Category Archives: family

Summer Goals

Posted on by
Reply

On March 5, I had the painful discovery that I was human. I fell and sprained my knee….playing dodgeball.
I was pretty lucky that my injury wasn’t worse. But it did require me to do a few weeks of PT. My PT guy asked me what my rehab goals were, and at the top of the list was hiking. It’s my favorite thing to do when we camp, it’s my favorite summer activity.

So three months later, I was finally able to get on a trail. I picked a short moderate hike in Golden Gate Canyon State Park. I even brought a hiking buddy. Turns out hiking is his favorite summer activity too.

Trail Marker

Trail Marker

Blue Grouse trail is a .7 mile hike, one way. Elevation gain is only 700 ft, so I knew it would be a good start point to returning to hiking. And it was. No knee pain.

It was great to be back outdoors. With two camp trips in July, I know I’ll be able to tackle more of the trails at GGCSP. Here’s some pics I took on the hike:

My hiking buddy

My hiking buddy

Blue Grouse Trail

Blue Grouse Trail

Hiking views

Hiking views

Looking Back At 2013

Posted on by

Yeah, it’s been quiet in here. I’ll work on that. I’ve spent some of 2013 strengthening my relationships, and forgiving those who have hurt me. Letting go of having everyone like me was a good step forward too. But this year was a really good year for me.

Here are the highlights from 2013.

 

Hoping 2014 is amazing for my family- and yours!

When It Feels Like Too Much

Posted on by
1

This year is the tenth anniversary of my Dad’s passing. We lost him to a short battle with cancer in October of 2003. Since his birthday is in September, I find I’m more susceptible to being moody during those two months.

This year on his birthday, I got the one-two punch of having friends go through their second miscarriage, and also finding out one of my Dad’s best friends was battling cancer himself.

Now two weeks have gone by, and his friend, Marty has passed away too.

Marty wasn’t just my Dad’s friend, Marty was a very kind man, and he was one of my youth bowling coaches. His kids and I knew each other. Saturday morning bowling kids had each other’s parents as coaches, cheerleaders, or just general support. They cared for us, and wanted us to succeed. At times, they were like extended family.

There’s more, that I’m struggling with today, that I can’t write about publicly. The health of someone I love dearly, and the path that they are on. Couple it to Marty’s death, and I just feel like it’s too much. I want to cry, to have that release.

Mortality stinks. It’s a reality, and losing people sucks.

The only solace to be found, is knowing that truly, to be in glory is far far better than here.

But being here? Makes you want to hug someone hard.

Beautiful Things

Posted on by
1

“You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust.
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us” – Gungor

I’ve been struggling to put into words what the last year has been like, from a church perspective. Some days felt like they held promise, some days felt like a punch in the stomach.

It was in March 2012 that our Pastor left. I wrote about it, and then wrestled with my feelings over his departure, as well as the departure of friends who didn’t want to be at our church anymore.

And that sucked. It really did. It felt like being dumped. But looking back at the Pastor’s leaving, I came to realize something. While I wanted to be angry at him, and I was, he didn’t have any control over the situation. God’s hand was over it. It was God who was guiding our church’s future, it is God who is guiding us. The faithful remnant that remained? We’re stronger, we’re lifting one another up in prayer, in encouragement, in fellowship.

I still don’t know what the future holds for Creekside. But this body of believers are united. We are seeking His face, His will, serving each other, serving our neighbors. We have a new Pastor now, and it seems he & his family are ready to jump in with both feet and stand side by side with us. And that, I thank God for. If the pain of change meant the reward of fellow servants joining Creekside, I thank you Lord for taking us through this.

 

Viva Streets – August 12

Posted on by
2

Live Well Colorado & Bike Denver are partnering together again to bring the 2nd Annual Viva Streets. 23rd Ave is closed from Park Hill to Stapleton for a day of healthy eating, biking, walking, and play. Last year’s attendance was 7,500.

Here’s the details:

Sunday August 12th, from 10am-4pm. There is a bike parade that kicks off at 10am. Then you are free to explore all the tents, including a Chipotle Activity tent, yoga & rumba demos, bike safety, gardening tips, and so much more.

This will be our family’s first time there, and I’m excited to spend my Sunday afternoon with the kids being out and active.

Want more info? Check out the website:  http://about.livewellcolorado.org/vivastreets

June Means Camping

Posted on by
Reply

I love the month of June. When all that waiting through winter pays off, and it is finally time to camp!

We are tent campers, and our favorite place to camp in Colorado is Golden Gate Canyon State Park. We’ve been going there every year for the last 4 years. You have to make reservations early if you want a site on the weekend, and I made our Sunday through Tuesday reservation back in March. Geoff really wanted a walk in site (your car is NOT next to your site), and that afforded us an amazing view.

The view from our camp site

But it also meant a bit of a walk to the bathroom, and to put our food in the car at night. Still, we liked the privacy, and the space for the kids to run and play.

With only two days in the park, we crammed both fishing and hiking into our Monday plans. Fishing at Dude’s Fishing Hole, where I caught our first fish (who neither survived, nor became dinner) and a hike up Coyote Trail.

The fish

Relaxing at the top

A successful camping adventure, with perfect weather to boot. Already looking forward to booking another site for September!

