Today Is The Day

Gay is flying in today

Wednesday

Joy and Jack and Gay will be together for the first time in 30+ years

Healing

A family united

We are excited

We are full with anticipation

A bridge crossing with no limits

Jesus in control, our faith and trust in Him

Praise the Lord

Matthew 19:26

A Day In Denver

Today it was 68 degrees and sunny. We talked about doing another road trip versus staying in town. Got out our Colorado book and our Denver Book and looked through both. Hmmmm the Glenn Miller exhibit at the museum in Ft. Collins, Colorado Springs, Mirror Lake, 16th St Mall....the Mall won. Off we went, first to pick up some pictures at our local Walgreen's. We ordered them through Picassa on line and presto, ready at the pharmacy. Very nice! The guy at the photo department said yesterday they had 2000 orders! Things are definitely done on the big side here. We asked directions and drove to the 16th St. Mall without TomTom guidance. Oh such brave souls we were. Once near downtown we followed signs to the Visitor Center. Lo and behold a parking space right off 16th St! How good is that! A mile long mall with shops and restaurants and artsy things; a park at one end and and government buildings at the other. A free shuttle bus runs between both ends, actually several buses simultaneously. We walked, rode the shuttle, ate at an out door cafe, shopped (Julie that is). Once we had our fill of 16th St Mall we drove to the Cherry Creek Mall. That was more difficult to negotiate. A Farmers Market was just finishing up their day and the normal routes into the parking garages were blocked off. After some minor delays and frustrations we found the perfect spot...2 spaces away from the Macy's entrance. Once inside we were greeted with the wonderful aroma of hot Cinnamon buns, coffee, popcorn and the bright lights of a mega mall. We walked around a little, sat, shopped - had our obligatory Cinnamon bun in honor of mom - along with some raspberry lemonade. Home to a long nap. Fun Times in Denver!

Course Complete - Great Gratification

A little over a year ago Jack embarked on a journey toward certification in Band Instrument Repair. He researched the possibilities of going to school at an out-of-state program (Vermont that is), college campus, or online program. He looked and reviewed and contemplated. Then he happened upon the CIOMIT - Colorado Institute of Musical Instrument Technology - in Castle Rock, Colorado, an online web cast interactive program. It was perfect! Jack contacted Dan Parker, the professor and president. In no time Jack had his workshop set up, complete with web cam camera and microphone. So, in September 2007 Jack started the BIR(Band Instrument Repair)Clarinet Fundamentals completing the course on November 24, 2007. The course was intense, requiring written and skills testing. With each course the school sent the appropriate tools and books. Next came the Flute - and since Jack has had little experience handling a flute this particular course proved more challenging. Jack studied, worked and persisted and on February 24th 2008 received his certificate of completion for the Flute Fundamentals. Next came the Brass Fundamentals course. Jack completed this course in May of 2008. At that point we had put our condo on the market. We wanted to find one level living and a better shop area for Jack. An amazing turn of events happened next. The condo sold. Julie took a job with a travel nurse company and in a little over a month after the closing on our condo we found ourselves on the road to a Travel Nurse Job in Denver Colorado! Denver is only 26 miles from Castle Rock. Once settled in Denver Jack contacted the CIOMIT school and Dan Parker. Dan was elated and Jack promptly signed up for the "Power Course" in Saxophone Fundamentals. A six week course packed into 2 weeks at the school in Castle Rock. It is official - Jack has completed the Saxophone Fundamentals and the full requirements for the basic curriculum in band instrument repair. Hooray for Jack!! He is very happy and I admire him for his persistence and completion of this challenging course. We thank the Lord Jesus Christ for the wonderful adventure we are on, feeling assured that this will be used for His glory and for the advancement of His Kingdom. To God be all Glory and Praise!

ROCKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK

This is where we are headed - Rocky Mountains
Getting closer
The destination - and the highest continuous highway in the US
No Kidding.. STOP !!!
Snow in the higher elevations

At it's highest point the winding and switchback turns of the Rocky Mountain Trail Ridge Road is 12,183 feet. We did not get that high but we did get over 11,000 feet. The grade is never over 7% so as far as steepness of the road it was never hairy...however, the road did not have guard rails and on one side would be straight up mountainside and the other side a straight down drop. Yikes. Jack did not like that part at all.

