Just have to remark how beautiful this land is! God has watered it well lately and the fields are full of lush green grasses and wildflowers!
…and the sunsets are beautiful! In this picture the smoke from Oregon wildfires has settled into our atmosphere giving an erie look to the sun.
We bought the wood a year ago, we have the time, lets get our tongue & groove ceiling installed! We’ve never done this before! (Thanks to You-Tube University we’re always learning!)
Lorree was busy sanding and putting a clear coat finish on all of the boards, while Dennis figured how to start putting the boards up. It went really well – only two days to complete the bedroom! Lorree’s hand made quilt came out of storage and added the perfect touch to our “new” bedroom.
Now for the main cabin ceiling – how are we gonna get our boards up, around and through all of those beams and trusses?
Our motto quickly became “one board at a time”! We had a great time working together on this project. Through all of our married life, it has always been rewarding to work on something that is ours together!
Somedays God just says, “rest”! Selah!
The rain came down in buckets several days in a row – we enjoyed the fresh rain smells mixed with the pines. We just took it easy for a few days while God watered Selah Acres!
With all the rain we were able to identify a few leaks in our skylight windows. Dennis was able to caulk up and seal the windows real good. Lorree made sure we stayed healthy with our Juice Plus shakes and then she went back to work putting the finish on the boards.
In just a few more days the north side of the cabin ceiling was done. It has really come togther nicely – and wasn’t as hard as we imagined. We love it!
Look at that green! It’s amazing what rain can add to the landscape!
“For the beauty of the earth, For the beauty of the skies, For the Love which from our birth Over and around us lies: Christ, our God, to Thee we raise This our Sacrifice of Praise.”
We started walking at least 1/2 hour every morning – we were overwhelmed at the beauty all around us! The hymn above is based on Ephesians 5:20, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!” SELAH!
On the South side of our cabin ceiling we had to box in the skylights before adding the ceiling boards. So a little more complicated, but we stuck to our “one board at a time” motto.
Yea! Company came and gave us a break from work!
Dennis & Diane Simmons came to visit! We were excited to meet up with them again – we worked together with SOWER ministries at Glorieta, NM and Tejas in Texas last year! They had just finished serving at YWAM in Cimmeron, CO and were traveling by. Their dogs loved to run and play in the open fields. We had a great reunion – it was great to reminisce and get caught up with each other! Looking forward to serving together again down the road!
The final boards…..and DONE! This project turned out great, it gives our cabin a much more clean and finished feel but still has the homey-rustic-log-cabin appeal. Whew! We think all of our big projects are done for this year …where’s the hot tub?!!
What’s coming up next? Some really fun adventures ahead with our family, church, neighbors, and the local community – check out the next blogs!
We’re continuing to celebrate our 2021 Family Reunion with so many fun times, great food, and memories. Sharing life stories and catching up with each other was a highlight of the week. We were surrounded with laughter, love and bonding of brothers – sisters – cousins.
For at least three of our days we experienced late afternoon “monsoon” rains. (We didn’t know there was a monsoon season in the Colorado Rockies!). The shade sail was good for shade but not for rain! We were forced to separate – the girls all headed to the bunk house to stay dry, the boys headed downstairs and played on their ipads, and the adults all got cozy in the cabin. We wondered what we would do if it rained….it all worked out great! (…and the rain didn’t last long).
When the sun came back out each day – the fun just seemed to increase! So many activities to do – no one ever said they were bored! These kids are just full of smiles!
OH! The zip-line!
The older “boys” installed the cable and mechanisms at around 100′ between trees, and the younger boys built the platform. Great job everyone!
HEY! Remember the first time to try? Zip lining at night in the pitch dark? The screaming contest? How many times did everyone go on it? How many of the adults went? ….and Grandma LC clapping and cheering us all!
Guffey Gorge Swimming Hole!
About 15 minutes from the cabin is Guffey Gorge (also know as Paridise Cove). Normally busy but today it was all ours! Good thing ’cause we pretty much filled it up!
The water was refreshingly cold! Lots of brave kidos in this family – they had so much fun playing in the water, splashing, and riding the logs. Lots of memories made for sure!
While a serious volleyball game was being played (Go Lindsey!) the guys helped Papa remodle the North end of the shed so he can park the tractor in it.
So… we had just finished eating a meal and Ben looked up and pointed, “LOOK at that!” It was a tribe of four pretty good size Badgers scurrying across the property not far from where we were sitting. Of course the hunters among us immediately went for their guns and took off after them. One was taken and the others dissappeared. When the guys went back to show the kids what a badger looked like – the carcass was gone! We supposed the other badgers (or a mountain lion?) hauled it off for lunch?!
