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Update on our Colorado life…

Update on our Colorado life…

Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park

It has been a while since I have done an update on our Colorado life. As you know we moved from North Carolina to Colorado back in August of 2012. Yes, we have been in Colorado for 7 months. It definitely has been an interesting 7 months. While we know God moved us out here, it has definitely taking some getting used to for me and the kids.

First off, we are living in an apartment, in a city. Yes, me a country gal, living in a city. I definitely feel like a fish out of water. There have been comments about my accent and where I am from. Some good, but there has been some rude comments as well. I have actually been questioned about having manners and raising my kids that way. Like I said, it has been different.

We have joined a homeschool group and have been on field trips and other outings. However, making friends have been difficult for myself and the kids. They have asked on occasion why we had to move. I just keep telling them and reminding myself that God has a plan for us. He moved us here and we need to do the best we can and just make the best of it.

We are still looking for a home church. I think this has been the hardest thing of all. We miss being in fellowship with other believers. We have visited several churches, but my husband and I have not felt like God has pointed us to the right church. We are still praying about a home church and know that God will lead us to one, in his timing.

It has also been a very long winter for us. We love the cold and we have enjoyed the snow that we have gotten. However, since this is a new climate and area for us, we have also been fighting sickness. We have had the flu, stomach bugs, really bad colds and just recently, I have had some major dental issues surface. It has been tough being at home and not being able to go out and explore, go on field trips and even a mom’s night out.

We are still homeschooling and loving it. I finally feel like we have the curriculum that works for our family. The kids enjoy their science and history. We love reading and doing projects together. We love going on field trips and exploring the new area together. We do enjoy our homeschool group we are in, but I have been looking for another one that is a little more involved and get together a lot more often. I am hoping the kids will be able to make friends soon.

Do we love Colorado? Absolutely! We definitely felt like God lead us out here and the opportunity for my husband to work at this college, just could not be passed up. It has just been an adjustment and with God, we will get through this.

Sun setting on the Rocky Mountain National Park

As you have noticed on the blog, there have been a lot of reviews lately. It has been because of us being sick and I have not been able to write like I have wanted to. As I mentioned, I have had some dental issues and it has required me to be on some pain medication. Yes, it has been that painful. I am hoping this will be the last week with so many reviews. I finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

I am also working on a couple of different projects. One, I am working with a wonderful friend. I am hoping we can share more about it soon. It involves a new blog that we will be doing together! A little sneak peak is the title, “Surrendering the Plate.” Any ideas of what it could be about? 😉

I am truly excited about it! God has also been working on my heart in the past year. I am just in the beginning stages, but I am trying to figure out how to get started with it. I would love to have some kind of mentoring program to where older (more experienced) women teach and mentor other women. Like a Titus 2 mentoring program. I know there are a lot like that out in the blogging world already, but God keeps laying it on my heart to someone get involved and do something.

Well, this is how things have been going for us.  We are taking it one day at a time and trusting in God to lead us every day.  I would like to ask one thing of you,  could you please be in prayer that I follow where God leads me?  That is including this blog.  I want to blog to bring glory to God, to help and encourage others in their faith and their homeschooling journey.

Blessings!

Christmas 2012

Christmas 2012

Christmas, the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  The day we recognize when God gave us his Son.  It is also a time where we spend with family and give to those who we love.  I have always loved Christmas.  I love being with my family and spending time with them.

snowy Christmas morning

snowy Christmas morning

However, it can be hard at times when most of your family is many miles away from you.  In years past, since we have moved away from family, there has only been one Christmas that we have missed with our extended family.  It was the Christmas 2010 when we were snowed in.  This year, we weren’t snowed in.  We were 1700 miles from our extended family. While it has been tough, we definitely made the most of it.

Christmas Tree

oldest daughter opening up a gift

Our day started off with us waking up to snow.  My husband, oldest son and I were up at 6:30 am.  It wasn’t long after we walked into the living room that our two daughters joined us. We were just waiting for our youngest son to wake up. Well, my oldest son got tired of waiting on him (it had only been like 5 minutes!  LOL) and woke him up.

oldest son opening up a gift

all three opening up a gift together

We opened gifts and enjoyed seeing what grandparents has sent to us.  I cooked breakfast, while the kids started opening up games to play together.  After we ate breakfast, the kids continued playing the games.  After a couple of hours, my hubby started cooking our Christmas lunch.  We had rib roast, mashed potatoes and green beans.  It was a delicious meal, but most importantly, we were all gathered together around the table together.

youngest got her first container of Lego’s

a gift from Pa

We have enjoyed having dad off for the week.  He doesn’t have to go back to work until January 2nd.  We have had movie nights, have had fun playing games and putting Lego sets together.  This time is flying by with one another and I am soaking up every minute we have together as a family.

the crown was a gift from oldest sister to younger sister.

a gift from Grandma and Papa

a gift from Grandma and Papa

Enjoy this time with your family.  Blessings to you through the rest of this Christmas season and into the New Year.

Denver Zoo has a free day! ~ field trip

Denver Zoo has a free day! ~ field trip

We recently found out that the Denver Zoo has free days for the public. One of those days was last week. I asked our neighbor who homeschools her 7 year old son if they wanted to go with us. They said yes, so off we went! We packed a lunch, snacks and bottled water for the day. We got to the zoo fairly early and there were already a lot of families who were taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

King of the Jungle

As you walk in through the front gate, the first animals that you come to is the African Lions.  They were absolutely gorgeous!  And huge!

