Merry Christmas!

So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.

And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.

For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"

Frog Friendship

So we have had two frogs for the last four years.  We started out with three, but the third died years ago.  We have always been amazed that our two little frogs had lasted so very long.  We got them when Levi was a tiny baby...  I always said that when one died the other one would die soon after.  I think they kept each other going.  Frogs from Wal-Mart are just not supposed to live as long as these little guys did.  Earlier this week Seth found one of them belly up .... he had died.  A couple days later, just as we had thought the second one did too.  Seth and I were thinking that is pretty amazing even tiny creatures such as frogs have such a powerful effect on each other. What makes Wal-Mart frogs live four years and then die with a few days of each other?  We fed it like usual, and it was in the same water as usual....  God's creation is so complex... even in tiny frogs.

Santa Claus

We told Levi that Santa Claus is not real right off the bat, and that he is just pretend like Elmo or Thomas the Tank Engine.....   He was very excited to meet him nonetheless.......

(He asked him for a new red rocket and "trains with no faces" on them)

Quick Update

Busy, Busy, Busy.....!

I am so busy, and behind on so many things!  I keep wanting to post on here, but have no time! Thanksgiving came and went.  We took a quick trip to Southern California on a spur of the moment, and had a great time.  Rebecca has gone in and out of the hospital.  I have had a doctors appointment, my PFTs are down, so I started some new meds, and there might perhaps be a hospital visit for me in the future if they don't work. I have been asked to speak yet again at Calvary Chapel San Joses' Purity Seminar, and still have to put my testimony together.  I went to a Womans Christmas party this week, and was blessed by that.  I also went to an "ugly sweater" Christmas party the night before.  I am also keeping busy Christmas shopping, wrapping,  decorating the house and tree and figuring out Christmas cards too. Today I participated in an opinion research study up in San Fransisco.  They interviewed me for 45 minutes about my experience with different nubulizers.  I gave them input on the best types of design, and what kind of things I would like in a nebulizer, and they gave me a nice chunk of change for my time.  Seth is busy, busy with work too.  He is also scheduled to teach on a Thursday night in January.  So between all of that, and our usual chores we are livin la vida loca right now.  Besides being swamped we are doing well, and looking forward to Christmas!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ode to my "Great Graham Cracker"

Two weeks ago my great grandma Alicia broke her hip. She had to go under for surgery Thursday before last. They ran into some complications during the procedure, but she has made it through, and seems to be doing o.k. now.  Please keep her in your prayers.  She was moved back from the hospital to the nursing home.  She sits at the nursing station answering phones, if the nurses don't answer them quick enough.  She is funny.  She says that she has been working at the nurses station answering phones for awhile and they "have not paid her yet!"  All that she has gone through lately has got me thinking about her a lot recently, and the times we have spent together. Here are some of my memories... 

