Trying to get stuff straight! I am sorry if you've gotten multiple update e-mails. I'll try to get get better at figuring this all out!
Aletha
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Sept/Oct 2011 Update
Time has, once again, flown by. I think our time here at seminary has become somewhat routine, so I wasn't sure what might be interesting for others to read about! However, there have been some interesting moments.
September seemed to be the month of bears. Yes, bears; black bears to be precise! The drought in this area brought them out in vast numbers all over the county. Their favorite foods did not grow in enough quantity to appease them, so down the mountains they came to hunt for food. Unfortunately for them, this is an area where most families hunt for their winter food stockpile. One day, a little black bear was spotted near the seminary lodge, then the next day we hear a bear broke into one of the seminary family's garage, the Wilkes (while they were away for the weekend), and helped themselves to an abundant supply of food within their freezer. Another seminary family, Stuart and Jaime Stopoulos, who had agreed to feed the cats while they were gone, had a huge mess to clean up. The very next night the Wilkes' garage was once again entered by a bear, presumably the same one, by fitting through a window. The freezer contents were finished off at this point. The third night, the bear tried the garage AGAIN, only the family was home and scared him off, but the bear nearly busted the window this time. The same night, a bear found its way onto OUR back deck to check out our freezer. Luckily it was locked, and I hear him. I woke up, looked out the window and saw him on his hind legs trying to open the freezer door. He knocked it over, and having just returned from a major shopping trip the day before, opened the window and hollered some strange sounding scream and off he scampered. Tim never did see the bear that night, it all happened so quickly. I don't think I've had that big of an adrenaline rush in quite a while! Our little timid dog went outside with us, after we were sure he was gone, barked profusely while we lifted the freezer into its upright position. We had a terrible time going back to sleep, but at least the kids slept through the whole thing. Next day, Tim secured the freezer to the wall. And yes, another bear came the next night. It was smaller and I was awake for him, so he didn't get a chance to do any damage before I scared him off. About two nights later (my memory is getting foggy here about how many nights later), another bear came to our deck. This one was huge compared to the other two and had tags on both ears. Our little dog heard him also, and barked from the safety of the other side of the door separating them. The bear stopped, thought about what he wanted to do, then slowly lumbered away. Tim finally got to see this bear, but only his backside. The tag on each ear meant he had been caught and re-located twice. If the Game Warden had caught him a third time, they have a rule: three times and your shot. Because of the many, many bears coming off the mountains, they temporarily reduced that to twice and they are shot. About a week later, a hunter with a bear license shot one of the bears. And maybe a week after that, a second bear was shot -- this one looked like the first visitor to our deck. We've had no more late night visitors since then, so they must have moved on. That big one never did get caught, as far as I know. We actually got to try some of the bear meat at a Fellowship Meal (potluck, held every Tuesday evening here at the seminary), and I could not distinguish its taste from beef. That surprised me. Anyway, we are glad of fewer nightly interruptions!
My parents came for a visit Labor Day weekend and brought two of my nieces with them. Breana knew about one of them, but screamed with delight when she spotted the second one in the car. We had a wonderful, though far too short, visit. It was fun to show them around the seminary and Westcliffe. Hopefully, we'll get to do more sightseeing with them next visit.
One of the seminary wives, Jaime Stopoulos, is a certified exercise physiologist and has trained Olympic athletes. She was herself an Olympian until a bicycle accident that required surgery on her shoulder. She has been doing "PE" for the home school children up here. I put it in italics, because usually PE is "fun" but this is only fun if you want to get in shape! Ha! I have been doing it with the kids and I am always very tired when done. We do the class every Tuesday and Thursday, and boy are we happy for the weekend breaks! However, I am please to announce that just this week I ran a whole mile without stopping!!! Mind you, I have not ran an entire mile, on purpose, all at one time, since 12th grade -- and only because my volleyball coach made me! I was quite pleased with my progress! Jayme, our 17 year old son, lapped me three times and finished quite a bit earlier than I did (it took 20 laps on the inside track). Breana would have done the same, but someone stepped on her toe and broke it (we think). She is getting better, though she will not be able to do everything the others do for awhile.
Fall showed up in beautiful colors here in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains! The mountain had a lot of yellow Aspens showing up. It didn't last long, however, until we got our first snow! Luckily, the snow did not last long and many of the Aspens still have their leaves. We've been having below freezing nights, but 60's during the day. It is just stunningly beautiful.
