Happy 12th Birthday Mason!!

Mason's birthday was Saturday, the 23rd, and because of the snow fall the couple of days before, we were not sure whether we will be able to get out of the house that day so we postponed plans with his friends until this Saturday. However, we woke up to a sun-shiny day and were bursting to get out of the house and get to town for Dt. Mt. Dews! Mason asked if he could go snowboarding so his dad took him and me and the other two went to see "The Tooth Fairy" at the movies. It was a great day and we ended it celebrating Mason's birthday with our friends Cathy and Earl over supper.

It's hard to believe that 12 years have already past.....he's been such a great kid but I'm going to need lots of prayer over the next 12 years as we walk with him through his teenage years in this hypersexual society we live in!! I can't stand that girls are already chasing after him in 6th grade! As you read this, please pray along with me for Mason the following.....
1. That this year he will grow closer to the Lord and begin to really understand the sacrifice Jesus made for us
2. That he would make wise choices in who his friends are
3. That he will be a leader for Christ and will stand up for the morals we've taught him
4. That the "words of his mouth and the meditation of his heart will be pleasing in your sight O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer" Psalm 19:14

Thank you! What an honor it has been to have Mason as our child and I am really filling the weight of our responsibilities as his parents in preparing him to be a man of God the older he gets! Thank you GOD for Mason!

Too Much Snow!

Many of my blog readers have already see these pictures on Facebook but for those who do not Facebook, this is the scene outside our living room window last night........

And this is the scene this morning!

We awoke last night at 1 a.m. to what sound like someone walking around on our roof! I even told Mike to get the gun....I was sooooo scared! I promise it sounded just like someone was up there. Mike said "Lori...why would anyone be walking on our roof in the middle of a blizzard" !
Sounds crazy but it was a freaky feeling! Mike was right...it was just the snow/ice on top breaking up to fall down off the house. The next pic is our driveway and believe it or not, our Jeep Cherokee is out there....can you find it?

Where is the van, Jeep Wrangler, and car?


And finally a shot of our house! I believe the kids could probably sled off the roof into the snow now!

I have never seen anything like this! This time last year, my mom, Aunt Diane, and Uncle Steve were traveling up so I am so glad no one has made plans to come this weekend because it's too dangerous. They did call off school today so our family is together. Mason's birthday is tomorrow and it's been hard to make plans for him not knowing what the road conditions will be like. Anyway, snow is pretty but it's a lot of work and a huge inconvenience! CRAZINESS!

Playing at Hesperus

Monday we were out of school for MLK holiday so we took Mason snowboarding for the first time at an actual ski slope. Because it was his first time, he had to take ski lessons....here's Mason and his instructor going up on the ski lift.......

This ski slope was smaller than Durango Mt. Resort (and much cheaper)....I liked it because you could keep your eye on him the whole time whereas at DMR, it sooooo huge, that you can't even watch them. Below is a picture of the slope but I didn't get any of Mason snowboarding because you are so far away from him when he is doing it that you can't pick him up on film......

He absolutely LOVED it of course and has a ways to go before he is confident on it like his friend Chance who joined us for the day. Chance's brother Bodie went tubing with Haven and Landon and that looked so fun! But so scary that I don't think I could try it! Below is my friend Jennifer(Chance and Bodie's mom) with Mike getting the kids ready to launch....

They were cool little tubes.......

Here's some video of them tubing......

Next trip out to Hesperus, we're going to let Landon take ski lessons and try it out. This is such an expensive sport.....you have to have skiis, helmet, goggles, ski boots, and then pay for a lift ticket.

We are now on day 4 of continuous snow and the worst day is suppose to come tomorrow. I was able to get out yesterday and play some card games with some friends in the valley and that was fun. Otherwise, you really don't want to get out unless you absolutely have to. The kids are in school and are riding the bus. We're hoping they will cancel school tomorrow...we'll see. Mason's birthday is Saturday so I hope the snow does not put a kink in the plans for him on Saturday.

I heard there was sunshine in Alabama today so I hope you enjoy it!!

My New Love!

