I don't want to get my hopes up but it has been warming up quite a bit during the day lately. Last Friday we had a wicked thunder storm that brought us at least an inch of snow in less than 30 minutes. It melted quickly though. It's still freezing at night but mid to upper 50's during the day. WooHoo!!!! I hope Spring is on its way.
I am anxious to get my flower beds cleaned out and ready for new flowers but the ground is still really mushy. The snow sat around for so long that everything is really wet. Wait a month or two, I'll be complaining that it is too dry:) Life in the desert!
We've had some pretty uneventful weeks. That is a good thing. I've got some scrappin' done. I'm loving being a Close To My Heart consultant. I can now support my habit. I also feel more motivated to get my pages done because I need stuff to show at my parties. I took some pictures but they are still on my camera. I'll post them in the next couple of days. My next party is on the 11th so I have been getting ready for that.
Our District Rep's will be here Tuesday. We enjoy there visits. It gives us a chance to talk about any frustrations, concerns and kudos we have. Our church is great and it gives us a chance to share that with our D.R's. Becca's birthday is Tuesday so her birthday will be shared by many in our church family as we have a potluck dinner.
It's hard to believe my baby is turning 11. She's is becoming quite the young lady. Already very strong in her faith and willing to stand up for her beliefs. She has suffered the loss of friends because she wouldn't back down from what is right. She has also earned the respect of peers for this same reason. You go girl! I have a page in my head to mark the big day, I just have to wait for the big day!
The other exciting buzz around here is Becca gets her braces off April 21. She is far from done with them, this was only phase one, but it is nice to be done with phase one. Grady will have his first visit the same day she gets her retainers. I am hoping we can sandwich his treatment in between hers so that we are only paying for one at a time. I don't think our budget can handle both in braces at the same time. I don't how my mom did it.
Well, I should probably head off to bed. 6 comes early and I am trying to be good and workout before the kids get up. If I don't do it then, I probably won't do it all. Since leaving my "on your feet all day, walking around a huge warehouse" job, I don't get as much exercise as I need and I can tell. So here's to getting back to where I was when we moved here.
One last thought. Check the latest news on Nate and Tricia's blog. It is great news!!!
Have a great week. Hopefully I'll find a minute to post some more pictures.
Serving Him,
Jen
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
One More for Today
I just want to dedicate this one to Nate, Tricia and Gwyneth. I'm not going to retell their story, you can click the link. But I am feeling a real need to pray extra hard for them. Tricia and Gwyneth are both doing remarkably well, but I think they are feeling the pressures of their situation. Just a feeling from reading a few recent posts.
Please pray that Nate will get some much needed rest, pray that God would give him comfort and peace and remove the stress of his beloved girls ordeal. Pray that Tricia would remain healthy and God would bring her new lungs, and pray for the family that will be donating those lungs. Pray that Gwyneth would grow stronger everyday. My heart goes out to this family whom I have never met. Their faith is so strong. If it weren't for that faith, and the love and support of their immediate family and their church family, I honestly don't know how they would get through each day. They are living proof that God still does miracles today.
Father God, wrap your arms around this family, they are weary and need your rest. Please give it to them in these tough days. Walk beside them, comfort them, and give them strength. Keep Tricia healthy, bring her new lungs quickly, comfort the family who will be donating these lungs. Make their miracle baby strong and healthy. Thank you Father for the faith this family has, let their story be one that brings many people to faith in you. Thank you for what you are doing in their own lives and in their walk with you. Keep them strong Lord. Amen.
Please pray that Nate will get some much needed rest, pray that God would give him comfort and peace and remove the stress of his beloved girls ordeal. Pray that Tricia would remain healthy and God would bring her new lungs, and pray for the family that will be donating those lungs. Pray that Gwyneth would grow stronger everyday. My heart goes out to this family whom I have never met. Their faith is so strong. If it weren't for that faith, and the love and support of their immediate family and their church family, I honestly don't know how they would get through each day. They are living proof that God still does miracles today.
Father God, wrap your arms around this family, they are weary and need your rest. Please give it to them in these tough days. Walk beside them, comfort them, and give them strength. Keep Tricia healthy, bring her new lungs quickly, comfort the family who will be donating these lungs. Make their miracle baby strong and healthy. Thank you Father for the faith this family has, let their story be one that brings many people to faith in you. Thank you for what you are doing in their own lives and in their walk with you. Keep them strong Lord. Amen.
The Rest of the Calendar!
OK, here is the rest of the calendar I made for the grandparents. July through December.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Finally, the January Newsletter
Better late than never, but, as promised, here is a copy of the January newsletter and some snow pictures.
January 2008
Greetings Family and Friends
2008 is off to a running start! First off, our family is doing well. Despite the “Smoky Valley Crud” going around, we have been healthy. Butch had a touch of a cold over Christmas but nothing like this “crud”. Grady, Spencer and Becca are on the down hill side of the school year. They had two full weeks off at Christmas, but within days of returning to school have been counting down to the end of the year. Mom & dad are too! It’s nice to have them around during the day…most of the time!
