24 Days 'Til Christmas!

Wow! Where has the year went? As exciting as Christmas is, it is also a little bittersweet to me as all three of my babies turn a year older in the months surrounding Christmas. How was your Thanksgiving holiday weekend? Yes, because of the snow, I left my home at 3:45 to head to Walmart for the big sale (thank God for Cathy who volunteered to go with me and drive me in her 4 wheel drive!). You would not believe how little the crowd was and how calm everything was at 5:00 a.m. compared to shopping in Tuscaloosa. Someone asked what the difference was and I guess if you can afford a $350,000 home(the average price for a home here), you don't really have to get out for the bargains! I had a buggy full of everything I wanted and was ready to check out by 5:15!! I hope you had an awesome weekend......and what topped it off was ...ROLL TIDE!!! Wasn't that refreshing yet somewhat boring? We've waited 6 long years for that one and deserved that wonderful shut out (sorry all my Auburn buddies)! Landon never watches the game but was so into this one. He's only 7 so he doesn't remember Alabama ever beating Auburn! We missed out on the game day parties but did get to watch the game on a big screen at Cathy and Earl's.
Haven blessed our hearts today by singing "Jesus Loves Me" in church today. It was so sweet and brought some little tears to her Daddy's eyes. Had I known she would do something like that, I would have taped it and played it. Since I didn't, I will share a little message from her that I did tape last week......

Grace family, do you remember this song? It is her absolute favorite and she says she is singing it in church next week!!

My mom is in Disney World this week with my brother Kerry and his family. I am so jealous!! ......but very happy that she is experiencing the magic of Disney this week! Wish I was there!

Happy late birthday to Morgan Pate, who turned 11 on November 24th!! Morgan is my close friend Appi's oldest son. I tried to find a picture of Morgan because he is just adorable but couldn't find one. Sorry!

Have an awesome week and glorify God in what you say and do!

Lori

Snow for the Holidays

Hey guys, I wanted to give you an update on our Thanksgiving lunch yesterday. Our church provided a Thanksgiving meal for the people in the area and we had around 115 people to come eat lunch with us. We made a lot of good contacts and I believe that many of the people who came will come to church soon. I pray they do anyway.
As the meal was about over it started to snow. It snowed all night. When we woke up this morning we had about 5 inches of snow on the ground. We had a fun day of playing in the snow. The kids built snowmen and sledded as well as snowboarded. Later we took a drive up Middle Mountain, which is right behind our house. It was a winter wonderland. One of the ladies in our church has allowed us to use her 4-wheel drive Jeep for the winter. That is a real blessing. Here are some photos and videos of our day.

This picture looks out over the lake....

Here is a picture of our snowman.

Pics of our drive up Middle Mountain

The Kids playing on a snow covered rock.......

Here are a couple of videos of our drive in the mountain.

As you can see we are enjoying the wonders of Colorado. God's Glory is on display here. You have to come and see it soon. Keep praying for us. We hope to see you when we come home for Christmas. God bless.

Mike

Thanksgiving!

Hey everyone, our family just wanted to wish everyone out there a Happy Thanksgiving. I pray this is great time for your family. As we are away from our family today we can sympathize with the majority of the people in this area who are also separated from their family today. Our church is providing a real Thanksgiving meal to the whole area today. We are expecting that most of the people around here are going to come, so pray for us that this outreach will bring glory to God and that many of the people who come today will be reached with the love of Jesus.

I want to give thanks today to God for all of the blessings in our lives. I am thankful for Jesus who gave his life to save us. He called us to serve Him out here and He is using us. Sunday we saw our first person come to faith in Jesus as savior and Lord. I am praying that he is the first of many in a great harvest of souls out here. We are thankful for all of you out there who are praying for us and still loving us. Thank you for your calls and emails. We still need them.

Lori made a huge pan of her first good ole Southern Dressing which here they call "cornbread dressing". Here they have stuffing and bread dressing.....

