Continued......

Remember I said Mrs. Hahn loves animals. I don't remember this detail - somehow ROSIE found her way to Hahn's Haven and we are in the process of puppy training! Guess who is at the other end of this leash?!

Kelly just loved Rosie. This was early morning and cold! Kelly never played with a puppy before who owned a sweater! She's trying to cover more of Rosie's body!

After yesterday's fishing, we got into a good conversation with Melody Ann. She was telling us the difference in fishing like we did yesterday and creek fishing. She very willingly put on sneakers and went out and showed us. She's quite the lady.

Donna took this picture of Brian. Wanted to show you an up close picture of the son we miss! (And his wife and children!!)

She is showing the importance of the way the line is cast.

I want to introduce PATSY and CLAIRE to you. These three were having a great time! Bradley had just thrown this stick into the creek and Claire is already retrieving it.

You already met Rosie; Tori claimed MUNCHIE!

 Kelly is on the way to a steep bank to get to the top and take her little treasure into the house. Two happy campers!

Claire is not allowed outside in the creek often as Mrs. Hahn said she has arthritis.  As you see, she is well taken care of.

We did not plan as many activities today because we are leaving in the afternoon for Brian and Donna's home. We all voted for this slide and the Hosler family loved it. It was soooo much fun watching their faces as they came flying down to the pool. Kelly was the exception....she is only getting used to enjoying the water so she played in the pool only.  Kelly's grandma would rather find a good mountain trail and hike - so she guarded the snacks!  (And took pictures.) Nevin was going to try it but just after we arrived the sun went behind the clouds and it was cold! We both had jackets on! You had to walk to the top of that slope to start the slide and you can imagine how that felt!  Since a hot springs feeds this swimming pool, it was rewarding when they reached the bottom of the slide and "landed" in the pool. 

Nevin captured these expressions.

Kelly always kept the wall in sight!

One time all four of them came down together - speedy traveling! (I had Kelly.)

Leave me tell you a little story behind this picture. It will help you understand the various ways Mrs. Hahn blessed us. As I mentioned earlier, this is a bed and breakfast. Donna made Cheesy Hamburger Soup back home (many other items also which we kept in an ice chest) for today's meal. She asked Mrs. Hahn if she minds if she plugs the crockpot in the kitchen in the morning so it is ready when we return. She knew we were planning to eat outside at her picnic table. When we returned, she had the table set beautifully and we were to eat our soup there instead of outside. It was so special of her. We definitely did not expect that.  Donna surprised Nevin and made an ice cream cake for his birthday. Yes, Dairy Queen's are good but this is r-e-a-l-l-y good!   After this it was time to pack and drive back home.

First we needed to give our goodbyes!!

Brent and Patsy

Now you know where my profile picture was taken! Can you see the snowcapped mountains. Xanga friend cerwindoris' camera   would have a clear, beautiful picture of this scenery! She gets great results with her camera!

I wanted to tell you this is the man I love!  How very grateful I am to him for the privilege to visit our Colorado children to allow memories to be made! After leaving Hahn's Haven, we drove back to where Brian and Donna live, packed, played games, read stories, got just a few hours of sleep, and drove to the Denver airport. We left their home around 2am.  Brian and Donna set their alarm clock to say their goodbyes to us. I told Tori not to get up; I thought it would be easier for her to not have to say goodbye again as we gave our hugs and kisses to all four grandchildren at bedtime. But she did. We got one more hug from her!

In Heaven there will be no goodbyes!!

Reminiscing.....

"Count your blessings, name them one by one....." as the song says.

I chose three blessings from 2009 to highlight. Did you ever find yourself, in the middle of dusting your furniture, stopping and enjoying a few minutes (quite a few minutes!!) going through photo albums? That's what I'm doing today; I'm not dusting but enjoying some experiences through memories and pictures. Hope you'll enjoy walking alongside me as I reminisce.  

You will remember we visited our Colorado family in May. We had time together at their home and then we try to do one or two extra special things with the grandchildren. Last year was their first full year in CO. Since it was our first visit we thought it would be nice for Brian, Donna, and the children to get away from chores and for all of us to relax away from home. Brian and Donna did the searching for us and found a wonderful little place in Westcliffe. If you've been in Westcliffe, you know how breathtaking it is....snow-capped mountains in June! Brian and Donna heard of a hunter's cabin there.  Would you believe he is our neighbor here in PA!   We stayed there for 2 1/2 days...cost $40. a night for eight of us!! It was so very special and therefore we thought we would try this "time away" again this year.

