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!

Till next time – WE LOVE YOU JOHNSON FAMILY!

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!)

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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!!

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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…….

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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)!

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“Lord, please grant everyone safe travels and bless our time together in this great adventure that You have orchestrated for us!”

Catching a few rain drops as we’re headed “home” to Selah Acres near Guffey, Co. Its been so long since we left our little cabin – doesn’t seem real that we are headed into the mountains to arrive at home! We are so looking forward to being somewhat settled for the summer. Can’t wait!

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The views; Pikes Peak, Sunrises, Sunsets, Big Sky, green meadows…so overwhelmed ! We’ve named this place “Selah Acres” it is such a blessing to us – knowing that at this time in our lives God provided this for us to live, enjoy, and share! We always dreamed this dream – never thinking it would ever be a reality….but here we are!

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“SELAH” …to pause , ponder, meditate, relax, consider. Also: an exclamation…”FOREVER!” Also “to connect two subjects/thoughts” Next time you read the Psalms…you’ll appreciate the word “Selah” with these definitions interspersed throughout the text.

Oh…the wildlife; Colorado Blue Birds nesting in our bird house -and having babies! – deer wandering through the yard, bunnies, chipmunks, humming birds, blue jays, woodpeckers,(and our neighbors horses) were amazing! It seemed that every day we would see something new. We stand amazed at God’s creativity in making all of these curious creatures. For our good and His glory!

What!?! ….even though it’s the middle of May, we get to enjoy ice/snow at 8,700 feet! It was a shock, but not a surprise. We had to deal with and embrace the “coldish” weather. It was all good, melted and warmed up fast. Gotta get used to mountain weather apparently!

In 7 weeks -company is coming! Gotta get things ready!

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OUR TO-DO LIST! We have only 7 weeks before our upcoming family reunion (July 3-6). We are beyond excited and ready to get things done to host a memorable time with each other!

So this was our “list” but in addition – we had many weekend/daily adventures with the fam; Nick & Carl families coming for a visit, helping Nick with his new porch, celebrating Valerie and Josh’s graduations, keeping in touch with the rest of our family including Faith, our newest grandchild!, back to Mom’s to install the sliding glass door to finish that project, and more!! “Lord, help us get these things done!”

Lets start with the bunk house. Previous owners had some sort of “housing” for animals, or simply a play house for kids – not sure. We needed to remove all the interior structures to make an open space for our bunk beds. Think we can get 4 bunks (8 beds) in here?

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In the mean time … Dennis created a storage room in the south end of the shed and installed a shelf above the stove for our microwave. It fit perfect!

Nick and Carl’s famillies came up for a visit the first weekend we were back…we had some great conversations! We learned what the kid’s were up to and also what they were anticipating for the reunion, It was fun to dream together! Anya, Kaylee, and Isacc were full of energy and life – so much fun!

Whenever we have to go to “town” we’re always keeping an eye out for bargans. We knew we needed to pick up some furniture for the cabin as we didn’t have much to sit on since we downsized last year. These pieces really helped!

Another great thing about coming home is attending our home church in Canon City. It’s a joy to reunite with our friends and participate in the life of our church family. We met our new pastor, Steve Vanwinkle and enjoyed his message from God’s word. Pastor David Almanzar is now living in Kentucky, retired but ‘m sure still finding places to preach.

It’s Finished! 3 weeks later (mingled with numerous other events and travels) we could call the bunk house completed. We really enjoyed working together for the vision of our grandkids enjoying this space! – Now, we just need some electricity for the lights and hairdryers!

We found a perfect 20 amp circuit that we could tie into for the run to the shed. Dennis hand trenched (through the rocks) the buried cable, and Lorree covered it up. We installed outlets, lights, and wiring from the cabin to the shed. This replaced the overhead extension cord that the previous owners used! LOL!

We were able to go to Rocky Ford and attend Josh’s graduation June 5.

Josh had the celebration in his backyard along with a classmate. It was well attended with lots of fun and food! We enjoyed helping get things set up and then visiting with many “old” friends from when we lived nearby. It was a great day!

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And…Valerie had her graduation (in Kansas) as well! We’ll be sure to give her a special hug and congradualtions when she comes to Colorado for our reunion! These kids have really grown into beautiful yong adults – so proud of all of our grandkids! Number 20 is on the way!

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Coming home this year was such a joy – we learned to take advantage of every opportunity to be with family and share life together. (We also met some of our neighbors and got official libray cards from the Park County Guffy Library!) There is so much more to do – so looking forward to our next adventures at Selah Acres!

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Come on in! This is the entrance to the storage room off of Mom’s outdoor porch. The plan is to convert this room into an office for Kay. She’s planning to move here near the end of May. There’s a lot to do, let’s get started!

First…this is what the storage room looks like as we get started. It’s going to take a lot of work to clear out the room and get things ready for the new remodel. But we’re pumped and full of energy – Let’s do this!

Step One: We need to move Mom’s office into her bedroom so Kay would have a room for her new bedroom. Mom went with the flow and really helped – but she had reservations (about how this could ever come together). This was a hard day for her thinking through all the changes and ramifications.

Mom was amazing! She gave us great input and accepted new ideas. At the end of the day – she had a smile on her face and a hug for us. She really wants a great place for Kay and is excited things are coming together!

Step Two: We need to empty the storage room so we could start the construction. So we made room in the outdoor storage shed to move and “downsize” a lot of stored items. This was another full day for Mom to process where and what to do with everything. (Having gone through the downsizing experience, we knew this was an emotionally draining day for Mom).

