A Blessed Life: January 2009

Monday, January 12, 2009

My Most Embarrassing Moment

Well, I have had allot of them and it is hard to pick out just one,.. I blame the M.S. for all of my stupidness.. : ) You all just wish that you had something to blame!! HA!!
I was at work at Connect Technologies when my Friend who was also my boss, Ben Curto came out of his office to chat. We had big plans to put a theater room in the back office so I was working in the shop doing some of the tearing apart. I really don't have allot of experience in actual construction which is weird cause I spent a good 8 years of my life on construction sights.. I guess that electricians just have it good, we show up after the walls and the roof are up... So, here I was doing some demo work when Ben enters. I had a circular saw and a sawzal workin hard.. Ben started chatting, I chatted back, and the conversation had me completely engrossed. (it had to have been something about the latest cool electronics, I don't remember) To tell you the truth I probably just block as much of this memory as I can. The conversation was coming to a close so I turned back to my work as we were saying our closing thoughts,. I started up my six foot ladder that was leaning against the wall, circular saw in hand.. After my last couple of words while on the fourth step of the ladder I started to cut the 2by4 in front of me.. Suddenly I found myself falling off of the ladder, saw in hand!! Well, it turns out that my ladder was propped up against the exact board that I was so diligently working to take down.... Ya, I took it down alright, I guess that my weight along with the action of cutting was just enough to make a single 2by4 tumble. I made Ben promise not to tell anyone and I think he has done pretty well at keeping that promise... Every once in a while a conversation will come up about embarrassing moments and Ben will get that look in his eyes like he would want so bad to tell on me.. I can't imagine what that must have looked like, I can only envision some dumb comedy movie or somthing...
There you have it, the dumbest thing I have ever done.. No really it is... Don't argue, IT IS!!!
Well there was this other time,,,, NOOOO,,,, not really,, this is the dumbest...

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Old-school..

I just ran through some of the many gigs of pictures that we have from the first digital camera on. : ) It's kind of fun to look back and see how fast time flies!!! I wish Kira still had the ability to turn flowers into diamonds!!

I used to spend alot of time puting pics together, here is what I mean...

This is a sunrise off ot the deck and a field just north-east of town on HWY200.

Ya, this is just ugly....

This was just one of my old favorites..

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Grandma's flowers

I remember always seeing these at Grandma's house and they were always so beautiful. I don't know how she did it but every flower she touched would grow beyond normal and be so lush and full.... She just had an incredible green thumb.. I also don't know how we ended up with these but here they are.. I don't think in all the years that we've had them they have ever actually bloomed.... Maybe all the snow just brought these on to cheer us up? I can't imagine the beauty that Grandma sees now and the gardens in heaven must be!

Heaven is gonna be awesome!!!

Part of our story,,,,

On behalf of Shelby and I, we would just like to thank all of you for your prayers and support. God has blessed us so richly, and we often have wondered, “Why us, Lord? We don’t deserve your blessings.” I am writing this letter as a testimony of God’s love for His children. I hope that God can use this to bless all who read it.

Shelby and I met at the Christian school in 1997 – a long time ago now, it seems. We were both young and twitterpated (that was evident). We were soon spending a lot of time together and becoming great friends. As our friendship grew, we knew that we had a long road ahead if we were going to get married. Five years later, in December of 2002, we tied the knot. God’s blessings were evident to us right away. We’ve never had to ask God where we were going to live because he has always provided. Our first apartment was Shelby’s Grandma Jan’s basement apartment. What a deal!!! Thank you, Jan

I started work for an electrical company in early 2001, and Shelby was working at Unicep Packing. By early 2003, it was clear that the electrical company was not doing well. We started to pray for God’s direction. Not a week later, an old buddy of mine asked if I would be interested in some work installing security and sound systems. I started part time, working a couple of hours a night. It was everything that I loved.

Ben Curto, my boss, took me on a service call to a beautiful home on the lake for one of my first jobs with Connect Technologies. It was nighttime and in the winter, and you could tell by the waves and the light behind the mountains that the moon was going to be a beautiful sight. Ben and I finished the work in the house and began packing our tools into the truck. Being such a scenery buff, I noticed the moon immediately. I then turned to Ben and said, “Wouldn’t this be great?” The sight was incredible, the moon had just broken over the hilltops, and it was BIG!! The waves crashing, the moon shining over the lake – WOW!!! – Beautiful!!! I couldn’t help but praise and thank the Lord for such beauty. Two months later Mike Thompson called and told me of a house on the lake for rent. He had rented this house for twenty years. It had great landlords and an amazing rent. It was obviously God’s amazing hand. The house was not more than one mile from the same place that I had stood and praised His name for the beauty I had seen. God is good!!

Connect Technologies was and is a dream job to me. I get to play with electronics for most of my day!! The number one drawback to the new job was a lack of insurance. I didn’t know what the Lord had in store for us, but He had lead me here, so I took the job. I’ve been working for Connect for the past three years and have enjoyed it very much. We’ve been doing well without insurance, and God has provided alternative means.

Through the past few years UPS has been from time to time asking me to work. I had worked a peak season for them before, and they needed someone to fill a part-time spot again. With prayer, I talked to Ben and then started last Christmas as a part-time hire. Being that the job was part-time, I knew that insurance was unattainable. I was just working for UPS a day here and a day there. In May a job opened at UPS for a steady 3-4 hours a day, enough to get benefits in a couple of months. In mid-July my health started going downhill, and on August first I was officially insured. God is good. On August 17th I was diagnosed with MS, and the medicine to control it is extremely expensive without insurance. God has incredible timing.

Shelby and I have been blessed so greatly in so many ways. God has been so good to us, and His hand is clearly in control of every facet of our lives. We knew that from having dated for five years that when we married, we would be ready for kids sooner than most couples our age. Within a year and a half after we wed, Kira was born. Nine months later we found out that Preston was on his way – just 16 months apart. Shelby and I have often debated on how many kids we would have, but we knew after Preston was born, and being such a surprise to us, that God would have the final word. We know that God still has the final say, but we are both very happy with the two children that we have. Since that time, Doctors have told us with the meds I’m on that it would not be smart to have more children. You see, God knows what is ahead before we do, and God has made that very clear to Shelby and I. Everything that has happened in our lives is in his perfect timing.

We thank you all for so many prayers being lifted up for us and for so much love and support that we have received. We are the luckiest couple in the world to have the families that we have and the church family that we have. I hope this will be a blessing to all and a testimony of God’s amazing love for His children.

2010

I have now worked for THREE years FULL TIME with UPS!!! as a driver,.. The pay and the insurance are amazing. God still continues to bless..... We are now renting to own the in-laws house. We have a theater room!!! Not that important in the whole sceem of things, just something we will always enjoy!! I love the yard and all of the yardwork,. I love working on something that WE will always get to keep! I am on different meds, (for the past 27 months), that make life with MS wonderful! There is some risk in this stuff but well worth the quality of life they have given.... Beats a wheelchair!!!

The kids are now 5 and 4 and still the best kids on earth!!! Shelby and I are still in love and loving our stressful, wonderful, and bessed lives!!

with love in Christ

Chad, Shelby, Kira, and Preston