February Updates

2012 has been a great year for us so far! We have been relatively healthy (except for this viral pink eye I got and have had for 6 days now!!) and I even got to get off another medication! I am now just taking ONE medication! Praise the Lord! My doctor said I won't ever get off this med. It will be a life long med, which is unfortunate. However, it prevents flare ups so long term, it's the best option.

I've had a little joint pain in my left ring finger for a few days now. It kind of started when my pink eye started so I'm not sure if it's part of the "Virus" attacking my body or what. Hopefully it goes away soon or I'll have to try an injection in the joint. Hoping that it's nothing though. All my labs in February still look awesome and I am still amazing all of my doctors.

I also plan to run the MSP Half Marathon again in June! Super excited and ready to challenge my mind and body again. If you remember, I ran this same race in 2010 and injured myself so I took 2011 off. Though I still have IT Band issues, I'm hoping with additional stretching and strengthening, I will be able to complete the race relatively pain free. My sister is also training for this race and plans to run it with me. Looking forward to it!

Also, we are getting ready for our family vacation to California in April! The kids are super excited. We plan to do Disney Land, Sea World or San Diego Zoo, The beach, and visit Ross's sister in the dessert for a few days. It's going to be a fun but busy week!

Finally, if you haven't been following our adoption blog I urge you to start. Though we haven't really had too many updates there have been things that have happened throughout these last 5 months. The adoption journey has been an interesting one and we can't wait to see our story unfold!

Many Blessings,

2011: Our year in review

2011 was another amazing year! We hope 2012 is filled with more adventures and blessings for our family!

January: Ross & I went to Puerta Vallarta. It was an amazing vacation and I cannot wait to go back there someday! This month we also decided to move forward with adoption plans and began filling out applications! (Wow that was a year ago already!?)

February: Nolan turns 3! We had a candy themed party complete with a candy bar of course:) Our first niece was also born! We have 5 nephews so it was a surprise to finally have a girl in the family!

March: We took a family trip to Mall of America complete with rides and underwater world. Nolan still asks to go back there someday:)

April: I got the privledge to be my nieces God mother! First time ever being a God Mother! She got baptised in April

May: We announce our plans to family and close friends that we are adopting! My 5th nephew is born this month also!

June: Ross turns 30! I throw him a surprise party and he is completely surprised!

July: Anne turns 28! We attend one of Ross's friends weddings on this day and had a great time celebrating love and age all together:)

August: Ross's biological sister comes to our cabin for the weekend and we get to spend all weekend with her and her daughters. It was like we have all known each other forever!

September: We are finally officially approved into our adoption program and announce our plans to EVERYONE! Nolan starts his first year of preschool this month and my 5th nephew is baptised! Busy busy month!

October: We hosted a fall party at our cabin complete with pumpkin carving, apple cider, fall pictures, and a boat ride. It was something we decided we will do annually! This month we also made pumpkin cookies and carved pumpkins with the kids at home. LOVE fall!

November: We hosted our 3rd Thanksgiving! We get better at it every year and this year we noticed that we were completely ready by 8am of Thanksgiving and sat around waiting for everyone to come at noon! That never happens!!

December: We celebrated Christmas in Wisconsin. We spent a few extra days there this year and it was so nice to be able to see more friends and spend more quality time with family. We went through the Christmas village at the park and stopped at my childhood favorite ice cream spot! We celebrated New Years Eve in the cities at a hotel with some of our nephews and in laws.

We had a busy 2011 and another healthy year to celebrate for me! I cannot believe it's been almost 3 years that I have been in remission now. So thankful for my health! Here's to another amazing and healthy year!!!

Today is a good day!

