How sweet is this? Grandpa and Drew mowing together! Tina!
Monday afternoons are normally aunties’ playtime, and the girls decided to go ahead with it. They have a craft project going on here.
Often on holidays, we’ll have a special meal at our house. The extended family is invited, but not always is everyone able to come.
Labor Day, we did a barbecue.
This was super cute. Tina helped Drew get all buckled into his highchair, and I loved Drew’s grin.
Ruthie loves to wear other’s flip flops around when given the opportunity.
Christopher’s kids have become very close to Ellie since they’ve watched her for me recently.
Anna and BenjiBible time
I love seeing the kids as they learn to read the Bible. Joshua, who is only 5, is doing amazing! I think that might be a great future blog post, tips on what has made Bible reading easier for the little ones.
Love,
Sarah
“Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.” Psalm 62:8
It’s time I wrap up our Colorado trip. I enjoyed reading y’alls comments on Missouri Mountain.
While the five of us hiked Missouri, Dad and Mom hiked Jones Mountain, which is only 134 feet short of a 14er! Jones is a favorite for us. We accidentally found it one year while hiking to Ptarmigan Lake. We’ve since learned it’s shorter to hike from the other side, but it’s still a tough, hard climb. Especially at the end. It feels straight up since there is no trail! Their hike took about 4 hours. They didn’t stay long on the top because as you can see in the photos there were some clouds building.
Mom
Dad
Ptarmigan Lake in the valley.
Saturday was our final day. We enjoyed lots of family time, coffee, eating great food, packing up, singing, a family picture (you’ll probably see that at Thanksgiving), and then we girls finished out the evening with some games.
I loved sharing about our time with y’all! Thank you for your enthusiasm!
Love,
Sarah
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” Isaiah 26:3
I like to be productive, but I can also be a procrastinator. For me, in addition to scheduling, there are two keys to avoid procrastination. First is putting the need on a to-do list—and gathering the supplies to complete the task.
Here is a case in point. Several weeks ago, I discovered a button on the floor that had come off my sweater. I put the button on a shelf where it wouldn’t get lost. Four weeks later, I still hadn’t sewed the button on the sweater. Then I wrote “mending sweater” on my to-do list. Still, I didn’t do the project because I didn’t have the necessary supplies gathered—needle, thread, scissors, button, and sweater to make it a quick, simple project.
One day I simply collected the supplies with no plans to actually do it. Within 24 hours, however, because I had everything to sew the button on, I completed my project. I like that level of time management much better than that nagging feeling accompanying procrastination.
Is there anything you are procrastinating concerning? Have you put it on your to-do list? Have you collected the supplies to do it? Do you have a time slot in your schedule to accomplish the things on your to-do list?
Trusting in Jesus,
Teri
“The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of
the diligent shall be made fat” (Proverbs 13:4).
August marked Titus2’s 11th blog anniversary! We’re extremely grateful for YOU, our loyal readers. We’d love to hear from you in the comment section as to topics and ideas you want to see covered in the future.
Love,
Sarah
John grabbed a selfie in Colorado when I was working with my camera to get it arranged right for a family photo.
“By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” Hebrews 13:15
Friday morning came early. On purpose. We needed to leave the cabin at 3am to make the trail by about 4. Missouri Mountain, is right next to Belford and Oxford, which we did last year.
When we arrived at the parking lot, we saw a fair number of vehicles there. So that meant some were already hiking and some camping up the trail. Missouri is about 10 1/2 miles round trip and an elevation gain of 4500′.
Hiking in the dark definitely adds an interesting dimension, and it makes the time go faster. At least it seems that way. And the stories and conversation were really rolling that morning! On this particular trail, we gained a lot of elevation on the first part, and then when we got to the meadow, we had a pleasant break before we hit our final push.
As we left the tree line, we saw headlamps winding up the path to Belford. Occasionally, we could tell that the people were stopping to glance back down into the valley (at us), as we also had headlamps.
Several stream crossings on icy rocks slowed us down a little.
You can see Missouri in the background. It’s to the left of Mary and John. The views at this point were pretty incredible.
Now, we came to the part of steep climbing. You often couldn’t look ahead and see where the path took you, as it was hidden in the rocks. And we were still guessing if Missouri was to our left or right (turns out to the left).
When we got to the ridge, we hit another flat part. Super nice. The ridge wasn’t too hard, but if you don’t care for heights, you won’t want to look at the steep hillside next to the path. Right about now, I began getting altitude sick. I’ve had it before on 14ers, and the symptoms are pretty easy to discern: pounding head, feeling like you’re going to cry (for no reason!), etc. I told the others, and we stopped for me to take Tylenol, rest, and eat and drink.
I recovered (mostly), and we continued to a point.
It’s right there. What you see above. Very loose rock/scree, and it’s steep. But with going very slow, one can make it across.
The guys evaluated routes and coached the girls through that section. At this point, though, I knew my limits, and I decided to stop, even though the summit was in sight. John went up to summit quickly and then came back with me, while Jesse, Anna, and Mary crossed this stretch and spent time on the summit.
You can see John sitting on that rock edge. He also turned out to be a great coach for other hikers, as he knew the best way to get through that loose rock area.
Mary, Jesse, and Anna on Missouri
My non-summit picture. The views were still amazing.
On the way back, John and Jesse gave the girls lessons on coming down scree sections. I, for one, still wasn’t feeling good, so I was doing well to just keep walking.
We had a very sweet time as siblings hiking Missouri Mountain! We love to work together, to encourage each other, and to pursue a goal as a team!
Love,
Sarah
PS – More later on what Dad and Mom did that day!
“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14
Maybe you’ve noticed, but we tend to have a heavy-activity day and then a lighter rest day.
Thursday we took slower. We went into town again, some got coffee, and two went for a run. Then, in the evening, dinner, Bible time, and packing our bags for the next day’s adventure. That truly was quite a hike. Can’t wait to share about that next!
Love,
Sarah
Anna bought Mary and me donuts. Delicious!Jesse caught up on some work (and sorry, Jesse, we cluttered his table with our laptops and such when we went shopping)Walking around town
“Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.” 2 Thessalonians 3:16
The Maxwell family and ministry blog of Titus2.com.
Tina!
We had a very sweet time as siblings hiking Missouri Mountain! We love to work together, to encourage each other, and to pursue a goal as a team!
