Are We Lucky Or What?!?!?

More family comes to visit!

Dave's parents are here visiting & meeting their newest grandbaby!!!

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How did we end up w/ such GREAT family on both sides?!?!?

God's blessing, that's what!!

Scroll down to see the result of this!
Dinner...... (minus one adorable baby)
Grandad & Ruth
Grandmother & Ana
Here he is!!!!
The result: Ahhhhh, heaven on earth!!!

Thursdays Before the Throne........

Behind this cloud, hides Pike's Peak.

Every time I see it is hidden,

I think of the devotional written by Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost For His Highest,"

for July 29th.

In the Bible clouds are always associated with God. Clouds are the sorrows, sufferings, or providential circumstances, within or without our personal lives, which actually seem to contradict the sovereignty of God. Yet it is through these very clouds that the Spirit of God is teaching us how to walk by faith. If there were never any clouds in our lives, we would have no faith. "The clouds are the dust of His feet" ( Nahum 1:3 ). They are a sign that God is there. What a revelation it is to know that sorrow, bereavement, and suffering are actually the clouds that come along with God! God cannot come near us without clouds— He does not come in clear-shining brightness.

It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials. Through every cloud He brings our way, He wants us to unlearn something. His purpose in using the cloud is to simplify our beliefs until our relationship with Him is exactly like that of a child— a relationship simply between God and our own souls, and where other people are but shadows. Until other people become shadows to us, clouds and darkness will be ours every once in a while. Is our relationship with God becoming more simple than it has ever been?

There is a connection between the strange providential circumstances allowed by God and what we know of Him, and we have to learn to interpret the mysteries of life in the light of our knowledge of God. Until we can come face to face with the deepest, darkest fact of life without damaging our view of God’s character, we do not yet know Him.
". . . they were fearful as they entered the cloud" (Luke 9:34). Is there anyone except Jesus in your cloud? If so, it will only get darker until you get to the place where there is "no one anymore, but only Jesus . . ." (Mark 9:8 ; also see Mark 2-7 ).

Do you see Jesus in your clouds, the times of uncertainty in life?

Ok, I know this is really Friday,

& I have been up WAY TOO LATE!!!

(zzzz's are calling)

(By the way, these pics were taken at Garden of the Gods this afternoon on my cell phone camera!)

NOT a Wordless Wednesday (Ha!! Ha!!!)

One thing I have discovered about having three kids
is that it is near IMPOSSIBLE to get them all looking at the camera &
looking decent, let alone to get all three SMILING at the camera!

That’s why there are professional photographers, right?

If at first you don't succeed........
Try.....
Try........
Give up & take them individualy!!!!

81 Degrees!!!

Ana was outside almost all afternoon, soaking up rays.

Once, when I went out to check on her, she was sitting in the corner of the yard, legs crossed, facing the fence.

I thought, “Oh, no! Is she upset?”

“What’s up, Ana?” I queried?

She turns, smiling to say,

“Oh, nothing, Mom. I’m just listening to all the sounds. The birds & the wind chimes.”

So matter of fact.

So much like her mom.

I could get lost in our own back yard.

Just listening.

We also spent an hour or so at the park at lunchtime,

w/ about a hundred other people who had SPRING FEVER.

Why?

Because in true Colorado fashion, tomorrow,

we are supposed to have 3-5 inches of SNOW!

(Just as an aside, my dad, the "arteest" in the family,

is who I thought might enjoy some art on my blog! Hi, Dad)

EXCUSE ME?!?!?

Didn’t the weatherman get the memo?

I guess not.

Oh, & just to add to weather weirdness, we had our first major grass fire in the area today. Smoke billowing up from behind one of the mountains!

Here is the story & pics.

I was sorry to hear, when I looked it up,

there have been three deaths as a result of the fires.

Sad.

Kim, signing off, from what is soon to be a cold & snowy Colorado.

Again….

(But, hey, maybe the storm will put out the fires!)

Update (or today's visit to the pediatrician)

Another busy day……..

What’s new, right? (Ha!)

We home school & have three kids.

I knew it would be unwise to take all three kids to the dr today. Why, you ask?

I attempted it before……..& hearing ANYTHING the doc said over the screaming

(from my dear second child) was IMPOSSIBLE.

They look remarkably similar, don’t they?

~~~~Just as an aside, this was taken after I took lip gloss away from her. I discovered her w/ the wand hanging out of her mouth, & the tube in her hand, the evidence of her sampling all over her face. I’m such a mean mom, I took it away from her, took a picture of her crying, & posted it on my blog for all to see! Hee!!! Hee!!! I did love on her a bunch, until the tears were gone, just in case you wondered!~~~~~

So, last night, I put in a quick call for a babysitter for said second child,

since she wasn’t one of the lucky ones scheduled to be seen!


After dropping her off……

Driving the short distance from there to the office……

Hoofing it through the parking lot w/ 7 year old carrying diaper bag, mom lugging purse, 15 lbs of baby & 5 lbs of car seat (whoever said that was a LIGHT WEIGHT car seat never tried it like a mom does every day, with a BABY actually in it, did they now?????),

& Arriving breathlessly on the third floor…….

I discover, to my delight, that we are actually 20 MINUTES EARLY for our appointment!!!

This NEVER happens to me, & wouldn’t you know, the Doctor was 15 minutes late to our appointments (one for Ana & one for Natty)

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The big news of the morning was:

For the first time EVER:

Ana decided on her own she wanted the last of her booster shots & DID NOT CRY!!!!!!

Once more, we are reminded-she is growing up!!!

Everything else looks great for this newly 7 year old.

She is in the 97th percentile on height (no surprise there!) & the 75th percentile on weight.

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This was Natty’s initial evaluation after coming home.

We had several minor concerns going into this appointment, keeping in mind that he is 8 months old, & was born pre-maturely at 34 weeks:

1. Until just recently, he couldn’t hold up his head very well.

2. He does not tolerate being on his tummy.

3. He can’t sit up at all.

4. He doesn’t cuddle much, which may not really be a problem, but w/ all the other issues, we wanted to address it.

5. He has no interest in solid foods yet, & chokes easily on his bottle.

The Doctor agreed that we should have him seen by an Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, & a Speech Therapist.

The Speech Therapist puzzled me at first.

But, I learned something new today, because the Doc. Said that speech is related to the tongue movements a baby makes while eating.

Interesting……& I’m sure it’s true…..just never occurred to me..

Anyway, soon, those appointments will be scheduled, & I’m sure everything will be fine, but it will just relieve us to know if we are on the right path or not.

Although, my mama’s instinct says we are-w/ the stuff we are already trying……

And who can argue w/ a mama’s instinct, right? (Wink!)

……& I’m off to bed.

Have started back at the gym…..felt good when I was DONE this morning!

Hair Issues........

Yes, we might have them (Hee! Hee!!!)

Fab Fotos Friday!!!

After the Jayhawks won!!!!!

Please ignore me & my desk!!!