Camping Trip

Our family is looking forward to it's our first ever camping trip with the Timberline Community to the Sand Dunes near Alamosa in the southern part of Colorado. Looking at the pictures makes me wonder if we need to bring along Ian's light sabers in case we encounter any sand people....but we're very excited. We were supposed to leave today, but the weather today was supposed to be rainy/snowy with lows in the teens. Seeing as how the Hammonds and the Thomas's are bringing wee-ones with them, we decided to push the trip back one day - when it will only be in the low 20's to 30's at night!!! However, the high's are expected to get into the 70's - we might need air conditioning in our tent! HA! :) Erin Pagel is our staff member who plans these retreats and I've been super impressed with how detailed she is in planning these trips. She has a real gift in this area!

This trip to Alamosa is an annual trip that is planned at the end of the school year for all the staff and students to debrief and talk about the school year. We look forward to having some extended time away with our new Timberline Family and the kids are beyond excited to get to spend time with their friends. Ian is even getting out of school for the occasion.

Since most of my posts are about family I thought I'd add this brief update about Timberline and what is going on here. Once the students graduate on the 14th of May (always a happy/sad time, as I remember very well being a young girl growing up in Torchbearers and having to watch the students I'd come to love, leave at the end of the school year), the school closes down for a couple of weeks and a lot of staff leaves to go on vacation before things gear up for our summer guests. We're looking forward to having Reid's grandmother visit with us for a couple of weeks in May from North Carolina as well as the Brunck Family, some precious friends from our home church in NC as well. Then at the beginning of June, Reid's sister Susie, brother-in-law Issa and their kids Sami and Alexa will be visiting. The kids are beside themselves with anticipation with their cousins coming into town as well as their friends Hannah and Noah. We're really looking forward to some extended time with family and friends and the opportunity to share Timberline and our new family here with them!

We have several churches coming in for retreats as well as a photography retreat and a peak-to-peak bike tour- a part of our Ascent program. I believe there is still room in both programs for anyone interested in participating. We're also still accepting female students at Timberline for this coming year's Bibleschool (I hear that there is a waiting list for the guys).

Reid mentioned off hand that this year's Torchbearer's America's Director's meeting will be held at Timberline so we'll be looking forward to connecting with some old and new friends at that time.

Well, spring time has arrived in Fraser, CO. That means that when fresh snow falls it melts - but just this past week we got another good dumping of 10 inches. It could snow all the way up until June we've been told.

Well, I'd better finish packing....and will do my best to pack the camera so hopefully we can post some pictures of something other than snow!!!!