The Big Snow

We got alot of snow last weekend - about 36 inches or so. Here's a picture of Mike stuck at the end of our driveway. He couldn't tell where the drive was and hit the ditch by mistake. This has been a loooooong winter!

Mike's Day of Antler Hunting

Here are a couple of pictures of the antlers that Mike picked up while antler hunting about 1 1/2 weeks ago - before the big snow that covered everything for time undetermined! He was surprised to find a fresh elk antler already, as they don't usually drop until the end of March.

Happy Valentine's Day!

God’s Valentine Gift


God’s Valentine gift of love to us
Was not a bunch of flowers;
It wasn’t candy, or 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.


He gave us sweet salvation, and
Instruction, good and true--
To love our friends and enemies
And love our Savior, too.


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.


By Joanna Fuchs

More Remodel Pictures

Here are some more pictures of our remodel project. Sorry I haven't been very good about posting lately.
Saturday, Mike spent the day framing in the bathroom and new closet in our bedroom. The bathroom is on the left and the closet on the right. Since he doesn't have to return to work till next Friday, we're hoping to have these two drywalled, taped, mudded, textured, painted and ready for tile when Mike goes back. Ah yes, and the electrical done, of course.

This is a picture of Donn cutting out the hole for our new mud room door. Please, don't even ask me about the dust level in my house right now!

This is a view of my new kitchen add-on, taken from my current kitchen window.

And although it's hard to tell what's what - this is the entire add-on of the back of the house. First, you see the kitchen part of the add-on. Next, is the walk-in pantry. And way in the back is the laundry/utility room.

Kids Dresses Up for Church

Here are a couple of recent pictures of the kiddos ready to go to church. Hunter loves his new "preacher" clothes:) Katie is laughing so hard in the first picture that she really doesn't look like herself, but anyway...

Past Midnight Musings

It was definitely a Monday! (I'm certainly glad we are now officially in to Tuesday!) The day started at 4:17am when Hunter came in our room because he was cold. The irony of this was that - due to remodeling - half our bedroom floor currently has no insulation (or anything else!) under it, and the sliding glass door in our bedroom is closed at the top, but is gapping about an inch at the bottom. BRRR! (Don't worry, Mom, all of this will be taken care of on Friday:) I couldn't go back to sleep because I knew Mike's alarm was due to go off at 5:15, so I just layed there watching the clock. I thought I would get tons accomplished since I had extra hours in which to work, but alas, all did not go as planned. Then, when Mike got home he told us he had gotten hurt at work - bruised or cracked ribs, which are, of course, very painful. After supper, there was a major problem with a clogged toilet (I don't even want to know what was stuck in there!). After which Hunter projectile vomited from the dining room to the kitchen just before bedtime. He has since thrown up 8 times and is currently sleeping fitfully of the couch. Needless to say, I see no sign of sleep for Mama on the horizon! But all is not lost!!! I get to update our blog at 1:00AM, and keep my wonderful friends and family abreast of all the chaotic happenings in our life! (I hope most of you know me well enough to realize that these are sleep deprived ramblings). But as I do not wish to put any of you in the depths of despair from the accounts of my day, let me add - I did accomplish about 3/4 of my to do list. I was very excited to receive a copy of the cabinet plans for our kitchen remodel. And most importantly, no matter what comes our way, we have the wonderful assurance that God will not put on us more than we are able to bear. He is in control, and we choose to believe Him in spite of any adverse circumstances which may come our way. Indeed, God is good all the time. May you all have a peaceful, restful night as I continue the watchful vigil over my wretching child. I'm glad God has promised strength for each day - I think I'll need a little extra tomorrow - today:)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

We hope you all had a blessed Christmas day! We just arrived home this afternoon. The roads were so bad yesterday driving across Missouri and Kansas that we decided to spend the night in Denver rather than risk driving over the mountain passes late last night. Here are a few pictures of our afternoon Christmas here at home, and a picture of the Sayler cousins' Christmas in Missouri.

