Marching band 2024

 In the heat and sun, my two teenage girls began marching band practice at the end of July. They just finished their season this past weekend, and it wasn't too, too cold here in Colorado! It was about 50 degrees for a low, which was lovely! It didn't snow at the state championships but it was windy. 

This year my husband and I rode the students' bus as chaperones. It was the first year that we had done so, and it was GREAT! We were pleasantly surprised at the kids' manners, the noise level was not too bad, and we were able to watch movies! We saw "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (haven't seen that one for a while!),  "Rise of the Guardians," and then on the way home we saw "Cars" and "Pirates of the Caribbean." Our 15-year-old daughter sat behind us with a friend. 

We stayed in a different hotel than usual, and it was a good experience. We quickly learned our way around and got acclimated to it. The continental breakfast was comparable. We slept well, and it was pretty quiet even though there were 80 kids in the building!

After a practice at a local church, the marching band performed in the quarter-finals and earned 7th place, one-tenth of a point above another band from our town. The following day, they performed in the semi-finals and earned 8th place, which was high enough so that they could perform in finals that evening. Last year the finals were canceled, so they were excited to be able to perform in them this year.

That evening, our band played in the finals competition and again earned 8th place. It was a great experience for the whole band. I felt bad for one student who ended up sick with the flu. We are so proud of all of the students, and our daughters for performing well and giving their best to the team. There were many tears after the final performance of the year, especially for all of the seniors, which was about 25 kids! Our older daughter is a senior and said that she wants to perform in the marching band in college!

We missed having Joshua's mom and sister attend with us, but medical problems got in the way for them this fall. We will hopefully travel together again with them next fall. Maybe our son will come with us too.

Enjoy the pictures!

daughter (middle) with friends

two daughters together, one mellophone and one synthesizer

Love these two so, so much! I'm glad that I get to be their mom.💙💙

showing the glitter on her face

Enjoying some performances and awards together

Performing "Across the Mirror's Edge"

Drums lined up

Performing "Across the Mirror's Edge"

Performing "Across the Mirror's Edge"

My hubby with me and our younger daughter

Lunch and water all lined up

Older daughter and friend

practicing at a church parking lot

Goodie bags all lined up

Front ensemble/pit performing "Across the Mirror's Edge"

We will miss the marching band performances for the rest of this year, but there are still a few pep band nights at football games and two parades this fall.

What are your kids involved in? I'd enjoy hearing about it!

Ephesians 2:8-9 
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Numbers 10:9
When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the Lord your God and rescued from your enemies.

Psalm 150:4-6

Praise Him with timbrel and dancing, praise Him with strings and pipe, praise Him with the clash of cymbals, praise Him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the Lord.

Summer fun 2024

 We had a wonderful summer, but as usual, it went by too quickly. We enjoyed the typical things such as: attending JUCO games, holding our VBS at church & helping with it, doing a big puzzle, backyard movie nights, having family visit, going to Joshua's mom and sister's home for July 4, etc., We also did some minor home renovations. 

I will let you enjoy the pictures, including a family reunion on my mom's side. It was fun to see extended family, including cousins, aunts, and uncles that we hadn't seen for 9 years. It was nice to have a positive reason to gather, instead of at a funeral, since last year there were four!

Kids enjoying a JUCO game

Hubby, my Mom, and I enjoyed games too...

We helped (a little) with VBS decorations... we made a sand castle out of boxes! The beach theme was fun.

Kids singing during VBS...

My sister visited and we saw "Inside Out 2" with her and her kids.

We played lots of card games together at our family reunion, especially Nertz!

All of us at the family reunion, about 70 people (out of 220+). We took this with a drone!

These are all of my cousins that we were there...17, I think. Loved seeing each one!!

On the way home, we saw Mount Rushmore and the Badlands...so cool!

Then we were home for one day, did laundry, and repacked for the 4th of July time with Joshua's family!

Our group was smaller this year... we missed the big kids!

We went to a speakeasy, that was different but we liked it a lot!

Youth group movie night...

We listened to "Encanto" music while we made this 1,000-piece puzzle. The bottom was tough!

Our son moved out in May. The ceiling in this room had damage from years before, so we removed the popcorn ceiling. It took about 4 1/2 hours and was a mess, but we are happy with it! My hubby retextured it, and we repainted the room. It looks so much better!

Our youngest daughter moved in there a few weeks ago, and she likes it. We have a guest room now, and it was even used last weekend!

It was a great summer. We are starting to get back into the fall routine, which is good too. Our daughters also went on a mission trip to Mexico with their youth group and enjoyed building a house for a family there. My mom was out of town for 3 weeks and we took care of her dog. We enjoyed our friends' pool and we had a nice anniversary. The girls are in marching band now, and soon that will keep us busy with football games and competitions!

