Maternity Photo Shoot

For Thanksgiving this year, Craig and I went to visit my bestie (Davis) and her hubbie (Jesse) in Nevada. The past two years, they have come to our house for Thanksgiving but this year, they have a precious little one on the way, so we did the traveling. It was an awesome, relaxing Thanksgiving. We love these two to pieces so I can only imagine how much I'll love the little lady on the way! We can not wait to meet her (only a couple weeks away until she arrives!). While I was there, we took some time to take some maternity photos. I was so excited when Davis asked me to take these precious photos. Maternity photos are almost like a wedding...you can't really "re-do" them. I really wanted to capture this special moment as they wait for their first baby! Nonetheless, here is a little sneak peek of "some" of the pictures I took (and yes...we can all only hope to look this stunning when 8 months pregnant!!).

And that's it!

Thanksgiving Thankfuls

Through life’s up and down roller coaster of a journey, Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate all the “ups” in life, all that we have to be Thankful for. I have been thinking a lot about what I am Thankful for and my list is quite extensive. I say all the time that my life is full of blessings, both big and small and for that I’m Thankful. This year I am especially Thankful for:

1) My husband. Every day I look at him and am so Thankful for all that he is. I have no idea what I would do without him.
2) Our marriage. I treasure this more than I can explain. What a blessing to have a happy, healthy marriage and partnership.
3) Our families. What a gift it has been having Craig’s family so close and my sister around the corner. We have lived so far away from everyone for so long, that we certainly do not take this for granted.
4) My brother. I love this little man. Whatever I do, I’m always thinking about him. I’m so proud of him and there is nothing better than hearing his little voice talk about all the important things in his world. Boy do I miss this kiddo and wish I could see him every day.
5) My health. The older I get the more I appreciate this one and realize how fragile life is.
6) Church. We have finally found a church home. We both feel God has called us to this church and know He has many plans for us there. I cannot wait!
7) Our anticipated little gift straight from Heaven. Our God Daughter Ava. We cannot wait to meet this little lady!
8) Our work. Both Craig and I have been so lucky to have found the jobs we have in a place we love. Trust me...we NEVER take this one for granted.
9) Service opportunities. I have always been called to helping children in need. Lately, one opportunity after another has been coming up. Whenever a new opportunity pops up, I’m reassured I’m on the right path and in the right place.
10) Holidays with Friends and Family. We are going to be able to spend the holiday season with our loved ones. There are so many people that do not have this luxury. What a blessing we have.

This is just a sample of my list. I love Thanksgiving because it is a time that we tend to reflect on all these blessings...both big and small. What are you most Thankful for?

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving holiday!

Fall to Winter

Now that our computer is set up again, I'm back posting pictures!

A few weeks ago I mentioned Craig got his John Deere Tractor. He insisted that I show it off on the blog :).

It is a good thing he mowed when he did because yesterday we got about 3 inches of snow! Goose and Craig went out and played. It was hilarious. As soon as Goose ran outside, he stopped dead in his tracks before he reached the snow. He looked back at Craig and then went crazy jumping in it, digging his face in, and hopping all around. I LOVE the first snow of the year. As soon as the snow starts falling it means the holidays are just around the corner!

Halloween

Even though we just moved in, we were bound and determined to get our Halloween decorations up this year. Because all the houses in our neighborhood are far apart from each other, we figured we wouldn't get a lot of trick-or-treaters. With that in mind, we wanted to draw more back next year by giving the few trick-or-treaters we did have HUGE candy bars and scare them with spooky decorations.

It turns out we only had 5 trick-or-treaters, but it was better than none...and maybe we'll get more next year.

In addition to going all out on our decorations, we kept with our other Halloween traditions as well:

1) Eat Blood and Guts (spaghetti stuffed in a bread bowl)

2) Sparkling apple cider served in Halloween goblets.

3) Watch Hocus Pocus (my pick) and Monster Squad (Craig's pick)

Overall...another fun Halloween!

Golly...I look like a major dork!
Monster Squad!

