Friends are coming!

Dear Friends,

I don't use the term "friends" lightly. Have you ever sat back and evaluated the value of your friends? Move somewhere far away and it will happen all too soon.

Brian, Ben & I went back to visit our Texas friends & family at the end of January. I can tell you that I am still enjoying the high from our time there. We left with our hearts full, no overflowing. We realized how much we value your friendships. We are so grateful that God has placed each of you in our lives for a season and a reason. We were able to really refuel and re-energize from our time with our friends and family. Thank you.

Speaking of friends, we finally have people taking us up on our offer to stay with us when you visit the Loveland area. I hope no one gets upset when I name names but I am just so excited. The Jeffreys are coming at the end of February. They will be our first guests other than our son, Ryan. Then, over the course of Spring Break we have the Wilburns, the Masseys, and Ryan & Morgan coming to visit. We are so excited to show our friends our new life and all of God's beauty in Colorado. It's really an amazing place and we would love to share it with any of you. Just call us to let us know your coming.

Please be in prayer for Ben...

*He needs to raise the last $500 for his mission trip to Belize.

*He leaves March 8th (He has a layover at DFW from 11:50am to 1:05pm Flight #2193)

*He has a perforated left eardrum. This is the reason he failed the Air Force physical (hearing test). He is having surgery less than 48 hours after he returns from Belize. Surgery is set for March 19th.

We are about to join our church up here. http://www.crossroadscolorado.com/ We are getting plugged in and meeting new people. We can't wait to see what God has in store for us as we served Him here.

Well, I have kept you long enough. Give yourself and your family a hug from the Means. We will be praying for you.

Love and miss you all,

Karen

How Much Can You Pack In A Month?

Well, here is what the month of October was like for me. On October 6th, our home in Texas hit the MLS and we got our first offer on October 22nd. On the 23rd, the deal was done. We should be closing on November 7th. Wow! I can't believe that in this time (housing market and financial crisis) we could sell our house in less than 3 weeks. I guess that is because God was a factor. Nothing is impossible with Him. I am not even sure we are really worthy of such a blessing. I am grateful that I don't always get what I deserve. For any of you that were still unsure of whether or not we should be in Colorado, I think this should convince you that we are right where God wants us to be.

In October, Brian and I went on a fabulous Carnival Cruise to the western Caribbean with our Texas friends. We flew to Houston to meet Mark & Noelle, Odie & Kathy and Don & Cindy. We truly enjoyed the time we got to spend with our friends that we miss so much. On the cruise, we ate and ate and ate. We had some really fabulous steak and prime rib and even better dessert. The Warm Chocolate Melting Cake was so good that I had it every single night for dessert. I am so grateful for the memories we made that week.

After returning from the cruise, we did a 3+ day conference with work in Denver. We worked Thursday thru Sunday meeting some of the most interesting people and teaching them to be successful. It was life changing for many of them. What an amazing weekend!

Ryan arrived in Denver on Saturday, Oct 25th to spent the week with us. On Monday since our boss gave us the day off, we took him to Estes Park for the day. We trekked around Bear Lake and then hiked up to Alberta Falls. We took tons of pictures mostly of Ryan and Ben climbing on dangerous rocks. They even climbed up the frozen falls. It was a really great day!

Until the next update,
Karen

Wow! A Month

I seriously can't believe I have been in Colorado a whole month. You would think I would have learned everything that I would need to know by now.

Side bar - how many times can you use the word "would" in one sentence??

I really miss all of my Texas friends. I think ya'll should all move up here. I get made fun of for saying "ya'll". But it's really funny when others start saying "ya'll" because they are used to hearing it.

In case you haven't heard, Ben is moving up here Sept 14th. He will be flying from San Antonio (he will be at Reese's boot camp graduation) to Denver on the 14th. Some of his boxes of clothes arrived today. I guess that means he is coming for real.
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I know I am rambling but it's been a really long day for me. I wouldn't have even done this update but when I realized that it's been almost a month without an update I figured I at least owed everyone a quick one.

I have three prayer requests:

1)Please pray for us to sell our home in Texas. In God's time.

2)Pray for Ryan who is still in Texas

3)Pray that my sister and I will get all of our money raised for the 3 Day, 60 mile Breast Cancer Walk.

Since I am on the 3 Day topic, if you have Nov 7, 8 & 9 open, we would love for you to come out and cheer us on. I remember how much the encouragement meant when I ran the Alaska marathon, it really gives you extra strength just when you need it.

Well enough of my rambling, don't forget that everyone is invited to come and stay with us (just call us to let us know when).

May your blessings overflow,
Karen