Griffin Family

Our Newest Sweet Boy

2008-08-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

Noah Don Griffin was born on August 21 at 9:24 a.m. He weighed 8 lb. 5 oz. and was 21 inches long. We are smitten!

pictures of late

2008-06-07T17:27:00.000-07:00

things i love today

2008-06-07T17:18:00.000-07:00

jack

jude

the moment when jack comes home each day

jude singing songs

a hug from a friend

encouraging words

a long walk - long being the operative word because i feel really slow these days

thinking about my new son

coke

just the right song

quiet

waiting and wondering

2008-05-01T18:34:00.000-07:00

So, Jack and I have been trying to sell our house for 13 months now. Before you jump to any conclusions, you have to know that we live in a nice house that is updated and cute and really great. (Some assume that it hasn't sold because it's in such poor condition). Anyhow, I guess my need to clarify explains some of the reason I'm even writing. This has been such a frustrating process. We have had over 50 showings and I have learned that I take every comment about my home very personally - the majority of which I can do NOTHING about.

1. don't like the shared driveway
2. don't like the elementary school across the street
3. don't like the condos down the road
4. doesn't have a basement
5. the kitchen tile is too textured

I could go on.

So, tonight we're waiting on an offer. I have prayed about this for months and really want to believe that God is going to provide an offer that is reasonable and will give us enough money to put a good amount towards a new house. But, the doubts and fears are a little bit too close. It makes it really hard to believe that He would actually do that. I worry that some horrible thing will come up during the inspection and the buyer will think we haven't taken care of our house. Again, I take it all so personally. And I wonder why. Why do I feel like comments made about my house and my neighborhood are a personal attack on me. I should KNOW that I am not defined by the house that I live in, but I struggle on so many levels with caring too much about how people see me. Am I performing well, am I a good friend, am I pretty enough, and apparently, do you approve of my house?

I don't have any solutions. It is a day by day battle for me. I know that I must keep reminding myself that God's view of me is the only one that matters. So, why is that so hard?

Jude's Rockin' 3rd Birthday

2008-04-07T10:34:00.000-07:00

For Jude's Birthday, Popo took him to the Englewood Fire/Police Station open house. Then, we had a rock star party with all of his friends.

Happy Birthday Jude!

2008-03-26T13:26:00.001-07:00

March 25 2005

2006
2007
2008

Happy Easter

2008-03-24T13:01:00.000-07:00

coloring eggs
the finished productlook what the easter bunny brought me!all dressed up

Favorite Photos of Late

2008-02-16T12:55:00.000-08:00

Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. (ok, i'm a little behind)

2007-12-14T13:22:00.001-08:00

So, I fell a little (or a lot) behind on posting the last few months. Here is a whirlwind update on Jude and his parents.

September: got a big boy bed. love it. love it. love it. took the lightrail downtown for a day out with mom and dad. always a highlight.

October: took some pics with daddy's police car & "drove" the police care. so cool.

November: went to grandma's in KS and made these cool turkey cookies.

December: visited this house of lights near our place. saw a train, chapel, kissed a penguin. went to a party with mommy where we rode a train, rode a carousel, tried to chase the trian, drank lots of hot chocolate and chased the train. did i mention he liked the train? Also tried to create a snowstorm in my room with baby powder. it works pretty well. you should try it if you don't already have snow at your house. mommy also turned 30 and daddy and i threw a surprise party for her. fun stuff!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Trick or Treat

2007-11-02T14:41:00.000-07:00

We couldn't decide at first whether Jude would even care about trick or treating. He's so shy a lot of times I thought he might not like going to strange people's houses. But, we decided to try it and after the first house, he looked at us and said, "let's do that again!" He was pretty impressed that he could just say trick or treat and they would put candy in his bag. In fact, he liked it so much that he asked us last night if we could go again.

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T12:27:00.001-07:00

When I showed Jude his boots and hat yesterday he put them on immediately. Then, he woke up at 5:30 this morning (grrr) and couldn't wait another minute to put his boots back on. He's been running around all day yelling, "I'm a cowboy! I'm a cowboy!"

This sheriff's got his eye on you!
Playing his drums - his favorite thing to do.
Jude and Caleb at the library this morning.
Lounging.

2007-10-07T10:56:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to the Pumpkin Festival at the Four Mile Historic Park. Pumpkins, hayrides, chickens, horses, free cookies and a perfect fall day. Jude said he had "yots of fun!" Jude also did a great job of NEVER looking at the camera. :)

Jude & Evrett

2007-09-19T14:11:00.000-07:00

Jude and Evrett were born 2 months apart back in 05. They were forced be friends because their parents were friends, but have managed to like each other nonetheless. Actually, Jude thanks God for Evrett most every night. SOOOO Sweet. These are some pics that Evrett's daddy took. He is an amazing photographer. (anyone who can photograph two 2 year olds like this is pretty great!) Check him out at http://www.evrett.com/.

2007-09-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to the Rocky Mountain Balloon Festival. Very fun! I highly recommend it!
Still going...

