Oh Happy Day!

We are back from our very short trip to Utah for Dad's surgery and we have good news! In the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger, "It's not a tumor!" I'm going to post some AMAZING pictures from our little adventure and give you a little more of the story, but I did want to let you know that my dad is doing well.

He still had to have brain surgery because they didn't know it wasn't a tumor until they got inside. What they did find was something called a Venous Varix. I'm still trying to find a good definition for it, but it's basically an enlarged blood vessel in his brain. His veins were attaching to it and feeding it which caused two things 1) made it grow and 2) blocked blood flow to other parts of his brain. It has been removed and sent to a lab for testing, but the doc said he should be good.

For just having brain surgery he is doing amazingly well. Everything works perfectly and he's back to cracking his jokes and giving his nurses a hard time. Like I said before, he is a strong man and we knew things would go well.

I did want to thank all of you who prayed and fasted on my dad's behalf. I really, truly believe that all the love and support is what helped things go so well. I've got lots of thoughts on that that maybe I'll share later. Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU so much again. My family thanks you as well and are amazed that so many people have contacted us. We love you guys!

Any Man Can Be a Father

I said that a lot has been going on these past few weeks that I've been gone (teething puppies, trip to Vegas, moving apartments, etc.). I have a ton of pictures and stories that I'd like to share and I will, but I'd like to post about something, or rather someone, close to my heart.This is my dad, Jared (aka Papa Joe). To finish the quote from the title, "Any man can be a father; it takes someone special to be a dad." My dad is such an amazing man. He's done so much for me like build my appreciation for music, how to throw a baseball, ride a bike, drive, and to do my best in everything. He's supported me through school for so many years and has always encouraged me to be better.

Everything I've done in my life has been to make him and my mom proud of me. I haven't always been the best at that, but I try. I've always been able to call him and ask him advice for all sorts of stuff, like when the brakes on my miata were going out and I had no idea what was happening. I was on the freeway and I called him during one of his trips with Bryan and he was able to tell me exactly what was wrong and what I needed to do to fix it. I also remember when he would take me to the church parking lot to teach me how to drive a clutch. He had so much stinkin' patience!

I think almost everyone on our blog list has met my dad. Most people think he's pretty cool. I do too, which is why this has been kind of hard for me. A few weeks ago my dad had a seizure of some sort. My brothers found him and he couldn't talk. He was taken to the hospital where there were tests and things done. The doctors couldn't find anything wrong with him. He went home feeling a little better, with medication, and advice to not drive for 3 months.

He went back to the hospital about a week later to do an MRI. Just this last week we got the results. My dad has a brain tumor. He's going in for surgery this following Wednesday, September 10th. The doctors and other sources say that the tumor is slow-growing and that the surgery to be performed has very good odds of being very successful. It was a good thing that Dad had the seizure because it helped to detect the tumor early enough.

My dad is young and he is amazing. He's healthy and the surgery is going to go well. Still though, it would mean alot to me and Eli and the rest of our family if you could say a little prayer for my dad. I love you Papa Joe!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

I had no idea how theraputic blogging was until I didn't have internet access! I didn't know how grateful I was for the internet either. I've decided that I don't like watching movies at home without having IMDB accesible. I have SO SO much to say and I really have no where to start. I know it's only been 3 weeks (almost) since the last blog I posted, but it seems more like 3 years. There has been so much that has happened, some good and some not. I think I'll post separately for each event, but please understand that it's all intermingled. I know that this blog is more for me, Eli, and our family, but it's still nice to know that I have friends out there who care!

Albuquerque Aloft

Just as a quick reminder to our family and friends, OCTOBER is coming up in a month and a half! That means the International Balloon Festival is rapidly approaching. Here's a little preview as to what we've been waking up to every morning. It was launched at the park right next to our house:

I have also convienently placed links to Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Expedia, CheapTickets, and Hotwire here so that you can book your flights as soon as possible. Remember, you'll be flying into the Albquerque Airport during October 4-12.

Eli and I have toyed with the idea of being balloon chasers sometime during the week of the fiesta. We've heard it's the best way to get free rides in the balloons. Let us know if you want to come visit. Our place is perfect for the two of us, but we do have an extra guest room with a nice full bed, as well as room for the two air mattresses that we own. It'll be great fun!

Let us know when your flight is booked so we can put it on our calendars! We don't want to forget to pick you up (unless you've rented a car!).

I love to see the Temple...

Sunday was such a nice relaxing day. Eli and I finally took the time to go see the Temple. Usually on Sundays we go home after church and crash (Eli wakes up early and I work late), but not this last Sunday. We had heard that the Temple wasn't too far away, but we weren't quite sure.

