Vacation Bible School

This was a first for me, so everything was new and exciting! Our bus push was held a couple of weeks before and one Sunday after the VBS. Actual VBS days were held Monday through Friday of last week. It was such a blessing to see a good number of kids come to church and have a good time, but also to hear several very clear presentations of the Gospel each day. There were quite a few professions of faith, and other spiritual decisions made. We are praising the Lord for the work that He did in our community this last week, and prayerfully following up on the progress that was made.

We held a carnival after church on Sunday to celebrate a great week of VBS.

Estes Park, CO

A year ago, a couple of my friends and I challenged ourselves to climb Long's Peak in the summer of 2009. After a couple of months, the thought was only mentioned with a chuckle at such a foolish thought. Then, the chuckle became a "hmm...," then "wow," then "okaay. :-/" And whaddya' know? Two of us (along with a bunch of friends) made it to the top! [not before we had more than a few "less than desirable" thoughts of my dad & Mr. O'Hair for being the ones to convince us to do this crazy thing, though.]

All of the difficulty is behind us now, however, and the exhilaration of meeting this incredible goal is what takes the most space in our minds. That's right, we climbed one of Colorado's "Fourteeners!" (14,259 feet, to be exact!) Long's Peak required about the most physical effort that I have ever given to one challenge. Of course, by default then, it was also one of the most rewarding challenges, too. I hope you enjoy some of our pictures, videos, and commentary.

There she is! Beautiful, but imposing, to be sure!

Altitude Acclimation Exercises! We hiked around a bit at 12,000 feet elevation the day before to get a feel for the higher altitude.

Okay, so we don't look that hot, but this is 1:30 IN THE MORNING!!!

Signing in @ the trailhead to Long's Peak.

Looking good a little ways up the trail!

About 1/2 way up the trail, we finally saw light...well, other than our headlamps!

The dreaded Boulder Field!

The Keyhole is so beautiful!

And the view behind it is even more stunning!

The Ledges

Finally, the Homestretch! This is arguably the most difficult part of the climb. While this picture slightly skews the actual angle of the climb, it does great justice to how the climber feels while finishing up this last little bit of the climb.

Pics from the Top

WE MADE IT!!!

Sarah Palin for Prez!

The idea that a possible future president is such a TwitterBug gives me pause, but this set was a bit comical. Here is an excerpt from Sarah Palin's more recent twitter posts. Hopefully she can transpose this enthusiasm & mojo to the world outside of Twitter. ;-) AKGovSarahPalinPlanning inauguration w/LtGov in 10 days, Frbanks. W/same cabinet, same positive pro-AK agenda it's all good, consistent success bc everyone elected is replaceable;Ak WILL progress! + side benefit=10 dys til less politically correct twitters fly from my fingertps outside State siteabout 9 hours ago from TwitterBerry

Lindsey

I talked to some of the family about this article in the "Old Ann Landers/Dear Abby" column, so here is the full text. Enjoy!

DEAR ABBY: Several years ago, a mother of a disabled child sent you a moving essay, "Welcome to Holland." It became one of my most treasured pieces, but unfortunately I have lost my copy. Could you please reprint it for me and your readers? -- A GRANDMA IN NASHVILLE

DEAR GRANDMA: With pleasure. I am frequently asked to reprint the essay written by Emily Perl Kingsley, a wonderful mother whose child had Down syndrome. October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month, and this essay is dedicated to the parents and grandparents of all children who cope with disabilities.

WELCOME TO HOLLAND by Emily Perl Kingsley I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability -- to try to help people who have not shared the unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this ... When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip -- to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. Michelangelo's "David." The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting. After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The flight attendant comes and says, "Welcome to Holland." "Holland?!" you say. "What do you mean, Holland? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy." But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place. So you must go out and buy new guidebooks. You must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around, and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills, Holland has tulips, Holland even has Rembrandts. But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say, "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned." And the pain of that will never, ever, ever go away, because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss. But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland. Readers, this is Abby again: For information about Down syndrome, and to be put in touch with local Down syndrome organizations, write to the National Down Syndrome Congress, 7000 Peachtree-Dunwoody Road NE, Building 5, Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30328-1655. Its hotline -- (800) 232-NDSC (6372) -- also offers a wealth of information on any subject related to Down syndrome. A telephone call can provide you with that difficult-to-find information or assist you in establishing contact with other parents of children with Down syndrome. The Web site is: www.ndsccenter.org

Candy Sale Reward Trip

Almost everyone won the trip to "Boondocks!" We had a blast!

Lindsey's New Friends

Some of you might recognize a few of these people...

Timber Trail

Orange Blossom Special