Today my friends, I took the last of my kidney pills! My $50.00/month pill! Hopefully forever. I've been slowing weaning the medication for a few months and after my appointment today showed great lab results, the doctor was ready for me to stop the medication! I'm super excited but also super nervous! If you remember correctly, it was this drug that ended up getting me into remission after chemo didn't work any longer. I've been on the medication for almost 3 years and as happy as I am to stop taking it, I am also super super scared! I will get labs taken in 2 weeks to test for any signs of protein in my urine. If nothing shows up, I'll be good for another 2 months until I have to test again. If some protein shows up, I'll have to do a 24 hour urinalysis again. And if a lot of protein shows up, I'll unfortunately have to get another kidney biopsy. This is worst case scenario and they do not anticipate this happening which is wonderful!!!

So...please pray that my body can handle itself without the medication and if all goes well, I could possibly start another drug wean in a few months!!!!!

A lesson on listening to your body...

We've all heard it before. Listen to your body. You know your body best. Blah, blah, blah. However, the story I'm about to tell is a classic example of listening to your body the most.

I started getting a cold about 3.5,almost 4 weeks ago. It started with a cough and headache and turned into more coughing. I figured it was just a cold and kept presuming my day to day activities. I did stop working out as it was becoming difficult to do a workout without coughing up my insides!I knew I should really get to the doctor, after all, even though a cold is usually not a big deal to most people, a cold for me can be life threatening and sometimes put me in the hospital. Well, after about 3 weeks, the cough started to get better and I knew I was on the right track. Why go to the doctor now when I am starting to feel better, right?

Well, then a few days later, Thursday of this week, I woke up with a terrible what felt like a full blown sinus infection. My face and head hurt so bad. I went to work and throughout the day it was just getting worse. It got to the point where I couldn't concentrate anymore so at 3:30, I left to go to the clinic. As I was driving from work to Nolan's daycare I noticed I was getting really weak and almost noticed it was harder to breathe. I chalked it up to all the coughing I've been doing over the last 3 weeks and now I'm clogged up in the nose. By the time I got to Nolan's daycare, I knew something was more seriously wrong. I decided maybe it wasn't safe to drive to the clinic and instead I should go home and wait for Ross to get home. So I called him, but he didn't answer. I was in so much pain at this point I decided I was just going to drive myself to the clinic, it was only 15 min. away after all.

The 15 min. drive easily turned into 30 with the road construction and detours that I should have known about and I found myself getting very anxious about just getting there. When Nolan would ask questions, I would tell him that I couldn't talk. As I noticed it was getting harder and harder to talk, almost as if my throat was swelling up? We made it to the clinic and I was starting to check in when all of a sudden I couldn't stand anymore. Everything was fuzzy and that was it. I told the receptionist that I was going to faint and fell to the ground. Details were pretty fuzzy but I just know everything was fuzzy and I was gasping for air. I looked around and my little boy was laying right on the floor next to me with a very confused and scared look on his face. I didn't even have enough air to talk so I just grabbed him and held him. They put me in a wheel chair and wheeled me to the ER. (Luckily the hospital was joined with the clinic!!!!)

When I got to ER, I was given a breathing treatment and what I believe was a medicine to relax me as I was freaking out pretty much. Not being able to breathe very well or talk is extremely scary, especially with my 3 year old next to me not knowing what was going on. Tears were welded up in his eyes as he saw me struggling for air and crying, but trying not to cry because it was too hard. Luckily, after the breathing treatment and the relaxer I was finally able to have enough air to talk relatively normal, hold my son, and text my husband to come to the ER. I was then given a chest x-ray, bunch of blood work, and an EKG.

My biggest fear was something wrong with my lungs or heart and thank God they found nothing except a sinus infection and bronchitis. I had pretty high counts of white blood cells which shows an infection and that my body was working very hard. The doctor assumes that because my body has been working so hard for almost 4 weeks trying to get me healthy, it was becoming extremely week. By the time I got to the clinic, it just gave out and when I realized I gave out, started to hyperventilate. I'm hopeful that is what happened as I never want to experience something like it again. However, I was sent home with an emergency breathing kit just in case it does.

