I just got home from our quarterly volunteer meeting. We had a family style dinner over at Angelina's followed by some great talk time. It's incredible to see how this hodge podge of a group has come together and grown over the past year. I look back to a year ago when we were just getting to know each other unsure of how we all would work together. Everyone was so different and had their own ideas of how things should work and be done. Our meetings were short and to the point.
Now, a year later, we sit and talk for a few hours. We laugh together, share about our lives, pray together. We have become a family and I love it. I look forward to the times that our group can come together and just spend time with each other!!
I look forward to another year with an amazing team!!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
I'm Alive...
5 months....
WOW! I didn't even realize how long it had been since I last posted. Time has LITERALLY flown by. I feel like just yesterday I was preparing for summer, and now it's fall and things are going absolutely crazy. August was supposed to be my "down month". If you could only hear how hysterically I'm laughing at the idea of it being a "down month" right now.
Summer was AMAZING!! It went by so fast, but it was soooo good. We had so many kids come to our programs, we ran 3 weeks of VBS camp, took two sets of kids to an overnight camp in the Springs, had a Wii tournament, and did so much more. Several of our kids committed or rededicated their lives to Christ at camps and our Summer Festival. I got the opportunity to sit and talk with a few of them through out the summer about their decisions and what God was doing in their lives. I can remember writing a few years ago that if I could find a job just sitting and listening to kids and teens talk about their lives I would be content. I get to do this now and I can't tell you what it does to me! I LOVE it!!! They make up some of my favorite days and make the jobs I hate doing so worth it!
We've officially kicked off our fall programming and are gearing up for the holidays, and yes I'm aware it's only September. It takes so much planning to pull off the holiday events, you can't even imagine how much goes into it. I'm still running the Wednesday night programming, and we have a lot more kids this year, which is going to be a lot more work, but I'm up for the challenge. I'm also starting up a program for our middle school kids on Mondays, that's going to be where a lot of my energy and focus is for the next month, but I'm pretty excited about it. If you haven't guessed by now, I'm officially on staff, unfortunately it's still not a paid position and I'm still raising support. But God has a plan and I know this is where He wants me, which is so comforting!
My roommates and I just signed a 1 year lease on a house in Aurora. It's a 3 bed, 2 bath, 1 car garage with a HUGE backyard. I love it!! We are in the process of repainting, the people who lived here before had a pretty interesting taste and the walls that are white are so dingy and gross looking. I'm hoping that we will have everything repainted and decorated by the end of the month so that we can have a cook-out before the weather gets ugly. I'm moving Tyson out here during the holidays, I'm probably going to bring him back with me after Christmas! I'm so excited to have him out here.
This is my life for the most part right now! I'm making a fall resolution to do better at keeping you all updated! I feel like I make this comment about every 2 to 3 posts....
Muchos love!
WOW! I didn't even realize how long it had been since I last posted. Time has LITERALLY flown by. I feel like just yesterday I was preparing for summer, and now it's fall and things are going absolutely crazy. August was supposed to be my "down month". If you could only hear how hysterically I'm laughing at the idea of it being a "down month" right now.
Summer was AMAZING!! It went by so fast, but it was soooo good. We had so many kids come to our programs, we ran 3 weeks of VBS camp, took two sets of kids to an overnight camp in the Springs, had a Wii tournament, and did so much more. Several of our kids committed or rededicated their lives to Christ at camps and our Summer Festival. I got the opportunity to sit and talk with a few of them through out the summer about their decisions and what God was doing in their lives. I can remember writing a few years ago that if I could find a job just sitting and listening to kids and teens talk about their lives I would be content. I get to do this now and I can't tell you what it does to me! I LOVE it!!! They make up some of my favorite days and make the jobs I hate doing so worth it!
We've officially kicked off our fall programming and are gearing up for the holidays, and yes I'm aware it's only September. It takes so much planning to pull off the holiday events, you can't even imagine how much goes into it. I'm still running the Wednesday night programming, and we have a lot more kids this year, which is going to be a lot more work, but I'm up for the challenge. I'm also starting up a program for our middle school kids on Mondays, that's going to be where a lot of my energy and focus is for the next month, but I'm pretty excited about it. If you haven't guessed by now, I'm officially on staff, unfortunately it's still not a paid position and I'm still raising support. But God has a plan and I know this is where He wants me, which is so comforting!