We call her GGGG. (Great, Great, Grandma Gomez) She is my great grandma, Levi's great, great grandma. She was married and has two daughters. She was a preemie. Right now she is a mere 80 pounds. She built things, refinished furniture and drove up until her 90's. Even when she was in her 80's I remember her climbing up on top of furniture to clean or fix something.
She tells me I am beautiful or pretty every time she sees me. She tells me she loves me every time too. She says over and over that when she lived in Fallbrook near us was the happiest time of her whole life. She is 95 years old now- that is a lot of years of life. One time my sister and I got scared for her health because she smokes, so we hid all of her cigarettes in different spots all around her apartment.  My mom got a phone call later that day. I never fessed up to it, so Bec took the blame. I used to sneak donuts from her cupboards while she was in the bathroom. When she sees a man who she thinks is hot she tells him. She is not afraid. She tells Seth how handsome he is and that he looks like Brad Pitt. In the 90's she had a "shrine" of Brad Pitt magazine clippings on her wall. She would kiss his face. Other boys my sister or I liked over the years that she thought were cute she would tell them that if she were younger she would be "making eyes" at them. She might whack your butt with her cane.  She is full, 100% Mexican. One day I asked her if she thought in English or in Spanish. She said she thought in Spanish. I thought that was amazing. She ate a meal one time with Poncho Villa. Her grandfather rode with him. When I was very little I remember eating Mexican food for Thanksgiving. She is feisty. She has a bigger than life personality.  She would cuss out people under her breath in Spanish.  I worked with her at her thrift stores, several different ones, and remember spending hours there.  She taught me tap dance that she learned when she was little.  She would walk around the house in her bra on sweltering hot days even though I was there.  I learned the phrase "como se dice...." from her just because she used it so often trying to think of the English words. She doesn't like to write letters.  She likes to do crossword puzzles. She would take my sister and I roller skating outside. She took us swimming, she took us to Carl's Jr. and the liquor store. One time my mom never made it to pick me up after school. I think I was crying because I didn't know where she was. Great Gram came and drove us home.  Sometimes when she drove us I was not sure if we would make it safe or alive to our destination. I would stay at her house all day every Thursday while my mom was working. I got to watch cable, and she would cook me giant meals- and I mean GIANT. If I said I liked something one week, she would add it to the menu for next week, and there on after. My lunch every week kept growing and growing. I never could finish it. She likes ginger snaps.  She likes mango ice cream. She listened to the Mexican radio while cooking up a storm. She introduced me to menudo. I liked it. She didn't tell me what was in it. One day I found out, and I don't like it anymore. She sometimes danced and played the castinets for me. She is notorious for one time skateboarding on her grandsons skateboard.  She would tell people if they smelled bad or good.  She missed my grandfather after he died.  She would give me honey with lemon to make me feel better.  She laughs often. Sometimes she snorts by mistake, and that makes us all laugh even harder. She has a very, very funny sense of humor. She loves me so much. I love her so much. My great grandma is tough. She is loving. I look up to her, even though she is now very much shorter than me. She speaks her mind, doesn't get into too much trouble for it, and is loved by us all.

O.K. Guys...

O.k. guys.... I need your advice. Even though it has been beautiful and warm up here on the central coast these last few days, winter is slowly creeping up. The days are getting shorter, the air is getting chillier.

This summer Seth, Levi and I were pretty active. We went to amusement parks, swam in the ocean, hiked, kayaked, rode ATVs, etc. I think it really helps me to stay healthy when I have fun, athletic type activities to do and to look forward to. As soon as I sit my butt on the couch too much, I can almost visualize and feel the mucus taking over control of my lungs.

So, that's where you come in. I need help brainstorming of FUN, active, healthy ways for all three of us to get in some exercise in middle of winter. I let my gym membership go this year because I wasn't using it enough, and it is too expensive to hold onto if I am not taking advantage of it.

In winter it seems the only exercise I get is walking around the mall for Christmas shopping, and I don't think that's gonna cut it!

Maybe I'll crank up the music and dance in the living room every week!

So can you guys think of anything (besides walking around the mall) that is super fun for us to do?

{The darnedest things...}

The other day I was in the kitchen getting lunch for Levi and I. He was standing up on top of the chair by the counter watching everything I was doing. I was just about to sit down and eat, but decided to get a cup of iced tea first. I poured myself a glass and filled it to the very top. Then Levi exclaimed with much gusto and big round eyes,

"Whoa! That is a lot of tea for a little girl!"

I just love this kid. He cracks me up.

1 Year!

As most of you know, because I have mentioned it to just about everybody-  This month of October marks one whole year since I have been admitted into the hospital!!! I am beyond ecstatic about this. In years past I did not know if such a thing could be possible for me ever again. What have I done differently? Nothing that I know of. That is the weird part of this crazy disease... I did get a new and expensive nebulizer machine a year ago, but am not convinced that that is solely responsible for my lack of logged hours of hospital time.  I am thanking the Lord continually for this wonderful break- not from CF, believe me, but from having freedom outside those hospital walls.

Spicy

Today we had a hot sauce show down at our friend Tosh's birthday party. There were six different entries. Tosh won, we got second. Seth made the sauce and I designed the labels. I could eat gallons of this stuff! -and have!

