The "inevitable blog" about our weekend!

I know this will probably surprise some of our faithful readers, but we had company again over this past weekend! Paul and Sarah Koerner, with their daughter, Brynna, Paul's sister, Maria, and her boyfriend, Daniel Byler, came to Loveland with Daniel's family for some special services on Saturday and Sunday. So they stayed with us Friday night through Monday morning.
Koerners were here for Tim's wedding and then the week after that, so Brynna is getting kind of used to us, even though she had not traveled to Colorado to see us until she was 10.5 months old. We "adopted" Paul several years ago when he would spend time with us when Randy was going to school at Mitchell, SD.

Brynna even let her adopted grandpa Rowen entertain her. She will be one year old later this month.

Maria and Daniel have been dating for a short time. They seem to like each other a lot, and we are happy that Daniel is a spiritual leader in their times together. Praying together is soooo important!!

We had already planned a picnic and soccer game in Greeley with our friends the Cruzes and the Shields for Saturday evening. As our guests were involved in the services in Loveland, we were able to spend the evening playing, visiting, cooking, and eating! Our friends, Steve and Matthew Cary also joined us for the evening. We did not get pictures of everybody, and no good ones of the soccer games, but the cooking and the scene are pictured below. The reason for the gathering was to have a time together before Esther, Carmen, and Mary Cruz leave for Hobe Sound Bible College in Florida. We won't see them until Christmas break, except for when they sit in the camera's view at church and we see them as we join Hobe Sound Bible Church via the Internet for their Sunday services.
Here are Eladio, Mary, Carmen, and Ephraim Cruz, Doug Shields, and Jason, Emily, and Rowen (not in that order).

In the distance is Esther and Sherolyn Cruz, Charla Shields. In the foreground is Carmen Cruz and Emily, Eladio Cruz and Doug Shields.

This one is of our favorite outdoor cook, Rowen!

All the food was yummy and a good time was had by all. Even the mosquitos got full!

More pictures of Tim and Brenda's Wedding (from the professional photographer)

Emily, Audrey, Beth, Lexi, Enid, Kari, BRENDA, TIM, Randy, Eric, Seth, Jeff, and Jason

Phoebe's 5th birthday party!

Yesterday afternoon, the girls and I were blessed to be part of Phoebe Hinkle's 5th birthday party. Her birthday was Monday, but the party was Tuesday.

First she opened gifts; then we had yummy chocolate Candy Land Cake.

Then the girls played Candy Land game, but we neglected to get a picture of it. We did get a picture of Andrew Lowery and me playing Sub Search. It is kind of like a 3D Battleship game. Mathew was teaching both of us to play and it was fun and challenging. It is a game from the 1970s that we hope to obtain for our family!

After the games, we went over to Loveland Park and the kids and Mathew rode the miniature train. Andrew is not in this picture because he was in the caboose!

Emily, Phoebe, Ruth and Mary Lowery

The kids standing by the engine: Emily, Phoebe, Andrew, Ruth, Mary, and Beth. There were two other little girls at the party, but their schedule did not allow them to go to the park with us.

Emily and Phoebe and the train engine.

More pictures of Ethan Asbury Hinkle

At Bible Study Sunday night, we got to see and hold little Ethan Hinkle. He is growing and is so alert and sweet! What a precious little boy! Phoebe loves her little brother.

Jeff's and Jason's bedroom furniture

Back in June Jeff and Jason got new bedroom furniture: Jeff bought a rolltop desk at a garage sale and Mother and Dad bought them a new queen sized bed to replace two twin sized stackable beds.

Jeff's rolltop desk with his Dulcimer sitting on top.

The bed.

So now you know what we are going to make the quilt for! (See post below.)

Brenda's Great-Aunt Lea promoted to heaven!

This is a picture of our daughter-in-law, Brenda, and her great-aunt Lea, taken July 2007. Brenda got to spend some time with Aunt Lea at least twice in the last year. We got word today that Lea went to heaven yesterday. I wanted to share Rowen's cousin, Katie Gafford's words about her last visit with Lea.

Katie wrote this in an email to us last night: "I had put Tim and Brenda's wedding pictures in a little hand album and took them to the hospital on Sunday afternoon to show them to her. She really found them very special and very interesting. It had been quite awhile since she had seen her great nieces and nephews. She called them her grandchildren! The thing she said the most often was, "I am fully ready for Heaven, and He can take me any time." I told her about the thought of the morning message based on the words, "Friend, come up higher." Her face just lit up. She asked me to have prayer with her and as I started to leave, she said, "He is going to answer that prayer very soon." She told her therapist that she was ready to go to Heaven. What a testimony to leave behind."

Ps 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His saints.

Starting a new quilt top

Mother and I have started another quilt. We wanted to make one that Jeff and Jason can use on their new bed (see in pictures in another post coming soon.) The quilt's name is Crossroads to Jericho. We found it in a quilting book our friend gave us called "Scrap Quilts - fast and fun" compiled and edited by Patricia Wilens.

Below is a picture of the quilt in the book.


We have cut all of the strips (for strip quilting), and Mother has already pinned a couple of the strips. We are looking forward to sewing it all!