This is the kind of thing that could show up in your nightmares, I think.

Jude and his first love, Kalena Jo Egy.
It really doesn't get any sweet than that!
Or that.

New wagon from Grandma.

Jude loves his helmet so much. He likes to wear it ALL the time.

Wild West Relay

2007-08-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

Bringing Up the Rear - Mike Dicke, Ben Dicke, Shelby Griffin, Jack Griffin, Jan Melton, Ernest Newton, Stuart Jackson, Khem Suthiwan, Mary Dicke, Anne Griffin, Amy Hanson, Kristi Earles

I'm not even sure I know where to begin. What a crazy, wild adventure. For those of you who don't know, the Wild West Relay is a 195 mile relay, running from Ft. Collins to Steamboat Springs, CO. We had a 12 person team and each ran 3 legs of the race. Legs varied from 2.5 - 10.6 miles. On average, each person ran about 15 miles.

Our team was made up of 7 women and 5 men, the youngest was 19, the oldest 58 (we won't mention any names!) We came from 6 states - Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Illinois, Texas and Pennsylvania. Half of our team were family members, and the other half we didn't even meet until the night before the race.

After surviving a torrential rain in Ft. Collins on Thursday night, there was some question as to whether the weather would hold off for us to run. Thankfully, Friday morning there were blue skies and we had wonderful weather all weekend long. So it began...

Kristi (in the white) gets ready for the start. Our start time was 6:30 a.m. Friday morning. Ben kept us hyped and ready to go. Kristi took off on her first leg and cut nearly 10 minutes off of her predicted time. It was a very exciting start to a very exciting race.

One of the Knights who say Nee, from the team "It's Only a Flesh Wound." Many runners ran in costumes or themed outfits.

Exchange #6 - Every 6th exchange was a van exchange. Teams waited anxiously (and tried to rest) before it was time for their van to take the road. Amy and I had the best nap of the entire race here on a couple of picnic tables. Shelby finishes leg 6 and passes the baton to Ben for the start of Van #2.

Ben hands off to dad (Mike). Ben celebrates Dad's first finish as the baton is passed to Amy. Easy Rider...Amy passes off to Ernest at exchange 9 as Ernest's mom records the time. Thanks to all our volunteers!Ben prepares for his first night run. You can run a lot faster when you wear glow sticks. Somehow, Ernest always looked like this after finishing his runs. Maybe because he ran at the speed of lightning. After a horrible bout of motion sickness and an overdose of dramamine, Anne prepares for her 2nd leg of the race. Mike sports the "light-a-potty."

Saturday morning finds Khem finishing her 3rd leg as Ben runs her in for her final exchange. Khem didn't stop at the end of her 3rd leg. She ran with Mary as she finished her final miles of the race.Jack prepares for his final leg, making sure to abide by the "no headphones" rule. Mary finishes her final leg, as Jack's last leg begins.

The open road...

Stuart Jackson, keeper of the time sheet (ha!) and amazing distance runner. Ben heads toward mile 3 of his ascent up Rabbit Ear's pass. Amy checks in, taking his order for gatorade and water. Stuart and Mary join Ben in his final steps over the top of the Continental Divide. I think we should send this pic to Gatorade. Congratulations on an awesome run, Ben! Jan passes off to Anne for the 36th and final leg of the Wild West Relay through Steamboat Springs. Anne was so happy to be done, she forgot the rest of her team, who were ready to run the final 100 feet with her. Team finish, take 2. We did it!!! We finished 116th out of 119 finishing teams. We ALMOST brought up the rear! :)

There were many, many stories that should be told, and they may find there place here later on. It was quite the adventure and many of us are already making plans for next year! Congratulations to all of our amazing team!

1st Campout and Other Summer Fun

2007-07-08T14:01:00.000-07:00

Jude loves to have his hands in his pockets. And I think its adorable.

He's also been really great about reading books in bed when he wakes up, letting mommy and daddy get some extra sleep! Yay!!
One of his favorite times of day is snuggling while watching Wheel of Fortune just before bed.

We braved our first camping trip with Jude this weekend. Apart from his recent need to cling to mom at all times, he did pretty well. He survived getting his feet dirty - he thought it was "gross" - and mom survived a night of sleeping with him in our SUV. Thank goodness for Sunday afternoon naps! We enjoyed the company of our friends from church and look forward to next year.

2007-06-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

These are pics that Aunt Em took during their visit last month. She and Jude played at the park while the rest of the fam ran a 5k in Boulder. Fun times!

2007-06-15T13:13:00.000-07:00

So, it is now June. Jude is 2 years old and the sweetest boy we could ever ask for. We are in the process of trying to sell our house and move a bit futher south. Jack recently started working for Greenwood Village Police Department. I am keeping busy with Jude, working part-time for a church, and teaching piano. We are also enjoying our involvement in Trailhead Church. Here are some pics of a hike Jack and I took to Devil's Head Fire Lookout last month. Jude prefers to have his snack in a box.

2007-06-14T14:04:00.000-07:00

Well, I thought I would try something new. Check back soon for updates on us!