Today was our last official work day here at Youth Haven. Every project has it’s own flavor, and this one is no exception. We started out just the two of us and were joined for the last two weeks by another Sower couple. While we don’t mind working by ourselves, it was fun having company. The guys worked on refurbishing 10 park benches – taking them from this –

From there they moved to doing a couple of other fix and repair projects and ended this last week building a BBQ pit and then starting a second one.

We ladies did our part by keeping bathrooms and offices clean and then yesterday we got to help sort and organize toys that had been donated. Now that was fun!
It was a good month. The work was easy (which made Gary a little crazy, but I enjoyed the easier schedule since I had Christmas stuff to work on) and the fellowship sweet.

Plus Gary got to drive this fun golf cart –

Tomorrow is the start of a road trip! We are heading to Hoover Dam and also hope to take in the Grand Canyon and Sedona. The weather is being a little uncooperative (like Flagstaff just got 24″ of snow) and as of today the Desert View Drive on the South Rim was closed due to snow and ice. We are hopeful that by the time we expect to get there (Monday or Tuesday) things will have warmed up! We’re taking Lizzie, so we’ll have whatever “cozy” clothes we own with us (think lots and lots of layers), but I know we’ll be hesitant to drive into bad weather/roads. We’re all about flexibility, so we’ll just take it one day at a time!
And we’ll let you know how it goes!

His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth.
Habakkuk 3:3

I just wanted to share my morning! Have a great day .

No exciting Road Trips this weekend – but here are a couple of odds and ends -

The Mystery Building.

Sorry, Toby, but the sonic boom guess was a little off and no, it’s not a giant rain guage! It is actually a facility for practicing sky-diving. Yep, indoor skydiving! Here’s the link to SkyDive Arizona . I have no idea how it actually works, but we might try to get over there during the holidays to do a little research. Pretty Crazy, eh?
Christmas Cheer
Before we decided (as a family) to exchange names this year instead of getting gifts for everyone (the economy, you know), I had already started on some Christmas tablerunners for the kids and my sisters. Since I didn’t want to waste that good fabric, I proceeded on. I sent them out as Pre-Christmas presents and I think they have all been received by now – so I can share them with you. I think they turned out pretty nice – though in all honesty, I really do need to work on my machine quilting. Practice, practice, practice!

(all the centers were the same – only the borders and bindings are unique.)
Costco Tip
If you have a Costco membership (or know someone who does) I’d like to recommend the Coscto.com Photo services. This year I put together a calendar featuring our Vermont cabin that turned out really nicely. I was able to add important dates and I could have even added photos to the dates. The price was great (compared to other photo gift sites) and the service fast. Then I worked with my sister to make notecards. Again, a pretty easy process, lots of choices, and the price was very reasonable. Certainly much cheaper than if I had printed them on my little HP printer. So – it might be a little late for this Christmas, but thought I’d share my experience!
New Camera!

After much debate and research, I decided to go with a Canon PowerShot SX10 SI. It’s not quite an SLR, but it has lots of features and goes from a great wide angle shot to a great zoom. Remember the Roosevelt Dam from last weekend’s road trip?

Well here are the ducks that were swimming down by the rocks.

Pretty cool, isn’t it.
Plus it has a special setting just for sunsets . Gotta love that!

Wait until I have a chance to play with the Macro settings! Whoooheee!

Have a great week! Get those presents wrapped!

I’m sure you’ve noticed how much I’ve enjoyed the terrain here in Arizona. Have you seen enough pictures of cacti? How about another majestic mountain? Well one other spectacular aspect in this neck of the woods is the beautiful Arizona sky. The sunsets and sunrises bless me almost every day. This morning –

How can you not begin the day in awe of our great and mighty God?
Tuesday night….


Wednesday night…..

Even the reflected sunset is beautiful –

And tonight a full moon.

(Brought to you up close and personal thanks to my new camera (Happy Birthday/Merry Christmas/Happy Birthday/Merry Christmas to me!))

OK – we see some pretty interesting things as we drive around, but this building certainly had us stumped.

Here it is a little closer -

(It has nothing to do with the birds that randomly wanted to get in the shot )

We actually know the answer to this (thank goodness for “locals”) – but I wonder if you can figure it out. Good Luck!