My roommates and I just signed a 1 year lease on a house in Aurora. It's a 3 bed, 2 bath, 1 car garage with a HUGE backyard. I love it!! We are in the process of repainting, the people who lived here before had a pretty interesting taste and the walls that are white are so dingy and gross looking. I'm hoping that we will have everything repainted and decorated by the end of the month so that we can have a cook-out before the weather gets ugly. I'm moving Tyson out here during the holidays, I'm probably going to bring him back with me after Christmas! I'm so excited to have him out here.
This is my life for the most part right now! I'm making a fall resolution to do better at keeping you all updated! I feel like I make this comment about every 2 to 3 posts....
Muchos love!
Friday, April 9, 2010
Back in the Swing
I'm finally starting to feel back into the swing of things. After being off work for a week due to sickness, then off for another week due to snow storms, and then off for a third week due to yet another sickness, I was itching to get back in the office.
It had been a month since I had seen my Wednesday night kids! I missed them so flipping much!!! When I walked in to the Club House and Josue, one of my absolute faves saw me, I thought I was going to cry at his reaction. He stopped talking, gasped, and started into a sprint his arms wide open to give me a hug. I picked him up and spun him around. "I missed you so much Ms. Dena!" He exclaimed as I was putting him down. "Are you feeling better? You shouldn't be gone that long next time." I had to fight the urge to start crying. The rest of the kids started to notice I was there and instantly started running up to me and hugging me, telling me stories of what had happened while I was gone, and how much they missed me and didn't want me to be sick anymore. I knew how much all of these little ones had come to mean to me, but little did I know the role I was playing in their lives. The rest of the evening was hysterical, we celebrated a few birthdays.
My week back has gone by fast, full of trying to play catch up. I think I'm getting close to having my head above water. If you don't hear from me in a week or two though you might check and see if I've drowned.
Much love!
It had been a month since I had seen my Wednesday night kids! I missed them so flipping much!!! When I walked in to the Club House and Josue, one of my absolute faves saw me, I thought I was going to cry at his reaction. He stopped talking, gasped, and started into a sprint his arms wide open to give me a hug. I picked him up and spun him around. "I missed you so much Ms. Dena!" He exclaimed as I was putting him down. "Are you feeling better? You shouldn't be gone that long next time." I had to fight the urge to start crying. The rest of the kids started to notice I was there and instantly started running up to me and hugging me, telling me stories of what had happened while I was gone, and how much they missed me and didn't want me to be sick anymore. I knew how much all of these little ones had come to mean to me, but little did I know the role I was playing in their lives. The rest of the evening was hysterical, we celebrated a few birthdays.
My week back has gone by fast, full of trying to play catch up. I think I'm getting close to having my head above water. If you don't hear from me in a week or two though you might check and see if I've drowned.
Much love!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Oh the Weather Outside is...
Very interesting!! One day it's in the 60's and absolutely GORGEOUS! I'm rocking my flip flops and a t shirt, and the next day....
A BLIZZARD!!
Last Friday it was awful. It snowed all day and through the night, and I'm not talking a little bit of snow. Jewell and I went to run some errands, while we were in Sam's for maybe 30 to 45 minutes getting groceries enough snow accumulated on my car to cause us to take about 10 minutes to clear it off when we got out. But on Saturday it was gorgeous outside and I was driving with the sunroof open, so all was well. We had a few more days of absolutely beautiful spring weather and then today hit.
It was so gorgeous outside, but for other reasons then being warm and sunny. It was cloudy, and the air felt cool and crisp. A thunderstorm was brewing and I was excited!! I LOVE thunderstorms! As I was driving to work I watched the lighting dancing in the sky to the beat of the thunder, I was so excited for a thunderstorm, they are one of the things I miss the most about Oklahoma. And then it went from good to interesting to WOW! Raindrops started hitting my windshield, followed by sleet, which turned into hail. As I pulled up to the building I experienced something I never thought was possible and probably will never experience again. It was raining, snowing, sleeting, and hailing all at the same time! I watched the storm from our hospitality room as I worked, did I mention I love storms! I think they are so incredible, it's like a movie God creates for us, the most amazing "special effects" you will ever see, and they're LIVE!
So after much debating we decided to cancel programing for the night and I drove home. For those who were in OK this Christmas for the blizzard and experienced driving conditions on Christmas Eve, let's just say that today's was far worse. Visibility was awful, the plows couldn't clear the roads fast enough, after driving 2-3 miles you would have to clean off mirrors and/or windshield wipers, and the drivers here are ridiculous which I find quite ironic.
