UNI WHAT!?!?

It's hard to describe the way Celsey and I felt yesterday after UNI upset Kansas. It was kind of a bummer because we started flipping out...then we started telling other people here and most didn't care. We needed to be excited with other people...so...we ended up calling family and friends just so we can vent. It was great when I called my sister and the first thing she said when she picked up was,

"Can you believe it...that was awesome!!!" Now that was the reaction I was looking for.

Although I am a die hard Iowa fan, I do like UNI, mainly because I've been there and gone to a few games when Kellie went to college there...on top of that, I still have a lot of UNI shirts from Birthdays and Christmas the years Kellie went there. I go for UNI unless they're playing Iowa...but Iowa State I just can't stand no matter who they are playing.

Celsey and I are headed to Emmaus this next week with a few students from Camp. It's going to be great. We have been talking about the stuff we are going to buy for the trip, that way we don't have to spend a lot of money at Gas stations. The list consists of Diet Coke (for me), Diet Mt. Dew (for Cels), trail mix, sandwiches, and of course my favorite Peanut Butter Twix. It's really weird that I only eat PB Twix when I'm on road trips but for some reason I can't get enough of them.
Pray that we have a safe travel and that the students will really learn a lot so they can figure out their future...whether that's going to emmaus or somewhere else.

Fun little thing.....now that you know my favorite road trip food is Diet Coke and PB Twix, tell me what your favorite road trip food is. Thanks a lot and check in soon...

Jess & Celsey

MARCH MADNESS!!!

Once a year, people talk strategy, sleepers and cinderallas as they gather around the television and watch sixty-some games that so many people get obsessed with what the outcome will be. They fill out brackets, enter a pool from school, work, family or online just so they can see who is the luckiest. Of course, it doesn't really matter how much you know about the sport...you will always be wrong...about one game, but most likely about many of them.

The last few years I have noticed, as many of you have, that the less you know about college basketball...the better you do in the bracket challenge. I have prided myself many years because of the hours I have spent on ESPN and watching "Bracketology" and how the experts think it will pan out....but why is it that the person who usually wins the pool that I'm in is always someone who doesn't even know who Dick Vitale is, the person who coined the phrase, "It's awesome baby!!!"

Just yesterday, Dick was on television and Celsey said, "who is that guy, his voice is weird?" I about flipped and responded, "That's Dick, ya know Dick Vitale the famous college sports announcer."

After no response from Cels I said, "Ya know, 'IT'S AWESOME BABY!!' (in my best impersonation voice)" She then responded, "OH!! You mean the guy from Jock Jams? That's him?"

I didn't know how to respond...

But that is my luck. I filled out a bracket today and I have not been watching a lot of College Hoops which is not the normal for this time of year for me. But perhaps that will give me a better chance with my bracket...and, it will also give me a good excuse when my predictions are completely wrong.

It's not that I don't want to watch the games, it's actually a passion of mine. Camp has been really busy the past month which is such an amazing thing to be involved with. I do miss being in the know with college hoops, but don't miss it enough to take time away from the great things that have been going on at Camp Elim.

We wrapped up the last of our 3 winter camps that we run 2 weekends ago and looking back on it, it's hard to believe that it's already been 5 weeks since we started them. It was a privelage to be a part of kids lives being changed. There were a few kids that dedicated or rededicated their lives to Christ, and that is priceless. Someone once said, "Even if one individual is affected, it's monumental with an unusual perspective, that's beautiful in essence." That's exactly how I feel with the work that I'm doing here at Camp.

On another note, I got a birthday card from my Great Aunt and Uncle, along with others. But they said that the snow was pretty much gone and it was turning into spring back in Iowa...this made me a wee bit jealous. Not that I personally know, but everyone says that March and April are the biggest snow months here in Colorado....which means I can't wait until May. I love snow...until January, then I'm ready for the days of heat.

Because of this Celsey and I are very excited to go back to Iowa for a quick visit in a week. We are taking a few students to Discover Emmaus Weekend in Dubuque, and are praying and hoping for sunny weather, so we can roll in the soft green grass. Here in Colorado, Celsey has been vacuuming more than she's ever wanted to trying to keep the mud and dirt out of our house. We are grateful for a small cabin...even more now (less vacuuming...and easier to clean ;)

If you could keep us in your prayers as we travel next weekend, that would be awesome. Also pray for this summer for the campers and for the staff that is coming to work and give their time to serve. Celsey is also trying to take classes without being charged out of state tuition, so pray that they will approve her residency petition. Most importantly, if you could pray for me and Celsey's relationship with each other, as we learn what it means to be a husband and wife the way God has intended it to be.

We miss and love you all.

Jess and Celsey

Homeward Bound

Jess and I have loved the first few months of marriage together. We especially love living in our little cabin at Camp Elim, in Colorado. Lately, we have thought about extending our little family. We would LOVE to get a dog.

Jess had a dog that lives with his parents named Mo-mo. He LOVES this dog. I grew up with golden retrievers. My mom and dad would breed our dogs almost every springtime. It was such a fun treat to grow up with puppies all the time. This being said, with such a dog background we always talk about getting a dog.

