Kids DO give you grey hair. They DO!!

My little buster gave us a big scare (along with the doctors) for the last few days. He was admitted for 3 days at Childrens Hospital in Denver. (transferred by ambulance from Longmont ER) He had a really bad infection in his stomach under his belly button...he was pumped full of antibiotics to keep it from spreading into his blood stream and after a few back and forth conversations about surgery he stabilized and got much better fairly quickly so no surgery was needed, as of yet. He has a couple appointments over the next week and a half to make sure he's 100%. 

Things can change so fast. So fast. 

Weekend Getaway

Our weekend getaway was amazing. We stayed in town but got two full days and one night free from our little Olive and Boston. I feel so relaxed right now as I type these words. It's amazing what some good sleep and time lounging can do for you. 

Saturday and Sunday was filled with:

/a few sit down coffee breaks broken up between Starbucks and Peets Coffee

 

/a pair of Levis bought at Levis

/lunch at a great Italian restaurant called Pasta Jays on Pearl Street in Boulder

/some trading at Goldmine Vintage of vintage Tees for a fuschia colored Wayne Newton Tee with an awesome sparkling 

eagle, a great 80's ski vest, and an amazing red

80's jacket that will take your breath away and rad 80's dress for Tess. (i'll post some shots of these great

finds.

/caught a flick called "Quantum of Solace"- which was awesome. Been waiting

for it since Casino Royale.

/had dinner at Cantina Laredo...great Mexican food!

/actually went to church together as husband and wife for the first

time since Boston was born 9 weeks ago! So refreshing! Can't wait

until next Sunday.

/gave Tess a first round of highlights in her hair.

/chilled, chilled and more chilled.

I am thankful for these two days more than I ever thought I'd be.

My little Boston Tea Party

***Boston on the left. Picture of Olive when she was the same age on the right. ***

Shots with my Diana+ (i love the lighting on these)

Boston Elliot Renaud

September 17th 2008

8:44am

6 lbs. 11 oz.

Polaroids of Olive.

My nephew! awe

"Whoa, look at the cheeks!"

Wow, I found this in my email drafts from 2004

---This has just broadsided me. I had distinct direction, passion, energy, hope.....can't wait to be back there again, I AM ON MY  WAY:)

Im going to be getting a ring in the few weeks. ...right now me and Tess are deciding whether or not we're gonna get married in January or wait till next june. As of right now I think its gonna be in june('05) so it'll be an outdoor wedding in Colorado. Shes moving back there in a couple weeks and Im pretty sure she'll either comback for ten weeks in September so we can go through a Pre-marital-program-small-group-counseling thing or I'll move there and we'll find a church there that we'll be going to.

Its been all crazy how this has all worked out. it was all little steps of obedience and then God just runs with it and we're on for a ride. Its really been amazing. But right now we're trying to figure out what the best thing as far as timing.

My music is really getting awesome. Gods set a fire inside of me to play. I know He's gonna use it in awesome ways. So for this summer Im gonna be totally focused on writing music. He's brought some awesome people into my life that have inspired me and are willing to help me out with stuff.

Also Stupid Apple is turning out to be amazing. The visions that we thought were big are turning out so small compared to where I know God will bring it. Prayers are being answered in the craziest most amazing ways. So far this is the vision now:
-we're gonna have short films that will be available to youth groups and churches around the country.
-we're gonna have a web site that will pretty much be a place where kids (15-30) can read about anything relevant to life and faith.
-hopefully we will have a circulating bi-monthly magazine someday.
-we're going to carry on the skate ministry
-we're going to bring "Bite The Curb" ministries and also "Overflow Outreach" ministry to conferences around the U.S.
-Overflow Outreach is going to be an Orphanage type outreach that we will start in Africa and God willingly spread.

And the way things are happening is so crazy. the encouragment from people around us and the people who are willing to help. Crazy. People who have no clue about this are brought by God to help us with stuff. We've been praying recently about the legal stuff behind having a production company and also non-profit organizations. So this one random day at Starbucks, Im just working and this dude who is prbably late twenties maybe thirty who Ive talked to about my car comes up and asks me if I do the art work in the store, and I told him I did. Then he told me he just graduated and he's an attourney that specializes in businesses and copyrighting and hes willing to help us out with everything from my artwork, logos, my songs, our name...anything...all for free!! Its crazy. Came out of nowhere!! It started with my art work, then I told him I write music, then I told him about stupid apple!! And thats just one thing!! I met this other crazy awesome guy who just came out of film school in London, we've talked for weeks at work, (hes a customer) then I find out he's a Christian.

Anyways... All of this is years away...maybe 2 because of other priorities and also preperation that God has made evident. Its just going to snowball...if we're trustworthy with the small stuff, God will just keep adding!! One day we'll be getting youth skate ministries scattered around america evangelizing and decipling and sending these kids on mission trips to orphanages/schools/churches around the world all the while keeping Stupid Apple personal with our magazine and web site. Sounds nuts huh?!?! Its wierd though, I cant even imagine doing anything else with my life. Its so awesome!!

