Colorado Weekend

As silly as it sounds, Rapid City school district does not have a spring break. Technically, we have a "spring break" which consists of a whole Friday through Monday off over Easter weekend. Most schools get that. However, there is no "spring break week" on our school calendar. Bummer.

My sweet sisters teaching at Emmanuel Christian School in Enid, OK, do have a spring break. Every year for the past 6 or 7 years, it has been the family tradition to do a skiing trip to Colorado for Spring break. The family has kept that tradition every year, except for 2009, the year I got married, when my family graciously offered to move my belongings up to Rapid City over spring break. I didn't get to join my family last year, because I was student teaching, but this year I was invited to join them. Remember: there is no "spring break" for Rapid City schools -so I just took a day and a half of leave to be able to join them for an extended weekend on Colorado Springs.

We had such a great time! We got to hang out together, play games, watch movies, go skiing, shop at some unique stores, and enjoy the beautiful Colorado scenery.

On Saturday, we went to Garden of the Gods and took a walk around the park. We saw a bunch of rock climbers going up the sides of the rocks.

On Monday, we all went skiing at Monarch Ski Resort. It was a gorgeous day! We had such an enjoyable time skiing!

While we were there, we stayed at the Air Force Academy, which holds many memories for us...Mom and Dad met and fell in love there, and Tim and I got married there. It was memorable to drive around and see familiar sights that reminded me of past visits.

Crazy Horse...or Crazy People???

On Tuesday, I got to join 2 first-grade classes on their field trip to Crazy Horse Memorial. I so look forward to field trips because of the "alternative" education that they provide. Sitting in the classroom all day isn't my cup of tea, so I like the opportunity to get out and learn new things from places. Tim and I visited Crazy Horse in the fall, and I enjoyed getting to see the memorial, and the amazing, crazy-huge mountain carving. The memorial was started in 1948 when sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski was commissioned by Native American Tribal Elders to build a monument in rememberance of a great leader, Crazy Horse. The monument is not yet finished, but the head of Crazy Horse is completed. Unfortunately, it's a bit difficult to see in the pictures I took. We actually went on a snowy day...imagine riding a bus through snowy mountain roads with 50 kids inside! It was quite an adventure. While visiting the memorial, we got to do a scavenger hunt for a number of items around the museums and workshops. It was fun to get to browse through the many documents, cultural pieces, and pitures that display Native American livestyle. The children really enjoyed it, and I was thankful for the chance to go with them.

After it was all done, I must have been really tired -I fell asleep on the ride home!

New Addition

I'm sure I've told a number of you that we have a new addition in our home...she is delightful, beautiful, friendly, and very helpful! Callie, Tim's sister came to live with me recently for a while. I'm SO excited to have her here. She is busy doing schoolwork during the day, as she is enrolled in correspondence college at Liberty University. She also got a part-time job at a Christian coffeeshop downtown that the is really enjoying. It is wonderful to come home to someone at the house. She is a big help too -sometimes she cleans the house before I get home, or does the dishes after dinner, or just sits and listens to my endless ramblings of the day! I hope she gets to stay for a while. Spring is just around the corner, and the Black Hills are a wonderful place to explore when the new life starts budding. It will be fun to do some outdoorsy things with Callie.

Go Pack Go!!!

Noah, Dane, Christi & Jack

Anne, Lisa, Jack, Carol, Dane, Mark, Noah & Lauralee

I'm becoming more of a sport's fan each year...this football season, I watched many of the Green Bay Packers' games with Tim. So for the Super Bowl, I threw a party. Unfortunately, Tim was not able to join us, due to being on deployment...he was even flying during the big game. :-( Poor Guy. So the party was thrown in his honor. We had both Packer and Steelers' fans in our midst, so both teams had cheering. Mark, Anne, Jack & Noah Roisum and Lisa & Dane Rumpf rooted for the Steelers; Lauralee Holsing, Carol Stastny, and myself cheered for the Packers. It was a great game to watch, and the company was UNBEATABLE!!!...it was also really great that the Pack won!

White Fluff & Puff

Winter is my least favorite season of the year ---especially in a place where winter is known to last 8 months out of the year (at least, the cold temperatures last that long). Moving from balmy winters in Oklahoma to the harsher conditions of Rapid City, South Dakota has been a challenge for me. Tim thinks winters here are nice -but he grew up in Minnesota winters where snow remains on the ground for nearly 8 months a year. I'm trying to get tougher to be able to last the harsh conditions for longer, but the cold seems to seep in through every crack of my being, causing even my attitude to turn sour. It is during these times that I must continually remind myself of the life's blessings that keep my heart warm -love from friends and family, a comfortable home, a whiny dog to come home to, a new winter wardrobe, and a sturdy vehicle that keeps me safe on somewhat precarious roads. Furthermore, the promise of spring looms in the near future, raising my hopes and causing me to stick it out for just one more day.
Oh, and for the record, the average temperature today was zero degrees Fahrenheit...even with the sun shining. Bundle up!!!

Miles Apart - Still Close at Heart

Deployment is now reality...

Tim departed yesterday for his 6 month assignment to a warm and dusty desert where he will will fly long missions to keep our ground troops safe and the enemy at bay. We already miss each other very much. It will be a long 6 months, but we are trusting in the Lord to keep us strong. We are so thankful for the prayers and support of friends and family, and for the technology that allows us to skype, email, and call each other fairly regularly. Just before leaving, Tim switched our phone service and got both of us new phones---with data plans. Simply put, it allows me to answer every call he sends my way, and gives me 24/7 access to get a hold of him. What a comfort!

Not everything about deployment is gloomy and sad---I get to have a special parking place at the commissary when I shop there, meals take less time to prepare, and there is less laundry to do---but I would trade all of these "perks" in a snap to have Tim home. Still, it helps to look on the bright side of life!

Saying Goodbye

Just before Christmas we received some unexpected information -our friends Anthony & Nicole Riggan were killed in a fatal airplane crash on their way to visit family for the holidays. To say we were surprised at the news is an understatement. Anthony & Nicole were a young, vibrant, wonderful Christian couple who exuded love and joy to all around them. They were delightful to be with -both were down-to-earth and real, but also always smiling. They loved each other fervently, and loved the Lord with their lives. We were blessed to know them for a short time, as they moved to Rapid in the spring of 2010. Anthony was in Tim's E-Flight at work; Nicole and I had the opportunity to get to know each other through coffee chats and spouses get-togethers.
One of the important lessons that we learned from Anthony & Nicole is to live our lives intentionally. Their lives were short, and God called them home at a young age. But the life they lived, they lived to the fullest. They lived each day with intentionality and resolve to make each day count. We want to follow their example and make each day of our lives count. We want to live each day as if it was our last -loving to the fullest, serving our best, and reflecting God's glory to those around us -so that when we die, our lives will be a testimony, as were Anthony & Nicole's, of joyful, Christ-centered living.