What did you do this summer? Were you able to travel anywhere? I'd enjoy hearing about it.

Psalm 74:17
It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.


Proverbs 26:1
Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, honor is not fitting for a fool.


Proverbs 30:25
Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer;

My dad's birthday (without him)

 My Dad's birthday was last Sunday. It was the first birthday we celebrated since he passed away in early May. I had dreaded the day for a month. I made plans of ways to honor him after church. I wasn't even sure that I wanted to attend church that day, but I did. It was a nice service, but the Advent Sunday theme was joy. Deep down I had joy, but I wasn't necessarily very happy. I wanted to see my Dad, hug him, give him a gift, and eat cake together. There was no cake, only flowers that we bought for his grave.

After church, we ate lunch and rested for an hour and a half or two hours. Then we picked up my mom and drove across town to the cemetery. We placed red carnations on his grave, hugged and cried. There were more gravestones there than when we saw it last. Wreaths across America had placed wreaths on all of the grave sites before we were there. It was really pretty to see them all lined up. There was a penny on the grave marker, showing that someone had visited. I don't know who, but it warmed my heart a little. My mom cried a lot, she misses my dad so much. We all do, he left quite a hole in our lives. It has only been seven and 1/2 months of learning to live without him.

We left the cemetery and went to a church service in our town called, "Blue Christmas." It was a simple service for those who have lost loved ones. There were about 75 people there, we sang a few Christmas carols, a pastor gave a 15-minute or so message, and we lit candles. There was a slideshow of pictures (we submitted one) and we sang "Silent Night" with a guitarist in the glow of candlelight. It was just right, very comforting, slow, and gentle. We could pray with a church leader after the service if we wanted. My mom cried a lot. She prayed with the pastor after the service. Later she said that she enjoyed it.

It is very strange to buy someone a birthday gift for your whole life, and then BAM! They are gone, and all you have are memories, and pictures. I missed my Dad something fierce that day. As I've said before, I was a Daddy's girl. I could talk to him about nearly anything that I wanted. My life has less of a spark, seems a little hollow at times. I loved him so much. Sometimes I can hardly believe he is gone. I am learning to accept the fact that there is an ache in my heart that will never totally go away. I wish I could hug him one more time. 

Genesis 12:1
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

Psalm 68:5
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.

Jeremiah 49:11
‘Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive. Your widows too can depend on me.’”

My dad's services

Many of you probably know that my father recently passed away. You can read the post about it here: http://thywordisalamptomyfeet.blogspot.com/2023/05/my-dad.html 

We had his services on a Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago. We had a tough time finding a good day to hold the service when all of the grandkids could be there. Life gets busy in spring! We were thankful for the group that we had together. We had a dinner on Saturday evening for extended family from out of town. We all enjoyed that dinner, getting to see our cousins, aunts, uncles, and siblings. Our local Chick-Fil-A catered for us, and we had families from our church provide desserts. 

 On Sunday, some of us attended a church service at my parent's church. After lunch, we had a viewing for family and then friends. Toward the end of that time, the church showed a video of photos of my Dad's life. We gathered that evening at my Mom's house and hung out with extended family again. We enjoyed chatting for a long time. Each of my siblings and I spoke at the service about my Dad, and my oldest brother performed the service. Three of his grandkids spoke, including two of my kids. Everyone did a great job. 

Pallbearer grandsons

 On Monday afternoon, we had my Dad's military service at the Veteran's Cemetary. It was a nice time to honor my Dad for his Army service in Vietnam. He was never really honored when he came home, so it meant a lot to our family to honor my Dad in this way. The people at the Veterans' Cemetary were so kind and helpful. A friend of my parents did the sermon there, and his voice was filled with emotion the whole time that he spoke. My dad was very special to him. After the military service, my niece said that we should go to Dairy Queen because that is what Grandpa would have liked. So we did and enjoyed ice cream together. 

Playing together

Signing Mom's cast

My daughter and my brother

Our family friend shared the homily. He was wonderful!

My husband led one hymn

My dad's gravemarker and flowers

Our family after the graveside

Two of my brothers had to leave that morning, so there were just us 3 kids and my Mom.

My brother and his wife

 It was a lovely weekend. We were sad very often, as expected. It was really challenging at times. We all miss him so much. He loved us all so well, and he was very well-loved. He had a major impact on my life, and it is strange to live without him. I just want to call him and talk about things going on in my week. 

Mother's Day was strange to celebrate with just my Mom. She is doing okay, she has up and down times. She lives in a great neighborhood, and her neighbors check on her occasionally. We have caregivers that stop by her house every day too. She seems so sad and lonely. But that is part of grief, adjusting to the "new normal." I don't think it will feel normal anytime soon. Thank you for your friendship and prayers for my family during this busy time.

Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

Psalm 91:1-2
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

1 Corinthians 15:54-57
When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”

 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.