More Walking

Unfortunately we have had more drama develop here at House on the Hill.  We are not out of the valley yet so please keep us in prayer.  Even professionals are stumped.  We are continuing counseling, but going to seek other professional help in hopes that things will get better.  It has been a hard road and I continue to seek solace in the comfort of God's glory here in Colorado.  One evening we witnessed a double rainbow after a thunderstorm.  That same evening we saw a fox in the open space across the street from House on the Hill.  Be sure to click on the pictures to see more detail.

Here below are pictures from my walks at my beloved Crown Hill Park.  The beauty of the prairie has been repairing my soul.

The prairie grasses and blue sky with cottonwood trees in the distance.

An old cottonwood tree.

Wildflowers blooming on the prairie with a bumblebee about his business.

The lake mirroring the sky.

Cattails growing along the banks of the lake.

An array of wildflowers blooming near the lake as a thunderstorm moves in.

Walking

One of the things I have always done to help soothe my soul is to walk.  Last Saturday I had some time to myself so I jumped in my car and drove to my favorite park (Crown Hill).  I went for another walk in the park.  I walked through the tall prairie grasses talking to the Lord.  I walked past blooming flowers lending their sweetness to the air.  I walked under tall cottonwoods listening to a breeze blow through their branches.  I sat on a bench looking at a pond.  As I talked to the Lord He soothed my soul with the wonder of His creation.

I send a big THANK YOU for your prayers...they have made a difference.  We continue our journey.  I know not where it will take us or what we will experience next, but I know as I acknowledge Him, He will direct my path.

Talk About Overwhelming!!

Stress...and that does not even begin to cover it.  Yes, this week has been full of it.  The events of this week will remain in shadow.  What I can simply say is that our family needs prayer...BIG TIME!  The Lord is working in our lives...all of our lives, but it hurts.  The boys desperately need to give their hearts to Jesus.  Mark and I are hoping that through the painful circumstances that have encompassed this week they will someday open their hearts to Him.  Thank you to all of my blog friends for your encouragement, prayers and comments.  God bless!

Been Thinking

Ever since Mark and I drove up Lookout Mountain to look down on the city lights, I have been thinking about where the Lord has chosen for us to live.  It amazes me what He has done.  Even so, my mind has thoughts of California running through it daily.  I suppose it will be that way for quite awhile yet.  I listened to the song "This is Home" by the band Switchfoot.  I picked up on these words:

I've got my memories
Always inside of me
But I cant go back, back to how it was.

I believe now
Ive come too far
No I cant go back, back to how it was.

Recently, I took a peek at my old blog "The Little Blue Cottage".  I did not look too long or else I would have started to cry.  However, taking that small peek made me realize that I am moving on.  It also made me realize as in the words of the song that I can't go back to how it was, but I do have my memories always inside of me.  Although, I am not ready to call Colorado home, I am sure that when I go back to California for a visit things will become clearer.  For now I continue to wait on the Lord and learn to be content with where He has placed me.  As long as I am with Him, I am home.

Much Needed Break

Friday the boys and I met with their counselor.  It was another hard session.  I am not really sure where things are going.  I am waiting on the Lord to show me what to do next.  I also plan to consult my counselor regarding what just happened. 

Friday evening both boys left for Boy Scout camp.  The troop is camping at The Great Sand Dunes.  The boys should have fun.  While the boys are away Mark and I are getting a much needed break from parenting.  Since our 27th wedding anniversary is this month, we decided to take the opportunity to go out to a special dinner.  We went to a restaurant call "The Fort".  It is a big adobe building that serves game. We ordered a sampler plate with buffalo, elk and quail.  It was delicious!  The atmosphere at "The Fort" was pleasant, the service excellent and the music soothing.  We had a wonderful time!  Afterward we went to the movie theater and saw "Letters to Juliet".  It was a sweet movie for a romantic evening, but the story line was predictable.  Even so, I enjoyed all the scenes in Italy and the beautiful decor.  In one scene they had a beautiful venetian mirror.  In another scene the bedroom that the heroine had was gorgeous...pale aqua walls with flowers painted on them and a crystal vase with roses.  The morale of the story?  True love never dies.

Mark and I walked out of the movie hand in hand.  We drove up Lookout Mountain and parked for a bit.  Together we gazed at the moon and the city below.  Thinking about it, we have never spent an anniversary away from the ocean.  This is our first one without our beautiful Pacific ocean to enjoy.  I miss it, but at least we still have the moon.

Quiet Week

So far this week has been fairly quiet.  We have not had anyone over and are resting.  On Monday Brandon went door to door in our neighborhood asking neighbors if they would like to hire him to mow their lawn.  He got three customers and then a 4th one today.  I am so proud of him!  Eric is continuing with his volunteer job at the bike shop rebuilding and repairing bikes for charity.

Today I went to visit a counselor from our church.  We clicked, so I am going to keep seeing her.  I am so blessed that the Lord sent me someone to coach me through these difficult teen years.  It is especially helpful since I left my support system back in California.  Just being able to have someone to listen to me and point me in the right direction is great.  Tomorrow we visit the boys' counselor.  I am not sure how long we will continue with him.  I am trying to get up the courage to discuss some issues we have.  We will see how it goes.

It has been hot here in Colorado.  Yesterday we finally were able to go swimming at the local recreation center here in town.  We all had a wonderful time.  While we were swimming a thunderstorm moved through and finally cooled everything down.  That is one thing that I am enjoying about the hot weather in Colorado, the thunderstorms.  Although natives tell us that there will come a time of unrelenting heat that may last for a week or two.  Not looking forward to that.

