feeling all artsy-fartsy...

Last night, our fam of five ate a quick dinner, then headed out the door to our local Art Hop. Art Hop is the third Thursday of the month, and all the downtown businesses stay open and offer refreshments for the locals who want to walk and shop. It's called Art Hop because there are some galleries downtown, and the other merchants try to have some sort of art emphasis. The bookstore had a book signing by a local author, and the guy performing live music at the tea house was our good friend, Joel.


I'd like to say we've been to every Art Hop this summer, but we haven't. Last night was our first, but definitely not our last. We had a terrific time, despite the fact that it was a very chilly Colorado evening. By very chilly I mean that my teeth were chattering the entire time.

Anyway, we sat outside and listened to Joel for about an hour. He did fantastic, and he only had to stop once to warm up his fingers! I guess it's kinda hard to strum a guitar when you can't feel your digits. We enjoyed his music, and it was wonderful to see so many of our friends from the church that we just said good-bye to. It was great to see them, but hard at the same time.

I haven't talked much about leaving our church because that happened around the time our computer crashed and I was offline for awhile. We loved our church and were very sad to leave. Nothing bad happened, we just felt like God was leading us to find something a bit closer to where we live...here in our little community. I think it's much easier to leave a church when you're miserable than when you're content there. Seeing our friends last night made me question whether or not we were doing the right thing. I know we are, but it feels hard and lonely right now, and seeing the old gang was a breath of fresh air! Our pastor and his wife were there too and I talked to them for awhile. They both told me that they think John should start a church...and believe me, he thinks about it...just not sure we're ready to dive into that pool quite yet.

After we got home and started to thaw out warm up a bit, I glanced up and noticed this...

Our friend, Kari, created it. At first I thought it was a painting, but it's really a collage...kind of a mixed media collage (I'm a bit illiterate in the world of art, but I think that might be the right term).

Isn't it amazing?

John led an art/faith small group at our church for a couple of years with Kari and her husband. He has had his eye on that piece forEVER! They moved to Denver this summer and he asked Kari if she would sell it to him. She did, and though we've had it for awhile, we finally got it hung up last weekend.

I LOVE it! I love the colors, I love the image, and most importantly, I love that it was created by our extremely talented friend.

I think of Kari when I walk past this piece. And that makes me think about church, especially the church that is so dear to my heart. And then I'm mindful of the One who holds all of us in His hand...no matter how close together or far apart we are, and for that I am grateful.

My ever expanding circle of blog friends...

I had a really fun day yesterday. I went to Denver to meet a blog friend, Teri. I've made so many (cyber) friends through this blog, but when I have a chance to meet a blog friend IRL (in real life) I jump at it!

If you know me, then you know that I'm NOT a mall person, but Teri discovered Anthropologie not long ago and suggested we meet there. She convinced me that I would love it, and I did! I haven't visited a mall since last Christmas, and I sorta had a little pact with myself that I wouldn't visit again until this Christmas, but when I entered that store, I was very thankful I didn't hold out that long. It was awesome! I've been missing out! I exercised restraint and didn't buy one single thing, but I did come home with some fun decorating and craft ideas. That is one inspiring store.

We spent quite a bit of time in Anthropologie and next door at Williams-Sonoma, then headed to one of our favorite lunch spots...Rubio's. I knew I liked Teri when I first started reading her blog, but when she blogged about loving fish tacos from Rubio's, I knew she was a soul sister!!! Their fish tacos are the best I've ever had.

Over our tacos, we talked about church and the South (she's from Texas but has lived in Colorado for twenty years) and our families, and of course, blogging. It wasn't ever awkward or weird. It was just like talking to an old friend. As I've said before, it's interesting when you finally meet someone you've already spent time getting to know via their blog. It really doesn't feel like you're meeting someone new...just catching up. I love it!



Teri...I had a great day with you, and am looking forward to our next visit!

I was able to meet my blog friend, Jenn, back in August, and didn't have a chance to post about it before my computer crashed. Jenn found my blog last year, and we have some mutual friends from my college days at OBU. Small world stuff like that makes this blog world feel even smaller, doesn't it?

Anyway, Jenn and her family were in Colorado for a family vacation, and since we've wanted to meet for a long time, we made it happen.


We got together at Agia Sophia, a fun and artsy coffee shop in Old Colorado City. Even though we talked until it closed, our time felt way too short and our conversation never lagged! (Jeremy, thank you for your patience!) Jenn, spending time with you was wonderful. You're just as sweet and caring as I imagined you to be.