Which led to this…target practice! Lorree had picked up some old fry pans at a thrift store and the guys set up a shooting range.
It was great to spend time with the grandkids and teach them gun safety and how to shoot. What a variety of hand guns and long guns that we had to choose from! More memories!
Loving these kiddos!
Who knew the John Deere would be a big hit with the grandkids!?
Ice Cream, S’Mores, singing, and campfires!
We are SO Blessed! What a wonderful experience to have our family together for these days and the amazing memories that will last a lifetime!
Setting up camp! We had three pop-ups, our Travel Trailer, the Bunk House and the Cabin (upstairs and downstairs). We all fit! It was fun to have so many people on the property! We had everyone here (except Tate and Jeremy)…plus Grandma LC and Aunt Kay! 32 of US!
On Thursday – a day or so before everyone else, Megan (Busenitz) and Megan (Burnham) were our first arrivals! We enjoyed an evening with them with a hamburger BBQ, great conversations, and some new card games. Ben & Jayden came the next morning with their four-wheeler and pop-up camper. On Saturday, Kimberly came with Emily and Jessica, driving in from Dallas (that’s another story!) Later that day the rest of the Busenitz family made it. By Saturday July 3rd everyone was here! So much to take in and enjoy all at once! These kiddo’s immediately bonded and started having so much fun together!
We were overwhelmed – everthing we had conceived in our mind as everyone arrived fell short of the actual experience! Thank you Lord for allowing us to have so much fun as one big family – WOW!
While the cousins hung out and played together, we were enjoying the laughter, sharing, and love. It was going to be a great week! Oh the JOY of having family that love each other and the LORD. We are SO blessed – God is SO good!
Exactly! We had to pause – “Lord, in this world we don’t know what is ahead of us and the future of our kids/grandchildren – but YOU have everthing in your control and everything will be for the best in your divine eternal Kingdom!” Thank you for your many blessings!
Our neighbor (or is it “neeeah” – bor) has horses! The kiddo’s loved petting them and feeding them mountain grass. The horses seemed to really enjoy this also!
And boy did we eat good! Each family participated with one main meal and all the grandkids helped by being part of the clean-up teams. We were thankful for the shade sail and the “eazy-up” shelters (…that direct mountain sun got hot!) We were cooled off every afternoon with a nice rain shower – the mountains are so lush and green!
The great food gave everyone a renewed boost of energy – so blessed with great memories! Everyday there were more and more fun activities to enjoy!
To put an exclamation on the arrival of family – Grandma LC and Aunt Kay arrived for the day! Mom’s still going strong! She’s healthy at 93 years and so full of love and joy to share!
It was amazing to see each child and grandchild spend special times with Grandma LC.
We are reminded of the Scripture from Psalm 100:5 ” For the LORD is good! His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.”
Thank you to our Mom’s and Dad’s and our Grandparents from both sides of our family for your MANY prayers for each member of our immediate family. You all set the example! God has truly honored your faithfulness and answered your prayers “to all generations”!
….MORE FAMILY ADVENTURES to come…! (Wait till you see the swimming hole and the zip line!)
First things first! We headed over to Cotopaxi, CO to attend our friends church (Pastor Steve and his wife Lisa Holcomb). Steve is the new senior pastor here and we wanted to show up and encourage him.
They were having a special guest speaker that Sunday – our friend and missionaries, Joel and Wendy Soloman, from Chile (we spent a couple of weeks serving in Chile in 2019). It was great to re-connect with them and to hear a great message from God’s Word. We also enjoyed a fellowship meal after church – good times!
Meanwhile… back at Selah Acres, Lorree was working hard mowing while Dennis was dreaming Hot Tub! (of course he’ll share – right?)
We made a major decision about this new land we owned – we need the right equipment to “tame” it. After a lot of research and looking at our available budget – we bought our first John Deer! It came with a front scoop, mower deck, and a pull behind cart – just what we need to get some of the big things done. (After the mowing and digging we’ve already done, we came to the realization that we were getting older and our mowers, shovels, and rakes were a lot of work especially at 8,700 feet!) PLUS… who knew this would become one of the favorite “toys” of the reunion!
While Dennis was putting the final touches on the bunk house, Lorree was power washing and re-staining both decks. She is an amazing hard worker! We continue to be motivated by making this place “ours” and the vision of our family coming to enjoy Selah Acres!
” RING! ”
We recieved a call that the sliding glass door arrived in Fort Morgan to finish Mom’s house remodel / Kay’s office. The next weekend we headed back to Fort Morgan to finish that project! Always on the go it seems – but loving every moment!
WHAT? Two amazing things…..
