A testimony of God’s faithfulness-Our skiing trip to Colorado

Couple of weeks back,  we took a 10 day vacation to go for a skiing trip to Colorado. Ever since we moved to Houston from Pennsylvania, our oldest kids were complaining about not having snow, so we decided that this year we will choose a snow-filled vacation spot; and to make it even more exciting, to go skiiing! We had a very blessed time, as we were able to see the hand of God each step of the way, from start to finish! We had booked the house to stay in, back in December. Even the location of the state and the exact house we chose were all in God’s plan, not to mention the exactly perfect weather we experienced.

I couldn’t hold back on writing out all the nitty gritty details of things we experienced from this trip, as a testimony of God’s faithful love and His Divine Providence. 

Usually we go for vacation, about 2-4 times per year, mostly always a long trip or 2 included. Since the pandemic, this was only our second stay-over vacation trip, the other one being local, only 5 hours from home. Though we are a homeschooling family, we had to choose spring-break, as our older 2 take classes at the community college. So I guess we can’t boast anymore of the flexibility to travel any time of the year, which is a major perk of homeschooling.😌 For stay-over vacations, we almost always book houses through Airbnb or other similar sites.Once my husband was able to secure his vacation days, he started looking through Airbnb for available houses, pretty much throughout the whole state of Colorado. He found the most economical one at that time, that suits our family size, in Southwest Colorado, about 18 hours driving time; and so went ahead and booked it. 

Soon as we booked, we started planning for the trip, looking up deals for all the things we will need on this trip, including winter clothes, ski gear and snow equipment. God in His mercy provided us with very good deals from different stores, and we were able to greatly take advantage of winter clearance items, and we got all that we needed, for a fraction of the price it would have been otherwise. We could really feel that God was prompting us to look up things at the exact moments and exact stores, and we surely found our bargains!

Had we ended up booking in Denver or Colorado Springs, which have more famous skiing spots, we would have had to even cancel our trip as there was a snowstorm that was brewing up the weekend we left, dumping about 18inches snow in those areas. When we started out, we were skeptical that the storm might cross our path, but we went on with the trust that God will make a way, as most certainly we were sure that this trip was in God’s plan.  With God’s inspiration, we were able to choose a route to the west of the storm, and we were not affected by it; though we did have enough  snow showers on the way, giving us a very beautiful scenic drive, reminding us of our good old days back in Pennsylvania! It was just perfect!

Though we were happy that we didn’t get stranded in the snow storm, we didn’t see much accumulated snow till about 15 miles from our final destination, when we started suspecting it was not probably the best time to have made the vacation. But within 15 miles of our destination, there were heaps and heaps of snow, making everyone so excited! And upon entering the 40 acre property that we rented, we immediately sensed we entered into a winter wonderland, as also it was snowing that time! Kids had a real blast! So, if we had chosen a location little different, it was possible that there wouldn’t have been snow in that location, and we would only be able to see snow in the mountain areas. Having snow in the property was really big for me(especially), as this way, kids can have a blast and enjoy maximum, even days we stay in the property; while babies(and me) can rest and be warm inside the house😊. It is after all, a huge hassle to get them out in the snow each time, with jackets, and beanies and mittens, and snow pants and socks and boots,  and……etc etc. This was in fact one of the reasons we wanted to move from Pennsylvania, where we had lots of snow, even 32 inches once. I love snow for a few days at the most; I don’t want to do with cold weather for 6 months of the year-it is not my cup of tea!

The property we selected also turned out to be a very perfect one, as per God’s plan; as not only the house was beautiful, but there was 40 acres of land, in which there is a stream, golf course, wildlife, slopes, a big natural pond(I wasn’t fond of that), and trails to explore. So it was a vacation in itself, even if we didn’t go anywhere else. And how more perfect can it be, covered in snow for the first few days we were there. 

The only caveat of the house’s location, was that most places we wanted to go, were about 1.5 hours away one-way. But in a way that was good,  as the drives were along scenic routes, so again we got to admire more and more of a winter wonderland. 

My husband had done his research going through the Fodors book on Colorado to explore and look into areas of local interest. He saw that there were county ski areas that are very much cheaper than the big name ski resorts. The main reason for expense is the chairlifts that take you to the top of the mountain. The county ski area we looked into was smaller and have only 1 chairlift system, but enough for our needs as we are not experienced skiiers. The ski resort has multiple such chairlifts that take you to different slopes of different challenging levels. So he went ahead and booked for 2 days at the county ski areas(for all of us), and 1 day at a ski resort (for him and older 4). He came to know about taking ski- lessons, through a family who came to his clinic; who also coincidentally is a father of 9 kids, and who occasionally flies over to Colorado to provide ski-instruction, as that’s his passion. He was able to provide a wealth of information on what all gear to purchase and all, as although my husband had already started researching on his own and purchasing, this person’s input really helped a lot! Again, Divine providence!

