Attention All Seamstresses!

Okay, my latest sewing experiment is going terribly wrong. Are there any sewers out there who are willing to make two doggie jackets??? I have all the supplies, just no desire. Sewing those sleeves in is the pits!

Donor Family Tribute

This afternoon after church, Leah and I went to a tribute for families of organ and tissue donors. Everyone I talked to beforehand said it was very heartwrenching and they were not wrong. As one lady put it, it is like a 2 hour funeral. Fun huh? Basically, there were some speakers (one received a new liver and another received a new knee), then Donor Alliance gave away gifts to all the families, finally, there was a video with family members talking about their loved ones that had died. I was amazed at how many of the donors were younger than I am and there was even a small child. This certainly was very difficult to sit through, but it definitely puts things into perspective.

Onto better news, our house is nearing completion. Well... on the outside that is. As you can tell, the outside, besides the porch and paint, is done including a roof! The inside has all the plumbing and I think the wiring should be in this week. On Thursday, we are supposed to have a walk through with the builder (pre drywall walk through) to make sure everything is A.O.K. before they drywall up and insulate everything. We should have some interesting things to say after Thursday!!! Basically, everything is on schedule and we should be moving in November. So, if anyone feels a huge urge to carry some boxes around that time, we will have plenty!

That is our exciting news and I hope to see you all soon.

Fall has finally arrived

Leah and I decided to take a short trip up to the mountains this morning to see if the leaves have changed. They certainly have and we have never seen this dramatic of a change before. It was awesome and I think there were lots of other people that had the same idea that we had because there was a traffic jam at Kenosha Pass where we stopped. I just thought I would share some of these pictures with you guys and I will post more tomorrow about the house and stuff. Later.

Bachelor

Aren't Pugs cute???

Tonight, Leah is off volunteering for the "survivors" of the Katrina hurricane so I am a bachelor. It may sound bad, but I kinda enjoy having the evening to myself. I have ordered a pizza, drank coke and watched the Raiders and Chiefs game. This is after I cleaned the garage and went to the gym. Does it get any better than this? I am sure Leah will have more to say about her evening when she gets home.

It has been an exciting week at work. Monday, I finally received my promotion. I have been doing this job for a year now and they have been dragging their feet. So now I am the Joint Restoration Operational Trainer. That was supposed to sounds impressived, but I don't think it worked. The best part is they gave me a 10 percent raise, which will certainly come in handy with the whole house situation. Tuesday, we went out to a restaurant in Stapleton to celebrate, but since we had never been there before, it probably wasn't the best place to choose. Neither one of us were impressed with the food, but we had to try it once. The only other exciting part of the week at work was that we have signed a contract with another company that will increase our production significantly. They have already talked about hiring new people in my department because of this.

The past couple of days have been very relaxing. We have rented a couple of movies, visited the house a couple of times, Cold Stone, walked the dogs at a dog rescue event, taught Bible class, bought ski passes, etc, etc. For some reason, we really do enjoy teaching the middle schoolers at church. We had 18 people in class today and, for the most part, it went really well. Our lesson was about Acts 3 and we included skits and group activities. Basically, we just try to find something useful to do with all their energy. I can't imagine being a full time teacher of them. That would be totally exhausting.

Now, for the house. Nothing significant has changed. We now have a mostly sided house complete with windows. On the inside, we now have heating ducts. Yep, thats about it, but it is starting to look like a house and I am getting really excited about it!!

I guess that is all for now. My pizza is getting cold.

End of an Era

Well, today was a sad day in the Stephens' household. Today we got rid of the Cavalier. I have had it since high school, so it really was a little bit sad. It has been a good car. It got me through high school and college with very few problems. We brought it to Colorado, and, although it broke down on the drive here, it has been a good and faithful mode of transportation. Jason has been driving it to work, since the Camaro uses lots of gas, but it was finally time to say good-bye. It decided once again that it did not want to start, and we decided it was time to say good-bye. Jason has sunk enough time and money into the car. It has been sitting at Allosource for about two weeks now. We had a tow truck come and get it today and haul it to the junkyard. After paying for the tow, we got a whopping $50! We cleaned it out well (and looked for Jason's ring one last time) and sent it on its way. So we are now back to a two-car family. I will miss that car (but not too much).

On a happier note, things are coming along with
our house. I have been feeling really bad about
blogging about it, since so many people in our country no longer have homes, but here is a quick update. We now have a roof! It seems like most of the framing is done, and the house behind us has windows and siding, so that should be the next step! We also got to meet our neighbors tonight, which was fun! We were out at the house, and they stopped by to check on theirs. I think they will be lots of fun. They are a young married couple without kids, just like us. Good times!

Another Amazing Story

Read Mike Cope's blog for another amazing story regarding hurricane relief efforts. Some evacuees have been sent to Abilene and Cisco, and Mike shares an incredible e-mail written by Wayne Barnard from ACU.

