So, I feel like I am always apologizing for how rarely I log in and post something to this blog. Oh well, life can get very busy sometimes.

With being midway through 2010 it's about time for an update, and also a few pictures for you all. As of May 27, 2010 my career with Focus on the Family came to a close, of my own accord I should add. I have now accepted and on June 1st started a new job with the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs where I am the "Web and Technology Services Program Manager" for the College of Business. The title is really just a fancy way of saying I am in charge of the web sites and managing the IT department for the College of Business here at UCCS. So far it is a great job and I am looking forward to the opportunities that will present themselves to me because of this career change.

I probably won't write much, but rather let Kirsten post any updates she would like to say, but I will note that she is still working for the County as a Social Worker.

As a whole we have been in the midst of a major remake of our back yard and have tilled up the entire back yard, put down compost and manure and are preparing to install a sprinkler system so that we can put down sod. We'll have to see how that goes, because we keep putting it off to take weekend get-a-ways. Which is a nice way to show you the following pictures. They are from a variety of places in Colorado and we will update with more as the summer progresses. I hope you enjoy.

Well normally this blog is used to share pictures of what’s going on in Kirsten’s and my life, and I hope to be able to continue to do that as well, but it struck me this morning that I have thoughts sometimes I’d like to write down to share with people. I’m going to do my best to start posting interesting thoughts, or what not, to this blog and hope that all of you reading it (if anyone is) will feel welcome to comment or share your insight as well.

Kirsten and I have been discussing the idea that sometimes hopes and dreams can become idols in your life. So what does God have to say about it?

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them, for I Jehovah thy God am a jealous God…” Exodus 20:3-5

So the questions then become, what is an idol or god? And how do we set those before God? If you take the passage for it’s literal sense and look at the word “gods” they are considered an object that we worship or place our faith in as rulers, judges, divine ones, angles and false gods. If we take the next step in the rest of the passage does this mean that a god can be something that distracts us from our God? If he says that we should not put our faith in anything else except for Him, and He is a jealous God then I interpret that to mean that anything that takes precedence in our lives over Him or anything that distracts us from fully following him could be considered a god or idol.

How often in life do we allow those things that are our hopes and dreams to come before God? I know for myself that there have been a few recent ideas that I have become so consumed with that I have, for all intents and purposes, placed the hopes of these ideas ahead of trusting God to be in charge of those ideas. It’s a very fine line in my opinion. God say’s in Mark 11:24 that whatever we desire we should pray and believe that we will get them and we shall have them. The fine line I believe is that the focus of those desires should be on expecting God to work in that situation.

So often we, or should I say I, get so impatient that we start desiring those things and ideas, suddenly it becomes about what we want and not what God has planned or what God’s desires are for us. In our church we have been discussing many different topics in relation to how we should do things such as being the church, serving, and prayer. The main thing that we keep coming back to is that so often it’s the not the actions that determine whether a certain thing is good or not, it’s the motive and heart behind those actions that determine whether the action is God honoring or not.

I don’t think that it is wrong for us to have hopes and dreams, I certainly hope not. I think were I go wrong is when I start letting all my thoughts focus on those hopes and dreams instead of focusing on seeing God in the situation. I go wrong when I start idolizing those hopes and ideas before seeking God’s counsel and grace in them. The struggle that I have before me is not going to be easy, we are selfish beings, us humans… and most of us don’t like not being in control. But if am to truly be a God honoring man, and a spiritual leader in my family, I must humble myself before the God of gods and turn every home and desire over to him in prayer and believe that he is going to provide what I need. It’s not an easy road, and not one to be taken lightly but He never said the burden was going to be light.

So we finally were able to find a jeep that was in our price range... Pictures are below...

Its a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited with the 4.7L V8. Anyway.. Enjoy the pics when I have more time I'll post more details.

Well this past weekend Kirsten and I made it out to see some fall color. The trees were absolutely beautiful, and we were able to spend some quality time with each other. Enjoy the pics!

Well, we have been blessed enough to have my mom and sister in town for the last couple of days. So this weekend we decided to make some outings to see what was happening up in the mountains. On Friday we made our way up above Colorado Springs towards Cripple Creek. While there wasn't much fall color yet, there were enough patches of brightness to make it worth the trip. On Saturday we made the trek up to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park and were lucky enough to get to hear the elk bugling for the fall rutting season. It was definitely an adventure as on that trip we saw a little bit of everything as far as weather goes, with rain, snow, sun, lightning and the whole bit. I hope you enjoy the photographs below.

