31 days of prayer for our schools



It is hard to believe it is the end of July!!  Where has summer gone?  Caleb told me before bed the other night that it feels like summer went by in 2 seconds.  I totally agree.

I'd like to invite you to join me in praying for our schools during the month of August.  I will provide a new item to focus on in prayer throughout this month.  I have made a schedule and pretty much have the month filled up already.  The 4 main areas we will pray about are: people at the school, teachers, students, and college students.  This is where I am focusing and each day will be about one particular person or idea. 

It is my goal to have a post each morning for each prayer request.  I hope to write a short post to give you some ideas of things to pray. 

This is the first time I've done something like this, and I believe it will be a learning experience (as anything is when you do it for the first time).  I have been reminded of the power of prayer and feel strongly that our schools desperately need prayer.  What better time to join together in prayer than at the beginning of August and the start of a new school year? 

Please join me Monday morning (August 1) for the first posted prayer request and feel free to ask others to join us in praying.  Thank you. 

Have a day of blessings!

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Returning home

We left Canon City Friday morning.  We browsed at some souvenir shops before we left, plus the hour time difference from Texas, so we got a later start back than when we were heading out there. 
Caleb had said earlier in the week he wanted to get a bag of Colorado rocks so we went back to the Rock Shop and he bought the bag plus a couple other pretty rocks he found. 

The trip back seemed to take so long!  We got to my Dad's house late, talked a little bit, and went to bed.  Then we came the rest of the way home last Saturday.

Here is our map of states.  We colored the state when we saw a license plate from that state.  We had fun finding these.  From the scan it is hard to tell which are colored.  The ones that look grey are white...on the northeast coast and a few others in the middle section.  After we got started with it I thought I should have used a different color for each day or my husband suggested a different color for each of us and whoever spotted the license plate would color it their color. 

 
Have a day of blessings!
 

Day 5

We couldn't decide what to do today.  We had a couple of choices related to the Royal Gorge and neither of the places had that grand of reviews on TripAdvisor.

We decided on the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park.  We had gotten a coupon for $5.50 off per ticket from the office at the campground.  We arrived as the park was opening and first walked across the bridge.  They had flags from all the states.  We had to stop for a picture beside the Texas flag. 

This sign made us laugh.

On the other side of the bridge was a campsite area that looked like a little village.  Then there was a small petting zoo and other animals in cages to view.  We went up to a tall lookout point which was a really spectacular view.  I was surprised how far away the bridge looked and how long it was too.  And I was thinking we have to walk down this hill AND all the way over there?!  Caleb spotted a trolley pulling up at the base of the lookout area.  He ran down the steps and literally raced over to it with his Daddy following behind.  I followed along, not quite so fast (haha!) down the steps/hill and got to the trolley.  It was very nice to be able to ride back to the other side instead of walking! 

So glad to see this trolley!

This is where we waited in line to get on the car that took us down the side of the gorge.

We rode a "car thing" down into the gorge.  Then we had an ice cream, looked in the gift shop, rode the cable car across the gorge, and then did a mini train and carousel. 

See the red cable car?  We rode it across the Royal Gorge.  It was 1,000+ feet in the air.

Looking down from inside the cable car

We went back to our cabin after this for leftovers for lunch.  I did not want to waste the food we had and we had plenty for us all to eat.  Then we rode pedal cars around the camp site and went swimming.


In the evening we went back to look at the river and walked around.  It was a beautiful evening out.

My two favorite boys!

It was such a fun day!  We don't really want our vacation to be over but tomorrow we start the trek back to Texas.  We've all enjoyed our time here. 

I have had so many thoughts to blog about but haven't been on the computer and wanted to not be while we were here.  I may share these thoughts in the coming days here on my blog. 

Have a day of blessings!
 

Thankful Thursday

Interrupting this travel log for Thankful Thursday!  See the previous posts to read about our vacation to Colorado!

