Headwear and Spineg

Apparently, I like to hang out with a lot of children wearing hats.

And helmets.

Welcome to the last month of my life.

Abs, flying the plane to Florida.

Just give me the zucchini bread and no one gets hurt.

Castle Rock has the craziest weather.
Some rather beautiful, crazy weather.

Car Seat Safari.
Creepy Doll not included.

...sleeping baby...
...mac-'n'cheese...
...happy brenda...

Sporty little pirate.

Really, now. Could he be any cuter?

Karaoke, anyone?

Technology is a wonderful thing.

Hello, God.

November sunsets are the best.

I looked up in time to catch 11:11pm on 11/11/11. Cool.

I can't bear to put a bigger picture of these events on the blog. Ugh.

Uprooted trees at Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp and a major fire destroying the lodge at St. Malo's Catholic Retreat Center up in Estes Park.

Lots of wonderful moments at both locations.
Previous posts: Family Retreat at Camp, Lenten Retreat at Malo's

Google: St. Malo Fire for the latest on the fire and
click here to read about the major wind damage at Rainbow Trail)

The Great I Am...even in the storm.

Do you see what I see?

Parrotheads, unite!
Peter and Jim Mayer with Ron and Ruth Ann.

Nothing says feeding the hungry like a bowl of pops and some spinach.

Somehow just going with the flow was easier
than explaining what a wild card really was.
Love those kiddos of mine.

Give us Hope

November 9, 2011: I brought some of my singing choir kiddos to a Feeder Area concert the other day - 4 elementary schools + 1 middle school + 1 high school - all in an effort to promote the arts and let the kids see the natural progression of their singing life. I would have liked to see more of a workshop focus than a concert focus, but hey...I was able to connect with a ton of former students, my current kids did a great job, behaved beautifully on what was a long day for everyone and were able to sing with other/older kids for a bit. Works for me!

I love seeing my 'little' ones in their HIGH SCHOOL choir!

Up on the stage, figuring things out.

The mix of expressions in this photos captures the essence of my everyday life with elementary kiddos: dazed, humorous, tired, listening, confused, content. Love each of their personalities!

Sing on!

"We can make a difference...yes we can...we can!"

The peeps got to sit up in the balcony that surrounded the open foyer.
Happy little campers.

Proof that some of my little ones are still singing in middle school!!

Some ridiculously talented kiddos.
Seriously...I'll be saying "I knew them when..." someday.

One happy and proud teacher.
Two incredibly thoughtful and hard-working musicians.

BOOYA! for families who came to support us...and kept us entertained as we watched them jump from one large tile square to another during the concert!

These are my reasons for hope each day!

"Listen to the sound of my voice.
Can you feel the beat of my heart?
Listen to the questions I have. Listen to me.
It’s all very simple, to see what we need.

Give us hope - my voice is calling.
Can you see? Look in my eyes.
Can you feel - my hand is reaching.
Give us hope and we’ll show you the way."

A Wookiee, A Walk and I Wonder What's Next

Da boys of Nort Dakota, you betcha.

HOW could I not have included The Boys in the Minot stories!? Bill and Dar (ok...Dar) gave us each a postcard of the true men of the northern Dakota. Such lovely companions during our Mission Trip.

They look a heckuva lot more at home in da snow, dontcha think?

Autumn. Winter. Autumn. Winter.
COLORADO.

All you need is love.
And a whole bunch of kids who love music. :)

My salad is looking at me...

I may work a bajillion hours at church,
but the evening sky does wonders for your spirit!

Apparently, the theme of the week.
At least this one was a happy BOO!

This is simply wonderful! Our Fall Food Drive at Flagstone is going toward the people of Metro CareRing, the food bank near and dear to my heart! Love the illustrations. HOORAY!

Well, as long as it was a Wookiee, not an Ewok. WHAT?!

I will be a blessing to my pillow who misses me very much.
Wait, I mean...

Sounds good. Worship at 8, 9, 10:30. Fall back.
www.bethany-denver.org

At this point, all I can do is laugh.
Some seriously bad election results tonight here in Douglas County.
As in, not a good day to be a musical specialist kind of night.
A start praying kind of night.
I think another walk in the snow is called for.

Why Not...Minot

Fall Break 2011: We returned on Saturday from a week-long trip to Minot, North Dakota (October 16-22). The main part of the city was hit hard by the flooding of the Souris River back in June 2011. You know it's bad when they have their own Wikipedia article HERE.

My Bethany pal Sarah and I drove to ND and paired up with Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), an incredible organization that matches volunteers to projects needing completion. I'm pretty sure I've never worked harder in my life - I still can't open my water bottle or turn a doorknob without wincing. And there is so much more to be done in the city itself. SO much more. God's work. Our hands. Our really, really sore hands. The hours of work gave me lots of prayer time, lots of think time. Time well spent.

Be sure to click on "Older Posts" at the very bottom of this webpage or on the Minot posts along the left side of the blog to read the entire story!

Emma and Madeline helped me pick out
boots for the clean-up. BIG boots.

My friends know me well. A care package before I departed.
I kept eating and eating and eating each day to keep my blood sugars up.

Mother of Pearl. 45 degrees. Oy.

Ah, the sun is up. Much better.

Lumpy, bumpy Wyoming.

Um...where's the road? UP. Down. UP. Down.

Biddle!? Really? This was the ONLY indication that we had crossed state lines and were actually IN Montana. Seriously, people, put up a simple sign. Just say hello. (Note: I later learned that the road signs are excellent targets for local shot-gun enthusiasts, and are often shot to pieces. Then replaced. Then shot to pieces. Repeat. Lovely.)

Ooooh, don't go that way. BAD route.

Another sign we MIGHT be in Montana.

What the what?! We're LEAVING Montana?
Well, hello North Dakota! We love your BIG, green sign!
Two new states for me in one day - such simple pleasures

Water. Color. Land. Horizon. Cross. Life is good.

WHOA! I'm still not entirely sure why there are fires anywhere NEAR an oil rig, but we saw TONS of these giant, flaming pipes. And near the ground, too. Very creepy.

MINOT! It's finally on the map! BOOYA!

Whoa...little town: We stayed with the good people of Trinity Lutheran Church in Glenburn, ND. Pastor Heather and her husband, Dave, greeted us as we quickly munched a late dinner at Wendy's, and lead us 25 miles or so past the Minot Air Force Base to the middle of nowhere.

Yikes. 35 degrees and 841 miles later. Oof-da.

Who do we find on the wall of the church but Pastor Andrea (the pastor on the far left with 2 crosses)! She was Ruth Ann's Bishop years ago and has visited Bethany on multiple occasions on behalf of the Lutheran Malaria Initiative! Small world!

Be sure to click on "Older Posts" at the very bottom of this webpage or on the Minot posts along the left side of the blog to read the entire story!