August left for college today. . .

August- age 2, 1992

"We can't be everywhere. But God can. We can't see everything. But God can. We can't know everything, but God can. No matter what age our children are, releasing them into God's hands is a sign of our faith and trust in Him and is the first step toward making a difference in their lives. Prayer for our children begins there."-Stormie Omartian

Well, yesterday was another one of those "release" days. . .August, our youngest child, left for college . . .

Everyone else was gone from the house and it got really, really quiet. . really really quick. . . After seeing him off, I stood in the kitchen for a while and keep repeating to myself "Okay God, this is what we have raised them to do, isn't it?". . . .I think I saw God smiling. . .For the first time in 18 years, public school started without a Huckabee child starting with it. . . .although we do not have an "empty nest" yet, ( Brittany and Georgia are still living with us), I have not had to get a child up and going at 6:30am and out the door by 7:15 for the first time in a long, long time. . . .the routine has changed. . . and I know that deep down if I look inside myself, I know that that is a good thing. . .yes, I have had some long sighs, and I have been a little nostalgic lately. . .but I know this is what God intends for us to do with our children. . .love them, nurture them, train them in the way they should go, and then turn them loose to follow God's plan. . .and not ours. . .

It has been a wonderful long chapter in life. . .and I know that it is not completely over. . .we will still be needed to solve a crisis or two, and there will be lots of phone calls with all our children in the days ahead. . .but the day-to-day coaching phase of life with the kids is over. . . and all I can do is thank God for the wonderful years and boat load of memories we have to recall. . .

So my advice to all young moms out there. . .hug your children today, tell them about Jesus, live like Jesus. . .and know that when the day comes, and the last child walks out the door. . .you will survive. . .If I can, you can too! . .

August's Senior Night at the last Home football game- Fall 2008

Getting ready to walk out the door and drive off to Texas A&M University. . August 2009.

Engagement weekend. . .

"A magnificent marriage begins with not knowing one another but with knowing God." - -Gary and Betsy Ricucci

On August 6th, Georgia and her boyfriend, Jordan Monroe announced their engagement to us. . .it has been somewhat of a whirlwind courtship this summer, but all of us have had a peace in watching this relationship grow. . Jordan was stationed at Goodfellow Airforce Base and began attending a Bible study for college students and young adults in our home. . .he and Georgia began dating in May and it was such a joy to watch the two of them grow into one. . .

We have prayed for years and years that our children would fall in love with Godly mates. . knowing that a Christian foundation in a marriage is essential to go the distance in life together and we are so thankful that that has happened with Austin and his beautiful wife Brittany and now for Georgia and Jordan. . .Jordan has a strong relationship with the Lord and it is easy for us to release Georgia to him. . .

Their first gift from the Monroe Family. . .

What a great gift from Jordan's parents. . .

Opening cards and gifts from his brothers in California. . .

We hosted an engagement party for them on August 8th.

Jordan and Georgia with Jim and Kim Day and Jordan's dad Mark Monroe.

Cindi Dauphin with Kim, Emmit and Sam Spooner. ..

Dan and Linda Wilson with Todd. . .Dan and Linda have invested much love into Georgia's life. .

Esther Gibson with Jordan's mom, Cyndi. . .

The wedding is set for June 26th, 2010. .

Georgia's and Keli's trip to China. .

On July 19-29th, Georgia and Keli Criner left for Tokyo and China for a 10 day trip. . Dr. Dan and Linda Wilson were not able to go with the girls as planned, due to a family emergency, so Georgia and Keli went by themselves. . . which was a step of Faith for all of us. . . The girls saw many of the sights of Beijing, walked on the Great Wall, and played with children in an orphanage for a couple of days. . .it was a great experience in being "flexible" and adjusting when your agenda doesn't always turn out as planned. . . Quite the Adventure. . .here are a few pics: Georgia and Keli inside the "Bird's Nest" site of the 2008 Olympic track and field events.

Enjoying a Popsicle on Tianeman (sp?) Square. . where Chairman Mao's body lays in state. .

The famous Huckabee pose on the Great Wall of China.

One of the cuties at the orphanage. . .

Painting fingernails with all the girls. . .

Lots of Hugs and smiles!

Keli making bracelets with the girls. . .

Georgia has many, many more pics but this is just a little glimpse into her trip. . .memories for a lifetime. . .