Cape Buffalo

Being a zoo with a lot of animals, the one thing you do notice right off is the smell.  I kept giggling at Samuel who kept asking why the animals smelled so badly.  He walked around the zoo with his shirt over his nose, most of the day.  The smell was really horrible at the Cape Buffalo area.

Dall’s Sheep

I have seen mountain sheep before on Mt.Evans.  Was even able to get some really close pictures of them.  So I liked watching these that were at the zoo.  The one with the horns was the dominating one.  He would go up to the younger ones and push them below him.  He was definitely playing king of the mountain and succeeded!

Claire with the Capuchin

Claire had told me before we arrived at the zoo that she wanted to see the monkeys.  Her Papa calls her, his little monkey and so she wanted to have her picture taken with them, so we could send it to him.

Samuel seeing how tall he is next to am Emperor Penguin

Samuel thought this was pretty cool, being able to compare how tall he is to an Emperor Penguin.

Grizzly Bears

While we have seen black bears in North Carolina, this was our first time seeing grizzly bears.  I loved watching the grizzly bears.  Tundra (female bear), kept pacing back and forth while watching Tipani (sp?- male bear) eat his bone.  Tundra was waiting for him to walk away from his bone so she could take it, even though she had her own!

Kids checking out an Elephant skull

The Denver Zoo has just recently added a new section to the Zoo.  It is a much larger Elephant exhibit.  From what we were told, they have added several more elephants to the zoo.  It is amazing how large and graceful these animals are.

Elephant

Another highlight for the kids were seeing the giraffes.  We also got a lesson in giraffe anatomy.  When we walked up the largest giraffe was going to the bathroom.  They must have a bladder the size of a basketball or larger.  The make giraffe stood there urinating for several minutes.  Adults and kids all got a giggle out of seeing this!

Giraffe

The last exhibit we went through, was the Tropical Climate building.  This building had so many different types of frogs, lizards, fish and snakes in it.  It was very humid and damp.  This was also a big hit with the kids.  It is so amazing to see all the different types of animals that God has created.

Kids looking at a Komodo Dragon

We spent about 3 hours at the zoo that day.  I would have stayed longer, but the kids were all tired.  So we left after leaving the Tropical building.  The zoo was so big that we didn’t even get to see everything.  We are excited about going back again on the next free day.  This time, dad is going to take off a half a day so he can go with us.  The kids can’t wait to show him all the animals we saw.  I can’t wait to see the animals that we missed on our first trip.  We enjoyed the zoo so much, that we are planning on buying a yearly membership.

Do you have a zoo that is close by?  What are your favorite animals?

 

so thankful and blessed….

so thankful and blessed….

 Colossians 3:17

 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

 The month of October has passed and we have now entered into November, the month we all celebrate Thanksgiving.  However, I have been doing my best to celebrate Thanksgiving daily, year around.   We have so much to be thankful for.  Even with a week of sickness, several days with a migraine, I can be thankful.  Thankful that I have medicine to help with the migraine.  Thankful I can go to a chiropractor and have my neck/head adjusted.  I just look at times like this as God telling me to slow down and to refocus on what is important.  Good or bad, I will praise Him.

1041. another week with my family.

1042. being asked to help with social media on Creation Thursdays at Creation Conversations.

1043. children who help around the house.

1044. sickness/migraine to slow me down to refocus on what is most important.

1045. new friends in Colorado.

1046. an invite to the Colorado Symphony. (field trip post)

1047. letters from friends back on NC.

1048. encouraging messages from fellow homeschoolers.

1049. being able to help and encourage others.

1050. quiet Sundays at home with the family.

I would love for you to join in counting the many blessings that God gives. Stop by A Holy Experience and visit others who are also sharing their many blessings.

Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge and Squaw Pass Road

Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge and Squaw Pass Road

I have mentioned before that our family loves to go on drives in our area. We also love to take pictures. This is a post that is picture heavy from a recent drive that we went on. We first headed to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. They have a beautiful visitor center with a lot of historical information about the place and how it came to pass. They have also just recently opened up a 9 mile loop that your family can drive. We were so excited that the loop was opened and we were able to take a drive around it. These are a few of the pictures that we took.

Buffalo

Buffalo

ducks swimming

Mule Deer

Prairie Dog

Prairie Dog

Hawk

After we left the Wildlife Refuge, we headed back towards Lookout Mountain to get on the Lariat Loop.  We took this picture of the town of Golden, CO and the Colorado School of Mines.  This is were we moved to, so my husband could work at that University.

Colorado School of Mines from Lookout Mountain Road

We some how another missed the Lariat Loop turn-off and ended up on the Squaw Pass Road.  While we may have missed the turn-off, we sure didn’t miss the beautiful views of the mountains and wild life.  I don’t think I will ever get tired of seeing God’s creation.

Echo Lake

Snow-capped Mountains

Mountains on Squaw Pass Road

Mountains with snow

Mule Deer on Squaw Pass Road

Mule Deer

Herd of Elk

Herd of Elk in Evergreen

I love driving around and exploring where we live with our family.  We always have so many wonderful adventures with one another!