When I stop and think about it, this community of bloggers has really been a huge blessing in my life. I was telling Teri yesterday that through blogging I've found people who really "get me" and people who are like me in so many ways. Sure, we're different in lots of ways too, but I've lived in a communities for years before finding friends that I share this much in common with.

So...off to add two more friends to my sidebar. Wendy, you're next,'kay?!?

Her Daddy's Daughter

Yesterday on the way home from school, Sarah told me how "frustrating" one of her teachers was. I probed a little and she said it was because the teacher was always using "dreadfully large" words. Dreadfully large? Like what I asked. Like "procrastination and progress". Uh-huh. I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Just a few minutes ago, I was getting breakfast for her. John had to make a late night run to Safeway and came home with toaster strudel. Remember, I'm the health food nut and sugar sheriff, so stuff like that only makes it into dad's shopping cart.

Anyway, I burned the tip of my finger fishing Sarah's pastry out of the toaster. I yelped, and she was compassionate. She reminded me that she burned her finger on the toaster once...and it was "heroic". I use words like "ouch" and my 10-year-old uses words like "heroic".

Clearly, she doesn't get her vocabulary from her mother.

Question of the Week...

What is ONE object in your home that makes you feel happy every time you see it?

It's hard for me to choose just one, but today it's my cheery red tea kettle that sits on my stovetop.

What about you? What's your ONE object?

Sch-tuff

So much to say tonight...

Abbey--we're SO proud of her. She ran in her first cross-country meet tonight, and did great. She ran the 1/2 mile and did so without stopping. She's a natural and she's F-A-S-T!


Recipes--Several of you asked me to share the new recipe I tried the other night. Sure thing. It was Chipotle Chicken Pasta in Fire Roasted Tomato Cream Sauce, and it was delicious! I also rediscovered an old favorite, Chicken Broccoli Fettuccine, that is super easy to make and my kids love it!

Scrapbooking--I'm loving it again! I really lost motivation to scrapbook during the few years I was a Creative Memories consultant. A friend of mine has tables/chairs set up in her basement and I've been hanging out there a lot lately getting more and more caught up. That's a great feeling! I used to dream of the day when I'd have time during the day to do something just for myself. Now that days like that are a reality, I'm loving it!

Tina Fey as Sarah Palin--WOW! Did you see her on Saturday Night Live? I crashed long before the beginning of SNL, but I found the segment online and I thought it was hilarious! My sister told me today that she saw a short clip and thought Sarah Palin was on SNL...didn't EVEN know it was Tina Fey.

Pikes Peak--THANK you for all of the congrats you sent my way! It was a big moment for me. I'm still waiting on pics from my "summit sisters" (great name, Renee!) but yeah, that was snow up there, and no, I wasn't fully prepared to hike through it. It certainly makes for some good story telling though, so stay tuned.

Yeah, baby!

I did it! I made it to the top of Pikes Peak yesterday!



It was a stunning hike, and I'm completely exhausted, but I'm also completely exhilarated!

I have lots of pictures from yesterday, but my friends have some that I need to fill in the gaps and tell the complete story. So, I'll blog about it in detail later this week.

I'm not sore at all today, but I'm very tired which is why I'm camped out on the couch right now watching NFL and reading the Sunday paper!

Here's the sign my family had taped to the front door when I got home yesterday! Isn't that great? They're the best!!!

Afternoon freak out...

Things have certainly been interesting around here this afternoon.

I had an email mid-morning from our school district informing me that our district was implementing their "shelter in place" status because police were pursuing a dangerous suspect in our area believed to be armed. "Shelter in place" didn't sound like it warranted too much concern, so I thought, "okay...that's good to know" and I went on about the business of the day.

Around noon, a friend called me and told me to turn on the television. Every single local news station was either broadcasting about the ginormous manhunt for the armed suspect at large or had a crawler on the bottom of the screen detailing all the schools in our district and the district just south of us that were in lockdown. A community college and mega-church down the road were also in lockdown mode. S-C-A-R-Y.

Naturally, I freaked out, because that's what I seem to do in crisis situations. God forbid I ever get bit by a rattlesnake or something because calm isn't really my first response. A few years ago, my sister came for a visit, and I ventured out in the ice and snow to retrieve her from the airport. On the way home, my van slid on the ice and landed in a ditch. We were fine, but I'm pretty sure she had no reason to freak out because I was doing enough of that for the both of us. And man, did I chase a rabbit here or what?

Anyway, other than the same info that the news media was continuously crawling across the screen, information was scarce.

I knew my kids were in a safe place, so I tried to calm down and just pray. Thanks to those of you who knew to pray with and for me! I appreciate it.

