November at the Dales

Oh dear - it has been over month....that's not good. So one brief up date at least. Today is Veterans day...I have a grandfather, 3 uncles, a cousin and countless extended family that have or are serving in the military at this point in time and am very thankful for them. Today is also St. Martin's Day in German. Legend has it that Martin, a Roman soldier, cut his cloak in half to share with a poor man freezing to death in the snow. Today Protestants and Catholics and non-religious people alike will let their little ones make lanterns and follow a procession through town at dusk/night and eat pretzels at bonfires etc. to commemorate the thoughtfulness of St. Martin. We've made lanterns ourselves as I'm trying to bring in a few little German traditions into our family life. We plan to walk up the road a little ways when it gets dark.

Other than that things are quiet around here for the most part. The Torchbearer Americas conference is at Timberline this weekend with directors and delegates from all 6 centers on this side of the globe - His Hill, Portantorchas, Ravencrest, Capernwray Harbour, Capernwray Quebec and Timberline of course. We're looking forward to getting to know some of the extended Torchbearer Family over the weekend.

The kids have been sick with various viruses and colds so these last few days have felt a little confining, though we're so thankful we at least have room to spread out right now and are so grateful for God's continuing provision for us to be able to stay in this home at this time. We're enjoying getting to know some people in the community through our Thursday night small group with other families from church as well as through Classical Conversations. Winter has definitely arrived as once again everything around us is white and our fireplace runs non-stop. Reid and Ian have spent a lot of time chopping wood in preparation for this season.

Just last week we booked our flight to NC/SC for Christmas. Because Reid will be leading a group of students on a missions trip to NY in December we ended up not having as much time as we thought we would have - we will only have a couple of days in each place so our ability to meet up with friends and supporters will be somewhat limited. That being said - you are welcome in our home at any time if you're wanting to enjoy a Colorado winter or summer vacation (both seasons here are wonderful). Signing off for now! :)