Summer 2011 Update

It has been a great summer for the Redden family – filled with great times with family and friends, and it’s hard to believe that it’s  coming to a close. Here are some of the highlights of what we’ve been up to since our last update in May.

In June we decided to take a few days as a family to explore part of our beautiful state of Colorado. We started in one of our favorite places on earth – Crested Butte. This month Stephen and Kate celebrate nine years since they were married in a wildflower meadow on a beautiful afternoon in Crested Butte. It was fun to go back with our boys (this was Andrew’s first trip) and to share a place that has become so special to us. We continued our trip with a day in Ouray to soak in the hot springs and wrapped up with the trip with a ride on the Durango to Silverton railroad.

That long weekend trip was just getting us warmed up for the traveling still ahead in July and August. In late July we loaded up the whole family and flew to Raleigh, NC to visit Kate’s aunt Harriet and uncle Dick on our way to a week at Ocean Isle Beach, NC with Kate’s mom, aunt, uncle, sister, and nieces. It was a great week. The boys were so young the last time we were at the beach that this was a totally new experience for them – building sand castles, playing in the ocean, and raft riding the waves. After a week at the beach Stephen headed back home for a week while Kate stayed in NC to visit her grandmother in VA and spend some time at her aunt’s lake house with some extended family. The boys loved riding in the boat, swimming in the lake, and playing with cousins they hadn’t seen in years. The following week Stephen flew from Denver, and Kate and the boys left from Raleigh to converge on Nashville, TN for a few days with Stephen’s parents. Stephen’s dad is still recovering from a bacterial infection that he contracted in May that brought on arthritis-like symptoms and has significantly limited his mobility. Thankfully he is slowly but surely recovering, and we had a great few days visiting with them. Stephen’s brother Jason and his family came up for a couple days, and it was great to see them. Kate and the boys flew back to Denver late in the week, but Stephen tacked on a short trip down to Atlanta to see friends before flying home to Denver a few days later. Whew – what a whirlwind few weeks!

In between all the traveling we’ve had a great summer in Denver as well. The boys stayed busy with sports (both playing baseball and taking swimming lessons), local summer camps, and play dates with friends in the neighborhood. Both boys started school this week. Andrew began pre-kindergarten three days a week and Ethan started into first grade and is even riding the bus to school on his own this year. Mom and dad are going to have to get used to that one!

Kate continues to stay busy with her work at Ronald Blue and Company as the stock market keeps her clients (and all the rest of us) anxious about the economic future, but it is a great opportunity for her to minister to people to remind them that our security is in Jesus Christ not Dow Jones! Stephen had a busy summer at New Denver Church, teaching a short series on friendship and a July 4th weekend message about faith and politics, leading a class on marriage, and beginning to prepare for launching new small groups this fall.

As we look forward to the fall and a new season of life and ministry, we are so grateful for so many things. We are so excited to see God at work in our lives, in our family, in our church, and in our city, and we are humbled to be a part of his great plan. We hope this update finds you well and hope you will help us stay in touch by reaching out with a phone call or email when we come to mind. As always we are grateful for and covet your prayers for our family and our ministry here in Denver.

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