The Ultimate Creek and Beaver Dam Day

 Looking for the beaver dams

 Found the first beaver dam

 It was scary getting into the dammed up creek water at first because I couldn't see the bottom and in a lot of places it was either mucky or slippery.  I decided to be brave and follow the kids who wanted to wade/swim  as far as they could go down the stream.  We ended up going over at least 12 beaver dams on the way.  It was a lot of fun and refreshing on a hot day.  The kids had a blast and now have a great memory with their cousins - Bethany, Samuel, and Naomi.

 Gloria and Naomi had a great time together the whole time they were visiting.

 The first beaver dam.

 Some of the parts were too deep for Benaiah to walk so he was my little monkey clinging to me.:)

 Gloria with train in the background

The kids called these hotdogs...or corn dogs.  Not very good for eating though...kinda fuzzy on the inside.

All 9 if us...

 This trip to the American Girl Doll Store in Denver was part of Naomi's birthday present and wish.  She got her own American Girl Doll.  Bethany and Gloria have fun with American Girl Dolls also - Gloria's doll is a historical character - Elizabeth, and Bethany's Doll and a look-alike.  I think Naomi's new doll's name is McKenna.  

 The moms and Gramma Lois had a great girl time too!  We went to the Cheesecake Factory to eat afterward.  There's three restaurants around the Doll store that are "doll friendly" and Cheesecake Factory was one of them with seats for the dolls that hang from the tables.

 Emily, me, and my mom.  

Cousin Naomi's 7th Birthday

 Naomi (my sister's youngest) wanted to ride a horse (pony) for her birthday.  Since Gramma Shell and Granddude have horses and they are so willing to share their horses and time for lessons, Naomi got her wish.

 Auntie Emily (my sister) did a "pop on" onto this horse.

 Cousin Bethany riding a horse.

 Bethany doing a "Deadman Dismount".  Just don't tell her that's the name of it:).

 Naomi had sundaes for her birthday party at Gramma Shell and Grandude's house.  Thanks, Naomi, for having a birthday and celebrating it with us!

Naomi and her icecream with birthday candle.

More Creek

 I was down in the creek with Evelyn after she missed the creek adventure of the day due to her nap.  She loves wearing her bathing suit and I love relaxing down by the creek, especially if I get to put the lawn chair down in the creek.  It causes Evie to come down and play and I get the coolness of the water.  I did get a bit more wet than expected because Evie was climbing on the lawn chair and fell in backwards.  I had to hug and snuggle her to comfort her so I got a bit wet.  Then I used my shirt to wrap her up in.

Emily, Samuel, and the I-like-to-be-around-people-but-not-IN-the-water-cat.

Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo

 California, Boston, and Colorado clan all going to the rodeo.  For our Bremer family, at least for some of us  (me) it's our 5th or 6th rodeo, but all of my rodeos have been in Altus, OK.  This was a bigger one, but there's something about a small town rodeo that was missing a bit in this one.  However, I think everyone had a great time and wasn't too traumatized by the calves being caught and thrown down and tied up.  My extended family was amazed by how patriotic and still Christian the rodeo is...at the end giving glory to God and thanking Him for our freedom and the beauty of this country.  It's the first time I've been to a rodeo with towering beautiful mountains in the background and my first one without Max.  Although he has been to many Colorado rodeos I hope to share this one with Max through pics.

 Somehow I didn't get Gloria in a cowboy hat.

Creek Time Colorado

 Benaiah holding on for dear life as the rushing waters rage below him... Can't you tell he's so scared?

 What an insensitive mom, not paying any attention to her boy's dilemma.  As you can see, the water in the creek down in the hollow below Gramma Shell and Grandude's place is pretty shallow and calm, but a great place to cool off on a hot summer day.  This year has actually been pretty hot here in Colorado...not compared to where hubby is though.

 The cat's not too sure about being held above the water, and our kids' cousin, Bethany (11 years), is not too sure about the cat at this moment...

JB's cousin, Samuel (only two months older than JB - 9years), caught a snake in the garden, which made his day.

Leaving Oklahoma and arriving in Colorado...

 While we were doing all of our packing and moving and cleaning, the kids and the Moncriefs ( whose parents from Delaware bought our place) changed the landscape of the North side of the house.  It was hard to leave the Moncriefs...for one reason because our kids had so much fun with them in the last few months, especially, before we left.  They have 11 kids.

 I let these muddy girls into the house because it was when the rugs and furniture were out and I still hadn't cleaned the house yet. 

 This was on the first day of serious cleaning of the house.  The kids were entertained with cartoons on the computer.  Evelyn was apparently not entertained enough:).  She was so tired not having her regular bedroom set-up or her regular bed time or nap time.  It's hard on a two-year-old to move and also not have her Mom's attention as much as she is used to.  Gloria, however, was a huge help in taking care of Evelyn.

