SUMMERTIME!

Steamboat has about four months of summer and we have been trying to take it all in because we absolutely love summers out here in Colorado. We have been tubing down the Yampa River and riding our bikes down the core trail every chance we get because you can't exactly do those kind of things during the nine month winters. Some are praying that winter will come soon, but us... we are praying that summer will last just a little bit longer. The temperature only reaches at the highest 90 degrees which makes it very cool and calm during the summer. Just recently we drove through the Rocky Mountain National Forest on our way to Estes Park and then back through to see Grand Lake for a friends birthday. I just have to say that there is so much beauty in Colorado with all the mountains, trees, open spaces, and clean air that while we are living here I just want to enjoy it all and praise God for it.

Along with getting out to enjoy summer, both Wess and I are working as much as we can. I am no longer working in the laundry department at One Steamboat Place Resort, but now working as a Barista at the Truffle Pig Market/Restaurant (www.trufflepigrestaurant.com) that is attached and managed by One Steamboat Place. They have made me "assistant manager" by giving me keys, a little more responsibility, and higher pay. I absolutely love the job and am so glad to be out of doing laundry for a living. I love that I can now see people, talk to them, and make them something delicious. Wess is currently working at Starbucks as a supervisor and still enjoys it. We have started attending a church, Anchor Way Baptist (www.anchorway.com), back in April because our friends, Danny and Jesse, were going. The church was without a head pastor and youth pastor which was a little different for Wess and I coming from Calvary Chapel where we have not been in that position. Though there is no pastor, there is speakers that come every Sunday who really teach the Word of God, but I feel that there is such a need to have a head pastor. In the mean time, Wess was teaching a men's bible study on Thursday mornings (thank you for your prayers, it has been fruitful) where some guys from Anchor Way attend. They asked Wess if he would be interested in teaching the Youth group and possibly being the Youth pasor at some point. We believe that this is what God wanted and so we went for it and Wess has been teaching Youth group since the end of June. We have really enjoyed serving in this capacity and hope to do more with the youth. We are praying that God would free up more time from work so that we can be more available. This last Sunday the church board mentioned that they have found someone from Oregon/Texas who they think is called to be the pastor of the church. Please keep this in your prayers that this guy and his family are truly called to be in Steamboat Springs and serve at Anchor Way. We are so happy to be going to a church, serving, and fellowshipping with a congregation. These people are awesome and we have really enjoyed getting to know some of the families. Wess has an interest in UFC (Ultimate Fighting) and found some other guys who really like it as well which is good because I'm not a huge fan. We are feeling more a part of the community and more like locals. I am attending Colorado Mountain College (www.coloradomountaincollege.com) to finish what I had started in California at Riverside Community College. I would like to receive an Associate in Arts and then move on from there to possibly study something more career oriented such as photography, computer graphics, or something along those lines. It is hard to go back to school, but it feels good to be finishing something that I had started back in 2003.

At the end of June, Wess and I found out that we were pregnant. On July 8th, we found out that I was having a miscarriage. It was hard, but at the same time not too bad considering we were only about 5 weeks along and hadn't had an ultrasound or heard a heartbeat yet. We had only known for a week and it had yet to be a realization that we were actually pregnant. We were expecting and know that if God wills we will be pregnant again. We are so excited to start expanding our family and can't wait to share it with you when that starts happening.

Keep us in your prayers,

Wess and Lauren Root
(teamroot.blogspot.com)