Blue Ribbon Day

Here are pictures of Anna's winning dollhouse with the blue ribbon!

We had a beautiful day at the fair in Pueblo. We spent a lot of time with the horses, sheep, pigs and other critters. Tons of fun!

Finger progress

Good news! Thanks to lots of prayers and good care from the very moment of my accident, things are improving all over.
Had the hand looked at again today, and the hand orthopedist decided to go to a splint for the next month, with physical therapy twice a week until the end of September. It is a releif to get out of the cast, although I am still typing one handed.

Finally, the school year has gotten off to a great start, too! I have a fantastic class; perhaps the best I have in several years, and only 22 of them! Yea!

We have a winner!!!!

According to pg. 7 of the doll results on
http://www.coloradostatefair.com/index.php?page=general_entry_results

our little girl won FIRST PLACE in her division for her dollhouse!!!! She is beaming, and we hope to go Saturday to see it with the blue ribbon in person!

Hope those of you who are local will consider a trip to Pueblo to the Creative Arts or Arts and Crafts area to view the winning dollhouse in person!

( Of course her daddy never had any doubt she was going to win!) Both mom and daughter should be very proud of their work on this project over the past year!

Before the judges

The dollhouse, home of the "Smith family", is before the judges tomorrow in Pueblo.
We hope Anna's will place. It will be on display from Aug. 26- Labor Day in the Creative Arts Building. Here are pictures taken of it when she set it up today at the State Fair.
This dollhouse was originally built by Lori's dad, Lyle, and has had several decorator touches added over the years by Lori, and more recently, by Anna. So this multi-generational project means a lot to all of us.

New lessons

Patience, humility, accepting kindness...all things I am learning since being "cast" in a different role...that of one who has been injured and is, temporarily, disabled.

Yesterday I went back to the doc, and he removed my first cast. There were a lot of "hmmms" and some more x-rays. He then said, "well, it's not perfect, but it is healing..." The decision was made to wait two more weeks before deciding whether or not surgery will be needed. So I was recast in a red cast, this time with my two end fingers at a 90 degree angle to my palm. A little uncomfortable, but I am getting used to it. I have been given strict iunstructions not to lift anything or put any strain on my left hand.

So, my yard has been growing for two weeks (I had planned to mow it the day after the accident, but that plan quickly was washed up.) It has rained several times in two weeks, so it had gotten very tall. Lori decided it was time for her to learn to mow the yard. (We debated this a bit, and naturally, I lost.)

A simple task, you say...well, yes, in theory, but it required a bit more than she expected.

We worked together to get the beast, I mean mower, started. Then she was off. Of course, she did a pretty fine job. But, we decided that next week we'll hire the neighbor kid!

So, I being replaced, one way or another. Temporarily, I hope. I enjoy mowing my yard on a cool Saturday morning. Of course, there's always blog writing I can do instead!

Endless Summer...well, not quite, but it has been fun!

What a great summer! This has been one of the best in several years. I started out prepping for, and then directing, a week of Camp Invention in June. We had 114 campers at my school, and it was exciting and fun!

Then we headed off for ten days on a road trip that included 4 days of camping with my mom-in-law, Becky, and my bro-in-law, Loren's family in the Redwoods, two days at their home, and a short visit with some great friends with HalfaBubbleOut Communications in Chico. The Redwoods were as awesome as I remembered from my childhood, and hanging out around the campfire made for some great new memories for us and our kids. I also got some much needed quality "male-bonding" time with bro-in-law Loren, which was the first in many, many years. There was a great photo of us in Eel River....sort of a LOR moment for Loren...but I couldn't get it to publish on my page...

After we returned from that trip, we met our friends from Chico, who had now come to stay with us for a few days. Together we attended the wedding of Clif & Nicki Hancock, since Clif had been one of our jr. highers back in the days of youth ministry.

Finally, we got to enjoy a camping & 4WD trip with our friends, the Wilsons. We spent 3 days hanging out and adventuring around Taylor Park , CO. We visited Tin Cup, ther BonTon Mine ruins, and crossed several passes including Cumberland and Monarch. The kids played around the campsite, and we enjoyed a lot of good food in great food and terrific company. I even got in a couple hours of fishing one afternoon.

It was a blast!

And now, it is time to begin thinking about school again. I report back, officially, next week. I am looking forward to a wonderful class, and another awesome year as a Canon Chief!

First time in a cast...it itches!!!

Well, the good news is, no surgery for now...the bad news is...serious cast and limited use of hand and fingers for several weeks.

A Dark & Stormy Night

Last night it rained a ton, creating street flooding and turning sidewalks into streams.

Lightning flashed all around, as it often does here during summer monsoon season.

Into this storm I ran, leaving our Home Care/Bible Study meeting....and then I fell, crashing through riverock landscaping and sliding along the sidewalk. So much for trying to get to the car quickly to stay dry...

After getting up, and pulling myself together, I noticed I had one finger on my right hand bleeding profusely, and another on my left hand bent at strange angles. Ouch!

I returned into the house, at the urging of my beautiful wife, a true helpmate...anyway, by God's Grace we have two doctors in our Bible study, who quickly rendered aide and helped me get x-rays and took me to another wonderful retired orthopedist who stabilized my hand for the night, saving me an expensive trip to the ER.

Long story short, I broke at least one finger in 6 places when I landed on it.. I am scheduled to see a hand surgeon this afternoon. Thanks in advance for your prayers...I will update with my hunt and peck skills of one hand sometime this weekend....

Three years ago...

Three years ago today, our lives were changed in some very painful ways. I don't know if we'll ever be the same. Three years ago today, while on a coast to coast bike trip, my father-in-law, Lyle Rosser, and his long-time riding buddy Ray Moore were killed by a drunk driver. We were on a road trip, oblivious to what had happened, until a fateful cell phone call the next morning...and so began the longest three years of our lives.

Although we cannot help but celebrate their homegoing, we miss the presence of these men immensely, and that has not diminished with time. We miss their being around to share in our children's accomplishments. We miss their wisdom and understanding. We miss their leadership and kindness. We miss their faithfulness. My wife misses her Dad. My kids miss Grandpa Lyle. I miss including them in the adventures we had anticipated together. We cannot pass a bicyclist without remembering them...

We have been through two and a half years of waiting on court dates, and are now experiencing the appeals process. The driver who killed them sits behind bars for the next 18 or so years, hopefully becoming a changed and better person than he was. We pray his appeals (which are scheduled to be heard Aug. 14) are denied and justice continues to be served.

We have seen the good and the bad side of people. We have learned about MADD. We have been loved and support by our "Home Care" Bible Study group, our church, our family, and our many friends. We have seen the good and bad side of ourselves, which was perhaps scariest of all.

We are left with memories, a sign by the side of Highway 62 near Yucca Valley, and a few deep lessons I wish we never had to learn. And yet...we have had to learn them, so we hope and praywe can make them useful to others as time marches on.

The lessons we have learned are this...seize the day, and never lose hope, even though many days are darker than we ever imagined they could be. Forgiveness, Grace and Mercy are gifts we should always strive to offer, because they ahve been offered to us. Our days on this earth with each other, and to serve the Lord and our fellow man, are numbered. We want to make every day count...

Three years ago today, we were younger, ( it feels like decades younger) and much less aware of how much we could depend on God. Three years ago today, I thought the worst problem I had to face was figuring out where to gas up next or whether or not to pass that slow truck in front of me. Or what to do to keep the kids from arguing in the back seat. Boy was I wrong!

To our friends, family, and other readers...Thank you again for your support, kindness, thoughts and prayers. Some days that is all that gets us through.