A Fun Family Filled Weekend

Micah has been so busy lately.  He has worked all weekend after weekend and back and forth to Camp Verde and Flagstaff.  He text me one day last week and told me that we all we going to the NAU game.  I was excited that we would get to take the kids.  We had a great time.  Sara was the loudest out of the kids.  It was so cute for awhile, everything that Micah shouted out, she did.  She was quite the little cheer person.  Prior to the game we enjoyed some hang out time and food with a few of his friends from Sherman Williams Paint Store.  Sherman Williams puts on a great tailgate party and provides the tickets for us to enjoy the game.

Sunday we got up early and headed to Phoenix for the State Fair.  It was everyone's first time going except for Micah and Dillon.  It was the last day of the Fair and they were going to have free admission and an RV demolition derby.  Micah was excited for the derby, the kids were excited for the rides and I was excited that it was another day of fun with my family.

We got to Phoenix and ate lunch at Apple Bees and then headed to the Fair with our sweatshirts for later, a little draw string bag on each of our backs with a water bottle and we were set!  I'm not much for rides that make you dizzy and flips you up and all over the place but I went on a few.  The kids paired off, the boys and the girls and then Micah and I.  There were so many people, it was crazy.  The lines were extremely long which made it a little frustrating to ride the rides because you had to wait so long.  But despite all the waiting and the people everyone had a good time and rode the rides they wanted too. 

Micah was disappointed about the RV demolition derby.  There were not very many RVs left so it made for a very boring derby.  The highlight and what I actually enjoyed bunches were the big trucks!  They were awesome and so much fun to watch.

We finally left the Fair around 8:30 p.m., it was a long day and we all were very tired and hungry.  We hadn't eaten since lunch.  We went to Wendy's grabbed some food and headed home.  The kids finished a movie in the van and then they went to sleep.  Micah was a little stressed by the time made it home since we hit snow and icy roads as entered Flagstaff.  We made it home safe and sound around midnight.

On Monday morning it was hard getting the kids up and ready for their day but they managed.  Micah and I hung around the house and enjoyed the cold, snowy weather being lazy....napping, movies etc.  It was nice.


I'm extremely thankful for a great weekend with my family.

This is the Sky Flyer ( a big swing) and I did this one with Micah.  It took me a few moments to relax and enjoy the ride.

Sara really like this ride (she went by herself cuz mommy is a wimp)

An opportunity and blessing

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go take pictures of a ranch in Cornville.  A client of my husband's called him up and asked him if I would go take pictures for them and they would pay me for driving out there and then pay me for each picture of mine that they choose to use in their projects for their ranch.

I was so excited when I heard the news.  I called her up and set a time and that was that!  Yesterday I drove to Cornville to take pictures.  On the drive over I found myself talking to God about the whole thing.  I was feeling a little nervous because I don't have what I would call a good camera with all the different lenses, like a telephoto lens.  They had already seen some of my pictures from their ranch before when I went to visit my husband on the job and they liked them.  I have a digital camera and I use it to take pictures. 

I love taking pictures.  My passion is in photography and writing.  If I could make money doing the things I love that would awesome!  After talking with God I decided that it was okay that I didn't have a "good camera".  I just needed to have some faith, some confidence and enjoy doing what I do and just do it.  I still found myself extremely excited about the whole thing that I think in the end the excited won out and I was fine and ready to go.

This ranch is amazing.  Its very old and its hidden.  Its been a cattle ranch for 200 years.  It has such history.  To look around you in Cornville it doesn't look any different than any other dessert like area until you come upon this ranch.  Its hidden in a valley type area and its so big and beautiful.

I was blessed by this opportunity because the more I walked around gazing and looking for perfect shot to capture I was inspired.  I couldn't help but be inspired and in awe by the beauty that surrounded me.  I couldn't find the right words to express myself to the couple that invited me out to take pictures.  I was so thankful for the chance to take pictures of such a perfect scenic background.

I ended up taking 307 pictures but only a handful will make the cut for the projects.  I have a meeting on Monday to figure out which ones will be used.

This opportunity may lead into other projects with this same couple but we'll see God leads.

More than a field trip

On Tuesday I packed a lunch for Sara and I and gathered things up to go with her on her class field trip.  She rode the bus and I rode with two other ladies.  I enjoyed the day spending it with my daughter and her friends.  It was funny to see how many adults with cameras trying to chaperon the kids and take the opportunity to take pictures of the sights we saw.  The teachers were even trying to sneak in a snap shot here and there.  It was a fun day.

By the end of the day I realized that it was much more than a field trip with my daughter.  God has his ways of placing people in each others lives for his purpose.  At first the two other ladies and I started off with small talk.  I sort of felt like there was an under current of some sort in the back ground, not a bad one or anything just something there.  I'm not sure how it happened but next thing we knew we all said we Christians.  Once that was said then the direction of the conversations totally changed.  There was an excitement and happiness in the vehicle that is a little difficult to explain (maybe it was that under current I had been feeling)

The driver was from Virginia and has only lived here in Flagstaff for a year.  She is married and with two boys.  The other woman has lived here in Flagstaff all her life and is divorced with two girls.  I have lived in here for 2 years now going on the 3rd one, divorced and remarried with 3 kids and a step son.  So you can see that we are an interesting group of women in one vehicle.

We have christian music on in the back ground and we excited and sharing some our stories with each other.  We all at some point made the comment about how nice to was to not feel alone and realize that we all have gone through similar and different things in our lives.   God is amazing.

The woman from Virginia shared her story of grace, faith and trust about losing her 3rd son.  She carried him knowing that he was not going to be in this world very long.  He lived two weeks.  I think parts of my story showed faith, trust and strength of a few situations in my past and the present process my life is in now with being remarried and blending two families together.  The third woman is the one that I felt myself and the other woman (from Virginia) were reaching out to and our words were coming from God.  The third woman has two businesses that she runs from her home.  She cuts hair and cleans houses, apartments and a few office buildings.  She has two girls, and is in a relationship with a man that has 4 kids and lives next door to her ex-husband.  She is struggling and their are so many changes for her and her girls around the corner.  She is seeking and searching and holding on to hope that she has found with Christ.

Every time we found ourselves driving to the next stop our converstaions would go deeper into encourging one another and up lifting each other.  It was amazing and undescribable....three complete strangers.

We returned to the school and exchanged phone numbers and told each other that we would pray for one another.  We said that as busy as life gets we would try hard to keep in touch with each other.

It was more than just a field trip :)

Now for some pictures from the day.  Wupatitk National Monument and Sunset Crater

A view of the San Francisco Peaks

Sara

Below is a song that the woman from Virginia played for the 3rd woman and I knew instantly which song she was talking about, I have the same CD and this is a good song.

I know you must be wondering now....well there was this lady there that was visiting and sight seeing like we all were.  She walked around with her walking stick and we noticed she had a huge lump on her back.  She walked ahead of us and we all were quite curious.  Later the kids got really loud and excited and there she was standing on a hill introducing her monkey and telling all the kids about her friend.  This lady really had a "monkey on her back" :)