The drive to this location took us through bustling Boulder, Colorado where some big event was happening. Bumper to bumper traffic for about 3 miles. Once beyond Boulder we were in the foothills with flat flat "Front Range" on our right and the Rocky Mountains to our left. No gradual up sloping - flat then mountains. The road to Estes Park was fun and beautiful. We took nearly 200 pictures and haven't finished sorting yet. Craggy rock is a good description of the Rocky Mountains. B I G and spectacular. Being up so high was fun and the scenery amazing. We did get to above tree line into the alpine tundra and it was at that point that I could understand the spell bounding beauty of rocks described by Craig Mortenson in his book "Three Cups Of Tea". Back in VT, Mount Mansfield has some alpine tundra areas but nothing at all compared to these Rocky Mountains... fields and fields of this beautiful high tundra and craggy rock made for spectacular scenery...allbeit...scaring the pants off Jack. The only wildlife we saw was a chipmunk being fed peanuts by some kids and a beautiful black bird with red and white markings. Once back down to the 7,222 elevation of Estes Park we felt pretty good. The town of Estes is adorable, old west style, lots of shops and restaurants and touristy things. We met a man (73 years old) in the visitor center who moved there from Kansas 13 years ago. He and his wife went on vacation there and loved the beauty of the area so much they up and moved. He loves it. While on the Trail Ridge Road we met a family from Colchester,VT! Their children are checking out colleges in Colorado and were doing some sightseeing. The wife works in Denver commuting from VT, the husband lives and works in Colchester and stays with the kids. I didn't quite get her work week, but they seem happy with the arrangement.

We drove to Thornton to visit with Joy and Jane and Rob before heading back to Denver. Once back in Denver, we were hungry so stopped at the Applebees near our apartment and, you guessed it, another transplant from VT to Colorado. Morgan grew up in Montpelier and came to vet school somewhere near Denver. She is still in school and has decided to stay and live in this area....reason...."the weather is so awesome"!! Our first real sightseeing day was fun and we did see some spectacular sights.

Love to all the family

Grace and Peace

We had an awesome day

*G E N E R A L ** C O N F E R E N C E*

It is worth seeing! www.upci.org . Click on General Conference live streaming. Free or you can pay for what you can afford and have internet to support. Tonights message, and last night's music are now archieved. Tonight's message (OCTOBER 16, 2008) by Bishop Kenneth Haney was outstanding.

It is well worth it!
Jesus Christ is real and alive and His church is strong and ready to do great exploits!
Jesus Christ wants you to know Him for yourself and experience His power, love and healing as only the God of the universe can do! "Oh, taste and see that the Lord, He IS good!"

Grace and Peace
Grammie Betimes

WEATHER REPORT

Traffic advisory on weather reports
Helicopter pilot - "Amelia Earhart"

Colorado weather report
more weather

older picture of distant mountains

So, we listen to the weather report first thing in the morning and it is like listening to a foreign language.

What is this about weather systems coming from Texas, Nevada....and Idaho.... and Montana..... and over to Kansas and Nebraska? The Dakota's are mentioned often. Not to leave out of the mix the cities and towns in and around the Denver area. There is a Burlington Colorado ( I think it is in Colorado, though it just might be in Nebraska or Kansas...) which one is north? South? West? East? Which way is Steam Boat Springs??? What a cool name, but where in the world is it! And how about Grand Junction...they always mention Grand Junction! There is the "Front Range" and the "High Country" and "High Plains". Then we hear Durango! Hooray, we know where Durango is! It is so weird hearing about states that never ever are in the vocabulary of weather men in New England and have always seemed so far away and apart from my personal experience. Now, I find myself in the backyard of these far away places and it seems surreal.

Well, we know what the temperatures mean, and the predicted cloudy vs sunny skies...but what is coming our way and has already gone by? How do the weather patterns flow? I am going to have to just study this out. I will consult a map of the US, often, it is good to learn new things and expand the mind.