Big Candy Bars!

The graveyard

Notice the skeleton feet hanging!

Getting the graveyard up!

Lead Me

The last couple of weeks I have found myself listening to a Christian radio station on the way to work. The song “Lead Me” by Sanctus Real has been coming on and getting my attention. The song is wonderful! I wanted to look up the lyrics and found the Sanctus Real website. On the website I found two beautiful prayers that were inspired by the song. One prayer is for husbands, the other is for wives. I love these prayers. The theme: We need God to lead us in order to do what He has called us to do. We need God to lead us in our marriages, in our relationships, in our jobs, in our parenting, and any other calling we may have. The most thought provoking part of this song and these prayers is that they speak of marriage not as union but as a calling. I love that. I love that for many reasons. A calling from God. That is huge. That is a lot of responsibility. That is a lot of faith. But are we as humans capable of such a responsibility? With Him, yes. Without him, no…not a chance.

Here are the prayers inspired by the song, “Lead Me.”

A Wife’s Prayer

Heavenly Father,
You have called me to honor and serve my husband in grace, humility and love, and yet I so often let worry, insecurity, and fear overshadow that calling. Unburden my heart from worry and expectations. Teach me to relinquish control of my life and marriage to you, for only you are strong enough to carry and sustain it.

Lead me to a place of deep trust and intimacy with you, so that I would seek no fulfillment elsewhere, but would bring to my relationship with my husband a rich overflow of confidence and strength, making our home and marriage a peaceful, restful haven. Show me how to best love my husband, supporting and respecting him, praying for and trusting the work of your Spirit in his heart and life.

Give me the wisdom to value what is eternal, so that I might be truly content with my present circumstances, and not be fretful or anxious over family decisions or finances. Teach me to be beautiful as you define beauty. Let me be a creative and enjoyable friend and companion for my husband, gracious and kind, gentle in disagreement and quick to forgive.
Only as you lead me will I become the woman and wife that my husband needs. So lead me O’ Lord. Amen

A Husband’s Prayer

Christ Jesus,

You have called me to love my wife tenderly and sacrificially, even as you love the church, but too often I know myself to be a selfish man with a distracted heart. Please give me patience, gentleness, and kindness toward my wife, and the wisdom to value her for her gifts and ideas.
Teach me to be vulnerable with her, openly sharing my own heart and thoughts, hopes and fears, even as I seek to better understand hers. Remind me to be ever mindful of her interests and needs with each decision I make and to structure my life in such a way that she receives the best of my energy and attention rather than the leftovers.

Give me the courage to passionately pursue relationship with her even when I feel wronged or wounded. Let me become for her a man of tenderness, kindness, creativity, and integrity, protecting and cherishing her by vigilantly guarding my own eyes and heart. Above all, teach me to lead as you led, Jesus in humility and service. Only by your grace can I be a godly man and a good husband for my wife. Lead me Lord, I pray. Amen

The Weekend Honey-Do

Whenever we move into a house, there is always that one (if not two or three) things that must be changed…immediately, no questions asked. We really try to limit this list of “must changes” when we pick out a house because they are usually things that can’t wait for a huge amount of funds to be available. We are thankful that there was only one “must change” in our new house. The dining room. The color. The room was painted wall to wall, floor to ceiling blood red with some kind of weird faux paint look. I really hated it when I first saw it. Originally I wanted to paint it before our furniture arrived, but we didn’t have the time. Once we got the dining room furniture in the room, the color got worse. Our furniture is pretty dark and has a lot of detail, so mixed with the red it looked gothic. I could barely sleep at night. I was dreaming about this red dining room. I felt like I could make a pretty cool spooky Halloween scene in there…but that was about it. Well this last weekend, I couldn’t stand it any longer and it had to go! It took me all day…but alas..the red is gone. Hallelujah!! The dining room is now the same color as the rest of the house…a neutral color. The dining room curtains have now become the latest challenge. I need curtains that are at least 100” long. Why oh why do all stores only sell curtains as long as 95”? I know Ikea has long curtains (and praise the good Lord they are installing one minutes from our house….coming soon!). In the meantime, I don’t know if I can wait so I’m currently on a curtain or fabric hunt. If you know of a place that sells long curtains…please…let me know! My next resort is on to the sewing machine.