Our schedule has been pretty full. Tim has classes 2-4 hours a day, depending on the day, followed by several hours of studying usually going into the night. He recently gave his first teaching presentation here (done in the classroom, use the whiteboard, handouts), and got very good reviews and comments. One of the professors even felt he had to affirm Tim's gift of teaching, surprised by how well he did for his first presentation. I was able to be present (usually it is my laundry day), and overall Tim was very encouraged. He gives his first Chapel sermon in three weeks; Jayme is going to play hymns for him (first time). Jayme is taking an AP Music Theory class at the local high school to supplement his home schooling courses, and really enjoys it. I will not be surprised if he later pursues music in college. This is his senior year, and we are very proud of him and all he has accomplished and become. Breana is in 6th grade and doing very well in her home school studies. She is also seems to have "turned a corner" in her piano playing, as it is becoming much easier for her. Yeah! She is also becoming quite proficient in the kitchen, helping me immensely. David is learning also, though it is not a lot of academic things (though we do some). He is such an outdoors boy! Tim and I were trying to teach him how to throw and he's gotten very good! He has fun riding the neighbor's bike down the hills, but still has to walk them back up (maybe PE classes will help in this area of needed strength). He is quite good at running through the forest without falling now, which is quite an improvement and means far fewer bandages! Monday nights we have Women's Study, Tuesday is the Fellowship Meal (potluck), Wednesday is Bright Lights for Breana, Friday nights have turned out to be date nights for Tim and I, and Saturday nights are usually movie night, game night, or hospitality night for us.
Our plans are to return to Nebraska after classes finish up on December 16th. We will be in Grand Island a week before leaving for California to visit Tim's parents for two weeks. We still do not know where we will live during our stay through May 2012, but we are not worried nor pursuing anything yet. Come November, I will be diligently searching for suitable housing and rent cost. Your prayers concerning this search are certainly welcomed! Our omniscient God knows where we will stay, so in His timing He will let us know also! Thank you to those who have been in prayer for us during this adventure we are on. We also want to thank our church, Grace Covenant Church, for their prayers and financial support. We all look forward to reuniting with our family and friends soon.
Blessings!
The Salcedo Family,
Tim, Aletha, Jayme, Breana and David
September seemed to be the month of bears. Yes, bears; black bears to be precise! The drought in this area brought them out in vast numbers all over the county. Their favorite foods did not grow in enough quantity to appease them, so down the mountains they came to hunt for food. Unfortunately for them, this is an area where most families hunt for their winter food stockpile. One day, a little black bear was spotted near the seminary lodge, then the next day we hear a bear broke into one of the seminary family's garage, the Wilkes (while they were away for the weekend), and helped themselves to an abundant supply of food within their freezer. Another seminary family, Stuart and Jaime Stopoulos, who had agreed to feed the cats while they were gone, had a huge mess to clean up. The very next night the Wilkes' garage was once again entered by a bear, presumably the same one, by fitting through a window. The freezer contents were finished off at this point. The third night, the bear tried the garage AGAIN, only the family was home and scared him off, but the bear nearly busted the window this time. The same night, a bear found its way onto OUR back deck to check out our freezer. Luckily it was locked, and I hear him. I woke up, looked out the window and saw him on his hind legs trying to open the freezer door. He knocked it over, and having just returned from a major shopping trip the day before, opened the window and hollered some strange sounding scream and off he scampered. Tim never did see the bear that night, it all happened so quickly. I don't think I've had that big of an adrenaline rush in quite a while! Our little timid dog went outside with us, after we were sure he was gone, barked profusely while we lifted the freezer into its upright position. We had a terrible time going back to sleep, but at least the kids slept through the whole thing. Next day, Tim secured the freezer to the wall. And yes, another bear came the next night. It was smaller and I was awake for him, so he didn't get a chance to do any damage before I scared him off. About two nights later (my memory is getting foggy here about how many nights later), another bear came to our deck. This one was huge compared to the other two and had tags on both ears. Our little dog heard him also, and barked from the safety of the other side of the door separating them. The bear stopped, thought about what he wanted to do, then slowly lumbered away. Tim finally got to see this bear, but only his backside. The tag on each ear meant he had been caught and re-located twice. If the Game Warden had caught him a third time, they have a rule: three times and your shot. Because of the many, many bears coming off the mountains, they temporarily reduced that to twice and they are shot. About a week later, a hunter with a bear license shot one of the bears. And maybe a week after that, a second bear was shot -- this one looked like the first visitor to our deck. We've had no more late night visitors since then, so they must have moved on. That big one never did get caught, as far as I know. We actually got to try some of the bear meat at a Fellowship Meal (potluck, held every Tuesday evening here at the seminary), and I could not distinguish its taste from beef. That surprised me. Anyway, we are glad of fewer nightly interruptions!
