Enjoying the weekends

While the weather is still nice, James and I are doing all we can to enjoy the weekends outside. The Colorado natives talk about how beautiful the trees are west of the city. I thought, 'really, they are trees. I am sure I have seen trees just a beautiful in Georgia.' Well, they are right. Today we went to Echo Lake which is beside Mt. Evans, one of the 14ners in Colorado (meaning the mountains is over 14,000 ft.) The lake was calm and relazing and the weather was perfect. On the drive we saw the most amazing tree colors - red, yellow, orange, and gold. I tried to get pictures but they do not do the colors justice.

Garden of the gods

White Rock

A week ago James and I went with our friend Ashley Jones to Garden of the Gods. When I first heard of the name of the garden, I had no idea what it really was. I guess I was expecting gardens named after specific gods from Greek mythology. But, it is named that because it must have been made by the gods. The man who founded the area paid the city to keep it free and public for all to admire. It was amazing. Pictures do not do it justice. Also, you may be wondering who Ashley is. Well, she is from GA, worked with my at Olive Garden in Athens, went to Richmont, and moved to CO this summer. She has been a joy to have in our lives during this time of transition. It is great to have a familiar face. Enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Balancing Rock

We also explored the city of Colorado Springs while in the area. We found a park (the name is below) with a huge arch that pours out water for the children to play under. It was fun to watch the children play.

Also, believe it or not, I found this van at the Trading Post at the Garden of the gods.For those of you who don't know, I am from Valdosta, GA  which is in Lowndes county. I sad that I never did find the driver of this van.

Exploring While There is Time

One typical morning Whitney was enjoying her coffee, Cherios and the Today show when this was the
view out of the patio window. This is a daily adventure of people in Colorado. Not for us quite yet.

Tomorrow, it will be three weeks since we arrived in Colorado! It is wild and seems like we have been here for much longer than that. So much goes into moving to a new place which it joys and challenges. We are seeing those one by one in different ways.

For example, where to go to church? It can be a difficult decision, especially when two people must decide on one place. We have visited three churches now and were unsuccessful at visiting our fourth. Our second visit is a definite no but the other two are considerations. One thing that is different in CO, among other things, is churches. Almost all of them are recent plants and comtemporary, and the ones that are older and traditional look small and seem empty. Also, with all of these new churches comes technology. This past week we visited a cool church called Denver United, which conventiently meets on the University of Denver campus, so they could share the DU initials. The church meets in an auditorium. The pastor got up to begin preaching and we wondered why he wasn't carrying a Bible onto the stage. I mean, how can one preach without the Word? Well, an iphone can take care of that. He pulls it out and begins reading the Word off of it. I don't know why but it felt so uncomfortable to see some preach while looking down at his phone. But, he did preach a good message (whitney said the part about the good message; james was not as impressed). I guess that is where technology is taking the church.

We have spent time exploring the area. This past week we went into the city and walked around lots. Everyone walks or rides bikes all the time! This is also a park at like every corner it seems, even in the city. Here is a picture of Confluence park which is in the middle of the city. There is a trail that goes from our apartment to this very park. The trail runs alongside a river. We hope to bike the 15-20 miles at some point. If you look closely, there is a humungous REI to the right, which is 3 stories and includes a full-service Starbucks. Jill and Anne would have loved it!

University of Colorado stadium

The following day we went to Boulder, which is about an hour north of where we live. We visited the downtown area full of many unique people such as business folk, children with their moms, chaco wearing college students, the poor playing instruments on the street, and probably a couple of people on drugs. We ate sandwiches for lunch, buffalo and wild boar, both excellent. We walked around the campus and called everone a 'Buffalo head.' If you haven't heard, UGA is coming to CU Oct 2, let us know if you can get us tickets.

As far as jobs go, James is to be congratulated. He started a part-time job at Denver Seminary in the library yesterday. He will be working 10 hours per week while taking classes. He is already doing a fabulous job shelving books. His mother is proud. Whitney is playing the waiting game. She has applied for 17 jobs or so thus far and has not heard a word back. It can be difficult to find a counseling job in the area with such a large population of counseling students in Denver. Please continue to pray for an interview.

While moving has brought all of these fun experiences, it would be a lie to only blog about these times. Moving also challenges us to the core of who we are. It makes one question one's purpose and identity. God uses these to work in us but it can be stretching. There is nothing to base one's self on other than Him. Pray for this season and that He would complete His work and we would know His nearness.

Our first week

The view from the window as we walk down the stairs to the parking lot.

It is amazing how quickly a place can feel like home. Even though we have only been in Littleton for 8 days now, our apartment is coming together and surprisingly we were able to fit everything we brought into a 707 sq. ft. apartment. I am sure many of you are wondering what we have been doing and how we are settling in. Here ya go.

We spent the first couple of days driving around Littleton and discovering our staple places such as a noodles restaurant near our apartment, the Super Target, and the local grocery stores. We have a King Soopers which is basically a Kroger which made us very happy. Last Saturday we went to Red Rocks for a few hours for a short hike. Many of you have probably heard of Red Rocks because of a famous CD Dave Matthews made there. Anne was with us for all these fun activities and flew out the same day.

Anne and Whitney at Red Rocks.

Oddly enough, we have already had our second guest at our new place. Irvin Mac, who lived in our apartment complex in Atlanta, came to visit on his way to Seattle. We took him to the Coors Brewery which is in Golden, CO. We were impressed with the brewery and the beer was better than expected.

James has already applied for a couple of jobs and has already had one interview. He met with the manager at the nearby Starbucks who wanted him to work over Christmas break and every other Sunday. He decided that was not a good gig. He now has an interview for a part-time job in the library at the seminary. His mother is proud.

Whitney is trying to relax after a long journey through grad school and immediately into a summer of full-time work. She is almost finished with her Colorado license paperwork and hopes to send it in next week. After that, the job search will truly begin.

Overall, things are going well. We are excited about all God has in store of this new season in our lives. We hope the blog helps us keep in touch with you as we are physically far away but still feel close to many of you in heart. As you think if us, please pray for community, a church home, and jobs in which we can use our giftings for Him.