So....I should have really just gone to the doctor a few weeks ago as I probably had bronchitis from the start. The doctor said that if a cold lasts more than a week, it's not a cold anymore. So that's a good thing to remember! After friday and today of literally sleeping all day, I'm starting to feel a little better and hope to be back 100% or close to on Monday for Halloween. I don't want to miss my little hero dressed up as a dinosaur:)

Nolan and I did have some good talks today about what happened to mom and that it shouldn't ever happen again. Today when I was trying to take a nap he asked me if I was still breathing:) He was so strong and so brave throughout it, I'm so proud of him!

Praying we both can heal from this experience and never experience anything like it again!!!




Then,

Our BIG news!!!

I know I have hinted at earlier posts that we have been news and big things are happening for our family.


Well here it is!!!

Yup...you read it right. We are adopting!!! God has placed adoption heavy into our hearts and we are so excited to see the story unfold for us. We started the process in January so it feels so good to have it approved now almost 9 months later. If you want to read more about our journey, I started blogging about it.

www.burauadoption.blogspot.com

Continued prayers for our family, my health, and the birth mothers out there making this selfless decision are greatly appreciated!

Updates

I just re-read my last few posts and noticed I never updated on a few things.

#1 being Ross's surprise 30th birthday! First of all, it was perfect. Everything about it. He was surprised, we had a huge turn out, and it was a beautiful day! He came home around 6 to a house full of friends and family and wonderful food surrounding him. He was completely smitten and enjoying every second of it. Then, two hours into his party we brought him outside and surprised him with his second surprise....a big party bus! He was completely in awe and had one of the best nights of his life he told me:) I can't wait to plan his 40th! :)

#2 the Lupus Foundation of MN blog.......well it should be up and running by now, however the staff person that was in charge of launching the new website and blog ended up leaving the company so this project is "on hold" as the other staff have their plates full and they haven't replaced her. This ended up being a blessing in disguise as I haven't had any time to do any blog posts on my own blogs this summer so I can't imagine doing them for theirs too! I'm assuming within the next few months the blog will be up and running.

#3. The 2011 lupus walk is scheduled for Saturday, September 10th in Plymouth at French Regional Park again. Unfortunately, I will not be attending as this is a super busy day for us! I have my 10 year class reunion in WI that night (still not sure I'll make it...) and also have my nephews baptism that night! For some reason, everything seemed to fall on that date! However, I hope to be back full force next year and get some funds donated. If you want to walk , feel free to go to the Lupus Foundation of MN's website and click to register for the walk or run or donate money. Every little bit does help! :)

Those are my updates for now!

Fall already?!

Wow, can't believe it's coming to the end of the summer already. I remember being a kid and thinking summer break was "forever!" Now, I feel like I blink and it's over with!

My health has been awesome this summer. Never got sick (a mini cold for 2 days ) but that's it! In fact, I'm doing so great that a few weeks ago my nephrologist and rheumatologist together decided I was ready to taper off one of my medications! I'm super excited about this for a few different reasons. One being this is the most expensive drug I take. It is $50.00 a month and I take 4 HUGE horse pills/day. Second, being I am all about "all natural" and would prefer to treat myself naturally so the less medications I have to take ...the better! and Third....it's just a really good sign that I am healthy and hope to be healthy for a long time! The wean off this medication is a long one...6 months but so far I've been on a lower dose for going on 3 weeks and haven't noticed any signs. I'll go back in another 4 weeks to check labs to make sure everything is still stable. If it is, they will reduce the prescription again and then wait another 2 months and then repeat...
Pending everything going perfect, I should be off this medication by February....!!! Which is a pretty special month for me because it was this month that my son was born and this month that I went into remission. I'd be more than happy to celebrate February again with getting off a medication! I would then go from taking 7 pills a day down to 3!!! How amazing is that?!

Other than that...no new news to report. Ready for fall and have things quiet down a bit!

