life. its a funny thing. most days i just cruise along going through the motions. stopping to lock in and remember moments here and there. then all the sudden it hits me. the magnitude of this “job” raising little people. trying to balance  love , grace and discipline. to empower self esteem and yet reveal a sinner in need of Jesus  to see each heart as individual and tailor my methods to such. at times its paralyzing. it’s burdensome  it’s exhausting. days like today are hard. yet they lead me to press in. to pray. and to                 trust in Him.

…… deep breaths

as always more beauty from around the globe found here.

ive spent the past week creating some spring decor. bunnies, chicks, colorful wreaths. yesterday we were trapped at home with a blizzard. spring… are you out there??

thanks to rebekah for hosting 10 on 10.

this past sunday we took a little drive after church to check out cripple creeks ice fest. it’s a tiny mining town in the mountains. there were some really neat sculptures and too many people for the tiny streets. i don’t think it’;ll make our “must do yearly list” but it was worth experiencing once.

we were blessed with a visit from our cousins this weekend. it was fun to see the whole gang together and watch them interact. i’d hoped to show them some of our favorite sights, but our first big snow storm of the year kept us close to home. we were able to fit in a fun swim, some sledding, a stop at focus on the family’s playground  and lots of coloring and indoor games. thanks for the memories taylors!!            

my sweet friend Kacy hosts an annual “We love LOVE Party. THis year she let me join in on the fun of hosting with her. i’m soo thankful for this home and the ability to open it to all our friends. it was packed with sticky hands, running feet, chatty moms and a ton of laughs. So thankful for all who came and a true reason to celebrate love and the one who first loved us.
Kacy is a gifted writer whose blog is one i turn to, to be challenged, blessed and refreshed. some wisdom from her to remeber this Valentine’s DAy
“God’s Valentines gift of love to us was not a bunch of flowers;
It wasn’t candy or a a book to while away the hours.
His gift was to become a man, so he could freely give
His sacrificial love for us,
So you and I could live.
So as we give our Valentines,
Let’s thank our Lord and King;
The reason we have love to give
Is that He gave everything!”               

it’s been a long week over here full of coughs, fevers and whining. i’m hoping today was our last tucked in our house and the girls will be back and ready to enjoy the 100th day of school tomorrow.  i was bummed to miss church, but snuggling under blankets on this chilly snowy day wasn’t half bad, they even managed to fake a few smiles for me

other amazing collections are found over here at rebekah’s blog.

With my mom in town and mike having a rare day off, we decided to take advantage and head out, for an all to, infrequent date. while living in Europe, one of the things mike and i enjoyed most, was touring castles.  I had been hearing great things about a local castle with great trails around the property. it felt like the prfect activity. Unfortunately after a little research i discovered the castle grounds were closed, due to this summers forest fires. bummer!! i then remembered seeing something about a crazy staircase hike on the news.   It seemed if we couldn’t meander around some castle grounds, then why not push ourselves to the extreme? Mike was hesitant, but i assured him, he loved me and this was a great chance to serve in our marriage. What’s not to love about a mile of stairs, covering a  2000 foot elevation? I can’t say Mike enjoyed the hike. but we did in fact make it to the top! Coming down was no picnic.  Our toenails were practically embedded in the front of our shoes the whole 4 miles we ran down the switchbacks of the bar trail. but really there’s no beating the great sense of accomplishment and getting to spend some quality time together, conquering this great outdoors we now call home. it was my perfect date. i’m thankful he goes along with my crazy ideas and trust me enough not to ask too many questions. it’s safe to say on our next date, you’ll find me with some dorky 3-d glasses, at the largest screen within 50 miles of the worlds geekiest movie, but i love him, so i’m ok with that.

it was 50 degrees here today. that’s a whole 40 degrees warmer than last week. all i wanted to do was get out and enjoy the beautiful day esp. after seeing all my san diego friends enjoying the day at the beach! (i may have to avoid facebook until spring to avoid the envy stirred in heart) so how to Coloradans enjoy a beautiful winter day. WE HIKE. Lucky for us there some awesome trails going up the mountain behind our house. The girls grandma and i packed a lunch and headed out. after 4 miles of dirt road we arrived at the tiny trail marker, that would lead us 2 miles up to the summit of Mt.Herman. I didn’t know how far we’d get esp. with a 28lb toddler who refuse any sort of carrier or backpack. The trail was steep and icy. I underestimated my need for boots and mittens. I also underestimated the stubbornness of Meadow. She refused to be carried and had to walk just like her sisters. It was a slow climb, but enjoyable. We made it to the top!  After a short break enjoying the view from above and trying to find our house below, we headed down. Let the real fun begin. We slid alot of the way on our bums and Meadow had used all her energy on the climb up, so I was stuck with extra baggage. my left bicep will never be the same. We returned to our car with bruised bottoms, fun memories and the sense of accomplishment. It may not have been the beach in January but God has much to teach us by climbing mountains.

time for my monthly update to the ole blog, (how do months go by so fast?) one of these says i’ll corner mike into sitting down and helping me create this space into something that inspires me to update more often ( new years resolution) i am proud to say all my photos are updated and cataloged on flickr. you can access the photos by clicking the images on the right.

we’ve been getting over a nasty bug this week. i’m happy to say that today we were able to exit solitary confinement and join the land of the living. here’s a glimpse into our day.

thanks to rebekah and her inspiration. check out others here.

Another day finding beauty in the ordinary. Everything looks more beautiful covered in a fresh blanket of white.

rebekah and others can be found here.