A Lesson in Friendship

What a week I have had! It's been a week of ups and downs and God has shown me a lot this week through His word. I struggled at the beginning of the week with loneliness--really missing my precious friends in Cullman. Although I have some friends here, it's just different....the relationships are not very deep...you know the type where you can just really share your heart with them because you know that they'll love you no matter what's said?...that's the relationship that I miss. Now I know that I can call my sweet precious friends in Cullman any time and they'll listen to me (and thank you for that), but because we are living such different lives now, I need someone that is like me, that loves me, and that values the same things I value. Sometimes I feel like I am in a foreign land here!! Anyway, I say all that to say that God has shown me this week that friends are out there, and although they may not be just like me, He has a plan to use me in their lives for His glory.
I was able to help my friend Michelle who has 5 children, ages 3-17, whose husband lives/works in Washington, DC. And I'm lonely?? At least I have my husband here! Michelle is a great christian lady and my hearts desire when I first met her was to be able to assist her when I could since she is essentially a single mom. She attends church in Bayfield, but as a result of VBS this summer, her 2 smallest really got to know me better and now feel comfortable with us, so on several occasions the last couple of weeks, I kept Jack and Annie for her so she could have some time with her older kids. Now we are carpooling to school in the mornings and Michelle and I have gotten a lot closer.
At football practice, I have spent time with some of Mason's friends moms which has really made me feel better. Now they are going to start walking with me during practice. These "friends" are nothing like me....on occasion they leave practice to go get a margarita or glass of wine, and their vocabulary is not the cleanest (and they have no filter!), and they are wealthier than me. As I was walking and listening to one of them the other day, I got to thinking that what if because I am with these women at practice, the other mothers (that I don't know) think I am like them? But then God showed me later in mine and Kristin's conversation that developing a relationship with these women, will hopefully let them see Him through me!! Whoa! I could possibly be the only person in their lives that knows Christ....what an awesome responsibility!! So now I am just seeking opportunities to minister to them in love and pray that somehow and someway, they will seek the awesome forgiveness, mercy, and redemption that our Lord wants to give them....
Then, there's Sandi...thank God for Sandi.....she is one of those friends that is like me. So much a like that she can be hard to read (so to speak)..and I know I'm that way too before you get to know me well. We have a lot in common and mainly it's our desire to live a life pleasing to God. Chonda Pierce was in Farmington, New Mexico, on Friday night and I wanted to go but I messed around and didn't get tickets before they had sold out. Sandi had already agreed to go with me and I felt like I let her down by not getting the tickets in time. So I told her we were going anyway, on faith that someone would have extra tickets to get rid of and if we didn't get in, we'd just catch a movie or go shopping. It is about an hour and 30 minute drive, so we got there, went right up to "will call" table and told the lady that we had just come out on faith to get in tonight and she handed me 2 free tickets! Chonda is a "christian that is a comedian" and brought two "up and coming comedians" along with her and they were all so good! I laughed and laughed and it felt sooooo good! Thank you God for a night of laughter...."it does good like medicine"!
I know it may seem like I'm rambling but I wanted to share what God showed me about friendship this week and give Him glory for the friends He has placed in my life here since I haven't appreciated them very much. Unfortunately, all too often, I have lived on the side of friendship that looks and appreciates what that friend does for me (example- love, acceptance, laughter)and I'm sorry for that. Now, I am learning that instead of trying to have friends to meet MY needs, I need to BE a friend to help meet other's needs. Thank you my Cullman friends for being an awesome example for me to live by and I am sorry that I haven't appreciated you enough. I miss you soooo much but I know that because of our Christ connection, we'll always be life long friends. It's hard to live day by day without you in it........(pause for tears..yes, I am crying b/c I miss you!)
May God bless my sacrifice for His Glory alone and use me to introduce others to Him

I have a lot more to share about this week but since it's midnight, I shall pick it up another day.

"The Lord is my strength and shield; my heart trusts in Him and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song" Psalms 28:7

School's Back in Session!

School started yesterday and this is how they felt about it.........HA!

It was Mason's first day of Middle School and he loved it. His locker is on the bottom which stinks but he has many of his friends in his classes. The first 9 weeks he has computer and Art as his specials. We were disappointed that Chance didn't get in his class but he does get to see him at lunch. Now Landon's first response when I picked him up was "Is it too late to be homeschooled?" I said "what happened?" and he said "we had to run around the gym 5 times in PE and every time we go to PE we're going to have to do it more and more"......that's so Landon!!

Sporting their Alabama backpacks...>Roll Tide Baby!!!