Today in Denver, Colorado it was cool and sunny. Just what the weather man here predicted and just the reason we came to see for ourselves. Is it sunny here more than cloudy? Up until today the weather in Vermont has surpassed the Denver weather in niceness....even one of the local weather casters was in Dorset VT commenting on the spectacular foliage and great weather conditions. However, here in Denver - 2 local ski areas battled it out to be the "first to open" for the season. The skiers are elated, and today on the drive to work I could see the snow covered mountain tops in the sun. That was very pretty.

Every weather report in the morning is accompanied with a traffic update or two, depending on what is going on at the time. The local station has a helicopter reporter who is female and her name is Amelia Earhart. She is quite a good reporter, and I believe she is the pilot, but maybe not.

OK, so now it is back to the maps and fiuguring out just where in the good ole USA we are!

No fear - no matter where we are, Jesus is with us. Nothing can be more awesome, nor more reassuring than that! He is the Master of the wind.

Grace and Peace

Calvary Apostolic Church - Denver

Hi!

This is our second Sunday at Calvary Apostolic. Such a wonderful house of worship, sanctuary of praise and place of bringing forth the powerful anointed Word of God. Deliverance for people bound by sin, healings and miracles are evident each time we come. Evangelism is a key. Ministries attend to the spiritual growth of members and reach out to the community. Services can be watched on line http://www.cacdenver.org/ I believe is the site...if that isn't right google Calvary Apostolic Denver and you will find it.

Evening service is soon to start, so we are off...less than 10 minutes drive. How good is that!

By the way. No snow on the ground this morning. It is cold, damp, gray,rainy low 40's temp.

I understand Vermont is full peak foliage, beautiful blue skies and temps 68. God bless you all!

Grace and Peace

Foggy Day Warm Hearts

A very happy Jack

CIOMIT Classroom
Castle Rock
Professor Dan Parker and Jack
Jack and Joy

Saturday October 11th - Jack and I sleep in to the late hour of 7:30am. What bliss! Rising and leisurely enjoying not having to be anywhere at any specific time. Jack really wants to drive to Castle Rock, Colorado for a "dry run". Monday he will be starting class at CIOMIT - Colorado Institute Of Musical Instrument Technology - . He talked with Professor Dan Parker earlier this week and they have set up his "Power Class" instruction on Saxophone technology. Five Days, 6 hours each day. Power Class... and still not fully up to speed with the effects of the altitude.

We have a nice breakfast and head out south to Castle Rock. Route 25 the entire way. Easy! We are thankful. We are becoming very comfortable with driving in our immediate neighborhood and are venturing out to explore a bit more. We found a nice super market thanks to the recommendation of a nurse coworker of Julie's at P/SL. "King Sooper" - a Kruger store. Much like the big grocery stores in VT. OK OK - on to today's events. The drive to Castle Rock is pretty straight forward, though it is quite foggy and we cannot see very much of the Colorado countryside. We find CIOMIT with ease and Jack hurries in to meet his professor - Dan. Dan is setting up for a special class for another student coming in about 1/2 hour. Jack and Dan are happy to meet each other, and feel that, through their Internet meetings over the past year, they already know one another quite well. It is a warm and happy meeting. Dan has been busy setting up classes as well as the multiple other responsibilities of the school and his own private business.

A man with 35 years of experience in musical instrument technology, is both very professional and cordial, he greets us with a benevolent Christian greeting. We are greatly blessed. Soon he must attend to the student who has arrived. Jack and I peek around Castle Rock just a bit. The day is still quite foggy, no burning off as afternoon approaches, we can barely see the "Castle Rock" for which the town is named. This is not the best sight seeing day so head out to Jane's house for another Saturday afternoon with the Danko family and Jack's sister Joy. It is now drizzling a mist of rain.

As we arrive it is evident everyone is awaiting us. Such warm welcoming and happy hellos. Jane and Rob's daughter Sarah and her boyfriend Nick are there along with granddaughter Samantha and Jack's sister Joy. Rob is apparently the cook in the family and is busy in the kitchen whipping up a yummy lunch. Jack and Joy hug and settle in for a long visit. Filling each other in on their individual life's happenings, they sit side by side enjoying the nearness of being together. The afternoon is filled with laughter and good food is shared. Jane and Rob are gracious hosts. Sarah and Nick take Samantha shopping with them, which leaves the "adults" to visit without babysitting. We had such a nice visit. Not one moment was silent. As evening nears, Jack and I prepare to leave and Jane prepares to bring Joy back to her home. Hugs and kisses all around. The melding of a family slowly and wonderfully solidifying. The sun is setting, the air is crisp and cold and the rain continues. Jack and I drive back to Cherry Creek. a somewhat more of a challenge because of heavy traffic, fog and rain. Jack happier than I have ever seen him, we are both fulfilled and exhausted. The weatherman says Denver will have "a dusting snow" on the ground tomorrow. Let's see what that means in Colorado.