Georgia and Jordan's trip to CA

Georgia and Jordan (Georgia's boyfriend) flew to CA during the second week of July so that she could meet his family and see the sights of Californa. . .specifically San Diego and Corona- Jordan's hometown. Jordan is deploying to Iraq in mid August, so he wanted her to visit his folks before he leaves for 5-7 months.
Taking in an Angels baseball game on Sunday afternoon.. .

Georgia and Jordan with his parents, Mark and Cyndi Monroe . .

The whole family for Sunday brunch... Jordan has 3 brothers- Daniel (26) who is married to Erin, Andrew (22) with his girlfriend Ashley, and Isaac (17), with Mark and Cyndi .

Georgia and Cyndi, Jordan's mom...

Georgia, Jordan and Cyndi drove to San Diego to spend the day at Jordan's grandparents beach house. . .here is one of the views from their back yard. .

Strolling on the beach. .

The view from his grandparents' house. .

Enjoying the Pacific ocean. .

Jordan's famly had Thanksgiving dinner for him, since he will be deployed during that holiday..


They were also able to visit Georgia's Great-Aunt Kay Bruce, who lives in Anaheim Hills CA. . .all in all, they had a great trip and made lots of memories. . .

July 4th weekend in CO

We possibly had one of the most fun filled 4th of July weekends in Colorado this year ever. . .because we had a couple of folks with us who had never been to the mountains of CO, we did some extra things to give them a fun memory. . With us this year in Gunnison were Georgia, (our daughter), Jordan Monroe (Georgia's boyfriend), Brittany (Austin's wife) and Breanna Irvin (August's friend who has lived with us this summer while working for Dr. Dale Rollins, the A&M Research Center's wildlife biologist). . .Jordan and Breanna had not had the CO mountains experience, so we crammed alot of activity into the 3 days they were with us. . .hiking, biking, kayaking, 4th of July parades, hot air balloon lift off and fireworks.

Here are a few pics from the weekend. . .

This is Brittany kayaking on Blue Mesa Lake near Gunnison. . .

Here is Georgia climbing up Mt. Crested Butte. . it was a hard scramble the last few hundred yards. .The rest of the crew is above her. . .

On the morning of the 4th of July, we got up early to see 18 hot air balloons lift off from the park in Gunnison. . .it was beautiful. . .

It was a perfect morning. . . I've never seen the balloons hang so long in the air like that. .

The little town of Crested Butte swells to about 4-5 times its normal size for it's 4th of July parade. . .it has a lot of "flavor" to it and is pretty entertaining. . .it's a small town celebration at its finest!

Todd, Jordan and a friend from Gunnison, Chase Davis did a 20 mile bike ride down Taylor Canyon near Almont. .

Georgia and Jordan heading down the Gunnison River for a kayaking adventure. . .

Todd and Breanna launching off for a ride down the Gunnison River. . .

We had such a great weekend with all the guests and loved being together. . .the only thing that would have made this weekend perfect was if Austin and August could have been with us. . .but maybe next year! :)

Forever Changed. . . .

Below is a statement from a woman who recently returned from the same area of Ghana that Georgia, Brittany and I visited in May. . . .her words express exactly how I felt after returning from that part of the world. . . After our visit there, I am and forever will be. .. changed. .

"As I soaked in a warm bath last night and took another nice hot shower this morning I could not help but remember the thousands of women in Ghana who will never know what it is like to soak in a warm bath or take a shower. I still have the pictures in my mind of seeing them carry large heavy pots to their village's only water source, filling them with water, and then placing the heavy pots on their heads to carry back to their hut to use for cooking and drinking.

As I turned on my washing machine this morning to do laundry the picture came to mind of the people we saw washing clothes in a muddy water hole.

As I cooked breakfast in my beautiful kitchen with every appliance necessary, I could not help but remember the women of Wynamba as they cooked over an open fire in the center of their hut's compound and how much more heat the fire added to their already scorching homes.

As I sit here in my nice air conditioned home, I remember sitting in the center of a compound of huts as the woman said to us, "I never thought you would want to come and sit in my home and talk to me."

Yes, God has blessed us beyond measure. If not for His grace you and I would not have what we do. Now that I have seen people living in circumstances most of us don't even want to acknowledge existing, I understand that God has blessed us so that we can share. We must share. . . ."

-written by Beverly