My parents came for a visit Labor Day weekend and brought two of my nieces with them. Breana knew about one of them, but screamed with delight when she spotted the second one in the car. We had a wonderful, though far too short, visit. It was fun to show them around the seminary and Westcliffe. Hopefully, we'll get to do more sightseeing with them next visit.
One of the seminary wives, Jaime Stopoulos, is a certified exercise physiologist and has trained Olympic athletes. She was herself an Olympian until a bicycle accident that required surgery on her shoulder. She has been doing "PE" for the home school children up here. I put it in italics, because usually PE is "fun" but this is only fun if you want to get in shape! Ha! I have been doing it with the kids and I am always very tired when done. We do the class every Tuesday and Thursday, and boy are we happy for the weekend breaks! However, I am please to announce that just this week I ran a whole mile without stopping!!! Mind you, I have not ran an entire mile, on purpose, all at one time, since 12th grade -- and only because my volleyball coach made me! I was quite pleased with my progress! Jayme, our 17 year old son, lapped me three times and finished quite a bit earlier than I did (it took 20 laps on the inside track). Breana would have done the same, but someone stepped on her toe and broke it (we think). She is getting better, though she will not be able to do everything the others do for awhile.
Fall showed up in beautiful colors here in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains! The mountain had a lot of yellow Aspens showing up. It didn't last long, however, until we got our first snow! Luckily, the snow did not last long and many of the Aspens still have their leaves. We've been having below freezing nights, but 60's during the day. It is just stunningly beautiful.
Our schedule has been pretty full. Tim has classes 2-4 hours a day, depending on the day, followed by several hours of studying usually going into the night. He recently gave his first teaching presentation here (done in the classroom, use the whiteboard, handouts), and got very good reviews and comments. One of the professors even felt he had to affirm Tim's gift of teaching, surprised by how well he did for his first presentation. I was able to be present (usually it is my laundry day), and overall Tim was very encouraged. He gives his first Chapel sermon in three weeks; Jayme is going to play hymns for him (first time). Jayme is taking an AP Music Theory class at the local high school to supplement his home schooling courses, and really enjoys it. I will not be surprised if he later pursues music in college. This is his senior year, and we are very proud of him and all he has accomplished and become. Breana is in 6th grade and doing very well in her home school studies. She is also seems to have "turned a corner" in her piano playing, as it is becoming much easier for her. Yeah! She is also becoming quite proficient in the kitchen, helping me immensely. David is learning also, though it is not a lot of academic things (though we do some). He is such an outdoors boy! Tim and I were trying to teach him how to throw and he's gotten very good! He has fun riding the neighbor's bike down the hills, but still has to walk them back up (maybe PE classes will help in this area of needed strength). He is quite good at running through the forest without falling now, which is quite an improvement and means far fewer bandages! Monday nights we have Women's Study, Tuesday is the Fellowship Meal (potluck), Wednesday is Bright Lights for Breana, Friday nights have turned out to be date nights for Tim and I, and Saturday nights are usually movie night, game night, or hospitality night for us.
Our plans are to return to Nebraska after classes finish up on December 16th. We will be in Grand Island a week before leaving for California to visit Tim's parents for two weeks. We still do not know where we will live during our stay through May 2012, but we are not worried nor pursuing anything yet. Come November, I will be diligently searching for suitable housing and rent cost. Your prayers concerning this search are certainly welcomed! Our omniscient God knows where we will stay, so in His timing He will let us know also! Thank you to those who have been in prayer for us during this adventure we are on. We also want to thank our church, Grace Covenant Church, for their prayers and financial support. We all look forward to reuniting with our family and friends soon.
Blessings!
The Salcedo Family,
Tim, Aletha, Jayme, Breana and David
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