Another full but productive day. Mom had enough drive and energy to keep going all day! She constantly amazes us with her stamina and perserverance. The stored items were all successfully moved or given away – the empty room is now ready for the remodel!

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End of day rest! Was Dennis napping or was he watching YouTube videos on how to do it? Hmmmmm…..

Step Three: The remodel! Lorree and I needed to plan, decide, and install the ingrediants of a fully finished room that can serve functionally as an office. We were in constant communication with Kay for ideas and decisions – she was so helpful to us as we worked!

So…we started by building a new wall. The room would be insulated and sheet rocked. The rest of the room was already framed out, so this would compete the walls.

Then the electrical needed to be installed. Lorree drilled the pass through holes in the studs and Dennis ran the wiring and installed outlets. Fortunately there was already a good 20 amp circuit coming into the room from the breaker box. So thankful!

While Dennis finished up the wiring, Lorree got busy and installed the insulation. She’s good at this! We looked and looked for an electric staple gun and finally found one, Lorree was overjoyed! Those COVID masks sure came in handy dealing with all the insulation.

First time to cut out and install a window! (this project had a lot of firsts for us!) Carl came down to help for a few days, he was a blessing, came just in time to help do the hard stuff. It was fun working together.

Yea…more help! Gary and Wanda came the next day and helped us finish up the insulation in the ceiling. Perfect timing – it was great to do a project together!

Another first – install sheet rock on a ceiling! We were able to rent a floor jack to lift the heavy panels then we just had to manuver them into place and put in the screws. We really needed all this help – there was no way we could have put this together by ourselves!

The walls were next. Lots of measuring, cutting, lifting, mudding, taping, and fastening the sheet rock into place.

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As you may have noticed, Mom was always interested and observant of what was going on. She was very encouraging to us, “looks good! I didn’t know you kids knew how how to do this stuff!”

We had “fun” (but really felt our ageing bones). We worked hard and were surprised at the how things were turning out – not too bad for 60+ old amatures!

Finishing touches! Mudding, sanding, blowing on texture, painting, smoothing the floor – more hard work but feeling good about how things are turning out.

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We are SO thankful for our family, we are experiencing an adventure of our siblings and our kids working together for a profound goal – ultimately to give love and great care for our mother/grandmother Elsie. She deserves the best from all of us (Dad would be proud!) – she has always prayed fervently for each of her children/grandchildren. We are blessed and spiritually equipped because of her prayers, love and faith in Jesus … her’s and our Saviour!

And another first – leveling a floor and installing vinal floating floor panels. Dennis is thankful for “YouTube University”! There is so much to learn and then put into practice from watching Youtube. We had a low spot in one of the corners of the room. Self-leveling cement took care of that, then the flooring install went pretty well. It finished out great!

13 days….the transformation…. no words!

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Oh the lady in the background….check her out! She is an amazing woman, wife, mother, grandmother! At 93 years she still sets a godly example for us. So glad to have a part in this this adventure/remodel. We’re praying for more opportunities to share our love with Mom / Grandma LC!

The welcome sign along I 35 into Michigan says “Welcome to Pure Michigan”. Well… we arrived in “refreshingly cleansed pure Michigan”! It was pouring rain – even while we set up our rig at Life Action Camp. As alumni we received a special blessing to be able to park in their RV park with full hook-ups @ $10 per night! Thank you LAM!

We immediately booked it over to Niles to see our kiddo’s – such a warm loving welcome! It’s always so good to be back “home” with our family.

SURPRISE! Look who also is here!

Nick and Carl were here! They were staying at Ray & Sarah’s house to attend a funeral of a special mentor of theirs while growing up in Michigan. It was great to have a mini-family reunion even for a couple of days. Ray and Sarah fed us well – we relaxed, shared stories, adventures, and fellowshiped together. We just love our family and thank God for the beautiful lives He has created!

Then we were blessed to see these kiddos doing “everyday life” as well as loving on this Nana and Papa. So much fun, activity, and special memories! Did you see the book Asia picked out for Nana? It was all she could do to read and look at the alligator pictures! (For reference see our blog dated March 30…yikes!)

Faith (at 10 mo’s) has grown so much! She is so laid back and “goes with the flow” whatever is going on. We never heard a whimper or cry – we just received loving looks and hugs!

We had a great time playing games, eating Sarah’s Chinese specialties, and then s’mores over a campfire! Ray – thanks for reminding us that you can touch your nose with your tongue! LOL!

…and of course we really enjoyed the smoked dishes that Ray provided! Smoked brisket, bacon, and smoked cheeses to take on our journey with us. So tasty! -Thank you Ray!

WOW! We are in the midst of living a life full of adventures with God in control. The theme of the message Sunday by Dan Jarvis was “Free from boredom…Full of Adventure!” It really hit home with us as we think about where we have been and the months ahead of us. We have been so blessed serving with SOWER’s Ministry and are planning to be a help and servant to my Mom and sister Kay, then settling at our cabin in the mountains – getting things ready for a family reunion. God – you take the reigns! We’ll go and do what you have planned for us! “Everyday is an adventure with God!”

We had to have a sleepover in Nana and Papa’s RV! I think this is one of the granddkid’s memorable moments!? We had fun getting ready for bed and waking up in the morning. We all enjoyed Nana’s hot chocolate and Papa’s yummy breakfast!

We had such a great time (we got to just unwind and relax) with these kiddo’s. We are looking forward to our time together in July for our full Family Reunion. See you soon!