He made it!

After around 18 hours of traveling Josh made it to Marfa, TX! We are all zonked so this will be short. Both flights (Denver to Dallas, then Dallas to Midland/Odessa) went well. The second flight wasn't very full, so Josh had some extra room which is always nice. Then he waited for the bus for a few hours. The bus ride to Marfa went well and his luggage is with him! There were only four people on the bus, all BP so Josh got to chat with them a little (one guy that will be in Sanderson, one guy that will be in Persidio (sp?) and one gal but we don't know where she'll be). We are praising the Lord for a good day! Tomorrow starts the fun!

Shelby and I had a good day as well. She is sleeping so I am off to bed. More later...

She did it!

Shelby laughed today!!! It was very sweet and I am so glad Josh was here to hear it! I was walking around the room with Shelby cradled in my arms just chatting and I kissed her neck and she laughed! It was so precious. We did this several times and she laughed each time. Later in the day she was laying on the ottoman and I kissed her belly and she laughed again. Oh what fun!

And we are going to REALLY miss daddy!!! He leaves in five days. :( I keep praying that these days go by slow and that we enjoy every minute of it. There is a lot to do, but we are having fun together. We are looking forward to Friday evening ~ hope you all can make it! Thanks for your prayers!

Farewell Party for Josh

Josh will be leaving next Sunday and he will be in training through January in New Mexico.

Please join us at the Griffin’s house (615 Collins Street, Eaton) for a come & go farewell party Friday evening starting at 6:00 pm. We hope to see you all there!

If you would like to send him notes of encouragement here is how you can contact him during his training in NM:

BPA (T) - Joshua R. Hamilton
U.S. BORDER PATROL ACADEMY
Session Number: BP ACAD Class #907
1300 W. Richey Avenue
Artesia, NM 88210

Or you can always send him an e-mail: hamfam03@gmail.com. And you can check out this blog for family updates: http://hamfam03.blogspot.com/.

Where is the world is Sanderson, TX?

Ok, so here is what we have found:

1. From Eaton, CO to Sanderson, TX: 15 hours, 2 minutes

2. From Chaska, MN to Sanderson, TX: 21 hours, 59 minutes

3. From Dallas, TX to Sanderson, TX: 8 hours, 14 minutes

4. From Gloucester, MA to Sanderson, TX: Google says "about 1 day 12 hours"

5. From Gothenburg, NE to Sanderson, TX: 16 hours, 58 minutes

6. From South Padre Island, TX to Sanderson, TX: 10 hours, 16 minutes

7. From Los Alamos, NM to Sanderson, TX: 10 hours, 2 minutes

8. From Helena, MT to Sanderson, TX: 1 day 1 hour

...Kim and Adam are the lucky winners at 8 hours and 14 minutes!

San Antonio, TX appears to be the closest big city and it is 5 hours, 16 minutes away. The nearest airport you can fly into seems to be Midland, TX - Odessa Regional Airport (MAF) and is 3 hours, 27 minutes away. Check out this site: http://www.sandersontx.org/relocate.html.

My how our lives will change!

Many great things...God is SO GOOD!

Yesterday was a good day!!

1. Josh got a job offer from the Border Patrol!!!

2. Our house is on the market!

3. Shelby slept all night!!!

Ok, here are the details:

Joe from the Border Patrol called yesterday and offered Josh a job in Sanderson, TX, the Cactus Capital of Texas (check out Google Maps for the location). And he accepted! Yes, it appears to be in the middle of no where, but we prefer that to a big city! In checking it out, the 2000 census shows a population of 861 people (Wikipedia). The good things are that there is a high deer population so the hunting is good, it is the Eastern gateway to the Big Bend Wilderness so there are places to "shop" even though it is a small town, it appears to be a cheap place to live, and there are lots of churches to choose from! Although it is a small town they do have a few restaurants. Check it out: http://www.sandersontx.org/ and http://www.sandersonchamberofcommerce.info/.

The crazy part of this is that Josh will have to leave next weekend! He has to report to orientation 8/31/09! Artesia (circled in red and in NM) is where Josh will be for training from 9/3/09 to 1/23/10. Shelby and I will be making trips from CO to NM on weekends - we can't go without seeing Daddy for 4 months! It looks like about a 10 hour drive from Greeley to Artesia. We may stop over in Los Alamos to split the trip up...we'll see!

Lori Lindholm with Re/Max is our real estate agent and our house is on the market. Her photographer did a good job on a virtual tour - check it out: http://www.buildmytour.net/tour.php?id=61FC. We are praying that our condo will sell within the next two weeks. Once it sells Shelby and I will move in with my parents in Eaton until we find a place to live in Sanderson.

Shelby went to sleep last night at 6:30 pm (while we were at dinner). When we got home at 9:00 pm we woke her up to feed her and she went right back to sleep. She woke up this morning at 5:45 am. Needless to say Josh and I got a great night of sleep!

Thank you, Lord, for so many good things!!!

Shelby's 2 months old!

Shelby is 2 months old today! It is hard to believe it - time has just been flying by. She is such a sweet girl! She has started smiling at us and cooing, what fun! She weighs 13 lbs 4 oz which puts her in the 97%'ile for weight. She is 23.5 inches which puts her in the 80%'ile for height. She is a big girl and oh so sweet!

Shelby has been to several parties - even at her young age. Just last night we helped Doug Freemyer celebrate his 50th birthday! Lianne threw a great party at Shelly's house. It was so great to see ALL of the Freemyers (minus Hugues, Jodi's husband). We love you guys!

Thanks, Donetta, for the great outfit - Shelby looks so cute and precious in it!

We missed you daddy!

Josh enjoyed a fun weekend with the guys at the Father/Son Campout up in the mountains of Colorado. Isaac was able to come out to go on the camping trip as well! And Adam and Nathan Bonus came, too. What fun! Chuck Stecker was the guest speaker and the guys said it was wonderful! Check out Chuck's blog entry. Also, check out Craig's sermon.

Top: Wayne, Isaac, Josh, Adam

Bottom: Gregg, Russel, Nathan

Grandma hung out with Shelby and I a little bit each day which was very nice. Here is Shelby smiling ~ she loves being talked to!

Shelby and I were so glad to have Daddy home on Sunday afternoon. Monday we got to hang out with Isaac before he flew back to MN Monday evening.