As soon as I returned to Colorado, the weight loss resolution began! While I had been walking with a group of women before Christmas, one of these ladies, Connie, had told me that she was going to go cross country skiing instead of walking now and invited me to go along......I LOVE IT! It is such a fun workout! You are concentrating more on staying up and gliding than you are on the fact that you are exercising. We go out on the frozen lake with several other people and it really is a lot of fun. With the sun shining, you get so hot and end up stripping down to just a long sleeve shirt. Here are some shots from my first day......(not much of a workout on my first day..just trying to stay up!)

This is my fun friend Connie...she's always doing something fun and adventurous! She's a Georgia girl too!

Mike broke his littlest toe last Saturday night so he has not gotten to really try it yet but I did take the kids out this Saturday to try it. Landon loved it and Haven was really good for her age. Mason was good too but it wasn't adventurous enough for him! We were planning on taking him snowboarding today at a "real" ski place but it's snowing so not sure what we'll do now!

Here's Haven....so cute!

And the one who said "I was born on ski's"....Landon

And the one who needs skate skiies which are a little faster...Mason

My back hurt me all last week (not from the skiing) off and on so I only got to go 3 times. I want to give glory to God for healing my back because yesturday and today it has felt much better...Thank You GOD!

Next I want to try this.....

Parasail skiing! While we were on the lake Saturday, there were 3 men doing this and it looks like so much fun! It's super fast though so I better pass on this one!!

Congrats to Landon!!

At the end of each month, one child is chosen out of each class by either their teacher or by class vote as Student of the Month for a specific quality that their counselor has established in advance. For the month of December, the quality is honesty and Landon was chosen by his teacher! To quote Ms. Sparks..."who else could it have been? Landon was the obvious choice". I sure hope he cherishes this quality and always remains honest. To know Landon, you'll find soon that he see's things in "black and white"....no gray areas! Which can be hard at times when explaining life and getting him to compromise on certain things (where his sister is concerned!). He was honored, along with all the other recipents, with a breakfast on Jan. 7th and below is a pic of his counselor, Mr. Rob, presenting him with a certificate....

This was especially important to us because last year, Mason got Student of the Month for Perserverence AND Student of the Year Overall in his class while Landon got nothing. His teacher last year let the kids vote on each virtue. So anyway, we are very proud of and for Landon as he has had a difficult time transitioning to this new, "strange" land!

January Birthdays

I want to wish a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to

Robby Richardson (My Brother) - JAN 13th

Jeff Silvey (Our friend) - JAN 13th

Debbie Holliman (my Aunt) - JAN 16th

Mason Owen (my son) - JAN 23rd

We hope your birthday is very special and we love you!

Christmas 09 in Alabama

Well it was definitely a Christmas to remember! The Christmas Eve service went really well and the church was full of people, many who never come to our church and many were family members visiting for Christmas. We had over 20 kids there! We managed to pull out of the driveway at 6:30 pm, heading for a 22 hour drive to Bama. Most of you already know this but for those that don't.....we were doing great until about 5 a.m. in Texas, there were ice spots on the road and we had to slow down a bit. By 7 a.m., between Vernon and Witchita Falls, our journey came to a standstill....traffic was backed up as far as you could see and there was no way out. There were about 4 inches of ice on the roads and we assumed that there had been a wreck. Seven hours later...I repeat..7 hours later...we never saw any evidence of a major wreck, just 100's of small wrecks. We spent 7 hours waiting to just drive, on Christmas Day, with 3 kids AND a dog! It was insane!! There were helicopters flying over, cars stuck off to the side of the road for those that tried to cross the median to go the other way, and the National Guard out to help pull people out. It was crazy and I needed a therapist by about hour 5!!! I once thought about getting out and taking a picture but I thought "no...I don't want anything to remind me of this day"! Anyway, due to that and the slower driving when we did get to go, we made it to Gordo at 4:15 a.m on the 26th...33 hours in the van! We could have stopped to spend our second night on the road but we just wanted to be there so we took turns sleeping.
Thankfully, the whole Owen clan was able to get together again on Saturday for another Christmas gathering. Here's a picture of all the Owen grandchildren......


Then Saturday afternoon, we had the Richardson Christmas at Mom's. Here is a picture of all the Richardson grandchildren.....