This next week we are off to sunny California, without the kids. This will the first time since moving here that we have been able to get away without them. A time or two we have gone into Reno without them but that doesn’t count because they were for hospital visits and such. Our District Representatives for Village Missions, Walt & Rosanna, host a getaway every February for the couples in their district. It will be nice to go and be encouraged and just relax for a few days.
Upon our return we jump right back in with a Ladies Luncheon and a new Bible study on Wednesday evenings. It is Jennifer’s turn to speak at the luncheon so part of the time away will be spent preparing for that. She enjoys it so it’s not really like working. Our new Bible study will be “Charting the End Times.” We are praying that this study will motivate people to come. One of our biggest struggles has been “How do we get people excited to study God’s Word on their own?”
The ladies are busy planning for their Spring retreat at Lake Tahoe. It will be held in April. This year we are praying that 23 ladies would attend this event. You may ask “Where did you come up with 23?” Well, that’s how many beds we have to fill! Our theme for this year is, “Sharing Our Laughter, Sharing Our Joy,” based on Proverbs 17:22. This being our second retreat Jennifer has a lot more help in planning. Several ladies have stepped up to cover the various tasks of the weekend. Two ladies are praying about speaking which will help this be a retreat for Jennifer as well.
We are looking forward to visitors from our home church, Lake Tapps Community Church, at the beginning of April. We are hoping the weather is great so that we can put new siding on the Parsonage. We are always open to visitors and if you’d like to help us complete some projects, there are plenty to go around! Our Vacation Bible School is July 28 – August 1. We are praying for 75 kids. This a week we could definitely use some help to reach all those kids. Visit http://svccvbs.blogspot.com/ to get updated information on VBS.
It’s been cold here since Christmas. We had some snow in the days following Christmas that is still around because it doesn’t warm up long enough for it to melt. We’ve had a few days of snow in the past week that just add to what is already on the ground. On Sunday it did warm up for a bit so a lot of snow began to melt, however, the ground is so frozen that the melted snow had no place to go. So now we have a lot of ice in the yard and driveway. We are blessed to have a man in our congregation with a plow on the front of his quad so he does a good job of plowing the driveway and parking area.
We continually praise God for allowing us to serve Him in Round Mountain. He is blessing our ministry and growing our church. He has given us many opportunities to build relationships with people through our hobbies. We have also been able to come alongside those who are experiencing great trials in their lives. God keeps showing us through the people we meet that we are exactly where He wants us to be. I love Ephesians 2:7-10 from the Message. It is a great reminder to us of God’s plan for our lives. “Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.” God does the saving, we do the work.
Praises & Prayer ~
Praise the Lord for Jennifer’s Dad and Step-mom staying with the kids so we can go to the Southwest Getaway next week. Pray for safe travel for all.
Pray for Spring ministries ~ Bible Studies, Ladies luncheons, and Ladies Retreat. Pray that God would motivate our congregation to study God’s Word and grow in their walk
Pray for Youth Group and Kids Club ~ that these ministries would grow, that the kids coming would be excited and invite their friends, and that the leaders would be relational with the kids
Praise the Lord for those who blessed us with “extra” gifts this past Christmas. Also praise the Lord for new supporters. We are still a little short but God continues to stretch our finances to cover our budget.
Thank you for all your support and prayers. As always, we would love to hear from you. You can reach us at the address above. If you would like to support us financially please contact us so we can send you the information.
Serving Him Together,
Butch, Jennifer, Grady, Spencer and Becca
Sandy, belly deep in the snow! There was about 6 inches this day, then th ewind blew and we had drifts 2 and 3 feet deep.
January 2008
Greetings Family and Friends
2008 is off to a running start! First off, our family is doing well. Despite the “Smoky Valley Crud” going around, we have been healthy. Butch had a touch of a cold over Christmas but nothing like this “crud”. Grady, Spencer and Becca are on the down hill side of the school year. They had two full weeks off at Christmas, but within days of returning to school have been counting down to the end of the year. Mom & dad are too! It’s nice to have them around during the day…most of the time!
This next week we are off to sunny California, without the kids. This will the first time since moving here that we have been able to get away without them. A time or two we have gone into Reno without them but that doesn’t count because they were for hospital visits and such. Our District Representatives for Village Missions, Walt & Rosanna, host a getaway every February for the couples in their district. It will be nice to go and be encouraged and just relax for a few days.
Upon our return we jump right back in with a Ladies Luncheon and a new Bible study on Wednesday evenings. It is Jennifer’s turn to speak at the luncheon so part of the time away will be spent preparing for that. She enjoys it so it’s not really like working. Our new Bible study will be “Charting the End Times.” We are praying that this study will motivate people to come. One of our biggest struggles has been “How do we get people excited to study God’s Word on their own?”