Well this summer has been a mix of good times and trials for Kirsten and I. I guess we can start with the good times first. We have been able to make it out for a couple of camping trips to some of our favorite places with good friends. We started the summer camping with a trip with our friends, the Krauses, to Rocky Mountain National Park and enjoyed a weekend of cooking over a campfire and hiking to some of the great places in Colorado. We also made a trip with our other friends, the Kittlemans, to Mueller State Park, which was a park that I have been trying to get into for about 2 years. It was a good time, but we got poured on for most of the trip. Oh well, we still got to camp and did a hike on the second day that made all the rain worth it.

We continue to work on things around the house including some painting and started a landscaping project that we’ve not made much progress on. But hopefully sometime this fall things will come together with that.

Kirsten continues to work with the Goodwill as a Lead Case Manager, working with families that are receiving assistance from the state. Times there have been pretty stressful for her, as a few months ago her manager and friend passed away. So dealing with that, along with getting used to a new manager has been a big adjustment.

I continue to work with Focus on the Family and attend school full time. The hope/plan is to complete my BS in Computer Science by then end of Summer ’09 if I can get all of my classes on the schedule that I need. It will definitely be nice to have that done and out of the way so I can have some more free time with my wife.

Towards the end of July I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, and that has been a huge life adjustment. Along with oral medication, exercise and diet change, things are starting to come under control with that and I hope that the trend continues in that direction. The learning curve for diabetes is fairly steep, but the consequences of not managing it are enough to scare me into making the commitment. Kirsten has been a great source of encouragement, and I feel so blessed that she has decided to help me in this new battle.

I think that about wraps up the biggest stuff of the summer, in a couple of the posts below you can see some of the pictures from this summer and I hope to get some more up when I have the time. Take care, and until next time… Be Safe!

Well, even though I was hopped up on percocet after having a wisdom tooth pulled late Friday I couldn't pass up the Colorado Springs Balloon Classic. So Kirsten and I, headed down Saturday morning with our friends Evan and Heather to enjoy the sights. The weather was beautiful and the balloons turned out in full force. I hope you enjoy some of my photos.

So, you made it to our new site... Cool deal... I know we haven't done a great job posting to our blog in the past, and I can't promise it will get much better. But here is a set of photos from some of our adventures this summer. I'll try to write an update post later today or tomorrow to talk about some of the things that are going on in our lives. Until then, enjoy the pictures!

Above are some images from the last few weekends. We have spent most of our free time in the mountains as Kirsten and I have realized fall is one of our favorite times of the year to be out and enjoying the show. I hope you enjoy just a few of the images that we brought back.

I'm not going to write a whole lot right now, seeing as I'm at work. But... Kirsten and I just got back from a week-long vacation to Northern Montana and Glacier National Park with her Parents and youngest brother, Kevin. If I get the time later, I'll go in and try to post some more details, but until then, enjoy the slide show!

Well we've had a few visitors this month, so here are some pictures from the month. Hope you enjoy! (you can click on the slide show to view the images full size)

Here are some pictures of my 27th Birthday celebration and some other pictures from the past weekend. I hope you enjoy...

Ok... so over the winter we thought it was a good idea to let Cooper keep all of his hair to help him through the Colorado Winter. Well, with things warming up for spring, I took him in for a Grooming session. Here are some current pictures of Cooper. As I write this we are in Amarillo, TX on our way to Altus to visit Harrison and Kassandra. have a great Easter everyone!

Well, Kirsten and I finally bit the big one and decided to replace one of our two older (1995 and 1993) cars. We decided it would be best to get rid of the gas guzzling pathfinder and replace it with a more economic vehicle. So on Friday we picked up a 2005 Mazda 6. Yipee!!!

It will be my car for the time being since it's replacing the Pathfinder, but it's an automatic so Kirsten can drive it when I take the bike to work. Now that we have replaced one, we hope to work on getting the 6 paid off as soon as possible so that we can replace Kirsten's car as well. We'll see, we're thinking of picking up an SUV for her, so that she can have a 4wd. It'll all depend on jobs, what we can afford, and if her car dies sooner.

Anyway... I'm posting some pictures of the new car. If you know of anyone looking for a 1995 Nissan Pathfinder XE 4wd and doesn't mind 147,000 miles, send them my way. It may have a lot of miles, but it's been serviced frequently and runs strong.

Here are the pics...

Ok, so I know it's been a long time coming to write a new post, but with school and work and just life in general things have been absolutely crazy! I'll write a more in depth post later, but wanted to post some pictures of Kirsten's and my latest home improvement project.

Well we decided to use our Income Tax Refund to finance new laminate wood flooring on our main entry floor. It took me a full weekend to get it laid down, and now we are just waiting for another paycheck before we finish it with the baseboard. Here are some pics.