TWO VERY HANDSOME BOYS AND A BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS

 

Brad officiated at his sister's wedding yesterday. 

A beautiful family.

Dancing with her daddy.

Wearing a tux with tennis shoes and purple shoe laces.

Being handsome and beautiful.

Waiting quietly.

A COUPLE OF LITTLE SURPRISES

Third Place has often caught us by surprise.  

We enjoy it more than we could imagine.

It is in many ways a second home.

It is far more involved and a much bigger learning curve than we expected.

AND it is often rewarding.

Rick's recent trip to help a neighbor and take care of things

revealed two great surprises.

Our KUDU pair Zulu and Venda have a little one. 

Born about two months earlier than the one that died last december,

this little guy has a greater chance of surviving the winter.

Our GEMBOK pair, Nea and Ya have another little one 

It joins, Asblief, who was born in April.

We are pretty sure this is a male. 

Notice how long it's horns are at just 5 months.

We knew that Ya was expecting but we have been expecting her baby for months.  

Venda didn't look like she was expecting but she didn't last year either.

The SABLE,   Able and Amble have not yet had any little ones.

All the rest of the deer and antelope have little ones all the time and make it an on going task

to manage their numbers, but capturing, selling and hunting.  Capturing is the biggest challenge.

CHANGING SEASONS

Summer has ended and the temperatures are beginning to cool.

It has been an amazing summer.  

TIME

We have had the gift of time with Family.
Nathan, Andrew and Kayla filled our time
for two weeks. 

And with Friends, Gary and Nancy
at Third Place.

Each of us has had time alone
to enjoy quiet and simplicity.

We have shared time together
JUST US.

We spent time at Third Place 

where clocks seem to run slower

and the sun rises and set later.

TRAVEL
We have each traveled to distant places.
Rick to Argentina Dove hunting
and Alaska Salmon fishing.
He also took a road trip fly fishing along the way
 from AZ to CO, through NM and then back to CO
to meet up with Karen.

 Karen traveled to Colorado, Estes Park

Then to Athens, Greece.

It has been a summer of great adventures for each of us.
Amazing Experiences,
Beautiful Sights,
Personal Growth
Reconnections
Playful Fun
Lazy Days.

On to the Beach

Greece is a place of history, spotted with ruins of times long ago.

The Apostle Paul spread the message of Christ's love and the Church grew.

Our message to 16 children from all around the world, 

whose parents tell the same story of God's love,

was just that:

 'God, your perfect Father loves you

and has something to tell you. 

He is your forever best friend and wants to talk with you.'

Each of these children live in a culture different than mine 

and speak at least one other language.

Making friends here at the conference was a big deal for them.

Here they were able to connect with others who experience the same cross cultural loneliness. 

They were able to  talk for hours in a common language  they seldom speak from day to day.

Playing in the park, wading in the gulf; games and relays
gave them opportunity to get to know each other.

Our lessons were brief .....
We talked about some of the languages God uses to speak to us.

We can expect God to speak to us today.

Just as He spoke to Paul and Peter

Samuel and Daniel.

We learn to listen to Him.

 Then respond to Him through

art and dance and music and journaling.

 I am blessed to have the chance to be with these amazing children
and to help them grow in their understanding of God's love for them.

May they leave their mark on the world,
telling others God's Story of love.

Doing Estes and More

Doing Estes Park together was kind of like a repeat Honeymoon.
Both were exploring a national park in the mountains.
We did many of the same kinds of things,
like hiking, picnics, scouting for wild life,
even rode a tram up the side of a mountain.
But most of all we just enjoyed being together.

Dream Lake - the end of our hike.

Our picnic spot.

Evening drives to scout deer and elk.
No 5:30 am drives like we did on our honeymoon.

Amazing big picture views!
But the affects of the beetle are hugh.

Historic Stanley Hotel opened in 1909 by Mr Stanley of the Stanley Seamer.

Known for being the most haunted hotel. It was the sight of the movie,

The Shining.

From Estes Park  we went down to Silverthorn  from where we explored several other little town.

In Breckinridge we rode the tram to the top of the mountain 

and enjoyed a cool drink before riding down.

Another great picnic spot on the river walk in Breckinridge.

There is something about Colorado that speaks Majesty and

feels like the arms of God wrapped around me.

My great man taking a break with some bronze man in Vail.

Frisco surprised Rick as did other towns. 

Many were just a burb on the road back in the 1970's 

when he was working in the area. 

Now many are thriving tourist towns. 

We have been around the world together 

and had some great vacations and experiences.

But for now this one is my favorite. 

It was just fun and relaxing; perfect in every way.

Mountain Top Experience

Karin and I and the 8 children
gathered for a group picture around
the Statue of Children
forming the letters Y-M-C-A;
 the beautiful mountains and clouds are our back drop.

  Rocky Mountain National Park 

is a perfect place for  children to explore 

some of the gifts of Love God gives them in nature. 

Gathering around Karin, they watch a lady bug.

Hugging a big pine tree.

 On our nature walks and talks the children enjoy God's beauty and creation.

 In Worship they creatively express their love to God.

 Our Bible Heros, David, Daniel and Paul, teach some of the ways they can worship God.

Through art and play they creatively express their thoughts and feelings to God.  

GOD'S LITTLE GIFTS THAT SHOW HIS LOVE

We have enjoyed so many beautiful gifts from God as we travel through the Rockies of Colorado. We have explored Estes Park, the Rocky Mountain National Park, Breakenridge, and Vail. Along the way we stopped in little towns like Georgetown, Fresco and even Keystone.  Rick has been surprised how some of these old mining towns, just bergs along the highway back when he was working in this area, are now considerable towns, seemingly thriving because of the skiing.  We have hiked into some lakes, along the rivers and of course walked the towns shopping.  We have seen deer and elk on our evening drives through the park, enjoyed several picnics beside the streams or rivers.  The weather has been typical of Colorado in the summer; beautiful days with afternoon showers and some lightening and thunder with great big fluffy clouds moving back and forth across the sky.


We have also just enjoyed being together and treasuring the gift of 'us'. We have talked about lots of things  past and present and future, laughed at our selves and



I wanted to include a few pictures of the children as they explore and learn that God has given them everything in nature as a gift to show His love for them.  They search for special treasures to collect, gather around to watch a tiny lady bug, wrap around and hug a tree.  For some reason I am not able to get them to down load.