We are here.

Today was an especially hard day. There was nothing exceptional that made it difficult... the morning happened just like usual. But then, THE PANCAKES. Yesterday we went grocery shopping. And I mean we really, really went grocery shopping. I had to buy everything. Meat, fruits, vegetables. (Can I just talk about the fruits and veggies here? They are terrible. I paid almost $2 for a pound of broccoli that was all wilty and sad looking... I never knew how great California produce was. Not to mention the freaking expensive sushi here.) So, anyways... I bought some gluten free pancake mix just for fun. Here in the hotel we are living at there is a "kitchen" with "pots and pans." Whatever. There's a stove. Microwave. And some ghetto melted plastic cooking spoons and some lame cookware. (Everyday is a challenge and a lesson in being thankful for my daily provisions... I'm a work in progress, what can I say?) It was a fiasco. Smoke, burnt pancakes, and Sarah saying "Daddy, does mommy even know how to cook pancakes?" It was because they were gluten free, and called for a NON-STICK skillet. In the end it was fine, but it just really, really annoyed me that something like yummy pancakes were so difficult to pull off. Next time I'm going to Denny's.

And, the kids were so whiny... we are still getting over a cold/flu thing... parenting is a challenge here in such a small, confined space. Its easy to get caught up in what we don't have... I constantly have to check my attitude, and then remind my babies about others. Lord, help me to not turn myself inward! Less of me... less of me!

We have found that renting a place out here is proving to be more difficult than we anticipated. I might be paranoid, but once folks hear that we have 4... count them 4! Small Ones they look down their noses at us. I've observed that there are actually a lot of large families out here in beautiful Colorado, but they tend to be in the lower income bracket, and renters don't really want to mess around with that. So, we are currently shopping for a house to buy. We have been talking about this for a long time, and planned to buy a house in the next year or so... our plans are just being accelerated, and we are excited that the Lord has blessed us with this opportunity NOW! This means that all of our other long-term goals are also going to happen faster than we planned. The low-income community is near Colfax, (the main street, that goes through Denver) so we are going to be looking in that area. We have driven through it several times, and the souls there are crying out. We are excited, excited, excited to meet them.

It snowed last night, while we were sleeping. I think that it has snowed about 3 or 4 times since we've been here. It is amazing... incredible... indescribable. I've seen snow before, but these times since moving here I am reminded, every time, of the gift of salvation. The turmoil of the clouds, the ugliness of the dead grass, the bone-chilling cold that permeates everything is wiped away... it becomes flawless and pure. There is beauty, and it is made new. And it all happens while I am sleeping.

This is my hope for the community that we are here to love. That they would know the peace, and the pure love of The Creator. The One who washes the earth clean with the rain. The One who covers the earth with snow. The One who makes the sun rise on a desolate world. The One who is responsible for the mountains, the stars, the ocean... He loves them! He loves THEM!