I was planning a nice evening at home with the roommates when I got a call from one of the parents I work closely with, her car wouldn't start and she had no way to pick up her daughter from work. So Jewell and I threw on our snow gear and ventured out, we picked her up, took her home, and hung out with their family for a few and headed back home. Stopping to help people along the way. Side Note - I can't tell you how happy I am to have a best friend/roommate here who likes to help people the way I do! I'm pretty sure if we both weren't starving we would have stayed out giving rides and pushing cars all night. We finally made it home with some firewood in tow. The snow is still coming down, the trees outside my bedroom window are sagging from the weight of the snow already on them, it reminds me of the ice storm a few years back. Luke's school was canceled for tomorrow, Jewell has off work, and if the snow keeps up like they say it is we'll be canceling programming for tomorrow as well, which means....
SNOW DAY WITH THE ROOMMATES!!!
And I am so excited. First off I haven't had a legit snow day in like 8 years! Second there is sooo much snow that the opportunities for sledding, snow ball fights, snow angels, and snow men are endless! Third, we haven't had a roommate day in forever! Like I'm pretty sure it was before we were roommates! Fourth, I'm finally going to get some family pictures, which I've been trying to do since we've moved in but we are never all together unless it's late at night after work and right before bed. So hopefully I'll have some new pictures to post for you all soon!
Hope you all are enjoying the spring weather as I'm enjoying my blizzard!
Much love!!
A BLIZZARD!!
Last Friday it was awful. It snowed all day and through the night, and I'm not talking a little bit of snow. Jewell and I went to run some errands, while we were in Sam's for maybe 30 to 45 minutes getting groceries enough snow accumulated on my car to cause us to take about 10 minutes to clear it off when we got out. But on Saturday it was gorgeous outside and I was driving with the sunroof open, so all was well. We had a few more days of absolutely beautiful spring weather and then today hit.
It was so gorgeous outside, but for other reasons then being warm and sunny. It was cloudy, and the air felt cool and crisp. A thunderstorm was brewing and I was excited!! I LOVE thunderstorms! As I was driving to work I watched the lighting dancing in the sky to the beat of the thunder, I was so excited for a thunderstorm, they are one of the things I miss the most about Oklahoma. And then it went from good to interesting to WOW! Raindrops started hitting my windshield, followed by sleet, which turned into hail. As I pulled up to the building I experienced something I never thought was possible and probably will never experience again. It was raining, snowing, sleeting, and hailing all at the same time! I watched the storm from our hospitality room as I worked, did I mention I love storms! I think they are so incredible, it's like a movie God creates for us, the most amazing "special effects" you will ever see, and they're LIVE!
So after much debating we decided to cancel programing for the night and I drove home. For those who were in OK this Christmas for the blizzard and experienced driving conditions on Christmas Eve, let's just say that today's was far worse. Visibility was awful, the plows couldn't clear the roads fast enough, after driving 2-3 miles you would have to clean off mirrors and/or windshield wipers, and the drivers here are ridiculous which I find quite ironic.
I was planning a nice evening at home with the roommates when I got a call from one of the parents I work closely with, her car wouldn't start and she had no way to pick up her daughter from work. So Jewell and I threw on our snow gear and ventured out, we picked her up, took her home, and hung out with their family for a few and headed back home. Stopping to help people along the way. Side Note - I can't tell you how happy I am to have a best friend/roommate here who likes to help people the way I do! I'm pretty sure if we both weren't starving we would have stayed out giving rides and pushing cars all night. We finally made it home with some firewood in tow. The snow is still coming down, the trees outside my bedroom window are sagging from the weight of the snow already on them, it reminds me of the ice storm a few years back. Luke's school was canceled for tomorrow, Jewell has off work, and if the snow keeps up like they say it is we'll be canceling programming for tomorrow as well, which means....
SNOW DAY WITH THE ROOMMATES!!!
And I am so excited. First off I haven't had a legit snow day in like 8 years! Second there is sooo much snow that the opportunities for sledding, snow ball fights, snow angels, and snow men are endless! Third, we haven't had a roommate day in forever! Like I'm pretty sure it was before we were roommates! Fourth, I'm finally going to get some family pictures, which I've been trying to do since we've moved in but we are never all together unless it's late at night after work and right before bed. So hopefully I'll have some new pictures to post for you all soon!
Hope you all are enjoying the spring weather as I'm enjoying my blizzard!
