Trip to Colorado

Saturday morning we both woke up kind of sore after our night out at the gym.  What great fellowship, thank you Frank!

We got all packed up last night for our trip to the mountains.  We packed for the dogs, for ourselves, and then we packed the car.  We got up plenty early so we would have most of the day on Saturday and on Sunday to hang out with Dad once we arrived.

Heath did a pre-trip walk around and even added a little air to the tires before we left 'dark and early' as the sun hadn't even gotten up yet.  We no more than got four miles down the country road before we ended up with a flat tire.  Wow, GOD!  I had just finished praying to God to watch over us on  our trip to see Daddy when this happened.  We both looked at each other and decided that God's plan is perfect and that He didn't want us to go any further in our trip at this point in the day.

As you can see from the pictures that I snapped, we were changin' the tire.  I have an awesome flood light you can plug into the car that my parents gave me in high school.  It worked great for me to hold so Heath could see to do his work.  In January, we had just replaced two tires on my vehicle and this was not one of them.  We couldn't see any obvious damage, so we are guessing it is a sidewall blowout.

After fixing the tire, bless Heath, we turned around and headed back home to switch vehicles.  Heath is such a patient man, never getting upset, riled up, or complaining.  He just asked me to go inside the house to check and make sure we had everything shut off--stove, lights, fireplace, etc.  We felt like this was a second chance from God.  Turns out that we hadn't left anything on.  By the time I was finished checking the house, Heath had everything switched over into our pickup...dogs, us, winter emergency clothes....off we went again.

The rest of our trip was very nice.  We stopped at Qdoba for lunch in Cheyenne and stopped in Longmont for Heath's blood draw for his next Endocrinologist appointment.  We had a safe trip and made it to Dad's with plenty of daylight left.  We went for a drive to get acquainted with Dad's small town(s).  There are two towns close together that he enjoys and does volunteer work.

This was the first time that Heath and I had been together to see Dad in Colorado.  We were up there once before but Dad came up to our house to watch our animals, so he wasn't there to show us around.

We went for a wonderful supper at an Italian restaurant that he had been wanting to take us to.  It was fun to get dressed up and 'go out on the town.'  :)  Thank you Papa!

Y.M.C.A. Family Night

I had the pleasure of planning a Y.M.C.A. Family Night for the guys at work and their families.  Frank provided a meal and the evening for us.  Heath joined me and we had a wonderful evening with Sam and Louie's Pizza, basketball, swimming, and climbing the rock wall.

Nature

Awesome Walk Today!

AWANA

I was able to snap a few more photos tonight at AWANA for Linda as they prepare the new Monument Bible Church website and brochure.

Faith and Fellowship

Good times, beautiful day, wonderful friend!

Simplicity

Nursery Today

Linda asked me to take some photos of the children's activities as well as worship time this Sunday.  Heath and I were scheduled in the nursery this morning.  Since he had it under control, I snuck away and began my tour of the church to grab a few photos.  It was fun!

~Lazy Saturday~

Are these dogs confused or are they just sharing?  LOL!

Life Book

I was totally surprised to receive this beautiful, bright-colored package in the mail.  This is from my sister-in-law for my birthday.  It is totally personalized to me with my name on it, a wonderful quote, and in bright colors!  She knows that I am an list person and that I like to be organized, so what a great gift.  Thank you Alicia!

*Moving*

May God's light shine upon them in their travels.

Tonight, we were planning on meeting up with Josh and Mindy at the Oriental House to discuss this year's Young Married calendar of events.  Our evening didn't end up at Oriental House, but something way better.  Josh and Mindy met us over at Travis and Evie's home to help them pack the last of their belongings into two U-Hauls.  It was a great evening of fellowship and love as we said our goodbyes.  We will miss this wonderful couple and their beautiful family, but trust that God has them in the palm of His hand.

AWANA Night

Tonight we got to go to AWANA to help in the nursery!  :)

Captured

While running some errands for work, I captured these cool photos right outside the Coop.  I like the way the clouds are parted above the American flag with the Monument in the background.

