in all situations.

~~~~~
Lastly, I have a few friends who are pregnant. Will you please pray with me this week a little extra for their health, their babies' development, and deliveries? They are K, M, and T. God has blessed them with new treasures! How wonderful He is!

Thank You for Asking :)

Sixteen years ago my husband told me a lie.

He wasn't my husband then, but he still told me a lie.

It was a Sunday evening and my Ro told me that we were going to some meeting of female aviators out at the local airfield. He was interested in flying at the time, and being the amazingly supportive sweetheart I am (was?), of course I said I'd go with him. He told me to dress nice, so I wore the dress he'd given me for Christmas.

Steve and Jan came to pick us up - his friend's parents, who shared a love of flying airplanes. I was a bit surprised they weren't as fancied up as we were. Rhonda, their daughter, took our picture as we walked out the front door. Odd, but it didn't register much with me at the time.

So we drove out to the airfield and found ourselves amongst the small planes, all lined up in their positions. We got out to look at them - I thought briefly - before the meeting. And then Ro told me were going in the plane.

Yes, I about crapped. This was a small 4-seater airplane. Ro's Jeep had more room in it than that plane. I didn't want to go and I was scared to death, but somehow he got me on the plane.

The whole meeting thing - a lie. A lie to get me out to the airport and in that plane.

I don't remember a lot of the details, sadly, but I remember how amazingly beautiful it was from up there, just before sunset on a Sunday evening. I don't think I'll ever forget how gorgeous the clouds looked below us, like frozen waves breaking on the Tehachapi Mountains.

I remember being so enthralled at everything I was seeing that I barely heard what Ro was trying to say. And then... the question.

The Question.

Yes, yes, I will marry you.

Foxy

Windy today. Not too cold but windy. Seems to be windy on trash days.

Ro called this morning and said he saw a fox on the way to work today. How cool is that? Deb saw one in Fort Collins when she was here. We've got to see so many new species of wildlife here: eagle, fox, prairie dog, deer, elk, bighorn sheep, geese. My favorite though are the geese. I love ~ absolutely love ~ watching them fly overhead in formation, honking as they go. I don't know what it is that draws me but it's absolute beauty to me. I get so tickled by them, every time I see them. Been wondering if they migrate for winter. Seems like I see clusters headed somewhere purposeful (never south) but there are still lots and lots here...

Short post today - Gracie's up and I'm sure she's hungry. It's been neat - I've been doing my Bible reading (aloud) each day while she eats her lunch. I know, I'm weird, but it's been kind of neat. And like me, she doesn't understand the story of Abraham and Abimilech either. :)

Praise:

• W got the job! :)

Wednesday Wednesday

We got some snow today. It actually surprised me because it didn't seem that cold out, and since my peeps left last week almost all of our snow has melted off. We have one small patch, maybe about 12" square, on our front lawn, and about 2/3 of the snow is gone in the back. So when I grabbed Grace to go pick up the kids from school, I was surprised to open the garage door and see it falling - the big, fluffy, peaceful flakes that I find incredibly beautiful.

Didn't last long, though. By the time I'd picked up Josh, it was mostly over. Nothing stuck on the ground. It was pretty, though.

~~~~~
Chris is going to the district spelling bee on the 26th. :) I'm pretty excited for her. She was supposed to try out yesterday. Her school is taking the top 10 spellers to the district. The only thing is, there were only 5 kids who showed up! I know Chris is a strong speller, though, so we're excited about the approaching bee. Have you ever seen Akeelah and the Bee? Great movie.

J, meanwhile, is still busy with his OM project. His competition is coming up quickly as well - March 1st. He gave a dinosaur presentation in his GT class today and was so excited about how well it went when I picked him up after school. It's a cool thing when they're excited about special academic projects like these.

And Miss G... she's fine. Still got a runny nose and wild hair, but she's doing well. She loves to dance and starts bouncin' whenever she hears a melody it seems. Yesterday we had a conversation: She saw Deb's picture on the computer. "Dobby!" she exclaimed. "Yes," I said. "Do you miss her?" And then it sounded like Grace said, "Yes. I don't know where she is." Both sweet and sad at the same time, huh?

'08 '08 Feeling Great

The first Monday of the New Year. A new year. A new week. A new list. New pens. Don't you just love new beginnings, fresh starts - all the potential they hold? I'm excited.

We had a great weekend, focusing on our family. Sunday we worshipped again at a church we like fairly well. We've been there, oh, I guess, about 4 or 5 times now. We like it well enough but we're a little cautious about becoming members. We may go to their membership class next month and find out more... we'll see.

It is neat, though. Chris goes to a class for middle schoolers and they always have donuts, candy, or fondue ~ sure to win over any pre-teen. J goes with all the primary-aged kids and has a great time in there each week as well. The sermons have been decent and the worship has been pretty good. They meet in a high school, but they evidently have more $ behind them than we did at our former church and a LOT more workers.

Anyway, after the worship service we had lunch again at McGraff's (kids eat free on Sundays and we like free, for sure)... while Grace napped we finished our first family-read novel of the year, Book 1 of The Spiderwick Chronicles (movie coming out in February). Later we went to Old Town Fort Collins again and did some ice skating, and after dinner we played some more Catchphrase, a game I loved playing with my youth group and I purchased over the holidays.