If we could have our pick, we would get a chocolate or black lab and name him Kinnick. Of course, we love the Hawkeyes, so we would need to name our dog with a Hawkeye themed name. I mean we had a black and gold wedding, it seems like we are committed to this theme now J Also, since we are slightly committed to this theme I would much prefer to names our animals with a Hawkeye theme instead of our children. Kinnick is the name of the football stadium for the Hawkeyes.

The main reason we haven’t gotten a dog at this point is, well, where would we put him? We love our cabin… but it is small. I mean 15x15 approximately and some of that space is a bathroom. We can’t have it outside because we have a little problem called BEARS.

So, with such a pressing desire to have a dog, but knowing it just wouldn’t be a wise choice at this point, we spend a lot of time “ooh”ing and “ah”ing at puppies we meet and see on T.V. Jess is a little more vocal about this desire to have a dog, so I had him watch the movie “Marley and Me”

We loved the movie, especially the parts at the beginning with Marley as a puppy. We also did realize through this movie that a dog would be a TON of responsibility. We do want one, but with the size of our home and then watching this movie our yearning for a dog has been settled for the time being. We may resort to getting a fish.

But, we turned on our T.V. last week and the movie “Homeward Bound” was on the Disney channel. There was only about half of the movie left and I sheepishly asked Jess if we could watch it. (I was slightly embarrassed for wanting to watch a Disney movie with no children present) But, his face lit up when I asked. We spent the rest of the night watching the movie and surprisingly- we could quote the majority of it. We caught ourselves quoting the movie to each other Saturday night before we went to bed.

“Don’t be a sissy, Sassy!”

“Home is just over those mountains.”

Wedding Pics!

Jess chillin' before the ceremony.

My "something borrowed" was this fun pair of flashy yellow shoes that I borrowed from my cousin Candace. I LOVED THEM!

Our wedding party!!! We had such a fun day with all of them.

This is all of the members in my family. We are growing so fast that this picture is already missing our newest member Cole. The Rees clan currently stands at 18 members!!

This is the Huber family now. They went from 4 to 6 in a matter of 2 months.
We call this pic our model face :)

I cannot believe this is in front of my church!



All of these pics were taken by Ryan Thompson www.rdtphotography.com and you could see more of our pictures and even order them from the website by going to his gallery at rdthompson.smugmug.com find our gallery in the Wedding area and our password is h**r. We were so thrilled with that day and the pictures that Ryan took.

Sorry it's been so long since we've posted. We had a fabulous time in Iowa for Christmas and have been getting back into the groove of normal life.

Lately, Jess has started up with helping serve the guest groups that come to the camp. You should see his schedule... it fills up fast. He is working on some videos and other preparations for the upcoming Winter Camps. We're both currently trying to get involved in a small group at a church. We will hopefully be meeting with other young married couples in Colorado Springs.


Next week, we will be back in Iowa for a short weekend for Jess to promote the camp at Emmaus Bible College and their Christian Ministries Seminar. Of course we will be able to stop by and see our new nephew born on January 11 this year. Colton James Sabin!!! We were sooooooo hoping Jenna (my sister) would have him while we were home for Christmas, but he apparently needed a little more time...:( So, we are eager to meet this little one as well as hanging out with the other nieces and nephews. I have just been busy working at the school and trying to get everything in order to go back to school soon.(please pray the everything comes together smoothly)


Stay tuned because we are working on putting a video on here with a tour of our cabin and other things here in Colorado!

Love always- Celsey

Heading Home

Here we come IOWA!!!! We are so excited to come home. We are leaving this morning around 2 am, so please pray for safety and that our car makes it (we aren't worried about it I just have a bad track record as far as cars are concerned :) ) We should be arrived in Des Moines Thursday afternoon just in time to maybe take a quick nap before Jess's sister Kellie and Nolan's rehearsal dinner. We are so excited for their wedding on Friday! Jess and I are both in the wedding, so pictures will follow :)
After their wedding reception we will then continue on our way to stay at my parents house in Center Point to go to my cousin Jessica and Chris's wedding on Saturday. I am in this wedding as well- I can't wait to see family and friends from high school at this wedding. It will be a busy but wonderful Friday and Saturday.
Our Christmas plans are the stay with my parents from the wedding until Christmas afternoon and then travel to Bruce and Candy's house for the rest of our trip. We would like to make it out to Dubuque and East Iowa Bible Camp if weather and time allows. And it would be wonderful if my sister Jenna, would have her baby boy while Jess and I are home so that we will get to meet him now instead of waiting until spring to see him.
So many things to do in so little time! Merry Christmas everyone!!!
~Celsey & Jess