 We asked Brian and Donna if they would search again. They found places that sounded really special, like ranches, etc., but the prices were very high. Donna came upon a Bed and Breakfast - Hahn's Haven. It really caught her eye as that is her maiden name. After some research they were impressed and found the price very reasonable.

I must tell you as we were driving and getting closer and closer to our new destination, I was becoming more nervous. Our grandchildren are precious but are  very, very energetic, precious grandchildren. I was trying to imagine four ALIVE children IN a Bed and Breakfast for two nights and three days!!! The Bed and Breakfasts I have seen were not really childproof! May I tell you, it was Father-planned!!  (This is the innkeeper's house  and creek behind our family.)

Melody Ann Hahn has four dogs in the house and we brought four children!  EVERY waking minute, except for watching one DVD and eating meals,  the children played with these dogs taking them for a walk or throwing sticks in the creek for the two larger dogs to retrieve. We were welcomed and blessed by this dear innkeeper! She had leashes for the two little dogs. The children were dressed early in the morning and out the door taking these dogs for a walk and playing with the large dogs. (Our grandchildren do not have a dog at home.) I truly think the dogs missed them when we left for home.

Mrs. Hahn loves animal - all sizes, shapes, and forms! The above picture is a kitten she rescued and as you see it is surviving by being bottle-fed. She saw Kelly's gentleness and allowed her to enjoy this feeding time.

Friday morning we left the dogs behind as all of us looked forward to the day ahead - fishing and hiking. I was captured with the beauty around us! Today, this first Sunday morning of the new year, our sermon was about creation and my mind went back to this beauty - displayed as far as the eye could see.

Grandpa is assisting Bradley.

Bradley chose this spot.

I know a fisherman endures challenges weather-wise, etc. I was wondering how long Brent would use this small rock as his seat.  The fish were not biting well so that took some of the joy away for a young fisherman although I was impressed the way the children persevered.

Isn't this scenery beautiful!

And I love His creation through His gift to us by the name of Tori.

Donna enjoyed catching up with a good book and taking pictures!

This is just one of my favorite pictures - the view of the mountains, Brian in the foreground, and Kelly sitting on her little green chair to fish!  (I guess most of them are favorites or I wouldn't have them on here. )

"Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.

For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. (Oh, I am so grateful for this blessing!) Psalms 95:1-7

This is what we did when Kelly grew tired of fishing! This was my joy!

The weather was very interesting - we would have sweatshirts on for awhile and then they were off.....soon back on again. I hear that is quite typical of Colorado.

Brian was the only one who had the joy of a catch - 12" rainbow trout.

After some snacking for lunch, we headed for this trail some distance away. I was hoping you could read this as it is an interesting story.

The children were in the foreground leaving the oldies in the dust.....

.....except Kelly! She kept asking her Daddy to carry her. Some of those rocks you needed your hands to balance! I love hiking; the beauty around us just added to the joy. Then to be with Brian, Donna, and the children made it extra meaningful. I miss them; it is fresh on my mind having just come through Christmas. I know some of you experience loved ones' absence also.

These are our "active" grandchildren I was talking about!   That was a steep climb but all the more fun for them.

After returning to Hahn's Haven, Nevin and I wanted to leave the family have some time to themselves so we did some driving in the direction of this old ghost town. Most of the way was dirt road.

The sign above the door says, "Bed and Breakfast!" I'm thankful we can go back to Mrs. Hahn's home!

Someone is around here although when we were there it was deserted. The hummingbirds are being taken care of. There was another feeder with six or more hummingbirds enjoying their liquid meal.

We had our supper planned around Mrs. Hahn's campfire. Since she advertises as Bed and Breakfast, we did not want to ask to eat inside. And we all enjoyed this outdoor meal. We did have a healthy supper as Brian did some grilling but the children looked forward to the smores.

It was soon time to think about sleeping as we had another full day ahead of us but we enjoyed talked with Mrs. Hahn as she has traveled a lot and told many stories of her experiences..... a very interesting lady. She just blessed us. She offered the children to sleep on the floor in their sleeping bags and air mattress' - therefore did not charge for them....only for their breakfast. I was so impressed how this place turned out to be a wonderful blessing for Brian, Donna, and the children. I'll continue a bit later with our Saturday activities.  Don't you praise the Lord for your camera!! Pictures bring to mind, in a moment,  joys experienced! Sad to say, I can forget to be thankful for my camera.