"... TO GIVE UNTO THEM BEAUTY FOR ASHES, THE OIL OF JOY FOR MOURNING, THE GARMENT OF PRAISE FOR THE SPIRIT OF HEAVINESS; THAT THEY MIGHT BE CALLED TREES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,THE PLANTING OF THE LORD, THAT HE MIGHT BE GLORIFIED." ISAIAH 61:3

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

I'm back, baby!

To all of our Bloggyland and Face book friends, thank you for your prayers!

Just a few highlights;

Late July we started prepping and cleaning for the move.



The girls were real troopers! They dusted and scrubbed -


but even the best workers need a break every now and then!


The boxes were packed, the truck was loaded, 



we said goodbye to our little Mississippi bayou and hit the road!

We had a bit of a layover in Arkansas with the family. About four weeks worth!                                    
We had a blast!

BBQ and smores at the lake.
Dinner in Jasper overlooking the beautiful Ozarks!

Feeding the ducks at Lake Harrison.



Playing with the dogs,



and riding the 4 wheeler all over Grandma Carol's farm!
And skipping rocks on the Buffalo.
My mom and I even spent a couple of great evenings pouring over old photos!

Love it!

Anywhoo, time came to move on.
From Harrison, Arkansas, to Hayes, Kansas, we saw a lot of this,


and a whole lot of this!

The next day was more of the same, until finally . . .


Woo Hoo!!! We made it!
A couple more hours and 'home' came into view.


Fort Carson, Colorado Springs, Cheyenne Mountain and Pikes Peak!
Absolutely beautiful.

Well, we're still busy getting settled into the new house. Joey has been assigned to 4th I.D. and will be heading back to Afghanistan in the spring.
Boxes are mostly unpacked and the girls will be starting school next week.
We have a list of churches we'd like to visit. And their certainly will not be a lack of things to do here!

We've already driven the Peak,
The girls really wanted to see him!

Yes, that's right. We're higher than the clouds.
OK. I'll admit it. Parts of the one and a half hour ascent
had me white knuckling it! But the view was incredible.


We've also visited Garden of The God's,



And Helen Hunt falls!


(I'll pause here for the oohs and ahhhs!)

OK. So that's what the Smitty crew has been up to the last month or so.
I'll spare you anything further at this point. I'm sure you've seen enough of us in this post to last a while!

Thanks again for all your prayers!