nothing without God

When trying to figure out a title for this post, I googled what the Colorado state motto is. Nil Sine Numine. It is commonly translated as “Nothing Without Providence” but this is not the translation that was originally intended. “Nothing without God” was the original intent and it’s perfect for this post. While in Colorado, we were constantly amazed at the beauty of God’s creation. Our first stop was the “Garden of the Gods”, which Davey and I renamed “Garden of God”.  After driving through flat fields for the previous 2 days, this was a sight for sore eyes. It was so beautiful that we decided to move there. Well, maybe someday. Until then, we just hiked around and admired the enormous monoliths.

Nothing without God.

Oh and I couldn’t drive through Colorado Springs without seeing Whit’s End. Did anyone else listen to Adventures in Odyssey when they were younger?!

It was awesome.

summer is for grilling

We loveeee grilling… especially in the summer. That was one thing we really missed when we were in Cambodia. 4th of July just isn’t the same when you have rice for dinner instead of a burger. It still feels like summer here in California, so the other night, we grilled delicious burgers with juicy tomatoes from the garden, sweet potato fries and yellow zucchini… mmmm!

Ever since coming back from Cambodia, it seems like everything I eat tastes a million times better than usual. I also think everything is beautiful. For example: “Oooo! Look how pretty the orange sweet potatoes look with that huge flame of fire!” {then I proceed to turn down the heat because black sweet potatoes are not pretty} or “doesn’t my hot pink nail polish look so good next to that yellow zucchini”. {then Davey just nods and smiles and may or may not roll his eyes}. But seriously, I am so glad I gained this new appreciation for the small things in life. God created such incredible beauty and I’m finally slowing down long enough to notice it.

And speaking of beauty, my parents just got back from a 2 week hiking trip in Montana. They are very amazing and hiked 112 miles in 12 days {!!!} and had a few grizzly bear encounters!  You can read about their adventures and check out some amazing pictures here:   http://llminnema.wordpress.com/

beauty for ashes

It is easy to become overwhelmed by the extreme poverty and harsh conditions that the Cambodian people live in. However, amidst the hopelessness and heaviness that is very prevalent here in Cambodia, we have seen glimpses of hope and joy.

amazing autumn

this is fall H-E-A-V-E-N.

http://llminnema.wordpress.com/ (this picture is from my mom. check out my parent’s blog as they travel through Yosemite!)

I love fall because it’s a fresh starts alongside the death of things…

this is perfect