There is a sweet family in our home group that we call our twins. We each have 3 girls. Each set of girls (Grace and Katrina, Abi and Madi, Hannah and Violet) were born within 2 weeks of each other. All of them are ahem stubborn. And they are all great buddies.


It is so fun for me to watch the little girlfriend relationships form. A while ago, the littlest duo, Hannah and Violet, decided to take our jeep for a spin in the backyard. And it was one of those moments where all the moms run for the cameras.

My little princess is growing up far too fast for my taste. I'm not ready for her to be 2 on Monday. Her daddy keeps asking when we are going to put her in a big girl bed. I keep saying, "I don't think she's ready yet." Really, it's me who's not ready. I wish I could freeze her.





Violet has gone to Miss Ronda's since she was an itty bitty, but just recently had her first haircut in the big girl chair. And loved it! I think we have the makings of a pampered princess here people!

**October is Clergy Appreciation Month. We are so blessed to have the pastoral staff that we do at our church. They are truly a gift from God. This month, each of my Thankful Thursday posts will feature one of these amazing families.**











When we stepped down from the youth, I left a part of my heart there. I will always treasure teens. They have an energy that cannot be compared. I love them. But we knew it was time. But, in a sense, these were all my little brothers and sisters. And I wanted nothing but the best for them.


So, when we found out that Pastor Dwight had hired a Raiders fan to lead them, I knew it was time to pray. Hard.


Just kidding...sort of...


What a treasure this family has become, in just the short time they have been here. It was obvious from day one that God has called Kevin, Brenda, and the kids here to do an amazing work in this town's youth. They are real, they are honest, and they are willing to be in your face with God's truth. Exactly the combination, I believe, that will transform these young people.


Our growing friendship is proof that it is possible for all people to work together for the good of God's kingdom. I mean, seriously, a Raiders fan and a Broncos fan - as buddies? Who would have thought? But, really, this family is the genuine article.


Kevin and Brenda, I have completely fallen in love with. They are just real. There is nothing pretentious, nothing fake about them. Adam and KC are becoming like little brothers - it took them a grand total of 5 minutes to figure out all my pet peeves and use them against me! No, really, they are two wonderful young men who consistently bring a smile to my face. It is a joy to be around them. And Kayla, sweet Kayla. We have so much in common - the youngest child, Daddy's girls, football fans to the core. It is so fun and refreshing to be around her. And my children have fallen in love with her. Violet cannot wait to get to church so that Kayla will spoil her.


I see the vision God has given Kevin for these youth - the desire for them to escape average, to live the life God has called them to. And I'm getting excited. I cannot wait to see where these youth are headed, because Kevin and Brenda are training up a generation of world-changers, right here in our little church.


Thank you, Dolbees, for giving up so much of yourselves to obey God's call. I know it was not an easy decision to move here, and there have been times you have had to pay the price. Know that I am grateful. You are an amazing family.


And... P.S. GO BRONCOS!!!

I just realized something - it's been a year since I started blogging! So, is that a annilog, or blogiversary? Not sure...

Holly said that Madi would have stayed outside all day. Violet had fun for a few minutes, and then was ready to be doted on indoors. Oh well...

Tonight Jerome and I are taking his sister Celine to her first rock concert. We get to see THE NEWSBOYS!!!!! Oh yeah, and a couple of other bands. DID I MENTION THE NEWSBOYS?!?!?!?!?!?! They were one of the first "Christian" bands that Jerome ever played for me, and that I enjoyed. I am beyond excited.

So, what do I want on this auspicious day, you may ask? For passing the one-year mark in blog world? I would like to know who you are. Please leave me a comment letting me know who you are, how you found my blog, and what your favorite post in this last year was. Cause I know my favs, but I would love to hear yours. And, yes, it is time for all you stalkers to come out!

**October is Clergy Appreciation Month. We are so blessed to have the pastoral staff that we do at our church. They are truly a gift from God. This month, each of my Thankful Thursday posts will feature one of these amazing families.**

The Quisenberry Family

We first "met" the Quisenberry family when their son Ryan got married to the Saunders oldest daughter Abi. And by "met", I of course mean heard about this crazy family just like the Saunders with a bazillion kids who were all going to be in the wedding and were all bestest buddies with the Saunders kids. That kind of "met".


At that point, we had no idea just how God would weave this fabric together.


Right after the Saunders' home burned in January, these crazy kids came to stay with them and help. Because there were so many of them, they became "the Quiz kids". Man, they were fun to hang around. And, yes, when the Quisenberry and Saunders families get together, there are A LOT of teens. And it's such a blast! Again, no idea about the weaving.