OH MY GOODNESS ... lest I forget! Gay, Jack's other sister will be coming for a week's visit October 29th through November 5th. She will be staying with Jane and Rob. Gay lives in Illinois and will be flying in. Jack plans to do some sightseeing in Denver with his sisters. He wants to take them to Denver's Botanical gardens and possibly the Zoo. That will definitely be a busy week for all. Jack is so looking forward to seeing Gay (5 years his elder, he is the baby brother after all!)...he just might bust!

to seeing Gay

Grace and Peace to you.

WORK, WORK, WORK

I would bet a few folks may be wondering about how it is going at Presbyterian/St. Luke's and my new job. Orientation is a time of familiarizing ones self with all the nuances of not only a new job and place of work, but newly met people and how they like things done in "their home". I feel like I am a guest - a guest coming in to help out in a time of staffing shortage. I will be there until January 3rd. A decision will need to be made as to what will happen in January. Stay on in Denver or look for another position elsewhere. P/SL uses All About Staffing a lot. I am not familiar with AAS (All About Staffing) too much. It appears to be a pool of nurses (including travel nurses) and a place where hospitals look to find qualified nurses to fill needs. There are nurses who rotate within one hospital system in Denver and other western big cities and are not travel nurses per se. It is interesting. AAS is a term used frequently and seem synonymous with a float pool.
How am I doing?I am a cook, cooking in someone else kitchen. I know the tools (thankfully they use the same scopes and computer system used in Burlington...however the methods are somewhat different.) Job responsibilities are different and tailored to meet the specific needs of the unit. Learning the way is the order of the day. I look forward to the day... and it will come... when I will anticipate the needs of the Md's, Unit and other staff to be more helpful than a burden. I understand orientation is a time of getting up to speed and learning. It is systematic and going well.
The altitude is a major factor, though with each passing day I feel less tired, less dizzy...more stamina. Jack is slowly adjusting as well. We are being very careful not to overdo - it is hard, this is such a beautiful city and we want to explore. One of the people I work with said we should just go up into the mountains - get as high as we can tolerate, stay there for an hour and come back down...then come back to Denver...and we will feel better in Denver. Not so good advice.
All is well with the job. The staff are very nice. Willing to help and teach, willing to be patient with me. Today we had a nice pot luck Mexican themed lunch. It was yummie and fun. The P/SL facility I do not know hardly at all. I DO know where all the strategic bathrooms are to my needs. In the front door. Up the escalator, around the corner, down the hall to the end and I am in Endo. I have tagged along with other staff as they run their various errands and my compass has been put to the test. P/SL is a major transplant hospital and the endo unit does a lot of host/graft reaction procedures. This is something I am going to have to learn.

Off to bed. I find that rest is the order of the day, most days.

Grace and Peace

Long Awaited Reunion

Jack and I were married nearly 18 years ago. He told me of his childhood. His mom left with his two sisters when he was 5. The next time he saw them, he was in high school, then not again. Life and hurts, misunderstandings and far distances kept them apart. Some how Jane, Jack's niece (his oldest sister, Joys', daughter) and I got in contact with one another. Together we started praying. Jane and I kept in touch through the years. Jack talked with each of his sisters once in our earlier years of marriage. Our children grew and had children of their own. They grew and helped Jack understand some of his hurts, some of his misconceptions. He believed he would never be reunited with his family, they were too broken and too far away. The Lord kept on healing, gradually a little at a time the cracks in a small boys broken heart were mended and bonded with the power of love in his new grandchildren and the little boy was made whole as a man grown in Christ.
God knew when the time would be right. Jane and I kept praying. Then last spring Jack and I realized we needed to find a new place to live. We had a nice condo, but we are getting older and would do better in a one level place with a real and safe workshop for Jack. That has been blogged about in previous blogs.
We find ourselves less than 2 months after the sale of our condo in Denver, Colorado, the exact place where his oldest sister, Joy - her daughter and son in law Rob and their families live.

