Meet Brandelyn

Meet Brandelyn. Her husband Brock went to college with me at Miami University in Ohio. We were both involved in Campus Crusade for Christ and had a lot of mutual friends. I've never met Brandelyn, but anyone that has adores her.

Yesterday, I found out that Brandelyn has been suffering from some serious & debilitating health issues that are growing worse with time. She has a "mystery illness" that has stumped doctors and despite Brock & Brandelyn's best efforts, they have not yet been able to find help for her.

As I read about their story, my heart was so burdened for their situation! I know how wonderful the blog community is, and I wanted to share Brandelyn's story in hopes that someone out there may know a specialist in the medical community that could solve the mystery of Brandelyn's pain.

Brandelyn's friends have created a website, Diagnose Brandelyn, to help create awareness and assist in the search for answers. It has a summary of Brandelyn's medical history, including detailed descriptions of her symptoms.

Please help to spread the word about Brandelyn and feel free to share her story on your blogs! If you know of someone in the medical community who might know how to help, please share Brandelyn's story with them.

Please join us in lifting Brock & Brandelyn up in prayer. I believe that God can heal Brandelyn, and He can also work in unexpected ways to lead them to a doctor who can uncover the cause behind Brandelyn's pain and effective treatment. I know that they would appreciate your prayers!

Here is an excerpt of Brandelyn's story from the website:
"Brandelyn is a 27-year-old woman suffering from an undiagnosed illness. Otherwise a vibrant, healthy, positive young woman, this illness has become completely debilitating. Brandelyn’s symptoms include terrible pain from her pelvic region, swelling aroung her abdomen and thighs, and a purplish-red honeycomb pattern on her abdomen, thighs, and buttocks. This has progressed over the past six years, beginning with mild pain and progressing to the point now where it is very difficult, if not impossible, for her to sit or stand. She and her husband, Brock, have been through a multitude of doctors, tests, and procedures, to no avail. Please check out the Medical History page for a description of Brandelyn’s symptoms and procedures that have been tried. We are reaching out to try to find anyone who can give us some answers. Can you help?"

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone had a fun & safe Halloween night! I always enjoy passing out candy and seeing all the cute kids in their costumes.

Last weekend, Truman and I headed out to Marble Falls, Texas to visit the pumpkin patch at Sweet Berry Farm.

One of the things that I've missed most living in Texas is having traditional seasons. I miss the fresh smell of crisp cool autumn air, vibrant colorful leaves & bonfires. Despite the lingering warm temperatures, I was really wanted to celebrate fall in a festive way. The farm was a perfect spot to enjoy some fall fun & pick out some pumpkins & gourds.

They have a giant corn maze in the shape of Texas. There are 11 Texas cities marked inside the maze, with a punch at each mark to track your progress of finding all the hidden cities.


And one of the biggest pumpkins I've ever seen on display...

I'll leave you with a laugh. (And a question....Look how giant those head holes are? I'm wondering whose head would be large enough to fill those holes?!?)

Happy Fall!

Pretty Punch

I wanted to share one of my favorite new paper crafting tools! This Doily Lace Edge Punch by Martha Stewart. (You can find it at Michael's.)

It is a versatile punch perfect for edging cards, scrapbook pages, tags, and just about any paper project you can think of! It has handy guides to help you line up the punch and it is easy to line up for a continuous line of punches to edge a card or scrapbook page.

It has gotten a lot of use since I picked it up a couple of weeks ago! I used it to edge two cards for my friend's wedding weekend....a cute lingerie shower card & a wedding card.

I love it when I find a paper tool that I can get a lot of use out of and that adds a fun finish to my paper projects! What is your favorite paper crafting tool?

My Best Friend's Wedding

I've been missing from blogland for the last couple of weeks. For good reason! My best friend got married! Kelly & I met in college and have been dear friends for 10 years. This day has been 6+ years in the making, and I was so excited to share in their special day!

Last week, I headed to Richmond, Virginia for the shower, festivities, last minute wedding preparations, and to celebrate Mike & Kelly's wedding day! I want to share a few photos that capture the sweet moments & memories of the day.

Kelly was an absolutely stunning bride! The Mill at Fine Creek was a perfect location to say I-do, especially with the vibrant color of the changing leaves. The Lord blessed Kelly & Mike with a beautiful, crisp, autumn day and surrounded them with family & friends who shared in their joy as they joined their lives as husband & wife.