~1 Corinthians 3:7~

"So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."

~Happy 1st Anniversary, Honey!~

We got to celebrate our 1st anniversary by going to church together and listening to Pastor Wayne preach.  It was awesome because the same big, beautiful, high-backed chairs that we used up on the stage at our wedding (because I was on crutches) were up there today.  We were Pastor Wayne's first wedding ever!

What a year it as been!  We have been through alot of adventure in the last 12 months knowing that God is weaving together His precious plan for our lives.  All we have to do is believe in him and enjoy the ride wherever He choses takes us.

After church Gram took us to one of our favorite restaurants, Oriental House for lunch!  Heath then went to help Evie move a few things as they are packing up to move on to the next chapter in their lives as Travis becomes the pastor of a small church in Iowa.  I headed up to the hospital to meet Stella.  I have been swimming at the Y for quite a while and she has taken interest in my swimming.  After quite a bit of talking, we realized that God has brought us together to help each other.  Today, her mama is in the hospital suffering from pneumonia on top of cancer.  Before her mama fell sick, we had decided that she would be my triathlon training coach.  As she was sitting there in the hospital with her entire family, she still spoke with me about my racing plans.

Opps....

Well, I made it to the pool yesterday morning before my 7 am Friday Morning Meeting.....but, as soon as I sat down in my car at the Y, my pants ripped out, yep, just like that, they were goners.  You probably guessed it...yes, right down the middle, in the back!

As I pulled into work, the sun was just peeking up over the horizon.  My coworker was just headed in as well.  Just as soon as I could lay my stuff down in my office, I headed to the bathroom to change into my nice new grey yoga pants.  I am soooo very grateful that so early on this morning, I chose to grab my nice new loose fitting yoga pants instead of my grungy ole' navy and gold Nike sweats.  Blessings everywhere!

Since my coworker saw me go into the office, right at daybreak, in jeans and then come back out in yoga pants, I felt that he needed an explanation before walking into our meeting.  All said and done, it was the running joke for the rest of the day.  Thank goodness I didn't have to present to a bunch of guys in my ripped jeans!

So, after work, I visited Heath at his new office, like I mentioned yesterday.  It was fun!  As soon as I got there he asked me if I wanted to go to Colorado.  Of course, but curious what the occasion was, I had to ask.  I have to brag on him a little, he is a great listener!  I had called him earlier in the day to tell him about my pant issue and so the reason he wanted to head to CO was to go jean shopping.  In his words, "To buy my Baby some new jeans."

We headed home and threw a few items in a bag, grabbed the dogs, and we were off.  We dropped the dogs at Gram and Pa's house on our way out.  They enjoy having the dogs once in a while and we appreciate the help!  We stopped at Outback Steakhouse in Cheyenne for supper.  Boy, was mine awesome!  I had some teriyaki kabobs with a sweet potato, YUM!  Heath ordered a steak, but his wasn't nearly as memorable as mine, bummer.

Heath had booked a hotel in Fort Collins.  We reached it safely with full bellies and looking forward to some good sleep.

That catches us up to today, Saturday, the day before our one year anniversary!  When we woke up, Heath turned on CMT (Country Music Television), went down to get the hotel breakfast and brought it to me in bed, while I listened to the music and read the Bible donated by the Gideons!  Beautiful!  He is so thoughtful and I know he listens to me because he picked out all the same things I would have picked out for myself to eat.  YUM!

After breakfast, I hit the trail.  Heath was super sweet and drove me over to the trail I used to run and bike in graduate school.  It was fantastic because I needed to run and what better place than where Katie Huffman and I used to run together in school.  Oh, the memories!  Hoping Huff is enjoying her mission/study abroad trip!  It was a beautiful day!  Heath is a wonderful man as he waited in the car for me while I finished up my run!