This week back at home has gone so quickly. We all helped to get things put up and start on the laundry Saturday when we got home.  Sunday was church.  After the evening services we stayed for an "ice cream supper."  On Monday I attended a continuing education class and really learned a lot.  Tuesday morning I woke up from a dream and as I was awake it didn't feel like the A/C was cooling but kept running.  My husband turned it off and we called for a repairman to come look at it.  Caleb and I went to the grocery store and some other errands so we weren't home long.  It had gotten up to 85 by about 10 a.m. when we left.  It was 90 inside when we got home.  The service man came and fixed it soon after.  I'm so glad we did not have to go a long period of time without it; however, it did make me stop and think about those who are suffering in this heat with no air conditioning.  I wonder what could be done to help these people.

Today I am thankful for...

~ my husband and the ways I've seen him grow and change in the past 10 years of marriage.  He was telling me about a conversation he had with one of his employees and I was so proud of him and how he handled the situation. 

~ my son and his fun imagination.  It always makes me smile to see the things he comes up with on his own to play.  It doesn't matter where he is it doesn't seem, he just makes up things to play, sometimes by himself or sometimes gets us to join in with him.

~ new books in the mail to review!

~ coupon savings at the grocery store.  Since we were gone last week I restocked on some things and had some coupons to use, plus the store offered some as well to save us some money on items we use regularly.

~ all the ways God has been with our family in the past year.  July 26, 2010 is the day we signed the papers to sale our previous house.  It's hard to believe it's already been a year.  We had so many unknowns then and God has shown us His faithfulness. 

Have a day of blessings!

Day 4

(You can read the previous posts to read about other days of our trip.)

Today we drove over to Colorado Springs.  It was about an hour drive from where we were staying.  We went on a long winding road that was undergoing road construction.  We were first in line behind a police car.  The officer kept stopping at some of the cones that had fallen over and putting them upright. 

We went to Garden of the Gods first.  I told Caleb where we were going, and he said he didn't like the name of that place because it sounded like they were making fun of God. 

It was such a pretty day and we enjoyed seeing the park.  Caleb heard the lady tell me when we picked up a map to watch out for rattlesnakes on the trails so he didn't want to get on the trails.  We walked a short ways on one to try to find a picnic spot but the tables were all in the sun.  We drove a little further and came to the Balanced Rock.  We had our lunch here, it was a great spot with a nice breeze.  I climbed up part of it and the boys climbed around some more after we ate. 

Balanced Rock

Next we went to the US Air Force Academy.  We saw this advertised in a brochure and Caleb was very interested in it so we decided to go check it out.  We went on a walking tour and looked in the chapel and then went to the gift shop. 

Then we went to visit the Welcome Center of Focus on the Family.  I always hear them talk about it on their radio programs so I thought it'd be fun to stop by.  It was a neat place to look around.  They had a bookstore also and a kid area.  Caleb wanted to do the big 3 story slide but when we got down to it they had closed it due to a storm in the area. 

On our way back we stopped at a farmer's market type thing.  Caleb got a balloon "monkey in a tree" and I bought a zipper purse.  I have never seen such and thought it was so cute and fun.  I told the lady I'd want to buy some for Christmas gifts.  I got the water bottle size but she had others that were bigger and smaller.  The whole purse is made of a zipper. 

When we got back to the cabin I couldn't find my iPod touch.  We searched for it and finally my husband found it hiding under my seat in the car.  I'd already looked there but hadn't seen it. 

We went over to the jumping pillow.  We saw a small rainbow as we watched Caleb and I jumped with him too. 

Today we saw license plates from a bunch of states.  Even Alaska!!  Our map is getting full! 

Have a day of blessings!
 

Day 3

(Continuing to share the story of our vacation)

We had to be at the rafting office at 8:00, so we got up and ate breakfast at the cabin, put on our sunscreen and swim suits, and drove over to the office.  When we arrived we had to sign the release waivers...I just "love: reading "this activity may cause injury or even death."  Really helps my  nervousness!  They gave us some water shoes and we got fitted for life jackets and helmets.  We all gathered at a picnic area and a leader gave us some safety warnings.  Like if the boat flips how to get out of it and if you fall out of the boat not to put your feet down because your foot could become trapped in some old junk on the river bottom and the current would push you over and other such warnings. 