Craig had his own project this weekend. Did I mention our house is on 3 acres? Well, with 3 acres comes a LOT of yard work and with a lot of yard work comes a need for a tractor. Craig has been so excited to get this tractor. That is all he has been talking about since we found this house. This last Friday, it was delivered. Now, it has got to be a “boy” thing because getting a tractor is just not that exciting to me. It is like me getting a vacuum and being really excited about it (although…if I could sit and ride my vacuum maybe I would get excited…). In any event, he was so excited. So on Saturday, while I painted he rode his tractor around for … 7 HOURS!!! Yes, you read that right…7 hours! It took so long because he ended up mowing about 5 acres and it was really thick! The good news is that he will only have to do this about 3 times a year. The actual sod we have around our house is a really small area that will only take about an hour to mow. The most interesting part about his 7 hours of mowing was that when he came inside (after a really long day) I asked how it went. His response, “I had so much fun!” And yes…he was serious. He looked like he had rolled in a pile of dirt for the last 7 hours, but bless his heart, at least he had fun. Boys...I'll just never understand them.

The Box...with a Green X

A little box has arrived at our house today. It has a big green “X” on it. For all those inquiring about when in the world I will let my DH (dear husband) back on this evil box with a big green X….I am here to report that I have been talked into allowing yet another one of these boxes to be purchased (this will be the 3rd one… yes indeed…the 3rd one!!!).

So the time has come. The “box” is back and according to Craig…back with a vengeance. So the time has come when my DH will be back “online.” Yes, Mr. Manly is back in the game.

Craig also wanted me to mention that he will be back in full force with BCI (Big City Internet)…so watch out!

I look forward to hearing you all down in my basement taking on Mr. Manly with BCI. Good Luck…he has been waiting for this for months!

CASA

A long time ago I posted about the CASA program. CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates. CASAs are basically court appointed volunteers who advocate for a child within the foster care system. Foster children seldom have a voice while in the system and unfortunately most of them do not have a consistent adult in their lives to watch out for them while they are being juggled around from home to home. This is where CASAs come in. CASAs help the child navigate through the scary foster care system while looking out for their best interests and recommending to a judge what the best thing for the child is throughout the life of the child’s case.

While in Washington I went through the training and became a CASA. I worked through one case until closure while I was there. I learned, I grew, I cried, I smiled, and most of all I made a difference.

Within months of arriving here in CO, I began looking up the Colorado CASA program. This last week, I started training to become a CO CASA. Because every state has different laws, court procedures, and court reports, a volunteer has to be retrained in every state.
The training here in CO is absolutely phenomenal. I am learning so much. While in training, you hear about some of the ugliest things you can ever imagine. These children see things, know things, experience things, and live through things that I am not even capable of making up. The training truly opens a window into the ugliest part of our world. It is extremely sad, and sometimes it can really start to get to me. But then…there are the CASA caseworkers and the other CASA volunteers. These women (and a couple men), are truly windows into the most beautiful part of our world. I have never met such passionate, kind, caring, heart-driven people in my entire life. It is such a blessing to get to know each and every one of them.

Once I got back from training last night, Craig asked me what I learned. I told him that I learned there are a lot of terrible people out there that do horrific things, but more importantly I learned there are more people out there that are beautifully gracious and wonderfully good. There certainly is bad, but I truly believe there is more good.

“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Acts 20:35

Adventures in Moving

What a weekend/week/month! I swear, if someone offered me a million dollars to move, at this point I would look at them like they were crazy and say, “No way in H-E- Double toothpicks!” Maybe it is the fact that we moved three times in the last 5 years, or maybe because our movers must have been out of their minds when they packed our stuff, or maybe because if I have to even touch another cardboard box, I’d lose my lunch, or just maybe it is because I’m super anal and must have everything unpacked an put into its respective place in two days. Bottom line, unless some miraculous event occurs which forces us to move (only an act of God) we are going nowhere. Colorado is home. Boom done. We are here to stay!

