Happy Thanksgiving!

We...as a nation...are so blessed in so many ways. We...as a family...are unbelievably blessed as well. I pray our lives would be characterized by gratitude for all that God has given us...no matter what our circumstances may be. I have a long way to go.

Thank you, Lord, so much...for our sweet family and wonderful friends. Thanks for our home and all that you have given us. Thank you most of all for the incredible gift of Jesus. Thanks that you made a way for us to be called your children when you sent your Son to take our place on that cross and make us right with you. May we all understand the significance of that gift even more this Thanksgiving and Christmas season. I love you.

Welcome Noel Isaac Pelton!

Our sweet little nephew was born last night, and both he and his mommy are doing well. Jeff, Brandon's brother, and Julia welcomed their second child into the world at a little after midnight Atlanta time. We are so excited he's here...and hope it won't be too long before we get to meet him. It is so hard sometimes living across the country from our family.

Check out their blog for more pictures of this sweet little thing.

GREAT JOB, Julia! We're really excited for you guys...and so grateful to God for the precious gifts that He has given to the world in your children. :-)

We love you!

Check this out!

We know some seriously gifted people.  PLEASE check out this video that some of our Cru students made.  They made it to promote Denver Christmas Conference...a week long, life-changing conference over Christmas break.  God has done unbelievable things in my life and in countless others through this event.  This year's conference will be my thirteenth.

Watch this video.  I guarantee you'll laugh plenty, and the more people that watch, the more votes they get for the video.  It is a contest, and there is money involved.  And we all know how much college students need money.

Scrapbook Pages

We've been home a lot, and Brandon is going to bed super early. So, I have had some time to do some pages for the scrapbooks that I will probably never complete.  I probably should have been cleaning or something, but this was more fun.  Also, for the last two nights, Caleb has gone to sleep without crying...and he has stayed in his bed!  This is quite out of the pattern of the last several weeks.  So, I am elated.  

One advantage of digital scrapbooking is that while no one besides family really ever looks at scrapbooks, these pages can be more easily shared...over the internet, in digital picture frames, etc.  I do have a goal to print them in a photobook eventually, but I have yet to even print a single page.  

Our Medical Updates

BRANDON UPDATE: 

Brandon's surgery went well yesterday.  We had some wonderful friends from church switch off babysitting our little man, and I got to spend most of the day at the hospital with him.  He was nauseous and dizzy from the anesthesia for a while yesterday, but he is doing better in that department.  Now, he is just really sore and has to sleep a lot.  Being immobile for long periods of time is not at good for preventing blood clots, so please do keep praying.  He hasn't been able to walk around as much as we thought he would. 

I don't think the doctor prepared us that well for how much he would need to recover from his surgery.  I had another impression entirely.  He will be out of commission for a while, I think.  

MANDY UPDATE: 

I think I had mentioned that I was supposed to go in for some fertility tests this week.  I cancelled them, and I am going to start in January.  Our insurance deductible is really high, and mine hasn't been touched this year.  So, I am going to wait a few weeks to allow the costs to go to my 2009 deductible...which will hopefully be finished off by the costs of pregnancy.  Si Dios quiere...  

Thanks for the notes, emails, texts, comments and calls.  We love our friends.

Brandon's Surgery

Right now, I am in the hospital waiting room, and Brandon is in surgery.  He is doing well, and he should be out in an hour or so.  Please pray he won't have any more blood clots as a result of the surgery.  We don't like blood clots.  As we were praying last night, Brandon thanked God again for the hernia...because he wouldn't have gone to the doctor about the pain in the leg. That pain turned out to be the blood clot, and we are so grateful that he went in for the hernia. We'll also be really grateful it's gone. 

We took some pictures on our computer while we were waiting. It was strange seeing him lying there in a hospital gown hooked up to an iv.  Thanks, Lord, so much for our good health. 

A Trip to the Zoo

Brandon's mom, Hope, has been in town since Thursday.  We have loved having her visit, and we will be sad when she leaves.  She is always so fun and easy to be around.  

Although we have read countless books about all kinds of animals, Caleb had never seen so many of them in real life.  So, we decided to spend Saturday afternoon at the El Paso zoo.  

My mom loves elephants, and so Caleb has a rocking elephant, an elephant pillow, and several elephant toys and books.  But, no scaled down model can prepare you for seeing the pure immensity of an elephant in real life.  

This was his reaction:

The sea lions were a fun surprise.  

And I really liked this guy. 

We were so impressed with the zoo, and it won't be long before we are back again. 

My Doctor's Appointment

I went to the doctor today to talk to her about my infertility.  We are going to start tests next week...a progesterone test to see if I am ovulating...and a few others. It was harder than I expected to sit there and discuss this with her.  I guess it was because it makes the problem more real. 