We arrive in Denver on Wednesday October 1st. Thursday we rest. Friday we move into our apartment and Jack called Jane. They talk and laugh and share for an hour or more. Jane usually picks her mother, Joy, up on Saturday's and brings her home with her for the day. Together they babysit Jane's grand daughter (2) Samantha.

Saturday October 4th Jack and I drive 1/2 hour north and for the first time in 50 years Jack and Joy see each other. The greeting is indescribable. We picked up a dozen roses for Joy and a colorful bouquet for Jane. Jack and Joy looked and looked at each other, soaking in the reality and newness of who they are. As Joy said, "Jack you are your own person now, I know you as a real person." And Jack, too, knows and sees Joy as the real person and sister she is. They were able to reminisce about some old times and growing up in Lyndonville. Joy and Jane share some of the tragedies of sister Gay's life and times...loosing 2 daughters within a year of each other, and each with small children at the time of their deaths. One to an accident and the other to illness, sudden and fatal. Gay has been able to keep a positive attitude according to Jane and relishes in her grandchildren...now grown. Most of the meeting is a time of awe and thankfulness. Gay is planning on joining Jack, Joy, Jane and her family for a visit soon to Denver. Gay will stay with Jane and Rob. As soon as Julie knows her hospital schedule we will plan the date. Jack and Jane also talked of Christmas and how special that will be. Jack is 68, Joy is 78 and Gay is 73.
We were, unfortunately, exhausted quickly and felt it was time to leave after about 2 hours. We will be in touch again soon and come back again to visit often and longer.
As soon as we got back into the car Jack broke down in tears and sobbed and sobbed. Thanking the Lord for the healing and reuniting with his sister. Thankful, so very thankful to be able to hold her, and give her a kiss and tell her he loves her, to talk with her. "An empty void in my life, in my heart is now gone, Julie" he said. " I cannot describe to you how that feels, there is a wholeness I have never known. I know my own flesh and blood, my own family...it is real, it is so real, I can feel a healing like never before..."

There is a healer in the house and His Name is Jesus Christ.


Praise the Lord!

Grace and Peace

Reassurance

Hi,
Honestly, our comedy of errors on Friday pales in comparison with how nice this apartment complex is. Not only is it in town and close to the hospital, it is very close to church! Ten minutes to church. Hooray. And 15 min to hospital, 30 to 40 in rush hour we are told. The hospital has free parking garage and everyone parks in the parking garages...plenty of room! We have to get the car carrier thing off first. Another project and a borrowed ladder. Maybe the folks at church will be able to help us. They are very nice. Calvary Apostolic.
OK - So I sent some pictures of our place...no inside pictures yet, will wait until it looks like it should. We are tucked away in the dining room which is plenty big enough...I mean really! We lived for over a month in our tiny travel trailer...this is bliss! And outside is a very nice courtyard, swimming pool. The pool is now closed, but they don't cover it, because when it snows it is a great place to put the snow. It is heated...though now is only 68 degrees. They melt and filter the snow and get rid of it as water! How ingenious! Along side the pool is the hot tub. That is open and running year round. I am very very happy! That is kept at 104 degrees. It, too helps with melting the snow as needed...but is always open and always kept at 104! Inside the main building is the "club house" with an exercise room and free business center for residents. We have not checked that out yet. Lots of pets here too. We have been advised by medical personnel to hold off on walks and exercise, biking and the like for at least 2 weeks. Oh dear, sit at the hot tub and read and sip ice tea?! All in all - it is well in Denver.