Now just a word to catch up on our happenings. Yesterday we spent most of the afternoon in the ER with Mason. He had a bike accident and ended up with 5 stitches in his arm. We are telling everyone that a moose ran out in front of him. He is fine by the way. The boys have been out of school all week and it has been a good week. We have met several new families this week and God is still bringing people to our home to find out about our church. We are expecting snow today and tomorrow. It is time they say for snow to be here and stay the rest of the winter so we will see.
Keep praying for us. Pray that we will not become discouraged. We are working in a small church that is pretty traditional. They haven't had a lot of growth for years now. Pray that we as a church will embrace what God has for us and that people won't try to hold on to their past or their traditions but will allow God to do a fresh work in our church and area. There are many to be reached here. Most people here don't know anything about God. They move from day to day without ever knowing the love that God wants to pour out on them. They don't know about our savior who died for them and longs for them to know Him. Pray that the light of God's truth will shine on the people of this valley and that people here will come to know Him. Pray that Satan will no longer be able to blind the people here to the truth. Pray that God will be glorified. Thank you all. I love you all. You are part of my Thanksgiving today.
In Him,
Mike

PS - Thanks Gery Fuller for the Bama stuff. You are a real blessing to us. For everyone else's info Gery was at the U of A this week and sent me some stuff from there. I am assuming this means Gery has converted to a Crimson Tide fan because I can't think of any other reason he would be at the campus. I'm glad to hear it Gery. Josh and Becki are next. Roll Tide!

One Month Down!

Today marks one month since we arrived here in Colorado. So far the adjustment has went well but this week will be a little tough as we spend our first Thanksgiving away from family (and My first "Day after Thanksgiving" outside of the Tuscaloosa shopping area!!).

The kids are out of school all week this week. Landon had an Old Fashion Hoe Down Friday at his school which I thought was great! It was our first chance to go to something at school and spend a little time with his teacher, Miss Magno. Landon was totally humiliated about the whole thing....didn't want us taking pictures of him.....and I will suffer his wrath when he finds I have posted these pictures.....

He was just too cute as he square danced with his female partners! I even recorded some of it and begged him to let me add it to the blog so his grandmothers can watch it but he was pretty adamant that I didn't. So...to protect his trust in me, I shall relent :(! After they did some doce-doeing(msp!), they ate a snack that they all helped to make of homemade biscuits, apple butter, and regular butter. Also served were popcorn balls and apple juice to stay within the olden days theme.
Sunday brought some disappointments as the two families who said they were coming did not show up. Donny's dad dropped him off at the house on Saturday and when he returned several hours later, it was very obvious where he had been from the way he had smelled! I share this with you because Donny and his father have been in the blog since day 2 here and our prayer is that one day, we are going to share with you how God has totally changed Kirk's life. Also on Saturday, a lady pulls up after seeing the kids outside playing, and asks about the church. She is new to the community and wants to meet people, and has 4 kids, one of which she brought back over here to play later. It is really neat how God is bringing the people into our lives without us really having to go search for them. This lady said that she was brought up Catholic but thought "what would it hurt to bring my kids to church?" Well, she didn't make it Sunday, but one day I will hopefully share her salvation with you also. By the way, have you ever seen a drunk mountain man try to kick a football??! Yes, one day last week, this man knocked on the door to tell us he was just outside measuring the bases on our ball field. ? He wreaked of alcohol and had a long beard, complete with overalls and boots, and asked Mason to "shoot some hoop".

Mason went willingly and Mike went out to supervise. The next time I looked out, he was trying to teach Mason how to throw and kick a football, but he was having considerable trouble connecting his foot with the ball!! After his little fun, Mike talked with him about coming to church and he opened up about some heartaches in his life and walked away crying. I was reminded about the verse when Jesus said "I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me" Matt 25:40. We did not really give him anything like food or water, but it seemed he needed a little companionship so we shared our son and God planted seeds through Mike's conversation with him. Pray for him right now by the way....along with Kirk and the "Catholic family"...God knows their names...... Thank you!

We went ATV riding today...fun! Haven loved it and of course the boys loved it too!

Landon was a wild driver!! He had no restraints

as you can tell by the look on my face!

Not sure I am going to relay that message

to Santa that he wants one.......