The Lord gave us an incredible child two years ago, and I believe he will bless us with another one again.  I am not exactly sure how He will do that...whether through getting pregnant or adoption...both wonderful options.  But, God is helping me to trust Him, and I am grateful for the opportunity to walk with Him on this journey.  

We really do appreciate your prayers.  Thanks, friends.  We love you. 

And as fears have risen in my heart, the Lord has continually been blessing me with amazing views of the moon and planets...our lovely sunsets...autumn...etc.  And, He keeps reminding me that He who created all this created me too...and He has our lives in His hands.  Thanks, Lord.

 

Hilarious! :-)

Minnie Mouse, a Spider and a Little Fireman

Tonight, Caleb and I went out to kids' night at Texas Roadhouse with friends.  The kids dressed up for the event, and the restaurant had candy and games ready.  We had lots of fun.

Caleb was a fireman.  We had the yellow coat thanks to his cousin Seth, so we just bought a hat. Kaylee was the cutest little spider ever...and Taylor was Minnie Mouse.  They were hysterical. 

Leah and her husband Jason went through childbirth classes with us, but it wasn't until we met her again at Toddler Time at the library that we became friends.  They're adorable, aren't they?

Sidenote:  Thanks for the prayers and comments, friends. I/we are so grateful for you. 

 And Mrs. Mitchell, if you read this again, would you please give me a way to write you back.  I was so excited to see your sweet note, Rachel, and I would love to catch up with you again, my friend. 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Dad!

We love you!  :-)  

Still Waiting...

When you're single and dating someone, people often ask,

"When are you getting married?" 

When you're married without kids, people often ask,

"When are you guys thinking of having kids?"

When you are married with kids, people often ask,

"When are you guys thinking of having more?"

Although these questions have been known to be annoying, I often find myself asking them in conversation.  I, personally, have never minded responding to them either, but answering that last one has been getting a little harder lately. 

As many around here already know, Brandon and I have been wanting to get pregnant again for over a year now...since last August. Because my pregnancy with Caleb was unexpected, I think I expected to have a baby nine months from when the date we decided we wanted another one.  I never dreamt it would take the fifteen or so months we have been waiting for a positive pregnancy test.  God has had other plans, it seems. 

Some days are honestly hard, but thankfully most are not.  Overall, the Lord has shown His goodness to us in so many ways.  I have grown more and more grateful for what He has given me...especially in our son...and I am cherishing each stage of his development.  I have been able to better understand the struggles with infertility of some of my very best friends.  And, most importantly, He has reminded me again and again that it is He who is directing my life, and the plans I so carefully lay out aren't always His.  I am just grateful that His plans are so much better than mine...and so glad that one day I will get to see just how true that is. 

So, I guess I am writing this to let you in on our struggle and ask for prayer.  Please pray that we will trust Him and get to know Him better through this process of waiting.  Please pray that we would walk well with Him through this...and that we would follow as He guides.  We have thought and talked about adoption for a while now, as there is such great need out there for homes for so many kids.  We had planned on having a few of our own before possibly adopting, but God might have other plans for us.  Please pray for guidance with that as well.  THANK YOU so much. 

  

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding; 

in all your ways acknowledge Him,

and He will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3:5-6

Fye-a-tuck

As most little boys do, ours loves fire trucks.  Our friend, Mark, is a fire chief at a station here in town, and we went to visit him and check out a real life fire station...since we have been reading about them so much lately. 

Just as we were getting ready to go, they were sent out on a call.  Caleb was fascinated to see the firemen leaving to help people.  He especially loved the lights and sirens.  

Mark and the other firemen were great...and so willing to answer our questions.  It was a really fun experience...and one I am sure we will try to repeat with friends someday. 

"Bye fye-a-tuck!!!"

A Big Boy Bed

We were blessed from the beginning with an absolutely amazing sleeper in Caleb.  He has inherited that, I would say, from his parents...and we had lots of help along the way from the BabyWise books by Gary Ezzo (AMAZING).  

So, when we decided to transition Caleb to a toddler bed, we were thinking it would be as easy as everything else has been along the way.  Well, not so much.  He screamed so much that first night that Brandon ended up spending the night in his room.  The next week or so went the same way.  He didn't nap.  I wasn't getting any sleep during the night or even during the day.  I wasn't getting anything done...and I was so tired.  

The screaming never stopped, so we decided he wasn't ready...or I wasn't ready.  Something like that.  So, now the opening in his crib is pushed up against the wall, and I am sleeping at night again.  He has security back, and I have my three hour window during his nap to get stuff done. Our home is happy and peaceful yet again. 

But, I would welcome any thoughts other moms have on the subject from your own experience. I could use all the help I can get for when we try it again in a few months. 