Mother on right, cutting, and me on left holding. :)




Here are all of the fabrics we are using. 9 of the fabrics are blue, and 9 of them are other random colors! The neutral fabric behind is what we're using for inbetweeners.

Us again. Look at that concentration on my face!

This morning, Saturday 2-AUG-2008, Rowen, Jeffrey, Beth, Jason, Emily and our friend Michael Durkee had the privilege of going on a 14-mile bike ride on the beautiful Poudre River Trail between Windsor and Greeley, CO. Some of us were more used to the bike seats than others :-(( , and some of us sit in comfy office chairs too much of the time :-)), and at the end of the ride it was near 100'F, but other than that, we enjoyed it! You should have been there!


Jason was brave enough to make this video - while he was riding for a couple of minutes. . . . just about as exciting as watching paint dry!

More Pictures of Tim and Brenda's wedding

These are some pictures provided by Kevin and Bonnie Peterson from their camera. Their daughter, Lexi, is the flower girl.
Tim and Lexi

Brenda and Lexi
The sand ceremony. Each had a vase with sand in it. Brenda's was white sand; Tim's was black sand. They took turns pouring into a larger vase, symbolizing the blending of their lives, never to be separated into individual lives again.Brenda's best friend and matron of honor, Kari Orvis, with Brenda, Tim, and Randy, who was best man. Also, Lexi, the flower girl.Brenda and her bevy of girls. From left: Audrey Stevenson, Emily Albertson, Lexi Peterson, Brenda Albertson, Kari Orvis, Enid Stevenson, and Beth Albertson Adding in the guys, from Tim and right: Tim Albertson, Randy Albertson, Eric Stevenson, Seth Stevenson, Jeffrey Albertson, Jason Albertson
The additions on this picture are the ushers on the left: Paul Koerner and Brent Susan, and the candlelighters on the right: Rebekah Owens and David Graf. In this picture, Jeffrey disappeared behind Brent. When we see the real photographer's pictures, we will likely see Jeffrey in this pose!

3 car wreck in front of our house today!

About 7:30 this morning, we heard a series of crashes. None of us happened to be looking out the kitchen window right at that moment, but apparently a Ford Explorer stopped on the highway in front of our house to turn north onto Idaho and the vehicles following did not notice in time.

The Ford Ranger hit the Explorer and was subsequently crunched by the Chevy Impala. The Explorer had the least damage, but the driver was taken away by ambulance for possible neck injury. The poor Ranger got it in front and in back. Thankfully no one else was injured. The two white vehicles were taken away by tow trucks.

Our new missionary friends. . .

We had the distinct privilege of not only making the aquaintance of Steve and Gwen Geise, but having them in our home for a couple of days. Their delightful and energeric sons Isaac, Micah, and 10-week old Titus added enjoyment to their time with us. They are missionaries to South Africa with H.I.M., and are on a deputation tour which included the Rocky Mountain West - which was a first time for them as missionaries. We hope to keep in touch with these folks, whose hearts seem to be much in alignment with ours!

Steve and Rowen outstanding in our garden...

Gwen and Janet visiting on our deck...

Jason and Emily loved entertaining Isaac (5) and Micah (2)

10-week old Titus was such a cheerful baby, even when Beth put him in her DOLL CRADLE!

More July pictures

On July 1, we helped Alia celebrate her 6th birthday.This is the finished stitchery that Beth made for Tim and Brenda's wedding gift. It is beautiful!

On July 6, Tim and Brenda were with us for Bible Study and they got to see and hold little Ethan Asbury Hinkle. He is precious. We enjoyed having my parents, Rex and Wanda Scoles, with us the week of the wedding. Grandpa played many a chess game with Beth, Emily, and Jason and Jeffrey, who were off work for the week.

Emily and Jason taught him how to play Stratego.He bravely played it with them, but I think he much preferred chess. Quil was a delight to have in our home, along with his parents, Randy and Joy.
Quil is so good at playing with toys or reading books by himself. Beth and Quil had a nap together! My mother worked on a crocheting project while she was here.
She is Quil's regular babysitter, so he loves having Great-Grandma Scoles feed him.
Emily tried to teach Quil to climb stairs. He doesn't have stairs to practice on at home. This is Grandma Stevenson and Enid Stevenson at a meal with us that week.

This is Audrey Stevenson, Kariann Orvis, (Brenda's best friend who was matron of honor), Brenda, and Tim at a meal at our house.

Tim printed the wedding bulletins and helped to fold them.

Here are some of the Scoles relatives who were at the wedding. They were visiting in the reception hall before the wedding. L to R: Rex Scoles, Lyndell Scoles, Brenda (Scoles) Owens, Andrew Owens, Wanda Scoles, Amanda Scoles, Ashley Scoles, back of Marlene (Scoles) DeOrnellis, Leah Owens, Rebekah Owens. Scoles relatives also present but not pictured: Charles Owens, Scott DeOrnellis, Cody DeOrnellis, Austin Scoles, Sharen Scoles, Sherry (Scoles) Wampler. We missed my brother, Wes and his family, and Sherry's husband and kids.

July 14th was Jeffrey's 17th birthday. Aunt Becky Profitt, (Rowen's sister), was our only guest at that time and she wanted to take us out to eat for Jeff's birthday. Jeff chose IHOP, so that is where we went.

Aunt Becky and Jeffrey