Funny

Wednesday's Sonnet

    mediocrity- i must spit it out!

   the brethren living in hypocrisy

   we lose our minds slowly filling with doubt

   whitewashed tomb but just bones including me

   won't You please save us from our wicked selves

   in the looking glass see sin how you see

   into deep darkness our innocence delves

   while wasting assets on frivolity

   i desire to have a stomach ache

   to know the pain and recklessness i cause

   convert my mind identical to make

   it crystal clear embalm my flesh in gauze

   need of revival and to be shaken

   and from us let not Your grace be taken

 

Day 2

This clip is only Levi's second day ever using his new skateboard. (The previous post below was his first.)   He is awesome.

Skateboarder

Not by works

Last week I received this message titled "Please" in my inbox.  It is from a friend and it makes my heart hurt for this person.  None of us get to heaven by "works" although we seem to forget it.  Here is the message and my reply:

---

hey there, just wanted to say that i appoligize for my actions. all the time you seth rebecca your mother and father put into helping me and the beliefe that i'd become a better person. i am sorry. the lord and i have been on ends for a while. i dont think that i can recover. i just have to face the truth, that i, like judas have a fate to be damned. maybe it was planned by God? or whatever, maybe not. i want to let you and your family know that i did not do it on purpose.

i love you guys for your love and friendship. i will never forget.

lv.-

---

sounds like satan is lying to you. don't believe him or give in to his tricks!!!!! he is smart and tricky. he makes bad look good, and he makes sin fun. but being damned is scary and it is real, and it is miserable. i may seem perfect to you, but i am really wicked... i hide my sin really well. but i am counting on the grace of God to get me into heaven- not MYSELF!

people who are liars, theives, drunks, drug addicts, child molesters can all go to heaven if before they die they accept Jesus and truly accept Him.

you don't have to apoligize to me or anyone i know because the only one who truly can help you is God. we do love you, but we can't help you.

i understand partially what it is like to be at ends with God. i am slowly dying and am getting sicker and sicker. i have shook my fist at God. i have
told Him i was pissed at Him. i have 'spit at the stars' so to speak. but 

GOD LOVES ME ANYWAY.
HE FORGIVES ME WHEN I ASK ANYWAY.
AND I AM GOING TO HEAVEN ANYWAY.

i try not to abuse his forgiveness, because He is also a God of wrath, and I fear Him. but never, never, never forget that what you have already done, and even now what you continue to do He has power to forgive you, and HE is mighty to save.

---

If you think of it, please remember to keep this person in your prayers.  

Autumn is here.

ATVs on Pismo

So I realize that I never finished posting about our trip.  Saturday we ended up driving south and decided to drive to Pismo Beach to ride ATVs on the shore!  So we got down to the little shack that rents them out but they turned Seth away because the conditions were too dangerous. Needless to say we were pretty bummed, but we did get a chance to go swimming in the hotel pool, sit in the spa, ate crab at the Cracked Crab, and then ate gelato while walking downtown. We still really wanted to do the dunes, so we decided to try again the next day.

Sunday morning we headed down to the beach shack again to see if the conditions were any better than the day before. The lady at the shack radioed the guy who was out on the dunes, and he said it was pretty windy. She told us to come back the next day. We told her we wouldn't even be in town the next day. She continued to tell us it was dangerous, but she didn't exactly so "no." We were like, "o.k. well what do you recommend we do?" and she told us to drive down on the beach and check it out for ourselves. So that is what we did. We drove on the beach literally. Grover beach is the only spot in California where you can actually drive your vehicle on the actual beach. Seth let air out of our tires so that we would not get stuck, and then we drove a couple miles on the sand. We went right up to the water and it splashed on our truck.

We eventually saw the guy who was renting out the ATV's and giving instructions on how to use them. He was letting a guy go out on the dunes as we pulled up, so I knew we had a chance that he would let us go too. When I hopped out and walked up to the rental trailer I was instantly being covered in sand that was flying all over in the strong wind. I felt like I was in a sand storm. Luckily I had my reading glasses on and Seth has his sunglasses, so that helped a little. Just a little. While we were standing there I just pretended as if sand was not flying into my face constantly while trying to talk to the guy. He gave us what he called a safety speech.... I think it was more of a death speech. Pretty much he was just telling us we could die, he almost died one time, five or six people have died this year and as he was saying all of this an ambulance was slowly driving by and he told us that someone could be dead right then. Again, I just pretended it didn't bother me, or we would never make it on the ATVs. We told him that we were going to be careful (and we meant it too!)

