HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAMMY!

THIS IS ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS, TAMMY SILVEY, AND I WANT TO WISH HER A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR TOMORROW!! AS I WILL BE DRIVING TO TEXAS, SHE WILL BE FLYING TO TEXAS TOMORROW FOR HER NIECE'S WEDDING SO I HAD TO POST THIS A LITTLE EARLY. TAMMY HAS BEEN MY PILLAR OF STRENGTH DURING VERY HARD TIMES IN MY LIFE AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN THERE FOR ME... TO LISTEN, TO MAKE ME LAUGH, TO HELP OUT, AND TO CRY WITH. I LOVE YOU TAMMY AND CHERISH YOU AS A FRIEND!!
I'LL BE STAYING WITH TAMMY ON SUNDAY NIGHT WHILE IN CULLMAN AND SHE, JEFF, AND TYLER WILL BE COMING TO SEE US NEXT, ON EASTER.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAMMY!!

Getting ready....(Lori)

Two days until the BIG trip! As excited as I am to come home to visit, I am also dealing with anxiety over the 2 day drive and guilt for leaving Mike behind....lots of emotions going on! I really hate he will have to spend 10 days alone so pray for him, call him, etc., during next week to give him something to do. I am working on tying up business for the consignment sale. I did register my business with state of Colorado, registered as an LLC, and now am sending in for my sales tax license. Don't know what I'm doing but taking it step by step. I only have 5 consignors so far but I haven't done much advertising yet. When we get home from Spring Break, I will be sending a flyer out to all the elementary kids so hopefully that will help.
Church was great Sunday and we had about 10 visitors! Haven's arm is doing fine with a new splint on that she so easy gets dirty. Mason was voted Citizen of the month in his class this month with the theme being PERSEVERANCE. We haven't heard who got it in Landon's class yet but he sure wants it since Mason got it! I am taking a peanut butter pie to his class today because they have never had one....I had no idea it was just a Southern dessert!
We will be pulling out Friday morning around 6:30 with Robyn along with us, and hope to make it to Wichita Falls, TX by Friday night (12 hour drive). On Saturday, we will travel on to Shreveport, LA where we'll drop Robyn off at her sister's and then head on to Cullman from there. Please pray for me ......for safety, for strength, and for good health (I've been fighting with a cold for days!) Can't wait to see most of you while we're down!

Happy Spring! (Lori)

We have had some gorgeous days in Colorado this week! It's been around 65 every day, very sunny and the snow is slowly going away. However there are flurries in the forcast for this weekend but at least the snow that is here will almost be gone before that.

See how you can see the ground in some spots! How exciting!!

We had another injury this week.....we went to the park after school on Tuesday and as Haven was trying to get in Landon's lap to slide down the slide together, she fell off the slide. She cried for 5 minutes or so and then continued playing. However, we noticed that she was not using her left hand. It was not swelling or bruising so we decided to watch her and see if she began using it. Wednesday came along and she still wasn't using it so we took her in and they x-rayed it to find that she had a buckle fracture in her wrist....so.......

2nd broken bone in two months!! We are trying to pump milk into her veins to strengthen those bones! Because it was a minor break, she only has to wear a splint for 4 weeks. Anyone have a huge bubble I can stick her in from now on?? At play group the other day she read a whole book to the group and it was adorable! I'll try to tape it and post it for the grandmothers to see!!

Landon is doing good....he's being tested for the gifted program at school this week. He absolutely can't wait to get his new puppy from Uncle Bill when we head to Alabama. He prayed the other night that Lucy would not be too sad when she left her other family. So sensitive!

Mason is done with basketball for the year. He played in a tournament last weekend and they only won one out of 4 games. They played the best of the best (some were travel ball teams) so it was good that they had a real challenge on their hands. Sunday, he went to skills test in baseball. We are really hoping he gets on the team with his best bud Chance. Haven't heard about teams yet so not sure when they will even start. He also is to be tested for the gifted program ( this makes me feel so good about Alabama's education that's always listed as being one of the worst). Mason is also taking group guitar lessons from their music teacher once a week on Thursdays.

Mike is doing good....really dreading us leaving for Bama for Spring Break and leaving him behind. We had several visitors at church Sunday and that's always encouraging.