The kids are fine. The armed suspect is still at large, but I felt better seeing policemen around school when I picked the kids up. They're all home with me now, and I'm thankful they are safe and sound! And I am so, so grateful.

The law of the trail...

Barr Trail is the name of the foot path that leads to the top of Pikes Peak. I have a Colorado trails guidebook that describes Barr Trail in ten pages of great detail. Here's one part that jumped out at me:

After the first set of switchbacks, the trail flattens out and passes through a natural rock arch. Beyond the arch, you will learn the law of the Barr trail: Every flat section is quickly followed by a steep section.

Isn't that so much like life?

Every easy phase seems to be followed by one that is hard and steep.

I had a great day yesterday. I dropped the girls off at school and then spent the entire day scrapbooking and laughing and talking with friends. It was just what I needed! I picked Will up after school and he was in one of his talky moods telling me everything from the status of his grades to the girl he thinks is "hot"--oh my! Later, I made dinner and the new recipe I tried was delicious. Everyone ate without complaining, and to top it all off, there was minimal time spent around the table doing homework. It really was a good day--an easy section of the trail.

And then this morning. Boom. Things got steep quickly, and trust me, it was rough. Nothing about this morning felt easy. I wanted to fling my "mom backpack" off and run back down the trail screaming. Ugh. We could all use a do-over around here.

Thinking back over the course of my life, the law of the trail seems to hold true. Easy followed by hard, then more easy followed by more hard.

The trail book tells me when to expect the easy and encourages me to enjoy it because the hard is quick to follow. I wish I had a guidebook for this trail called life. Oh, wait--I do, and thankfully it's more than ten pages long. Here's what I'm hanging onto in the steep of today.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run climb with perseverance the race trail marked out for us.
Hebrews 12:1-3


PS--Tomorrow I'm actually heading up Barr Trail with the goal of summiting Pikes Peak. If you think about it, pray for me! I'm very excited but a bit nervous too!

Allow me to introduce you...

...to my husband, John.

John and I have been married for 18 years. We met while students at Ouachita Baptist University back in 1988. I was a freshman, he was a senior. He saw me on campus one day shortly after the fall semester had begun and simply HAD to find out who the mystery girl was. He found my picture in the freshmen directory, called me, and asked me out. I had NO clue who this John guy was, so before I agreed to the date, we met for lunch at Walt's--the OBU cafeteria. He was very handsome, he met my dating criteria, and I liked him enough to want to get to know him better, so we headed to Fat Dave and Reba's, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Hot Springs, AR, and the rest is history. Seriously. He's the only guy I dated in college, and after my sophomore year we were married, and our life of adventure together began.

Eighteen years. Wow.

We've definitely had some adventure in our marriage. Lots of joy-filled memories, lots of FUN, lots of laughter and lots of happy, happy times. Like most of you, we've also experienced disappointment, heartbreak, and loss.

Last night at dinner, we were talking with the kids about the significance of 9/11. It is a day that I hope America will never forget. But it's hard for our family to think of that day and not be reminded of the personal loss that occurred on another 9/11.

And that's why I want to introduce you to John--the one who sees things more clearly and expresses things more poetically than I ever will.

Here is what he's written about our own personal 9/11. Want more? Then click here and here.

Tuesday happies...

My friend, Jen, is known for her fun, impromptu gifts that she's always giving to people. More than once, she's handed me a bag filled with a "little happy" as she calls it. I love "happies" and I've had a few of them today. They weren't packaged in a cute little bag, but they still made me stop and smile!

Happy #1--both of the girls wanted to eat lunch at school which meant that I didn't have to pack a lunch for them this morning, which meant that I had extra time and our morning felt a bit more leisurely.

Happy #2--I met a friend at the tea house after I dropped the girls off, and we spent three hours catching up over tea. It was wonderful. I love her dearly!

Happy #3--Kashmiri chai from The Wisdom Tea House. It is out of this world delicious. And extremely fattening. But I'm not going to think about that right now.

Happy #4--The sun decided to make an appearance today. Yesterday was cold and gray and my mood followed suit. It started out the same way today, but thankfully the sun triumphed! I really NEED sunshine every day!

Happy #5--I came home from the tea house and had an email from J asking if I was up for an at-home date tonight after the kids are in bed. Yep...I can't wait.

Of course, my day isn't over but it's definitely been a good one so far! Hope yours has been good too.

Camping...

I finally got all my pics uploaded from the weekend--don't ask me how many hours I've spent being frustrated with Blogger today--arghh!

We had a terrific time camping over the weekend!

