Health and Hospitals

Our little adventure in the hospital has reached its end. Jesse should be going home tonight, something of which he’s been looking forward to for the last couple of days. His white blood cell count has returned to a healthy level (3.7 yesterday! A big change from 1.3!!) The doctors have removed Jesse from the TPN (food through a bag), and he’s graduated to eating on his own now. He’s on a low-residue (low fiber) diet, and will need to take the transition fairly slowly, but his appetite is completely back. Before we went to the hospital, he hadn’t had an appetite for about two weeks, off and on. Guess I better start getting into the groove of grocery shopping again! It was cute—his night nurse last night was so excited for Jesse to be off the TPN and getting prepared to be discharged. She’s been one of his main nurses the full 9 days and has invested a lot of time and care with him. Last night, we all just wanted to throw a celebration. He’s the youngest (by far) on the floor, and the nurses have enjoyed visiting with him and getting to know him. Jesse will begin taking Remicade—an infusion drug—and we hope and pray it will be affective, and he’ll begin to feel comfortable being more active. Thank you for all your prayer and support--God was with us throughout this whole process, and we definitely felt your prayers.

Field Family: From Three to Four

Jesse decided it was time to get a second parakeet. Sooo, after about an hour of hemming and hawing in the pet store, we decided to give it a go. Bentley has been extra lovey lately, so hopefully he'll extend that to his new little friend, Kolby. For now, we have two cages until they get acquainted. This picture is a bit deceiving because this new little guy has a bright yellow head and what looks to be white is actually yellow on his wings. He's very pretty...still growing his little tail though.Bentley checking out this new "thing." So far, they're doing okay together. The biting is pretty minimal.And here's the culprit himself....

Blessed

When the refrigerator is stocked, the electricity runs without interruption, and the Netflix movies arrive right on schedule, it's easy to overlook them. What happens when the money doesn't run as plentiful, and the pantry begins to become bare? We certainly notice that. The same goes for health. Most of us hop out of bed (okay, some stumble out), get ready, walk to our vehicles, and then for the rest of the day, we move about performing our duties. We don't notice these things, we just do them out of habit--out of necessity. But, what happens if we can't even begin to think about getting out of bed or taking a shower? What if we can't climb the stairs to our office building? We certainly notice that.
Jesse hasn't been feeling well these past several days, and I realize now more than most times how blessed we are to be able to perform daily responsibilities. Just how our bodies tolerate a meal is a blessing. I guess I may be rambling a bit here, but it's become so aware to me how much I take for granted. I look around me right now and see an apartment full of furniture and STUFF. Many days, I walk right past all this stuff and neglect to even have regard for it. Many places in the world would think me a queen, and so often times I feel a pauper.
I'm reminded, especially this week, to be thankful for what I do have and not wanting of what I don't have. We are blessed.

Birthday at the Zoo

Finding Home in Christ

Living far from family and friends hasn’t exactly been what we expected it to be. I think we both envisioned our time in Florida to be full of adventure, new experiences, and opportunities to travel a different part of the country. While we’ve had our share of adventures, new experiences, and some opportunity to travel, they haven’t been exactly what we expected.

Needless to say, both Jesse and I have been homesick these past two years, and sometimes feel overwhelmed with the loneliness being apart from family brings.
Just yesterday I was looking at photos from Jesse’s parents’ trip to San Diego. As I perused through them, it wasn’t long before tears started rolling down my cheeks. I wanted to transport myself into the pictures to share in the good times they were having together. TOGETHER. That’s what we miss.
Since waking up this morning, this idea of homesickness has been heavy on my heart and mind. Just as I sat down to my desk to begin work, it donned on me that I’m rarely homesick to be TOGETHER with Christ, and He’s right here! I don’t have to pick up the phone to call him or write an email to share a story. I can speak to him right here, right now. Why is it so difficult to pray when we’re lonely or to open the Bible to listen to Him? Why is it that we search in countless impossible locations for the one thing that is sitting right in front of us? Jesse and I will always miss our family and friends when apart from them, but I wonder: would we be less homesick if we found our home in Christ?