The ladies are busy planning for their Spring retreat at Lake Tahoe. It will be held in April. This year we are praying that 23 ladies would attend this event. You may ask “Where did you come up with 23?” Well, that’s how many beds we have to fill! Our theme for this year is, “Sharing Our Laughter, Sharing Our Joy,” based on Proverbs 17:22. This being our second retreat Jennifer has a lot more help in planning. Several ladies have stepped up to cover the various tasks of the weekend. Two ladies are praying about speaking which will help this be a retreat for Jennifer as well.
We are looking forward to visitors from our home church, Lake Tapps Community Church, at the beginning of April. We are hoping the weather is great so that we can put new siding on the Parsonage. We are always open to visitors and if you’d like to help us complete some projects, there are plenty to go around! Our Vacation Bible School is July 28 – August 1. We are praying for 75 kids. This a week we could definitely use some help to reach all those kids. Visit http://svccvbs.blogspot.com/ to get updated information on VBS.
It’s been cold here since Christmas. We had some snow in the days following Christmas that is still around because it doesn’t warm up long enough for it to melt. We’ve had a few days of snow in the past week that just add to what is already on the ground. On Sunday it did warm up for a bit so a lot of snow began to melt, however, the ground is so frozen that the melted snow had no place to go. So now we have a lot of ice in the yard and driveway. We are blessed to have a man in our congregation with a plow on the front of his quad so he does a good job of plowing the driveway and parking area.
We continually praise God for allowing us to serve Him in Round Mountain. He is blessing our ministry and growing our church. He has given us many opportunities to build relationships with people through our hobbies. We have also been able to come alongside those who are experiencing great trials in their lives. God keeps showing us through the people we meet that we are exactly where He wants us to be. I love Ephesians 2:7-10 from the Message. It is a great reminder to us of God’s plan for our lives. “Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.” God does the saving, we do the work.
Praises & Prayer ~
Praise the Lord for Jennifer’s Dad and Step-mom staying with the kids so we can go to the Southwest Getaway next week. Pray for safe travel for all.
Pray for Spring ministries ~ Bible Studies, Ladies luncheons, and Ladies Retreat. Pray that God would motivate our congregation to study God’s Word and grow in their walk
Pray for Youth Group and Kids Club ~ that these ministries would grow, that the kids coming would be excited and invite their friends, and that the leaders would be relational with the kids
Praise the Lord for those who blessed us with “extra” gifts this past Christmas. Also praise the Lord for new supporters. We are still a little short but God continues to stretch our finances to cover our budget.
Thank you for all your support and prayers. As always, we would love to hear from you. You can reach us at the address above. If you would like to support us financially please contact us so we can send you the information.
Serving Him Together,
Butch, Jennifer, Grady, Spencer and Becca
Sandy, belly deep in the snow! There was about 6 inches this day, then th ewind blew and we had drifts 2 and 3 feet deep.
The Toiyabe Mountains on the west side of our valley.
Round Mountain Gold Mine, covered in snow, the haul truck drivers don;t likeit much when it snows.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Quick Update
OK, I've had this going for a few days. I figure I better get it posted so I can post the next one:o
Our getaway last week was great. We had a wonderful time in California and the teaching was exactly what we needed. Very refreshing. We spent a few days in Lake Tahoe on the way home. There was a ton of snow. The lake is very pretty in the winter time. Next time we will go in the summer when we can explore more. Butch was sick all weekend so we layed around the condo (thank you mom for letting us use it:). Rest was what we needed most and I guess God knew that.
I realized I can finally post more of my digital pages. The calendars have been delivered to the grandparents so now I won't spoil it for them:) These are all pictures from 2007 for the 2008 calendar, except for Butch's page, that is from late 2006. I've got my blank calendars already for this year so maybe if I get started on them now, I won't have to rush in December to finish them. Yah, right!!!
Enjoy -- (This is just January through June...Next post will have July through December.)
Don't forget to pray for Nate, tricia and Gwyneth. Their link is on the left (?)
Jen
Our getaway last week was great. We had a wonderful time in California and the teaching was exactly what we needed. Very refreshing. We spent a few days in Lake Tahoe on the way home. There was a ton of snow. The lake is very pretty in the winter time. Next time we will go in the summer when we can explore more. Butch was sick all weekend so we layed around the condo (thank you mom for letting us use it:). Rest was what we needed most and I guess God knew that.
I realized I can finally post more of my digital pages. The calendars have been delivered to the grandparents so now I won't spoil it for them:) These are all pictures from 2007 for the 2008 calendar, except for Butch's page, that is from late 2006. I've got my blank calendars already for this year so maybe if I get started on them now, I won't have to rush in December to finish them. Yah, right!!!
Enjoy -- (This is just January through June...Next post will have July through December.)
Don't forget to pray for Nate, tricia and Gwyneth. Their link is on the left (?)
Jen
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