...in the desert prepare the way for the Lord, make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it... isaiah 40:3-5

Bouldering in RMNP

Olive Chillin on my crash pad

I'm an uncle!

My brother. My hero, just had a little boy. And I think his name is Oliver Frances Renaud. Amazing! 

So beautiful

My Tess

So, for those of you who don't know...me and my wife Tess are having our second child this fall. Sometime around October 4th. We're pretty excited. We were a little freaked out at first since Olive will only be a year and a few months old at that time. But hey! Life is crazy, might as well add to the craziness!

This blog is to let everyone know how much I love Tess. We're best friends. She is amazing with Olive, definitely the best mom in the world. She not only keeps our little one safe, healthy and happy all day long but she is also putting in 20 hours a week at the 'Bucks to help with bills and health insurance. Most of those who read this blog know how much me and Bryce loathed working at the place. (you probably know Bryce, if not, there is a link to his blog to your right) I finally got out and so did Bryce. But Bryce went back, and somehow I will probably find myself behind that counter again too. Anyways...random tangent.

Tess. She is beautiful and has led me to experience things I always hoped for. Love, compassion, trust, forgiveness, life, fragility, strength. Her heart is for God. Her heart is for her family. Her heart is for me and mine for her. She encourages me in ways that nobody else can. 

Thank you my Tess:)

My little China Doll

Here are a couple of recent pictures of my Olive. She's getting so big. Her latest discoveries and words are:

"Uh-Oh" or "Uh-Ohhh-Ohhh-Oh..."

"Clock" or sometimes "Ca-ca."

She can crawl like a banshee. 

Pull herself up to standing position and pull things down on her little head.

She'll clap her tiny hands if you tell her to. Cute. 

Loose Binding.

Just to clear things up, I don't want to end my life. I'm not in the middle of the road waiting to get hit by a car or anything. I just don't want to get my shoes muddy by standing on the side of the road. There are no sidewalks here and the road is slightly higher in the middle then on the sides.

I have picked a good spot to stand. I feel like I am part of a movie scene where the main character has just lost something very precious to him and has found a place of solace, as wierd as the middle of a countryside road may seem, it is perfect.

Somehow the green from the trees adhear to the air. It must be from the sun finding holes in the clouds. There is a beautiful glow. I look down. Cracked asphault beneath my feet slippery from the rain. My eyes follow the solid yellow lines from here to there. Up ahead, probably fifty yards at most the road sweeps to the right. There are no cars here. My ears are comfortable and sensitive to how quiet my mind is. My hair is flat against my head, dripping water down my forehead. My eyes are still full from the clouds above this road, above my head, above these trees. I am looking through a tunnel. Branches bend in, weighed down with this life giving substance that reveals my pitiful position and lack of courage. My mind wants to race but stands as still as my body is.

I glance behind me, my shoulders twist and follow my eyes. My feet still planted. I thought I had heard a car coming my way. I am glad it wasn't. It must have been the wind pushing its way throught the leaves. I think a car would have been disturbing, the noise, it would have put me over the edge I am only steps away from. I just want to be in the midst of silence. I'm scared to even speak. I don't like being startled by sounds and I have been in this quiet place for quite some time now. At least an hour has passed, but I can't say for sure because I do not have a watch and the screen of my cell phone is cracked.

I am hoping I will hear something that I have not heard in a while and if I remember correctly it is a quiet sound.

I need direction and I want God to to give it to me, that is why I am here. I want to feel clean, washed, clear minded. Which I do in part just from this beautiful rain, funny how God works sometimes. I try to remember what it was like when we were speaking. Me and God. I try to recognize what went wrong, what got inbetween us. I just don't know anymore. Maybe that is what I am asking for. The eyes to see. To see what I have chosen in the past and why, what my choices are now and which I should choose.

I am sure I will know His voice again. I will wait until He tells me to move. Until then I know I need to be still.

Mawigde.

I bought a vase full of beautful flowers for my wife while I was on my lunch today. She loved them.

Somebody save the Honky-Tonk

I've needed some sort of change lately. I chopped off most of my hair, it was getting quite long. My usual emo/mullet is gone. I look somewhat clean cut besides the beard I am growing again. It's an anual thing, the beard. Anyways...what I am really writing about is music.

This need for change was met by some old school country music. My buddy Jed has been plugging away while tuned in to Merle Haggard and such. I am hooked. Pandora.com allows you set up a personal radio station. You just type in a band that you like and they will play that band along with lots of other bands with that sort of style. It's like the ultimate un-ending mix-tape.

If you'd like some good music that will get your foot-a-tappin or tears a-rollin...then build a station with Patsy Cline and Willie Nelson. There is nothing like the soothing sounds of a smooth voice, steel guitar, mandolin, and lyrics full of truth, pain, and love. The original.