Comments (14)

By Lana, April 29, 2009 9:22 am

A while back, we asked for questions you wanted us to answer.

We seem to move slowly these days so we are just now starting the You Ask, We Answer series.

I wanted to know how you both met and fell in love?

According to Lana:

In 1994, I was a freshman and Dave was a sophomore at LeTourneau University in Longview, TX. I was 18 and Dave was 19. We were babies!

We were in the same Biology class. I sat in the front row, Dave in the back row. That semester, Dave’s best friend from New York attended LeTourneau. Best Friend only went to LeTourneau one semester but God had a VERY specific purpose for him being there!

Best Friend was interested in a good friend of mine. Best Friend figured that if he could get Dave and me together, he might have a chance with my friend (maybe a double date?). So, Best Friend told Dave that the biology girl was interested in him and then told my friend that Dave was interested in me. (Oh my gosh, this sounds so junior high! Note from Dave: It was!)

Dave was really cute so I was flattered but thought he must be really immature to send his friend to tell my friend that he liked me (I’m mortified. We really weren’t this immature!). Dave thought I must be weird and that was the end of that.

Fast forward a few weeks and the washing machine in my dorm broke (Note from Dave: Uh huh. Surrrre it was.). I had to do laundry one Saturday morning, so I walked to the guys laundromat to do my laundry. I was out of clean clothes so I wore a blue flannel shirt, black sweatpants and leather loafers. (Why oh why did I wear that mess???) I sat in the laundromat and studied while I waited for my clothes to wash. I was busy studying when Dave walked in.

I remember Dave saying hi and asking if I was studying biology. Nope, not biology. He said bye and walked out. Dave remembers asking if he could call me but I don’t remember that. He now says that he felt like he had to say hi to me since I was the girl who was interested in him. (This is sounding worse and worse!)

I found out later that the day we first met in the laundromat was Dave’s birthday, October 15th.

A few days later Dave did call me. He asked if I would help him with biology.

Over the next few months, we talked on the phone and became friends. We started dating 7 months later. We got married 3 1/2 years later, August 1, 1998.

I specifically remember the incident that really made me fall in love with Dave. We were in the cafeteria when a food fight erupted. (Yes, we were in COLLEGE!) Food was flying and a friend of mine got hit with ice cream. Dave reached over and wiped off her arm with his sleeve. I remember thinking that was the sweetest thing ever.

Oh, and my friend never went out with Best Friend. She married someone else before graduating from LeTourneau!

Now for the real version (according to Dave):

Most of Biology Girl’s version is true. My friend did try to hook up Lana and me. But by that time, Lana had already fallen in love with me because it was love at first sight. I promise; it’s true! My friend told me so.

We did officially meet in a laundromat and it was on my birthday. But the actual sequence of events isn’t quite as Lana portrayed it above. You see, while Lana claims that the girls’ washing machine was “broken”, she had been stalking me for almost two months. She knew that I hadn’t washed my clothes in nearly a month. So she strategically placed herself right where she knew I’d be that fateful Saturday morning. I walked into the laundromat and, wouldn’t ya know it, Lana was the only person there. Coincidence? I think not.

I did call Lana the next week and did ask her to help me with biology. What can I say? She was (and still is) really smart and I needed (and still need) some help. The fact that she was also cute was an added bonus.

I’m not sure there was a point in time when I “fell in love” with Lana. It was definitely more of gradual thing for me. In December 1994, I received a letter from Lana while I was home for Christmas break. She shared several things in that letter that must have been hard to write. I appreciated that she would share them with me and it opened my heart to see that there might be something more to this relationship. As we continued hanging out, going for walks and talking during the next semester, I realized that I really liked Lana. Toward the end of that school year, I asked Lana if she would be my girlfriend. She said, “I guess so.” I guess so? What does that mean? Apparently, it meant yes. Note from Lana: I meant YES!

Here is a picture from 1995 that Lana’s little brother, Micah, took of us. (Micah was 5 years old!)

Comments (4)

By Lana, April 27, 2009 9:03 am

Yesterday was 97 degrees. The car thermometer said 102 in the sun. I am not a fan of heat. I feel like I am suffocating. Thankfully, the weather will be back to 60s and low 70s in a few days. I can handle that kind of weather! Hopefully we can get the kids out to enjoy the beautiful weather before the summer heat stays for good.

Summer is my least favorite season but I do love, love, love summer fruits and vegetables. I absolutely love buying fruits and veggies at farmers’ markets. One of my favorite things in the whole world is a perfectly ripe tomato, straight from a garden.

