This is the Royal Gorge near Canyon City, Colorado. We took a train ride through the bottom of the gorge beside the Arkansas River. My dad took us to the train to the nearest stop on one side of the gorge, he kept the baby with him and then picked us up at the other side wherever the stop was. It was a beautiful ride. The rest of the pictures of the Royal Gorge on at the bottom of this post.

We went to see the Cliff Dwellings in Colorado. If you love history, like I do, then it’s a must to go to visit. My mother, Timmy and I are in the picture.

Here is Pikes Peak from many miles away. Such beauty!!! I took this picture on one of my recent trips to Castle Rock, Colorado. The mountain is 14,115 feet! Click on the picture to see it’s beauty.

Jerry and me up Pikes Peak in 1964. My dad drove us up the mountain… Oh dear. That was an experience! Jerry had his foot on the brakes and we were in the back seat!!! I was so relieved when we got to the top of the mountain…but I suddenly realized we still had to go back down! Well, needless to say, we made it safely!

Our family at that time: Jerry, Teddy, Pammy, Timmy and me. It was so cold…brrrrrr. We weren’t dressed warm enough. Thank goodness I had a blanket around the baby.

My parents were living at Canyon City back in the 60′s when we went to visit them and show off our new baby boy, Timothy Lee.

The first place my dad took us was the Sky Line Drive. Whoa! I never want to go on that road again!

This picture shows the town of Canyon City from the Sky Line Dr.

Here are more pictures of the Royal Gorge. We, of course, drove across the bridge. That was scary! It was worth the drive though! The bridge is 955 feet above the Arkansas River.

My first time with Jerry was on our honeymoon. We took movies at that time so I don’t have any snap shots to show off!

We went back several years later.

We rode on the Maid of the Mist. Is it really necessary to wear these raincoats?

Well, it is quite misty!

Oh yes, we needed raincoats!

The second time Jerry and I went was when our two oldest children were still very small. All these pictures are in black and white! The year would have been about 1962 or ’63.

Pic 1 What on earth was I doing in these rocks with two very small children? I don’t know. I hope you’ll click on the picture to see it closer.

Picture 2 is a train that we rode on with the kids. Somewhere I have a close up picture of Pammy, Teddy and myself. When I find it I’ll post it.

The second one is my favorite: Bond Falls in the Upper Peninsula. I have heard this is where the commercial for Hams Beer was made back in the 50′s. I don’t drink beer, never have, but I do remember watching that commercial and loving it! It had friendly little bears, etc.

# 3 Tahquamenon Falls. Our youngest daughter, Christy, and youngest son, Robby, are in the picture. Jerry and I are in some of the others. # 4 sign telling about the falls. Click on it to read it and then click the arrow in the top left hand corner to come back here.

.# 5 Canyon Falls.

# 6 is Horseshoe Falls at Munising. Munising has many falls in and around it.

# 7 Wagner Falls, Munising.

# 8 Alger Falls, Munising.

# 9 Miners Falls, Munising.

# 10 Munising Falls.

# 11 Mosquito Falls.

# 12 Bridal Vail Falls, Lake Superior.

2nd Yellowstone River Falls, Wyoming.

3rd Multnomah Falls, Oregon.

4th Horn Creek Falls, Horn Mountain, Colorado.

5th Snow Cap Waterfall, Alaska.

6th Waterfalls in Glacier National Park, Montana

# 2 Red tulips.  # 3 Multi-colored tulip. I’m sorry, it’s not as pretty in the picture as it is in real life. Purple tulips are still opening up, but not enough for a picture yet.

# 4. My precious Violets.

# 5 Apple blossoms.

# 6 Trillium. We only have a few and we love them.

There’ll soon be many more signs of spring: Humming birds, Lilacs, Lily of the Valley, Day lilies, Butterfly bush, warmer days! Planting impatiens, etc.

These daffodils are so pretty and will only be here a few more days. The next picture is of our pink flowering crab tree. It will only last a few days too. But something more will be blooming. Tulips are almost ready, lilacs are soon to blossom. Oh, I love it!

