Who would have thought?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...

This is what you look like when you let your 16 year old daughter do your hair and make up!

This is what you look like when your coworker convinces you to participate in the office costume contest.  It is hard to read the banners--we were "Toddlers and Tiaras" from the controversial show on TLC. 

This is what it looks like when your hubby gets in a fight with the drive shaft of his Kabota tractor! (Guess who lost?)


Before I left for work on Friday morning, my husband had asked if I would do an errand on my lunch hour.  I had politely asked him if I could do it some other time, as our work was having a costume party and I had agreed to dress as a toddler beauty princess.  (He, of course, didn't understand the costume as he hadn't heard of the show, Toddlers and Tiaras.)  I told him, "I am going directly to work and directly home from work.  I don't want anyone else to see me looking this ridiculous. When he saw me after my daughter did my hair and make up...he agreed...going out in public wasn't that smart of an idea.

I had only been to work for a little bit when I got a panic call from my husband.  He had inadvertently put his thumb where it didn't belong...and it was really mangled up. I instructed him to apply pressure and met him and my daughter at a half way point from my work and our home to take him to ER. 

(Visual here)...I am driving (yes, just a bit above speed limit...through red lights...) dressed as a beauty queen and my hubby has his hand in the air...all covered with blood...yeah..."Frankenstein and His Bride" did come to mind.

When we got to the ER...the staff breathed a sigh of relief when I told him I just came from a costume contest.  Seriously, they said...they see all kinds come through their doors.

For three hours, they examined my hubby's thumb--took a few xrays--did lots of stitches--gave him an appointment for an orthopedic doctor this next week as he has a few fractures--and sent us on our way.  (Of course, we had a steady parade of hospital staff come through the room to see my lovely costume.) 

Before I dropped my husband and daughter off, we went through drive thru to get some lunch and the pharmacy to pick up his pain meds and antibiotics. 

After I was back at work for a bit, my husband called and asked if I could stop and pick up some fertilizer he needed on Saturday before I came home.  "Sure, why not?  I have been to the hospital, Culver's and Walgreen's, what's one more embarrassment?"

The counter person where my husband buys his fertilizer admitted he really wondered what kind of afternoon he was going to have when he saw me get out of this big pick up truck.  I quickly explained who I was, what I needed, and why I was dressed this way.  He, of course, couldn't resist and had to introduce me to some of the other staff...asking them "Have you ever met Ferlin's wife?"  By this point I am beyond embarrassment.  (These guys will either think my husband is married to really wacko or that he is one lucky guy to have such a fun wife!)

As my husband owns his own landscaping and lawn maintenance company, we would appreciate prayers for quick healing, along with no infections or complications.

Before I go, I would like to share some wise words that my 16 year old daughter gave me when we were driving through Culver's.  After I had paid for our order, I stated "I sure look like a doufous!"  Kelsey quickly responded, "Mom, do you know that when you say negative things about yourself those words go deep into your heart?  Why don't you just embrace your costume and tell yourself--I'm rockin' in this outfit!"

My challenge to you (and to myself)--Look in the mirror and say "I'm rockin' it today!!"



Creating Memories...part 2

Now...for the long waited surprise that happened on the second half of our trip.
After we left Grand Junction, Colorado we headed north to Jackson Hole, Wy and the Grand Tetons.  We had reservations at the Teton Mountain Lodge & Spa....

Well, when we walked in the front door, (a bit road weary as we had been driving 8 hours) one of the gentleman behind the counter said, "Let me guess, are you the Vander Poel's from South Dakota?" I found myself thinking, "Is it that evident we are country hicks?" He than went on to explain that there was a surprise waiting for us in our room. So, are you ready for the surprise that waited for us at check in?


To help us celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, the lodge upgraded our room to a King Suite. Here are the pics:

My hubby and I have never stayed in such a beautiful and lavish place before...yes, I cried! 

This experience reminded me of 1 Corinthians 2:9
“What no eye has seen,

what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
the things God has prepared for those who love him—

Just as our lodging was so much grander than we ever expected...so are God's promises for our future life...

While staying in the Tetons we took a day hiking and a day exploring Yellowstone.  (I have a story about our hike that I will hopefully be sharing soon.)

When we went to Yellowstone we went in through the south entrance.  That morning it had started snowing just a bit--kind of pretty in a beauty sort of way.  Well, we stopped at many different spots in Yellowstone to take pictures and marvel at God's creation.At our last stop, I took this picture.  Notice the reflection of the Yellowstone map on the window.  Hmmmm...this should have maybe been a clue to what was coming up. 

Five minutes down the road we ran into this:  

Due to snow the road out was closed!  Us simple South Dakotan's thought, oh well, we will turn around and go out a different way, not too big of a deal...oh, yah...it is a big deal when you have to go around mountains and passes, etc...took us 3 1/2 hours longer than we planned to get back to our hotel.  Talk about an adventure!!

Grandson



Oldest daughter and grandson

 The next morning, we packed up and headed to Montana to see some special people!  (The drive was breathtaking, but we were so excited to snuggle with our grandbaby we didn't stop to take any pics.)