Here is an updated pic of me and my little guy. Can't believe that he will be 4 this winter. Seems like yesterday he was born. And in one short week..I'll be sending him off to his first day of preschool! *tear*

Cake pops: Take 2

Turkey Pops for Thanksgiving favors!
Multi Colored cake pops for Nolans friends at daycare

Christmas pops for Christmas!

Baptism cake pops for my nieces baptism

I'm working on a cute 4th of July one that I will post after I make them! Enjoy and good luck!

Cake pops!

I love everything about cake pops. They are cute, fun, tasty, and you can do so many things with them! A few people have asked me to write a post about cake pops and although they may think I am the cake pop queen...I have a long way to go.

My cake pop inspirations have all came from a wonderful blogger named bakerella. I randomly came across her blog last year and when I first saw her blog it was love at first site. Her and I are a lot a like. Were both blonde, we both have kidney problems (she just got her 2nd kidney transplant) and mostly We both LOVE to bake. However, she is like 10 times better than me..and I'm ok with that. For now.

I love her so much I even bought her book on cake pops. The book has been much more helpful in my cake pops because it gives way more indepth advice on how to make them and different tips to try if they are not working out for you.

So, here is how I make them and my tricks/tips, however I still advise you to check out bakerella because she after all is the official cake pop queen!!!

Items you need:

-Box of cake (that's right...you don't need to make a homeade one for these to taste great!)

-Can of frosting

-2 bags of candy melts ( I find these at michaels, here is an example of them. I try to buy them when they are on sale otherwise, they are about $2.99/bag at michaels

-bag of lolipop sticks ( I also find these at michaels)

-any sprinkles or anything else you want to put on your cake pops

1. Bake the cake per the directions on the box

2. Once the cake is done baking, allow to cool. (0vernight is best)

3. Crumble the cake up into little pieces

4. Add a little less than 1/2 the can of frosting and mix it all up.

5. Roll them into small balls and put them on a cookie sheet

6. Put them in the freezer for 15-20 min or so to get them kind of hard

7. Melt the candy melts

8. Dip the tip of the lolipop stick in the melted candy and then stick it in one of the balls.

9. Then, dip the stick with the ball into the candy just once

10. Tap the stick to get the excess candy off of it and to make it smooth. Bakerella shows some great pictures of these on her website and book. I can NEVER get mine as smooth as she does for some reason.

11. Sprinkles sprinkles or just leave them how they are and stick them into styrofoam to let them dry!

Seems easy, right?! I love when people tell me they are going to make these for the first time. Then, they come back to me and are so frusterated and don't understand how I do it. Trust me, folks, it took practice!!! My first few batches were complete flops and I was ready to be done with them forever. Make sure you have plenty of time and your kids are not running around...you will need to devote your undivided attention into these things to make them successful:)

The 2nd post will include pictures of my creations!

Busy!

I am having a hard time believing that May is almost over. However, when I look back at all the things we have been dealing with along with some other commitments I have taken on, I can see why May went by so fast!!!

I am planning a surprise 30th birthday party for my husband, Ross and if you know me I don't throw parties without looking at each tiny little detail. It's a major flaw for me because I get so obsessed with all these tiny details that no one even cares about! I just need to learn to let go! His party is in two weeks and I am super excited for it to be here and then be over! :) Ross has no clue which makes these even more fun.

I have also been asked to be one of the blog authors on the Lupus Foundation of MN's blog. Though this is a wonderful opportunity, it's also a huge commitment on my part. The blog is expected to launch in a few weeks so between now and then I have to have 3 blog entries done, a profile for me, and some ideas for potential titles. It's been a little hard fitting this all in but know this is something I really want to do.

So...stay tuned for the release of the blog. Excited to share my story and help others deal with lupus!