We went with some of our favorite friends. We actually camped with them last year at this same spot and had such a wonderful time that we decided to make it an annual event. Not only do we love Steve and Allison, but they have great kids...two of which are our girls' best friends. Since they have four girls, and we have two, we decided to let Will bring a friend with us. He was thankful, and it turned out to be a good move. The boys had a blast playing with fire and getting wet and climbing all over rocks. They even slept in their own smaller tent, which they thought was the greatest thing ever!

We camped at The Crags and one of the great features of this camp is that it's located at the trailhead to one of the most beautiful hikes in Colorado (that's my humble opinion, of course). We hiked to the top on Saturday and it was amazing. I was so proud of all the kids for making it to the top without with minimal complaining. They did great!





One of the more memorable things about this trip was the temperature. It was FREEZING at night, with lows around 30 degrees. Somehow we ended up with 5 sleeping bags for 6 of us (remember, Will brought a friend), but we survived with no one getting hypothermia. The cold temps made our time around the campfire each morning/evening even more fun!

Allison and I concluded that all food just simply tastes better when eaten outdoors. She made a huge pot of chili for Friday night, and we all devoured it! We also consumed massive quantities of hot chocolate and s'mores! I was in charge of dinner on Saturday night, and thanks to the suggestion from my friends, Renee and Janna, we enjoyed delicious foil packet dinners...so easy and so YUMMY! Yeah, everyone thinks I'm weird for taking pics of my food.

Here are the rest of the pics from our weekend. We're already planning for next year!

(Huck and Tom)
(Mmmmm...s'mores!)


(The sparklers Allison brought for the kids were a hit!)




(An early morning shot of our campsite)

(I told you that the sky here is bluer than anywhere else!)

frustrated

I cannot upload any pictures to Blogger, and I am so frustrated.

I tried for at least 30 minutes last night before exhaustion overwhelmed me, and I've tried again this morning and NOTHING.

I'll try again after I return from grocery shopping (ah, my glamorous life!) because I have some fun camping pics to share.

Anyone else having Blogger/photo problems?

funny...

We're heading out in a little while for a family camping trip. John took today off (so glad!) and we went to Walmart together this morning to get the last of the stuff we need for the weekend.

As we were leaving, I was listing all the things I still need to do before we can pull out, one of which was take a shower. I casually said something like "that won't take long though because all I'm going to do is pull my hair up in a ponytail".

John said, "Yeah, me too."

If that's not funny to you, then you either don't know my husband or you haven't seen him in quite some time.

John wears his hair in a ponytail these days. Uh-huh. He really does. And until Tuesday when he went for a haircut, his hair was longer than mine.

There are a lot of things I envisioned sharing with John over the course of our marriage, but hair bands was never one of them.

So...about camping. I'm pretty sure we're going to freeze our tails off. The temp right now is 54 degrees, and we're camping up in the mountains at 10,000 feet. I just packed my down parka! It should be tons of fun despite the weather! We're going with some good friends and my kids are just so excited to spend the weekend with them. I'll post some pics when we return. Enjoy your weekend.

Question of the Week...

What's on your to-do list today?

My daily to-do list is something I can't live without. I rely on it to help me prioritize my time and remember the myriad of things that must be accomplished each and every day. Today, my list is long:

1. Mop the kitchen floor.

2. Clean bathrooms.

3. Dinner--I put this in the crock pot earlier this morning.

4. Laundry.

5. Complete some Girl Scout paperwork and get it turned in.

6. Make list of things to pack for our weekend camping trip. I'm certain I made a master packing list after our last camping trip, but I have no idea where I've put it!

7. Make grocery list for our camping trip. This list in includes plenty of hot chocolate mix, Hershey bars, marshmallows, and graham crackers!

8. PACK for our camping trip. This includes pulling out our winter gear since overnight temps are going to be in the low 30s. Brrrrrr...we're gonna freeze!

9. Make weekend arrangements for Jack-the-beagle.

10. Pick kids up from school.

11. Pick Abbey up from track. She's running cross-country this fall--how fun is that?

12. Call Allison.

That's what's on tap for me today. What's on your to-do list???

Updated: I'm making progress!!! Crossed some more tasks off--woohoo!

life tidbits...

Life seems to be moving at a fast pace these days. I'm not extraordinarily busy, but the school year has such a different feel to it than the summer, and I don't think I've quite found my rhythm yet. I love a slow, relaxed pace, and school days don't seem to offer much of that for me.

So, because I'm feeling a bit random with my days, I'm offering you a random post. Oh boy!

The Blog. Thanks for your feedback regarding my header. I contacted my blog designer and she re-coded it for me and now I can see it in both of my browsers, and you should be able to as well. So happy about that! For those of you who thought I meant that "I" was going to personally fix it, sorry to disappoint you, but thanks for thinking I was capable.

