Fall's splendor and Louisiana Friendship

October brings stunning sunrises over the GateWay, and the colors of Fall

dress our area from the skies to the the earth! God is good!

 Early October begins bow season in the area, and with it came some new friends from Louisiana!

 I'm truly believing that God sets up divine appointments in these cottages, and this family is evidence of that fact for me!

What a happy time they shared (after the bugs who wanted to join their time were bombed!!).

 Fall brings the monarch migration, and even though the majority of the butterflies had gone, our guests still got the joy of seeing the final flurry flutter through our butterfly bushes.

 The full moon of October graced their stay as well..... almost magical in it's clear glow over the landscape. 

Thank you friends for allowing us to post some of your pictures... but more than that... thank you for sharing a bit of your hearts as we got to know you and be convinced that this time was meant to be!

Fall, Friends, Armadillos and fire on the hillside. Early November 2010

Friends leave great words for all to share.... Thanks Howells!

The hillside changes her colors... beautifully!

visitors come in all sizes and shapes... even this cute little four legged guy.

We love the show our hillside puts on in Early November, 2010.

Welcome friends.... and new friends!

Poppies and Roses... SPRING treasures

We had a family of 6 lovely ladies at our cottages recently.....
They knew how to do it up right! Courtney booked the cottage for her mom, sisters and a pretty little 18 month old to enjoy a girl's weekend right in the middle of GateWay's Spring glory!
Not only did they get to enjoy incredible weather, and the pretty flowers, but they also set up to really indulge themselves with our massage therapist (who came the cottage) and our gourmet chef who prepared their meal as they sat outside with the breezes and good conversation to make their stay perfectly memorable.
(Please check out their own words on our VRBO comment page)
I always get great help with the watering tasks this time of year....
with much of the water going on the helpers as in the pots:)
Thank you ladies for your kind words and the wonderful way you regarded our home as yours!
WE LOVE guests like you.....welcome back any time!

Words are more than Words at the GateWay:)

One thing that you will always find WORDS!!!!

We here at the GateWay believe that Words have power...

We greet you with our guest book,

Our FYI page,

AND.... a "caution" about some of the
not so friendly inhabitants of the area:)

AKA... rattlesnakes (especially as they come out of winter hibernation about this time of year)

HENCE... the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup.

One of our favorite promises rests above the kitchen table nook...

As you come through the gate of our 2 bedroom, or the 1 bedroom, we pray that your cares drop from your shoulders and that the rest you choose will be found in this special place we call
GateWay GetaWay....

.... oh yes....

not only do we leave you words of blessing...

SOMETIMES,

we have guests who reciprocate!

Thanks Odessa friends.... We hope to see you again!

Happy New Year 2010

The holidays of 2009 into the beginning of 2010 brought special guests!
Our neighbors had family in both cottages and we loved getting to allow a place for fun,
exploration, and more room for families to gather!
Loved having you Petterson crew and Martin family!
Glad Barbara's leather coat made it through the snow!
Troy found it over the outside chairs and it was still in great shape after being covered in snow!
Better check out that brand!
Babies, and kiddos were in abundance at the 2 bedroom....
Loved giving you guys a cozy place to place and enjoy the holidays!
A place by the fire is always welcome in these cold temps of New Year 2010!
Our newest improvement, my Christmas gift for 2009, a new tank!
In my opinion, as any of you who have been our guests know,
WATER is one of our greatest resources.
A truly valuable gift!
For a day, the good top soil made a great "mountain" for those looking to conquer the heights!
Then... it was laid on the tank sides
allowing us to plant wildflowers and grasses for this new aspect of our land!
Hopefully, this spring will bring wonderful flowers to the GATEWAY!!!
I already see an abundance of bluebonnets ready for the Spring 2010 debut!
Come to Texas this spring... I guarantee....
It's gonna be a banner year for our Texas wildflowers!!!

Mother's Day, Western Heritage, and Graduating Universities.... all this weekend!

Happy Mother's Day Y'all!!!

These beauties are right outside the back bedroom of the 2 bedroom cottage...

don't know how long the weather will hold so they will continue to blossom, but these are

spectacular... just for today I think!
Our guests this week arrived to 105 degree heat!

Thank the LORD for the cool breezes on our porches!

Then, just like Texas, the weather changed bringing a high of 69 for the Saturday of
Western Heritage weekend!

Our entire crew attended again to a sell out crowd!

Yeah for the Clydesdales of Budweiser! Amazingly lovely animals and great Ranch rodeo folks!

We feel so blessed by the miracles we see everyday and even more thankful

for eyes that can see them.... Spring... Yes, we love it here at the GateWay!

I told our new friends from Houston... "we don't do much advertising, but we've found that

the ones who've been led to our cottages are EXACTLY ones that were meant to be there!"
Sure enough, that was the case with this sweet family who'd just enjoyed a daughter's wedding,

and now, through a variety of circumstances engaged our place for a graduation weekend.
I've gotta tell you,
I knew from the moment I saw them... "yep... I'm gonna like 'em"
A hug and a smile later, we were talking Young Life and Bible Study Fellowship...

Just wanna say "thank You Paula.... I am a word person, and I truly appreciated your 'word gift' left on our refrigerator white board! It spoke to me this morning, Mother's day, of not only being who we are called to be, but of ACCEPTING that calling with joy!"

We love all our guests... and this is yet another new friendship led our way by way of the

GateWay!

Our guests are friends we have yet to meet.

Our guests are the BEST.... we have had such honorable and precious friends (I call all of them friends as we feel that way after they leave as well as in our initial visits). Some people say "why would you let people stay at something that you've put so much of yourselves into?".....

my response: "the people the LORD has led to our cottages are people who treat our place as if it were theirs. They feel the 'peace' that has been prayed over these places, and they not only take from that storehouse, they leave pieces of themselves making our special place more complete by their being here."

Below are some pictures taken by a couple our our guests. (sorry I could not manage to get the first 4 to embed, so you will need to click to see... the next ones were easier with my limited tech knowledge). I do have their permission to place them here for your perusal and enjoyment of their time here.

Thanks Peter and Molly!
http://s100.photobucket.com/albums/m32/moppyca/Vacation/?albumview=grid&fullsize=vacation050.jpg

http://s100.photobucket.com/albums/m32/moppyca/Vacation/?albumview=grid&fullsize=vacation005.jpg

http://s100.photobucket.com/albums/m32/moppyca/Vacation/?albumview=grid&fullsize=vacation002.jpg

http://s100.photobucket.com/albums/m32/moppyca/Vacation/?albumview=grid&fullsize=vacation045.jpg

Happy anniversary Chris and Jennifer!