How We Enter the New Year

Last night Donna and I attended a New Year's Eve party hosted by our dear friends Jason and Candice Esta. We had a great time hanging out with several friends from the church. We are so thankful for all the amazing friends God has given us! 

At the end of the evening, Candice had arranged for everyone in attendance to participate in something really cool. We all wrote down something that has been a real weight to us this past year - Things like worries, doubts, fears or offenses. We tied that piece of paper to a helium balloon and just before midnight, we took some time to pray and give those things to God - asking Him to help us not carry them in to the new year. After praying, we released those balloons into the air - symbols of our cares that we cast on the Lord.

1 Peter 5:7, Give all your worries and cares to God, 

because He cares about you. 

It was so inspiring to watch those weighty issues lift higher and higher until they were completely out of sight. I've always heard that how you leave one room is how you enter another. That's why it's so important that you settle issues in relationships, stages of life, etc. before you move on to another! I am entering into this new year right! 

The "Grand" Adventure!

We are going to be grandparents! Robin and Eli are expecting. The baby is due January 29th and we are so excited! They told us a while back one night while we were having dinner at 5 Guys. Robin said she had something for us for Mother's Day and gave us an envelope that contained what looked like a ticket to a broadway style show called the "Grand" Adventure. Donna caught on pretty quick but it took me a couple of minutes. Finally it dawned on me what they were telling us and I lost it! So happy! 

Because we don't know if the baby is a boy or a girl, we currently all refer to it as "Potato." We pray for Potato every day and carry Potato's picture around and show it off regularly. We are going to be the best grandparents ever! I grew up right next door to my grandfather and he had such a tremendous impact on who I am today. Chase is actually named after him. (Chase Walker Ables is named after John Walker Russell) I hope and pray that I will have that kind of impact on little Potato! 

They have all sorts of fun things available for expecting couples today. Robin and Eli send us screenshots weekly from an App they use that lets you know how big the baby is currently. (Weight, length and comparisons. This week the baby is the size of a plumb.) We look forward every week to getting the updates! 

Donna has decided that she wants the baby to call her "Lovey." You might recall that Lovey was the name of the Millionaire's wife on the old sitcom from the 1960's called  Gilligan's Island. I suppose that means the baby will grow up referring to me as Mr. Howell! (I'll probably need Mr. Howell's money to pay for all the stuff Lovey is going to want to buy for this baby!) Actually, I hope the baby will call me Poppy!  

Incredible!

This week we hosted our 21st annual summer day camp called Camp Courageous. Over 530 kids spent the week on our grounds playing hard, making new friends and learning about God! It was our largest camp ever and it was INCREDIBLE!

That was actually the theme of the camp this year. Pixar/Disney released The Incredibles 2 this week, and our Kids Ministry team decided to make the incredible concept our theme for the week. 

Marty and Anna Hoey have been our Kids Pastors for over 25 years and they do a remarkable job. I stood and watched over 500 kids hang on every word Pastor Marty said Friday during their chapel. He and Anna truly have an amazing way with kids! 

On Wednesday the auditorium was filled with fun jumps and the parking lot was covered with water slides. As I walked around enjoying the sights and sounds of kids having the time of their life I was filled with gratitude. I love getting to offer families these kinds of experiences for their kids. That day so many children ran up to me and greeted me and thanked me for hosting the camp. I gotta admit, I felt like Walt Disney! It was really incredible! 

Snow Skiing and the Miraculous

This past week we were blessed to spend some time with friends and family in Winter Park, CO. 

Snow Skiing has been a family favorite for us since the kids were young, but this is our first ski trip with our new son-in-law, Eli. He took a lesson on our first day there and by the end of the week he was carving the snow like Peekaboo Street! 

Winter Park is a special place! We still love Steamboat Springs, but Winter Park is closer and has a greater verity of easy green runs for the less daring and blues and blacks for the crazies. 

Our constant ski companions for the past few years were there: Scott and Kara Holmes, Paul and Cindy Burke - We enjoy these friends so much! 

We were also joined by Coy Watson, who has skied with is before and Steve Schaaf who skied with us this year for the first time but I doubt it will be the last time! 

Two of our favorite ski buddies were back this year - Mike and Jaclyn Reale. One of the things that made this trip so special was the Reales bringing their three precious daughters on the trip. 

Seven years ago, we joined the Holmes and the Burkes in praying for Mike and Jaclyn who were struggling with infertility. Within weeks, Jaclyn was pregnant and this year we got to rejoice over three wonderful little miracles that God has blessed this precious couple with! Here's a pic with the three couples who prayed and the Reale's fist little miracle - Audra Claire.