February Fun

 A few pictures from the month of February and the fun we had during it...

It's so cute to watch these two little guys interact!

"Smile for the camera, boys!"

Judah doesn't look so sure about this whole picture taking thing :)

Jessica took this picture on her phone one evening.

Jason does this little thing where he rests his chin on his hand, it is so sweet!

The weather here has been really nice lately so the Strite's decided to have volleyball one evening.

 The sunset was just gorgeous...
(PC to Juliana)

:)

 6 tiny little kittens were born over at the Strite's.   

I think I may need to claim one since, sadly, my two cats died.

 The boys all went javelina hunting the day after Chris arrived.

They didn't have any luck finding pigs the first day, but Justin found this antler shed.  

One of the points was broken off.  Thanks for displaying his find, Jesse :D

Early one morning, after quite a few days of searching for pigs, Chris got a nice sized javelina!

Jaylon got one that same morning.

Justin was able to shoot one that evening as well!

Justin came across this big guy resting in a wash on the farm!

One Sunday evening on our way home from church we drove back in Bisbee to see the mine.  

On our way there we passed this little gas station which I thought was too cute!

The picture doesn't do justice to how deep the mine is!

While Chris and Jessica were here we all got together for a family picture.  

Imagine 22 people all looking at the same camera, at the same time, all while smiling!  It's chaos!  

I thought it might be fun to time-lapse the action, so here it is!

Tractor Days

The past few days I've been going to ride with Justin in the tractor while he plants alfalfa.  First you have to get the field all nice and smooth by disking it.  Those little mounds of dirt are gopher holes.

While I was waiting for him to finish his pass I took a quick time-lapse.
In reality he is only going 6 mph!

Planting the alfalfa.

Shawn and Justin filling the seed drill with more seed.

All neatly planted!

 quittin' time!  :)

The clouds were so pretty over the mountains, of course I had to take a picture!
A camera just doesn't capture the beauty though!

Not even a week after Justin finished planting, the seeds were already poking up through the soil!

Valentine's Day Sweetheart's Dinner

 Saturday evening we attended a lovely sweetheart's dinner hosted by our friends, Phillip and Natalia.  It was really fun to get together with the other couples!  We ate delicious food, played games, and had a wonderful evening!

The meal was Italian themed with delicious chicken fettuccine alfredo, lasagna, salad, and bread.

We all enjoyed this yummy treat!  Chocolate fondue...

:: salted caramel cake ::

The dessert table...

There were cute little decorations on each table.

My sweetheart and I :)

(PC: Natalia)

"And we should never forget to honor each other.  

Always be sweethearts.  Never let it cease."

-Brother Branham

*     *     *     *     *     *     *

On Sunday morning I made heart shaped pancakes for my sweetheart before we left for church :)

\\ the week //

A few pictures from the past week...

:: on the way to PA; the sunset from the sky ::

:: Benjamin drawing a card for David ::

:: thrift shopping with Lillia and I ::

:: When the harness strap breaks, you have to lead the pony instead of ride on the cart! ::

:: clear skies = a perfect day for a walk ::

*     *     *     *     *

Meanwhile back in Arizona, Jessica and her kids arrived for a visit...

:: chubby baby grins ::

:: Jason's personality is so sweet, he is always so happy! ::

:: Their smiles make me smile! ::

:: a herd of mule deer Justin saw while hunting one day ::

:: These coyotes sure were brave coming so close to our house.  See it on the left just above the railing? ::

:: and another one out by the shed ::

Jehovah Rapha - " For I am the Lord that healeth thee."

The picture on the left is from Sunday evening when David was admitted to the ER in Lancaster.

The picture on the right is exactly one week later, isn't his smile just the best?!

"...if thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have put upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee."
Exodus 15:26

A Very Present Help In Trouble

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  - Psalms 46:1

We are so thankful for God's protective hand He kept over David during this past week.

For those of you who haven't heard, my parents took David to the ER in Lancaster on Sunday evening because he was having such a hard time breathing.  He had been sick with a cough on Saturday but it didn't get really bad until Sunday evening, when he passed out due to respiratory distress from croup.  At the hospital in Lancaster, David was immediately taken to a bed and a swarm of nurses and doctors surrounded his little body.  They put him to sleep, put him on a breathing tube and a breathing machine.  He was stabilized at that point but the doctors told my parents he needed to be in a pediatric ICU.  So he was transported by ambulance to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.  Monday he was very sedated because they didn't want him to pull any of his tubes or IV's out. Tuesday afternoon they took his tube out and by 11 p.m. they were ready to transfer him out of ICU. 

 Daddy picked me up from the airport on Tuesday evening and we spent a little time at the hospital with Mommy and David before heading home.  Wednesday morning, Joshua, Hope, Daddy, and I spent the day with David and Mommy.  By then he was taken off of all oxygen and IVs so we entertained him by coloring, reading books, and playing with him.  Thursday morning at 10 a.m. the doctors said he had improved enough to come home. 

We were all so happy to see him again and he was happy to be out of the hospital!  Mommy stayed with him the entire hospital stay, Benjamin was sure happy to see her!! :)  We are all so thankful to the Lord for sparing David's life. 

While they were still at the ER in Lancaster, the doctors told my parents that if they would have waited another 15 minutes to an hour, David would have passed away.  We are so thankful to still have our little brother here with us, Praise the Lord!

Here are a few pictures from the duration of his hospital stay.  Until I arrived on Tuesday night, Mommy and Daddy kept us updated via group text messages :)

Daddy and David at the ER in Lancaster.

Being transported to CHOP Sunday night/in the wee hours of Monday morning

Mommy held his hand almost constantly so that when he woke up she could soothe him. 

He was usually disoriented and scared when he woke up from time to time.

He was tethered to the bed so he couldn't pull out any tubes out. 

Daddy waved to him and this was his response :)

A few different family members came to visit.

Peacefully sleeping on Tuesday afternoon after his tube had been taken out.

I thought this was a sweet picture from when Grandpa and Grammy came to visit.

Grandpa gave David this prayer cloth from Brother Branham's suit to hold while he prayed for him.

David was still a little groggy and not very talkative at this point, but he really enjoyed rubbing that little piece of cloth.

It was nice to see him have a little bit of an appetite again!

He always calmed down when Daddy or Mommy held his hand.

This was a happy moment on Wednesday afternoon.  Daddy was laying in bed beside him and then he showed David that he could move his bed up and down.  He thought it was funny that when he was pushing the buttons Daddy pretended that he was going to fall out of the bed :)

Wednesday evening he wanted to get out of bed so Mommy read books to him on the couch.

We were all so happy to see him when he got home on Thursday!  Everyone made him cards and some bought him presents to welcome him home!  We all missed him while he wasn't there!

David spent most of the afternoon on the couch or being held by someone.  Here he was watching a nature movie and then Benjamin came down from his nap and climbed up beside him.  I thought it was sweet how Benjamin put his arm around David's neck :)  He sure missed his buddy!

 There is also a post on my family's blog, check it out HERE