Back Home

Thanks for asking about our brother-in-law. Tuell did indeed make it back safely late last night from his trip to New Orleans, and it sounds like they had quite an exciting time! Check out Sharla's blog for more information on the trip, including the fire on the way! I am so thankful they were safe and admire the risks they were willing to take to get much needed medical supplies to the hurricane victims. Please keep praying for the situation. There is definitely more good news now but there is still a long, long way to go. Will life ever be "normal" for those residents and families affected by Katrina?

By A Thread

I made quite a step in my quest to sew tonight...I have threaded the sewing machine! Now, for all of you seamstresses in the family, this is probably no big deal. But for me, this is exciting! I haven't sewn since Home Ec class in high school, so I was a little anxious. In fact, I have been putting it off partially due to my fear of messing it all up. But I did it! Now I am in search for fabric to see if my machine threading is actually correct. Hopefully soon I will have nice new doggie jackets to show off--but don't expect it too soon! Keep your fingers crossed and wish me luck!

Headed to Louisiana

Please keep our brother-in-law, Tuell, in your prayers. He is leaving tonight to drive a truck with much needed supplies to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with several other men from his church. Please pray for their safety.

Evacuees in Denver

We heard on the local news this morning that 1,000 evacuees will be arriving in Denver this afternoon/evening and will be housed in dorms on the Lowry air force base, which is where we live. We drove by and saw a number of emergency vehicles around the buildings, as well as several buses from the local Emergency Management Team. The Salvation Army is organizing the efforts here, so I have called and given them my name and number and when I can volunteer. Hopefully they will call soon, but as the lady I spoke with said, there will be a need for help for a long time to come. Please continue your prayers.

More prayers, please

My brother has a friend whose mom is a social worker in Wichita Falls. She is going to Houston for two weeks to work with the children there who lost their parents in the hurricane. Please pray for her safety and for all the children impacted by this disaster.

Prayers for Rescuers

Here is an email we received tonight from my mom's cousin's wife. George, my mom's cousin, is a police officer in Florida and has traveled to Mississippi to help with the efforts there.

"George called tonight....they are in Gulfport, which is near Biloxi. He was exhausted, but had gotten some canned food, and said they have water. They have a couple of trailers, so they are able to take shifts sleeping in something. They are in a parking lot along with officers from the Sheriff's office in our county, and they have made a camp of sorts where they can all meet, try to get rest when they can, and stay as safe as possible.They just got there this morning, and all he could say is that it is unbelieveable devastating, and that all the pictures in the world can't show what it is really like. He said they were almost unable to get even to there. He also said the police up there are so grateful for the help, it is just overwhelming..
they will probably going to stay about 10 days and then they will be relieved by other officers from here, and so on. I am sure this will go on for a long time.
I am sending along a forward from a friend of ours who lives in Reno, but whose son is a firefighter here in town, and who also went out there. His story is basically the same.
Please continue to pray not only for the victims of the storm, but for the rescuers.
Jan"

Heart-breaking

I feel as though my heart is breaking. Never before have I felt this way about a national disaster. I was very sad when 9-11 happened, but for some reason, I feel especially moved by the hurricane. I can't explain why. Maybe because we have a family member now close to the tragedy. As I read Sharla's blog tonight, I found myself crying. My heart breaks for all of the hurt the people are experiencing, all the hurt they have yet to go through. The loved ones they have lost, the special memories left behind. When I heard that the church Sharla attends was becoming a shelter, I wanted more than anything to rush there and help in any way needed. Goodness knows I would have been even more of a basketcase if I were there in the midst of everything. It sounds as though the refugees that have taken shelter at the church building are being blessed, and I hope and pray that they feel the love of God through the outpouring of love that church is bestowing upon them.

Please continue to pray for all of the victims as well as all of the outreach efforts. I said I would not watch the news today but could not make it past noon today without turning on the TV. While there are still horrendous stories, there is finally good news as people are being rescued and evacuated and getting the things they so desperately need. It is good to finally hear some good news in the midst of all the tragedy.

Hurricane Relief Efforts

Please read Sharla's blog for information on one of the refugee shelters in the DFW area. Sharla is Jason's sister (for those of you who don't know), and the church she attends in the DFW area, North Davis Church of Christ, is now housing 200 of the hurricane evacuees. I also read this morning that 500 refugees are headed to Abilene and there are also some in Wichita Falls. The magnitude of this is completely overwhelming and mind-boggling. I wonder if they will come as far as Denver.

Prayers Please

I would like to ask you guys to pray for my mom's cousin, George Robinson. He is a police officer in Florida and is traveling to Louisiana/Mississippi to aid in the efforts there. Please pray for his safety and the safety of the other officers with him, as well as all the people experiencing this enormous tragedy. I feel so drained and empty from all that has transpired this week--I can't even begin to fathom what it must be like for the people in the area hit. Please just keep the entire situation in your prayers.