Amazing-1 !! First – after filling up in Divide, CO we averaged over 41mpg! (It was all downhill into Colorado Springs and Dennis never stepped on the gas peddle 🙂 Wish this was everyday event! (We typically avg around 8 or 9 mpg pulling the trailer).
Amazing-2 !! Then to capture this amazing thunder head! From our view it was spectacular with the massive display of clouds and color that the sun was highlighting! A friend of ours was also watching and taking pictures from the eastern plains (near La Junta where we used to live). She shared her picture of the same massive thunderhead from the other side! She saw such dark-forboding-imminent-seveve weather approaching! What a contrast!
Amazing-3 !! Another first for us…installing a glass sliding door! Those old “barn doors” were weathered, warped, and somewhat rotten. What a team, so thankful that Kay was there to give us some help! It went together quite well – it was so great to work together!
The next Sinday, we attended our nearby church at Four Mile – just 15 minutes down the road from Selah Acres! It was great to meet about 20-30 new friends and neighbors! A new Pastor, Steve & Leslie Randall (sitting just to the left) was recently accepted and will start being the full time Lead Teaching Pastor next week. This day we enjoyed the lesson from God’s Word from a visiting Cowboy Church Preacher. We loved the warmth of the church family and the solid stand on God’s word, we could be drawn to this church family!
Over the next week or so, Lorree started to refurbish the basement bedroom. She painted the floors, the louvored doors, and the walls. Kay gave us a southwestern style room carpet that fit in perfectly! Lorree was able to unpack the quilt she hand made many years ago to be used now, it’s beautiful and is perfect for this space! The bedroom is ready for guests! Things are being checked off our list – the time is getting near!
While Lorree was working hard downstairs, Dennis was getting things ready for the Hot Tub! The dealer stated that the best foundation was a dirt/pea gravel base. We decided the best location was just off the “front” porch. After removing those rotted steps and leveling the ground, Dennis was able to utilize leftover lumber from the bunk house and gathered lots of stones from around the property to square things up for a good base! (We were thankful for that tractor!)
” RING! “
Dennis received a text from Nick, “Dad, can you come help me lay-out the foundation for my new deck this weekend?” This was Nick & Rachel’s major project for the summer and we had already discussed coming up to help. SURE! So we made plans to be in Colorado Springs to help (Opportunities like this is why we want to be near our kids as much as possible!)
Yes, I know it’s blury – we were so excited! It read 56.1 MPG! We beat our previous record from Divide, CO. …of course it was another downhill into Colorado Springs, but….it still counts right?! It’s officially documented now – bet this will be our recocrd!
Nick had the building permit, the plans and the lumber already on site, ready to go work! Carl came over to help – and of course Issac and Kaylee helped to get this deck leveled and attached to the house! When we finished Nick had to get a sign-off from the building inspector – a week or so later it all passed! He was able to finish his deck – YEA!!
Our reward – we spent the night and enjoyed smores over their new portable propane fire pitSo yummy and fun! (Hmmm — a great idea for the cabin maybe?)
We came back to the cabin with a few new ideas! What about adding a little deck to our Hot Tub location – it sure made a lot of sense – thanks for the vision Nick! We were able to pick up supplies on our way home and finished this just in time – The Hot Tub was going to be delivered in just a few days!
What a great addition – we’re already loving the hot tub – relaxing and getting our bones refreshed! Anxious to share this with our friends and family when they come for a visit!
One thing we noticed was that our entry into Selah Acres was a bit narrow – especially if you are bringing in a trailer or RV. The driveway at the cabin-end-of-the-road was also pretty muddy after a rain. So we ordered a couple of truck loads of road base/gravel to help with those issues.
Dennis had fun spreading the dirt and leveling off the road with his new tractor – again thankful for God’s provision! Now everyone will feel comfortable and safe coming up our drive – even the delivery guys (UPS, Amazon, and FedEx) “Ah oh!” – Lorree has her fingers on her keyboard and that look in her eye!
The finishing projects: Build a door to our master bedroom, install an outdoor shower, install a shade-sail for our back deck, and bring in some port-a potties for the week ahead! We’re thinking we’re ready (and a bit tired) for the FAM! We’re pumped – “let’s get this party going!”
We love our United States – always proud to fly the colors that our Dad/Grandad’s fought for and that we have prayed for. We wanted to highlight the entry into Selah Acres and honor our country with some Red-White-and-Blue! Thank you Lord for our Freedom and for the priviledge of living in this great land!
Only one thing left to do…….
Now we’re ready!!!
Looking forward to a great adventure with our beautiful family – expecting 33 guests: friends, kids, spouses, grandkids, mom, and sister…. (only 2 of our immediate family couldn’t make it)!
“Lord, please grant everyone safe travels and bless our time together in this great adventure that You have orchestrated for us!”