Fast forward to this spring. At the church, we were facing the departure of 3 of our pastors. Seth & Maria were preparing to move to San Francisco, to launch a church. Megan & Benjie were preparing to move to Los Angeles to rejoin YWAM. Adam & Kristin were preparing to move to Fort Collins so that Adam could go to med school. Hmm... that left... the Saunders, and the Palmers. Interesting...weaving...


So, guess who God brought from Wydaho (the border of Wyoming and Idaho, in case you were wondering) this summer? Yup, the Quisenberrys.


And our lives were never the same.


A few weeks after they moved to town, we invited them to our house for dinner. I vividly remember Lori asking, "All of us? Are you sure? People don't normally invite all of us."


Well, they all came. Not all of them, actually. They only have six kiddos still at home - Josh, Steven, Anna, April, Ruth, and Drew. But still, our home was filled with the sounds of lots of kids that night. Luckily it was warm, so we could eat outside. But a bond was formed that night that I will treasure for the rest of my life.


Steve and Lori are so wise, warm, welcoming, humble, real, amazing. They are down-to-earth real people, no hint of pretension about them. Their children are respectful, helpful, gracious, treasured servants. When we were finished eating, all of the kids stood up and started clearing the table, washing the dishes, putting away the food. Without being asked. How many teens do you know that will do that?


On hard days, when my three-year-old patience-tester is really getting to me, I'll grab Lori. "Please tell me its worth it. Please tell me my kids can turn out like yours. Please tell me its worth the fight." And the look in her eyes, the gentle hug reminds me that it is.


What a blessing this family is. I wish I had more eloquent words to describe them, because blessing just isn't enough. They are a treasure. A treasure, prepared by God to minister to our church, and our family, for such a time as this. Thank you, Lord, for bringing us this amazing family. Thank you, amazing Quisenberry family, for being our pastors. Our teachers. Our children's teachers. Our friends.

And it took me a month to post the photos!


Katrina's birthday was on a Friday this year, so we decided to have a couple of her little girlfriends over for a sleepover. She had been begging us for months to have a sleepover, so we figured this was a good time to test the waters. I must say, it was too much fun. Her girlfriends of choice for this night were:


Miss Grace





and Miss Juliana




When the girls got there, we made personal pizzas. While we were making them, Juliana informed me that she did not like pizza. At all. I convinced her to at least make a pizza with us. I then spent the next 30 minutes trying to figure something else out for the girl to eat.





While the pizzas cooked, the girls enjoyed a few rounds of Candy Land. It's interesting watching 3 6-year-olds negotiate a game by themselves. By the way, Madison got to spent the night with Grandma & Pepe Bleger. By herself. She thought she was tough stuff. Violet pretty much just chased the big girls around and tried to keep up.





Much to my surprise, when dinner time came, Juliana ate her entire pizza. She told me that it was the best pizza she had ever had. Score one for the party lady!


After dinner, the girls made bead bracelets. And each of them had to pose for the camera. Here's the slightly excited birthday girl:





And Princess Grace, who is just as elegant as her namesake.




And Miss Juliana, who did not make a bracelet. She made a bead string. That was circular. And that she wore on her wrist. But it wasn't a bracelet.





My little French princess decided that she did not want a birthday cake. She wanted fondue. What we didn't know was that neither of the other girls had experienced fondue before. I think they were in heaven. We had fruit, cake, pretzels, and marshmallows, all dipped in glorious chocolate. They ate it all.






After cake came presents, with both buddies eager to help.





And a "Let's Take Care of a Dog with a million tiny pieces and a tree that both require batteries" Barbie. Great fun with a child who still puts toys in her mouth.




And what girlie sleepover would be complete without pedicures? Apparently Toby (the cat) was perturbed by the lack of attention. He decided to give Jerome a great shot of his tail just as he was trying to take a photo of all the girls. The girlies found it so entertaining, we had to keep it.
Little girl giggles are the best.





We got her the Hannah Montana movie as her birthday present. So we snuggled them all down into their sleeping bags, fully expecting them to conk out halfway through the show.

Since we met, I've been slowly introducing Jerome to the wonders of hunting. This fall, he passed his hunter's safety class and was "officially" able to hunt. Dad and I had already drawn for our tags, so Friday we sent Jerome to the DOW to get a leftover tag. A leftover tag is literally whatever tags are leftover after everyone puts in for the drawing. This year, the only tag available was for a bull elk. We hadn't seen elk in our hunting spot for about ten years. But, just for the experience, Jerome went ahead and bought one.