We got a little lost, I'm not gonna lie, but we finally made it. The Albuquerque Temple is definitely a lot different from other temples I've been to. Most are made out of the gray colored granite and have some very intricate designs, but the Albuquerque Temple is very earthy and simple. According to LDSChurchTemples.com it's made of a "Desert Rose concrete trimmed with Texas Pearl Granite," so it's more of a rose-y, sand color. It's beautiful in it's simple surroundings and blends well with the pueblo-esque look of the rest of the city. I love the stars near the spire. You can click the picture for a closer look.
There is always such a good feeling around the Temple. Even when you're not inside. It reminds me of such happy times in my life; the first time I did Baptisms, being sealed to my family, marrying Eli, and all the times I drove to the Oakland Temple when I was a teenager. It's such a peaceful, happy feeling where you know everything is okay. I'm so grateful for temples and Eli and I are so excited to go in one of these days (when our schedule allows; we're recommend holders!).
I have a fascination with the waters that are usually found on temple grounds. The smell and the cool mist is so refreshing and the sound is so peaceful. It definitely enhances the temple experience!

Date Day

Eli and I have a pretty interesting schedule right now. I'm working at Barnes & Noble right now and Eli is working part-time as a lead at Sam's Club and working to get the business up and running here. What this all means is that Eli pretty much works all day and I usually work evening until midnight. We don't get to see one another very much except for Sundays.

We have decided that when Eli and I have time off together other than Sunday, we get to have our date night. We think it's pretty stinking important to spend time together; you know, happy marriage and all.

Usually for date day we go out to eat and watch a movie. Today was a little different. We went out to breakfast at a place here in New Mexico called Weck's. It's amazing! It's a ton of good food for a decent price and it's delicous! I had lunch and Eli had breakfast (his favorite). I had the chicken fried steak lunch special w/ homemade chips and potato wedges and a salad. Eli had Biscuits n' Gravy, another favorite. If ever you pass through New Mexico or come to visit, a stop at Weck's is necessary!

We contemplated going to a movie, but then remembered hearing about a ceramic store nearby called the Painting Corral. It's one of those places where you go in and pick a ceramic piece to glaze. You can use pieces that have already been fired or glaze a piece that hasn't been fired yet.

It was a tough decision for us to pick something, but we finally settled on some pirate pieces. I told Eli that I know we don't have any kids yet, but when we have a boy I'd like to decorate his room in a pirate theme. I love pirates! So we made our choices and got to work.

Eli worked pretty hard. His focus totally paid off because his pirate skull came out amazing! All you do is paint the project with an acrylic glaze. Once you're done painting you blow dry the project with a blow dryer. After that you apply a thin layer of glossy glaze and blow dry again. It was fascinating to see Eli work. We've both taken ceramic classes and were pretty anal about our projects

Here's Eli applying a barnyard red color to his pirates do-rag. And here are our finished projects:

This was one of the best dates Eli and I have been on in awhile. It's amazing to think that we have one another and have so much fun together! If you don't make the time now to do it, you really should have a weekly date night with your spouse. It does wonders!

Cherry-stained Fingers and Full Bellies

Yesterday was a nice, relaxing day. I ran around a lot, but it turned out to be well worth it. I slept in kind of late, having worked late the night before (closing at B &N is killing me!). I woke up with enought time to play with the puppies, shower, get ready, and pick up lunch for Eli. I usually make lunch for him, but was running a little late. I do kind of like closing at work because Eli and I are still able to have lunch (at Sam's) and dinner (at B & N) everyday. People think it's a little obssessive, but it's the least we can do while are schedules are a little off.

Continuing on, I stopped at a RS luncheon to get to know a few of the sisters in ward. I made it in time for the clean up. Nice! I met two nice ladies though. It's been great going to this new ward (outside of Utah) because people have been very receptive to us moving in. Although there are obviously people that have been friends for awhile, it's not an odd thing to have a new family move in. It's been great to have that openess and welcoming smiles.

After the world's shortest luncheon, I felt ambitous. I was planning on making spaghetti, but decided I would tackle a pineapple-stuffed chicken and bake a cherry pie. My first pie ever and it turned out amazing! The recipes came from Chef Britta's website. I went to girls' camp with her when we were younger back in California and she's turned into an amazing Chef! Thanks Britta!

Both turned out delicious! One of the most fun things about cooking and baking is the help. Eli is such an amazing husband. Both recipes can be kind of intense and I needed to grow an extra pair of hands. Eli became my extra pair. Instead of relaxing after a long day at work or playing on his new phone, he helped me. I gave him the daunting task of pitting and halving the cherries and he did with no complaint, after I threw a fit because my dough didn't come out right (he fixed that too). He's so stinkin' cool that way. It was pretty funny too; his fingers were a deep purple color after chopping into all of those cherries! I wish I would've had a camera, but I'll give you a little idea of what it might have looked like. Imagine black, tire-stained fingers (they were clean) and the little purple, cherry-stained fingers mixed. They looked a little like this:

We spent the rest of the night stuffed and content with our puppies. Sometimes I have to stop and thank God for the wonderful life I've been blessed with; an amazing husband, a wonderful place to live, our wild puppies, and the ability to follow a good recipe!