The Salkeld's 2009

The entire team I went with to Uganda.

Some of the many church leaders we trained in Kasese, Uganda.  Kasese is near the border of Congo.

3 families and 3 interpreters and I in Kasese, Uganda.

Julianna and I before our 2nd Father / Daughter Dinner Dance.

Justin celebrating his 9 birthday.

I took James on a business trip to Nashville.  He loved the guitars that grace the hallways of Nashville's airport.

James was in heaven while he wandered through the Gibson store in Nashville.

Pike's Peak standing above the fog-filled valley of Colorado Springs.  This is the view from our Master Bedroom.

James and Justin with their friend David Bacon.

Justin's Little League team took 2nd place!

JoLayne's 7th Birthday party was very well attended.

Julianna at camp with her friends Summer and Camille.

JoLayne ready to compete in the Firefighter's Challenge at the United States Air Force Academy.

Justin competing in the Firefighter's Challenge.

Julianna holding a tarantula at the Butterfly Pavilion in Denver.

Julianna celebrating her 11th birthday!

Justin (9), Julianna (11), James (13 now 14) and JoLayne (7) in front of our house this summer.

The kids at Rampart Range Reservoir at the beginning of an eventful week.

This summer Lynette went on a short cruise with 3 of her friends from high school - Renee, Lynette, Catherine and Robyn.

The kids on a tour of Coors Field, home of the National League Wild Card Rockies!

Hard to believe that two months later this stadium was filled with fans and snow for the playoffs.

My second trip to the Peak (1st by car) and Lynette and the kids' 1st trip!

This sign is on the East side.  The view is, of course, amazing!

The kids at Mueller State Park.

Lynette and I at Mueller State Park.

Justin stealing home during Fall Ball.

James took his friend Amber to her homecoming dance.

We got to attend the "Pinning On" ceremony of our friend, Lt. Col. Tim Tubergen.

James' 14th Birthday!  Can you believe it?

James and I converted this space into a radio studio!

James putting together a wing for the desk.  Couldn't have done it without him.

Halloween costumes.

The kids dipping their tootsies in the Atlantic prior at the beginning of our big vacation.

It was a breezy day at Cocoa Beach, as Julie Lovisone and Lynette can both attest.

 Lynette with the boys in our stateroom.

Our stateroom was on this ship!  The Freedom of the Seas.  It's right there!  See it?  This was taken while we were docked in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.

Justin, JoLayne and Julianna playing with our friend Andy Lovsione at the beach in St. Marteen, Netherlands Antilles.

James and I on a SeaDoo in St. Marteen, Netherlands Antilles.

Lynette playing with JoLayne and Justin on the beach in St. Marteen.

At the dock at St. Marteen.

Julianna tackling the FlowRider on Freedom of the Seas.

The FlowRider tackling me!

Here we are with our fantastic waiter, Rade!

With our friends the Lovisones on Formal Night on the cruise.

At our Sunday School class party.

Merry Christmas!

Who Do You Believe?

Today they are predicting snow for Colorado Springs!  Anywhere from 6 inches to 16 inches, depending on the "they" to whom you are listening!  16 inches, as you can probably imagine, is a lot of snow.  Enough that you plan your schedule around it.  Of course, if you plan your schedule around the 16 inch prediction and you only get 6, then you've got a credibility issue!  So it's important to be careful which "they" you decide to believe.

The same thing is true for every area of our life.  We decide on what to do, where to go and how to live based on the input of many people, but your choices are a reflection of who you believe.

So who do you believe today?

Win - Win

Do you want to grow the love in your marriage? You've all the great advice: communicate, don't be selfish, take care of each other, etc. Let me throw this one into the mix. When you both are working on not being selfish, this works a lot better: win - win. When you are facing a difficult situation, don't blame each other for where you are, but come up with a solution that solves the problem and allows both of you to walk away with your hearts intact! Too often, one or the other is crushed in the process and that is not good for anyone!

Austin, TX

I just spent three days in Austin, TX. There were many things I enjoyed there, but first and foremost were the friendly people I met there. The guy on the airplane. The fine folks at the rental car counter. The young people responsible for getting the car and getting me out of the airport. The lady at the hotel. Every person at every restaurant.

Then there was the beautiful little town of Dripping Springs. Yep. Dripping Springs. A beautiful, small town where Spanish Oaks grow in abundance. Like something straight out of your imagination.

Had a great time in Texas and was especially proud of my oldest, who put in long hours making sure we got the job done in the time allowed! Thank you James!

Friends

It's not the importance of the people that you have over to your house, it's how much you enjoy them being there. Tonight we had a couple from church over to the house. They are a blast and are so very, very funny. We were sharing with each other places we had lived and how we got to where we are now. Come to find out, he's a partner of an growing international business! And what was great was knowing that we were having a good time before we knew what he did! That's cool!

It's Rocktober Again

It's been a year and no one's complaining...hmmm. Regardless, it is Rocktober 1st and what better day than today for the Colorado Rockies to clinch their 3rd trip to the post season? I recall years ago being one of a cadre of Rockies supporters calling for the head of GM Dan O'Dowd. The Rockies stunk and their players seemed to be just awful. Suddenly, the Rockies have the deepest talent pool in MLB! And on the cheap, too! Todd Helton has a deservedly big contract. Troy Tulowitski has a deservedly long contract (although we wondered after last season). But at least 3 of their everyday starters are making less than a million dollars a year! That is amazing. The teams total salary is 75.2 million dollars. The other playoff contenders look like this: Dodgers ($100.4 million), Cardinals ($88.5 million), Phillies ($113 million), Yankees ($201.4 million), Red Sox ($122.6), Tigers ($115) and Angels (113.7). And I definitely don't want to overlook the incredible job that Jim Tracy has done managing the Rockies. The Rox were a horrible team the first 6 weeks of the season and destined for 100 losses. O'Dowd fires his friend and manager, Clint Hurdle, and makes Jim Tracy the interim manager. And I don't think any other team has won as many games as the Rockies since mid-May. So here's to a wonderful October!