The grocery store had vine-ripened tomatoes on sale for $0.99 per pound so I bought a bunch. They aren’t straight from the garden tomatoes but they are pretty good in a tomato salad or on a tomato sandwich.

I have been practicing taking pictures and have found that food sits still and doesn’t have to be bribed for a picture! Dave commented that I am turning our blog into a food blog but I promise I am not!

Tomato Salad
Chopped tomatoes
Black beans
Corn
Diced onion
Chopped cilantro
Lime juice
Balsamic vinegar
(I added a splash of red wine vinegar too.)

Eat as a side dish or with tortilla chips!

Comments (2)

By Lana, April 25, 2009 2:12 pm

Last night I went to a Greek restaurant for dinner with my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) discussion group. We are very thankful for MOPS.  I don’t know what we would do without them. They have provided meals for us when Carmen has been in the hospital or home sick. (NY Grandpa can vouch for all the good food. He is usually here when the MOPS moms come with food. I think he plans it that way! Ha!) They have shown up at the hospital with magazines and snacks. They have planned play dates and rides home from school for Lauren. They have sent cards in the mail. Last year they hosted Carmen’s 2nd birthday Celebration of Life. They helped us unpack last year when we moved. They have watched Carmen so I could take Lauren out for mommy-time. They have watched both girls so Dave and I could go on dates.

After our scrumptious dinner last night (I ate chicken souvlaki), my MOPS discussion group leader handed roses and a basket of cards to me. Forty-one cards from the MOPS moms with messages of encouragement and Bible verses. I am supposed to open one per day. I am not good at waiting for anything so we shall see how that goes!

To the MOPS moms: Thank you so much for all of your encouragement, prayer and practical help. You guys are AMAZING!

The Roses

Basket of Cards

Comments (7)

By Lana, April 24, 2009 11:28 am

Thanks to Azeb for the playdate for Lauren and the pizza! We thoroughly enjoyed the pizza. Thanks to Jessica for taking Lauren to the park today. I’m glad Lauren got to enjoy the nice weather before the heatwave hits tomorrow! (Forecast calls for high 80s.)

I thought you might like to see Carmen’s insane eyelashes. No amount of mascara or fake eyelashes can compete with these lashes!

Comments (4)

By Lana, April 23, 2009 3:03 pm

Carmen update: Carmen was very congested last week but seems to be doing better now. The new nurses (more on that later) are doing a good job suctioning her so I’m sure that is helping. Carmen’s neurologist is concerned that Carmen may have a pituitary lesion that is causing the swelling of her hands, feet and neck. I spoke with Carmen’s pediatrician and we are trying to decide what to do. There are three options: 1) a brain MRI, 2) blood work to test hormone levels, or 3) do nothing. The brain MRI would involve anesthesia so that is not a good option for Carmen. The blood work would be very difficult as no one can get a vein on Carmen anymore. The only way to get blood is to do a finger prick and then pump the blood out. From what I understand, the blood work would require repeated tests. The swelling doesn’t seem to bother her so I think we are leaning towards doing nothing right now.

About a year ago, Dave and I spent a great deal of time thinking about our goals for Carmen’s care. We ultimately decided that our main goal is to keep her comfortable. Each decision has to be based on “is this making Carmen comfortable today?” What we did not realize was how many hard, hard decision we would have to make along the way. To treat or not to treat and how to treat has come up over and over. The last time Carmen was in the hospital, she was in great distress the 45 minutes it took for the nurses to get the IV in her foot. We said no more. Hospice has given us the help and tools to keep Carmen home. Having Hospice does not mean we don’t treat; it means we treat better and with the goal of comfort in mind. Carmen’s pediatrician is 100% on board with these decisions. We want Carmen to be comfortable at home with her family when she takes her last breath, no matter when that time comes.

I have been waiting to update on the nursing situation until we had good news. We don’t have the schedule set in stone yet but things are going WAY better! We ended up switching to a new nursing agency. We were really hesitant about this decision but ultimately decided it had to be done. Carmen’s insurance case manager did her usual crazy-fast stuff and we went from one agency to another in one weekend. We now have four nurses who are doing great. We are so, so, so thankful that Carmen is getting good care again! Thank you God!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, during our errand-running, we stopped at a hobby store and Lauren played with the trains. I tried to take a picture but she was way too fast for me. I was sitting next to Carmen’s stroller and noticed Carmen’s foot hanging over the side. She may not move much but she does manage to get comfortable!