The weather has been so nice here, around 60 degrees and the sun shines making it feel so good. It has only snowed twice since we've been here and the snow leaves by lunch. HOWEVER, it is suppose to snow Thanksgiving Day again........"I'm dreaming of a white.....Thanksgiving"!???

Nope never have.....
We plan on going to see BOLT at the movies tomorrow and spend the rest of the week preparing for the big community wide Thanksgiving lunch! By the way, those of you who may be wondering about my play group, I plan to start that in December and already have 4 other women interested in coming...yea!

Our house in Cullman has had no offers but we are still trusting God's timing; however, He tells us to ASK, SEEK, and KNOCK so please continue to pray for it to sell. And also pray for the Tide on Saturday!! Does it matter that we are #1 if Auburn beats us??! Come on BAMA...pull us through!! ROLLLLL TIDE!!!

Lori

God is at Work

Hey everyone I just wanted to catch everyone up on what is going on here. Had a lot of meetings this week, this church loves to meet. But there are some good things that are happening. This is very much a mission area. People here don't go to church nor do they really see the need for a relationship with God. They don't pretend either. There is a great deal of alcoholics in the area. We have a bar right next to our house (which you know I like). There is a depressive feel to the area when it comes to spiritual things. But we can see God at work here. We had the lady from the store next door, her husband owns the bar, ask if her daughter could come to church with us even if she didn't come. She wasn't ready for church yet but wanted her daughter there. I met a new family today, Saturday, who has lived here for 3 months. She was asking me about our church and things for her kids. We talked and I found out she has an 18 year old daughter who is pregnant and due in 3 weeks, 2 teenage boys and a young girl who is 9. I really believe they are coming to church tomorrow. We also have the guy and his son, Donny who has become our boys best friend, coming back tomorrow. This may not sound like a lot to us in the bible belt, but out here this is huge for our church. They don't have that many people visit their church in 6 months time so this is great.

Keep praying for us though that God will break through the spiritual darkness here with the light of His love. Our church is hosting a Thanksgiving meal next week for the whole community. We are expecting more than 200 people to come eat with us. This is going to be a great opportunity to open some doors into the lives of people here. I am excited about the opportunities. We are looking forward to coming home at Christmas. I hope to see you all then. We love you all.
Mike

Don't miss this.....WOW!

Make sure your volume is turned up so you can hear the song.
I would love to hear your reaction to this....leave me a comment or email me!-Lori

Hi!

Hi Everyone! Not much going on this week. Mike is turning into a mountain man......Monday, he went out to the stream, caught his salmon by hand, and came back and cooked it up for lunch! They went again yesterday and snagged some with hook and line. I have started working out with some girls in the Valley to try and offset all the eating I've been doing here. The boys are still going to basketball and we're still swimming when they do. Just three more days of school this week and they are out all next week for Thanksgiving. Mason made the remark last night that Bayfield school is better than Parkside....whoa(it surprised me)! He said "not the people or classmates", just the school. Why is that? Because they go to Art, Music, Spanish, and now, PE and they are all on a rotation. They still have recess or free play 3 times a day, and on the days they have PE, they are taught about certain sports. It seems that Alabama schools have more deadlines to meet and are much more academic....which is a GREAT THING....but it doesn't leave much time for the extras they seem to have here. (I realize that some Alabama schools may have these extras but Parkside was not able to....awesome school though-I miss the people there so much!). Landon is having a "Hoe Down" on Friday and on December 5th, he is in a Christmas program that will be performed at night at the High School as a result of his music class.
Did anyone watch Biggest Loser last night? Why did AMY not vote out VICKY!! She just hung herself! Anyway....Tony Jetton, you are so crazy! Love the picture!! (anyone who has checked it out on the left side as our newest follower, it is NOT him and Lisa!) Lisa will thank me for that! I hope everyone is having a great day! By the way, 5 weeks until Christmas EVE!!! We love you all,
Lori

Celebrations!!!

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY

PARKER OWEN!!