Finally after showing us how they worked: gas, reverse, front brakes, back brakes etc. we we free! The first couple of feet I drove were so thrilling! I haven't been on one since I was a kid! The safety man told me to drive behind Seth so if something bad happened it would happen to him and not me (great.... i know) but that is what I did. (At first anyway.)

The first big dune we came upon I was amazed. They were huge. You can't really see how big they are until you inch your bike up to the edge and look over. Scary. So all of a sudden I found myself looking over a sand cliff. We found a different way and continued driving around for the next two hours. I had so so so much fun. Having CF makes me feel weak very often, but that is not who I really am... not deep down. Anyway, we had a great time exploring. It was so vast for miles and miles. You would of thought we were in a giant desert, not near the shore at all. It reminded me of how I imagine Africa to be.

One of the times I went down a hill that was too big for me. Seth was cheering, but I was shaking my head back and forth thinking, "No. I didn't mean to do that... I wasn't being careful enough... I could have gotten killed.... and I need to be waaaayyy more careful." I didn't make that mistake again.

Another time I was going up a steep hill and I gave it more gas and momentum than it needed and I went flying after I hit the top. Seth saw it. He said I totally left the ground and all four wheels were in the air! The thuds from landing were huge and I instantly knew I would be sore the next day.... but it was so worth it! I really wish I had a picture of when I caught air!!!! It was so thrilling and I was so happy! Seth caught air too several times ... but I think he had done it before.

Overall it was a wonderful weekend. I loved the adventure of it all. I also loved coming home that night to see Levi. That was the longest amount of time that I had not seen him. We were so blessed and yes I was very, very sore!

Paso Robles

Seth's home!  Were not home!  Yesterday evening Seth finally returned from his training!  It was a long two weeks for both of us.  It was hard and stressful for us but we are finally done.  Seth aced his final and got all 50 out of 50 correct.  He got a certificate that can be used on future resumes and a special little Valley lapel pin to wear on suit .. Hehe.

Levi is still with my parents, and is coming home Sunday.  He had a fun time at Disneyland.  I miss the little guy so much!

Anyway, last night when Seth came home we decided to go on a spur of the moment getaway! We packed up (rather quickly I might add) and hopped in Seth's truck not really knowing where we were going!  It was so fun.  We didn't know whether to head North or South.  We ended up heading South and ended up in Paso Robles.  So right now I am sitting in a fancy hotel room typing this! (& doing my vest of course)

For the last two years on our anniversary I have been in the hospital. Even though we are a couple weeks early we wanted to take advantage of the fact that Levi is away and celebrate seven years married while we have the chance!

Today we might drive down to San Luis Obispo, Solvang, or even Santa Barbara.  We don't know yet.  I do want to go swimming in the heated pool here and sit in the jacuzzi or sauna too.  We'll see! 

Myers Briggs

So as you may know from reading my sisters blog that that she took a personality test and posted her results.  She told me to take it too- so I did without reading hers first as to not influence my answers.  Anyway, here are the results it gave me:

INFP Idealistic, loyal to their values and to people who are important to them. Want an external life that is congruent with their values. Curious, quick to see possibilities, can be catalysts for implementing ideas. Seek to understand people and to help them fulfil their potential. Adaptable, flexible, and accepting unless a value is threatened.

Careers Psychologist Human resources professional Physical therapist Researcher Translator/interpreter Legal mediator Employee development specialist Religious worker College professor : humanities Massage therapist Social worker Librarian Fashion designer Holistic health practitioner Editor / art director (web sites)

I don't know where she got her super long description... this is all it gave me. It is funny though because under the careers it is pretty accurate.  I have actually considered what it would be like if I had had several of those jobs on that are on that list in the past.  I wonder if they add "stay at home mom" to any of the lists because I really do enjoy that job as well!

Apart

"Cause I'm all alone

theres no one here beside me

my problems have all gone

theres no one here to reside me...