We got on a bus and went down to the river spot where we met our guide, Eric.  He showed us how to paddle and what his commands would be to us.  We rode with another group of 4 adults plus the guide.  He put Caleb in the middle and gave him a rope to hold onto.  Caleb asked if he could paddle also.  The guide said it was great he had such enthusiasm to want to paddle too.  I felt so much better about the whole thing when he showed us how to place our feet to stay in the boat.  I hadn't thought about there being a place to secure my feet! I just knew I would fall out when we hit a rapid!  And Eric told me that the warnings the leader  gave at the beginning were really for the other group going to the Royal Gorge trip, not our group in the Bighorn Sheep Canyon.   

Arkansas River where we went rafting

We got in the river and began paddling.  As we hit the rapids the cold water felt refreshing in the heat.  It was a beautiful clear, sunny morning.  We saw some baby sheep in the canyon.  I totally enjoyed the excitement and fun of the rafting.  Caleb had a blast; he was fun to watch.  He'd say "Mr. Eric, can I paddle now?"  Eric let him paddle in some of the smoother areas of the river.  I appreciated that Caleb got to experience this and had such fun.

We all really enjoyed it and I'm so glad we went!  I had heard a Focus on the Family broadcast a while back and something that stuck out to me was how boys like adventure. The speaker said how she sometimes did things more adventuresome than what she'd choose to do because she had boys.  When we got the brochures about Colorado, they all had information about white-water rafting.  I thought it would be fun but not something I'd normally want to do.  But I decided I wanted to do it as something fun and adventurous we could do together.  I'm so glad we did!  It was such a great adventure and we all want to do it again! 

Near the end of the rafting trip my right eye started feeling funny.  I couldn't tell if it was due to getting splashed in the face with water, maybe messing up my contact or something else.  We got on the bus to go back to the office to return our supplies.  Then we went to our cabin to change.  I knew I needed to eat soon so we went to a restaurant and I drank lots of water with my lunch.  I could tell I was starting to feel better but didn't feel just right.  My eye was bothering him and head started hurting.  We came back to the cabin and I rested while the boys played on the jumping pillow.  Then they came back and my husband rubbed my head and my boy rubbed my feet, it was so sweet!  I relaxed and started feeling better, thankfully. 

Then we heard thunder and had a rain storm.  We sat in the cabin and played two games of Uno.  We heated up the burgers my husband cooked last night for our supper and then went to town to a couple souvenir shops.  One was called the Rock Shop.  It was fascinating to look at all the different rocks.  I forgot to take my camera! We ended our night with a trip to an ice cream shop and I had a hot fudge sundae. 

Tomorrow we are going to Colorado Springs!

Have a day of blessings!
 

Day 2

(This is the story of our vacation to Colorado.  I'm putting up a new post each day from our trip last week.)

This morning started with the sun busting through the front door at 5:38 Colorado time.  About 6:15 Caleb got up, which is about right on schedule for the time he gets up at home.   The boys ate some breakfast and got dressed and walked and played at the campground.  I got up too after I laid in bed a little longer and we went to explore the little area of Canon City.  We went to a pretty city park and walked along the river.  We had lunch at Subway and then went to pick up a few things at the local Walmart. 

Everyone told us how they thought it'd be cooler here than in Texas, but it was still 100 degrees on our car temperature reading this afternoon.

Back at the cabin, Caleb changed to go swimming.  After the swim time we went over to borrow a grill and Daddy cooked burgers and hot dogs while Caleb rented a "pedal car."  We had our supper at the picnic table by our cabin and then went for a drive.

We went down to see the Royal Gorge.  It was absolutely breathtaking...pictures do not do it justice.  As I was leaning over the fence looking down at the river below my husband came and grabbed my hand.  He said I'd come down after you if you fall but I'd take a different route than that.

Looking down over the fence at the river

The bridge over the Royal Gorge

Then we went to Sky Line Drive, which is a one-way road up a mountain and you can look out over the city. Caleb said it looked like we were looking at a map.

Looking out over the city

Tomorrow is white water rafting.  I'm so nervous about it!  I'm not sure why.  I've never done it before and I'm afraid we'll flip or one of us will fall out of the raft.

Bed time for us!

Have a day of blessings!
 

Travel days

(Note:  This week I will be sharing the story of our vacation that we took to Colorado.  I typed these posts last week after Caleb went to bed to share here this week.  Hope you enjoy!)
Continued from previous post...

We left our home on Saturday afternoon and drove to stay the night at my Dad's.  We had a nice visit and yummy supper  (Have you had homemade Butterfinger ice cream?  It is delicious!) 

