Macchiato the Gopher Hunter!

Macchiato decided to become a gopher hunter for the day. He was unsuccessful at catching the gopher, but he sure had fun trying.

The 4th of July!!!

We hope you had a happy and safe 4th of July!

Our day was pretty low key and uneventful. We spent the day hanging out with the fam. In the late morning we went down to the Brea country fair with Grandma and Grandpa; it was super hot, so that didn't last too long. Macchiato went to the fair with us and ran from patch of shade to patch of shade. We headed home pretty quickly since he looked like he was about to collapse! We're thinking he regretted begging to come in the end. :-)

After we got home we took a much needed afternoon nap to recover from the heat.

Dinner was a family bar-b-que at Grandfather and Grandmother's. Uncle Mark put together a feast, as always, and we finished it off with a delicious and festive cake that Shannon made.

In the evening we headed over to the Fullerton Courthouse to watch some fireworks. We had fun with the camera while hanging out waiting for the show to start. Enjoy!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Updates

Wow! We have really fallen behind on our blog. It is amazing how quickly time flies by and the way in which day to day activities squeeze every last minute out of each day. June was a fun, yet busy month that somehow slipped quickly by. Here are a few things that took place this past month:

- Brian wrapped up his second year teaching at Whittier Christian High School
- Kaylee turned one!
- Jewelly got a new hairstyle!
- We enjoyed more time getting to know friends from Bound By Grace (BBG - Our Fellowship Group at church)
- We moved in with my parents to save money for a house

We plan on adding posts related to several of these topics in the next few days...so check back soon!

Roughing It!

Roughing It! That is what we were supposed to be doing this Memorial Weekend. The annual camping trip was on the calendar. The reservations were made. Jewelly and I even purchased an air mattress and new sleeping bags. The fun was about to begin...until we found out it was snowing on our campsite! Although our sleeping bags are rated for 30 degree weather, we opted not to test them out. The camping trip was cancelled. All hope was not lost though. A friend of the family called with the news that he was able to get us a condo in Big Bear. Saturday morning we headed up the mountain. When we arrived, we were blown away by the place. It was beautiful!!! The place was huge. It had four bedrooms. Each bedroom had its own bathroom, all of which contained large jaccuzi tubs and jaccuzi showers. The living room, kitchen and dining area were also quite nice. Hopefully some of it can be seen in the pictures. We were truly blessed.

Jewelly's Birthday!

Yaaah!!! Jewelly's Birthday is this week, Thursday, May 15th. I am so grateful that God gave her life and then gave her to me. I'm a blessed man.

Update

Thank you all for keeping Tom and our family in your prayers these past few days. The surgery went well. It ended up being more extensive than the doctor had hoped...they had to make a third incision in his back along with the two on his chest and neck. The surgery was originally supposed to be 5 hours, but it ended up being close to 8. Needless to say Tuesday was a very long day for the entire family. We were all at the hospital more than 14 hours!

These past few days have been very important as the medical team has been working on regulating Tom's pain and ensuring that his oxygen and blood levels return to healthy ranges. The doctor placed him in ICU Tuesday for observation and as far as we know he is still there. This is not indicative that he is in critical condition, the doctor just wants to be extra cautious given the state of Tom's lungs (from emphysema) and risk of pneumonia if his breathing is not as it should be.

Brian and I are back in California now. We are checking in with his mom, Judy, daily and will try to keep the blog updated. We really do appreciate your prayers as we continue to trust and seek the Lord through this.

Prayer Request

As you may or may not know, Brian and I are in Michigan right now to spend some time with his family as his dad, Tom, has surgery. Tom is working through esophageal cancer and they have decided to do surgery to remove the tumor that is in his esophagus. The surgery is scheduled to take place tomorrow, Tuesday, May 6 at 11:30AM (EST). We would all really appreciate it if you would keep Tom and the family in your prayers as this takes place. We will be flying home Wednesday evening and will be sure to update you all when we have a chance.