Raw post

I have to admit, I feel I have hit bottom right now. I am emotionally and physically exhausted Today was the first day I cried in front of Nolan. Tried so hard not to but it just all came out! He hugged me and asked me why I was sad. At that moment, everything that made me sad went away. My sister told me today to not dwell on the negative and to just be happy that I'm healthy and I have my family. And, I'm holding on to that by a string right now. To start out...We are still in the custody/child support/battles right now for Ross's son and it's just getting so old. I think the thing that put me over the edge was coming home to a $2,300 lawyer bill for just the month of March. We have now spent over $15,000 to fight for this child. Oh boy, could I write a book about this and I hope that someday these memories are as bitter and strong in my mind and I am able to put what has happened in a book. I feel so vulnerable to the devil right now. So raw and open to evil. I have hatred in my head, in my heart. I have said things I regret, and thought even worse things I regret. As I was driving to McDonalds tonight, (Yeah, I'm an emotional eater leave me alone!) I admitted to God that I was surrendering to Him. Asking Him to help me and use me in this time of vulnerability. I am a strong believer that everything happens for a reason. Everything. We are fighting for this child for a reason, a reason we may not even know about at this point of our life. We have drained our savings, and risked our marriage for this child. A child that is not even mine. Sometimes that is almost just too much for me to even comprehend. Sometimes I feel like crawling in a hole and not ever coming out. Tonight is one of those nights. So tonight, if you are reading this, please pray for me, for my family. Please pray we can find peace in the decisions that have been made and pray that God uses us during this difficult time and that we can be glorified in this process.

Nolans 3rd Birthday

Just noticed I never posted about Nolan's 3rd Birthday!!! oh how time just flies....

We had a candy themed party for it and it could not have fit him anymore perfect as he has a major sweet tooth! (like his mommy and daddy!)

After his party, we went to a hotel with Ross's family and the kids got to swim and then order pizza. We had a great time! Can't wait to plan his next one:)

Updates!

So excited that is it already the middle of March! We are itching to get to the cabin and out of the house again!

We just had an article published about Ross's family finding their sister. It is an amazing story and we all feel so blessed to be able to be part of it!

Click HERE to read the story! Make sure you have some tissues handy, it's a real tear jerker!

Now that Nolan is 3 it is amazing how independent he has become. He wants to pick out his own clothes, dress himself, help me with EVERYTHING, and now he can ride his big boy bike! (with training wheels of course!) He has quite the sense of humor and is always making us laugh with his quirkiness. Love him so much!

We have some more exciting news to announce but that time will come soon!

Healthwise, still feeling great and enjoying EVERY second of it! I was going to be running the minneapolis marathon again this June but ended up having Ross's Surprise 30th birthday party scheduled for the day before the marathon. Don't think I will be able to bar hop all night and then go run 13.1 miles! So, I'm going to try to run one in September. It's ok because the weather here has been so cold I haven't been able to get outside and run like I did last year at this time. So the treadmill has become my friend!

Well, that's it for now!

Car Accident

Last Tuesday, I was driving to work. Listening to my radio, ready to get gas and start my day at work. As I was on a 2 lane hwy I was thinking "how weird is it that one second I'm driving without a care in the world and the next second you could be in a car accident." Not 2 minutes later I got hit. Seriously. Weirdest thing ever.

I was in the left turn lane yielding to oncoming traffic. As I was turning into my turn the lady that hit me was at a stop sign at the street I was trying to get to and didn't see me and went. Crash! I was hit on my side and then on the side where Nolan would have been sitting if we was with me. Thank GOD he wasn't! Though I don't think he would have been hurt either, he would have been scared to death!

Luckily, everything turned out ok. The lady took full responsibility and my car is fixable almost $6,000 later! I have to have a rental car for two weeks which has been a bit of a pain and I had to get new car seats but not having anyone hurt is by far the biggest thing for us to be Thankful for. As you can see by the picture below (which doesn't do justice of the damage) if the lady that hit me would have been a larger vehicle she would have hit me way higher up and possibly causing way more damage and possibly injury. We are so very thankful that she was in a tiny car and I was in a big vehicle!

