Rocky Mountain Splendor

Wow. That is an understatement, in trying to sum up how blessed we have been traveling around this great country God has made! To see the mountains erupt from farmlands and then come down from the tundra of the mountain tops to the sun scorched land in the south was truly incredible to witness God's creative hand all over this great land.
We traveled to Denver CO, the mile high city, while there we squeezed in a trip to the Denver Mint getting a tour of the only US government department that MAKES $ (ha ha) We also toured the capital building, including a tour of the dome (yes up there ~ see the tiny spiral staircase? no we didn't climb that but we were right next to it!) From there it's an amazing view of the mountains!
After the homeschool convention, we spent Father's day in Rocky Mtn national park.
This had been a lake higher up on the mtn which broke through and is now a river; amazing the power of water, the boulders it moved were HUGE!
Ahh the view is just spectacular ~ yes I was just a wee bit nervous ~don't worry there was more of a ledge beyond them :)
Even Chuck did pretty good being up so high As we climbed higher and higher we were so thankful for a vehicle that could transport all of us. The thought of being in a covered wagon and attempting to cross these mountains is about impossible!
We made it to the highest point 12,000 something and enjoyed the snow at the top :)
Yes, snowballs were thrown and no, I did not get hit since I stayed in the van on baby duty!
And the camera specialist went for a few more optical illusions:
Lean on the mountain.....Hang on for you life! as we began to descend many of us suffered from the usual altitude dizziness and headache however when we got down everyone was feeling fine, with the exception of mom :( Maybe it was being overwhelmed with gratitude for all the modern conveniences that we have, or the grasping of this incredible blessing our family has to do all this traveling in between working or maybe it was just a plain old case of altitude sickness but I was knocked out the whole ride back to Denver, moaning along the way and wishing we had a bed in the van! when we finally reached the hotel the kids enjoyed dinner and a movie in the hotel "living room" while I crashed in our room! Didn't wake up really until morning at which point I felt MUCH better!
Especially knowing the history of this song.... it seems very appropriate to close with it.

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!

America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
(to see more verses click the link on the first line)

A Little Bit of History....

The lyrics to this beautiful song were written by Katharine Lee Bates (1859-1929) an instructor at Wellesley College, Massachusetts, after an inspiring trip to the top of Pikes Peak, Colorado, in 1893.

Tutu and Ria singing in the car

Are they related to me??????

VIDEO:
We are experiencing communication problems.... apparently not all contracts were signed before this went public.... so until further notice this video will no longer be available (sorry!) If you would like to see the video returned kind encouraging words to the singers would be helpful!


Yes it was a long ride to Atlanta, GA!!!
Does this qualify as a JOYFUL NOISE?!?!
~ Chuck

We made it safely ~ and got the booth all set up today with enough time to relax in the pool for awhile tonight. Two busy days of working then tear it all down and head home.

Good Friday or BAD Friday

As we talked today the question was asked "Why isn't it called BAD Friday?" Suggestions were made that when Jesus died it was a sad day but now we know what happens in 3 days so we know that there is good in the end.

This year fasting from lunches has been a blessing for me but also in ways I never could have imagined for the children. They have an anticipation for Easter like they have not had before. And they are looking forward to eating lunch! I am treasuring this time that we were able to carve out (most days) to spend together FEASTing on God's word. May you find time to spend with God and grow in your walk with Him.

(Both are longer today so I'm not pasting them in, you can open your Bible or click the link to read the whole passage)
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
we have a great video "Aussie Praise for kids" by Colin Buchanan this verse in song sticks with ya! Baa Baa Doo Baa Baa....

⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

John 18
recap: the story of Jesus' arrest and hearing, Peter's denial

As we close our Good Friday we are so thankful that its not a BAD Friday! Thank you God for sending Jesus to pay for our sins. Easters coming!!!!

Standin' in the need of prayer

We are currently studying the civil war ~ I have always enjoyed this spiritual. May you be blessed by it today too!

It’s me, it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer.

Not the preacher, nor the deacon, but it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer;

Not my father, nor my mother, but it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer.

Not the stranger, nor my neighbor, but it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer;

Not my brother, nor my sister, but it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer.


There are many things we like to THINK WE can do ~ we can't on our own, not without God! So often it seems easy to lift others needs up to the Almighty one because they aren't OUR struggles. We need to humble ourselves and invite him to work in OUR lives too.

Today may YOU come before our wonderful Father, lifting up your heart to HIM who can do more than we can ever ask or imagine.
We are all Standin’ in the need of prayer!

get off your chair and STAND UP!!!