This was the day we actually drove away from Oklahoma, but still had lots of cleaning and last minute throwing random things in bins and loading them on the two trailers we pulled to Colorado.  The Bates, another homeschool family that was also moving, but not at the crunch point as we were, graciously had the kids at their house so that Max and I could get stuff done without interruption.  We didn't end up leaving OK until 2pm, and after having an exhausting week of packing and loading and cleaning, by about 8pm to about 12pm (when we arrived in CO, OK time), it was difficult to keep myself alert.  God provided my talkative and excited 7-year-old, Gloria to keep me awake at 10pm.  I sooooo wanted to just get to Colorado.  God gave us an uneventful trip and we got in late, but we made it!  Thank you, God!

We do miss our wonderful friends in Oklahoma and had many wonderful memories there.  Now starting at least a year in Colorado and enjoying the next month with my Hubby and kids' Daddy, not having to go into work, but working on our home here and helping us get settled in before he leaves for a year.  I'm thankful for a beautiful home with beautiful views here, grandparents and friends here, and a wonderful husband, who loves his family and wants us to feel set before he goes.  ...And most importantly, a Father (Daddy) in Heaven who is showing His awesome provision in our lives.

Starting our move from Oklahoma

 A Book Box tower, by JB Bremer.  This was while I was packing the kitchen (Tabitha Moncreif helped a lot!) and he wanted to help so badly.  I knew I was going to have to get to Max's SAASS books (from his year of School of Advanced Air and Space studies, when they read at least one book a day, some 500+ pages), so I had JB put together and tape (he loves the tape dispenser!) all of the book boxes.

This ramp was not friendly to Evelyn's diaper.  She tried to slide (scoot) down it and ended up shredding her diaper.

 The kids were pretty excited when the ABF (a trucking company that has a U-pack deal, where we pack everything and load it and ABF picks it up and drives it to your destination).  Since we had it over a weekend we had it for 5 days, but did all of the loading on Saturday with some very loving, helpful friends, the Gagnas and the Moncriefs, as well as Max's (then) boss, Col Johnson.

The first "things" packed.:)  Cute little treasures.

JB shot his first turkey! (3 weeks ago)

JB apparently killed him on his first shot!

Proud Father

We ate this turkey the next week after he killed it.  It's definitely different from store-bought turkey with a lot more dark meat.  The turkey soup with it was really good.  The greatest thing about it was that it was JB's first kill.

That was such a blessing...

I know it sounds silly, but it took all of my courage to take the kids to the Assisted Living place here to visit the men and women there.  I think it was more of a stretching experience for me than for the kids.  I was looking for every possible excuse not to go, like "I can't go, Evelyn just fell asleep an hour ago".  God prodded my heart and said "then wake her up - she's not sick, she'll be fine".  "But I have so much housework to do"...that didn't work either - God just reminded me that that hasn't kept me from doing other things.  Okay, God, no excuses!  I even thought I could get myself out of it by saying "if I go into Evelyn's room and she wakes up, then it means I should go."  I went in and she was sleeping soundly, but I still didn't feel right NOT going to visit today. 

There is a home school mom that started going with her 4 young kids (all younger than mine!) and has done it faithfully ever other Tuesday, gently inviting anyone else to join her.  I'm ashamed to say, I was usually relieved when I had a "good" excuse not to go.  It's not that I didn't want to bless others, but more the fear of the unknown as well as selfishness of not wanting to feel out of my comfort zone and also, not knowing how the kids would react.  I even tried to get "out of it" in my mind and heart with, "I'll start once we move" or "I'll prepare better next time and go next Tuesday that they're going".  Oh, and another excuse I thought of this afternoon...the kids are dirty and they won't want to be around dirty kids.  All lame excuses.

I finally asked JB and Gloria if they wanted to go and they both were game.  Okay, God, it's just me and my selfishness hindering this mission...time to "just do it".  I'm soooo glad we went this afternoon.  I hope we blessed the people there and there was a couple of them that said they hoped we come back.  I hope so too.  Please help me like you did today, Lord, get over my fears and step out of my comfort zone.  I know, it sounds so lame of me, but I'm pretty shy, and would be perfectly happy to stay in my shell, except that God didn't let me today.

All the kids were great there - eight kids in all with Kerri's four and my four, seven men and women who live there, and two moms.  Gloria read to a lady, who seemed perfectly happy to just sit there and, even though I don't think she could hear her, seemed to enjoy it anyway.  Gloria didn't seem to have any fear or hesitation in talking to the older ladies.  JB was very good at teaching one of the younger boys as well as an older man how to play Othello.  JB was very patient with the man and the man very patient and grateful to JB.  It was really a sweet scene that melted my heart as a mom, who loves the fact that my kids are so much braver than I am.  Benaiah seemed to just fit right in.  He was happy just to mingle in with everyone like it was normal (which I hope it is with our kids...in the right setting).  I sat next to a lady with Evelyn in my lap and we read "Go, Dog, Go" and "Fox in Socks".  The lady told me the same story about her two boys three times and she delighted in Evelyn, who had a pink frilly skirt on.  This particular lady said "oh, she's so sweet" every time Evelyn would say a word.  I hope we were a blessing to the men and women whom we visited at the Assisted Living place because I know they were a blessing to us today.