Guatemala Mission Trip: Canceled

It's taken me awhile to write about this post. Mainly because I'm not sure how I feel about it. A few weeks ago I backed out of the mission trip. There were a few underlying problems including me getting MAJOR anxiety about it but there is something that has came up in our lives and I had to look at both of the things and decide which was more important at this time in my life. There were other things too..... like my husbands 30th birthday and me wanting to run the Minneapolis 1/2 marathon again this year interfering with the trip. It seemed like everywhere I looked there was yet another road block to conquer.


I can only hope and pray that I will have an amazing opportunity like this again and even though I feel like God was calling me to go on this mission trip, I feel him calling me to this other "priority" much, much more.

I hope that I don't regret this decision but I know that God has a plan for me in all of this and am so excited to see His plan unfold for me!

SO yes...on a side note I have decided I am going to try to run the Minneapolis 1/2 marathon again this year! I'm really still struggling with the whole IT issue in my right knee but am hoping I can conquer it and have another successful training and race. So excited to train my body for this challenge again!!! I will start writing in my running blog: www.anneburau.blogspot.com when I start my formal training in April.

Hoping we have an early spring this year too!!!! Have a very Blessed day everyone!!

Puerto Vallarta 2011

We're back! Ross and I had an amazing time in Puerto Vallarta but missed the boys like crazy! We spent most of our trip being lazy by the pool but did venture out downtown and walked the boardwalk one day, went snorkeling on the island of yllapa, and went to a few hockey games at the local pub. The resort we were staying at was about 80% Canadian, so we met a ton of fun friends that say "eh" a lot! We were the only Americans at the resort that we were aware of. Crazy. They nicknamed Ross "Minnesota."

The food wasn't the best at our resort so we found ourselves venturing out a lot to eat. At the resort, I settled for rice and beans for pretty much every meal! I'm so sick of rice and beans I never want to eat them again! At least for a long, long time. We had Burger King one day for lunch and it tasted the best but was so expensive! Ross paid $9.00 for his Whopper meal! Crazy!

We can't wait to go on another trip!!

December!

Oh how I can't believe it is already the middle of December. How much I love this time of year and yet how fast this time of the year goes! We will be doing our annual Christmas baking this weekend and then next week will be heading to Wisconsin to see my family! Then, Jan. 1 is right around the corner and we will be leaving for Mexico!!! My "To Do" lists have started and are long! So much to do and not enough time! But so looking forward to relaxing on the beach with my wonderful husband who we just celebrated 4 years of marriage together!

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I probably won't be back blogging until after the trip!

Thankful

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I felt a Thankful post was due! I have so much to be thankful for I don't even know where to start!!!

1. First and foremost, I am thankful for my husband. He is an amazing, supportive, caring, loving husband and I could have never asked for more! He is such a hard worker and even though there are some days I really hate being alone all the time, I know he is doing it to help us and someday will pay off.

2. I am thankful for my son. (& Step son). They keep me young and give me so much joy. I cannot imagine my life without them and never in a million years thought I would have two boys. I thought for sure I would always have girls!

3. I am thankful for my job. In these trying times of the economy, it truly is a blessing to still have a job!

4. I am thankful for our Country and the people who serve our country.

5. I am thankful we have found a church in our new community that we love and that loves us! We just become members last week!

6. I am thankful for all of my friends! I don't get as much time to spend with them now that I have a family but miss them and love them just as much as before!

7. I am thankful for our home. There are a lot of people these days that do not have one.

8. I am thankful for my health. I never know if it will last another day.

9. I am thankful for my parents as they are the ones who have molded me into the person I am today. They are amazing people!

10. I am thankful for God. And the life he has given me.

What are you thankful for this year?

The Calling

My life is about to dramatically change.

Forever.

Come June 4th, 2011 I will embark on my first ever mission trip to...

Guatemala!

Right when we think life can't possibly get any crazier, I am taking on this new venture and making it even crazier!

How did it all start you ask??

Well....here is my story.

It all started years ago. I have always wanted to do a mission trip. Ross and I talked about going on one when we were older. Like retirement age. Kids grown up and out of the house. No jobs. Lots of free time. Perfect...right?

