What a Difference a Month Makes

SNOW!

The beginning of October was fantastic. We held Sydney's 8th birthday at the bottom of our meadow in a castle of Aspen trees. She and her friends rode down on horses for a picnic.

Some hiking, zipline time, sledding, hiding in the trees, and Sekoya (the dog) joining in.

And of course, Halloween. Our masquerade lady and the genie...

I will let Jeff fill you in on things happening at camp sometime soon, but just wanted to fill you in with recent pictures. On the homefront, we have enjoyed visits from various folks this month, joined Girl Scouts, finished another soccer season, started a bathroom addition and have begun the long process of chopping, stacking and carrying in firewood.

Fall blessings to you each of you.

Leslie

Our September in Pictures

Fall is here and despite the snow that is falling outside my window right now (!), we are hoping for some more great color and a few more warmer temps before it's all said and done.

Our favorite kind of tree.

Our favorite two foxes.

Harvest time!

The girls loved picking and gathering.

Gonna do lots more of these next year.

It's like easter...hunting for peas instead of eggs.

Speaking of ... these ladies are finally laying. (Not Sydney, just the hens...!) Em had a hard time eating her first few knowing exactly where they came from. I told her she can spend her allowance on store bought eggs if it bothers her that much.

We do make it to civilization every once in awhile.

Rockies game with the Horncreek interns...

...these are two of the 5 guys we have with us this year,

Justin and James.

Jeff did it again.

The 175 mile relay run from Georgetown to Carbondale.

My brother joined him and 4 other guys forming the team,

"Daddies Gone Wild"

We followed them along the way in the beginning...

...the base of Loveland Ski area.

Mom and Steve volunteering at an exchange point outside of Breckenridge.

Run, Jeff, run.

Finally, 23 hours later, the finish line.

And I actually completed my first half marathon with my running buddy Kelsey in Buena Vista.

We met up with the Bachalis at our cabin. Sweet time.

Had a visit with Grampy Tom...

...and later with Nana and Papa.

We are off to a great fall.

Our wonderful 12 interns have started their own blog

if you want to follow along in their journey this year:

http://horncreekinterns.blogspot.com/

It is of course a total blast having them around.

I'll leave you with some shots from our beautiful valley.

2nd and 5th Grade, Here We Come

Summer is officially over for us.

The alarm went off at 6:15 and we were up and at 'em.

I did manage to take a quick walk to the bottom of the meadow and capture the sun coming up over the Wet Mountains....

Then back to the house to get the morning rolling.

I chose a theme verse for the year for each kiddo.

Sydney's is: "Love one another just as I have loved you"

Emily's is: "My peace I give to you."

They put these cards in their school box

as a reminder that I am home praying for them.

Emily with Mrs. Bohatch

Sydney with Mrs. Stover (l) and Mrs. Handy (r)

Her "real teacher" is Mrs. Stover, but she had a baby in June

and is taking the next 6 weeks off for maternity leave.

Here's to a great year!

That Time of Year...Again

Summer Staff 2009

Fox Living Room

Who do they think they are, just swooping in, bringing boundless energy, serious laughter, an amazing heart servant's heart, setting an awesome examples to our girls --- and then, THEY LEAVE. They actually go back to their real lives of school, work, home and leave us with some great memories as we endure another long winter waiting for their return next May. Our college summer staffers are just about to depart after a truly amazing 3 months. The group we had this year was absolutely phenominal. Their character, integrity, humor and faith made for a really steller summer.

Below are some shots of some of these fine folks ...

One of the greatest aspects of raising our girls in this setting is the exposure they have to older, Godly role models. These college students have such a meaningful impact on Emily and Sydney and for that, we are so grateful. We would allow the girls to stay up late on some Sunday nights when we hosted our weekly small group and they would be able to listen to some of the life stories or testimonies from these students. They hung on every word. We hope and pray that what they heard and saw during these summers at HornCreek will help shape and mold their own relationship with Christ in the coming years.

Other summer happenings include....

*Celebrating Nana's 65th Birthday in California

*Spending time in Breckenridge

* Having Sydney's tonsils taken out.


* Going to the camp pool and waterslides...almost daily





















* Growing my (1st!) garden

* Playing with our best of friends, the Bachalis, before their move to Denver in July

* Watching Jeff run his tail off at the Leadville Heavy Half Marathon. Stud.

* Visiting my brother and fam in MN over the 4th

* Cruising around on the atv's
















* Just hanging around

* One on One conversations

* Flowers...in our backyard meadow

* Weddings...


* Baptisms - a the creek

...and at the pool

...Awesome!!!!

* Visit to Grand Junction

* Slip-N-Slide with our favorite neighbors, the Hess boys

* And last but not least, a Spa for Sydney's beloved chickens...a bubble bath and nail painting.

Needless to say, she really, really loves her two legged lady friends.

The rest of us just want them to start making some eggs.

As the summer staffers get ready to leave, we are looking VERY FORWARD to beginning a new season with 12 interns for the year. They arrived this week and their presence is such a reminder of how amazing it is to have Horn Creek still up and running. Wow.

Jeff is ready to jump in and lead these folks through out this year. I will let him at the keyboard next time so he can share his ideas and vision for this upcoming season.