Sunday morning my Dad made us breakfast (with Caleb's help) and we headed on our way.  We spent most of the day in the car!  And it seemed to take forever to get out of Texas! 

Finally made it out of Texas!

I had some games from my blog friend Sarah that I had fixed for Caleb in a notebook.  We watched for license plates from different states and watched the changing scenery.  He played the DS (that Gramma let us borrow) for a little while and occupied himself with crocheting and playing with some toys. He had a great attitude for being in the car for so long. 

We arrived to our campsite in the early evening.  We had rented a cabin at at RV campground.  Caleb was so excited that it has bunkbeds!  We got the things unloaded and then went around the campground.  They have several activities for children.  One is a jumping pillow.  Caleb and Daddy had a blast on this!  I tried it out too. 

The jumping pillow

We are looking forward to a fun time this week making many happy memories together!

Have a day of blessings!

Once upon a time....

Once upon a time there was two college freshmen who went for their first walk around the ACU campus on February 7, 1998.  On this walk a cute guy told the girl about a special trip he went on several years prior back in 1992.  It was a motorcycle trip from Texas to Colorado with his Pappaw.  That conversation began the girl's dream that one day she would get to go to Colorado with the cute guy. 
Fast forward to 2011....
The cute guy and the girl have been married for 10 years.  They begin making plans to go on vacation to Colorado.  Originally they'd wanted to go in June but that did not work out with cute guy's work schedule.  Later he found out he could go in July.  Plans were made and they loaded up for Colorado...

To be continued...

Have a day of blessings!
 

Book Review: The Blessing

I have finished a book called The Blessing Giving the Gift of Unconditional Love and Acceptance by John Trent & Gary Smalley.

Book Description:

Every human needs the gift of "the blessing"—the unconditional love and approval that comes from a healthy relationship with one's parents. In this update to the best-selling classic The Blessing, coauthors John Trent and Gary Smalley offer a fresh perspective on this life-changing gift with solid, practical advice on how to lay a secure base of in each child's life.

The Blessing powerfully communicates biblical truths on how to instill self-worth and emotional well-being into others based on these five essential elements: meaningful touch, a spoken message, attaching high value, picturing a special future, and an active commitment.

My thoughts: 
This is an updated version of a book, and I did enjoy reading this book for the most part.  It seemed a tad repetitive in parts and I felt like I was waiting for the part of how to pass on the blessing to children.   

The book is based on the Old Testament account of Jacob and Esau.  It is a great book for parents but is also appropriate for anyone who works with children as they too can have a role in giving the blessing.  It can be helpful to adults as well who missed out on the blessing in their childhood. 

The message of this book is one that parents need to hear.  Children need to have "the blessing" from their parents and this book can equip parents to make sure they do that. 

I would recommend this book for parents and it would make a nice addition for church libraries.     
Have a day of blessings!
 

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

3rd Thursday Thought

I wanted to join in with the Hearts at Home Third Thursday Thought, even though I'm a little late!  .  The question this month is:  How are you like your mom?  How are you different?

I am like my Mom in the following ways:
~ We both love working with children.  She is a school secretary and I taught school three years before Caleb was born.  When I was a child she always volunteered at my school and in my class.

~ We both are planners.  We like to know what's coming and make plans for things in advance.

~ We both love cookbooks and have a big collection of them!

~ We both like to eat hot fudge sundaes with chocolate chip ice cream.

~ She was a stay at home Mom until I started high school and I've been a stay at home Mom since our son was born.

I am different from my Mom in the following ways:
~ She is such a good cook.  I enjoy trying new recipes and cooking for my family, but cooking is not the therapy for me that it is for Mom.  (That's what she calls it for herself.)  She cooks for me and my family and prepares enough for an army!  We always tease her about the amount of food she fixes.

~ She is much more artistic and crafty than me.  She crochets and I don't.  I always ask her to write the letters on a poster board or to cut out letters for a bulletin board because I'm not good at that.

~ She seems to be natural at growing things in the yard.  It is relaxing to me to be outside watering the yard and flowers, but I don't seem to have a green thumb! 

Have a day of blessings!
 