Well...a few weeks ago I woke up in the morning with a burst of energy flying through my body. I was smiling ear to ear all morning and was on "cloud nine." The reason? I was being called. Called to serve the Lord. Called to help others in need. Called to leave my home. My family. The comforts of my own home. and take on the challenge of helping others in need. I have never had this "feeling" before. This huge desire that I HAD to do this and had to do it now. And alone. I was being called by God to do this alone. Not bring Ross. Not bring the kids. Alone.

So, I called my church and asked if they knew of any mission trips coming up. The secretary didn't know anything about them but said she would pass on my information to the pastor to see if he knew of any. That evening I went home and went onto facebook and I see my step brother in law's facebook status talking about hosting a Guatemala trip in June and starting to get ready for it. I sent him a message about it and within ten minutes my inbox was filled with applications and information on Guatemala 2011. You cannot tell me this is a coincidence.

The paperwork is filled out and mailed and in 8 months I will be embarking on a new journey. A journey of love. faith. hope.

Now, this may all seem crazy to all of you and honestly, it is to me too. I am a very organized person. I have my life planned out to a "t." However, how I envision my life is not always how God envisions my life. I always pictured my life to be perfect. Healthy, two kids, a husband that works normal hours, a job I love, etc. I've ended up with a lifelong diagnosis, one child, one step child, a husband with about 4 jobs, a stressful, busy job and a life of craziness. And here is God again, upsetting my "vision" of a life.

I'm scared. Really, really, really scared. Leaving my son. My husband. My step son. for 9 whole days!!! I have never done this. And alone. Going into a country I have never been to. I don't speak their language and living with a "team" of people I have never met and will spend every waking hour with for 9 whole days!!

So...I have been praying a lot. Praying for God to give me the strength to take on this wonderful challenge. I know it will be amazing. I know I will be changed forever. I know this will be the most amazing opportunity of my life and I'm ready.

So there it is! So please, I ask for your prayers as I accept this new journey in my life. Please pray I get the strength to accept this journey and be excited about it and not be scared. I ask your prayers as I try to learn some Spanish before I go there. I ask for prayers for comfort and peace and stability and be ok leaving my family for 9 whole days!!!

I will keep you posted with many Guatemala details these next 8 months!

Updates

I can't believe October is almost over with. Fall is literally flying by this year! A few weekends ago I ran the Becker 5K Halloween 5K race. It was an extremely hard race consisting of running on cross country trails! Most of it was hills, leaves and sand. Basically everything I'm not used to running in!! I finished 7th in my age group (which was out of 20) which wasn't horrible! Really dreading the rest of the fall/winter treadmill running.

Ross & I recently booked a trip for the two of us to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for 1/1/11! We are so excited and can't believe it is only 2 months away already!

I have been doing excellent health-wise but lately I have been so tired. I tacked it up to just being busy, not sleeping as well, etc. However, I went to the doctor for my quarterly visit last week and did a urinalysis and they found a "massive" amount of red blood cells in my urine. This is very unusual for me. It could be anything from a UTI to a bladder infection or kidney problems, etc. They aren't really sure at this time so the next step is re-testing me. I will be going back next Monday for a re-test. I'm really hoping that it was just a "fluke" and my tiredness and the red blood cells are not a sign of something worse.

Lastly, I just completed the book "Love and War" . What an amazing book. Every married and soon to be married couple should read it. Honestly, my views on marriage have forever changed and I will never be the same after reading it. I would highly recommend. The book starts out slow but once you get half way through it gets to be much easier reading. Especially if you have never read a Christian book, it can seem "boring" at first. But, I highly advise you to keep going and you will be throughly impressed! The next book I will be starting is called "Purpose driven life" This book is asking you "why are you here?" "What is your purpose in life" "Why did God put you here on Earth?" I'm excited to dig into this book and will share my reviews of it once I complete it!

Have a wonderful rest of October!