Me, I don't feel very well today....first cold since we moved here...ears are stuffed up, body achy, and it hit really fast. I am slowly trying to get the seasonal consignment business off the ground and started advertising this week. Please pray for at least 50 contributors! Just want to Praise God for answering a prayer yesterday....I was very nervous about asking the pricipal at the school if I could send flyers home with each kid but she said yes so thank you Lord!

We leave for Alabama in one week. Another answer to prayer is that Robyn Thorton is riding with me! I will drop her off in Shreveport, LA, at her sister's so I won't be alone in my travels!! Thank you Lord!! (Now everyone needs to pray for my mother who is so nervous about me driving across country)!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRACY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO A GREAT FRIEND, TRACY TANKERSLEY, FROM CULLMAN!!! SHE IS IN NURSING SCHOOL AND WILL FINISH IN AUGUST AND I AM SO PROUD OF HER. SHE IS MOTHER TO MASON'S GIRLFREIND TAYLOR, LANDON'S BEST FRIEND DEVYN, AND HAVEN'S BEST BUDDY KAMRYN. HOPE YOU HAVE A VERY RESTFUL, RELAXING DAY TRACY!! (that's what she wanted for today!) WE LOVE YOU!

Happy Birthday Mike Richardson!!

HAPPY BIRHTDAY TO MY OLDEST BROTHER, MIKE RICHARDSON! HE TURNS 49 TODAY BUT SURE DON'T LOOK LIKE IT! WE HOPE YOU HAVE A VERY SPECIAL DAY AND TOTALLY ENJOY THIS YEAR BECAUSE NEXT YEAR WILL BE A BIG ONE! WE LOVE YOU!

Prayer Requests....(Lori)

My friend Kyle, who I have shared with you before that needs the Lord, received a call yesterday that her sister who was 37 had died . She had a staph infection that turned septic quickly and was found by her 6 year old dead at home. Kyle's mom Josie is active in our church...her name is Josie and my heart just breaks for them. Please pray for them during this difficult time. Pray for Kyle that she will realize her need to accept Jesus as her way to heaven and her husband Jason who has nothing to do with God.

Also, I know this little request pales in comparison to the previous one, but please say a prayer for my Little Blessings Consignment business, that I will be able to recruit at least 50 contributors. So far, I have 3........47 to go!!

An answer to prayer is that Landon has some close friends now. One is a 1st grader that rides the bus with him that he really likes. The other is a 3rd grader that has moved here from Texas, our music minister's grandson. Thank you all who have been praying for him!

Continue to pray for our house to sell......it is such a burden!
Lori

Happy Birthday Dawn and Taylor!

We have two special people in our lives with Birthdays on Sunday, March 15.....

Happy Birthday to Dawn Wright! Dawn is a special friend that has brought lots of laughter to our hearts! She was also Haven's babysitter in Cullman and loved her like her own. She is an awesome friend to me and we hope your birthday, Dawn, is unforgettable!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TAYLOR TANKERSLEY ALSO! Taylor is Mason's girlfriend back in Cullman and daughter to my next birthday post, Tracy. We love you Taylor!

I have been busy this week working on my website for my new small business called Little Blessings Consignment Sales. My first sale will be May 2nd and it is a kids sale with clothing, toys, baby stuff, etc. Special Thanks to Bonnie who set up my website this week! Check it out at www.littleblessingsconsignment.com! Tell me what you think! Lori

Happy Birthday Cathy and Meredith!

OK....because we don't hardly ever get comments anymore, I totally forget about the blog...so I've gotten terrible with posting birthday wishes in time! So sorry Cathy and Mere!! (I did wish them happy birthday on Facebook :)...


SOOOOOO.....HAPPY 28TH BIRTHDAY TO MEREDITH WADE!! Her birthday was yesterday, March 9th. Meredith is a very special friend that we've known now for almost 10 years. We became friends at New Hope and she walked with us through ups and downs and into Grace. She is so much fun to be with and we CAN'T WAIT for her to come visit soon! We love you Mere!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY also to our friend Cathy Bell whose birthday was March 3rd! Cathy has been our friend since the beginning of ministry when Mike was pastor at Arbor Springs, 13 years ago. That's easy to remember because her daughter Reagan was born the first year we were there. Cathy has been such an encouragement to us over the years and we appreciate her friendship. She has been there for me in times when I couldn't talk to my Cullman friends about "changes" in our ministry. Thanks Cathy and sorry this message was posted a whole week after your birthday! I don't have a picture of Cathy to post because I don't have any recent ones and I know she is picky about herself in pictures (she's a lot like me...she doesn't like ANY pictures of herself).....she would die if I put one of the older ones up! We love you Cathy!