Back to the movers. Like I’ve mentioned. This is the third time we have had movers move us in the last 5 years. First from Colorado to Texas, then from Texas to Washington, and finally from Washington to Colorado. Talk about a full circle! Anyway, in the past I’ve always been pretty pleased with the job they have done. I’ve only had a few cheap vases break or minor scratches on things. In addition, I have been able to pile all boxes associated with any given room, unpack that room and move on. This time, was a completely different experience! First, multiple pieces of our furniture arrived damaged. Our bedroom nightstand – a HUGE crack in the back. Our dining room hutch was literally dragged on the cement, our living room coffee and end tables…dragged on cement. A HUGE picture – glass broke. A lamp, completely missing. And now, their packing technique. They would open a box to pack, walk around the house and grab the most random stuff and stick it in the box and label it with nothing that had anything to do with the contents of the box. Box after box that we opened exhibited this technique. There was bathroom stuff mixed with living room stuff with random clothes tucked all over. I won’t even go into detail about the shoe polish they packed that destroyed all other contents in the box. Why do you pack towels and clothes with shoe polish? Needless to say, after opening each box we had to lay all the contents out on the floor and then go room to room to put it away. It took almost three times longer than our last move. Geesh, phew, deep breathes, sigh. The good news, we unpacked our last box last night. Yes indeed, everything is unpacked and put away! Thank the Good Lord.

I generally lean towards focusing on the good rather than the bad, but I had to do a quick moving rant! Thank you dear readers for being such good listeners. I feel better!
I will mention that our kids (all with four legs and fur) are much happier in the new house. We can let them out to run and play anytime we want. As soon as we let Goose out he runs, and runs, and runs, and runs…. He sorta reminds me of that dog on the movie “Funny Farm” with Chevy Chase. It makes us laugh every time. Maverick on the other hand, he isn’t quite sure what to do with all the open space. His new gig consists of standing in the middle of the yard, not moving, just staring straight at us. Strange, strange dog.

There are plenty of projects to do around the house that we will share as we go. I can’t even tell you how excited I am to have our computer back with high speed internet so I can blog more frequently…and finally post more pictures….and update this year old blog background. This blog needs a face lift something fierce!

So my lovely readers, thanks for continually checking back on us, even through our dry spell of blogging! I can’t wait to share more, decorate more, photograph more, and finally, just settle in!

Home Sweet Home!

Finally! We closed on our new house on Monday! It has been quite a house hunting journey complete with 4 offers, one short sell, one foreclosure, and two relocation company owned homes. With every house contract lost, we kept assuring ourselves that we will "find a better one." Nonetheless we finally found our home! To say the least, it was well worth the wait!


Right after closing on Monday, we ran over to our apartment and started packing our cars, as we were determined to sleep in our new house one way or another. We have finished moving everything over from the apartment, and everything is unpacked and put away. Now, we are awaiting the arrival of all our belongings from Washington on Friday. (That's when the real unpacking begins). We are so excited to get all our stuff back. It will be like an early Christmas! Living on old rental furniture in a one bedroom with 2 dogs was starting to get at us :).


Our first morning in our house was certainly one to remember. First, we were woken by a donkey. Yes a donkey. We have some horse and donkey stables behind our property. The donkey must have woken to a bad dream because it was one of the strangest noises I have heard come from an animial. It scared me to death. After our morning wake-up call Craig went to jump in the shower. As he sat and waited...and waited...and waited for hot water, we realized that our hot water heaters weren't turned on. So much for a nice warm shower! Burrrr.....talk about a cold morning! Nonetheless, the next morning was much more pleasant without a donkey alarm and with warm water :).

So officially, here it is, our new home! (and yes...we really are planning on staying put for quite awhile :))