WooHoo: we closed!

Say goodbye to Colorado ... hello to Virginia.

The house closed today and we can't thank you all enough for your many prayers throughout this rather long year+ ...

but thanks to the intercessions of Mary, Joseph and Servant of God JPtheGreat, as well as prayers to a local hero, the papers were signed and the keys turned over on the very day JPtheGreat was born 89 years ago in a small Polish village -- Happy Birthday to Servant of God, JP the Great!

And again thanks for all the prayers ... keep 'em coming for the house here, please!

Novena: won't you STILL join us?

Do you mind continuing the prayers asked for here ?

After we finished the novena to St. Joseph, we started up again ... and on Tuesday (April 7th) of Holy Week we got an offer on the house in Colorado!

Actually, we received THREE offers on the same day. They were pretty good offers and we chose the best with a closing date of May 11th (exactly two months after we started that novena to St. Joseph and five days into a novena to Servant of God, John Paul the Great).

We started the process of canceling utilities, autopayments and HOA fees and were all set for next Monday's closing. Yesterday evening we got an email from our realtor: the buyers ran into a snag and needed to postpone closing. Thank goodness we have a realtor who is pretty tough -- the powers that be wanted to push closing off to the end of May but he pushed for sooner. So, now we've got closing pushed back one week.

On the 18th of May -- which happens to be Servant of God John Paul the Great's birthday -- God willing, we will close on the house.

Please continue to pray to both St. Joseph and John Paul the Great for us as we head down the homestretch to finish off our Colorado adventure and really begin our Virginia one!

THANKS!

Prayers!

WOOOHOOOO!

We just signed a contract on our house in Colorado -- it's less than we paid, but more than we owe so God is so good to us!

Please continue to pray as we go thru appraisals, inspections, etc until closing in mid-May ... and thank you so much for all your prayers on our behalf. The Blessed Mother, St. Joseph and Servant of God JPtheGreat really are coming thru for us ... and we continue to pray thru them for God's assistance.

Hmmm: God's in Charge!

It would be good if it could be said of you that the distinguishing feature of your life was "loving God's Will". – St. Josemaria Escriva, The Forge, #48

So often, I have a corporate mentality of seeing a problem, developing a solution, implementing the solution and then moving on. Most of the time this works ... except for when it doesn't!

We've seen this recently with our trying to sell a house in Colorado so that we can stay here in Virginia. Seems pretty simple ... fix it up ... contact a realtor ... post it for sale ... and someone will buy it.

But it's not been that simple. The house will be "for sale" for 10 months come Saturday! We've had one really, low-ball offer ("a bottom feeder", as it were) ... but otherwise, zip, zilch, nada, nothing! And this is a really nice house in a really nice area for less than we paid. At our current burn rate (i.e., paying rent here + mortgage payment there = WOW!), economic downturn of the stock market (i.e., investments heading down the tubes) ... we can't keep doing this.

So, we figure one of two conclusions: God is asking us to ask for a miracle ... that someone will come along and offer a fair and honest amount soon (i.e., within the next month) ... OR ... we are supposed to move back to Colorado.

Our newest prayer, and one that we would ask you to pray for us ...

God, if it be your Divine Will that we put down roots here, please let us have a miracle and send someone to offer a fair and honest price for the house in Colorado ... if it not be your Divine Will that we stay here in Virginia ... than please give us the grace to accept Your Divine Will and move back to Colorado, accepting this year as one of growth, love and sacrifice for the greater Good!

Thanks for any prayers you can send up ... we WANT to follow God's will ... we want to joyfully and enthusiastically do what He would have us do ... we just don't know what that is yet!

College: we grow 'em smart

So we brought Kotch up to her "some days first choice, some days second choice" college for a full-day scholarship competition. 120 some kids are vying for full-ride scholarships for this amazing school. While Kotch was taking her test, I got to sit for 3 hours, listening to the school's sales pitch ... which was phenomenal! I want to go there.

The enthusiasm and love of teaching exuded from every presenter. These folks really love teaching there and the student takes priority in every aspect of life. There was also a panel of students who were so pro "The Mount" that it would be hard to doubt their veracity.

When we got home I saw this post from my favorite SIL living in Colorado: the feast of St. Francis deSales. So, on the Feast of this great saint (and patron of writers), one of our favorite nieces (just 6 months younger than Kotch) received a full-ride offer from DeSales! How cool is that!

Guess we grow 'em smart ... or at least teach them to use appropriately and completely the gifts and talents from God!

Oh, and just so you know I wasn't completely idle while sitting for the almost 2 hour car ride, 3 hour testing, and 2 hour car ride home:
I have a quote on my knitting blog from fellow hand-knits designer Jill Wolcott:

I hate meetings ... but if I can get some knitting done, it's not a total loss

So not only was it a great meeting, but I ALSO got some knitting done.

Kotch and I have made a deal ... when she goes off in two weeks for another scholarship competition at her other "some days first choice, some days second choice", I will knit a pair of socks again. When she decides which college she'll attend (or wins the full-ride, which will decide for her) ... she'll get that pair of socks!

Blogs: How cool is this?

One of my all-time, favoritest experiences when living in Colorado for two years was being able to go up to the Abbey of St. Walburga for retreats ... knitting and silent retreats ... or even just a stop in for Mass and prayers with the lovely women!