Grace and peace

Cracked Tubs, Soggy Rugs and Hanging Fixtures

Hi!
We have internet! It is comcast cable so will hopefully be reliable. Jack and I drove 5 days across the USA to Denver. It was a fun drive, and we weren't too tired when we arrived. The Denver altitude and very very busy Friday fixed all that, we are exhausted!
Friday we were given our apartment address and checked in. A quick walk through, checking for bumps and breaks and things out of order...didn't see anything...you know the same deal as when one rents a car. We requested a 1st floor apt...this was second floor. Not to be ungracious guests (the travel nurse agency is paying all our housing fees), and Jack and I are feeling rather good at the time, just a bit lightheaded. We unload and bring all our things upstairs...expecting the manager to meet us momentarily. She never showed. So in we trudged with all our stuff. Getting settled, Julie puts up the shower curtain and lays down the tub mat...OH NO! What's this? A rather large crack in the tub, making it definitely unusable. How could we have missed it, but miss it we did! A call to the manager and she runs right up. Hmmm what to do, what to do. At least a week long project to fix. I call the housing people at the travel nurse agency. They call the apartment complex. Presto! 1st floor apartment, right below this one. The movers are on their way and all our things are moved to the apartment right below our original one in short order. Fine. We thoroughly check out this new place as best we can and reset up. Off to WalMart for food and supplies. Back home Julie puts in a load of laundry and sits down with Jack to watch the DVD Nancy and Roger gave us on Jack's computer. For some reason we cannot get the volume up past a whisper...and after 45 mins gave up for another time. SUDDENLY, we realize something is quite amiss, the carpet is soaked! Quick to the laundry room! 2 inches of standing soapy water on the floor. The drain to the washer is not attached properly and the loads of soapy and rinse water had emptied onto the floor. By this time it is after hours in the evening. Call the emergency number. Someone will come in 1 1/2 hrs. We use every available dry thing to keep the water contained, but it is too late. Water half across the living room and out under the outside wall into the outside foyer area. The cleaning crew arrive, wet vac everything, pull up the carpet, remove the under padding, wet vac the cement, put the carpet back down, wet vac that again, suck out the standing water in the laundry room and bring in an industrial sized floor fan. They are nice enough, it is clear they have done this before... say their good byes, someone will be back in the morning to pick up the fan....it already is morning...1 o'clock in the morning! OK. so off to bed...which is another story, Jack and I snuggled all night, not that we wanted to, seems we have a used mattress with a crater in the center....ah, but before we hit the sack, Julie turned on the light in the dressing area of the bedroom....after 15minutes, the light fixture was dangling. Who knows. Off with the light and to sleep we went. Next day the maintenance man came. Keep the fan going, carpet still wet...but we can turn it off at night...fixed the washer AND dryer (neither were properly hooked up). And removed the light fixture all together, a new one will come next week. Reassured us the carpet would be replaced early in the week.
Now, we want you to know that these are nice units. Spacious, with large living and dining areas. Nice sized bathroom, laundry room & bedroom with walk in closet (room for both our bikes and all our misc stuff and clothes). They are relatively new, freshly painted...which makes us think the W & D had been pulled out, then pushed back and not connected... oh well, Friday pooped us out for sure. Our plans to recreate on Saturday had somewhat changed. No walks in the park, but something better happened.
The weekend was not a loss - and that story will be in another blog - THAT is a wonderful story!
Rest,
grace and peace
J

High Altitude

Fatigue, light headed and no go up and go. That is how Denver's mile high elevation has affected both Jack and I. We are assured by the hotel staff that by Monday things will be better and certainly in a week we will be fully adjusted. They are very kind and have quite obviously seen this in numerous travellers.
Today we move into our apartment. We have the street address, which is different from the entrance...so we will hold off on giving out our actual address until we get that info from the manager.
It looks quite nice, is a gated community and appears to have been recently built. The location is less than 5 miles from Presbyterian St. Lukes...in the heart of Denver. Big City. Big big city!

OK - we are off for coffee and check out of the hotel to move over to our apartment. Our plan is slow and easy. Will be back in touch when we get internet set up...hopefully soon.

grace and peace

Julie and Jack

DENVER !!!

Today we drove from Lexington, Nebraska straight into the heart of Denver, Colorado! Hooray! We are here!

We slept in this morning, again, how nice is that! Got an easy going start and were too late for breakfast. A quick stop at McD's and we were on our way.

Julie was up earlier than Jack, on the computer and phone trying to finish up last minute details with "preassignment requirements". Called FAHC employee health and they faxed right off Rubella titre to HMN Healthcare office (a requirement to start at Presbyterian St. Lukes on Monday). Thanks so much to Janet Y. Other emails sent to help tie up loose ends.

