December 3, 2011

Our coldest weather so far..........this weekend. The cold didn't keep people away from the party last night. Enjoyed it very much and ate waaaaaay to much! Didn't get a chance to take any pictures though.
This morning we woke up to more snow so we decided to go out and take a few pictures. I know you have seen lots of snow pictures, but just in case you haven't seen enough, here are a few more. We ventured out again this afternoon to the Lone Tree Symphony Christmas program and Sam put on a sweater. He doesn't like to wear sweaters that much, but today was a perfect day to bring it out. Saw Santa and Mrs. Claus too!

December 2, 2011

Our weather here is really looking like winter and feeling like winter! A perfect day for a Christmas party! Our Sunday School class party is tonight at our clubhouse and there are lots of last minute details I need to take care of. Being so far away from family and friends, God has blessed us here with a wonderful friendly church and a fun Sunday School class which keeps us busy. I will try to take some pictures of our group tonight to share with you. Thank you God for friends and family!

December Memories and Thoughts

Sam and I just returned from a trip home spending time with our family and seeing our newest little grandson, Jesse Aaron. Our time there went quickly, but we are grateful for that opportunity. We came back with good memories of time spent with everyone. Today as I pull out a few Christmas decorations and listen to Christmas music, good memories flood my thoughts....Listening to the John Denver Christmas album brought back so many memories of Christmas at our house. Our children are all grown up now and have families of their own and are making memories of their own. Although it is sad to be so far away from family, God reminded me on the way home that my purpose is still to serve Him and trust Him with all things.

I saw this in a book, and thought I would share it:

The Candy Cane: The shape is like a shepherd's staff, symbolizes the guidance and protection of our Good Shepherd. Upside down, the cane forms the letter "J" for Jesus. The color red symbolizes the atoning sacrifice of Christ's shed blood. White symbolizes the Savior's purity and holiness. The smaller, thinner stripes represent the sacrifices one makes as a Christian. The candy cane's fragrance is much like that of hyssop, an herb used during Bible times for therapeutic purposes. This represents the healing power of Jesus. Scripture says, "By His stripes we are healed." The candy cane is sweet and meant to be broken and shared, just as His body was broken for us that we might share in His inheritance. Merry Christmas!

You can type the above message to fit on a square. Copy it on Green paper and fold the square paper in half and then in half again, keeping it in the shape of a square. Punch a hole in a corner, being careful no words appear in that area, and fasten the message to the neck of the candy cane with red curling ribbon. Place a basket of the candy canes by your door and give to all who enter your home. You could also hand them out to people as you do your errands and spread some Christmas cheer. A good party favor too.

Dear Family, Thank you for some great Christmas memories!

Getting out of town for a day!

Sam has been working very hard lately and I am getting a little tired of the four walls at home, so we decided to go to Georgetown today to the Dutch Oven Cook-off. Les and Elsie went with us to enjoy the samples. Georgetown is probably one of my favorite towns in Colorado We have been there many times and are never disappointed when we venture that way. Fall is in the air and was surprised to see the flowers still so pretty there. After having a great lunch at one of Sam's favorite restaurants which is German themed, and tasting foods from the Cook-Off, we stopped by Silverplume to check out the bakery. Sam was wearing his NC State Hat and a couple noticed it and asked him about it. This couple moved from North Carolina and lived in the Mountain Island area very close to where we lived. Follow along with the pictures from our day. Enjoy!

"Someone Worth Dying For"

Returning back to Colorado after being with family for several weeks, is pretty difficult for me. Its not that I don't love Colorado and my friends here but being a Mom, leaving children and their families is so hard for me. Having the personality that God gave me doesn't help. (I want to fix everything and sometimes want to fix things that are really not broken) Sam and I miss being with family and especially the grandchildren. We are so proud of our children, their spouses and their children. There are so many wonderful things I could tell about each one of them, but getting back to the type of Mom I am, I have trouble sometimes taking things upon myself to do to fix instead of letting God. Yesterday's devotion in the book "Jesus Calling" that Sharon gave to Sam for Father's Day was meant especially for me. It begins by saying "Entrust your loved ones to Me; release them into My protective care. They are much safer with Me than in your clinging hands. As you entrust others into My care, I am free to shower blessings on them. My presence will go with them wherever they go and I will give them rest. Watch to see what I will do." Ephesians 3:20 says "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us"

I was listening to the radio this morning and heard a song that I had not heard before which spoke to me and wanted to share the name of it and the artist. The artist is Mikes Chair and the name of the song is "Someone Worth Dying For". I would put it on my blog, but don't know how at the moment.

Thinking about Will, Ellie, Denise and Byrum as they begin a new school year. Can't wait to hear all about it!