Much love!!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Whirlwind Adventure
So I've been in desperate need to update this, but haven't known where to start. Let's just say I'm not very good at resolutions.
Life has been so many things, amazing, wonderful, hard, stressful! But life is good, for the most part.
We're still settling in to the apartment! I love it here and I love my roommates! I think I've re-arranged my room 50 times and I'm still working on it.
Work is going well. I run our Wednesday night kids programming now and it's amazing. I love my volunteers and kids. Wednesdays are pretty much my favorite days. I've also started mentoring two of the girls. I'm loving it here and I don't know how I'm supposed to leave in a few months!
Now onto the whirlwind part -
Part of the wonderful perks of having two roommates means we share everything, including sickness. Jewell got sick over a week ago, gave it to Luke, who then gave it to me. In being sick with two other people, I have learned that I don't do sick like other people. I think it's because I've always watched my mom, a woman who NEVER lets getting sick stop her. Well my sick finally stopped me yesterday. I woke up with a horrible stomach ache, decided not to eat, and then decided to pass out due to dehydration. After a forever long trip in the ER full of tests, IVs, scans, stitches, questions, and so much more they finally let me go. I'm bruised all over, have 5 stitches below my lip, 3 stitches inside of my lip, 2 caps on my front 2 teeth, and I'm incredibly sore. I'm not allowed to drive for a few days, have to take a few days off work, and I'm supposed to make sure I keep my heart rate under control. It took forever to get it down while at the hospital, they were about to admit, praise the Lord they didn't! Needless to say I look really cute right now and I'm having a really hard time relying on other people.
But that catches me up on the happenings of life. I'll try and do better on updating this!
Much love!!!
Life has been so many things, amazing, wonderful, hard, stressful! But life is good, for the most part.
We're still settling in to the apartment! I love it here and I love my roommates! I think I've re-arranged my room 50 times and I'm still working on it.
Work is going well. I run our Wednesday night kids programming now and it's amazing. I love my volunteers and kids. Wednesdays are pretty much my favorite days. I've also started mentoring two of the girls. I'm loving it here and I don't know how I'm supposed to leave in a few months!
Now onto the whirlwind part -
Part of the wonderful perks of having two roommates means we share everything, including sickness. Jewell got sick over a week ago, gave it to Luke, who then gave it to me. In being sick with two other people, I have learned that I don't do sick like other people. I think it's because I've always watched my mom, a woman who NEVER lets getting sick stop her. Well my sick finally stopped me yesterday. I woke up with a horrible stomach ache, decided not to eat, and then decided to pass out due to dehydration. After a forever long trip in the ER full of tests, IVs, scans, stitches, questions, and so much more they finally let me go. I'm bruised all over, have 5 stitches below my lip, 3 stitches inside of my lip, 2 caps on my front 2 teeth, and I'm incredibly sore. I'm not allowed to drive for a few days, have to take a few days off work, and I'm supposed to make sure I keep my heart rate under control. It took forever to get it down while at the hospital, they were about to admit, praise the Lord they didn't! Needless to say I look really cute right now and I'm having a really hard time relying on other people.
But that catches me up on the happenings of life. I'll try and do better on updating this!
Much love!!!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Moving Day
So I have a home! I know it's been a long time since I've updated and I'm so so sorry! Life has been absolutely crazy since the holidays! Working in urban ministry during the holidays was so amazing and way more than I could have ever expected!! It was so crazy busy, but so crazy amazing at the same time, I loved every second of it. I spent some much needed time back in Oklahoma and it was wonderful! Seeing loved ones and getting some legit hugs was definitely needed! I got back to Denver a week ago today and was set to move-in to an apartment last Sunday. That however did not happen, the apartment was in horrible condition and I decided it was not the place for Jewell or I to live for the next six months. So after several emotional break-downs and some good friends trying to cheer me up I finally found a place for us on Tuesday. We got our keys today and have had a blast starting to set things up. I'm so excited for everything that is to come in the next year! God is so good and he works in some amazing ways!
My New Year's Resolution - To update my blog way more frequently than I have been the last few months!! But for now I'm off to bed, it's going to be a long few days filled with two crazy road trips and trying to get fully moved in to the new place!
Much love!!
My New Year's Resolution - To update my blog way more frequently than I have been the last few months!! But for now I'm off to bed, it's going to be a long few days filled with two crazy road trips and trying to get fully moved in to the new place!
Much love!!
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