NREL Tour and Rob's Work

I figure with Earth Day quickly approaching, these two subjects tie in nicely together. On Tuesday, Karrie and I took the kids to NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) for a tour given by Karrie's friend who works there. The kids enjoyed pushing buttons and playing with knobs and Ashleigh's favorite part was the solar-powered ski lift seen in the picture below. They also had a display there that featured advances in solar energy, so I could even teach Ashleigh a little bit about what Daddy does for a living (a hard concept for a 3-yr old!).

Solar-powered ski lift

Janice, Ethan, and Ashleigh in front of the Solar Cell Exhibit at NREL

Rob said things are going extremely well right now at his company and that just this week, they've blown past their efficiency goals for the month, which also means they will be able to start building their production line soon. We know all our knowledge and success comes from the Lord, but it truly is amazing how smart my dear husband is and how God is using him in the workplace. He feels like Joseph at the end of Genesis who, with God's favor in the workplace, goes from a slave to the second in command to the king.

We also had a picnic lunch with her friend outside and I reminisced of my engineering days when I worked at NREL, my very first engineering job out of school. I have never regretted my decision to stay home with my kids. Sure, there are days I long for adult interraction and I do miss some of the people I used to work with, but I know these years go so fast and I'm glad to spend these days together, seeing them learn and grow.

Ethan and Ashleigh in front of a display

Ashleigh and Rusty electrolizing the water to produce Hydrogen to run the car