Sad Announcement

Dear Friends and Family,
On Wednesday, Jeremy and I lost another baby (making this our 3rd loss). I was about 8 1/2 weeks pregnant. While we struggle with understanding why these things happen (and to us, 3 times) we also are holding firm to the faith we have that we will get to meet our 3 lost babies when we get to heaven. God just decided that He would rather have these little ones home with him rather than subject them to the pain and sorrow of this world for which we are grateful!
It also makes us so much more thankful for Dain, and for what a miracle and gift from God he truly is.
Thank you all for being such a loving and caring "family". Please think of us and pray for us as we grieve the loss of yet another little one.

It's been a while...

Ok, wow! I just realized how long it's been since I posted anything. I'm sorry! Guess things have just been really busy for me lately. Here's an update on our lives:
Jeremy went hunting for elk this past weekend. Unfortunately, there were no elk to be found. I'm sorry that we won't be enjoying elk steak, elk burger, elk summer sausage, etc. this winter. I was so looking forward to it!
I've been keeping busy! I have MOPS twice a month, plus a MOPS committee meeting once a month. I also joined my church's weekly women's Bible study of Ruth, which I have really been enjoying. I watch my niece about once a week, and still do a little bit of accounting work on the side. I've also been getting back into some of my hobbies - cross-stitching and sewing. I'm currently working on window treatments for my bedroom and for Dain's bedroom. All this plus being a full-time mommy!
Dain's doing great. We had his CT scan today and it went well. They had to use general anesthesia to keep him still. He had a bit of a hard time waking up, but recovered pretty easily. What a champ! We should know soon when his surgery will be scheduled.
Dain has recently decided his two favorite phrases are "uh-oh" (used at some of the right times, but mostly just for fun) and "thank you." Thank-you is used whenever he hands us something. Kids are so funny!
I will post pictures soon.

Dain's eyes

Today was our 1st consultation with the ophthalmologist, Dr. C. She did a very thorough examination of Dain's eyes, including dilation. There was one test she did with prisms to measure the extent of Dain's crossing. 1 is perfectly straight, with 50 being as bad as you can get. Well... guess what, Dain measured a 50.
Technically, Dain has what is called Strabismus, which means the 2 eyes don't line up. The form of strabismus he has is a mixture of Congenital and Accommodative Esotropia (eye turns inward). He also has a chance of developing Amblyopia, (or may already have it) which means that he sees better out of one eye than the other (thus the patching to prevent it).
Dr. C said that with patients in the 30 - 50 range, she typically recommends surgery. So, here we go! So far we haven't nailed down the time-frame for the actual surgery. However, Dr. C wanted to do a few more measurements to make sure that his degree of crossing stays steady. She has also recommended that we get a CT scan done in order to rule out the minute possibility of any neurological problems that could cause the strabismus.
Please pray that God will give us wisdom in moving forward, and for peace for Dain's mommy and daddy who are a bit apprehensive about the prospect of their little boy having any kind of surgery.

More pictures of Dain

Respecting and Remembering 9/11

This evening the TV happened to be tuned to the History channel. There was a program on (it's actually been running for 20 minutes as I write this) called "102 minutes that changed America." It is footage from that awful day 7 years ago. I made it through the first 15 minutes of it and had to turn it off. Watching it made me feel as I felt exactly 7 years ago when we watched it live on TV. My heart is in my throat and I still have wet tears on my face.
What happened to the righteous anger that we had 7 years ago? What happened to our passion for justice? Why should terrorists, who have no consideration for the right to live of the thousands of people they killed that day, be granted "rights" today?
On one hand, it is very hard to remember what happened that day. No one likes to re-visit the pain, the tears, the incredible suffering and death that took place. However, maybe it can serve to rekindle that passion, that anger, that love of our country!
Today, let's take some time to remember those who unwittingly lost their lives because of terrorists, those who willingly gave theirs to save some that would have otherwise been lost, and to pray for all the families that lost someone because of that terrible day of tragedy.
Let's also look forward to the future... the bright, beautiful future of living in this country, this gift from God, who has said, "Vengeance is mine."

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I saw this book at Costco, then heard lots about it, so I decided to give it a try.

I really enjoyed this book.

The story is about a young man who suffers a major loss and then finds himself working with a circus. At the circus he meets my favorite character of the story, Rosie, who also excited my sympathy.

There were parts of the story that I did not like, such as animal cruelty and a "sex scene" which is why I rated the book a 4.

However, the story puts an interesting spin on life during the Depression.

I enjoyed reading it very much and have already passed it along to another reader.


View all my reviews.

New Pictures

Well, we broke down and bought a new digital camera. We've been using one that we bought 6 years ago for approx. $400, and it doesn't do half of what a $150 digital camera does today. So I played with the new one quite a bit and got some cute pictures. Enjoy!

Dain in our front yard by the flower bed. He practically posed for this one!

Our one and only kitty, Butters. Doing what he does best... being cute and cuddly. Oh yeah, and sleeping. He does that a lot.

Goofing around outside.

This is a rare moment indeed... Dain is not pulling Butters' tail, and Butters is not running away. Yet.

Silly boy!