Celebrating Kevin!

There can't be a better daddy of 3 little girls in the entire world. That's what Emma, Claire and Olivia are completely convinced of and I have to say that I agree. Kevin is simply a fantastic Dad. And our family is blessed because of it. He has made our girls confident and loving, strong and secure. He is silly and knows how to make any moment fun. He's firm and knows how to correct and guide without anger. And he loves the Lord and has done so in such a way that continues to impact the hearts and lives of our family every single day. Thank you, Kevin, for living out your faith for us to see and follow. Thank you for your commitment and your relentless passion to make us all better people - including yourself. We love you!


Father's Day dinner at BD's Mongolian Grill

Sabbath in the Mountains (Part 3)

Here are some pictures from our Sabbath summer day in Boulder at NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research). Doesn't that sound like some super brainy fun? Well, to tell you the truth, even though we did take a stroll through the visitor center, we were actually there for the trails that led behind NCAR. They are beautiful!! After a lot of hiking we decided to make one more stop at Boulder Creek to see how high the waters were from the snow melt. I can't stop being amazed at the beauty of where we live! I just LOVE experiencing it with my family.

Sabbath in the Mountains (Part 2)

5am at the gym, believe it or not, it one of my most favorite ways to begin Sabbath. Isn't that the craziest thing you've ever heard? It wakes me up and gets me moving. But best of all, I get to journey home to an early morning view of God's beauty like this. . .




This particular day everyone else in the house woke up a few hours later with one major objective in mind. . .going no where that our feet couldn't take us.

First stop. . .the kitchen table. Everyone got the opportunity to choose one of their favorite verses or stories from the Bible, read it to the family and tell why they liked it. I have to say that my favorite part was just watching each girl flip open their Bibles and search God's Word. That they are familiar with the books and the verses - that they know where to find stories and recall what has touched them in the past is pretty cool to observe. And that they have no fear or hesitation in hanging out with God's Word is beautiful. I pray that never changes.

Next, everyone got on their feet and marched out the front door to explore our neighborhood and town. We told the girls that they had to lead us. So at every intersection they took turns telling us which way they wanted to go.


It worked well for a while. They took us to some beautiful places, but after a while it started to feel like we were going in circles, so mom had to take over. . .



Down the hill we went. . .and despite the newly hatched little blue/green bugs that wanted to jump onto our clothes and bodies and take a ride, successfully freaking our oldest, Emma, out and causing quite the drama, we made it to lunch at Panera. For Emma, enjoying God's creation became a bit difficult, but she was happy to enjoy God's bagel's and smoothie's.

After a long, slow lunch we jumped to our feet again, renewed, and decided to take Coal Creek Trail and see where we might end up. All in all we walked around and enjoyed our town and community about 4 miles on this day. The Colon girls rock when it comes to hiking lately. There are much less tears and complaining (as long as the bugs stay far, far away) and much more joy. We are all really starting to understand the privilege it is to take part in the beauty of God's creation and noticing so much more of the journey.



We came home and crashed. . .the end of another great day!

Sabbath in the Mountains (Part 1)

For the last 3 weeks we have spent our Sabbath days outside exploring nature and all that God has blessed us with that is just beyond our back doorstep. I can't imagine any better way to spend a day connecting with God and family than outside in the Colorado summer. In 3 weeks we have experienced rain, snow, extreme heat, bugs and an all too perfect yesterday in the upper 70's with just a little bit of cloud cover and breeze to keep everyone from pooping out on our hike. I wouldn't trade these days for the world!
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I've only got a few pics from our Sabbath 3 weeks ago in Estes Park. It was cold and gloomy and I suppose I was too focused on staying warm to take pictures.


The elk - every time we are in Estes we go on a hunt for these fellas. This time we found them next to the lake just enjoying the day.


The blowing snow

We found a little corner in the coffee shop located in the old, "haunted" Stanley Hotel and spent some time reading the Bible together. And through it all I have to say that the word for this day was "perseverance." It was a tough one. I was grumpy. The girls were grumpy. We were unprepared for the cold and tired. But we persevered. We were faithful to the command of Sabbath and we did our best.

I am learning so much about what it means to be faithful. . .and what it does not mean. Faithfulness comes with struggles. Faithfulness is rarely something we WANT to do. Faithfulness is full of determination, often tears and frustration. Faithfulness always wants to teach us something. Faithfulness has its own rewards - often not seen in the moment. Faithfulness can make a person mad and ready to give up and go hide under the covers. Faithfulness to God invites Darkness to throw a party in your minivan. :-) BUT in perseverance, faithfulness is worth it and Light wins every time. . .as you'll see in "Part 2."

So, Mr. Sabbath, we will continue to be faithful. . .you prove yourself worth it every time. . .