Thankful Thursday

Hello from Colorado!  My family and I have been on vacation this week in Colorado.  We are having a wonderful time.  I am going to share about the trip next week when we get home.  I've never been here before and have really enjoyed the beauty and being with my boys.
Today I'm thankful for...
~ my husband having vacation days at work.  He needed a break! 

~ how well my boy travels and his good attitude about the long drive.  He has talked so much and read us so many signs along the way.  He's so much fun!  He's given us many laughs on this trip.

~ seeing the beauty of a new area of God's creation.

~  having new experiences and enjoying them together! 

~ choosing this campsite for our trip.  We've seen some of the others around town and I'm so glad we have this one.  It's nice, clean, and has fun stuff for Caleb to do while we are here. 

Have a day of blessings!

SSMT #14

"O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you."  Psalm 84:12

Are you trusting Him today?  Hope you have a great weekend!

Have a day of blessings!
 

Thankful Thursday

Time again for Thankful Thursday!  Summer is going so fast and we've had so many 100 + days here.  We are all praying for rain.

This week I am thankful for...

~ my husband and I getting to have lunch together this week. Also, he said something to me this week very serious after we had been joking around and it really touched my heart.  I smile every time i think of his sweet words to me.

~ my boy and our time together this summer.  Lazy mornings, doing errands together, having fun too.

~ birth of a friend's new baby, Kynsie, on Sunday night.  I remember when her Mom told me she was pregnant again after a miscarriage the prior year.  Please pray for her today (and her family) as she is having open heart surgery on Thursday. 

~ money to pay our bills.  Each time I go  to the grocery store, I seem to notice at least one or two more items I regularly purchase that have gone up in price.  I know prices on everything are going up.  I am thankful for my husband's job that we can buy food and pay for our home, gas, and  utilities. 

~ tiny baby toes!  I was waiting in line to check out and a lady was in front of me with a sleeping infant in a carrier attached to the cart.  The little toes just made me smile to see such perfection. 

Have a day of blessings!
 

Prayers this week

I have heard so many prayer requests lately of friends and loved ones and also some total strangers. 

My heart was saddened to hear of the tragedy with the fire fighter at the Texas Rangers game last week.  All day Friday I just could not get the family out of my head.  They've really been on my heart as they had the funeral today.  The pictures are very touching. 

I had mixed emotions Thursday night because at the same time I was reading of the awful accident I was also seeing pictures posted on Facebook of a welcome home event for some soldiers who had been in Afghanistan. A man who went to church with us before our move was among those coming home.  I could imagine the emotion and excitement in the room.  I was thankful for his safe arrival back with his wife and infant son and that is an answer to prayers.

Last night I read a Facebook message of a friend that she had had her baby girl.  But Kynsie was taken to NICU.  I got in touch with the grandmother and she told me Kynsie has a heart condition and had to be careflighted to Cooks Children's Hospital.  She is there now and had a procedure done today to try to relieve some of the pressure to her lungs.  I talked with her aunt and she was breathing on her own and is scheduled to have open heart surgery on Thursday.  Please keep the parents, big sister, grandparents, and rest of the family in your prayers if you think about them over the next few days.

Let me know if I could pray for you or your family.

Have a day of blessings!
 

Book reviews: Two children's books

I have a pair of books to share with you today:  The Spirit in Baseball and The Spirit in Football by Kathryn Nixon and Ana Boudreau.

 From the publisher:
Sometimes, when we think about little league sports, the first thing that comes to mind are pushy coaches and over-competitive parents.  However, there are many positive character qualities that children can develop while playing team sports.

The books are based on Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

My thoughts: 
I was excited to receive these two books to read with my little boy since he enjoys sports.  The books are similar in that their format and illustrations.  They have unique examples to exemplify each of the fruit. 

As far as the illustrations, my son thought it was fun to find the hidden fruit on each page.  The layout is such that the name of the fruit is listed with a Bible verse on one side and the opposite page has a picture with an example of that fruit in action.  Like for patience in the baseball book it says "I am Patient and happy to wait until it is my turn to bat." 

These books would be nice for your church library or personal library if you enjoy sports. 

Thank you to Audra from B & B Media Group for sending these for my review.  I received them a while back and thought in my head that these reviews aren't due until July.  Well here it is July and I forgot to get them up! 

Have a day of blessings!