We spent the night at my parents' house, so the girls could hang out with Grandma for the day. We got up at 5 AM, got our lunches packed, then got in the truck for the drive to our hunting area. 5 minutes later, we were there. I know, rough. We waited for it to be light enough to see, then unloaded the 4-wheelers and headed in.


Dad and I have discovered a "sweet" spot. We've got a natural hide (an area where you can sit and watch for game, while being hidden from sight) that is just great. Every year, we see game in this draw. So, we settled in for the wait.


Jerome dozed off for a while (poor baby did not sleep well the night before).


It never fails. We can almost guarantee that, about 9 AM, some out-of-stater is going to push game over the ridge, right in our line of site. We were enjoying a cup of coffee (yes, I take powdered mocha mix hunting. I'm spoiled) when a group of three bull elk ran across the ridge in front of us. The lead bull was HUGE - easily 7 or 8 points. By far, the biggest bull I have ever seen. And the other two were nothing to sneeze at either.


Jerome grabbed his gun to shoot. And forgot how to cock it. You see, we hadn't had a chance to sight in his new rifle (which he carried to the car from the store, but that's another story), so he wasn't as comfortable as he could have been. And, he had been shooting a regular bolt action. His new rifle is a lever action. And he forgot how to cock it. We're standing there, watching three beautiful bulls run in front of us, and he's fighting the gun. Needless to say, this is one that he will never live down.


So, those bulls lived to see another day. We had a great laugh about it, and practiced loading his gun a few times, just in case :). We thought that maybe more game might come our way, so we settled down to wait a while longer.


About 30 minutes later, I saw a herd of bulls and cows cut across the draw below us. Because Dad and I have hunted this ridge a lot, we know the game trails. We got Jerome set up, and waited for them to come out from behind the trees. A group of cows came first, then a beautiful bull. Dad was standing right behind Jerome, reminding him to breathe, then shoot. When Jerome shot, he put down the bull with one shot.


The bull fell is really the perfect location - a small meadow, clear and level, with easy 4-wheeler access. Because my dad is now the bionic man (too many surgeries to count), we have to be picky about where we shoot our game. We simply cannot pack out animals like some of the study.


Here's my great white hunter with his catch. He was so excited, he was shaking.

**October is Clergy Appreciation Month. We are so blessed to have the pastoral staff that we do at our church. They are truly a gift from God. This month, each of my Thankful Thursday posts will feature one of these amazing families.**














There are those times in life. When you meet someone you know God meant for you to meet. Someone who "gets" you. Someone you would swear you were separated from at birth. If only they weren't just a few months older than you...ahem...





That's how Jerome and I felt when we met Bill & Jen. Bill is Jerome's ultimate sports buddy. Jen is my adopted, 80s-loving big sister. Their kids are some of the funniest, sweetest, coolest little monkeys I've ever met. Their heart as a family is to serve. It is so refreshing, and challenging, to see an entire family that places others above themselves simply because of their love for people.





It has been such a blessing to watch where and how God has called them. They moved to Durango four years ago. We met them, and knew them, as "Pete's sister and family". As we got to know each other more, the passion both Bill and Jen have for following Christ's heart became more evident. Every thing they do, they do in prayer first. We were honored to serve with them in youth ministry for a few years, then in children's ministry. They have touched many young people with their honesty, genuine love, and commitment.


In this last year, God called Jen to become our church's Children's Pastor. I am giddy to see how God is going to transform our church through her vision for the children. You can read a little bit about it here.


My awesome friends, I am thankful:

• God brought you to Durango, to our church, to our lives.
• you consistently seek and follow God's direction.
• you are willing to let down the guard and be real with people.
• you are people of integrity and honesty.
• you are so stinkin fun to be around! Even if Billy is the Rule Nazi...
• you have three awesome kiddos that bring so much joy to our lives.
• we can truly call you friends.

We love you guys!

This weekend we got to go to NM for a little family time. There is a really cool farm, Sutherland Farms, that has a Pumpkin Festival every October. We got as far as the driveway last year before we had a "discussion" and ended up just going home. I was determined to not let that happen this year!





I was sad that we missed the roasted green chilis by 4 days. Darned cold Colorado fall weather! Our family afternoon was still a blast, though.





Katrina understood the purpose of the cutouts. Madison was just too enthralled with peeking through the window to care about the photo op.

Because apparently people think our culinary choices are strange. I have no idea why. Doesn't every one's grandparents have...





... pastries the size of your head (which for Madison is amazing)?






... or desserts that require torches?





What about cocktail sauce? Isn't that normal fare for an almost-two-year-old?