The first butterfly here is an Olivewing from Central/South America. # 2 is a Julia from USA. # 3 is a Blue Morpho with his wings closed. (He’s on my leg!) # 4 is a frog who doesn’t look real but he is! # 5/6 Zebra Longwing from USA and Central/South America.

The first butterfly I’m not quite sure of. I’m wondering if it’s a female Julia. If someone knows, please leave a comment. The one on Armon’s arm is a Grecian Shoemaker from Central/South America. Next is a Magnificent Owl, from Central/South America, and then Elmise holding it. Then is a Variegated Fritillary from the USA. Haleigh holding it. Lastly is Haleigh holding a Blue Longwing from Central/South America.

here is one of my favorites…

luke 12:6, 7: “what’s the price of two or three pet sparrows? some loose change, right? but god never overlooks a single one. and he pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail-even numbering the hairs on your head! you’re worth more than a million sparrows.

the message is simple and straightforward. you’re loved. you’ve got value and you matter to the god that created the big wide world.

so if you think you are just another face in the crowd, think twice!! YOU’RE NOT!!!

I had a comment, on one of my blogs, that the reader would like to know what all of my blogs are. So, to any who are interested, here you are: freetobeme is at,  anitaarcher.blogspot.com; anita’s adventures is at, mylife-experieces.blogspot.com, this one I misspelled experiences and can’t seem to fix it so my readers have to misspell it too. Just leave out the n. anita’sfavoriterecipes.blogspot.com and one more my granddaughter and I have together is called Isabella’s and Grandma’s Story.blogspot.com   Allinthedayofme is the only one I have at wordpress but I do like wordpress. I just get frustrated with the pictures I put on. They don’t go where I want them to go…

I’m working on my bucket list, are you? It’s really got me thinking about all the things I’d like to do before it’s too late!!!  Go to Hawaii is high on the list since it’s the only state Jerry and I haven’t been to. I think my list grows every day! A trip to China… Skydiving??? Riding an elephant is on my list too but I missed the perfect opportunity in Thailand and I don’t know if I’ll ever have that chance again. Oh, I know I’ve got to think positive!

So many of my friends are complaining about the snow… This is February…still winter…I don’t get it. I want to live each day for what it is and enjoy life along the way. So I’m not wishing the winter season away, sorry to my friends who want spring…NOW. Perhaps it’s my new age category: old age. I’m said before I’m 73 now and I don’t want to wish time away. It’s going too fast as it is. So I’m enjoying the snow, it’s so beautiful. 

This morning we woke up to a winter wonderland! I took these pictures from our front porch. I love snow!!!

Many people will agree that they were created by God. Fewer people understand that the reason they were created by God was so that they could worship him.

Colossians 1:16 says, “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.”

Notice the last part of that verse. It says that we were not only created by him, we were actually created for him. The purpose for our existence is to give God pleasure. Therefore, we should continually be striving to learn what pleases him, and then make every effort to put a smile on God’s face.

I heard about a young lady who had not been a Christian very long. She was late for church one Sunday. By the time she arrived, the people were already standing and singing, pouring out their hearts in worship. As she stood for a moment at the back of the church, just drinking in the atmosphere, someone heard her think out loud, “I was made for this!”

She was right. We all were made for this.

Lectionary Passage: Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

Scripture Focus: Psalm 139:13-14

Object: Something handmade, like a piece of woodwork or a quilt

Note: Whatever object you choose, be sure to explore all the ways that it was wonderfully and creatively made and put together.

Good morning boys and girls! This morning I brought with me a quilt that my grandmother made. Do you see each of these pieces (point to each individual square and triangle of fabric)? She cut each and every piece of fabric out of much larger pieces and then she carefully laid everything out so that each piece was in just the right place. Then she put all the pieces together so that one whole quilt was created. I think it is one of the most beautiful and wonderfully handmade things in the world!

