Back to Reality......(Lori)

Hi everyone! I am a little sad today...(OK, a lot sad) as our company left this morning at 5 a.m. We had such a wonderful week and I think they all enjoyed themselves while they were here. We didn't go and do a whole lot because the roads were icey in the Silverton/Ouray area. We did a little shopping, a little sledding, a little snowmobiling, and a lot of lazing around. Diane and Steve stayed in a cabin owned by one of our church member who also gave us the snowmobile to use so thanks to Burt and Pat Armstrong who went over and above to make their visit great! Diane and Steve's granddaughter Emma wanted them to build a snowman while they were here but the snow is so hard, it was impossible to form one. So, they just kind make one out of a pile of snow that was in the yard!

So it is back to reality for me.....I loved having mother here and wish she could have stayed on a couple more months with us! She was not fond of the snow at all and says that seeing it all was going to make her worry even more about us! So...pray for her!!

We have 3 basketball games tomorrow and we will be done playing basketball in Ignacio. Mason will continue to play the Durango league until March. The kids were out of school today for in-service. Landon has been getting to swim everyday at Ignacio for P.E. and is loving that. He gets one more week of it. We are now looking forward to our next guests Jessica and Jerry Creel who are coming in on Feb. 25th! I have survived January here now and will grit my teeth through the next two snow months until I reach Spring!

Snowmobiling again...(Mike)

Hey everyone Mr. Bert left his snowmobile for us to ride a few days while our guests were here and I thought I would post a few pics of Nana. Steve and Diane riding the snowmobile. There might also be a picture or two of Diane snowshoeing. She was awesome at it.....Ha!

Mike

Our Visitors are Here!(Lori)

Mom, her sister Diane, and her brother-in-law Steve arrived on Saturday afternoon around 3:00, just in time to see Mason's last basketball game (for the day)! We then went out to eat for Mason's birthday at Applebys and we got the waitresses to sing happy birthday to him. He was a little embarrassed yet proud at the same time. They got to attend church with us at Vallecito Church yesterday and Mike took Steve and the boys ice fishing. Steve didn't really have the right shoes and clothes on for it but at our urging, he went along anyway. Then the story goes that they stopped at a steep embankment and Big Steve fell not once, but 3 times before he even got to the ice!! The snow was so deep, he said it didn't hurt falling, it hurt trying to get out of it!! Then Landon fell and the snow was waist deep on him and he had to be rescued by his daddy because he couldn't move!! Now let me clarify that they were falling in the snow, not through the ice....they did not even have a bite on the whole fishing thing! Today we initially were going to go into Durango because it was clear this morning but now it looks like a blizzard outside so we may just hang around....

Ok...I had to stop the blog and go outside for pictures...then Diane, Steve, and mom decided that they wanted to sled. Diane did it ...no problem....Steve did it....no problem. Then Mom, who has been extra cautious (until today) got to the top of the hill and then tried to sit on the sleigh but instead rolled down the back of the hill !! It was so funny! She was fine (THANK GOD!) and it felt good to laugh!

This is Diane and Steve and they wanted Emma to see them in all the snow......

Ok, this next picture was made for Don and Faye to see that Mom did go sledding!!.....

Here's live footage of Diane and Steve sledding......

They are amazed at all the snow and Mom says this will be her last visit during winter! She's way too nervous about all the dangers of the snow!

Happy Birthday Mason!

Does anyone remember this little one? Isn't he adorable!

My first little man God sent us is 11 today! It makes me so sad....he already looks 13 or 14....growing so fast. He is our little responsible and tender hearted child. He is a little father to Landon and Haven and is so obedient to us. Mason, you have blessed our lives with so much joy....we are so proud of you and pray that you will live a life that glorifies our Lord. We love you!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MASON!!

I also want to wish my friend Appi's daughter Lillie Pate a Happy 3rd Birthday for tomorrow the 24th! This picture was from Lillie's birthday last year...they've both grown quite a bit!HAPPY BIRTHDAY LILLIE!

Trip to Silverton and Ouray....(Lori)

Yesterday we spent the day touring the towns of Silverton and Ouray with Pat and Burt Armstrong. They wanted to show us the area so that we can take our company if they want to go. Burt has been a tour guide in the past so we got a very historical guide of the area. Thanks Burt! The train that is a big tourist attration in Durango goes to Silverton through the mountains. Silverton is very small, around 300 people in the winter and many of the stores and restuarants shut down until summer. The town is bigger in the summer when people come back to run their businesses. Every building there whether old or new, is built in a very old structue to preserve the feel of old town. The school there has 64 kids in it. It is an old mining town but the mines shut down in 1952.
Here we are in Silverton....it's kind of behind us......


We then traveled to Ouray which is about 23 miles from Silverton on winding mountain roads with huge drop offs. I was a little nervous about it, esp. when Burt decided to look and point and take his eyes off the road!! This road actually stays closed a lot during winter because the icy conditions of the road. However, the road was clear of snow and ice due to the great weather we have been having. This is just a picture of some of the beautiful scenary that's on the drive there.....


We stopped on an overpass to see this waterfall coming out of the rocks....it is kind hard to see it in the picture

Ok...this is Ouray...do you see the little town at the base of the mountain?

We stopped and ate at this little bar and grill (sorry, every place around here is a bar and grill!)



