Something Beautiful

Throughout the fall, I've been enjoying the ash tree outside the window near our home office. It has slowly changed from green to a brilliant yellow. One morning following an evening of rain and wind, I looked outside and saw that the wind had knocked all the leaves off of the pretty ash tree. I was a little disappointed until I looked past the empty branches. I was pleasantly surprised to see a beautiful red and orange maple tree directly behind the now bare ash tree.

If the wind had not blown all those pretty yellow leaves off of the ash tree, I might have never even known that the maple behind it was so beautiful. I think it is the same way in our life, too. We think we are so happy in a situation and are devastated when things change. But it is important not to keep focusing on what isn't anymore. God will keep giving us beautiful things in our lives, even if isn't what we were hoping for or expecting. If fact, it might even be better!

Itchy & Hacky

Both Zach and Josh has been having some medical issues in the last week. Josh has bacterial bronchitis. It came on so quickly! When we were there he was fine, the next day he called and was really sick. He's been to the doctor up in Minnesota twice now and is on four different medications. He is slowly getting better. He goes back on Thursday for a recheck to make sure he is doing okay. I'm sure his roommate is just about tired of hearing Josh cough all night. I'll admit that it was hard not having him at home so I could take care of him. I'm really thankful for the school nurse that has evaluated him daily since he got sick.


Zach has had a rash for a few months. I wasn't too concerned at first since he has so many allergies and such sensitive skin, but it continued to get worse no matter what we tried. The itching finally got so bad that he couldn't stand it any more, so we made a trip to the doctors (even though he doesn't have insurance coverage yet). Of course, the doctor doesn't know what it is, but after many questions, he has narrowed it down to a food allergy. Zach is on several medications, which are definitely giving him some relief. Unfortunately, he will probably be itching again in a few weeks once he is off the meds. I suspect that he will need to have some allergy testing done to find out what is causing the rash.

Zach's Job

Okay, so after a whole slew of jobs, Zach finally has one that is full time with benefits. Zach started working as an Assistant Manager at the Taco Johns here in Boone a few weeks ago. He works the evening shift and sleeps during the day, which suits him just fine. I wanted to take a picture of him working to post on this blog, but he said no.

Parent's Day at Crown College

Jeff and I headed back up to Minnesota for the Crown College Parent's Day. Since it was also Fall Break and Josh couldn't come home for the weekend because of football, we went up Friday morning and was able to hang out with him all afternoon. We ate lunch at Boston Market, walked around the Mall of America, got him a new cell phone, and then ate dinner at Famous Dave's BBQ. He was happy not to have to eat cafeteria food for a couple of meals. Saturday, they had a special brunch at Crown for parents and players. Then we went to chapel with them before the game.

The Crown Storm football team played a much better game than the last time I was there. They just seemed to work as a team this time and were very encouraging to the other players. They also won 28 to 21! It is so fun getting to see Josh play college football. This picture was taken right after the game. The trees and weather was absolutely gorgeous the whole weekend until right after the game. We got rain within minutes of driving off the campus for home!

Health Update

I am pleased to say that I have reached my two year anniversary since being diagnosed with cancer. I saw Dr. Otteman (oncologist) a couple of weeks ago and my appointments with him are now reduced from four times a year to three times a year. Today I had a mammogram, which was normal, and saw Dr. Hardy (surgeon) and don't need to go back to see him for six months. I am thankful that I'm am needing fewer appointments.

While Jeff and I were in the waiting room, I was reading in a medical magazine that the five year survival rate for breast cancer is now 89%. That is definitely an increase from just 20 years ago. Thanks to October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, many more women are getting the screenings to detect cancer early. If you are a woman (or married to a woman), please make sure that you are aware of any changes in your breasts, get yearly exams from your doctor and yearly mammograms if you are over 35 years old. Find it early because there IS life after cancer!

Ice Cream Sundays

Last night our small group hosted a "come meet the pastors" Ice Cream Social for anyone who has recently begun coming to the church. We had a great turn out and actually ran out of ice cream and had to make a quick trip to get more!

We had 22 adults and 16 kids show up. It was great for Jeff and I to get to chat with these new people, but by having our small group host it, several other couples got to meet and visit with the newcomers as well. Now when they come to church, they will see several familiar faces. We hope to do this again in a few months and have a different small group host it.