I'll warn you now, March is FULL of birthdays so there will be many birthday wishes this month. (If I remember to post them in time!!). I apologize if you are a regular reader and I don't know when your birthday is....send me a little email and let me know so I can acknowledge yours too!
Lori

What's Up? (Lori)

What's up? Just the norm around here. The boys were out of school today for teacher in-service and tonight we went to see "Horton Hears a Whoo" at the school (fundraiser for Student Council). I've had a great week....when our company left Monday morning, I set a goal to lose 10lbs before our trip to Alabama. I gained over Christmas holidays and have held onto it and finally got to that "I'm sick of myself" feeling that it takes to finally lose weight. I've done great this week so far, cutting my food intake in half and exercising daily. I haven't been that hungry either so I know God is helping me. And boy do I feel so much better! I'm not as tired feeling during the day and have more energy. It's all mind over matter when it comes to losing weight...
I am definitely going forward with the seasonal consignment sale that I have named "Little Blessings". My first sale will be May 2nd. I know it will be small but hopefully will grow each time. I don't know what I am doing but am trying to learn as I go. I pray that God will use me to introduce people to Him through this!
What's going on with the house? Well, we got an offer that I mentioned several weeks back but they wanted a contengency on it, wanting to buy it after selling their house. Because we don't know how long that would take, we couldn't go with that so the house is still on our hands. Please pray that it sells soon.....while we are "making" it, we are certainly having to do without some very important things due to the financial burden it is placing on us.
Our music leader's daughter's family has moved here now and they have two children that will be attending church with us.....YAY! That's very exciting for us and the kids!
Tomorrow, Mike has a men's breakfast in the morning and then we will go to Mason's last regular season basketball game. Next weekend will be a tournament and they play Saturday and all day Sunday. Sunday is just another day for them. (yes, I told the coach that Mason would not be there until 12:30 on Sunday)!
Just another difference....I was talking to the Playgroup moms the other day about school pageants and they had never heard of schools hosting a beauty pageant! Isn't that funny! They were from Texas, New York, Arizona, and CO.....maybe it's just a southern thing? They thought it was terrible for schools to do that because it gave the girls the sense that it's what's on the outside that matters.....Just thought I would throw that interesting tidbit in....

The snow has really gone down now and around Bayfield, it is almost all gone (not here in Vallecito though). However, it's suppose to snow tomorrow......I know you are all enjoying some great Spring weather and I am happy for you. The kids and I will be there in 3 more weeks!

I just want to say thank you to my Cullman buddies for keeping us in your life. Although we are miles and states apart, you continue to include me into your week and lives, and I can never express how much that means to me. I love you!
Lori

Creel visit- Part 2 (Lori)

Well, life goes back to normal today as the Creel's flew back to Alabama. We had such a great time with them and appreciate that they came out for a visit. I pray they were blessed as much as we were!

I left off with what we did on Friday so I will start today on what we did on Saturday.....

Jessica wanted to take the train ride in Durango that goes half way to Silverton in the winter so she and Jerry left Saturday morning to do that. It ONLY costs $49 so we opted out of going. They liked it but said that the ride we took to Ouray was better and they may have enjoyed the train ride better if they had not already seen that. Oh, well,....at least they can say they rode a train!!

Then we had lunch/supper at The Palace and walked around Main St. in Durango before Mason's basketball game.......

Yes, we are sitting in the Tavern part of the restaurant because it was 3:00 and they were reserving the cleanliness of the other rooms for the supper guests.....no drinks...I promise!

Sunday was spent at church with a little ice fishing to follow......

This is Jessica exhibiting her "faith" as she walks on water.....HA!

No fish were caught unfortunately.....They say that the ice only has to be 4 inches thick and you can drive a car across it (not going to find out for myself!) That day, the ice was still about 18 inches thick.

Well, we hope you enjoyed our time together as much as we did Jess and Jerry! Thanks for coming! The Silvey's are coming over next but we got to wait two whole months!