Facebook. Oh my gosh. I've been totally sucked into the Facebook vortex (I borrowed that phrase from Elaine, who has been sucked in too). So much for that post on time management. Not only have I caught up with friends from high school and both colleges I went to, but I've found elementary school friends as well! It's been so much fun. I'm not planning to attend my 20 year high school reunion this fall, but now I sorta wish I was.

The Weather. It definitely feels like fall is in the air. Everyone went to school this morning in jeans and jackets because it's been quite cool. Last night we slept with the windows open and this morning our house is F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G. It's supposed to warm up to about 70 (perfect) and be a beautiful day. I love these cool, crisp mornings! Makes me want to pull out my fall decorations and put them up. I just might have to do that this afternoon.

Sarah Palin. You know what? I like her. I think she won me over when she responded to a reporter's question about her favorite designers with "Patagonia and The North Face". Woohoo...that's my kind of girl! I've always been a "word" girl, and one quirky thing about me is that I see words in my head. When you tell me your name or a city or pretty much anything else, I usually see it spelled out in my head. I know, it's WEIRD, but love me, love my quirks. Anyway, for some reason, I keep seeing "Plain" instead of "Palin" in my head. I think she's anything but plain, and I'm not dyslexic, so I don't know what's going on there. Maybe it's some crazy subliminal message. Don't know. As for her family stuff...I'm not going to judge her. There's enough of that going on. I thought John had a great post about the merciless media yesterday.

Kids. Abbey missed 3 days of school last week. She had a cold and was running a temp. Poor thing. She's feeling much better, but is still sniffling. Sarah and Will have both complained of sore throats, but so far haven't missed any school. Everyone here that I know has had some version of this lately. I'm trying really hard to keep us well.

Where is my Brain? I've felt so out of it the last few days. Monday evening I was mixing up some brownies for my family, and I measured everything according to the high altitude directions. I kept mixing and mixing and wondering why the mix was still powdery. I asked John to read the directions and see if he could figure out what was wrong. He picked up the measuring cup filled with all the liquid ingredients and said, "Ummmmmm, maybe you could try adding this?" Have you seen my brain? It seemed to have disappeared yesterday too.

Homework. It's back with a vengeance. We spent two hours doing homework with Will and Sarah last night. Two hours on top of the seven hours they spent in school. I just think that is too much for them. Way too much. I don't have anything good to say here, so I'm just going to quit.

The Weekend. I'm ready for it. We have something very fun planned. More on that later. My laundry beckons.

Labor Day Hike

The kids and I hiked Spruce Mountain a few weeks ago with some friends and we loved it so much that we took John back there today. It's a great hike for kids and the views are amazing. Today's weather was perfect and we had such a fun time together!


We had to share the trail with several horseback riders. I think I counted six horses!
Will is in one of those phases where he rolls his eyes whenever I try to take his picture. This is one of three photos I was able to take of him today. Doesn't he look absolutely thrilled?





After we finished, we went to 3Margaritas (our fave!) for dinner. It was delicious as usual!

I was so thankful for a family day since John was in Dallas all weekend. I'm feeling a little blue that our weekend is coming to a close, but thankfully, this will be a short week.

Hope your Labor Day has been a great one!

Lovin' Where I Live

My OBU friends, Angie and Kecia, recently posted the top ten reasons they love where they live. I love that idea so much that I'm copying it. You're welcome to play along if you want!

Here are my top 10 reasons for loving where I live, and if you must know, it was really hard to limit myself to 10.

1. Mountains! I can't imagine them not being a part of my daily scenery. Plus, they're really fun to climb!
2. We live in a small town. I'm less than two miles from the kids' schools, our pediatrician and dentist, the bank, the post office, the library, and our favorite mexican restaurant. Oh, and Starbucks. How could I forget Starbucks?

3. Coldstone Creamery just opened last week! Yummmm!
4. The sky is brilliantly blue here. I guarantee you, it's not this blue anywhere else.

5. The climate. I used to think "cold" when I thought about Colorado, but our climate is actually very mild. Sure, it gets cold, and it does snow a LOT, but it's not unbearable. Summers here are amazing--mild temps and no humidity!

6. Our 4th of July parade is awesome! It's "The Biggest Small Town Parade in America". No joke.
7. No mosquitos!

8. People here are very health conscious and are extremely active. Not a day goes by that I don't see someone running or biking or hiking. The weather and the natural beauty make you want to be outside. I've really become a health food nut in the five years we've lived here.

9. Columbine and aspen trees!

10. The Air Force Thunderbirds fly over my house often. Can you say *free air show*?

Just for fun, here's the top five things that I don't love about living here.