Yes, this is "little Jeff", our nephew, the son of Jeff and Denise Owen. He was born 13 days after Haven. Aren't they sweet!! It's unbelievable that 3 years has past since their birth. Parker is 100% boy! We hope your birthday is awesome!

Also, CONGRATULATIONS to Heather, Todd, and Nevaeh Green on their new little addition 'Nason Brae' who was born on November 14th! God has blessed you guys abundently!! It's hard to believe that Nevaeh is a big sister now!! Send pictures ASAP!

How did we celebrate Mike's birthday? Well, I would say he got off pretty easy on his 40th living here compared to how it would have been if we were
still at Grace! On his actual birthday, we got him a normal little cake and celebrated at home with the kids. On Friday night, Mike and I went out to eat at a place called Sweeny's that was a neat little place but had horrible service. Anyway, today most of the church dressed up in black (you know, over the hill!) and they threw him a surprise party after church. He said he didn't think anything about the fact that everyone was in black (men are so unobservant!) and was pleasantly surprised. The cake was too cute as it said "Older than dirt."

A few more things to celebrate is that we had a new family to visit the church today and Donnie and dad finally came to church!! Also, some of the church members have ordered us plane tickets back to Alabama for Christmas! We leave Christmas day and return New Years Day. Praise GOD!! He is Jehovah-Jirah....MY PROVIDER!!

On that note, let me share a lesson God gave me yesterday. Donnie and his dad were playing ball in the church yard yesterday so Mike went out to talk to Kirk who shared humbly that he has not found work and he had no food in his house presently. Mike came in and told me and we started gathering what we could from our pantry and refrigerator to take to his home later. An hour or so later, Earl and Cathy from the church (who had just babysat for us the night before) came in with tons of food from the grocery store and said that they missed out on the pounding (because they were in the Cayman Islands). They brought 5lbs of bacon, 10 lbs of frozen chicken, sandwich meat, cheeses, filet mignon, a whole brisket, lettuce, crackers, 3 dozen eggs, etc, etc, etc. It had to be around $200 worth of food! WOW! It was humbling, to know that we had just given up part of our food and in comes three times as much as we gave! This fulfills the following scripture:

"Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." LUKE 6:38

Now, it is not always given back in the same manner that it was given, like food for food or money for money....but it will be given back in some way and it is up to us to look for what that way was and then GLORIFY GOD FOR IT! HE IS SUCH A GOOD GOD!!

By the way, I would love to recognize your birthday or anniversary so email me and let me know when your big day is!

Lori

A Good Day Fishing

Yesterday, Friday, the boys were out of school and so I took them fishing in the Vallecito lake behind our house. We didn't catch a fish. Of course it's hard to catch anything when the boys are ready to leave 5 minutes after you get there. Anyway we went home and decided to take a family walk down to play in some of the mountain streams that run behind our house. These streams feed into the lake and are very cold, but it was about 60 yesterday so we decided to check them out. I told the boys that the kokanee salmon were running in the streams now because they are at the end of their spawning run. When we got down to the stream we saw a few salmon swimming in the stream so we jumped in and caught them, barehanded. It was so much fun. Landon and Mason also caught one. We couldn't keep them yesterday because you can only start keeping them on November 15, today, so we are going back out this afternoon to "catch" some more salmon. I'll let you know how we do. I can't believe all these years I have wasted money on reel and rods and bait when all you need to do is reach in and grab them. Hey Jeff Silvey and Jerry Creel, try that today at Guntersville and let me know how you do. I pray you are all doing well. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Mike

Happy Birthday Mikee!!! Lori's Tribute

HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY MIKEE!!

When I got up this morning, he was doing his own birthday blog and I told him I had to do a tribute blog to him so he said "go ahead". He is at lunch with Earl and Jerry who took him out today for a birthday lunch so it's my turn to play on the computer. I figured out how to scan and add old pictures...yea!!! So here is a picture of back when it all started.....

AWWWWW...that's Mike as a baby with Mama Kay, Pop, Angela, and Jeff.....this next picture we found when we started dating and it is actually a picture of Mark's birthday (Mike's brother) and Mike is over to the left and that's me standing beside Mark, three over from Mike.......