We are the proud owners of another 7 passenger van....whoo-hoo! Last year, Mike was pretty passionate about selling our van and purchasing a car with better gas milage because our gas bill was outrageous. We purchased a used 2008 Dodge Avenger which has been great for gas milege but the boys have been soooooo uncomfortable in it. Haven is still in a car seat and will be for a while because she is still at 33lbs.....Anyway, an older couple in our church had a van that they wanted to sell (we heard about in May). Course I wanted it right away but in trying to be good stewards of what God has given us, we felt we needed to wait on the house to sell before even talking to them about it. The couple ended up buying a new vehicle last week and were ready to sell so we had to jump on before they sold to someone else. It is a 2003 Chev. Venture with 52,000 on it, almost as much as our Avenger has on it!! It's in excellent condition with low miles and they gave us a great deal on it...so Praise God! The boys are very, very thankful for it.

So now we have an 08 Avenger for sale! Pray that we'll sell it soon and if we can just get out house sold, we'll be debt free!

Speaking about the house, there is an offer coming and I'm pretty sure we'll be taking it. Please pray for God's provision as we get this house off of our hands! It's not the amount we need but we will trust God to help us.....-Lori

Go Bayfield Wolverines!!

Mason's first game was Saturday and they won 13-6 against Cortez! Supposedly Cortez was suppose to be the toughest team so we'll see.....

Mason did awesome too! He is playing Offensive guard, linebacker, and defensive end. He played every play in the game and loved every minute of it! As you can tell from the pictures to follow, he is one of the biggest on the team. He is in the middle of the next picture and look at him compared to the ones on the left!! And they are all starting 6th grade!

I was really dreading football but it's been fun so far...when he played in 2nd grade, we didn't win a game so it was fun to win yesterday (but sorry for Cortez!)

After the game, we had a picnic at the park in Cortez....we had to drive 1 hour and 30 minutes to get to Cortez. Cortez is located on the other side of Mesa Verde National Park. Check out this merry-go-round....

I love how much my kids love each other and get along!



This was the view from the park....beautiful!

Tomorrow is open house for Landon and then football practice for Mason.......last day of summer for them!

Winding Up Summer...

Well it finally warmed back up a bit during the day and it's feeling like summer again....We are trying to make the most of our last week of summer. Tuesday we went back to the Durango Mt. Resort to use our tickets from the rain check day....the boys love the alpine slide..,

Haven joined us this trip and loved it also......

Haven got to do the trampoline this trip...the boys did it the first time they came....she loved it!

More pics of Haven on this one (Jeff Silvey-HA!) because I posted the pics of the boys doing all this stuff the last time we went. We ended the summer Friday Night Youth this past Friday and last night was the last Wednesday night Movie Night. Yesterday, friends Cooper and Tommie Jane came over and we went swimming in the lake. Tomorrow, we are going to Durango to the Rec Center to play at their splash pad and indoor pool. Mason has had football every night and went last night to spend the night with his friend Chance. The past two nights we have been outside in our lounge chairs, covered up in about 4 layers of blankets, watching the meteor shower. Last night, Landon said "Daddy I love you...thank you for doing this" referring to setting up everything and sitting out there with them. So precious!

I have been blessed with many cabins to clean this week (my closest friends are so surprised that I actually LIKE cleaning cabins--- it's good money, flexible, and close to home). Mason's first game is Saturday so we'll be traveling almost to Mesa Verde to play Cortez. So that's what's been going on in this household.......hope you feel blessed today...you are a blessing to me!

--Lori

Summer???

Since we've been back, it's like summer is over......it's cold (54 tonight), the tourist are gone, the lake is receeding and it's AUGUST!! Honestly it's like we've had one month of summer. Some of you think that would be wonderful, I know, but this girl is a summer loving idiot! Bring on the sun and the water! Anyway, still trying to be content........

We finished up VBS this week and will be finishing up youth night tonight (for a while anyway). Mason started football this week, 5 days a week for 2 weeks, and then his first game will be the 15th, before school even starts! Then practices will be 3 nights a week. They start school on the 18th so we have one more week of freedom! If school could just start at 10:00, I wouldn't dread it so much.......

Yesterday we went to eat lunch with Jennifer and Chaz Shafely who are summer residents but live in Durango in winter. Their place is gorgeous and the location of their house is amazing....

it's over at Granite Peak Ranch on the other side of the lake. I had to take some pictures of this place....the house was a cabin and it was decorated so cute on the inside...

These next shots are taken from their front yard....





I have a couple of prayer requests for you guys today....

-----My dad is having hip replacement surgery today...pray this goes well and that he has a speedy recovery.

---I know you are probably sick of us asking you to pray for our house to sell, but we received an offer, then counter offered and they didn't take it. So we went back and told them we'd take the first offer. God has showed us that He will provide so all we can do is trust Him. Please pray that these people will take this offer back and that the house would pass inspection. The waiting is agony!! I hope to one day be able to share with you what God has done to show us His provision.