Thanks for sharing the memories with us!

Metastatic Breast Cancer Day--October 13th

Today is National Metastatic Breast Cancer Day!

Today is a reminder that life's not all pink.

Every 14 minutes a woman dies from breast cancer. 

Every year 40,000 Americans will die from breast cancer.

These numbers haven't changed since 2000,
yet there is more and more pink!

Awareness is great--BUT it is NOT enough!! 

It is time for a cure!!

Faces of Breast Cancer Video

Metastatic Breast Cancer Network

Throughout the day I have spent time pondering on if I was going to write a blog entry about today being National Metastatic Breast Cancer Day.  I find myself at a loss for words, so I will share what Dr Susan Love shared on Army of Women Blog.

A message from Dr. Susan Love for Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day



"By now you have noticed that it is October, and that a pink haze has settled on the land. The message of “early detection saves lives” has been broadcast on every form of media available. But there is a part of the breast cancer story that is less “feel good” and less frequently mentioned– woman living with metastatic breast cancer.

Have we gotten better at detecting breast cancer? Yes. Have we gotten better at treating this disease? Yes. But we haven’t gotten good enough. Despite doing everything that we now can, about 25 percent of the women who are diagnosed with and treated for early-stage breast cancer will later learn that they have metastatic disease. An additional 4 to 6 percent of all breast cancer cases will be in women whose initial diagnosis is stage IV, metastatic disease.

Right now, about 150,000 people in this country are living with metastatic breast cancer. At this stage, the cancer can be treated–and women can live for many years with stage IV disease– but it is not considered curable.
These women, as Roni Caryn Rabin wrote in the New York Times, “…are not [leading] pink-ribbon lives: They live from scan to scan, in three-month gulps, grappling with pain, fatigue, depression, crippling medical costs and debilitating side effects of treatment, hoping the current therapy will keep the disease at bay until the next breakthrough drug comes along, or at least until the family trip to Disney World.” Some will live for years; others won’t be so lucky. Elizabeth Edwards comes to mind.

October 13 is Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day, and I can’t tell you how important it is that there is at least one day in October that is dedicated to acknowledging that not everyone is cured and not every cancer is found early. We need to stop congratulating ourselves on our progress and start focusing on figuring out why these women have not benefited from all the money we have raised. Reach out today to someone you know that represents the other side of breast cancer, the one that is not so pink. We will not have accomplished this goal as long as one woman dies of this disease!"

My heart grieves for all who find themselves on this journey. 

May God's love bring you some comfort and peace. 

May God allow a cure to be found!!

Creating Memories....part 1

Creating memories…


The past week found my hubby and I on our first ever week long vacation by ourselves. For the next few days I will be sharing our adventures…some great places to stay…and some little “God” lessons I learned on our trip.

The first day found us with lots of road time as we journeyed through South Dakota, Nebraska, and Colorado. About 6 hours into our trip, my hubby decided he would like to check out a camera store to look for a tripod. Let the adventure begin…to downtown Denver. Mr. GPS didn’t let us down. We traveled to the camera store downtown and back to the interstate like we were local residents.

Our next experience was going through Eisenhower Tunnel. We both shared in amazement the amount of man hours and engineering to build this structure.

When planning our trip, we had reservations every night except for our first night. My hubby is okay with just “winging” it…it didn’t bother him at all to drive around for an hour checking at hotels for the best price, not to mention any vacancy. Yup, I was biting my tongue, while trying to control my anxiety. I don’t know why…but not having a reservation, brings out the worse in my personality.

We finally found a Holiday Inn at Fresco, Colorado. As it was 9pm, we ate supper at the restaurant connected to the hotel. Have you ever seen the evacuation plans on the back of the hotel room doors? Well, believe it or not, they are posted for a reason! At 2:30 am we were awakened to a very loud alarm with a voice stating, “We are experiencing an emergency, it is very important for you to find the nearest exit and evacuate the building!” Good thing we had left our jackets in our car, as we needed them for it was a bit chilly outside. As we stood outside waiting for 45 minutes for the “all clear”, we met a really nice couple from Texas who were celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary.

The next morning we took a few pics of the beautiful scenery and proceeded down the road to Palisades, Colorado. We had reservations at the Wine Country Inn for the next two days. Since we arrived before check in time, we checked out a few of the local wineries. When we returned back to our hotel, we were very impressed with the friendliness of the staff and the beautiful accommodations. They also offered the most delicious continental breakfast, with pancakes that melted in your mouth. A beautiful place to stay!

The next morning we received a wake up call at 330 a.m., as one of our children forgot there was a time zone difference. Yup, lovely. We needed to be up early anyways as we needed to find an auto repair shop to look at our car. We discovered that our car was very shaky on the steep grades. Thankfully, we found Simpson Brothers Garage in Grand Junction, Colorado. These guys were awesome and an answer to prayer! They werealso  very friendly, courteous, and professional.   We were back on the road within a few hours.

Our next stop is Teton Village in Wyoming…and I can’t wait to share the surprise that waited for us there!!