But you gotta have friends"

Life as a single mom. That's me for the next two weeks. After a super fun day at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom yesterday for my birthday Seth stayed up in the north bay, while I drove home to Santa Cruz. He began his two week training for his new job. The hardest part for me so far was coming home to a dark, empty house all by myself last night. (Levi stayed the night at my mom & dad's last night.) Not so used to the creepiness of that. I was slowly walking around checking behind every door ... pushing them open fast just in case a monster was about to jump out. Haha. I was actually on the phone with Seth too- just to make me feel better. Today was good. I took Levi to swimming lessons and then we ran a couple errands around town. Levi just finished a nice long bath and we are just chillin here. Now I am debating whether or not to make milk and cookies tonight for the two of us.

As for Seth, he has called me on a couple of his breaks. He had his first test today and he was the only one in the class who aced it! I'm proud of him, of course. Also he wore one of his two nice suits.  Some of the other men there had on only a tie and a shirt, but the teacher told them without mentioning names that they were not dressed professionally enough for the job. The attire is supposed to be "fortune 500" -I'm not sure what that means, but you get the point. Some of them, including Seth are getting together tonight to study more, and do their homework for tomorrows session. Valley is paying for his two weeks at Holiday Inn, meals and gas during his training along with a small hourly wage for class time and homework time.

We are plugging along. It is nicer for me today to be home as it is getting dark and to have Levi here too to make it seem less weird than last night. Plus, my mom and dad are going to Southern California next week and Levi might get to go with them and even to Disneyland! I'll miss him, but how can a deprive a four year old of a trip to Disneyland... plus it will make chores a whole lot easier for me around here the second week. I'm looking forward to that time as well.

Before Seth left, I packed his suitcase and briefcase for him. It was all so professional looking. I had no idea how to do it. Do I fold the ties or roll them? (I went with folding.. ) I even looked up on the Internet the proper way to fold men's dress shirts. Haha. The whole idea of being married to a man who is away on a business trip is still tripping me out- but I'm up for the adventure!

Gracias Amigos

Thank you guys! Yesterday, despite having a fever, I had a wonderful birthday because of all of the phone calls, messages, gifts and comments from everyone I love! Thanks for making me feel special ... I love you guys!

Tuesday

The weather is beautiful today, and I am feeling better than I was on the weekend. Not normal yet, but grateful to not be so sick anymore. Have a wonderful evening!

Faces

Fever

Today I had a fever. I felt bad last night, had a restless sleep, and woke up feeling worse. First thing I did this morning was walk to the bathroom and puke. You would think I would be used to the having a fever/throwing up thing, having CF and all. I don't think people can get used to pain and suffering. I can't.
Anyway, I took a total of two naps today, ate two meals, and did my CPT and breathing treatments three times. It's been a long day.

Comic Commercials

You probably have seen these before, and may not find them as humorous as I do, but I think they are at least amusing enough to watch more than once.

Gold

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

      -Robert Frost

I received a very, very nice letter from a friend today. It is really great how God shows his love for us through people here on earth.  When you feel tired of this life, and the people and the circumstances in it .... it is comforting to receive encouraging words.

Update

So yes, they did in fact offer Seth the job! Praise the Lord! He goes in to do the paperwork and drug test on Monday, and the two week training away from home should start within the next couple of weeks.

Also, today is our 'dating' anniversary.  I wouldn't have remembered on my own, but when I woke up and went in the kitchen this morning Seth had roses and chocolate for me.  So sweet.  So we have been a couple for nine years now.   Watch out, we are catching up to some of you! Haha.

Buttons

Guppy 1

Yesterday Levi had his very first day of swimming lessons!  He did good! He has always liked the water, but he never wants to get his head or face wet.  Yesterday was the first day and he was up to his neck, blowing bubbles, and water was splashing on his face.  He goes back every weekday for the next two weeks, and we are hoping he will dunk his head, or at least his face by the end.  To our surprise also one of his teachers is a girl Seth and I know, named Kenzie.  Anyways, Levi really seemed to love the class, and he had a lot of fun.

Coughin' Chopin

Here is an article talking about the Polish composer Frédéric Chopin.  It talks about Cystic Fibrosis being a possible cause of his death.  After reading about all of his symptoms, and considering that his sister died at the age of fourteen of the very same symptoms .... I think he did have it.

