Change is in the air....

Longmont in the summer...with all the rain we have had, our town is just as green as can be! I love all the sunflowers we see popping up along the roadside!

Hello friends and family! It has been a week since I last updated due to a busy schedule and a few goodbye's as well. It was an eventful week filled with mixed emotions, beginning with a sad goodbye to our dear friends, "The Nulls" who left on Tuesday. Once again, Ashlyn cried her eyes out standing in the driveway as they drove away. Saying, "Goodbye" is hard to do. We just say that it isn't really, "Goodbye" only "Until we meet again!"

Tuesday started off rocky before our guests even left as Tom went into work that morning expecting a usual work day. You can imagine our surprise when he came home an hour later announcing he had been laid off. After a corporate restructuring, his position was eliminated, and now he finds himself with some much needed time to regroup and figure out what the future holds for him career wise. After 20 plus years in finance and accounting, he will have some big decisions to make, but the lay off was truly a blessing in disguise. The last 12 years of a high stress job, has been tiring, so he is looking forward to having some time with the family before jumping in to a job search.

We are enjoying having him home for a family dinner nightly, and the kids love seeing him before 8 p.m! This economy isn't the best time for a job search, but for a hard working accountant, we are keeping our fingers crossed he will find a position that can utilize all his skills, and allow for some flexible family time too! It was a mixed emotions event as Tom loved the people he worked with, and we made the big move out to Colorado with the company. They have treated us well, and we will always be appreciative for the opportunity his company provided us to experience living in this great state. We plan to stay, and Tom will look for work locally as we have so enjoyed living in our new community!

On a different note, this week I worked the mornings at our friends farm, "Briar Gate" for a week long "Horse Camp." As my friend Kate led the children in horseback riding skills and games, I worked with children on crafts and activities during the week. We got to milk goats, bottle feed the babies, make goats milk ice cream and more! Today was the final "Horse Show and Demonstration" and the kids were thrilled to each receive a ribbon.

This is Skittles, the patient goat that let 8 children milk her! :-)

Ashlyn riding, "Chummie" her favorite horse at the farm!

Now that Tom has some time off, we are going on a mini road trip to see the Royal Gorge, Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes National Park, and Telluride. We'll take a few days to see these sites before school starts back up and the job search begins. The fall may find me substitute teaching, and we'll see if a full time teaching position will be in my future. Life is never dull, and we will be adapting to the new changes and challenges we will face in the coming months. I look forward to checking in with all of you, and hope your summer has been full of wonderful memories with those you love!

With Love from Colorado,
Denise :-)