1. Our family is all in Arkansas. We're 1000+ miles away.
2. I miss Southern food.
3. People here aren't nearly as friendly as in the South.
4. No one here says "ya'll".
5. Water is scarce. We don't have big lakes or many outdoor swimming pools.

Por favor?

I need a favor, friends.

Can you see my Life at 7000 Feet header when you open my blog?

I can't see it, and several of you can't either.

I'm really trying to pinpoint the problem so I can fix it, and I need your help!

Will you leave me a comment and let me know if it's showing up for you? I also need to know what browser you're using. Example: "Hey, Mer, all I see is a bunch of white space, and I'm using Sarari", or "Yep, your very fun design pops up when I visit your blog, and I use Internet Explorer in Windows Vista".

Thanks in advance. I appreciate your help!

I might regret this...

I joined Facebook this morning.

I spent some time cleaning up my email inbox and came across a message about needing to rsvp to my Class of 1988 Reunion, and the email suggested joining a Facebook group as a means to rsvp (and re-connect). Okay, I thought. No big deal.

It's actually a VERY BIG DEAL.

And I'm afraid it could be very, very addictive.

Pride goes before a fall, right? I was feeling all smug about setting good time parameters and staying offline since our recent computer crash...and then I joined Facebook. Nothing like Facebook to suck me back in.

Honestly, I was AMAZED at how many of you are already on Facebook. Man. How do you manage that and blogging? I feel like I'm in WAY over my head.

Snippets...

I thought I'd just give you a few snippets of what's been going on around here...

Democratic National Convention-- Truthfully, I care very little about politics (sorry, Moriah). I wish I cared more, but I just don't. I always know who I want to vote for and why by the time November rolls around, and I DID vote two weeks ago in our state primary, but other than that, I'm not all that interested in politics. It's more than fair to say that I was tired of the DNC before the convention even started. We live about an hour away from downtown Denver, and so every news medium in this area has been covering the DNC ad nauseum for the last month or more. The only positive thing (in my opinion) about all the news coverage is that George Stephanopoulos is getting lots of face time. I love George. I've had a little big crush on him for years now. I told my sister that yesterday and she couldn't quit laughing. John teases me too, but that's okay, because I happen to know he has a little crush on Diane Sawyer. *smile*

School-- Everyone is off to a great start. I'm very proud of Will. He seems to be adjusting to middle school very well. I transistioned to a public school in 7th grade, and I didn't have an easy time of it. Will loves it though, and I'm enjoying picking him up and having some time with him before we have to get the girls. The girls are doing great too. Abbey will tell you her favorite thing is having 3 recesses, and Sarah's favorite thing is getting to see her friends every day. So far, homework seems to be minimal (yay, yay, yay!) and we're getting back in the swing of things. I'm finding ways to fill my days, but I miss my kids like crazy when they're in school.

Hiking-- I have a little over 2 weeks until my Pikes Peak climb, and have been continuing to train. My friends and I did a practice run last weekend and hiked halfway up The Peak to Barr Camp. It was awesome. It was a 14-mile round trip hike (hiking down is painful--my poor toenails!) and we're feeling more confident about our ascent.

Cold-- We've had so much rain lately and things are finally growing again which is great, but as a result my allergies all out of whack. Sadly, things have progressed into a little cold, and I feel pretty yuck. But we all know that moms can't get sick, right? I cleared my calendar on Monday, and I let John go to the kids' back-to-school night last night without me (that was hard for me to do), but I have some things that I can't cancel on tap for today, so I've been trying to rest when I can. Advil Allergy Sinus helps tremendously, but geesh, you have to sign your life away to purchase that stuff.

Date!-- I met John for lunch yesterday. It was the first time we've had a date in the middle of the day in FOREVER! It was great. I think I love alone time with John more than anything else in the world! I learned some pretty big lessons on time management while we were without a computer. I'll be sharing some of that in an upcoming post, but one of the biggest things I realized was how important quality time with your spouse really is. Without a computer to distract us, we spent our evenings together, and it was amazing!

Alright...I've gotta go pack lunches and get everyone off to school before heading to the Springs for a Girl Scout training session. Busy, busy! Enjoy your day!

The Mac is BACK!!!

Well, John walked in the door this evening with our computer in his hands. It was a sight for sore eyes, let me tell you!

Initially, we thought we were going to replace it, but when we found out that we could repair this one fairly inexpensively, we opted for that and are hoping to squeeze a little more life out of it. I never dreamed I'd be without a computer for three weeks, and that was definitely not our intention, but that's the way it worked out and I'm here to tell you that we survived, and I actually enjoyed having a mini-break.