Lord, please give me the strength to step out of my shell again and give the kids wonderful experiences to love and serve others without my own selfishness getting in the way.

Benaiah continues to take his cute pills...

As I was carrying Evelyn from the bathtub to the laundry room, where we keep her pajamas,  I noticed Benaiah quietly writing in a notebook.  He looked up at me with those big blue eyes and said, "I'm writing a story for you, Mom."  I said okay and kept walking toward the laundry room to get Evelyn diapered and clothed.  Benaiah joined us and announced that he was done with his story.  Since I knew he only wrote a jumble of letters, I made up a clever excuse and said, "I can't read it now since I am changing EV...could you read it to me?" 
Benaiah looked at with a puzzled expression and said "I can't read."
"But you wrote the story, so do you remember what you wrote?"
"Oh...yeah!  I do!"

He proceeded to read his story about dragons and castles getting hit by a tornado and the prince dying.  It was quite the story for a bunch of strung-together jumbled up letters on a page.  I was quite impressed by his reading skills.

We're still here, just a bit distracted...:) Read on...

Blog posts have been very few and very far between.  This is mainly because for the last few months if I have been on the computer it has been to look for a house in Colorado or more recently, to design a kitchen or a bathroom in our new house in Colorado.  We are not going to be there for a couple of months, but now is the time to get started on this stuff.  Also, if I have not been on the computer, I have been homeschooling, doing outdoor painting in preparation for the next people to move here, or doing other clean-up stuff around the house.

We are extremely thankful and relieved to have a buyer for this house and to have a house in Colorado near Max's parents (about a 15-20 minute drive) in a beautiful area, at the bottom of a "gated" mountain with gorgeous views.  Mixed emotions run rampant at this time as I am excited to be able to design a new house in Colorado (with the help of contractors, family, and home improvement stores), yet the waiting and decision making are stressful and exhausting.  I'm also looking forward to getting to Colorado to hopefully spend more time with my husband as he plans to take time off before his year-long deployment, yet our move to Colorado also means the deployment, a year without my beloved right next to me, is within sight.  My determination is to enjoy the time we have together while we have it, to keep in such good touch while he's gone (as much as possible) that it doesn't feel like he's distant, and to keep my eyes on the Lord, which is where my help comes from.  Help me in these goals, Lord, I can't do it without You.

Anyway, with getting started on house renovations in Colorado (contractors will do the physical labor, of which I am thankful, but more decision-making looms ahead - as I said, both exhausting and exciting!), getting our current place ready for the next occupants, and packing in the next couple of months, we don't have a lot of free time on our hands.  However, we are striving to take rests, as we tend to get less productive and much more stressed if we don't have a Sabbath, as the Lord prescribed to us and set an example for us.  It surely wasn't for His own good for him to rest, because as God, he didn't need to, but He surely knows His creation needs to rest.  We need Your strength in resting too, Lord...strength not to jump in on the next project or even to use brain cells thinking about where the oven or fridge should be located.

Here are a few pictures I've been wanting to post, but haven't taken the time.  Sadly, we really don't have a lot of pictures in either the February or March folders, not nearly as many as we usually have.  Shows how distracted we have been. Forgive me to those who do check this blog for not keeping up with it.  I'm thankful for you!

Evelyn with her pony-tails, which Gramma Shell introduced into her life with our visit to Colorado for a house-hunting trip.  Now all she wants is pony tails.  Very cute.

The girls get to cuddle with a new lamb in Gramma Shell and Grandude's kitchen.

Max in the attic, looking from the other side of the ceiling, in Oklahoma house.  One of many projects with our current place was adding a fan/light in the kid's bathroom.

Evelyn likes to fall asleep in this glider when she is sick and gets "spoiled" with movie watching.  This was a couple of weeks ago.

The cycle of frustration over pencil sharpeners that don't work and never having sharpened pencils has recently been broken with the purchase of this nifty little camera-looking pencil sharpener.  Now the kids (esp JB) cannot wait for pencil leads to break or get worn down...It sometimes helps in homeschooling when the kids look forward to wearing down pencil leads:)

Evelyn and Benaiah resting, our Great Phyician's orders:)

Slam Poetry, Benaiah style

Benaiah, our 4-year-old, has episodes of slam poetry.  It's very cute and entertaining and he's very serous about it.  He doesn't know he's a poet yet, but Max called it slam poetry this morning, which I thought was fitting...

Benaiah: "The more it dries up
             The more the waterfalls don't go.
             The more we eat
              The more we grow.
              When we're in Heaven,
              This place gets burned up.
              How it is, it is, it is."