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vacation rental

Written by Joy
2 Comments
vacation rental

As many of you know, we were blessed to be able to stay in a very nice vacation rental when we first moved to Golden, CO.  It is located in a gated community on a mountain.  It really is a beautiful place and I do miss being out in the country.  Many of you asked to see pictures of the place, so I thought I would share some with you.  This place is also for sale.  If you are interested in it, let me know and I will put you in contact with the owner.  😉

This is the back of the house from the top of the driveway.

This is the front of the house from the main road.

Just click on a picture to look at it.  I figured this might be easier to do since there were so many pictures.  Also, the house was lived in.  I didn’t pick up any thing or clean the kitchen.  We had been doing school that day and we hadn’t cleaned up yet.  😉

2012, family, , , ,

so thankful and blessed, I made it to #1000!

Written by Joy
so thankful and blessed, I made it to #1000!

On July 19, 2010, I started reading this wonderful blog named A Holy Experience. On it, Ann Voskamp talked about being thankful and how you can always find a blessing. She suggested keeping track of those blessings. I am so glad she did. I have noticed a big change in how I look at things. I don’t worry as much as I used to either. By looking at what all God has blessed us with during the good and the bad time times, I know that God is always with us no matter what. I have been putting my faith and trust in God so much more since I began this back in 2010. I plan on continuing counting my blessings every day for as long as I can.  While she had suggested counting a 1000 gifts in one year, it has taken me a little over two years to reach 1000.  I am excited about reaching this number and looking forward to counting many more.  Some of these I have counted before, but feel like they should be counted more often.

991.  Having the freedom to homeschool my children.

992.  Being able to stay home with my children.

993.  My husband of 20 years. (We celebrate 20 years on October 3rd of this year)

994.  My four children (Michael-19, Sarah-14, Samuel-8 and Claire-6.)

995.  My parents for raising me in a living Christian home.

996.  The Word of God to live by.

997.  Hubby’s job with great insurance.

998.  God providing us with a place to live.

999.  His mercy and grace that He gives me daily.

1000.  Jesus, dying on the cross to save a poor wretched person, like me.

I would love for you to join in counting the many blessings that God gives. Stop by A Holy Experience and visit others who are also sharing their many blessings.

2012, blessings, multitude Mondays, , , , , , ,

so thankful and blessed #981-990

Written by Joy
4 Comments
so thankful and blessed #981-990

A lake on the road to Mt. Evans.
Ellis Photography

As I sit here thinking on the last month of our life, I can look back and know from all that has happened, that our family has truly been blessed.  A lot happened, but God was with us every step of the way.  Was it a hard trip?  Yes.  Were there times that I thought we would never make it and this was a big mistake?  Yes.  Yes, there were.  I even cried at times.  I wondered why all of the bad stuff was happening.  I had felt peace about the move from the very first time we heard Buddy had the job.  I was questioning if we had missed something, a sign that we weren’t supposed to move cross-country.  However, I could not think of anything that would have felt like a sign from God saying we should not take the job and move.

What kept me going? This verse in Joshua.  There is also one found in Deuteronomy that is almost word for word.  It just wasn’t any verse, it was a command. It was a command to Joshua, just after Moses died.  However, I think it applies quite well to our life right now.  It was where God was commissioning Joshua to carry on what Moses had started.  I feel like God has charged us to do the same.

 Joshua 1:9

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

This is what I have tried to do this whole time.  Be strong and to have courage.  God has lead us out here to Colorado for a reason.  We made it to Colorado safely and now we are settling in.  As for the reason God lead us out here, I don’t know it yet.  I don’t know if we will ever know why we were lead to Golden, CO.  However, I do know that we must do our best to live daily for Him.  I will be doing this by putting one foot in front of another.  By taking care of my husband and children.  By glorifying God in all we do.  Will it always be easy?  No. God never said it would be easy.

We will just be taking it day by day and counting our blessings as we go.

981. rain to help this dry area.

982. cooler weather.

983. horses for my daughter to take care of.

984. riding lessons in exchange for the horses being taken care of.

985. beautiful wildlife, right out the front door to watch.

986. beautiful sunsets.