So...anyway, I'm back, and believe me, I have about 10 million posts swirling around in my head. I'm sure you'll get an earful or two in the next few days!

It's a good thing their jeans still fit...

Yesterday it was 80 degrees here. Right now, it's 48.

After buying school supplies, lunch boxes, new shoes, and paying school fees, I decided to let our bank account recover and wait until next month to buy jeans for everyone. It's a good thing their old ones still fit because it is CHILLY today. I'm definitely ready for fall!

Everyone had a great first day yesterday. Will came home SO excited (and chatty) and I was very thankful that his day went so well. He gets home an hour before the girls, so after I picked him up, we went and got a Dr. Pepper and he just about talked my ears off. I loved every minute of it.

When I picked the girls up, they both walked out smiling and talking non-stop. I think this is going to be a great year!

checking in...

Hi everyone! I have SO missed being online and checking in with you all. I'm at the library this morning checking in. We're still computer-less (for now.) We're waiting on a couple of John's freelance checks to use towards a new computer, and hopefully it won't be much longer!

Lots of stuff going on around here...

Our kids started school this morning. John dropped Will off at the middle school on his way to work. I didn't cry when they left the house, but I cried when John called to tell me that he made it okay. Will had middle school orientation on Tuesday, and it was a rough day. He didn't get his locker assignment due to a computer error and he didn't get on the same team (6th graders are divided into two teams for their core classes) as most of his buddies, and he came home from orientation and had a mini-meltdown. I was upset that he was upset, and trust me, it wasn't a pleasant afternoon. Thankfully (after a lot of prayer), he was once again excited to jump in and give things a go this morning.

The girls did great. They were a little apprehensive about their teachers (they didn't get their first choice) but they were excited this morning, and I'm confident that they got the teachers they're supposed to have. John and I have prayed about it all summer...and we've trusted that God put them with the teacher that will best challenge them and help them to become confident in themselves.

So, here I sit ALL BY MYSELF. I'm feeling a little lost, and not sure what to do with the rest of my day. Hmmm...probably laundry. *smile*

This week has been very emotional for me. Sunday was our last day at our church. We LOVE our church, but have really felt led to find a church closer to where we live--in our community. Our decision was heavily influenced by Will starting middle school. We feel that it is so important for him to go to school and church with the same group of kids. Currently, we drive 30+ minutes to our church, and we're hoping instead to find something very, very local.

Saying good-bye is never easy, but I was totally unprepared for the emotional upheaval that was triggered by our leaving. I cried most of Sunday and Monday. We've been at our church for 4 years, and in that time we've made some amazing friends. We shared our decision last week with our pastor, and with our close friends, and they're all very understanding but it's going to be a hard transition for us. We're confident that God has a place for us, but finding a church home is never an easy task. We're praying for lots of wisdom and discernment in this regard.

Also, this week, I learned that a dear friend of mine was involved in a very serious bicycling accident. He survived (PTL!), but sustained some very serious injuries. He and his family need our prayers, so if you'd like to pray for the Johnson family, I know they'd be grateful. You can click here for updates and specific prayer requests.

That's all I can think of for now. I am SO behind on all your posts. My reader tells me that I have 488 unread posts...oh my...how will I ever catch up? Please be patient with me, and know that I miss you guys!

Computer News...

Well, our Mac is officially dead. We can't even turn it on. Actually, we can but it makes a horrid screeching sound when we do, so I'm leaving it off. I'm at the library right now using their computer, and it looks like this may be my lifeline until we decide what/when/where/how to replace Mr. Macintosh.

Honestly, we used the heck out of that machine. It served us well considering that John used it to write 9+ books. We have an old ancient PC that the kids play games on, but I took a new look at it this week and it's pretty worthless. It's old enough to have a floppy drive and doesn't have an ethernet port...sad.

I've actually enjoyed the break from the computer and internet though. My house is quite clean (I've even found more closets to clean), I've finished 1.5 books, and I spent most of today scrapbooking bringing my total pages completed since last Friday to 14. Woohoo! It's been great and SO productive.

The flip side of that is I've realized how heavily I rely on the computer.
...for recipes

...for quick answers (did Friday Night Lights get picked up for a third season? which side is your appendix on again? what other shows has that actor been in?)

...for weather (I actually had to watch the news for the forecast yesterday *gasp*)

...for scrapbooking (I need my blog to help me remember what I was doing two years ago!)

