Update on Life

I was looking forward to this week being a little slower since we've had some really busy ones lately. But life never slows down, especially in the summer! My relatives gathered this weekend to divide up my Grandpa's things and it was neat to see them and remember Grandpa C. through the rock collections, arrowheads, and ancient scrapbooks that he had an abundance of. I think he was one of the first scrapbookers since he had an album of newspaper clippings and photos he had put together in the 1920s! Our baby is due about exactly a year after his death. I also lost a great-Grandma and my other Grandpa within 6 months of Grandpa C.'s death.

On Sunday my 19-year old brother Grant was camping and climbed a 40 feet tree in the middle of the night (don't ask me why; I have no idea and perhaps he was under the influence of alcohol) and he fell 35 feet. So, we visited him in the hospital and were amazed at how well he's doing and that none of his limbs are broken. Just 3 ribs in his back and he tore his lungs away from his rib cage. Other than some scratches and bruises, he appears to be fine, and very blessed not to have been hurt worse! Today I need to get busy making him his favorite cookies and he requested one of my home-cooked dinners for supper since he'll be out of the hospital today and will need some comfort food. It's amazing how life's little tragedies and hardships can draw a family together. I was mad all last week at Grant over something (and I truly believe that I had a right to be) but when I heard he was hurt that small matter didn't even seem that important and I realized that no matter how much our personalities may clash at times or how much he may irritate and needle me, I love him so much and my first response was to go help him out and take care of him when I heard he was hurt.

*Oh, and here's my Dave Ramsey plug of the day: Grant doesn't have health insurance so he asked right away when he went into the hospital about costs. They said it would be around $8,000! Yikes! One night in the hospital and no major injuries! This is why it is ABSOLUTELY crucial that families have an emergency fund set up because little accidents or unexpected bills are always going to happen in life! Health coverage of some kind is important as well as having a large emergency fund. My goal is that we will build our E. fund up from $1,000 to $6,000 in the next couple of years.*

Today is our 5th Anniversary! It's funny because we don't even have any big plans for today and that doesn't even bother me because I know we'll get around to celebrating in a week or two with our first-ever weekend getaway since we became parents 3.5 years ago! Due to my lack of energy and motivation at this stage in the pregnancy, I don't want to go anywhere far, but leaving the kids with my folks for a night will be a vacation in and of itself! I will say that the last 5 years have been wonderful and I really think marriage just keeps on getting better and better! The time sure went by awfully fast and I am just in amazement when I look at our growing family and think about the little treasures God has given us as a result of our marriage and love. If we hadn't said those vows, there would be 3 little eternal souls that wouldn't exist right now!

In Making my Home a Haven today I am busy de-cluttering from the weekend (as usual), making up a few pounds of hamburger to freeze for post-baby meals, and catching up on some weekend laundry. I'm slowly working my way through my enormous list of things to get done before baby and am confident that all of it should be done in the next 7 weeks!