Congratulations Mike & Kelly! Truman & I are so thankful that God brought you together to share in life & ministry and we are praying many blessings over your new marriage!

Photography Credits go to my amazing hubby who captured some beautiful shots of the day!

Tagged!

My friend Marisa tagged me last week for my very first tag. Here are seven random things about me:

1. I don't prefer carbonated beverages and dislike cola. I will only occasionally drink Sprite, if I'm nauseous.

2. My sheets have to be perfectly smooth and tucked in tight when I go to bed at night. If the sheets are wrinkly around my feet, I feel like it tickles my toes!

3. I love onion rings, but don’t like onions. I hate raw onions on a sandwich and pick the onions out from fajita platters. My family laughs at me when we go to Frisch’s because I often order a patty melt no onions & an order of onion rings.

4. I have a diamond shaped cataract in one eye.

5. I hate the sound of clipping fingernails & toenails. It’s like nails on a chalkboard for me and just makes me cringe!

6. I hum a lot and often don't even realize when I am humming. As my husband pointed out when we were dating, I hum on my inhale breaths as well as when I am exhaling. I didn't even realize that wasn't normal!

7. I hate the single bathrooms in public places without stalls. I cringe every time I head to bathroom and find one. I end up double checking that the door is completely closed & the lock is properly engaged. If I hear the door knob jiggle, I get a nervous flitter in my stomach. I just hate the feeling that someone might possibly walk in on me!

I tag: Brook, Angela, Andrea, Emily, Carrie, Shannon, and Jen!

How Our Garden Grows

Back in June, I posted about our venture into gardening! We tried a technique called square foot gardening. You can read a little more about it here.

I have to give my hubby all the credit for the success of our garden! I helped with the initial planting, but he has been the caretaker, watering it, weeding it, and covering it for shade. He's done an awesome job tending the garden over the summer and we are enjoying the fruits of his labor!

I promised an update on how our garden was growing. We did get a late start since the gardening season starts early in Texas, but we have started harvesting crops in the last few weeks! Truman picked this giant zucchini this week. I added a fork beside it in the photograph to help you picture the scale...the zucchini is about a foot long!

Our basil plants exploded and I've loved having fresh herbs steps from my kitchen! We've cooked up some delicious pasta dishes with the fresh basil and have enjoyed the mint in mojitos with friends.
We are planning to put in some fall crops and are hoping that we can grow some of the vegetables that need cooler temps and weren't compatible with our Texas summer heat!

Fall Retreat: The Summer Camp Edition

This past weekend, we headed off to Giddings, Texas for our Fall Retreat!

I have to admit that when I was packing last Thursday night, everything in me wanted to pull out some sweaters and my fleece. When I think back to my fond memories of attending fall retreat as a student, I think of...

But, in Texas fashion, we are still hitting temperatures in the high 80's, so this fall retreat experience felt a lot more like a weekend at summer camp! No bonfires for us. No hot chocolate. No colorful leaves. Instead, it was a weekend full of shorts & flip flops, sunscreen & swimsuits.

23 of our students from the University of Texas and UTSA Epic joined over 150 students from several other Texas colleges. Our students had chances to connect with each other & God, hear challenging truths from the Word about the call to live with perseverance, worship together and laugh...a lot.

I have to share a few of our laughs from a game we played during our campus time. Teams of 5 sat in lines. A category was announced and the first team, starting with the first person in their line, had to list off qualifying answers. If the next person in line paused or answered incorrectly, the next team would begin. It's a fast paced, rapid fire game, where you definitely have to think quick....or some funny answers might slip out!

Some of the funny responses we heard over the weekend.... (the students who blurted these responses out shall remain nameless to protect their identity.)

Books of the Bible starting with the letter J: Genesis?

Countries in South America: Nigeria?

Prime Numbers: giggles...

Female Names Starting with the Letter P: Peebee? (do you mean, Phoebe?)

US States with Two Names: Mary-land

Last night, Tru & I were walking back to our room and we heard some rustling in the grass. Tru looked over and said, what is that? After a closer look, we realized it was an armadillo! This was definitely my first armadillo sighting.

My prayer for each of our students is that when they think back to this weekend, they will not only remember the laughter, games & Fall Olympics, but they will remember how God met them during their 3 days in Giddings. I pray that their hearts were changed, that they were challenged to run the race with perseverance, that friendships were made, and that their passion for making God known on their campuses was ignited.