This year for school we are learning hymns each week. This week it's Stand Up Stand Up for Jesus here is a little about how it came to be and the words:

‘Stand Up for Jesus’ was the dy­ing mes­sage of the Rev­er­end Dud­ley A. Tyng to the Young Men’s Christ­ian As­so­ci­a­tion…The Sab­bath be­fore his death he preached in the im­mense ed­i­fice known as Jaynes’ Hall, one of the most suc­cess­ful ser­mons of mo­dern times. Of the five thou­sand men there as­sem­bled, at least one thou­sand, it was be­lieved were ‘the slain of the Lord’…The fol­low­ing Wed­nes­day, leav­ing his stu­dy for a mo­ment, he went to the barn floor, where a mule was at work on a horse-pow­er, shell­ing corn. Pat­ting him on the neck, the sleeve of his silk stu­dy gown caught in the cogs of the wheel, and his arm was torn out the roots! His death oc­curred in a few hours…The au­thor of the hymn preached from Eph. 6:14, ¹⁴Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,and the…verses were writ­ten simp­ly as the con­clud­ing ex­hor­ta­tion. The su­per­in­tend­ent of the Sab­bath school had a fly-leaf print­ed for the child­ren—a stray co­py found its way into a Bap­tist news­pa­per, from that pa­per it has gone…all over the world.

George Duffield, Jr.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross;
Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss.
From victory unto victory His army shall He lead,
Till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the solemn watchword hear;
If while ye sleep He suffers, away with shame and fear;
Where’er ye meet with evil, within you or without,
Charge for the God of battles, and put the foe to rout.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the trumpet call obey;
Forth to the mighty conflict, in this His glorious day.
Ye that are brave now serve Him against unnumbered foes;
Let courage rise with danger, and strength to strength oppose.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, stand in His strength alone;
The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the Gospel armor, each piece put on with prayer;
Where duty calls or danger, be never wanting there.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, each soldier to his post,
Close up the broken column, and shout through all the host:
Make good the loss so heavy, in those that still remain,
And prove to all around you that death itself is gain.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the strife will not be long;
This day the noise of battle, the next the victor’s song.
To those who vanquish evil a crown of life shall be;
They with the King of Glory shall reign eternally.

Big Steps Little Feet

15 years ago, I joined a wonderful homeschool family in their new business venture, opening a child care center. I was 19 and still in school working on my Early Childhood Degree. Rob Young, the owner, (either in amazing confidence or complete ignorance) hired me to be the director of the whole thing! WOW what an experience that was!

Our desire was to provide the best Christian care for those who couldn't (or chose not to) be home with their children. We were entrusted to help raise these precious gifts from the Lord and what a blessing that was. I have so many fond memories of those years. And feel like I owe many parents apologies for all my parenting advice -- you shouldn't be allowed to give advice UNLESS you are a parent yourself! It doesn't matter what kind of degrees you have!!!
(Some pictures of our fun days at Big Steps....)

A few highlights from my BSLF years --
* Making sure the staffing ratios are meet -- try scheduling 20+staff and over 100 children and making it all work out!
*Making meals that are healthy, well balanced, and kid friendly x 130! (I should be better at that by now -- still not my strong suit!)
*Getting to be a kid again and PLAY, read stories, and wonderful nap time :)
*Being able to work with so many friends what a wonderful treat.
*Enjoying pajama day with all the children -- then having a cute guy come and propose to me right in the middle of our preschool! (yeah, Rob was in on that too and convinced me not to change out of my pj's- however I insisted when he pulled out a camera!!!)
*Making wonderful friends with lots of families and watching their blessings grow up.
*Getting to send them all home every night! That was a shocker when I had my own 24/7
*Being able to have my children in the room right next to my office so I could see their first rolls, crawls and steps.
* Getting to know a blessed homeschool family who taught me that following God's call is most important -- Sorry I always gave you such a hard time about homeschooling, look where it got me! -- I have learned not to say NEVER

Getting to work at 8am with 2 under 2 was a challenge!

Yes that is me with Maggie and Gabe

I am thankful God has called me to be home, but that season was used by Him to grow me in so many ways. Thanks Rob and Annette for all your love and encouragement.
(and reminding me its been 15 years!)

May God continue to guide you as you help those little ones take
BIG STEPS with their LITTLE FEET! and HAPPY BIRTHDAY BSLF!

And best wishes to Kathy who has grown and improved it as director since I "retired" and to Jana (their oldest) as she opens her own BSLF this fall!!!

FYI the name came from a song by Mary Rice Hopkins
Chorus: "I may be small but HE lives in me I've got Big Steps and Little Feet"

Find us Faithful....

This is one of my favorite songs -- by Steve Green.

We had it sung at one of our children's baptism and
it's our desire to pass on to our children's children a faith-filled heritage!

We're pilgrims on the journey
Of the narrow road
And those who've gone before us line the way
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary
Their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace
Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses
Let us run the race not only for the prize 
But as those who've gone before us 
Let us leave to those behind us 
The heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives


Chorus:
Oh may all who come
behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our
devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live
inspire them to obey
Oh may all who come
behind us find us faithful

 After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone
And our children sift though all we've left behind
May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find