Although we were so tired and sleep deprived, it is such a blessing to us to be with our families. I cherish every minute and thank you all for rearranging your Christmas to spend time with us. On Sunday, Mike preached at his dad's church and both families were there and shared lunch together. That is also such a blessing!
Landon's birthday was the 22nd and I had planned a party for him at the skating rink in Cullman for that Tuesday and invited all of Mason's friends to come also. He was so excited about it. However, no one showed up at the rink to open it up for us. Talk about stress! I had to go next door to the gas station (at this point it was 20 minutes past party time) to find out who owned it and was told that they own the bowling alley also. Then I called the bowling alley and found out that they forgot about my party, the owners were in Gatlinburg, and was told we could come bowl. So we all headed across town to bowl and I had a very disappointed birthday boy that had his heart set on skating! Once we got settled, it all ended being a lot of fun and it was a blessing to be with old friends again.
Landon's girlfriend Hailey was there.....

Didn't he choose just the coolest cake!!?

Mason with some of his 6th grade buddies......

It was so nice to see some of our friends and we ended up eating supper with Jeff and Tammy and spending the night with Bonnie and Shane. Thank you guys for the great meals and for the time we got to spend with you! There are many other friends that we didn't get to see and we hate that so maybe next visit we will have more time.

New Year's Eve for me was spent at the hospital with mom and that was the last time I got to see my aunt Gail and I am very grateful that I could be there, as hard as it was. Mike and the kids spent time with his family and his Aunt Faye and Uncle Herman, and Aunt Gail, Uncle Ralph, and cousin Brandon all came up from Georgia. They are always a lot of fun to be with and we are so glad we got to see them (although I know I was not good company-sorry guys!). We left coming back on New Year's Day and the trip home was much more uneventful...thank you Lord! With the horrible Christmas Day travels, the skating rink problem, and saying goodbye to a precious aunt, Christmas 09 with be UNFORGETTABLE

In Loving Memory of My Aunt Gail

Before picking back up where I left off at last post, I want to honor the memory of my Aunt Gail, whom we lost on January 2nd to a two year battle with cancer. It's still so hard to believe that she is gone. My mother was one of eight children....one boy, Uncle Bill, who was born first and then seven girls with my mom being the 2nd girl. They are all very close and love being together. Gail lived in Tuscaloosa and was a retired special ed teacher in the state of Alabama, but then drove to Mississippi to continue teaching for many years. Gail was so good to my mom.....she called her frequently during the week to check on her, was always giving her gifts, and invited her to go along with them wherever she was headed. I will be forever grateful to Gail for the way she cared and loved my mom.

Gail was such a servant. She loved being there for people who had no one else. She spent so much time in hospitals and nursing home, loving people who needed loving. Gail had breast cancer first, defeated it, and was cancer free for several years. Two years ago at Christmas, she shared with the family that the cancer was back, and it became a Christmas I will never forget. As hard as the news was, it blessed my heart for our family to join hands and pray with all our hearts for strength and complete healing for my Aunt Gail....I will never forget that moment forever etched in my heart.

Two years later, Christmas 09 was unforgettable also. She went to the hospital on Christmas Eve to receive more platelets and by Wednesday, Dec. 30th, we knew that she would not bounce back this time. She went to be with Jesus on Jan. 2nd, after being moved to a hospice facility. I left the day before, so torn between being there for mom/family and helping Mike drive the kids back to CO safely. Not knowing how much longer Gail may live, I left but when I heard on Sat night of her passing, OH how I wished I would have stayed. I feel very fortunate that I did get to see her a couple of times before she left. Mom said that her funeral was so sweet. Both Gail's sons played a part in it....Lance gave the eulogy and talked about Gail's amazing qualities and J.C. played and sang a song that he wrote for Gail a couple of years ago. Gail would have been so touched and proud of what her boys did for her. Gail was only 2 days away from turning 59.

Did I also mention how strong Gail was? She rarely complained and never wanted to bother anyone for help. There is a hole in our family now and I can't imagine how lost her children and sisters feel without her. She was a part of their everyday life and I know the temporary separation from her will be so tough. Please say a prayer for them. Gail had one grandchild, Madeline, who she loved so much and tried to spend as much time with as she could, and she has a grandchild on the way that she will never get to meet on this earth. It brings tears to my eyes as I think about what the children of Lance and J.C. have lost.

This is Gail with Madeline.....

So if you wonder why it has taken me a while to put up a new post, I haven't felt much like it because my heart has hurt with the loss of this precious lady that I have the priviledge of calling my AUNT GAIL..........Praise God that the family will be together again in heaven one day and what a reunion that will be!