Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, that time of year has finally rolled around... HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!! :) And now, a brief ode to mashed potatoes, turkey, pumpkin pie, Thanksgiving races (I'm doing it this year, unlike a few years ago.), stuffing, after-dinner walks, and Black Friday (wait... I'm kidding about the Black Friday. That has nothing to do with Thanksgiving...). But, over all those things I just mentioned, I am so thankful to God for EVERY THING He gives us. We read Psalm 104 last night, and it was so encouraging and uplifting! I can't really resist, so here it is. I'll let you guys read it too, because it's such a fabulous Psalm. :) Here it is:

Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.

Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:

Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:

Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:

Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.

Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.

At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.

They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.

Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.

He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.

They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst.

By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.

He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.

He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;

And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.

The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;

Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.

The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies.

He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.

Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.

The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.

The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.

Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.

O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.

There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.

These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.

That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.

Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.

Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.

The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.

He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.

I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.

Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.

-That Psalm makes me want to go out in the woods right now, and take a walk in God's glorious creation that we are so incredibly blessed with. Okay, to stick to a tradition, I will now state what I'm thankful for:

-God

-My family (things are just starting to get fun with every one getting older)

-Beautiful mountains

-Elk tags

-My puppy

-Seasons

-All the "little" things

-Life in general

-There's so many things, I can't mention them all right now, but, you can check out my Thanksgiving Post that I did a couple years ago. Have a great Thanksgiving!

Count the blessings, not the calories,

Margaret

A Week of Vacation

So, our family doesn't vacation too often. But, amazingly enough, this past week, our family went on a vacation to beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado. After three days in Breckenridge, we headed off to Twin Lakes to camp for a night, hike Mt. Elbert (a 14er), then head home. We had a WONDERFUL time, swimming, hiking, biking, walking, reading, running, bowling, ice skating, and just enjoying the wonderful company and fellowship of the most wonderful family God could ever have blessed any of us with. ;) Here are some pictures from Breckenridge and Twin Lakes:

There were flowers all over Breckenridge

I thought it was just such a wonderful house for a pizza parlor, I had to take a picture of it!

The inside of our cozy little town home

Robin and Mommy on one of our many walks in Breckenridge. It really is an adorable town!

The outside of our town home

Robin and Margaret (best buds)

Margaret (I love swimming)

Maria - waiting in the car, ready to head out for Twin Lakes

Anna - sliding down the playground bar

Okay, admit it. Water is amazing.

Robin the pro is bowling! *Round of applause*

Who doesn't love Uno?

Anna the bowling beast

Margaret (here goes the 7th-in-a-row gutter ball!)

Yep, can you believe it? We had our own private bowling alley. :)

How could you resist hamburgers...

and watermelon?

We had a fox show up to beg for food. When he didn't have much success, he laid down a few yards away from where we were sitting.

He was a decent fellow... not the type that would eat chickens... Ha ha, just kidding. ALL foxes eat chickens.

Camping, here we come!

Anna got some leaves from the bottom that she carried to the top then "planted" in the dirt up there. ;)

We're headin' to the top!

A lovely morning for some lovely hikers

Time to warm your fingers up!

I slept outside, hence the red nose.

Oh, we're so close, yet so far away! (you normally hear that about a million times on 14er hikes)

Maria - at the top of her 2nd 14er

Also, at the top of Mt. Elbert, we met a rather fat chipmunk. He was friendly, and we guessed he probably got most of his dibs off of the soft-hearted hikers that made it to the top.

He wasn't too opposed to eating out of our hands

At the top!

I can hardly believe summer is almost over! This was the 3rd 14er for this year for me. There probably won't be any more until next year... Well, do have a wonderful fall!

~Margaret

Happy Late Thanksgiving!

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone, but I'm still thankful.  I thought about not even posting about this, since it was going to be so late and all, but I have now made up my mind: Better late than never!

We had an absolutely BEAUTIFUL Thanksgiving!  Robin, Dan, and Maria had to leave early to go to a Turkey Trot race.  They said they had a wonderful time.  And now, you may be thinking:  "Wow, Margaret!  What a lazy bum you are!  You didn't go to the race, and your younger sister did?!  I'm surprised at you!"

Yes, yes, I must admit, I am a bit lazy...  But, I did have a few excuses:

Excuse #1-Who would have helped Mommy with the dinner if I had gone as well?

Excuse #2-I'm a cheapskate, and didn't want to pay the whole $25 to get into the race.  However, if I had been 12 or younger, I would have gone! (12 and under got in free; No fair)

Well, those are my so-called "good" excuses ;).

Then, moving on...  As soon as my siblings returned home from their extremely taxing run, we ate, until we bursted.  Haha, just kidding, my friends...

After our wonderful, wonderful friends left, our family packed up, and we left to go stay the night at a hotel.  Now, that is strange, isn't it?  Well, Excuse #3(this is for something else, of course)-Hotels tend to be quite cheap on Thanksgiving night.

We spent the night, went swimming, did lots o' different stuff, then, in the morning we awoke.  Black Friday!  We rushed out, pushing and shoving, trying to get to the good deals first, grabbing all the junk on the shelves, rushing around the mall, into Walmart, starting riots, creating chaos, getting all the stuff our house could POSSIBLY hold!  MWAHAHA!!!  Stuff! STUFF!! STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!  "Wait!  What happened to Thanksgiving?"  (Hehe...)

Well, we interrupt this broadcast to tell you exactly what we're thankful for.  I am SO thankful for:

-Daddy

-Mommy

-My wonderful brother and sisters

-Our terrific church

-All the things that God has allowed us to use: i.e. our house, our beds, our toothbrushes (yep), etc

-Our relatives

-My beautiful grandma who has no thought of herself, and is SOOOO patient with us when teaching us the piano (especially over the phone; I would get WAY too frustrated)

-My humble and thrifty grandpa

-All the other things that are too many to mention

-And, the #1 thing I am so utterly thankful for is:

That God sent His only Son to die for us and rise again, conquering death, and then going up to live an eternal life in Heaven.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." ~John 3:16

~Margaret~