Next, Do you remember this day? Many of you do......(sorry I was a little "uptight" that day for you all that were there).............

But I sure snagged a good one! Mike, you are the greatest husband a woman could ask for. Thank you for being so kind hearted, patient, gentle, funny, and loving. I could not have asked for a better father for my children also. He provides for them, loves them, teaches them, guides them, and brings them up in the "nuture and admonition of the Lord" plus he has all that patience that I lack. You are the greatest and I love you with all my heart (even if you did drag me across the country!)

Which one of these brothers do you think is the oldest????

(Mark, you are so in trouble come May....I found several old birthday pictures of you!)

So, Happy Birthday my dear husband!! May the aches and pains that are before you be few and far between!

I LOVE YOU!!!

LORI

Today is my Birthday

I woke up this morning 40 years old, and my neck was hurting like crazy. I guess it has started, old age. I hear it all begins to fall apart at 40; I must be getting a head start. I am sitting at the computer looking out of the window of our new home in Colorado. It is beautiful here this morning, about 30 degrees but the sun is shining brightly across the water and birds are flying everywhere. I saw a bald eagle a few minutes ago. The mountains are rising up above the lake and everything is starting to come to life. The boys are in school and Lori and Haven are asleep so I thought this would be a good time to reflect on my 40 years.

The problem is at my age you can't remember anything anymore. That doesn't matter because the stories I am about to make up will be more interesting anyway. (Kidding) I have been blessed more than most people I know. I have a wonderful family; a great wife and the three greatest kids ever. They love me, although sometimes I don't know why. They left all their friends and family to join me in the craziest thing I have ever done. (Actually they did it because they knew God was in it, but let me have my moment since this may be my last birthday). My kids are healthy and well. I know today not everyone can say that so I count that as a blessing. I have some wonderful friends. I have already heard from many of you this morning; thank you for loving and supporting us. Thanks for calling and emailing us. You will never know how that helps to keep us going out here. My friends and family at Grace Community Church have been our lives for years now and we don't want to lose you all. I think about you all today and wonder what you would have done to me had we been there today. I would have loved it of course.

There is no doubt I could stop this here and you would conclude I am a blessed man, even though I am an old.

The truth is though those things are only a small part of the blessings God has given me. Today I know I am saved and going to heaven because Jesus died for my sins. "But when God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit." (Titus 3) Also all of my children are saved, and I believe and pray that Haven will be saved when she is older. I get the opportunity to serve Him by preaching the word in places I never thought I would. I get to see parts of His creation I never thought I would see. God is good.

Today I am thankful to God for all the good things He has done for this 40 year old fossil. I hope you will join me today in giving Him glory.

"Blessed be the name of the Lord now and forever. Everywhere-from east to west-praise the name of the Lord. For the Lord is high above the nations; his glory is higher than the heavens." PS 113:2-4

So join me today in giving thanks to God for all He has done.

Thanks for your love and friendship. I hope to see you soon. Here or there. I have to go, I can't find my glasses and I need some Ben-Gay for my neck. Love you all.

Mike

Happy Veteran's Day!....and more....

Did your kids go to school today? Mine did and they even had an assembly with a guest who talked about his trip across several continents on a bicycle....???? On Veteran's Day? Where is the honor that the veterans deserve? Thank you to all those who have sacrificed their time, bodies, mental, and emotional well-being to serve our great country! We honor you and please know that your sacrifice was not in vain!

Mike and I did some thrift store shopping today.....thank God for thrift stores!! (some of you may be saying ewwww!) As much as I thought that we were prepared for snow, no one mentioned the term WATERPROOF to me! Mike would say to people, "we've got to get some warm clothes to get ready for winter" and I would always reply "we have plenty of warm clothes." However, a few days in the snow helped me realize that everything you have on while playing in the snow needs to be waterproof. As you can tell in the pictures posted from Saturday's trip, Mason and Landon had sweat clothes on and they were drenched after an hour! So today we saved tons of money by finding some snow bibs (one piece snow pants that are kind of like waders), waterproof coats, and boots at the thrift stores. We still need to find those "perfect" gloves for everyone. I am also finding that it is better to "play" in thin waterproof jackets with layered clothes underneath than to put on the big, bulky coats. So now, everyone has a light weight waterproof jacket, a cloth jacket, and a big bulky jacket. I need another house to put all these jackets in!!