What do you think?

Cystic fibrosis – a probable cause
of Frédéric Chopin’s suffering and death

He got the job!

We think. Yesterday Seth went for an interview at Valley Yellow Pages. He applied for an outside sales - account executive position. Basically selling the ads in the yellow pages to companies and businesses. The interview went smoothly and they told him that they would definitely be giving him a call. He has to return for a "second interview" in which they want him to bring his social security, i.d., driving record etc. They are also going to do a drug test. Although he is not officially hired until he completes his drug test, paperwork and two weeks of training away from home, it looks to us like it is in the bag! Thanks for praying. My dad and Rebecca also helped a whole bunch since they have done the same type of job/interview process, and we kind of knew what to expect. The whole thing has been a little stressful, but overall I would say a positive stress more than negative. I'm looking forward to seeing how the next couple weeks and months unfold... and I know Seth will do great.

Buzzzzz

.Last week:

We actually prefer Levi's hair shaggy.... but it was just time to cut it!

To and Fro

Today was a day I wouldn't want to repeat anytime soon. I squeezed in three separate appointments up at Stanford. Things often don't run very smoothly at that hospital, and I was running from appointment to appointment with no time to spare.

My day started at 9:30.  I did my treatments until 10:45, showered, got dressed, got Levi ready, and sadly did not get a chance to eat breakfast. I got out of the house by noon, to arrive up there by 1:00.  I parked at Lucile Packard at about 1:00 and then took the long walk to the main Stanford hospital.  It took about a half an hour to register, then the guy at registration directed me back to Lucile Packard for my appointment.  So Levi and I made the trek back over there, and ran into my mom who had been looking for me.

Once at Packard they couldn't find record of any appointment, so a nice man tracked it all down for me and I had been directed to the wrong place. So, back off to a main Stanford clinic again which was quite a long walk, in which I got lost.  Finally I arrived at my audiology appointment, very late, but they still saw me. 

By the time I got out of that appointment and met up with my parents back at Packard it was 2:30, which was the time I was supposed to be at my next appointment.  So I hauled over to nuclear medicine at main Stanford as fast as my short legs and my congested lungs could carry me.  When I arrived I was surprisingly only five minutes late.  By the time they got me in there, scanned my bones, and let me go it was now 3:30.  Which, you guessed it, was the time I was supposed to be at my next appointment.  Again, when I asked a lady in registration to point me towards the right place, they found no record of me having an appointment scheduled.  Like the first time, I knew that wasn't true.

Okay, let me just tell you, even though Seth had packed a nice lunch for me the night before I had not even had a second to even sit and rest let alone eat one, single, solitary bite all day.  So even though it was about 3:30 and I was due for my next appointment I was at this point thinking "screw this - I have to eat!!!"  So I swung by Rebecca's hospital room, shed a few tears out of pure exhaustion, and stuffed my face as much as I could for ten minutes before we headed back over to Packard for my hour-and-a-half pulmonary function tests.

After that long, involved, fatiguing appointment, I left the grounds of Stanford, around 5:00, waited in some traffic, and arrived through the glorious and inviting backdoor of my house finally around 6:15.  Yes, my day could have been much worse, but yes my day could have been a lot easier too!

On the positive side of things, all the procedures themselves went well. The hearing test I had to have because many CF patients lose their hearing due to the harsh antibiotics.  I am happy to report that my hearing is still within normal range.... so yay for that!

The bone scan I had to have because my poor little bones have been diagnosed with osteopenia. Again, caused by side effects from medications I am on, such as heparin.  I have to get my bones scanned every year.

Lastly, was my annual PFTs which are a lot of work and like I said before, are pretty wearing. More good news though because my FEV 1 was at baseline at 41% lung capacity. (Which had risen 4% from my last clinic visit.)

I am thankful that God got me through this crazy day. There are some other details I left out of this post that added to this difficult day also.  I am just glad it is over!  All I have left now is my diabetes test, but I don't want to think about that right now..............