Well, thanks to Giles Cote at Catholic Faith Education, I now have access to Mother Maria-Michael's words of wisdom and reflection all the way over here in Virginia. Mother Maria-Michael is an amazying woman ... as are all the wonderful Benedictine sisters at Walburga.

Check out the reflections ... and enjoy a bit of Colorado mountain spirituality with your morning coffee. How cool is this? (oh, and that bell-tower in the lower left picture has my dad's name on it thanks to a donation from my lovely brother and SIL after dad died and the Sisters moved from Boulder to Virginia Dale).

Ordinary Time 2009

Today starts "ordinary time" in the Catholic Church. All altars and vestments will now turn to green as we move from Christmas-tide (which ended yesterday with the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord in the Jordan) into Ordinary Time and work toward Lent (which starts this year on February 25th - Ash Wednesday).

Our family altar celebrates ordinary time, with the placement of a green cloth, our favorite Marian stature and relics, books and other favored family objects.

But, of course, our life is anything but ordinary this week. We'll start-up a rhythm with our home-learning adventures, but still not quite a "normal" or "ordinary" schedule as 17yod has finals this week (and into next week) which means we leave a bit later to get her to school daily ... which pushes our day back a bit. We will still try to attend daily Mass (a new year's resolution), but may have to adjust for Kotch.

Next week ... we have MLK Day (but Kotch has her 7th period final) ... and then the National March for Life in D.C. on Thursday, January 22nd (and of course, the inauguration of our newest president, Mr. Barack Obama on Tuesday, January 20th, which will keep us busy watching online and praying for our Nation as we begin this new administration which, God willing, will help the Country with its plans for change).

So although the Church calls this "ordinary" ... we'll do the best to be "ordinary" but sometimes life just interrupts!

Prayers for all to have a beautiful "ordinary time" as we head into Lent at the end of February! (And please continue to pray for the sale of our house in Colorado ... and that we joyfully embrace God's will in all things!)

Colorado: Yep, this is April!

Taken this morning at 6:15 a.m. -- hard to imagine we're more than half way through April! Of course, it's supposed to be in the 70s this weekend (after being in the 80s on Tuesday!) ...

I guess the adage is true: "If you don't like the weather in Denver, wait an hour as it'll change"

Colorado: This is APRIL??????? Updated at Noon

Yep, still snowing at noon today ....

It's Fun to Stay at the Y - M - C - A!

We took the littles up to the mountains to help cook for Kotch's retreat at the YMCA in Estes Park, CO.

Here they are horsing around on Sunday night .... and here it is the next morning .... pretty awesome scenery, huh?

We Just Got Back (again) ...

... this time from a 10-night camping trip in the big square state of Colorado with just the littles (and Molly, too it seems!). First, we drove to Mesa Verde and spent 4 nights, 5 days. We climbeD ladders, hiked cliffs and generally scared the bewees out of me as we went back 700 years to explore the lives of the Ancient Peubloans (also known as the Anazasi). We camped out in the Mesa Verde park -- at Morehouse Campground -- and had a blast; definitely something for the kids to remember (and dh and me too!).

We visited Spruce Tree House; this is a self-guided (that is, free) tour of a cliff dwelling.

We then did the Petroglyph hike -- which is only 2.8 miles but is LOTS of ups and downs and in the sun and seems MUCH LONGER! We were able to get views of other cliff dwellings: The next day, we went to Cliff Palace, the largest of all the dwellings so far. This was an amazing hike down and then a fairly scary scaling of ladders back up. The picture of the ladder wedged between rocks is the LAST ladder back up .... for someone not keen on heights (that's ME!), this was pretty intense but still do-able!

What a TRIP! We went to Long House (the second largest dwelling in the park) but I forgot the camera. This too was exceptional -- including the 3-15ft ladders involved in the overall trek.

What a historic gem! We got lots of details and will add this to our ancient cultures history unit this next Fall ... definitely a bonus for us homeschoolers....

After Mesa Verde, we drove north to the YMCA of the Rockies at Snow Mountain -- Winter Park. Now this is FAMILY-ORIENTED. We spent 4 nights (5 days) here doing archery, crafts, rollerskating, putt-putt golf and just generally having a blast as a family. Tons of great family fun and nice cool (if rainy) nights that cooled the 80+ days down to the 30s -- what a country!

If you've ever been to Mesa Verde or to the Y-camp, please let me know your experiences ...

Blessings and prayers,

Pre-camping pleasures

Now that we're out in the Rockies, we figure we'll take the kiddos camping quite a bit this summer; I mean, the scenery is AWESOME (in the true definition of the word!).

But we're also trying to get the little ones all excited while also helping us learn about camping skills before we head out. So where do we turn? The library of course!

Here are some of the books that have really gone over well with our kids:

• Follow the Trail: A Young Person's Guide to the Great Outdoors by Jessica Loy
• The Kids' Campfire Book by Jane Drake and Ann Love
• Kids Camp! Activities for the Backyard or Wilderness by Laurie Winn Carlson

Not to forget the older folks, here are some GREAT books on camping and hiking in Colorado:

• Colorado Camping: The Complete Guide to Tent and RV Camping by Sarah Ryan
• Best Hikes with Children: Colorado by Maureen Keilty
• Family Guide to Colorado's National Parks and Monuments by Carolyn Sutton