The girls will begin 2nd and 5th great in a week and a half ... I will be substitute teaching as well. Always hard to have summer end...

Until next time...

Chickens!

Poor Jeff.

More girls have been added to the fam.

14, to be exact.

I wanted only 6 or so...

He came home from Murdochs with a whopping 14.

This is Sydney greeting them after school...

and then holding and cuddling them. Some kids snuggle with dogs and cats. My kid - chickens.

May Musings

Mother's Day was such a treat --- the real enjoyment came from seeing the excitement in my girls as they just about burst with joy watching me open their beloved gifts. They are both SUCH givers and find such pleasure in seeing people receive their works of art. I was treated to the best pancake joint in Westcliffe where we then went to church to hear my "preacher" husband give the sermon on marriage. Good stuff.

Soccer continues - this is our last weekend.

Syd is in the green going for the attack.

Emily after practice.

This spring we are attempting to start a garden. I have the guidance of one of the valley's best gardeners which is a good thing since I barely know how to plant a seed. This is the beginning of our plot. Still need to work in the manure - won't be able to start planting until the last week of May. We also aquired chickens this spring. What? I know, I don't know what we were thinking except that I will be thankful come fall when I have free access to all the eggs I could ever want. Pictures of the coop will come on the next post... here is a shot of them when they were chicks. They are now 5 times the size and have quite the appetite. Scraps, anyone?

One of the major signs it's spring around here is when our creek begins to run. Last Sunday, we heard the wonderful sound of water running. Yeah!

It wouldn't be the end of school with out field trips. Here are a few shots of Syd at the zoo with her friends and some wily beasts.

The highlight of my week during the school year is on Tuesday mornings when 5 other moms meet to pray for our kids and our school. It is officially called Moms in Touch and it is such a rich time. We pray scripture over our kids and for each teacher by name through out the year. It is also fun to be able to bless the staff in different ways, mainly through providing meals during staff meetings. If you are mom out there with kids in public school, see if there is a local chapter at your school - it is well worth your time.

And finally, I will leave you with some photography by my 10 year old. She went out behind our house a few weeks ago and I must say, I was impressed!

It's Finally Here

The month I long for each winter has arrived. May. It means summer is-a-comin and the brown all around begins to have a hint of green. Notice I say a "hint". I really don't want to hear about anyone's tulips or daffodils blooming. Keet it to yourself, please. Our 9,000+ altitude kills me sometimes.

It has been a full month. Jeff has been gearing up for summer plus finishing interviews for our interns that will come this fall. He recently completed a 2 weekend long EMR (Emergency Medical Responder)class which was intense but he can now oficially change a band-aid and do other fancy stuff. Camp needed him to get certified; I think he actually enjoyed it. He is planning on running the Leadville Marathon in July...getting started again after the snow has kicked his tail, but he's getting there. I am thinking about dong the Aspen Golden Leaf Half Marathon this September - we'll see if my thinking actually turns into crossing the finish line. Any peeps out there want to join me?

Emily and Sydney have played soccer this spring - it has been a total blast. There really is something about watching your own kid play a sport and i hate to say it, but Jeff has needed some tape over his mouth a few times. He's passionate about soccer and his kid, what can I say. He loved playing as a boy so I think he is vicariously playing through his children. He is a total encouragement and teacher to them, though...I just provide the orange slices. The other night before bed, in the bedroom, as I was trying to quiet things down...you get the picture...Jeff was teaching Em how to do a slide kick. Whatever. They have both really enjoyed playing and will hopefully continue again in the fall. I have been a bit lame with getting any pics - it has been incredibly cold every game (!) so my hands are usually in my pocket. I am hoping on some temps above 60 next Saturday - come on! But here are a few of practicing with Jeff and some from the first game.

We continue to meet with our small group Monday evenings in our home - a highlight of our week. Currently, we are finishing the book Irresistable Revolution by Shane Claborne. If you've read the book, you'll understand that our discussions have been, um, intense. If you haven't read it, then I encourage you not to unless you are ready to be offended, uncomfortable and challenged. Jeff has started his own blog with his own thoughts on this book among other things...check it out.

http://www.choppythoughts.blogspot.com/

Some sad news for me personally...my sweet Grampy of 87 years passed away on Easter Sunday. I loved this man dearly. He was just about the kindest and most gentle man I have ever known. I grew up living within just a few minutes of he and my Grammy's house, so we had a special relationship. Not to mention i was his only grand-daughter. My brother and I thankfully had a chance to spend some time with him a week before he died - what a tremendous gift.

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Jeff and I had a two night get-away in April to Keystone. We spent half of one day cross-country skiing in some serious back country. At one point, we took off our skies (is that plural for ski?) and hiked to the top of a very high mountain. Fun!



We continue to live each day thankful and grateful for where we are and what we are doing. Camp's finances are still somewhat like a yo-yo, so we just keep on relishing the day and savoring the here and now. Having the summer staff come is always such a boost and there is plenty of opportunities to live some great day to day life with them. Jeff is still working some hours for our church as well which has proven to be quite a learning experience, in a good way. Stretching. Giving more of himself, but always finding it rewarding in the end.

Until next time...

Leslie