I kinda took a blogging fast after epiphany (January 6), which I was afraid to say “out loud” until later in January {wrote about it HERE}.  And I didn’t know how long I’d stay gone and there were birthdays I had to mention and a few times I couldn’t resist posting something like a link or video or quick thought.  But true writing/blogging, I have not done.  And how I have missed it.  And how, especially right now, in the midst of the greatest joys anyone could experience and in the midst of the deepest of sorrowful things for people I love deeply, right in the middle of the messiness of life and celebration-worthy rites of passage and as the tulips are becoming glorious and the daffodils stand tall and proud -  I just need to be and  able to break-the-blog-fast to say, and {to declare loudly}:

God is good.  He is faithful.  He is SO faithful.

So, I am back to write that ~~~ plus lots of silly things and a little opining, too.  I will write about sunny days and my quest for joy and let you in on where I find it.  I will sing songs and share the lyrics and write about life as I see it.  And I am back to write because my mom thinks I am good at it (everyone should have such a cheerleader!) and because I want a written record for my familia. 

 One day the grandbebes will grow up and be so happy to read this thing and see their faces and know o-how-much-I-do-love them & their amazing parents (the people I adore most in the world)! 

And I am back to blogging because, to shamelessly rip off 1 John 1, I am writing about the Word of Life!  I have not only heard of Him, I have heard fromHim myself, and have seen Him with my own eyes and touched Him and been touched by Him.  So I want to share and tell the things I have seen and heard with my own familia and the ones God has made mine by His Spirit. My “motive for writing is simply this: [I] want you to enjoy this, too.  Your joy will double [my] joy!”  (1 John 1.1-4, The Message) 

May this blog be a record for the generations to come of the faithfulness of God in our less-then-perfect, ordinary-yet-unique lives. And of the great, great joy He gives.

Plus a peek into the swirling thought collage of my very heart & soul.

And now,

here are some things that happened

while I was “blog fasting”…

Dave and Tara got settled into their new home

She is an amazing homemaker and it was cozy within days.  She is also very creative and organized and it is a lovely, peaceful place.  There is a giant, jetted tub in the guest quarters where the grandbebes could swim laps!  Their yard connects to open space (which in Colorado is guarded  like gold!) and their big window views are of the crystal-clear Colorado Rockies.  They are home!

I visited my mom and dad in St. Joe, MO…where is snowed and snowed and snowed…bleak!

Parsonage on the left.  Church on the right.  Too close for comfort.

Rocky and Jovan bought a new house, too!

There’s a lot  a-lotta pink in the girlie room!

It is cute as a dollhouse and colorful and sweet.  It fairly screams Rocky + Jovan + 2 of the cutest little girls = Blue and green & lots o’ pink and JOYfully Ever After!

Averi turned THREE and had a CandyLand Party complete with an Ice-Cream-Cone-Castle cake

Aren’t the presents kids get at three just the most fun?  Her Grammy and Papa hosted in Frederick and it was a sunny day full of cute kids and smiles!

Love was, naturally, in the air

My sister Tami worked on the Moslander Family Reunion in earnest.

We shall gather near Chicago late June.  Frontier Airlines to Midway, car-to-go, please.

I discovered Rice & Bean Chipotle Cheese Artisan Snack Chips

“Aged cheddar cheese and just the right amount of spicy seasonings create a flavor that is highlighted by the adzuki beans’ subtle sweetness. Together with its light and crispy texture, this artisan snack is the perfect better-for-you snack chip because of the adzuki bean’s natural healing and health properties.”

Thank-you Candi, for this most wondrous introduction.  I shall ever be grateful…and smiling as I crunch on them.

We unveiled the Heaven Fest 2011 Vision at 4 small, joyful gatherings with our volunteers and team

The volunteers for Heaven Fest, the leadership and everyone who is part are THE. MOST. AMAZING. PEOPLE. IN. THE. WORLD.  I love them.  {Stonebrook Manor in Thornton, Jim Elliot School in Englewood, Northern Hills Church in Brighton and Rez in Loveland}  Thank-you, people! www.stonebrookmanor.com

Dave was in Prairie Playhouse’s “Willie Wonka”

He played Grandpa Joe to the great delight of crowds of people.  Stephanie had to assure her friends he did not really walk or act that old in real life, because he was so good and a local news article said the “ubitiquous Dave Rhoades” threatened to steal the show.  And?  Even though it was sprayed gray, he got to keep his hair (in “Annie” a year ago, CLICK HERE  he was shaved bald)!

We had the coldest days of the year and also reached the 70s in mid-winter – all within a 2 week period!

That is Colorado for you.  And though March is our snowiest month, we didn’t get any.  Uh-oh.  Watch out, May!

Joe & Robin came to visit!

Joe made red beans and rice (to-die-for, mmmmmm) and I made an ok batch of gumbo.  That got better each day until it was gone.

Tredessa got a boyfriend.

Is it ok to say that here?  Well she did and he is cute (Army) and she kind of adores his muscles (Norwegian from Florida).  And how sweet he treats her (prophetic intercessor).  We all like him.  That works out well.  And since I don’t think he even knows I have a blog, I can pass all the news about them on to you.  Haha.

I lost an hour, but the days got longer.

I am not against Daylight Savings at all.  It tells me gardening is around the corner.  Every night, as the blue hours (l’heure bleu) get bluer and last measurable minutes longer, I sigh happily.

We announced our super-cool NEW Heaven Fest 2011 location!

The Ranchin Loveland!  Oh, yeah, baby!  www.heavenfest.com

My niece, Christiana, starred in a commercial for shopping in Aberdeen, SD.  