I am very blessed to be staying at home with Haven now but am finding myself to be a little stir crazy already. There is nothing really going on in the valley to do during the week so to prevent myself from becoming very lazy, I've got to guard myself with activity. In December, I am starting a play group for the Stay-at-home Moms in the valley as a way to meet other young moms and for Haven to meet some friends. For those of you who may not know, there are no families under the age of 45 or so in the church. Pray for that ministry that God will begin to prepare the hearts of the women HE wants to be there! It is a way to get them in the door and eventually introduce them to the love of Christ.....

Our church is sponsoring a community wide Thanksgiving meal on Thanksgiving Day and we had a supper meeting with the Outreach Committee to plan it last Friday night. I personally thought everyone got together with their family or families for Thanksgiving..........but not in the valley. Most residents here have family far away like we do and are planning to see them Christmas. So I guess this is a good thing and will help us take our minds off of the fact that we are not with our families on Thanksgiving. On Saturday night, we ate supper with Pat and Burt Armstrong who own Bear Paw Lodge. I've never seen Haven eat so much! She had three helpings of Mrs. Pat's chicken spagetti and fruit salad!

Sunday went good but no guests yet from all those we've invited. But....we are not giving up on them. God has sent us here to reach someone! We then went to The Market for lunch which is about 1/2 mile up the road. (mom, they told me Sunday that they are open all the time...even when the power goes out so don't worry....we'll have food!!). So far, every trip to The Market has been free because a member of the church slips up and pays for it......blessings!!

On Monday, we woke up with about 4 inches of snow. Haven got to play in it some...she loves sledding down hills over and over and over and over and over again! There was still about half an inch or so when the boys came home so the boys decided to make a snowman........

A dirty snowman that is! Lots of depris added.....we'll have plenty of time to perfect it and send you a picture Jacque S.!

For all of you that knew how much I didn't want to make this move, I want you to know that God has given me the "peace of God, which passes all understanding" (Phil 4:7), mainly because of you and your prayers. Thank you and Praise God! (I would move back to Alabama in a heartbeat though!). So all of you who needs peace about something going in your life, pray this scripture repeatedly and allow God to meet your needs.

By the way, Thursday is Mike's 40th birthday! Yep, it's a BIG one so try to send him an interesting email or e-card if you think about it. (He'll kill me when he reads this!)

I love you all and there's only 6 weeks until Christmas!
Lori

(PS>I know you all like to see pictures so I am going to post a couple of pictures from the past )that I thought were cute!Isn't this adorable! Mason and Landon with Devyn Tankersley and Chandler Wisener!Haven playing with her cousins Sydney and Carter with Cole, Caleb, and Morgan in the back ground!

Leave us a comment to let us know you have stopped in!

Can't leave Haven out!

Video

Fun in the Snow!

Yesterday, Saturday, we had a blast in the snow. Mr Earl, a new friend from church, drove our family about an hour away, up a mountain to about 11,000 feet where we could play in the snow. The views were breathtaking. It was one of the most beautiful places we have ever been. I am guessing that God rested on the 7th day and then on the 8th day made this place. It is called Molas Pass and you have to see it to believe it. (So come see it) Believe it or not it was only about 40 degrees up there but there was still almost a foot of snow on the ground.


We sledded and snowboarded and threw snowballs at each other and had a great time. I can't wait for all of you to come up and see it with us. The snow is so soft, powder they call it, so much more fun to play in than what we have down south. I am going to just put a lot of pictures up for you to see, I hope this will make everyone decide they have to come see this place while there is snow everywhere.

Paul said in Romans 1:20, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Having spent some time at Molas Pass, I understand what Paul meant. Anyone who can stand in that place and not give glory to the God who created all that, is without excuse. (And pretty dumb too.) Check out the pics below. I hope to see you soon. I love you all.
Mike