We had watched some very basic videos, on how to put on the gear and very basic moves, before we had left for the trip. The first day in the ski area, my husband and older 4 were trying out skiing, and they really fumbled on even getting on the boots and skis on properly. They would fall down soon as they stand up, and it was not a very good start😁. The person working there tried to help them get up to speed, and even suggested it might be intimidating to go up the lift and down the mountain since they were very novice.  But they went ahead on the lift, up the slope, and all I can say is that they came tumbling down, almost like ‘Jack and Jill’ who went up the hill 🤣! This was not really surprising, considering it was their first ever attempt at skiing. The kids were little discouraged and some even said they never want to ski again. Lets just say, it was a bad experience!

But we were not ready to give up!  Next day, we encouraged them to ski on the slopes inside the property, and they did. My husband also joined them as a moral support. This time, they were much faster at putting on the ski boots and skis, and they actually worked hard,  training themselves and pushing really hard, and they were pretty good by afternoon. We could really see their self-confidence rising each hour that passed by. The younger ones enjoyed sledding in the meantime, while I was out for some time with the baby, taking pictures and videos of everyone, and then retreated indoors to enjoy the warm heater:). Most of the snow in the property melted by Tuesday. But they did get to practice enough, in the property. Tuesday was when they had signed up for ski-lessons at the ski resort. Only the older 2 got in for classes as the classes were overbooked. My husband and older 4 went to the resort, and they were practising the whole time in the lowest slopes of the resort. It had snowed that day, and fortunately the 8-10 inches snow that was forecast had switched to 3-4 inches, so the drive through the hair-pin bends in the mountains was not too bad. I stayed at home with the younger 5, and we also had a great time as it actively snowed that day.

Most days, we did go out to local areas for different ventures, including a historical site with cliff dwellings by an ancient tribe (Puebloans). Wednesday onwards, all the snow melted in the property, that they were able to explore the trails, play golf, and do other fun spring stuff. So overall, we got the best of both worlds. It also reminded that if we had chosen a few days later to start our vacation even at the exact same house, there would have been no snow! How perfect God planned it!

Everyone did catch a cold from all the fun from the past few days, and I made up a vegetable noodle soup with the ingredients we had at hand. Everyone loved it!  I was thinking it will be better to rest on Friday than go to the ski area as we had originally planned (which we went to the first day). But my husband had a strong conviction to go, and  pushed on going to the ski area one last time on Friday. So we went. I agreed mostly only because the weather was really good and slightly on the warmer side that day. This time, my husband didn’t go with them up the mountain, but challenged them all to go up the mountain on the lifts by themselves, and come down. And all 4 of them did, and they all came back, this time actually skiing!😄 They went several trips-about 18-20 times up and down. We challenged them a further step, to try the steeper slopes. They all tried the steeper slopes. Not a single one of them fell down, except the 9 year old once, coming down one of the steeper slopes. God is great! They all had a great time, and their efforts really paid off on that last day! The person who helped us the first day was super-impressed!

All the rest of us had fun too. Numbers 7 and 8 were chilling out with the baby on a snow blanket, and actually even feeding her snacks and milk, while I also tried a hand at skiing in the flatter areas where we were sitting. And I actually did a great job, without even falling down once! I started off intending to only put on the gear to pose for a picture as pretending to ski. But actually, when I tried, I was a pro from the beginning, haha! Next time, I am going up the mountain!

This vacation, really gave us very beautiful memories, and also taught us a lesson, to just follow God’s lead. We did do our share of planning and execution, but it was because we followed God’s lead that it turned out to be the most wonderful experience it could be.We could really feel that all  the planning and inspirations we had were very divinely inspired. How else could everything work out so perfectly well, including the location of the state, the exact house, the timing of the snow and everything else we experienced. When we try to take care of God’s wishes, God takes care of ours, for sure! We also learned the value of not giving up. If they gave up after the first day, and  hadn’t gone the last day to the ski area, it wouldn’t have been the same; not to mention, the importance of allowing our kids to fail, and to challenge them to the next level and allowing them to soar! And for me, a personal lesson of obedience to my husband, and following his lead:)

We also had the opportunity to stay at the Convent of a Charismatic group of Catholic Sisters, this trip. They were also sharing about God’s faithfulness and how miraculously they were able to get the land for the Convent.  This was a great reinforcement of the theme of our vacation!

We want to thank God for all the ways that He has blessed us during this time and we pray that we may continue to do His will and perform His works!

In my next blogpost, I am hoping to expand on this post, by providing some practical tips for traveling with a bunch of kids, as well as how we go about planning our vacations. 

Have a Blessed Holy Week, and Happy Easter!