A Time To Heal, A Time To Love

Posted on by
Reply

It took nine months, and then I felt that my heart was ready to love a new cat.

We took advantage of Humane Society of Boulder Valley‘s free cat weekend, to go look for our new pet. I wanted a young cat, not a kitten, but not too old so as to deal with the loss of a pet again.

We left after a few hours with Castle (previously burdened with the name Octavio).

He’s been a welcome addition to my day. Someone to chat with when the kids are at school. Someone to cuddle with on the couch or bed.

While we didn’t have to pay adoption fees, he hasn’t exactly been “free”. I ended up having to take him to the vet, first to get a well check after we adopted him, and then 10 days later when he had licked his fur right off near his tail, revealing sores.

He’s pretty good with the kids, though they still need to learn to read the signs that they are invading his space. Geoff is convinced Castle is trying to remove him from the picture, by laying in wait at the top of the stairs in the dark of early morning.

But how could you not love this guy?

Sleepy Castle

What's up?

Uncomfortable

Posted on by
9

I became a Christian in 1999, at Woodbridge Community Church in California. I spent the next four years growing closer to God and other believers with a church family that was my family. Because our blood relatives were in Canada, our CA family (Kroliks, Pursleys, Eseras, Merrits) were the ones we experienced life with.

The move to CO made us leave our family, and we searched for a new church. The first one we visited wasn’t right, so the following week we drove out to Aurora to try Creekside. We got there late, it took us 45 minutes to drive out there from our place in Glendale. But Dave was leading worship and it was awesome. We were excited to stay. Pastor Jim spoke, and he was a great teacher. We knew this is where we wanted to be. We made friends, had a family “adopt” us for Thanksgiving, it was all good.

Time passed, friends moved, we had our first baby, but we were in a groove. Then staff changes happened. The Pastor took a break from the church. People started leaving. It was a time of uncertainty. The Pastor came back, just long enough to leave again, this time for good. More people left. We wondered if we should leave too. We felt that way off and on for months, seeking God’s answer. We never felt that He wanted us to leave. Creekside hired an interim Pastor, Randy, someone to be our shepherd while we waited for the right Pastor. Randy was just what we needed to heal. Finally the Elders and Pastor Search Team had found the guy, and we were invited to meet him and his wife. We met Josh & Molly, and I knew he would do great. This man had such a heart for the Lord.

And now, a little more than two years since he came, Josh is leaving. I couldn’t stop crying when he announced it. My heart was breaking. I really felt that this was right. We had a wonderful teacher, who could teach God’s truth, make us laugh, and make us feel convicted. Even when we needed to take a break from ministry, we knew Creekside was hearing God’s Word.

I realize that God is always reminding me that I’m not meant to be comfortable here on earth. This isn’t my forever. Change is a part of life, a painful part. Right now, I want to guard my heart, to not feel so deep. And I do, I guard myself, because I don’t want to get hurt. 2012 has already held a lot of change. What doesn’t change is Him. People will come and go in my life, but He won’t leave. He will stay faithful, even when I don’t.

This isn’t going to be easy. And it isn’t comfortable. It’s uncomfortable.

Wii Are #NintendoEnthused

Posted on by
2

Last weekend, we had 20+ friends join us for a Wii Play: Motion party, complete with ice cream sundae station. It was loud, it was fun, and it was equally as fun to watch as it was to play.

The welcome sign Elijah & I worked on

Our friends arrived, and we instructed them to make some Miis. This always results in laughter as people experiment with eyes & nose sizes.

Serving out ice cream. Sean is enthusiastic!

The first half of the party, the kids played around with it. Because we had so many kids, Geoff also set up his older Nintendo systems upstairs (SNES & N64).

The games that were a big hit were Wind Runner (racing through a course with your umbrella, collecting coins, using the wind to propel you) , Veggie Guardin’ (a fun version of whack a mole, which up to 4 players can play at a time), and Skim Skipper (skipping stones, also a 4 player game).

Kids are trying out the games

Wii Play: Motion, has games that are entertaining for everyone. Our guests ranged in age from 4 years old to over 50 years old. I would totally recommend it, as would my party guests

Spooky Search

 

I was sent a copy of Wii Play: Motion to host a party, as well as party favors, a prize and ice cream sundae supplies. Thanks to Brand About Town & Nintendo! The review is my own opinion.

Colorado Fall

Posted on by
1

I could not resist one last camping trip to Golden Gate Canyon State Park. For tent campers, Reverend’s Ridge closes for the season on October 1. The only sites/dates they had left (when I booked in July) were September 23-24. This was our first time “fall camping”. We were not sure how lucky we would get with the weather. Let me show you how lucky we got:

Perfect Fall Camping

With the boys getting bigger, and becoming more experienced campers, Geoff was anxious to see if we could attempt to hike all of the Raccoon Trail. It’s a 2.5 mile hike round trip, that begins in Reverend’s Ridge campground and takes you up to Panorama Point. The hike is marked as moderate, and both kids did great completing it. The timing of our trip offered great fall colors, mostly yellows, and great temps.

Other noteworthy events were the boys learning to build a fire, and Elijah becoming a Jr Ranger.

Proud of the fire they built

 

Elijah earned a Jr Ranger badge and patch

 

We’ll be back again next summer. If you want to camp there next year, I would suggest you book early!