987. beautiful sunrises.

988. friends to talk with.

989. quiet time to pray.

990. memories of my dad.

Won’t you join me and others at A Holy Experience, counting blessings?

2012, multitude Mondays, , ,

so thankful and blessed #951- 980

Written by Joy
2 Comments
so thankful and blessed #951- 980

It has been three weeks since I last wrote about what I am so thankful for.  God has blessed us in so many ways.  It is truly amazing all He has blessed us with.  Since the last post, we have been in Colorado a little over two weeks. The trip out here was quite an adventure and I have told about it in parts one and two, with part three coming on Friday.  We have been settling in, meeting new friends and trying to get better.  We have all been fighting really bad colds.  However, I do see an end in sight with the sickness.  Thank you to those who have been praying for us while we are on this journey.  God has brought us to Colorado for a reason and I am going to do my best to glorify Him in all I do, while I am here.  With saying that, I am picking back up with my thankful list.

951. For those who helped us finish packing up from our house.

952. For neighbors that fixed a leaky pipe so we could get on the road.

953. For neighbors to mow our yard until we can sale our house.

954. a van with a/c on those hot days while driving.

955. a safe trip to Indiana to our first stop.

956. friends who lifted my daughters up in prayer while they were sick.

957. a short visit for my daughter and her best friend in Kentucky, as we passed through.

958. a dog who loves to ride in the van.

959. a hotel with soft beds and pillows.

960. being able to see The Arch in St. Louis.

961. a hotel with a pool for the kids to play in.

962. hotels where we can bring our dog with us.

963. our oldest being able to see a baseball game in St. Loius, MO.

964. a husband who can near bout fix anything.

965. a parts store that had just the right radiator for our van.

966. a rest stop area that had covered picnic tables and vending machines.

967. friends who will stop what they are doing and lift you up in prayer.

968. a safe trip to Colorado.

969. a hotel for 3 nights, until we could get in the vacation rental.

970. the vacation rental for a month, that allows pets.

971. the beautiful view of the mountains and the city from the rental.

972. a job that my husband is going to enjoy.

973. a new homeschool group that my children like.

974. new friends.

975. my husband being healed from the poison ivy.

976. celebrating our youngest son’s 8th birthday.

977. field trips with the new homeschool group.

978. new friends in the homeschool group inviting us to church.

979. friends who continue to lift us up in prayer and encourage us on our new journey.

980. a mighty God who loves us unconditionally.

 

I would love for you to join me and the others linking up at A Holy Experience. We would love to see how God has blessed you and your family.

2012, multitude Mondays, , , ,

blessing bags and boxes

Written by Joy
blessing bags and boxes

As you know, moving can be rough one the family, especially the children.  There is so much to do, that sometimes the kids can get looked over when you start going through the belongings in the house.  I have 4 children and they are all at different stages on their lives at this moment.  Our oldest son is 19, oldest daughter 14 and then the youngest two are 6 and soon to be 8 in just a couple of weeks.  The oldest two do understand why we are moving and are handling things pretty well, considering.  However, the younger two kids are having a little more difficult time with the move.  They  do not understand why we have to leave our home, their friends and this area.  They have especially become a little clingy to things as we have been trying to purge and lighten the load before packing everything up.  This is how the blessings bags and boxes have come in handy!

So what is a blessings bag or box?  It is just a simple garbage bag or a cardboard box filled with items that we no longer need and want to bless others with.  My youngest daughter is a girly girl and loves her clothes.  However, we just had way too many of them.  Once I explained that we would be giving the clothes to other little girls in need, she had no problem with sharing her clothes.  The same happened with her shoes and toys.  Our youngest son would have given everything of his away if we had let him!

So far, the kids and I have given away 7 boxes of books, 6-7 bags of clothing, a box of shoes and a couple of boxes of toys.  We have felt good unloading the items we no longer need, in hopes of someone else possibly needing them for their children.  This has also been a good way to include the kids in the move.  It is tough to begin with, with so many changes going on, yet when you let them help, it helps them feel good about themselves.

How do you help your children with a major change in their life, like moving?  I would love for you to share your ideas with us.

2012, family, , , , ,