December Update

Sorry, I have been terrible about taking pictures lately! We had our church Christmas program, "A Christmas Carol" (Christian version) again this year. The young people and children did a fantastic job! I was so proud of them. And as I was one of the directors, and working part of the lights & sound, I did not get any photos. I'm hoping to get some from other people, and if I do I will post those. Hunter makes an adorable Tiny Tim, and Katie played Fan as well as one of the Cratchit children. Mike even played a couple of smaller parts for us, as we didn't have quite enough young people. We had a number of visitors to the program this year, so hopefully some of them will come back! We're headed to Missouri on Friday. Mike's going to whitetail hunt with a muzzleloader while we are there visiting his family. Have a Merry Christmas, if I don't get to talk to some of you before then. And as Tiny Tim observed, "God bless us, everyone!"

The Annual Thanksgiving Morning Hunt

Mike has a tradition of going on some kind of a hunt - ducks, pheasant, coyote, etc. - every Thanksgiving morning. This year he went coyote hunting with an older man from church, Doc. Doc is 79 years old, and still loves to get out to hunt or fish with anyone he can get to go with him! Mike had a great time, and ended up bringing home 2 coyotes.

Our Newest Remodel Project

We were not planning on starting this project right now, but things just seemed to work out for us to begin, so... Those of you that have been here know that part of our bedroom upstairs is supported by 4x4 posts. We have begun the process of moving the back of the house out 6-7 feet. When all is said and done, I will have a bigger kitchen, a bigger bathroom, a laundry room, a walk-in pantry, and a mud room! Sounds exciting - but as we are paying for things as we go, it will likely be a sslloooow process:) But, we will not incur any debt along the way! Here are a few photos of digging, pouring the footer, and forming up for the stem wall.

Watching the Tigers

 

 

 

Ready for a Dive:)

 

You could barely see Hunter. He had to stand on his tiptoes for me to get the picture!

Touching and Feeding Sting Rays

 

 

 

 

Face Painting at the Denver Aquarium

 

Denver Aquarium

We had a fantastic time at the Denver Aquarium today. The kids got to see and identify many of the animals we had studied in our Science unit - Daddy was impressed with their knowledge:) They especially loved touching and feeding the sting rays. They both got their face painted (of course, Hunter chose a dinosaur!). It was an especially great day because of the news that I, Kim, received from the ear doctor. He said my ear looks perfect and my hearing has really improved also. We truly thank the Lord for this!

Mike's Stag

I had a 2nd rifle buck tag. I hunted up high at first looking for a big buck. Couldn't find what I was looking for, so I hunted in the middle and down low. I went 2 days without seeing a buck at all. So, the last day I was willing to shoot anything. I saw a buck in velvet this morning, but I wasn't sure if he was on public land. So I figured out that he was on public land this afternoon, and went back after him. I found him bedded down at 50 yards, but only could see antlers. I couldn't even tell which way his body was. Finally, he jumped out of his bed and I shot him running. He has an extra main beam on one side. He turned out to be a stag.

 

 

 

 

1st Rifle Elk Hunt with Dad

Dad and I hunted very hard all season and only saw 2 cows. 2 years ago there was a bad winter kill in that area, so the unit was not nearly as good as it once was. Still had a great time with my dad. So everyone that was wanting to see how we did in Unit 66, I wouldn't recommend hunting it for several more years. My dad said it best, "You can't always measure a successful hunt by blood." It was still fun spending time with my dad.

Field Trip to the Dinosaur Museum

Our family took a field trip to the Dinosaur Museum in Fruita, CO yesterday. Mike had never been before, and Hunter can never get enough of dinosaurs. We especially enjoyed the interactive displays - the earthquake simulator, excavating dinosaur bones (reproductions, of course), and getting squirted by a robotic dinosaur were some of our favorite things.