Summer Trip

I don't really even know where to begin telling about my summer trip back to North Carolina. Guess I will begin by saying what Ellie said to me several times. "It looks like so much fun being a Grandmother. I can't wait till I am a Grandmother!" Ellie is right! It is lots of fun being a "Meme" or sometimes "NeNe." Although extended trips can be very tiring, I would say it's worth it. I was there a longer bit of time than Sam, but he would agree that the trip is defintely worth it. Just to list some of the fun, I will begin with Will (our oldest). He is 13 and such a sweet and handsome guy. I enjoyed watching him enjoy his cousins although he is the oldest, he is admired by all of them. He loves to play the guitar and is very good, I must say. Ellie is becoming more beautiful each day and the highlight of our time together was when she asked me one day at the beach, "Meme, when you aren't holding Ben or Eli will you hold me like your little baby? Holding her in my lap was so special as we sat together telling stories about her dad when he was a little boy. PawPaw and Will were sitting with us and we had lots of funny stories to tell. Byrum is defintely a great help in party planning. He did a great job helping with Mia's 3rd birthday party and getting ready for the Burgin Family Day. He is an expert on many subjects. I enjoyed watching him pick vegetables in their garden, swimming, entertaining his baby brother, Eli, watching Mr. Bean together, having conversations together right before bedtime. He is becoming a very good reader. I was able to be home for Mia's 3rd birthday party. I enjoyed seeing the families come together to help Mia celebrate. Mia loves books and I enjoyed getting to read to her before bed. She blessed my heart by singing "Give Thanks" to me one night and I asked her about one hundred times to sing that song to me that Blessed my heart. She always did. I was excited to see her little dance class perform on the last day of her dance camp. I didn't know I was going to get to have my first lesson in ballet, but enjoyed it. She made me smile so many times as she played with her cousins and at the beach asking this pretty tall blonde if she was Barbie. She is such a good helper too. She would walk into the kitchen and ask me "What are you making, Nene? Can I help you? She really likes to crack eggs.
I slept in the room with Ben sometimes and enjoyed hearing him in the morning waking up, talking to his Panda bear and Bubby that he slept with. Listening to him sing ABC and "I like to eat Apples and Bananas" in his language. Getting to see him take his first steps and continue with getting pretty braver by the day with his walking ability. Watching Eli crawl around and pull up and fall without even getting upset is pretty cute. His sweet smile will melt your heart and seeing him learn so much new everyday. "How big is Eli?" So big!
On the last day of my visit, Ashley and I along with Byrum and Eli went to the Billy Graham Library. That was a special treat! I bought a few books at the book store and in reading some quotes from Ruth Graham, one has stuck in my mind as advice to give my children as they raise our grandchildren. "Never let a single day pass without saying an encouraging word to your child."

My trip was just what I set out to do....enjoy family. Surprising my Aunt Marcie for her 80th birthday, spending time with Mama in her new home and meeting her new friends, and making memories for our family.

I love you family! You are all so special!

Happy 41st. Anniversary

41 years? How can this be? I am not old enough to have been married 41 years.....oh yes, guess I am 60. How did I get to be 60 so fast? The saying goes "Time flies when you are having fun" Guess that's true. I couldn't have said "I do" to a better person. Thank you for loving me and always being there to support me. As we go through this day and hopefully many more together, my prayer is that we can continue to love each other and hold each other up as we go through life. I love you!

Carolina on my mind!

In my mind I'm going to Carolina........It's 3:00 and almost ready....See you soon.

Our Visit with Glenn

Sam and I are enjoying our visit with Glenn, (currently, the guys are watching golf and relaxing). Yesterday we took a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park and were happy that the smoke from the Arizona Wildfires didn't follow us there. It was a perfect day!

Of course, we wanted to see some wildlife and we did! We saw big horn sheep for the first time. The water levels were up because of the huge snowfalls in the mountains and saw lots of snow as we drove up Trailridge Road. We took a different route going home through Nederland, (a very scenic drive) and through the casino towns.

Today we went to Shepler's, a western store near here to look for cowboy boots. Afterwards, we went downtown for lunch and a little walking to see what we could see. The guys are resting up for our next adventure tomorrow going in the direction of Colorado Springs.

What are you going to do today?

Sam treated me with a trip to celebrate my 60th birthday to Crested Butte. I have wanted to go there and it is a little out of the way from the other places we have traveled to in Colorado. I know it is the middle of May, but as we traveled this weekend, I couldn't decide if it was winter or early spring. Guess, out here, this is pretty typical. Crested Butte was well worth the drive. The place we picked to stay was comfortable and in walking distance of most everything. (I want to buy some pillows like we had at the Inn....very comfortable) Guess we went to "The Butte" during mud season which is like North Carolina when it rains, only without the rain. This town is probably one of the most "laid-back" towns I have ever been to. The favorite mode of transportation there was by bicycle. No fast food or chain restaurants around anywhere. Fences made from ski's, art made from bicycle, or car parts, siding on buildings made from old license tags, interesting paint colors on homes and business's. Just a fun little place. Saw lots of snow, beautiful mountain peaks, blue sky, bicycles, dogs. (I forgot to add that most business's had a dog somewhere inside helping out.) These are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip.