A Week of Goodbyes

Before discussing our time in Alabama so far, I have too many pics to share of our last week in Colorado. While trying to pack up our belongings, life continued with basketball games, going away parties, and work. One day while driving to Durango, I was blessed to see this sunset...

The beauty of Colorado is indescribable and this picture doesn't even do justice for how it was seeing it in person. I will definitely MISS the scenery of Colorado.

Haven had a Valentine's party on the 14th at school so I got to see her teacher and classmates one last time. She has never claimed anyone as her boyfriend so for the first time ever, she named Ashton as her boyfriend and she thinks he is AWESOME! LOL!

Like her Mama, she is a little taller than her man! (ha-ha)

I am going to miss her teacher Mrs. Meier. She was awesome and loves my child!

While Haven didn't have a goodbye party from anyone, she did bring home a ton of stuff given to her by her teacher including the t-shirt she has on with her class picture on it, a framed pic of the class that they all signed, a stuffed monkey, and a monkey sling bag FULL of stuff for her to play with on the ride to Bama. (Can you say "teacher's pet"?!)

Landon's music teacher at BES gave him a surprise pizza party at DRUM on the his last Thursday there. It was super sweet and Landon was speechless as he asked him to give a going away speech!

They played one last song together before leaving

The Ladies at Vallecito gave me a luncheon on Friday before moving. It was such a precious time as they were such an encouragement to me. I also shared some final thoughts with them as we ate a wonderful Italian meal together

How sweet it was for them to decorate with Bama stuff! I sure am going to miss these wonderful, godly women!!

The men had a special breakfast on Saturday for Mike and presented him with this leather art that Dan Throckmorton made for Mike....

I know that was made with a lot of love and it will forever be very special to us!

On Sunday, the church had cake and coffee after the service to say goodbye

It was a hard day but also a blessing to feel so loved by so many. Mason was given a party on Friday night by the basketball team at Pine Valley Church. On Saturday, they played their league tournament and after a very contoversial last game, they won!!

As we were in double overtime, I just prayed and asked God to please let Mason have this win. I knew it was going to be hard anyway, but a win would be much better than a loss on his last time to play with these boys. So I just want to publically thank God for answering my prayers. As soon as they won, everyone started crying and hugging Mason. They wanted him to accept to winning trophy and of all days, I didn't have my camera with me. They all started saying their goodbyes and watching 14 year old boys cry was so tough!! Then we decided to all go out for pizza at Iron Horse. After done there, everyone had to say their goodbyes again and here we go again with the tears! It was so tough!

While thinking that was behind us, most of them all showed up at church on Sunday morning!! What a blessing it was to see the church full of our church family and our friends!

So once again for a 3rd time, Mason's friends said goodbye AGAIN and more tears!! This is a picture of them all going to "bear hug" Mason

While one always wants to leave on a good note, it sure makes it sadder! Our hearts were very blessed by the love shown to us by everyone in Vallecito and Bayfield.

One last family picture at Vallecito the day before moving

And then moving day.......

It was a gorgeous day and was very hard to open our eyes for a picture because the sun was so bright and reflected off of the snow.

There to say goodbye was Connie Allen who helped me SOOOOOOOOOOO much in packing and loading everything.

She sure made everything so much less stressful!! Thank you CONNIE!!!

Also there was Bill and Joy Brooks.....

This couple is such a great example of what I want to be "when I grow up"...LOL! They are so kind and have a servant's heart. I am a better person for knowing them.

As I drove out of Vallecito, my heart was breaking as we were leaving that chapter of our lives behind. God worked and moved in that valley while we were there and truly GREW us.

"Thank you GOD for the Vallecito mission and we pray that YOU would continue to move in and around that area for Your glory"-- Amen

Moving Day

It's a very quiet morning on this very hectic day that lays before us. I can't believe the time has come. And it has been a lot harder than I expected. As excited as I am to get back to Alabama, closing a chapter of your life is tough. We love the people here so much and feel so much love back from them. Mason has had to tell his friends goodbye over and over because they keep showing back up. And watching him tell his girlfriend goodbye was more heart wrenching than I expected. It is 7:13am and I am exhausted. We slept on the floor last night with hardly any cover and I did not sleep well. We packed the moving truck to the brim last night and realized we are going to have to leave some things behind. This morning we have to finish packing the car and van to see what else we can bring along. This will put us behind already but oh well...you do what you have to do. Many people have offered to help us and I have been so overwhelmed having to keep living life while having to pack "life" up also that I didn't have times that I could tell them when to come over to help. However, Connie Allen just forced her way over and worked her little heart out day after day after day to help us. I want to be like Connie. I want to spend my time serving others no matter what the cost. Thank you Connnie!
So here I go....time to wake everyone up and start a new journey. Let the chaos begin and may God carry us through the changes for His glory and may Vallecito Church continue to exhalt and praise the name of Jesus!
Good bye Colorado!

Kings and Snowmen

Mason was crowned KING at the Bayfield Middle School Dance on Friday! Sydney Milner was crowned Queen (and no, that is not Mason's girlfriend).
Check out his plush crown!

We've gotten snow for 4 days now. If there was ever a month to NOT move out of Colorado in, it would be February! It's usually the month with the most snow. But God's timing is not our timing so we'll press on. Landon finally got out and played in it the other day and built his first "all by himself" snowman!

Good job Landon!

A New Chapter....

Most of you know already, but there will be a new chapter in the life of the Owen family. On Feb. 21st, we will pull out of the gorgeous state of Colorado and head back to Alabama the Beautiful. We felt God calling us out to Colorado for a mission and we now feel that mission is complete. It has been a wonderful, personally challenging journey and I am a better person for it. God has taught me so much over the past 3 yrs, 4 months and as hard as it may have been on me at times, I am grateful for the exerience.

Vallecito Church had many needs when we first arrived. They needed to heal from a tough experience with their last pastor. They needed unity and forgiveness from one another to move forward. They needed leadership established within the church body. And they needed personal growth towards a Savior that loves them unconditionally. God has used Mike to help them meet their needs. The people of Vallecito Church have embraced God's Word, Mike's teachings based on God's Word, and one another. I have never seen a more unified church.

We have been treated with the utmost care and respect by the Vallecito Church family. They have honored their pastor, treated us like family, and loved our kids. While it is very hard for them to understand why we feel it is time to leave, God will bless their faithfulness, their love for Him, and will send a new Shepherd that will lead the church to a new level. Please pray for Vallecito Church as they wait for God's next plan, that this will increase their faith in God as they depend on Him through this process.

Our new chapter will begin in Sylcauga, Alabama, at a church called Sycamore Baptist Church. They contacted Mike back in October so this has been a process that we have prayed over for 3 months. Many people think we are "in a hurry" to leave but interviewing/meeting with another church is not something that you can discuss with people. What they don't realize is that this has been covered in prayer and God's direction for a while. I wish I could share the whole story with you on how this all happened, but for the sake of others, I will refrain. What God did to show us that this plan was from Him was pretty amazing and we must trust that. I feel very blessed to be moving to the same town that my brother Robby and his family live. My kids have never lived near cousins; I'm sure that will be an adjustment for both us and them, but I can't wait!

How do the kids feel? Landon and Haven are thrilled! Mason, on the other hand, is struggling. He's not scared of not fitting in, or starting a new school, or not having friends (his cousins will help with that)....he just doesn't want to leave his friends here. He is very popular and the whole community is aware of his athletic skills. We've even had random people that we don't even know offer him a bedroom to live in until he graduates; they're seeing the hopes of state championships fading with Mason moving. Mason will be moving to a much larger school and will probably have to fight for positions that were easily given to him here. But that's OK...that is what is going to make him a better athlete. He also has a girlfriend that he will be leaving behind which makes it harder. Please pray for him over the next 2 weeks because "goodbyes" are so hard!

I began this blog to tell our story of leaving the comforts of Alabama and heading to our "Samaria". Will I continue it? I'm not sure at this point. I do enjoy having our lives chronicled so that I can look back and reflect. But we are heading back to "Judea" to serve and help rebuild another one of Christ's flocks. And many of you who still read this will again be a regular part of lives. So maybe so, maybe not......just stay tuned and we'll all see!

