Beaver Time

I have a great husband. I am pretty crazy for him. He is quite the mountain man and lately he has really been wanting to do some hunting. We live on property at the camp we work for and one of the camp owners told Bryce for every beaver he kills he will pay him $100. I am pretty sure Bryce would have done it for free, but the money was an added blessing. For the past week, every morning and a few evenings he has been roaming the 3 lakes around property tracking most of their moves and habits and even finding their different lodges. Let me just say, we are not into just killing things for the sport of it. These beavers have been destroying the property and cutting down trees just about every other day. Our lakes kind of go in a row and the last lake has hardly any water in it and it is because of the damage these beavers have done. With out going on and on about Bryce hunting these pests down, he killed his first one yesterday morning. It was huge! We wish we could have weighed it but it was at least a 30 pounder. He was a happy man indeed. So the hunt will continue here on camp for him. Next week he is going bow hunting in one of our national forest near our home. Pretty exciting stuff.

This was the picture I wanted to post last night, but it just wouldn't

let me for some reason. This is our possible next backyard.

Here is the huge beaver!!!!! The feet look like they belong

to a gorilla only they are webbed. Crazy looking thing.

A Blog a Day is just good

Today is the start of this thing I will be doing on my blog. This month I will post a picture and a short something or another every day until November. I always have stuff I want to write or pictures I want to share, but one thing or another happens and 2 1/2 weeks go by and I haven't put a thing on. I have done this before with something else and I loved it! So be sure to keep checking every day or so. I know for sure there are going to be some fun pictures along the way!

Well, I tried and tried and tried again but it is not letting me load my picture tonight for some reason. I will post 2 picture tomorrow to replace the one for today. Have a good night.

Catching Up Soon!

I really was committed to keeping up with this blog after summer was over. In my defense, my body has been working overtime building a little one in my belly. It has been our secret for the summer! I kept wanting to write on here some great story leading up to sharing our news, but when it came down to it, I was too tired to process and write something beautiful. We are both very excited to welcome him/her to our family somewhere around the first week of March. (hoping for a little bit sooner:)) It is quite incredible to have something forming inside of you by the hand of God. I have been in awe more than anything at this point of this little us rapidly growing and fashioning inside. This last week has been great. I felt more energized and more

productive than I have since June. I have been feeling great before that also just exhausted. Here is a little pic. Will definitely post more later.

just kidding on top, bottom is 15ish weeks along

Oh, my love

There is something inside of me that comes to live when triggered by certain places, people, things, etc. My spirit is lifted, my mind feels freedom, and my heart overflows with love, adoration, life, and anything beautiful. I feel like I get this silly grin on my face that is impossible to erase unless taken out of that "place or time". At times, I always think if I could just learn how to gather my words or thoughts I could sing the most beautiful song ever, or write the most elegant poem. I feel as if I could bleed all over this world and make it smell like grace and God's unconditional love...this contagious love that draws me in so close...this untamed love that brings us together...just this simpleness and freedom of letting it all go and giving it all away, knowing you have everything you could ever need and that you are no longer a slave to the stuff America calls you to carry.

Our trip out to CO was great. Our first hike together the day after we got there I felt this "love". Just this closeness to home (heaven) that my insides constantly groan for and are longing for the day to be there. We enjoyed our time together away from what has become normal life in North Carolina for us. We enjoyed visiting with Bryce's parents and sharing good stories. I loved eating Chipotle both times in the week we were there!!! Here are some great pictures from our trip. Most of the time we forgot our camera. Another post coming soon!

This is our hike around Waldo Canyon

the big mountain in the back is Pike's Peak

Bryce went Prairie dog hunting with his dad one morning

this was a great hike to the Craggs?

Bryce's dad Bruce and us

my great looking husband

the valley we came up

it was great to see aspen trees again

freezing yet refreshing water

Summer Camp is Over!

Our summer has come to an end. We are exhausted and looking forward to having next week off. We were supposed to work until the end of last week, but our awesome boss man is letting us have it off so we can do something before school starts for Bryce. So we got on priceline late last night and bid for some tickets to CO. We leave this Monday and come back the following Monday. We are very stoked! We have climbed a good bit in CO but have never done any hiking and backpacking. We are going to try to do a little once we get there. I am really looking forward to some open mountain ranges and ominous views. I wish I had some pics ready to post of our summer, but I will when we get back. Sorry to rush but I have a meeting to go to. Much love everyone! Enjoy the end of your summer.

spesh

Dangerous Men

6 brave 14-16 year old young men decided to take on the "call to adventure" on our last camp session and be part of our Rangers Program at Camp Rockmont. This program has been dead because of the lack of leadership for the last 3-4 summers. Bringing back a program that pushes people physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually....a program where you only spend a couple of nights on camp in a real bed...a program where you are taken out of your comfort zone in a way possibly never experienced...a program that challenges young men to take on adventure and to contribute to the community they live and take from...a program like that has been a bit of a challenge to bring back. Why should they learn to contribute when we look at teenagers as useless and make "growing up" look so boring? Why should they be pushed to do something different when us adults and parents have been sticking to the same routine year after year? When is the last time we have done something that made our palms sweat and our heart beat faster in the anticipation? When have we given of our time and service to give all our good stuff away? When is the last time you stood by a cliff, an ocean, a roadside, to watch the wonder of the sunset and encourage the people around you to experience that kind of wonder! What I am trying to say is to our surprise we had a difficult time to get young guys to sign up for this kind of program. These 6 guys who were part of the first of many Rangers sessions are forever changed in some great ways. They came in as 6 individual young men and learned to work as a unit of one. They left as dangerous men. Ready for challenge and adventure and equipped to give back to the community they live in.

We spent the last 12 days backpacking, white water canoeing, trail running, rock climbing, and having an "adventure day" which you would just have to talk to an alumni Ranger about that day to find out more details! The instructor for white water canoeing called these young guys "dangerous men". What a great thing for them! They stood up taller, puffed out their chest, and then they started contributing more to the group because they knew then they had something to give. They weren't useless. They were dangerous men.

Enjoy the pictures. You can see them all on our facebook page under Rockmont Rangers.

This is Leo's toe. He slipped on a rock and hit another rock with his big toe.

It bent the nail half way back ripping it from his skin.

OUCH!

Looking Glass Waterfall in Pisgah. We all jumped into this freezing water and got wet.

We literally sorted through tons of tomatoes at Manna Food Bank.

It was a smelly job, but we were glad to help out.

This is some chicken of the woods mushroom that we ate with our dinner later that night.

It seriously taste like chicken!

This is halfway into our backpacking section.

We found a bunch of wild blueberry bushes on the trail. Best part of my day!!

Update Soon!!!

I am sorry I have left the blogging world lately, BUT we have been having an incredible time with 6 adventurous young men for the last couple of weeks. These guys leave tomorrow which mean Bryce and I are hoping for a little down time before we start back up on Sunday. Looking forward to sharing some stories and pics soon. Hope your summer is going good! Ours has been full of fun surprises and adventures.