She is “Dorothy,” which seems so perfectly appropriate, somehow!  VERY proud of our little working actress!

There was a “super-moon”! 

It’s a wonderful night for a moondance…

Tredessa introduced me to a positively lovely way of looking at sarcasm, a mode of communication I tend towards:

 …the last refuge of modest people, when their soul is invaded.

Spring snuck up on me

One day I woke up – and there it was, spring!   And I looked out the window to a sure confirmation: the garlic chives were taking over the back yard already!

Stormie bought a house.  Yes, she did.

Look at all the colorful dishes waiting for Dessa to finish painting the cupboards.

A 1919 bungalow.  Cute and in pristine condition.  Great price.  The last owner {Ruby} had lived there since 1944.

Tredessa moved out of her apartment in Arvada.

She will live with her baby sister.

My lover turned 52

Sorely missed at the celebration were the Powers fam.  Another celebration will have to ensue.

You have to see this {all the way through} to believe it!

Yep.  That is Wrex.  The Birthday Singer.

“Baby Belle” (better known as Amelie Belle), turned ONE!

And?  God is still faithful!  And we have lots to talk about.

Stefanie and Wrex Phipps are just such generous and giving people.  They let us crash their farmland and just became a part of the Moslander family from far and wide as we celebrated and re-unioned together last week.  Thank-you sooooooooo much, Stef and Wrex.  EVERYBODY fell in love with you just like we did when we first met you.  You made us so welcomed and were just a part of us!  We love you and will never forget the great time at the farm!  pictured: the farmer and his drop-dead gorgeous wife; Stef and Dessa

Aunt Tami-finger licking good; Uncle Gerron saying, “Down boy-Tami is mine.”; Elise-the-Niece and me

Austin feeding the calf; Dawn and Robin, my beautiful sisters-in-law…and two of the godliest women I know

Goat says, “Really.  What do you city folk want?”; Cowboy Wrex bringing the horses; Hunter saddled up

Tredessa swinging the rope and getting her steer; Averi taking control of the bull

Cousin Corbin roping; Gemma bull-riding; the boys being little cow-pokes

My mom has always, and I mean always been a cowgirl at heart!; Tristan with his kiddies; Guini and the goat

Tredessa lassos her cousin Corbin (certainly he deserved it for one ornery thing or another he said); the little ones lasso-ing; Dave and his food

Hunter and his corn-on-the-cob; Averi and hers; Gavin and the goat

Corbin; Rocky; Uncle Joe playing horseshoes and losing (to his 71-year-old mother)

Uncle Gerron with Jordan and Austin; my mama roping again; Stephanie and Tristan

Uncle Gerron and Uncle Joe; Rocky and Corbin shooting…plastic bottles and stuff

The bonfire Wrex built; Aunt Dawn and Guini; Wrex and Austin stoking the fire

The boys roasting marshmallows; Guini and Hunter walking down the road as the sun disappeared; a beautiful summer evening with family around the fire

above: Our hostess Stef with sisters Tara and Tredessa;  Aunt Dawn and Guini doing sparklers

below: Uncle Gerron is loved by animals and toddlers alike – here with GemGem; Hunter and his fireworks

It was an unforgettable evening of love on the farm with the fam.

Previous posts about the Moslander family reunion:

• Mommy & Daddy 
• Moslander Reunion ’09
• It’s a Family Affair

The Moslanders Came to Denver & here is a glimpse of the time together…

pictured:  At Mile High Flea Market ~ Jordan, the semi-pro football player; Uncle Gerron innocently shopping for the right pair of jeans; Aunt Tami with Jovan and Averi

pictured:  me (what the heck with the hair??) and my mama; cousins Tara & Elise; Gerron and Dave, the bro-in-laws (some people think Tami and I married brothers becuz we both went for the hot Latino types)

pictured below: Elise with her daddy and my brother, Joe; Elise at the jeans shop, where unbeknownst to her, there was the inevitable Moslander-booty discussion happening; Tara and her Aunt Tami discussing tank tops

What on earth did we do?

We gathered, we ate, we Mile-Hi flea marketed, we cooked out at the farm (Stef and Wrex~  Thank-you so much for an unforgettable evening) and roped “cattle” and rode horses and played horseshoes.  We bonfired and sang, we talked and talked and took pictures.  We prayed.   We cried sometimes and laughed a lot.  We ate some more.  Robin cookie-ed us silly!  We shot off fireworks (which may or may not have been illegal from over the Wyoming state line) and BBs and air-soft pellets.  Grandma (or great-grandma) Moslander whipped everybody’s butts in horseshoes at the age of 71-years-young!  Seriously?  If she would color her hair, you’d only think she was 54 by her activity-level.  She also perfected her roping skills after the lesson from Cowboy Wrex.  The woman kills!  We ate some more.   In short, we just hung out together.

pictured: Dawn and Dan and Grandpa Moslander relaxing; the little ones on the horses; praying before the big steak and corn on the cob and all the other delish food meal

pictured: Aunt Tami can truly talk to the animals!

pictured: a horse, of course; Tristan and Gemma riding; Rocky and Guini riding into the sunset

pictured: Grandpa Moslander reverted to his farm days as a kid and spent a lot of time feeding the mama goat and the albino calf

pictured: Aunt Tami with her new friend the horse; Guini and Hunter riding by; Grandma Moslander winning at horseshoes

pictured: Uncle Joe and Grandpa visiting between songs; the calf

Not Pictured:

The giant 3 1/2 foot snake that almost ran right over my feet!  Yes.  It was a giant!

Psalm 34.11  “Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.”