We did some jean shopping before heading home.  Heath is a very good person to shop with because he will pick out stuff that he wants me to try on and then give me feedback.  He is such a good balance for me who is always rushing and not enjoying the moments.  His demeanor helps me stay calm and try to take my time to enjoy some things instead of rushing through life and missing everything.

We quickly picked up the dogs on the way home and Gram donated some biscuits and potatoes to the cause (so we didn't have to stop at the store).  My professor from graduate school recently took a new position up at the college.  In his transition from Colorado State University to Panhandle Research Station here in Western Nebraska, we have been wanting to get together with him and his wife.  I really want to introduce him to Heath.  After putting this date on the calendar for about a month, we got to enjoy their company tonight.  Heath used the new can cooker from his brother and sister-in-law and we had a wonderful dinner with even better fellowship.  What a great couple!

Warmer Temps, Still Snow

Lots of snow melting today at the Y.M.C.A. parking lot!

I got home early enough to enjoy this beautiful scene!

I got to leave work early today and go see Heath's office, so that was fun!

Beautiful Day!

Lots of snow, but beautiful day!  This is my third day walking this week over my lunches.  I feel so very blessed to get to enjoy this view along the river bank just about a minutes drive from my work.  They had this path cleared of snow just like the roads, it is absolutely amazing!  I even got to enjoy a walk on my birthday!

Birthday Girl!

Today, is my 29th birthday.  I am finally as old as Katie and Whitney...LOL!  I so wish I could find that picture of the three of us from when we were young standing, hand-in-hand with each other, by Rochester Park pond.  It is absolutely, totally precious.  Then, we did another rendition of that photo at Whitney's bridal shower in Oxford, Mississippi and then, yet again, at our 10 year class reunion back in Rochester, Illinois.  We go way back and for that, I am forever thankful.  I can pick up the phone any day rain or shine, after not talking to either of them for ages and we pick up right where we left off.  Whitters has a beautiful baby boy and Katie is embarking on seminary school while I am embracing my new marriage.

Someone sent me this awesome video that brought tears to my eyes.  I so want to share.  Please let me know what you think of it.  It is beautiful!

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/07/162163-bank-uses-atms-say-thanks-regular-customers-personalized-heartfelt-way/

On birthday note, my husband stopped by work today to let Frank and the boys know that it is my birthday!  About noon, Heath and Pa showed up to take me for a birthday lunch.  It was perfect timing as the guys were just getting back to the office so I could leave.  I got to sit in the middle and eat my Runza ice cream cone.

Shortly after that, Gram stopped by with a dish of vanilla Culver's ice cream.  What a nice surprise!  Ice cream twice in one day!

Tonight, was our first night serving in the nursery during AWANA.  What a great church program for kids.  Our AWANA group is really active and growing at our church.  The group meets each Wednesday for an evening of fun, fellowship, and Bible verse memorization.  The staff and their families are invited to enjoy a meal before the activities commence.

Heath tried to buy me one more ice cream cone, so it could be from him.  The first one was from his dad and the second one was from his mom, so he wanted this one to be from him.  I politely declined, asking for a raincheck!

By the time we got home, I was exhausted.  I had done a swim workout this morning so I was away from the house for almost 15 hours!  That's alot but definitely an AWESOME, blessed day!

Pivots in the Snow

I snapped a couple of morning pictures at the office today.  They turned out pretty cool for a phone camera.

Lots of S*N*O*W*

I don't think our snow is going anywhere for a while!

It just keeps coming!

Walking to get the mail at work.

A snowy morning!

Sunday Early Arrival

I quick captured this *precious* photo last
night as we were all settling into our
bedtime routine.

Beautiful sunrise this morning!

The farm early in the morning!

Beautiful colors only the Lord could create!

Eggplant Parmesan

Supper for Two

My daddy and I ate a good breakfast together and then he hit the road.  Then, I headed to church to worship!  After church, I got home just in time to finish a few things before the early arrival of my husband.  I was super surprised for him to get home so early.  Last I had talked to him, they were still several hours away.  He is so good at surprises!  Thank you Honey!