New Beginnings

Fall is around the corner.  Technically, autumn isn't until September 23.  But mornings are a little cooler now.  I believe today is the last day in the 90s.  Monday is predicted at 68 degrees!!

With summer vacation being over, there are new things that happen:

Our moms Bible study started up this past week!  Two of the moms couldn't come for the first study sadly.  Sarah and I are really looking forward to our time with these sweet mamas!!

We will be studying "Lord, Change My Attitude".  Don't we all need attitude adjustments at times?

I am also in a Bible study with older women (Sarah tells me that they are "wiser older women" and this is true.  Such a wonderful godly group of prayer partners who love to dig into God's Word!)  That study begins this coming week and we will be studying Philippians.

Awana began and I am once again teaching Cubbies, 3-5 year olds.  I LOVE that age group!

End of summer also means that the grandkids headed back to school!  Seems like that shouldn't happen until the hot weather goes away.  When I was growing up, we never went to school until after Labor Day, but guess things change.

Hannah, our oldest, went off to college!

Emeri is a sophmore.

Eli is in 8th grade

Claire in 5th

Jill is teaching part-time at her school

Sophia is homeschooled and is not sure what class she is in.

Somewhere between sophmore and junior.

The littles are also growing.  Not quite ready for school.

But Tenley will be taking swim lessons soon.

Kaia is growing and learning to get around everywhere!

Yikes!!  She'll be a mountain climber like her parents!

We did a new thing last evening.  We went to Scheels.  Everyone was talking about it!  We didn't go when it first opened up.

May the Lord bless this coming "year".  Hmm, I wonder why we don't have new beginnings with New Years?  Like change school years, begin new cycles in January?

"To think that God has predestined my days, that He has planned my life in advance, that He has chosen me from before the creation of the world to be His child, that He is in control of all that happens, and that He is working out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will - what a truth and what an encouragement!"            -  "The Promise", Robert Morgan

Prairie Museum in Colby; tears

 It is always sad to leave the grandchildren.  Boo hoo!

It had sprinkled a little overnight.  There were still some rain clouds out to the east of Denver.

My breath caught in my throat when I glanced in my mirror to check traffic.  There was a rainbow enveloping the city.

I pointed my camera backwards and shot this....I wanted SOOOO badly to stop by the roadside and snap a good shot, but there was too much traffic.  Too dangerous.  Not even turn off roads to take at this point.

I found this photo on-line.  This was similar to what I saw:

The rainbow is God's covenant, His promise and reminder that He will not destroy the earth by a world-wide flood.  

"Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.  And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

    As long as the earth endures, 

        seedtime and harvest,

         cold and heat, summer and winter, 

    day and night will never cease.

And God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant I am making between Me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come.  I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth....whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.'"  Genesis 5:21-22, 6:12,13,16

                        

When I got to Colby, I had some lunch and then decided that I would visit the Prairie Museum!  We have NEVER stopped there and we've been through Colby umpteen, no, gazillion times!  I had time this day so I would just do it!  I ended up staying there 2 hours, but could have stayed longer!

The western meadowlark, the state bird!   I may have to try watercoloring this!

Kansas isn't totally flat!  And see the incline into Colorado?

Any guesses as to what this is?

My mother rode a similar school bus.  There were benches along the sides of the bus and one down the center that the little kids straddled.

Our parents told us about this time.  Our dads were both 12 and Al's mother was 10.  They told us about stuffing towels in the cracks of the doors and windows.

This lady lived in Colby, but moved to California in her last years to be with her sons.  When she passed away, the sons offered the town of Colby her collection of furniture, dolls and odds and ends.  Colby accepted! They filled 3 Mayflower moving trucks full that made it back to Kansas and into this museum!

The Widow Allegra, Lensi doll, Turin, Italy, Circa 1930

I have one of these dolls!

These Chatty Cathy's were popular when I was a girl.

I didn't have one but one of my friends did.

I did have this rubber doll.

I found a few things that I have in my home!  The copper luster with blue enamel pitcher.  19th century, belonged to my Grandma Geiger.

I have these that belonged to Allen's Grandma B.  Hull and Roseville pottery.

This too!

This would be wonderful to have!

"You keep track of all my sorrows.

      You have collected all my tears in Your bottle.

    You have recorded each one in Your book."  

                    Psalm 56:8

Such a beautiful verse!

My friend, Joyce, did give me this bottle as a reminder of that verse.  

                    God is so caring!

There were also out buildings.  A house, school house, barn, soddie and church.

It sort of reminded me of my grandparent's house in Pretty Prairie, although that was a 2-bedroom and this was 3.

Unusual heater!

I have bedroom furniture similar to these!

This dresser is similar to one I have!

Church on the premise -

I heard you can get married here!

That would be sooooo cool!

School house

The soddie -

It had a really nice ceiling and wood floor!  I was so surprised!  Most of them were just dirt.  Our elderly friend, Irene, who grew up in a soddie in Nebraska told us that she remembered snakes hanging down from the dirt ceiling.  And clods falling down.

What a barn!  It is the state's largest barn and the 8th Wonder of Kansas Architecture. 

The upstairs - they do hold events here!

Oh, that was fun!  Maybe if my kids don't want my stuff, they could send them off to a museum somewhere!

I saw this picture on Facebook and it made me laugh.  Yup.  The day had started in Denver in the 60s but by the time I was almost home, it was over 100.

I noticed rain clouds moving in.

Luckily I beat the storms home.