Happy 14th Birthday to Mason!

UNBELIEVEABLE that we now have a 14th year old! I mean, he'll be driving us around next year! WOW!

His birthday was on Monday, January 23rd and he had school, an orthodontist appointment, basketball practice, Landon's basketball practice, and THEN we went out to eat.

Here he is modeling his gifts.....skull candy ear phones, the "DONE" hat from the Bama BCS National Championship, and a new pair of Nike shorts

Crazy boy!

So to celebrate with his friends, we let him have a sleepover on Friday night and invite all his buddies. We had 11 boys (plus our 3 kids)......WHAT WAS I THINKING?!!

Let me tell you...this is a CRAZY group of boys! But tons of fun and that's why Mason loves them so much. While Clyde Leonard had already left for the night, the other boys included Brandon Steuver, Kyle Killough, Gabe Kauffman, Cameron Seivert, Brody McGehey, Cash Snooks, Chance Hine, Zac Kujath, Kelton McCoy, and Taed Heydinger.

And they LOVE Mason soooo much too!

AHHHHH....what memories. I survived but what happens at the Owen home, stays at the Owen home. I WILL share with you a text that one of my friends sent me after picking up her son....

"Lost teeth, busted head, and vomit......NOW THAT'S A PARTY"

HMMMMM......I'm speechless!

Christmas in Alabama 2011

This year I got to take my mom out for her birthday, on her birthday so that was really nice. We spent Christmas Eve over at the Owen's and we always have such a great time with everyone....

Look how Brayden has grown! He had a big boo-boo on his nose from falling that day

Here's all the grandchildren on the Owen side...can you imagine the chaos when it's time to open presents? LOL!

Christmas Day was spent over at my aunt's house for my mother's side of the family. I had not been in 4 years so it was great to be together with everyone and see cousins that I haven't see in a while. I sure missed seeing my Aunt Gail there...it's been 2 years since she left us.
We also went over to my dad's for a little while as well.

The day after Christmas was spent with my brothers and their families. Speaking of CHAOS...

Lots of presents + Lots of people + very small living room = a huge mess!
Here are the grandkids on my side of the family.....

Face shot of me with my brothers and mom...

The older girls here with my cousin Joey's daughter Jessica who was visiting here from California

And the men with our special guests for the day......Terry Rob and Joey!

It was so good to see Joey as it had been, I don't know, maybe 10 years since I had seen he and Jessica. I call him my Western Cousin because he is the only other family member who is on my side of the US. Terry Rob (on the bottom with glasses) lives in Gordo and went to school with my brother Kerry. He doesn't have much family or money so every year, he joins us for a little while on Christmas. My brothers are good to pick him up and take him places or let him visit them in their hometown. Terry has definitely become a tradition around the Richardson home at Christmas (I think it's sweet that they want to spend time with him).

I did not get to any of my friends while home and that made me sad. But we will make special efforts the next time we are in Alabama to see all our friends. Mike took the kids along with his brothers and their kids and his nephew Brent to see Alabama play basketball.

This year we played a lot of Bunco and Mexican Train. We are so blessed with families on both sides that have fun together and enjoy each other. Thank you to the Owen's and Richardson's for making Christmas 2012 so special to us!

Christmas 2011

What will I remember about this Christmas?

Two years ago Landon woke us up at 2am to open Sant's gifts. Last year, I told him he couldn't wake us up until 6am. This year I said 4am because we were leaving to go to Alabama hopefully by 6am. So this year, I learned that I must be much more specific when it comes to Landon on the night Santa comes. He and Haven get up at 12:15am and decide to stay up and watch TV until time to get us up. So they sit there until 3:45am, wide eyed, looking at their wrapped gifts, shaking them all (I'm sure).

And here's what they all got! They must have been good little boys and girl this year!





This was the year of LEGOS for Landon

We pulled out for Alabama at 5:30am and made it to Van Buren, AR to spend the night. We made it into AL at 4:30PM on Friday, with a rather uneventful drive this year...an answer to prayer!