Ouray has an outdoor hot springs swimming pool complete with slides and all. It was weird to see an outdoor pool with probably 150 people in it and snow on the ground all around it! My kids sure wanted to try it out but too bad...no swimsuits. Ouray is home to an Ice Climbing Festival that had taken place the weekend before. However, people were out yesterday doing it...let me rephrase that....CRAZY PEOPLE were out yesterday doing it.....here are some pictures...look for the climber in each picture...

That is one winter sport that this family will not be trying!! Talk to you later.....

Lori

Counting my Blessings......(Lori)

Hello All! I just wanted to share that today I started literally counting my blessings and asking my children to help. I am so incredibly blessed and take that for granted. When I hear about a wife who has lost her young husband or a local preacher whose house just burned down, it helps me to be more thankful for what I have. I have kind of been in a "pit" of adjustment/boredom and needed a reminder of everything God has done for me.....therefore, I started writing them down. And it helps...and it will be an ongoing list. So if you ever come to that place in life where you lose motivation and everything in your life is viewed negatively, remember this form of Godly therapy! It works!
Let me share some of those blessings with you because they might just involve you!
God has blessed me with:
-an awesome husband whose heart is to follow God.. not man
-beautiful, smart, healthy kids
-good health for me and my family...none of us wake up in pain everyday
-friends that love me (Thank you! I know it is very hard sometimes)
-a wonderful mother who is in good health and has great friends and family

-great inlaws that we all love to be with
-wonderful extended families that love one another and are rarely in discord
-the ability to pay our bills and not be in need(even with a huge house payment!)
-Phones, internet, and mail to communicate with the ones I love
-Our whole families are christians and attend church (yes, even my dad now)
-freedom to worship our Creator however and whenever we want

That's just a few.....what are some of your blessings? Share them with us in a comment please! I may need them on my list!

I have gotten into Facebook the past couple of weeks and it has actually been a blessing also ....very addictive but a blessing. How? Can you think of those people who were once in your life and you wonder how they are, where they are, and how life is for them? I have been able to reconnect with so many people from the past and it is so neat to find out how life is for them. I have found childhood friends, high school friends, college friends, past church friends, and Kids that were in the youth groups that Mike led. I have found some freedom from connecting with two people who were once very close friends in my life that I have been hurt by. (Hmmm..you are all wondering who that might be aren't you?) So the computer is not all bad. Why is it so much easier to "talk" on the computer than face to face?? this may all sound silly for a wife and mother of 3 but when you are 1300 miles from home and have a lot of time on your hands, connecting with people in your past is therapeutic with dealing with the people in your "present".

Mason has been asked by a parent at Bayfield to play on their basketball team in the Durango League. That's an awesome blessing too that he gets to play with his classmates and the coaching instruction is soooooo much better than he gets at Ignacio. They will overlap for two weeks but we'll sacrifice. Mason's team did play much better at Ignacio this week and won! FINALLY! Not use to losing! He scored 14 points. Landon's team won again and he scored 4 points.

Other news is that Mike and I joined the Praise team, Donny and his family came back (but are living in Bayfield instead of Vallecito), we are going with a couple tomorrow to Silverton and Ouray (aka the switzerland of Colorado) and my mom, aunt Diane, and uncle Steve are coming on Saturday night!! oh and the boys grades were awesome!! (they get graded in Library....Library???) OH, and the church bought Mike a laptop...huge blessing because we could not replace our computer until our house sells. I'll quite rambling and leave you with this word
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight" Prov. 3:5-6

This has become my favorite verse. Please pray for the Jim Branyon family, a guy that I went to high school who died in seconds without any prior health problems. Please pray for a friend whose name is Tammy (not Silvey everyone!) that just found out some bad health news and is seeking God for the first time in a while, and pray for one of my new friends here....she has been such a blessing to me but I am not sure she is a Christian. Pray that she will allow God to move in her life and as a result, she will reach her husband who is totally against God at this time.

Remember those blessings that you have taken for granted this week and praise God for them!
Lori


-

Cold Weather (Mike)

We hear out in Colorado that Alabama is getting some cold weather. I hope everyone is staying warm down there. We feel for you guys. Just wanted to ask everyone to pray for us. We are at that stage where we have settled in and things are no longer new and the difficult part of being here has begun. This has been a tough week for Lori and the kids; I don't know why this week but it is tough so pray that God would grant to our family peace and joy during this season of our lives. Lori has some family coming next week so that should help some. Anyway not really much to tell today; we start out in the mornings close to zero and it warms up to the 30's during the day, which is really nice when the sun is out. Snow is still everywhere and we are expecting more next week. I miss seeing you all and we would love to hear from you. I pray that you all are well and encourage you to stay faithful, especially those of you in Grace Community. God would finish what He has begun in you and in the church there.

I want to send a special thank you out to Shane and Bonnie Bowman for checking on our house and even fixing some things that needed it. Thanks Shane and Bonnie. You guys are a gift from the Lord to us. We love you.

Happy late B'day to my good friend Jeff Silvey. Jeff I have always admired your love and commitment to the Lord and to the gospel. Thanks for being such a good friend and example. We love you and Tammy.

A note to Tony Jetton. Hey Tony I found a golf course here where the membership fee for the whole year is only about $350. I am going to join because it sounds like such a good deal . Nice course too. Of course when you figure that it is only open for about 2 months it doesn't seem like such a bargain but I have decided to get me some snow shoes and play all winter long. I won't be able to see the greens or the fairways but that way I can just say as far as I know I hit every fairway and green. My kind of golf.

God bless you all. We will write more later.
Mike