top 10 things i learned while living in CO

1. Purple mountains majesty really does exist. God is huge. No one else could be responsible for such beauty.
2. Legalizing a dangerous substance does not prove to be a good thing. 'Safer than alcohol' my rear. Tell that to the guy on my husband's company softball team whose reflexes were so slowed that he almost got knocked out by hubby at homeplate. Maybe it's because I have never been around anything but drunks beginning in early childhood, but I can't get used to grown adults smoking something they had to sneak buy. Legal, yes, but only with a doctor's note and apparently those come cheap and easy. I've never smelled more of it in my life. Probably walk around in this altitude with a contact high most of the time. And believe it or not, in OK you would just be repulsed to see your child pick up a cigarette butt...try a used joint. (almost happened while waiting to be seated at a nice restaurant)
3. I love my children. They are hilarious, brilliant, strong, special, courageous...all the things their granny tells them. They are boys who are not afraid to tell their mommy and daddy how much they love us all the time. They are never happier than when we show them lots of attention together. If we have learned nothing, we have learned how to be a family again. It doesn't have to be about anyone else - just us 4.
4. My husband is wonderful. I love him for this move. He has not only proven to himself once and for all, but to me that he has our best interest at heart. He is the true spiritual leader of this household, and I can let go of ever feeling in charge. I needed that big time! My joy and goal is to just be fulfilled. We have been through so much and have grown every inch of the way.
5. The stay home mom gripe turned into an entire blog entry. It was a huge part of my stay here, but I fear there are miserable at home moms everywhere. I was not one of them. Yes, there are rough days when nothing goes your way...take a class, join a bible study, love your kids and your time to watch them grow, love your hubby for what he is giving you, and don't forget to release your frustration somehow. You don't have to have a fancy gym membership. Try a walk around the block. Don't be afraid to admit that you like working outside the home. Very wise women find this out all the time.
6. Virtually everyone is a transfer here. We have only met 2 natives. It is a serious melting pot of cultures. And apparently openly breastfeeding with no attempt to cover the breast is a beautiful, natural, earth mother kind of event. I'm all about nature, but hubby about passed out at the zoo.
7. Cost of living is about 20% higher...they say. Not seen or noticed except in housing. Our brand new custom home on 3.2 acres in Oologah, OK sold for 192,500. We rented a home here on a saltine sized lot with an 'enormous' backyard for way toooooo much a month. More than our mortgage in OK. Colorado definition of enormous - just a tad bigger than our dog run for our daschund in OK. The basement gig is awesome! I will miss that. A/C is not required due to the mild temps, but coming from OK I need to sniff some free-on occasionally while being a mile closer to the sun. Asking price for this beauty...close to 300,000. Transplant our OK home & property here...$750,000 is what the realtor told us. Land is not an option in most affordable places here. It is reserved for bears, mountain lions, big horn sheep, buffalo, prarie rattlers, and mule deer. Some of the most beautiful animals. The deer come straight off some Santa movie and make our little white tails look like woosies.
8. If you were stranded in CO what one thing would you need to survive? LOTION!Not just Jergen's cherry almond, but some sort of body butter. Thick and hearty. The fresh mtn. air is wonderful to breath, but rough on the skin.
9. There is nothing like waking up and looking out your upstairs window to see the neighbor dressing right in front of you. NO, joking...to see Pike's Peak. This really is a scenicly wonderful place to live. The foothills of the Rockies, if you're ever lost you have 3 helpful hints. When you see the front range you are headed West. When you see Pike's Peak you are headed South to Colorado Springs, and when you see traffic backed up you are headed straight North into downtown Denver.
10. FITNESS. The altitude about killed us when we first got here. Just climbing up 3 stairs it was like all of the sudden I needed to be inhaler dependant. It only took a few days to conquer the steps, but almost 6 mo. to really get into a habit of working out every day. We decided when we moved that we were going to change our fitness lifestyle. My husband is diabetic and takes a handful of pills daily. His biggest problem is his sugar going high. He has sort of a double whammy of family history bad cholesterol and family history diabetes. He has trimmed down from a 52 to 46 waist since December. We both enjoy the gym. It is almost a craving now. If we could just lose the sweet cravings we would be fine. Yes, just because someone tells you that you can't have sweets doesn't mean you all the sudden don't like them. Darn! We want our kids to know that we think our health is important. We want them to grow up active and making good choices. That came easy here. For one, we really knew nobody to keep us overly busy doing other things. So our goal is to keep moving when we get back HOME! I am going to sign up for a fitness program (free!) that sponsors you with one run/fun run or walk per month. Of course the free t-shirt is encouraging, but I have recently been improving my very slow time of running a mile. I am not a small person and would have never thought I could do this. I don't want to lose my enthusiasm, so I have been setting a few goals for myself along the way. My husband feels good, looks as handsome as ever, and can't wait to work in our new yard in OK.

We will never feel more blessed. My husband and I had fought coming here for about a year and a half before deciding that if we didn't take this chance it may eat away at us the rest of our lives. We have learned so much, but mostly just how big God is. He has provided us basically a round trip ticket to a great job. My husband has always struggled with his career, and he came home one night here and just said that we needed to go back to OK. I about passed out. Our kids were definatly struggling, but I didn't realize how unhappy he was. When he told his boss that I was indeed taking my job back in OK, and that he would fulfill his obligation for his year here it was very hard. We were for some reason not at all concerned. We had feelers out already for jobs in OK, and he felt confident that he would find something by January. The worst part was that he would have to stay through December and we would already be in OK. God is so good! The boss told him that they would work something out because he could not be their competition. Yea hubby!! Finally feeling validated for his hard work and knowing that it is not going unnoticed. Finally believing and trusting in God enough to just be upfront and bold with others. They are transferring him back to OK with the same pay. Hello God! No other way that all could have happened. Also, they have knocked down a wall at their only facility there to make him an office, they have given him a whole week off to move, and he starts there June 5th!!!!!! Praise the Lord! Grace like rain!!!!!!!!!!! Colorado will always have a special place in my heart.