Imagine if a person could make this beautiful quilt, how wonderfully made you are inside and out because you’re made by God! That’s exactly what our Bible story is about. It says we are all wonderfully made by God. God made all the inner parts of our body and then knit them all together before we were born. So each and every part of us, and you just have to look around to see that we’re all different, was wonderfully made by God!

I hope you remember this always because it’s powerful stuff! If you are ever faced with a bully who tries to poke fun at you for some reason, please stand up and say, “I’m wonderfully made by God!” If you ever feel bad about yourself, say to yourself in the mirror, “I’m wonderfully made by God!” Let’s practice together, say after me, “I’m wonderfully made by God!” (let the children repeat, encourage them to say it louder)

Let’s pray: Thank you God for wonderfully making each of us. Help us always remember this each and every day. Amen.

What an exciting place to be in their lives…to be used of God. These three men reach out to serve the most unlovely, dejected, angry men and see a difference in their lives as the prisoners begin to see the honesty, the love of God, the love for them, the fact that they were created by God.

What a difference God makes.

Learning about and appreciating who God created me to be was a long journaling process. Journaling brought out thoughts and feelings that would never have surfaced through normal conversations. It actually put structure and definition to my thoughts and feelings. When reading through my journals, I noticed that after several pages of self inflicted guilt and accusations; I finally came to the realization on November 29, 1993, that I was driving myself crazy with negative self talk. I had just read the story of the imperfect prodigal son and the father’s unconditional love and forgiveness (Luke 25). It was a moment of recognizing my worth through God’s eyes, not my own. In my journal, I finally cried out to God saying: “help me rest in your care and feel your unconditional love. Everything else I have run to for comfort and meaning has only kept me from you.”

Having a healthy self-image starts with a healthy self-worth. I had been acquiring my standards from the wrong place. My standard should not come from the messages and illusions I get from the media, it should come from what the creator and designer declares about me (Ephesians 1:3-14).

The twins had their own encounter with the world that capitalizes on outward beauty. Since they have tall slender figures and like to sing and act, we decided to respond to offers from professional acting and modeling schools. The girls were accepted into the John Robert Powers School of Modeling, took the classes, and then we paid for hundreds of comp cards. We even drove to Chicago for a final casting call. During that visit, the promoter was using a young brother and sister singing and dancing team as an example of “this could be you.” We couldn’t help but notice how the kids responded like scared puppies when the promoter gave them orders. It made us feel sad for them.

As an example of what the business will do for young girls, here is a normal high school picture of the twins and then a modeling picture from their comp cards:

When I asked Jessica how she felt about her modeling experience, she said: “The world that is driven by greed, vanity and selfishness is a slippery slope. It was hard to resist the temptation to be ‘one of them.’ I learned what some people can be like when they don’t value what’s inside themselves and others. In the end, I am thankful that I was able to step outside that world and see how easy it is to get sucked into the promises of fame and fortune.”

The girls did some local promotions but we soon found out that in order to make much money, they would need to do it full time and move or travel to one of the big cities. Beauty and self-promotion would have become their entire way of life.

I am thankful that the girls had a strong identity in Christ and recognized what was more important in life. Jessica summed it up well by saying: “I thought of modeling as fun and didn’t want it to be a career or big commitment. Modeling helped me learn how to take care of my appearance, use proper etiquette, and build good communication skills.” As a mother, I have to say the acting classes were most helpful in building their self confidence.

Later in life, I came to realize that if I were to criticize who I am and how I look, I’d better first consider He who made me “in His image…male and female He created them.” Then, if I even dare to judge God’s handiwork, I need to remember how He sees me… “God looked over all He had made, and He saw that it was very good” (Genesis 1:27-31). And, to top it off, the Potter created me to be unique among millions of people. It is humbling to think that I was created by the same one who made the majestic eagles, towering redwoods, and the beauty of sunsets and rainbows.

Learning to appreciate myself from the inside-out was a huge step in helping me move forward in my spiritual, emotional, intellectual and even physical health. In next week’s post, I will talk about my next step towards simplification.