He's my Rock Ps.18:2

Hey everybody,
Everything is still going really great here. If you got our newsletter, that's awesome and if you didn't, let us know and we'll put you on our mailing list.
If some of you didn't know Celsey has been looking for a job, and Praise the Lord just a few days ago she got a call and accepted a job at CSCS (Colorado Springs Christian School) in Woodland Park. The main campus is in the springs but there is also a K-8th school in Woodland Park only 6 miles from the camp. The job is part time, which is better then nothing and she is starting as an Office Assistant/Health Aid. She works a few hours in the morning and then has a little break then another hour or so in the afternoon. Celsey may look for some more hours at another job that fits with the CSCS job.But, it is a huge answer to prayer and once again when we started to get stressed out about Celsey getting a job, God provided. She will start next Monday after thanksgiving break, and is very excited to have a job.
We are looking forward for thanksgiving and spending time with some friends...and of course my favorite things to do on thanksgiving....eating...and football. It will be sad to be away from our fam over thanksgiving, but we get to see them very soon, only 3 more weeks. If some of you may not know, my uncle rod passed away last Wednesday and it has been very hard on my dad, my aunt and my grandma. So please pray for them, as far as we know Rod never made a declaration to be a Christian which obviously makes this whole thing harder on everyone.
Me and my wifey have been enjoying everything here at Camp and have been enjoying our new home. Someone saw some pictures of our cabin on our facebook and asked my mother why there were so many pictures of our bed... I guess she didn't know, but that's all that there really is. Of course, the bed is quite nice. But it really is great and homey. A very nice one room suite which is all we need at the time...until the kidos come...but they're not coming....yet. I better stop before a rumor get's started. But seriously, we are not planning or trying to have kids at this point, but if the Lord wants, we're on board and know that He definitely is in control of that.
It has been a great week and have really been humbled in a lot of areas. I've been going through some books that I'm also going through with some guys from staff and have seen some great things and also things that i don't like to see. I need to rely more on the Lord and trust Him through everything because I am not God, and God should not be a hobby of mine. It seems I've pushed Him to the side many times over my own desires, and maybe you all know what I'm talking about. This past Thursday we had a weekly staff meeting and we're going through the book, "The Adventure of Discipling Others" and especially this past week we talked about how God's word is the ultimate authority in our lives and in our discipling. I've almost always believed this, but of course easier said then done. I believe one main thing that our youth are missing, and not just youth, but also our churches, and leaders are also missing is the authority in scripture and rooting ourselves in the Word. Rooting ourselves in a way that shows us what we need to do and what to do better instead of God's Word being used as a reference tool in our thoughts and in our lifestyle. I wanted to end this blog with a quote I actually wrote up last week that really defines where the Word of God should be in our lives.

The Word of God is my foundation, not the icing on the cake, not the flour within, the plate which it sits on, or the table underneath. For God and His Word is my solid, deep, and firm foundation that I look at to change my actions, not encourage my comforts.

Help and pray for Celsey and I to live in a way that is based on God, instead of taking God's Word in vain. The Lord is my Foundation and my Rock . Thanks for reading the blog and keep on keepin on.

Jess & Celsey

I Didn't Do It On Purpose!!!

Hello everyone again, another nice day in Colorado, but apparently snow is on the way. The last week has been a lot of fun. This past weekend we had a scrap-booking retreat again, and there were 70 ladies here goin nuts with glitter, cutting, and gluing. It was great to have some pals come up and help, and we had a lot of fun with them as well....although, for the record I am the blokus king. After I beat Celsey she said she was very impressed, and I thought...."were you expecting anything less then amazing, babe?" No but seriously....I am the king.
Yesterday Celsey and I went down to the springs and had lunch with taylor, adam, zach, and luke. We went out to Five Guys, which by the way has the best fries ever!!!! If you haven't eaten there do it...and when you do call us so we have an excuse to go. Love hanging out with all them.
I've also been getting a lot of questions about our wedding. If some of you don't know, or weren't there, I happened to do something a little clumsy right in the middle of it. I dropped the ring right before I put it on Celsey's finger. Ok, it was totally a mistake, although it would've been a good plan. But I can't take credit, I really did drop it.....and might of screamed like a little girl when I did.....but hey, it sure lightened the mood up. I can't help it...I mean have you seen the size differential in our hands? Celsey has these cute little petite hands, while I have huge palmed, short, stuby, fat fingers. On top of that, I was in a full out tux with lights gleaming on my already nervous figure. If you haven't figured it out...I was sweating like a teenage boy after basketball practice....but without the stink(I use deodorant). Thankfully the whole ordeal was quite funny. As I reached down to get the ring, my now wife and the rest of my family and loved ones....laughed in disbelief of how high pitched that big man could actually scream. Oh well, it was a blast anyways.
Tomorrow early morning, me and Celsey are going to the springs to get new drivers licenses so Celsey doesn't have to keep applying for jobs using her maiden name. Celsey is still looking for a job currently and has been searching this past week. It can be quite frustrating, and at this point we now think that her becoming the new Wild Wings chicken that dances on the side of the road to promote the specials isn't that bad of an occupation after all. But seriously, if anybody does know a place or someone that is hiring around woodland park/co springs area, I happen to know a very competent, funny, smoking hot woman that is looking for a job. So if ya think about it, we would be honored if you remembered that in your prayers.
Well that's all for now folks, hope you all have a great day and weekend and check back in soon. Keep on keepin on.

J&C