...for news and information

...for charging Sarah's ipod, and keeping my Blockbuster.com queue full

...and for keeping up with friends

Now for a bit of happy news that has nothing to do with our computer--It's been raining here almost all day. It's been a slow, soaking rain that is very rare in Colorado. I LOVE it. We've been in the 60s all day. 60s. I KNOW! I put my fleece on after I got out of the shower this morning. It feels like fall and that makes me so happy. Almost happy enough to forget that our computer is D.E.A.D. and that I'm hopelessly behind on all of your blogs! I hope to catch up soon, but in the meantime, I'll be checking in when I can.

Girls Night Out...

I've been looking forward to last night for over a week. I went with two friends to see Mamma Mia! It was FANTASTIC, even though I did cringe a bit when Pierce Brosnan was singing. Afterwards we went and grabbed something to eat and spent three hours talking. I love Girls Night Out, and I don't go often enough. When my kids were smaller, it was a big priority for me. I still need a night away every so often, but honestly, now that my kids are bigger it's a little lower on the priority list. Thanks, John for letting me go and for taking great care of the kids!

(My computer is working at the moment, but it's been very inconsistent the last several days. I couldn't even turn it on most of yesterday.)

ugh...

Our computer is acting very strange these days. I'm afraid it is on it's very last leg. Scary. Especially since we don't have the money to replace it right now, and paying cash for big ticket items is a must for us.

So...if the blog is quiet, that's why. If I'm not reading and commenting on your blogs, that's why. If I'm not responding to email, that's why. Ugh...that means I might have to rely on the dreaded telephone. Have I ever mentioned that I don't like talking on the phone?

The only positive thing I can think of about all of this is how much more I will be able to get done each day if I'm (temporarily) off-line.

(So far I've been able to post twice today...maybe that's a good sign).

Question of the Week...

For those of you with school-aged children...

Do you buy your kids a new backpack each fall?

Each of my children seems to think that they need a new one this year. And I disagree.

I rounded up SIX backpacks around here last week. Jansport, Eastpack, and REI brands, ALL in perfect condition. I'm just not really cool with spending money on a new one for each of them when we have perfectly good ones they can use. And I'm really not okay with spending money on a cheap backpack that won't last more than one year. That's the reason I bought the above mentioned brands in the first place...they last forever!

So...do you buy a new one each year, or don't you? I'm really curious.

monday...

I probably sound like a broken record, but I'm not a big fan of Mondays. We had a really enjoyable low key weekend together, and Monday just feels so disruptive. Do you feel like that too?

Here's a little taste of of our weekend...

10--The number of times I heard one of my kids say, "I'm starving!"

9--The number of days we have left to enjoy summer. *boo hoo* We're trying to fill these last days with simple and fun things.

8--The number on my clock when I woke up yesterday. Nothing like sleeping in, is there? And yes, 8 o'clock is late for me.

7--Number of scrapbook pages I completed at a crop on Friday night!

6--Early morning cups of coffee/chai.

5--Number of loads of laundry over the weekend. (It just never ends around here.)

4--A beautiful, 4-mile hike.

3--Played 3 board games. Yahtzee, Monopoly, and Life.

2--I got to take two afternoon naps! I *heart* naps.

1--One happy family. I feel so blessed that we all love spending time with each other. That may change one day, but I really hope it doesn't.


The kids and I are going to hike with some friends this morning. That seems like a good way to ease into this week, and it will likely help me get over my Monday morning blues! Happy Monday to you.

The Remains of the Day...

Yesterday afternoon I was sitting on my bed with the computer checking email, reading blogs, and enjoying a few minutes of quiet in my very-full day. I saw Jack, our beagle, wander into Will's room across the hall, and a few seconds later, I overheard this one-sided conversation.

Will: Hey buddy, whatcha got there?

Jack: (tail-wagging silence)

Will: JACK, that's not cool, buddy.

Jack: (more tail-wagging silence)

Will: Uh, mom...can you come see this...

I got up (I may or may not have huffed a little) and Will met me in my room holding about 1/4 a loaf of zucchini bread. Evidently, one of the kids left the pantry door open, and Jack-the-beagle helped himself to a sweet little afternoon snack, plastic wrap and all.

Arghhhh....

I worried about him for about 5 seconds before I realized that the dog has an iron stomach. Jack eats grass, Barbie feet, flies, and all manner of things, so I wasn't too worried about him eating the zucchini bread.

I wasn't surprised to find him like this later. This would be Jack in a SUGAR COMA....

He didn't even move when I tried to take his picture, or after the flash went off.

Stinker.

If you're worried about him, he's fine. Still waggin' that tail and lickin' our faces, and lovin' all over us every minute of the day. And despite yesterday's incident, I still love him too, though it would have been nice to have had another slice of zucchini bread for breakfast. *sigh*