So, on the road. Somewhat uneasy about the loose ends that still remain...the tests.....Ok ok, so just relax about it, as Jack encouraged and enjoy the ride and the wonderful countryside. Nebraska is flat with grasslands and corn fields. After a short time we traverse into Colorado, and notice our MPG has dropped to 24mpg. We are driving almost inceptably uphill! Then more noticably uphill. Gradually up. And into the most stark praire lands we have seen yet. Miles and miles of flat, then corn fields, then cattle farms. Farmland with the hugest hale bales we had ever seen. Square bales. We followed the Pony Express Trail and that was fun watching the markers along the way. The countryside was periodically dotted with working windmills, bringing water to the surface for the cattle. Far far off in the distance were miles and miles of wind power turbines, perhaps hundreds of them along a ridge. We tried to get a picture, but again the camera just could not quite capture their shear immensity.

Then the phone call. HMN Healthcare Nurse Manager. Julie must take the MedSurg test. The Medication test has been waved. No getting around it. It is mandated - mainly because the company needs to have some sort of verification for Julie's nursing skills and they do not have an Endoscopy specific test. Julie's heart sank. Hmmm, less than 150 miles to Denver. No test, no job. It had been more than 12 years since Julie had worked in a hospital floor setting. Julie had reviewed some of the study guides offered by RN.com and none had anything to do with her speciality. Julie was happy to have learned some new things through the study guides, however; they proved to her that she was not as up to date as she should be to work in that setting. Now she had to take a test, a timed test no less, in order to work. We also will not get our housing assignment until the test is done. The nurse manager was sympathetic but firm. He had a Nurse Educator call Julie to reassure her the test was "basic knowledge". Then Lynne called (Julie's personal nurse recruiter and support person) to offer encouragement. PRAY. Shake up those ole brain cells - let loose those facts and the knowledge.

Peter called when we were about 40 miles from Denver. Hmmmm, still flat grassland with no mountains in sight, and no city. It was good to talk with Peter.

At 25 miles out, the interstate began to expand and it was clear we were on the outskirts of a big city. The road got bigger, more lanes, more traffic. Signs to Boulder and Fort Collins to the north. Bigger traffic, bigger roads...and, oh, by the way...Julie is now driving....B I G C I T Y T R A F F I C....4:45pm...

Once in Denver, Tomtom led us directly to the church Jeff told us about and gave us the address to. No one was there. No Wednesday night service.

Now to find a place to stay, for at least 2 nights, possibly longer. Tom Tom does have a list of local hotels/motels. We tried the 1st choice -The Rocky Mountain Motel....less than a mile away. So we did a drive by, nope, not what we are looking for.

Jack insists we go for a familiar name....Holiday Inn. So we ask TT to bring us there. Gulp, another swank place. We are tired. So we decide to just go in and check it out. We've been travelling all day, we've not really stopped to "freshen"... the hotel clerk takes one look at us.."are you folks aware of our room rates?"..... Julie explains we are here as a travel nurse family due to start at Presbyterian St.Lukes Monday, have not gotten our housing assignment yet. Well well well, seems the hospital has a special relationship with this exact hotel and we are clearly given an exceptional rate. God is good. Our car won't fit in the parking garage because of our cartop carrier - so we get a parking spot right in front. I'm sure they would prefer a Luxury car there...but our Hylander Hybrid is no slouch of a car...and I am proud to park it there, roof carrier, bikes and all.

Unloading our stuff in our room accomplished we go to dinner at the hotel restaurant. Another good deal and quite yummie. Michelle calls from home and we enlist her help and prayer. We have a nice chat then... Dum de dum dum...no more avoiding the enevitable...back in the room, Julie's signs on to the internet...signs in to the test site....a timed test...the clock ticking right in front of her eyes....#1...#2....#3...ok ok not too bad so far, deep breath.... #4 - not a clue, no idea what the answer could be...click the "deal with it later button"....sigh...#5....#6 ... yikes, some are hard, some common sense...some no clue at all....keep going, the clock ticking, second by second.... #41, last question, back to #4 - a stab at the best guess...DONE...SUBMIT......p a u s e ...tick tick tick....

PASSED!!!!!!!!

Halleluja! Praise the Lord.

Time for bed.

Grace and peace to you.