John’s blog

Okay, it's been a while since I've blogged, so I thought I'd hop on here for a quick sec to post some shout outs to my peeps! :)

Jessica - Happy birthday, baby sis! I love you.

Angela - Belated happy birthday to my longtime friend. I'm a jerk for forgetting to call you on your birthday (even though I had written myself a reminder to do so!). I hope you had a great b-day. Michelle and I have been thinking of you and your family. We intend to come see you guys.

Chris - Miss you man! I hope you are well. Michelle and I, and even Natalie look forward to the day we see you again!

Lifegroup - I count you all as friends, and I think you all are the greatest! I look forward to each opportunity I get to hang out with you all. See you this weekend!

How does the rest of that saying go? Read on! So, the first ever Riggs family vacation has gotten off to a bumpy start. The beginning of the drive out to magnificent Colorado went fine, with a couple of stops in western Kansas. We even drove past a wind farm, marveling at the large turbines as we drove by. Natalie was fascinted with them.

Our troubles began as we were leaving Burlington, CO. We had stopped at the welcome center there and we were actually getting back into the van to leave when a man approached us about a low tire. Low indeed! It was nearly flat. We drove very slowly back toward I-70, hoping to find a gas station with an air pump so we could get ourselves somewhere to get the tired repaired or replaced. But alas, there were no air pumps to be found! I ended up switching out the now flat tire with the spare.

On our way to Limon, CO as planned. A little frazzled and weary, but safe and sound and ready to sleep. The stay was nice, and the hotel staff was very friendly. The room was suite...I mean sweet! Morning comes, and we are ready to implement our revised plan: limp on over to Colorado Springs and take the van to a Wal-Mart to have the tire repaired/replaced. (Limon is pretty small, and no one is open on Sundays for tire repair.)

Small problem...another flat tire! Holy smokes batman! We are obviously not going anywhere today, which was further confirmed by the hour of numerous phone calls to local and national companies to help us out to no avail. Did I mention we had already checked out of our hotel room? sigh We decided to re-check in to another room. We then trotted on over to McDonald's next door as a treat for Natalie, who was being very good all things considered. Swimming at the hotel pool, naps, and more swimming rounded out the day. Not too shabby, except we are now a day behind on our plans to enjoy the beauty of Colorado and do some tent camping. That, and we didn't come here to camp out at the Holiday Inn.

Anyhoo, please pray that repairs are quick (and not too expensive) and we can get on our way, exploring God's wonderful creation!

I ran across a nifty article about "carbon-capture" farming on islands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Researchers planted 15 acres of tule and cattail to help build up the soil and keep the island from sinking, and in the process discovered the plants absorbed much more carbon dioxide than other traditional crops. Check it out here.

If you're into reducing your "carbon footprint", you should also check out TerraPass.

We had lots of fun during Natalie's 3rd birthday party on Saturday. The huge slip 'n slide probably had something to do with it. Click on the following link to view photos of the event: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=51896&l=22a78&id=768719902

With it being Natalie's birthday today, Michelle asked Little Miss where she wanted to eat this evening for her birthday. Natalie's initial response was to have grilled pork chops at home. Upon learning that we did not have any pork chops at home to grill, she then declared that chinese was her food of choice for dinner.

The ride home also brought some birthday insight when she informed us that she would like very much to do some birthday shopping at Home Depot. That's my girl!

For anyone who actually reads this, I'm still here! Michelle and I are in the process of planning a working vacation for mid-August. Before then, however, we are preparing for Natalie's birthday party this weekend.

On another note, I have been slowly coming to the realization that a lot of the stress I've been going through for the longest time has been caused by....me. It's me. I'm the one who backs myself into a corner, and I'm the one who puts me in a box and says that I can only do or be one thing in life. I'm a creative person and God created me that way. Instead of ignoring that because I don't think it will pay the bills, I should embrace it. I shouldn’t try to run from God’s creation, because I am God’s creation. He has gifted me with talents and I dishonor Him when I deny myself the privilege to fulfill my potential in Him.

So, I intend to purposefully seek ways to use the talents and creativity God has gifted me. I have been thinking about pursuing writing again, mostly songs and freestyle poems, thoughts and journaling.

I’ll keep you posted.

Erin: if you had a choice which seat would you choose?

Natalie: yours.

Something has been stirring within me, but I can't quite figure it out. Lord, please open my heart and mind to whatever it is that you're saying/doing.

The much anticipated weekend project is finished! A very special thanks to Wayne for helping me put Natalie's new play set together. The finished product is pictured below. Natalie has played on it twice now and LOVES it!

playset.jpg

How long does one have to wait for his fortune to come true?

Still Waiting...