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!”