Friday, September 30, 2011

i heart adoption



i really love being with family.
rob and i both do.
nothing is quite like being fully known and fully loved.

which is why i grieve so much for the people/kids i work with that don't have this.
who either don't have family.
at all.
or who have families that hurt and harm.
breaks my heart.
literally.

and it breaks God's heart, too.
I believe that God is passionate about family.

God wants us to be known and loved,
and I believe that He designed families for that purpose.
but since earthly families fail,
God reminds us that we are adopted into His family
as HIS children.

this is something that I have been meditating on a lot lately.

In Hebrews there is a lot of language about "adoption"
and being brothers and sister through Jesus.
and it is just beautiful.
and causes hope to swell within me.

i want people to know Jesus.
i want them to know they have a family.
no matter what.
whether that is biological.
or adopted.
physical.
or spiritual.

family matters.
adoptions matters.

I am adopted by God,
and I want to be an advocate for adoption each and every day.

I have heard by some that they don't believe anyone
could ever love adopted children as much as biological children.
I sure hope that is not the truth.
I believe that God loves me just as much as He loved His own son,
or why else would He have let His son die for ME (and for you, too!)?

i have no idea what God plans to do in my (our) life in this area,
but I want to always be open to it.

i think that adoption is a beautiful
(read: difficult, scary, hard, challenging, rewarding, terrifying, exciting)
adventure.

p.s. I really have no idea why this has been on my mind & heart lately. but God does. and I am His. and my blog is His. so....yeah....that's all I got :)


Friday, September 23, 2011

summer recap #2: salida/crestone

last spring rob talked me into training for a 10k.
the furthest i had ever ran up to that point was 3 miles.
in college.

we settled on running a 10K in Salida during the
FibArk whitewater festival.

liz, the other autism teacher at rob's school, ran too!

not only was it a great place to meet our goal of running a 10k,
it was the perfect opportunity to get out of the city for the weekend.

which is good for this country girl's soul.
so good.

we stayed the weekend in Crestone.
nestled against the Sangre de Cristos Mountains (blood of Christ)
in a beautiful, charming casita (little house).

the casita belongs to my mom's best friend from high school.
her talented husband built the ENTIRE thing by himself.
wow.
i loved everything about it.
but my favorites were in the kitchen.

the old farmhouse sink.
blue spanish tiles.
handmade wood island.
copper pots hanging.
(copper reminds me of my mom's kitchen growing up)
wood beams.
and these doors.

these incredible blue doors.
old doors, painted and distressed.
my favorite shade of blue.
love!


we could literally walk out the front door and start hiking.
so that's exactly what we did sunday morning.



it was perfect.
the other day I looked back in my journal from the entry i wrote that weekend.
it started with...
"my soul is at rest. it took about 24 hours after escaping the city
to finally feel like my mind was clear and my spirit still..."



tracee and jim,
thank you for opening up your beautiful home.
it has become one of my favorite places.
you both have incredible taste and amazing talent.
thanks for sharing with us.
love,
erica and rob

Thursday, September 22, 2011

summer recap #1: manitou springs

i'm going to do a series of summer posts.

we had a crazy, busy summer.
full of wonderful things,
just very full.

we started the summer off by celebrating
3 years of marriage
in manitou springs.

our first night we went to a melodrama/dinner theatre
i was really skeptical to start.
but it ended up being very funny and entertaining.
i laughed a lot.


we walked around downtown manitou.
swam and read by the pool.
hiked around Garden of the Gods.

haha. oh, robby. he's so hardcore :)
we were both really sunburned.
the hats were necessary.

on our way back to denver
we stopped at the castle rock outlets :)
a great way to start of the summer!
and celebrate 3 years with my incredible hubby.
blessed!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

get what you give.

we saw zac brown band at redrocks two weeks ago.
so. much. fun.

they were awesome.
super talented.
i've been listening to their cd all summer.
so when i heard they were coming to Red Rocks...it just seemed perfect :)

they opened with this song.
and the crowd went wild.

She'd trade Colorado if he'd take her with him, Closes the door before the winter lets the cold in, And wonders if her love is strong enough to make him stay, She's answered by the tail lights Shining through the window pane

and then they played their cover of the DevilWentDownToGeorgia.

it was better than this video.
because it was redrocks and a live concert.
but you can get the picture of how talented their fiddle player is.




it was drizzling rain throughout the whole concert.
not enough to get wet, just enough to add ambiance.

we stood the entire time.
dancing.
singing.
loving every minute.
it was on my summer list to go to a concert at RedRocks.
and Zac Brown was the perfect choice.

KP went with us. i love this girl. so much.


great location.
great company.
great seats.
incredible music.
they put on a great show.
gosh, i'd go again tonight if i could.

for now i'll just listen to this song and quiet my mind. :)

and enjoy the ride!

Monday, September 19, 2011

rmnp

this was our 4th summer in colorado
and rob finally made it up to
Rocky Mountain National Park.

we stayed the night in Estes Park
after his tri
and then drove up into the park
to do some hiking and fishing.

still goofy after 30 years.

my parents hadn't hiked since our family vacation
to Yellowstone in 1998 (or something like that)
i had braces then, that's what i remember.

and my mom's last hiking experience was....
well, let's just say, she wasn't lovin' it.
and we caught it on video. HA!
but this time she did awesome!

it was quite the trek up to the lake,
so mom and dad decided to head back early to do some
reading and resting.


but the Robert Haudes and I
made it all the way up to Fern Lake.
the hike up was beautiful.
as was the view at the top.


we spent some time fishing.

yes, even I fished.
a little.
I like to cast.
and I even caught a fish!
rob and his dad spent a lot of time tying flies.
haha. they lost them or they didn't use the correct ones.
i think there was probably more fly tying than fly fishing.


Sunday, September 18, 2011

sunset tri

remember when i posted this?

well, here is the proof that he did it.
and he raised $150 for Autism Speaks.
thank you for all the donations!

first he swam 1/2 mile....

he came out of the water if 4th place
in his division (39 and under).
4th!
wow. he was fast.

super impressive!
next was the 17 miles of biking
he used his hybrid bike instead of a road bike.
so that slowed him down.

but he did it.
and now he wants a road bike for sure :)

next came the run.
3.1 miles to finish it out.

i was so proud of him.

his dad was there to cheer him on.

and at the last minute (literally...the very last minute)
my parents decided to come out for the weekend, too.

it was so fun.
beautiful weather.
smokin' hot husband.

good job, babe.
love you.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

silly faces

i got a video text message from this little man today

he's learning to say "auntie erica"
it sounds a lot like "ca-ca"
which is what spencer called me for YEARS when he was little.

mackoy was saying it over and over again.
pointing to my picture.
melt. my. heart.

we got to take him swimming this summer.

the weekend we met his new little sister.

sweet haven lee.
she's lucky to have a big brother like mackoy.
he loves her already.

can't wait to see all the faces she'll make :)

isn't she sweet?!?!
such a beautiful little girl.
just like her mama :)

we're missing our nieces and nephews this morning.
we'd love to have auntie and uncle camp today.
i get excited just thinking about all the fun that would be.