Happy Father's Day!

Wow, what a nice Father's Day we had. Tori and I keep joking that it was a second Mother's Day for us...We might have had more fun than the guys! After church we went to the lake for lunch, then put Gabe down for a nap. George had a movie for the guys to watch, so Tori and I ran for the boat as quick as our flip-flops could carry us! We got to lay around, swim and just chat for a nice couple of hours before Gabe woke up and we went back to add everyone else to the fun. We parked in our own special cove and enjoyed the afternoon. The water was perfect and the sun was bright. I could go for a repeat tomorrow...

Gabe had his first swim lesson this morning. It went really well--he kicked his feet and blew bubbles and of course didn't want to get out of the pool when it was over. He has three more days left, then we'll be heading to West Virginia this weekend for a regional meeting with Ryan's work. Hopefully Gabe can show off his swimming skills at the resort!

Nothing else out of the ordinary here...Ryan isn't feeling any better, but I don't think any worse, either. He'll talk to the doctors later this week. We know lots of you are praying for us and we appreciate every bit of it. We'll keep you posted...

Hot

Wow. It is too hot for the second week of June! When I stepped outside the other day, I was surprised by how completely I could forget that stifling, humid blanket of heat that is a Virginia summer. It was close to 100 degrees yesterday and definitely 100 degrees today. Yuck. I am very much missing dry Colorado right now---I love how cool it gets at night, even in the summer, and that the rain actually cool things off instead of making it even more humid. Ahhh, I could go for a drive through the mountains about now!
Well, it is a lazy Sunday afternoon, after our first busy weekend in a while. It felt strange to have a lot of things to do, because besides traveling, we have had surprisingly few things on our calendar. My brother Mike came up for the weekend again, which was a lot of fun. He got here late Friday night, and I vaguely remember waking up to a hug from him, because I think I was already in dreamland by then. Saturday morning, Gabe and I dropped Mike and Ryan off at Waid Park for the Pigg River Ramble, our county's annual canoe/kayak race/float. You could tell it was going to be a nasty day by how sweaty we got just walking from the house to the car, but the boys were ready to ride!
Gabe and I hung out about 6 miles down the river, waiting for everyone to come by. Our friends have property along the river, so both this year and last we have all gone down to eat lunch and watch the race. It was nice and shady and there happened to be some squirt guns around, so we stayed pretty cool. When Ryan and Mike came floating on by, they made the quick decision to just hop out and join us for some hot dogs---they had forgotten to bring water along, and were feeling pretty dehydrated, so were all too happy to end a little early.
After Gabe's nap, we headed on over to his friend Brodey's 2nd birthday party, but it was so hot out that we were all kind of miserable. There were lots of bubbles and tractors to play with, though, so we hung out before heading back to air conditioned bliss. Oh, and we grabbed some Homestead Creamery Chocolate ice cream AND Homestead Creamery chocolate milk. Cam and Vaughan, if you're reading this...we thought of you when we made the best milkshakes between here and Michigan!
Well, that is most of the weekend for you...it was so nice being back in our Sunday School this morning. It's been way too long since we've been in town on a Sunday (and feeling good...) and it is always such a blessing to be around the great people in our class. Here's a shout out to everyone in class who reads this...:)
Also, a shout out from Stephen, who is hanging out with us tonight...He says hey! To whoever...
Also, a shout out to all the 14 mosquitoes who chose to bite me a few days ago. I am not happy with you.
And finally, a shout out to spring. Even though it is too hot to feel like spring, and we are a couple of weeks away from summer, we have had a couple of great spring thunder storms the last few days. We had an awesome soaking rain yesterday evening that just made me want to run around in my bare feet. Which I actually ended up doing. Beautiful. Mike took a picture of me as I was deciding whether or not to make the leap off of the porch. I'm glad I leapt (spellcheck is telling me that leapt is not a word. I don't really care!) There is something about standing in the rain.
On that note...I hope everyone had a great weekend! If you're far away, we miss you. And if you are nearby, we miss you, too, so call us and let's hang out! :)

The Results Are In...

I really didn't feel like writing this post, so I stalled for a bit and added a bunch of new pictures. Hope you like them!
We did get a phone call from Ryan's surgeon this morning. There are two tumors that could be causing Ryan the problems he's been having. One is on his cerebellum, like most of his others have been. It would be the same kind of surgery that he has had before. And removing it may or may not make things better. The other tumor is on his brain stem. This one is not so pretty. The surgery is very major (not like the other ones aren't...) but they want to avoid it for as long as possible. So the bottom line is...the doctor wants to give Ryan two weeks and then reassess his symptoms to see if we can figure out which tumor is causing him the problems. At that point, we'll talk about surgery.
So we have two weeks for the prayer warriors in our lives to buckle down and help us combat these symptoms and the tumors. We serve a powerful God, and He doesn't want Ryan going through this any more than we do. To Him be the glory no matter what the situation, but if we can avoid this rather large trial, than we will be that much more thankful. I am personally praying for Ryan to have lots of energy, no pressure in his head or headaches, no depression about the situation, and no stress or worry about how to take care of his family. Will you pray with me?