Ro and I watched American Gladiators last night. How fun! It was fun to watch because we were fans of the original. In all - just one of those wonderful, fulfilling weekends.

Today, though... although I'm excited about it being Monday, and my to-do list, and my color-coded family calendar, and my goals list, and all that... this is the emptiest my home has been in weeks. It's just me and Grace. Kids are back at school, Ro at work, company's gone. I won't have many distractions to keep me from my tasks, but it sure is quiet around here.

Prayer Needs:

• W - job situation
• R - just found out he's been in the hospital! doing better now, though
• colds
• Renee
• J - roommate situation
• T - morning sickness all day

I Love You

It's warmer here right now than it is in Palmdale. The snow has completely melted off our front yard and most of our backyard.

~~~~~
The other day Ro was putting Gracie to bed. I said, "I love you, Gracie." She smiled. I said, "Can you say, 'I love you'?" She answered, "Yes."

~~~~~
Movies we've seen recently:

• August Rush - pretty good
• PS I Love You - great, original love story, but much sadder than I thought it would be!
• Mad Hot Ballroom (on TiVo) - Chris and I enjoyed this documentary together

~~~~~
It’s weird to consider that the kids go back to school on Monday. It has been such a wonderful couple of weeks. I'm sad to see them go back, but I'm eager to return to my routines again. I've been working on my list of goals for 2008 and I'm excited to start putting them into action. We've got to spend a lot of time with friends and family, see movies, read a lot of books, play a lot of games, and more, and now it's time to get back to life, back to reality. :)

Ten weeks... and we'll be in CA for a friend's wedding and to visit our other friends and family. Ten weeks... it's the longest time we've had between visits. I'd sure love to do a quick trip down in February, but after the holidays and such I'm not sure about spending the $ on it. We'll have to see, I guess. Actually, I wish I could be in CA on the 12th for Kathy's shower, and I wish I could be in Vegas the next weekend with my sis! But, my great grandma used to say, you can wish in one hand and piss in the other and see which one fills up first! :)

Pray for Renee

I saw an eagle today, flying over us as we drove home from Longmont.

Later I saw a woman in a mini skirt and bare legs shoveling snow.

It's been a balmy 53 degrees here today. The ice that has been packed on the streets of our neighborhood since Thanksgiving quickly melted away, in just one day. No need for a jacket really, especially in the sun. The skies are clear and blue.

Still about a dozen ice fishermen on Lake Loveland, though.

~~~~~
Before Thanksgiving, when Mom and Deb were out here before, we were driving home and I turned down the wrong county road (or failed to turn off it, whatever). No big deal ~ always neat to explore new areas, check out the lakes and the homes and such. As we passed one large home near a lake, a large sign made with a Sharpie marker and cardboard was duct taped over their mailbox. It read: PRAY FOR RENEE.

It honestly left quite an impression. I wondered about the people who made that sign, and how desperate their situation must be to scrawl a big sign like that for anyone and everyone to see, seeking the prayers of strangers on behalf of Renee. I couldn't help wondering about Renee: is she sick? lost? in rebellion? broken? desperate? So many heart-breaking reasons drive you to your knees in prayer for the people we love.

I don't know her story, Renee, but we prayed for her that night ~ all of us. And nearly every night since, my kids have remembered her in our family prayer time before bed.

When Deb and Mom came out again in December, we drove down that county road, and the sign is still there. We got a little card and signed it, letting them know we've been praying for Renee and her family, praying now for over six weeks... put it in the mail today. I just hope it brings them some encouragement, knowing that there are people praying as a result of that sign.

~~~~~
Well I'm disappointed to report to you that although I bought the correct cocoa, used whole milk, did not boil, and followed the recipe to the tee... I didn't like the cocoa much. :( After all that, even. I guess I'll stick to the envelopes. Thank you, though, those of you who tried to help me.

I did make some most excellent butter cookies for my sister, mom, and grandpa, though, if I do say so myself. :) Easy recipe from The Pampered Chef. I should make some for my lovely new doctor next week ~ she has been really good to us.

~~~~~
Grace won't nap. She slept yesterday twice for 30 minutes each. This morning she wouldn't sleep at all on her first nap, dozed about 20 minutes in the car, and then, when I put her down just before sitting here to blog, she's lain in there fussing. Guess I should go get her up, but she doesn't understand that I need her to nap as much as she needs it! :)

Prayer Needs:

• Renee
• Ro, Grace, and I have colds, as does Deb
• W's job
• J's roommate situation

Praises:

• Most wonderful visit w/my family for Christmas, and they all arrived home safely yesterday evening

Highlights in Pictures

Walking in a winter wonderland...

This is Deb walking on the frozen Lake Loveland. She walked all the way out to one of the fishermen and said, "Hi! I'm from California - can I watch?" :)

Gracie's first haircut - a trim of her bangs.


Let me tell you 'bout my best friend...

Ice skating in Old Town Fort Collins...

(Did you know if you double-click the picture, you can see it larger? I just found that out recently.)