Thoughts

I am not quite sure what is going on with me these days, but I have not been inspired to blog.  Not because I haven't anything going on, because I do.  And not because I do not have any thoughts, because I have those too.  Somehow the two are not coming together when I decide to write.

I have been reading a book by Corrie Ten Boom titled "Tramp for the Lord".  I highly recommend this book.  The book is a collection of short stories about Corrie's travels as a missionary.  Corrie traveled the world for over 20 years and never really had a place to call home.  In her travels she relied completely on the Lord and He never ceased to provide for her needs and the needs of those around her.  Reading this book has encouraged me.  In these times of economic depression the Lord has been pulling at my heart strings drawing me ever closer to Him.  Recently I read these words in an on-line article:

"God desires for His children to repent from the spirit of materialism and placing their hope in possessions.  The Lord's desire for His people is to stop serving Him in a half-hearted manner. He longs for His people to thirst and hunger for righteousness and not for ease and comfort. God continuously calls us to Himself."

This is exactly what the Lord is working in me.  This morning at church our pastor spoke about the holiness of our Lord which I think is not spoken of enough.  He also spoke on the Lord's concern for us and His desire to provide for us.  He wants us to look to Him and receive from Him.  In the Psalms it says that the Lord is pleased with those that reverence Him and expect Him to be loving and kind.  Therefore beloved, let us be completely mindful that this world is not our home, that our real home is with Him.  May our hearts be filled with worship as we reflect on His holiness, His care, His concern, and His love.

New Arrivals

This week is busy for me as I am entertaining a guest from California, my sons' friend Austin.  I have known this boy since he was in first grade.  I am so happy to have him here and I am enjoying his company very much.  However, his arrival yesterday made all of us keenly aware of how much we miss our old home.  Eric put it plainly to Austin, "I am stowing away in your luggage when you go home."

Yesterday we took a trip up to Mt. Evans to show Austin the beauty of Colorado.  This time we got to see the wild mountain goats!

Last time we were at Mt. Evans there was quite a bit of snow.  A month later the snow has melted and we were able to enjoy a warmer visit to this awesome place.

Eric on top of Mt. Evans

 This is Summit Lake which was frozen in late May.

Also, I want to announce that we have a new addition to our family.  About two weeks ago, Brandon brought home a kitten.  I was not desiring another pet as I was quite content with having just Dusty.  Especially since I had been through so much heartache with losing two pets very close together before we moved to Colorado.  However, the Lord has seen otherwise and He delivered a kitten into our home.  It is funny because I had dreamed of one day owning a white cat and the kitten is white with blue eyes and a blush of orange on her nose, ears and rings of orange blush on her tail.  We have named her Daisy Mae.

Happy 4th of July and Update

  Happy 4th of July!

Wishing all my blog friends a blessed 4th of July celebration.  Here at House on the Hill we will be celebrating quietly.  We know that the city will be setting off fireworks at the college that is nearby, so we will be able to see them from our back deck.  That way we will be able to avoid the big crowds downtown.

Today it is 5 months since leaving our Little Blue Cottage.  It is hard to explain the feelings I have, but the only way I can is to say that I feel off kilter.  Also, I am still having issues with my tummy.  My tummy functions best when I do not eat much.  The more I eat the worse the pain.  To ease the pain I take milk of magnesia at times.  Sometimes I take it twice a week.  Other times I just start skipping meals to ease the pain.  I spoke with my endo doctor last Monday and told him that my husband and I have decided in favor of surgery.  That was a big step. Our only problem is that we cannot see when.  The recent issues with our boys have made it so we feel we cannot leave them right now nor do we want to add that much more stress to the kettle.  I do hope that the opportunity to have surgery presents itself soon as I am so weary of all the pain.

The rest of my green pasture time was restful.  I skipped a few meals, ate lots of veggies and fruit and took a lot of naps.  I got in one visit with a girlfriend and I had a really good time.  I hope she did too.  After visiting my girlfriend and finding out how much property costs in her neighborhood, I started looking up properties for sale while doing laundry.  We are not sure if the Lord wants us to buy a house, but I sure would like to as it would be nice to have our own place again.  There are not many properties to rent in the area we have chosen to live, but there are quite a few properties for sale.  With low interest rates & prices down it is a buyers market.   

It bugs me not to have a proper coat closet nor linen closet.  I am tired of trying to make due with a shallow sink in the kitchen.  The landscaping here at House on the Hill is out of control.  The owner has let it go for so long.  No gardener has been hired so we keep the lawn mowed and bushes trimmed, but not much more than that.  Our landlord hooked up the swamp cooler, but neglected to put new filters in it.  When we turned it on it smelled so horrid we decided to make due without it.  For all the money we are paying to rent we might be better off buying.  The only thing holding us back is that we are uncertain about our future and it is nice being debt free.

Spending the night at Boy Scout camp was pretty fun although I was not feeling my best.  The boys were camped in Peaceful Valley and it was beautiful!  Mark and I took a walk in the meadow which was dotted with yellow, purple, pink and white wild flowers.  Butterflies floated over the sea of flowers and green grass as an occasional bird erupted into song.  The blue sky was dotted with puffy white clouds while a small lake lay shimmering below.  In the evening we enjoyed a campfire complete with wonderful entertainment.  Then it was back to camp and off to bed.  In the middle of the night I of course woke up and had to go to the bathroom.  I woke Mark and he took me to the latrine.  On the way back to our tent we enjoyed the moon and stars.  Here below are some pictures Mark took.

Peaceful Valley

Sunset in Peaceful Valley

Another sunset shot.