Fun in DC and No Results Yet

Arg! I just had our entire weekend summarized in a really witty and enjoyable fashion, when somehow I erased the whole thing! Unfortunately, I sat here looking at the screen in confusion for just long enough that Blogger saved my draft automatically and it saved it as a blank screen. Well...I am not going to rewrite it now, but I know that a lot of people are wondering about the results of Ryan's MRI. We don't know anything yet, but we should be getting a call in the next day or two and I will update the blog again then. And I might still try to recap. But I might not. I'll post some pictures, at least. And tell you that we had a great time!

We all love chapstick!

I have to say that I am amazed at how much self-control Gabe has shown in the last few months of his life. We have let him "put chapstick on" now for awhile. He says "I want some lips" then goes into my nightstand drawer and gets out my huge tube of Pink Lemonade Lipsmackers, or he digs the tiny tube of Citrus Orange flavored ChapIce from the desk drawer. He really enjoys my super minty and glossy C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Shine, which is mint-infused for fresh breath. He's also supremely happy with the Original flavored Chapstick. Up until now, just putting a tiny, quick dab on his lips was enough for him. The purpose of this post is to say that my son Gabe, five days into being a two-year old, has just taken his first bite of chapstick. At first he looked disgusted and kind of shocked at what he had just done. Now, he is laughing an evil sounding laugh, and practically sucking on the tube of Mentha Lip Shine. I'd better go check the ingredient list...

Happy Birthday to Gabe!

So Gabe is 2 today. WOW! It's amazing how much he has grown up and changed in the last couple of months. His vocabulary is huge--he can recognize more birds than the average adult; he counted 8 bushes the other day--accurately, I might add; he picks up random bugs--he tried to get a little inch worm to roll up like a rolly polly yesterday(how do you even spell that?). He makes us smile and laugh all day long. (sounds cheesy, but truly, we just grin at each other every time he does something cute--which is all day long, like I said).

Planning parties is just not my thing, so luckily it worked out last weekend that family was in town and we could celebrate then. It was a nice weekend! Ryan and I went down to Cherry Point, NC to pick up my brother Mike from base. They spent all Saturday morning getting our Blazer registered to Mike so that he could drive it back to NC and have a vehicle to use while he is there. Noah came down in the afternoon and Jon was off of school, so we headed to Roanoke, got dinner at the Irish pub, then came home and gave Tori her Mother's Day gift early---a new guitar for Guitar Hero so we can rock out together!! All her wildest dreams came true this Mother's Day :).

Gabe got dedicated at church on Sunday, which was pretty appropriate, because I was actually in labor with him at church on Mother's Day two years ago. Seems like yesterday...We came home and grilled hamburgers and had a cake for Gabe, then Mike had to leave to get back to base and watched my Mother's Day gift, the movie Bella. It was a nice day and great to see Mike, Noah and Jon all in one weekend.

So for Gabe's birthday, we have a playdate with a friend from church this morning, then we'll meet Daddy at McDonald's for lunch and a romp on the playground, and then tonight if it's not raining, we'll take some pizzas to the park in town and anyone who wants to join us is welcome. I guess by the time he's three I'll actually have to plan ahead for a birthday party. Oh, and what do I fix for dessert if he doesn't really like cake?

Hmm, I'm debating on even including this in the post, but we need the prayer, so here goes! Ryan is still not feeling good. He's recovered from the surgery, but is having headaches and feels sick in the morning, which is indicative of another tumor. They want to get him in for an MRI, but the soonest we could get there is June 2, so he's just going to work as much as possible in the meantime. I keep hoping it's just allergies, but I guess we'll find out in a couple of weeks. Pleasepleaseplease be praying! The last thing we want is another surgery right now. I just want him to feel good! We're expecting a miracle, so expect one with us, OK?

Home!

We had a great time in Florida! It was sunny and beautiful the entire time we were there, except for one brief rain shower which produced the most incredible rainbow we had ever seen! The rainbow was out over the ocean, but not too far from shore, and you could see both ends and everything in the middle. It was even a double rainbow off and on. An absolutely stunning gift from God!
Gabe loved the ocean and the swimming pool. Anything to do with water and he is in heaven! He was going underwater like a pro and could even climb out of the pool by himself. Both grandmas had a blast occupying him in the pool. Ryan and I took him in the ocean a couple of times. He would be a little timid, but then you couldn't pry him away from the waves. He could walk up and down the beach forever, just collecting shells and seagrapes and anything else that looked interesting.
One of the highlights of the trip was seeing a sea turtle rescue habitat. Turtles that have been bitten by sharks or caught in traps are rehabilitated and then released back into the ocean. We were blessed to actually see a turtle get released! It was such a fun thing to see, and I even got misty-eyed when they put him out in the waves and he disappeared.

Well, back to normal life next week, which is never fun. Gabe and I get used to having Ryan around all the time and it is no fun to lose our playmate to the office. Oh well, money has to come from somewhere! He is feeling pretty good and is getting more energy every day. Headaches are getting farther apart and his scar looks good. Prayers are still appreciated and I hope this finds everyone doing well!
God bless...