Love to you all---- Lori

Summer Trip- Part 3

Alright....to finish up this trip that has been drug out way too long....My birthday was Monday, July 27th and it was an awesome day! Mike and the boys left from Fayette the night before and Mike took the boys back to Cullman while he went to Georgia to play golf with his cousin Jackie and Uncle Herman. This totally left the day open for special birthday time with Mom. After some shopping in Tuscaloosa (my favorite place in the world to shop!), a visit to see my friend Cathy Bell's new gorgeous home, and a trip to Olive Garden for lunch, we went to my Aunt Terry's house and Ashley had made me this awesome cake!

Haven had a blast playing with Taylor, Riley and Ridge! She even was brave enough to go off the diving board! She learned to swim last year but because she has not gotten to play in water much this summer, she had to work her courage back up....

Mike got back from Georgia on Monday night and here's the cake from him.....

So personal, HUH! But good all the same! (In his defense, no one at Walmart could write on it at the time he went by). We left Gordo after lunch on Tuesday and went to Cullman to Bonnie and Shane's to pick the boys up. They so graciously let the kids invite some of their church friends over and we thank you Bonnie and Shane for helping make the kids visit much better. The boys on Monday spent some time with Blane and Carly Pope also, so thanks Christy for having them at your home also. We met friends Jeff and Tammy Silvey for supper and then it was off to Nashville to prepare for an early morning flight. It is so hard to leave Alabama when we come but we thank God for the short amount of time He allows us to visit. WE ENJOYED SEEING ALL OF YOU AND THANK GOD FOR THE GIFT OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

Summer Trip- Part 2

On Thursday of our trip, we headed to Gordo to see our family......it's hard for them that they have to share their time with Cullman friends but they are very understanding (thanks Mom and Mama Kaye!!). Kaye's sister Gail and her son Brandon came up from Cuthbert, GA, to see us and stayed thru Saturday. Thanks Gail and Brandon for coming up! We love you and enjoyed getting to see you! Hope your trip home was not as bad as your trip there!

We thoroughly enjoyed the precious times we spent with our families. I love the bond of cousins and the kids have so much fun together. Here are some shots of the Owen families......

Carter, Sydney, Haven, and Landon...

Kayci, Angela, and Denise.....

Denise and Mark...

Brent and Hannah (getting married Oct. 10th)!!

Carter and Parker.....

On Friday we ate lunch out with my dad. He seems to be doing well but is having hip replacement surgery on August 10th. Please pray for him during his surgery, recovery, and pray for protection against depression (which he had after his last surgery). Saturday night, I got to visit with friends Angie and John Junkin and see their precious daughter Maggie finally!(Clint wasn't home :() I remember Angie when she was around 3 and 4 and Maggie looks so much like her mommy and uncle Eric! So adorable!

On Sunday, I joined mother at FBC at their 10:00 service to meet her new pastor and hear him preach. This is my home church and it was great to see many of the people who helped to mold me into the Jesus follower I am today. Mike preached at Emmanuel Baptist Church (his dad's church) at 11:00 so we scooted over there after FBC's service. They are such a loving little church and it was great to be with them all again. Ms. Peggy, it was great to get a hug from you and see you again!!(she's a faithful blog reader!) Thanks Emmanuel for all your prayers for us...we feel them!

After lunch with the Owen's, we went to Fayette to Kerry and Renee's who hosted a family gathering for my birthday. My brothers from Sylacauga and Caledonia, MS, met us there along with aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was a sweet time for me because I miss being with the extended family which usually only happened at Christmas and now that we've moved, I'll miss that. We feasted on shrimp and all the fixings.....Thanks to all who came out and to Kerry and Renee for hosting! It was a special time and I'm so glad I got to see everyone! Here are some pictures of the day.......

All of Mom's grandchildren...

Robby and Mom

The kids enjoyed the swimming pool..

Landon, Mason, Hallie, and Faith

Me with sister-in-laws and Mom

My brother Mike

Faith, Hallie, and Haven

Mason and Landon with Hannah

My brother Kerry with Uncle Bill

Uncle Steve and Aunt Diane with precious twins Lillie and Reagan



This is my nephew Colton who just turned 16...it's a better picture than his birthday post

Cousin Rita, Kerry, Hannah, Aunt Rose and Renee

My cousins Chastiy, her daughter Caylin, and cousin Ashley

Ashley's daughter Taylor and Reagan

My niece Chloe with Zoe (Lucee's sister)

When you don't get to see your family much, you especially cherish the time with them! There were others there that I didn't get a picture of so I apologize but thank you for coming by for a visit! We love you all and hope you know how blessed you are to have each other!