Raccoons, Rocks and Broken Ribs

Saturday night we were invited to a Christmas Party of one of our church members. They have a family of wild Raccoons they have been feeding on their back porch for years. We all took turns feeding them by holding a bowl full of dog food down for them to come eat. We had as many as nine come up and eat.


The kids had their first basketball games this weekend. Landon's team won and Mason's team lost. It was not a fun time for Mason.

Today after church we went sledding up on Middle Moutain. There is still almost a foot of snow up on the mountain. We went to a place called the gravel pit. There was a big hill there and me a Mason and Landon climbed up and came down on our sleds. The first couple of times were good. Then on the third time I was coming down, I slid about half way off of my sled and was hanging off the side. That is when it happened....... I hit a big rock hidden under the snow. The boys thought it was so funny until they realized I couldn't breathe. Of course I tried to make out like I wasn't that hurt. I told them I think I needed a break so I hobbled over to the car while they went back up the hill to sled some more. As I struggled for breath and drug myself over to the Jeep, it hit me..... I can't keep up with my kids anymore. I may have broken a few ribs and my knee is swollen but hopefully after a few days of rest, I will be as good as new..... and I am sure I will try to once again do whatever the boys do. This time, I will check the hill for rocks first! Hope to see you all soon. God bless.

Mike

Happy Birthday Denise!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DENISE OWEN!!

Denise is our sister-in-law, married to Mike's brother Jeff and she and her two sisters are 32 today!! (Yes, they are triplets!) We hope you have an awesome day Nisee!!

5 Things...

Not much going on this week......I'm not feeling that well, Landon is dealing with congestion, and Haven woke up today all stuffed up. The saddest part about the week is that Donny and Kirk have not made it back from New Mexico from the Thanksgiving break. Donny was going to visit his mom and Kirk was going to find work down there (for the week we thought). I am afraid that he found work and they decided to stay :(

I have seen on other blogs where they post lists of things they are doing or of what they like, etc, (mainly because they don't have much to write about which is my case today) but I found it interesting any way.....


5 Things I Like about Colorado.........
1. The scenery is breathtaking, of course.
2. Time.......it's nice to have time to think ahead of the here and now (maybe I'll learn to stop being late everywhere I go) and time with the kids..
3. Outdoor fun... there are a lot of outdoor things to do that is fun for the kids (and I guess for me too)
4. The new church family... they are very kind and accomodating. Although they are small in number right now, they have a great loving relationship with one another.
5. Salary Package.... the way the package is set up, the church pays for all the utilities...we don't even see the bills so it's really nice. All we have to pay for is our cell phone bill and credit cards. Even though the house is not our own, it's so nice to have the church take care of that again. I know it sounds crazy but we are not sure if we ever want to own a house again after having such a hard time with selling the one in Cullman.


5 Things I don't like about Colorado.......
1. The SNOW..... yeah, it's beautiful and all but it's more of the type place I would want to just visit for a week or two...I'm more of a hot weather girl....the next 3 months are going to be very challenging!!
2. The PRICES.... yes, everything is a little higher here...
3. No Dollar Generals!! Enough said....
4. Liberals.... this little Bible Belt girl is a little intimidated by all the liberals in the area. However, I realize this is why we came...they need Jesus so God Help ME!

and last but not least by any means...
5. It is way too far from you guys!! Our Grace family is not here with us and our Gordo family is not 2 hours away. The fact that I can't just jump in the car and go for an overnight visit is so hard to get used to. That's why I want everyone of you to come see me!! Tell your spouse it's therapy for Lori!

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