Absolute Silliness

1st Peter

A couple weeks ago Seth taught on a Thursday night at our church.  Here is a link to download/listen to it:

http://www.tubetime.us/Other/7-17-08sermon.wma

Sneak Peek

Vacation Bible School is almost over! Tonight is our last one. Here is a sneak peek of what we have been up to all week:

Port, Please

Today my very brave sister Rebecca got a mediport placement. I myself have had a mediport for about 5 or 6 years now. (I honestly can't remember how long!) I have been telling her she should get one too for awhile now.

For those of you that don't know, a mediport is a small medical appliance that is installed beneath the skin. It is basically a stopper that needles can be injected into easily for I.V. meds and blood draws. Even though I have a scar on my chest from mine, I am pretty attached to it, as it makes being admitted into the hospital, and blood draws while there a breeze. Even though I am used to needles I still hate them, and so reducing being poked a bunch of times is o.k. by me. I only have to get poked once a week, and then I am good to go. When I had to go into surgery I was pretty nervous, but I stayed awake the throughout it and jabbered to the surgeons the whole time. They had a sheet between my face and my chest, (like a c-section) so I couldn't see what was going on. To this day I still remember parts of the conversation I had with them... and since I was all drugged up I hope I didn't say anything too weird!

Anyways, back to Rebecca. I heard her I.V.s were going bad everyday up until now. It is extremely hard to have to get a new I.V. everyday for two or three weeks on top of everything else. I called my mom this morning and was on the phone with her when they transported my sister back into her hospital room. Her surgery had been about an hour long. She was awake, but groggy, and wanted to drink water.  She will probably sleep all day and wake up stiff, like I did. Hopefully, this will make her future tune-ups go much smoother, like it has helped mine. Please continue to keep her in your prayers. I have been praying for her a ton.... all yesterday and today.
I love you, Bec!

Wisdom From Suffering

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"They who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls."

-Charles Spurgeon

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Vacation Bible School

Today launches Levi's first day of VBS.

I am scheduled to help in Levi's class along with my mom. The theme this year is God's big backyard. I am pretty excited about it, and hope I can make it through the whole week of driving to Mountain View every evening and helping there from 6:00 - 8:30. I think Levi will have a blast, along with his friends from church.

Prayer requests

Here are some prayer requests that have been on my mind lately.

• Greg Laurie's son Christopher who was married, had one child, and his wife is pregnant just died Thursday in a car accident. Please pray for them! www.harvest.org
• I read a blog everyday called confessions of a CF husband (it's over there on the links → ) and they are dealing with Lymphoma (Cancer) in addition to Cystic Fibrosis. The cancer was brought on by the immune suppressant medicine that you have to take after a lung transplant. They also have a small baby, and could also really use your prayers. cfhusband.blogspot.com
• Thirdly please pray for Seth as he is considering possibly switching jobs. He is in the process of putting together a resume, and it would be cool if he had clear guidance whether to continue to pursue it or not.
• Also please pray for Rebecca as she is in the hospital yet again. She was discharged too soon last time, and the infection reared it's ugly head. Please pray for her physical, spiritual and emotional state while she is in there- and that she will not have to hurl too many times due to the severe nausea that we both endure while on that certain antibiotic.
• Lastly please pray that if it is the Lord's will, that I will live a long life. I stress more than I should about not being around to see Levi grow up. It is constantly on my mind, along with the fact that I am too sick to have another child. So please pray that I would not stress about these things, and that I could place all of my trust in God.

Thanks!

Typical summer day

Today was a typical summer day. When Seth got home from work, we hit the beach. We suited up in our wetsuits, because that is really the only way that you can enjoy swimming in the frigid waters of Santa Cruz. We went swimming in the waves, all three of us.

After that we hit up Betty's Burgers. We have made a habit of it... every time we go swimming we somehow end up at that place afterwards! I'm not really a burger fan at all, but let me tell you........!

These burgers are absolutely scrumptious! I get the bleu cheese bitty burger, and it is now one of my all time favourites.

Now Seth is making up a sweet song on garage band, and Levi has crashed for the night.

This made me laugh out loud.

This weekend past

Much to our delight Alex, Anndrea and baby Sabastian came and stayed at our house this past weekend on a spur of the moment trip.  Here are some pictures.















We had a nice, mello, fun time and I am thankful that they were able to come up.