Another Brandon Update

Okay, so my update the other day wasn't exactly true.  I realized yesterday that Brandon's leg is still bothering him quite a bit actually;  he just isn't complaining about it.  

So, I wanted to clarify.  Please pray for him.  

Thanks.  We love you guys. 

2 weeks...

Our closing date is in two weeks.  We are in the middle of disorganization as we get ready for a garage sale tomorrow morning.  

So we won't be posting much in the next few weeks.  

But, I did want to get out another update on Brandon's health.  He is doing really well.  The clot is not bothering him anymore, and he has to go to the doctor less frequently to check his blood thinness level.  We're still so grateful to the Lord for the diagnosis...and grateful He is doing better. 

The Global Food Crisis

As the cost of food has increased, the world's poor are the most affected.  The rise in the price of food due to gas prices, higher demand, etc., has caused a crisis among those living in poverty. Please check out Compassion's website for more information about what we can do to help ease the crisis...the first and foremost being prayer.   

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?  Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter --when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?"

Isaiah 58:6-7

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

(Patrick, Hannah and Nerps at my parents' house over Thanksgiving)

So, technically it's not her birthday anymore, but I did want to say happy birthday to Hannah!  She is my brother Patrick's wife, and we are all crazy blessed to have her in our family...especially Patrick.  She is so great for him.  

Though we don't get to see them nearly as often as we would like, we're grateful for the opportunities we do get to see them. 

Happy Birthday, sweet Hannah!  We love you!

***edited to add***

  I guess my blog is on Pacific time because it marks this post on Sunday still.  Yay...guess I made it in time.  :-)

Never pay retail!

Brandon and I took a financial class in early '05 that has helped us immensely  (THANKS, Jeff and Julia).  :-)  It was Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, and we have been so blessed by that class in so many ways.  In one of the lessons titled "Big, Big Bargains," he says to never pay retail price on anything.  Great advice. 

And while it's pretty impossible to avoid paying retail price on everything (i.e. groceries), we have learned to shop only sales and even go out of our way to get bargains.  I think we both like the hunt of it.  

Well, a week or so ago we were watching something on tv called ubid tv.  It was a local auction (like ebay) that was televised.  We ended up getting a nice Kenmore grill that retails at 179 for 50 dollars.  It had a rack missing but Brandon has fixed it to make it pretty close to perfect.  

This morning, we went to a going-out-of-business auction at a local furniture store.  We ended up leaving with a tv stand (entertainment center?), two wood bar stools for our new kitchen, a queen mattress and a box spring for 335.  We weren't planning on buying a mattress, but we have been wanting a new one for years.  So, it was too great a bargain to pass up.  

Thanks, Dave, for the advice.  I can't even begin to ponder how much money your advice has saved us over the years.  :-)

Anyone want to come visit?

Well, the temperature is 103 degrees, and that is cool compared to what it has been. Yesterday it was 106. And it's only going to get hotter as the week goes on.

On Father's Day, while Caleb and I were taking naps, Brandon went out and bought a swimming pool. He had it filled and ready for us when we woke up. Such a great husband/dad! Last year (see picture), we learned that it isn't a good idea to have an inflatable pool in the desert (with cacti and prickly things everywhere), and we had to trash our pool. This year, we are trying again with another inflatable pool...with the idea that our more midwesternish landscape in the new home will not be so fatal to our summer fun. :-)

I think that this pool will help keep us sane in the summer heat. Now...if we can just keep the bugs from cooling off in there too. Yuck!

Happy Father's Day!

Hope you had a great day!

A Few Random Updates

Brandon had an ultrasound last week, and we found out that his clot has hardened.  This is good because it means that it is much less likely to break off and cause an embolism.  Really good news.  We also found out that it is in a superficial vein and not a deep vein.  Also good news. Although our doctor had diagnosed it as a DVT, the technician thought that it was never in a deep vein.  Our doctor thinks it was and that it has just dissolved.  Either way, we are happy and still so thankful for the diagnosis. 

We are still moving ahead with the house but there isn't much that can be done over the weekend.  We are still very excited, and I spent too much time this weekend looking at decorating magazines.  :-)  

We finally went on our first hike with a walking little boy.  He loved it!  We went up and did a tiny hike in the Organs at La Cueva.  It is pretty slow paced, but we notice a lot of things that we wouldn't otherwise notice...due to our very observant child.  The first picture is from that trip and the second was Memorial Day weekend when we tried to have a cookout at a park with a lake.  Bad idea.  Caleb seems to have no fear of water.  Wish I could say the same for myself.

 

We found a house!

After much prayer and conversation, we have decided to move forward in purchasing our friends' home.  It is just way too great a deal to pass up!  The home is just a few blocks from campus, has a huge yard, and would be a great home for us.  So, assuming everything goes well from here on out, we will be moving sometime in the near future.  

Please be praying for us as we move forward in faith.  We are trusting that God will continue to lead us as we go through this process.  I get a little freaked out sometimes about the economy, but God is reminding me to "not worry about tomorrow" and seek Him first.  I don't know that I will ever be done learning that lesson. 

A Jam Session

This is just one of the many jam sessions we have daily in our home. 

Anything gets converted into a guitar. 

And they really get into it.  :-)

If you think this is funny, you should hear them in person.  I think this last picture might just become an all-time favorite.  :-) 

Only his parents could know...

So these are the watertowers (or water tanks?) of Las Cruces.  The picture is a post card that Hope and Barry, Brandon's parents, sent us when they were traveling through the state.  The one in the top right corner is just outside our neighborhood.  Its mural depicts either the wagon trains on the Santa Fe trail or the Camino Real.  I am not sure which. 

That water tank means a lot to our little boy. 

As Caleb's vocabulary is increasing, there are so many things that he says and does that only his parents would ever understand.  An example is that watertower.  It can be seen from quite a distance...and whenever Caleb sees it, he starts pointing and getting really excited...

"Miiiiiiiieeeeee!  Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!"

I respond, "Yes, sweetheart."

"Miiiiieeeee!"

"Yeah, little one, we are almost home.  We're going to see Millie!"

For Caleb, that watertower means Millie (our cat) which means home to him.  Mi-ee is Caleb's word for both our cat and our home.  No one else could ever understand what he is saying... 

We really are so blessed to have this little guy in our lives.