Albuquerque

We have had a very busy few weeks, and I have been very bad at updating our blog.  A lot of that has to do with the "my little boy is not sleeping so I don't feel like uploading pictures...I just want to sleep" phase we have going through lately.  More on that later. 

Two weeks ago, Caleb and I joined the Washburns and headed up to Albuquerque to see the Hoppes in the hospital as well as the Christensens.  We had such a great time...and it was definitely not long enough, in my opinion.

 

Baby Izzy is amazing!  He looked great and is really among the cutest little boys in the world. His surgery went really well, and he was released from the hospital just a few days after our visit...weeks earlier than expected.  God answers prayers pretty well, doesn't He?  And that little boy is so blessed to have such great parents.

You'll see many more pictures of Izzy soon.  We had a fun photo shoot today, and I got to spend tons of time looking at that little cutie through my viewfinder.  Good times.  :-) 

 

Caleb and I got to spend some good time with Kyle and Chrissy and their six-month-old, Ina.  We miss them a lot since they moved up north.  Chrissy and I got up at four thirty in the morning and RODE BIKES to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.  It was pitch black...and such an adventure.  It was so good for me in every sense of the word.  

There is something about Albuquerque that makes it wonderful for hot air balloons.  Hundreds of balloonists from all over the world gather together there for the largest balloon invitational on the planet.  It should definitely be on everyone's life "to-do" list. 

Thanks, Kyle and Chrissy, for your unbelievable hospitality!!  

Finally...

We get to meet Baby Izzy!  Caleb and I will head up to Albuquerque in the morning to go see this precious little answer to so many prayers.  I am really excited to see him and his amazing parents.  We are going up with the Washburns, which will be fun.  And, we will be staying with Kyle, Chrissy and Ina...whom I haven't seen in what feels like ages.  So, I am very, very excited about the weekend ahead of us.  

Brandon will stay home because he was asked to speak at a leadership conference the university is hosting.  It is an awesome opportunity, and he is looking forward to it.  Please continue to pray that the Lord would provide more and more opportunities to serve the campus like this.  

Dave Ramsey's Common Sense Plan

We are big Dave Ramsey fans.  He has so many great thoughts, and I wanted to share this "Common Sense Plan" he (and many economists) believe to be the best for our country...as opposed to the bailout.  He wrote this to be forwarded in emails and letters to our senators and representatives.  It is amazing how little we hear about the other options available to us.

Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three steps:  

Common Sense Plan.  

I. INSURANCE  

A. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity.  

B. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things:     

1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage.     

a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes.       

b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives.     

2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps underperforming executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs.  

C. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal.   

II. MARK TO MARKET  

A. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate.  

B. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing.   

III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX  

A. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing.  

B. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down. 

This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to stand up, speak out, and fix this mess.

Baby Ali

Aliana is such a lovely baby!  Liz let me practice taking pictures on her last Friday, and we had fun.  It's funny how many photos I shoot to get a few good ones, but I am enjoying trying to learn.  

Since the start of the last school year, I have had opportunities here and there to do some design work for various Cru events.  I have learned lots, and I have even had the chance to do some birth announcements for friends.  Here is Ali's birth announcement that I finished yesterday.  

Update:  (Lots of baby news around here.)  (-:   

Israel's surgery went really well!  God is so good at answering prayer!  Please keep praying for him.  What a sweet little boy He has given the Hoppes.

Welcome Baby Israel!

Our good friends and fellow NMSU Cru staff, Vince and Holly, welcomed their sweet little boy, Israel, into the world yesterday.  He is so super cute, and we are really excited that he is here.  We have been waiting a while.  

Izzy was born with an omphalocele, meaning his abdominal cavity didn't develop normally, and some of his intestines are in a sac on the outside of his body.  Yesterday, they learned that some of his liver is in the omphalocele as well...that was a surprise.  He is having surgery on Monday, so please pray for his healing. 

Check out her blog for more info.  

Taylor Meets her Sister

As most of you know, the Washburns are some of our closest friends.  They are on our staff team, and it is pretty impossible to imagine life here without them. 

Liz gave birth to Aliana Grace seven weeks ago.  Their first daughter, Taylor, is two months older than Caleb and is his very best friend.  Because she had stayed with us when her new sister was born, we were there when Ali met her big sister.  Although Taylor had a pretty emotionally difficult time at first, she soon warmed up to the little person who was no longer in Mommy's belly.  It was such a sweet scene, and it was a blessing to be there. 

As I mentioned, this happened almost two months ago.  Today, I got to take some more pictures of that sweet little girl that I will post soon.  

Hopefully it won't be too long before we get to see similar pictures of Baby Israel Hoppe who was born this afternoon.  Please pray for him and the challenges he has ahead of him with the surgery for his omphalocele and other possible complications...and for Holly and Vince, our good friends.  For more info, check out Holly's blog.  Their faith is such an encouragement to me.