A visitor...

The weather in Colorado is quite different than we are used to. It is terribly dry here. Literally I can count on 2 hands the number of times it has rained here since we moved here! 

Over the past few weeks though we have hit "monsoon season"... It has rained many times a week, like heavy afternoon downpours. The rapid increase in moisture has caused the spiders to come out. Ugly spiders. Big, hairy, nasty spiders. They tend to be worse in the basement & since this is where Emily & Sami sleep we decided to call an exterminator. They sprayed inside & out. The guy even mentioned that our flower beds were FULL! He also told me that we would see some stragglers... 

Well...

Did we ever except these weren't the regular big ugly spiders... Once they were dead, with their legs curled up they were still the size of a silver dollar! They belong in a museum... Behind glass... Eewww!

And as if that wasn't enough..

We found a SNAKE in Sami's room!!!!

I'm ready to pack my bags & move to a hospital... A sterile hospital! Our skin is still crawling... Even as I type!

Yuck!!

Prayer Request

Mira will be having surgery tomorrow am to "open her eyes". If you think if it, please say a prayer for her. I will post & update tomorrow!

Heliotropism

Heliotropism: an orienting response to the sun (usually referring to plants)

This week while listening to our favorite radio station they were discussing the wild sunflowers that are growing everywhere. They are just beautiful. They discussed that sunflowers are heliotropic. They reposition themselves to always be facing the sun. (So I began to watch & it's true!!!) they continued saying that as followers of God we should be like the sunflowers and constantly reposition ourselves to be following the SON. 

Awesome!!

We have been going through a tough spot recently and now it's all making sense.

We've never been promised an easy life.

We've been promised that if we focus on HIM he will provide. That doesn't mean money, fancy cars, big houses or exotic vacations. If we focus on Him all other things will fall into place.

I'm a stay at home mom, we've been blessed, my husband is a very hard worker. He is a provider, spiritually & financially. Our business has been struggling for the past several months. It's been a huge burden to figure out why, what to do next, is it of God?? We've earnestly prayed to show us His will all to end up frustrated, empty handed, discouraged. We've been asking but seeking our own will.... Until... There was a revelation. 

We've been seeking success, a business to pass along to our children, something we can do together, an investment and to serve him.

I'll end this here to say, we're focused on God, following the Son. We will be persecuted for our decision. It is not of the world but it is of HIM!

What would you do!?!?

A neighbor blessed is with the.largest.zucchini... EVER!!
Seriously it could feed a small village!
After we took pictures (lol) I thought what am I gonna do with this thing! Well, here you go!
First I made 2 delicious loaves of Banana Chocolate Chip Zucchini bread.
YUMM!
This recipe yields 1 loaf:
In medium bowl combine:
3/4 c sugar
1 beaten egg
Splash of vanilla
2 smashed bananas
1 c grated zucchini

In another medium bowl combine:
1.5 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients & blend. Then add 2 TBSP melted butter & stir. Then add 3/4-1 c chocolate chips.

Bake in greased loaf pan at 350* for 1 hour.

Well that only used like a 1/4 of it!

So since we were having burgers & hotdogs on the grill I decided to make Panko Breaded Zucchini Chips. They were a hit!
I simply sliced the zucchini in 1/4" rounds dredged in salt & peppered flour, beaten egg & then coated with Panko crumbs. Baked at 400* for 30 mins on a lightly sprayed baking sheet.
We dipped in ranch at our house!
YUMMY!!

Hard to believe but I still have a chunk left!
What would you do with it!?!?
Here are some pics:

School's Out!! (post from June)

Woohoo!!!
This has been the longest school year..... ever!!!
All the girls were in up to 3 schools each... Somehow I think that may qualify as child abuse! Lol
We kicked off the summer with a family trip to Aspen...
Absolutely breathtaking. One of the most beautiful places I've ever visited in the US. We are NOT Aspen people... Aspen is geared for the rich, famous & beautiful people... But we didn't let that stop us!!
It was the most relaxing vacation out family has had in a long time. On Friday we visited Glenwood Springs Adventure Park which was sooo much fun! We had a ball! Then on Saturday we visited the Maroon Bells which is absolutely GORGEOUS, this is the mountain scene that you see in the beginning of some movies for Paramount pictures. Then on Sunday Greg, his Dad & Kara golfed while the girls & I shopped! Probably one of the coolest things we "did" was take the girls to the fountain in town. It was huge water sprinklers on the sidewalk that all the kids (and some adults) play in... Our kids were entertained for hours!
We valued every inch of Gods beauty during that weekend. It's amazing to see how majestic His creation is!
Enjoy the pics!!

It's been a while now....

So I've kinda dropped the ball on posting.. So much has happened!
My mom came for a 10 day visit it was very nice! We did some fun things.. See pics below!
In late April Kayla had cardiac ablation surgery. We praise God daily for keeping her safe & repairing her heart!
Life has been keeping us busy & at times we find ourselves pouting, frustrated as we search for purpose & direction. We are trying to look at life from a positive perspective. We know that God is working on something big for our family. He doesn't ever promise that life will be easy. In the meantime we search for ways to serve, take care of our crazy busy family & trust...& wait.
Here's a few pics...

Stepping out of his comfort zone

Last Friday, my dad, Dale stepped out of his comfort zone. He faced his fear.
My dad had never flown in his life, he & Liz came to visit for 5 days. It was nice!
We did several things, see in the photos below. A favorite was Beau Jo's... Yummy colorado mountain pie. The most delicious pizza I've had, they serve it with a bottle of honey to drizzle over the crust as dessert! Yum-o!!
I'm so proud of my dad for overcoming his fear to come visit his family!