Colorado

(The view of Boulder and the foothills of the Rocky Mountains from Broomfield, CO. This was taken about 5 blocks from the apartment where we lived.)

The day after we got the news about Tennyson, we loaded up the car and drove to Colorado. We wanted to be there to celebrate his life and love on our friends, Brian & Marchelle, who are experiencing such a great loss. I'm not quite ready to attempt to write about Tennyson, but our friend, Brian Scaglia (his best friend since junior high) has created a website in honor of his life: www.tennysonmccarty.com. Every word I've tried to come up with to describe Tennyson McCarty seems trite. If you read his obituary on the website or glance at some of the comments, you will discover what a rare person Tennyson was and what an impact his life had an so many people.

I spent the week very heavy-hearted and contemplative. 24 hours after the call about Tennyson, I received another phone call from a Colorado friend who wanted me to know before I arrived that her husband has filed for a divorce. She is one of the last people I would have expected to get this call from. She was just as shocked. She's pregnant with their fourth baby. How someone could walk away from the goodness of God, his wife, and four children without considering the consequences is something my brain has been trying to reconcile all week. It is very sobering to ponder what any of us is capable of if we allow our heart to harden. (Each of us has our own areas of selfishness, unforgiveness, or bitterness to surrender.) Another friend in Colorado, Cathy Lee, recommended the book, When Godly People Do Ungodly Things by Beth Moore. I think I'm going to check it out.

On top of all that, all three of my kids got the stomach flu and each threw up for about 24 hours! After that, we decided to pack up and come home early! (This is beginning to sound worse than a country song!) Poor kiddos! We didn't get to spend as much time or see as many people as we would have liked since the kids got sick (and due to the unplanned nature of our trip), but I'm so thankful for the time that we were able to spend with friends. I'm also so grateful to Jason and Anita Foster for inviting us to stay with them for the week. They are so generous and hospitable. We also had a great time staying up late playing games after the kids went to bed! Titus was so happy to play with their son, Aaron, and on the drive home said, "I love my best friend, Aaron." They've known each other since they were 2 1/2 and have always played incredibly well together. Thank you, Fosters! (You still owe me a picture!)

On to the more fun side of the trip:

Starbucks with Tim & Kristen Zandee. We caused such a scene in Starbucks! Tim and Scott are a riot when they are together!

Kimberly & Griffin Hill. It was SO good to see you!

Fondue with Caleb and Anne Ford! Titus introduced himself to Caleb and Anne as "Titus, but I'm pretending to be Spiderman" and thus began an entertaining evening of fondue with "Spiderman" and "Princess". The waitress even wrote their aliases on their cups! Thank you guys for driving up to have dinner with our crew!