Fall.

It's fall here. As I suppose that it has become every where since September 21. Fall is really beautiful here in Colorado Springs, especially at 314 Maplewood Ave, and especially on crystal clear nights when it's almost hard to see the stars because the moon is so bright. When seasons change you can just tell. Like falling in love with the love of your life..."you just know."

This fall is going to be different however than ever before. I get to see the leaves change color and the trees become bare. Then snow is going to fall and cover the empty branches. It will be cold. I will complain, surely. But I hope that God sends more snow. So much that we get snowed in and drink hot cocoa endlessly...or coffee.... or even have coffee ice cream.

Most of all. I just want to fall in love with my Savior and have Him hold me and keep me warm...so I can believe that I am just as white as His fluffy snow.

Then hopefully we can make snow cream! Even through the winter.

Peakness!

Here is a video of Raleigh and I volunteering at the Pikes Peak Marathon!!

http://www2.gazette.com/interactives/ascentaid/

And Raleigh even got to share her wisdom. It's intense!!

Peace

I love it when people give the peace sign and mean it with all their hearts. It has a way of touching the heart in a very special way...

Kind of like when you hike and find out you have muscles you've never noticed were there.

Bubble Wrap-age

i feel like i am being selfish when i don't share on my blog about ways that God is providing. He is remarkably present. even in some of the funniest ways. if it be that He has surrounded me with wonderful friends, a house to live in with a blessing of a roommate, an opportunity to see Leslie, Mom, and Dad, or even a job at a local coffee shop, then He is showing faithful. does He have to? No.

He chooses to. not because of anything that i have done. yet for some reason i can expect that of Him. and even though i can expect that, sadly it always surprises the heck out of me. He cares about the tiniest aspects of our lives. for example:

in all of the unpacking, washing, putting things in their set places things had began to be repetitive. and all that i wanted was to remove something from a box with bubble wrap (so over cardboard and Styrofoam at this point). though it was somewhat of a joke, it would have put a smile on my face to jump on, twist, or see how silently a bubble could be popped.

so nonetheless, the cashier at ROSS's wrapped our discounted (yet, stylish) dishes in bubble wrap the very next day. God would do that. why wouldn't He?

the same God that provides bubble wrap, provides not only friendship, a home with furniture, or a bangin' job. but even more so, He provides us with His Son as a way to possibly grasp the smallest concept that He loves us beyond understanding even to the tiniest of details in our lives.

i know i have a tendency to get spiritual over things. but it doesn't take much for me to get excited. and to know that God knows that...

i hope that you receive your "bubble wrap". i'm taking He is willing to hand deliver.

The Home Front

i'm not quite sure if i posted about how Raleigh and i were placed in the house (we like to call 314) that we now live in, but when i say "placed" in this house i mean it. we often pinch ourselves and question the fact that we really didn't know each other 3 months ago. as a result...the pinch hurts!! this home, we do live in. though sure of God's hand in placing our lives together, the previous colors encompassing our home upon move-in may not have been included in His plan. therefore color replacement has taken place with a ginormous thank you to Mom and Dad for helping when they came.




please, please enjoy the before and after pic's (it's worth getting excited over by all means):

our lovely living/dining room:

our "twice painted green" kitchen:

my personal joy...the bathroom (actually painted a light blue):

and then the bedroom:

of course, with both of our interior design experience, there is obvious note to all of the neat pictures and stuff on our walls. haha. ok, actually we are in the process of getting everything together still. there is one room left which i will post about upon completion.

God is still providing.

Mom and Dad in Colorado!!

I KNOW!!! I honestly can't believe it either.

Mom and Dad really were in Colorado. For almost a week too. Driving over 1600 miles over night, not being able to stretch out their legs, and rising 6200 ft. did not keep Dad from saying, "Look, we gonna have to stop for some fried chicken." We had a blast. The time was so precious that we got to spend all together with Leslie. We went for coffee and had to play a HUGE game of catch-up on her life.

After Leslie went back to Montana to finish her AmeriCorps term, we did a lot of painting and remodeling to the new home (which is ridiculously enjoyable for our family), but made sure that we made time for meatloaf and Garden of the Gods.

One thing that is definitely a blessing to see is how "so in love" mom and dad are...without a doubt. Of course while we were at G of the G's, mom was going through this funky posing stage, but dad just let her do her thang. Which makes since considering he did marry a red head (there is no stopping us).

And yes I will freely admit that laughter, fried chicken, and yaw's after yaw's were full force while they were in CO. Surprisingly, no Jeff Gordon convo's or sweet tea. But you will have to ask the folks about getting snowed on while at Pike's Peak.

Living life to the fullest is so much fun when you get to do it with the ones you love.

So first matters first. As I said (2 weeks ago) in my last blog Leslie and I summited Mt. Elbert after staying a night in a camp ground surrounded by the Twin Lakes and the collegiate mountains (Yale, Princeton, Harvard Mts., yet sadly no UNCW). Here are some beautiful pictures of our hike:

...how small we really are.

sunrise towards the east. close to tree line (11,500 ft.).

from the tip top by 9:10 a.m.. And let me tell you joy of seeing this face...

change to this face...

was well worth all of the hard work. And there are even more rewards: it only took half the time to get back down, Leslie's head didn't hurt as bad as it possibly could have, we were only charged for one buffet at Pizza Hut instead of two, and it is totally okay to laugh now at Leslie's picture!! haha. See, isn't it worth it?

What a blessing.