Recently, I decided that we needed to branch out and try cooking beef. The only beef we know how to cook is hamburger. This week I went to the grocery store and, lo and behold, rib-eye steaks were on sale. I felt better about experimenting on $20 worth of steak rather than $40 (it was a big package of steaks).

Dave found some steak rub in our pantry and fired up the grill.

I want to tag this post to the recipe section so here’s the recipe: rib-eye, steak rub, grill.

OH. MY. WORD. Delicious. What in the world took us so long????

After I took this picture, I thought to myself that it looked kind of GROSS but I promise that it was wonderful!

What’s for dinner at your house?

This photo was submitted by Cristina.

Carmen has never been to San Diego…but she did move recently. Lana will tell you all about it in an upcoming post. Stay tuned!

We signed in and then the receptionist asked for the doctor’s order. Oops! Was I supposed to bring that? We’ve spent the past three years at Children’s Hospital and they always seem to have everything already in the system. Not here. The neurology tech said we could either wait until 9am when the neurologist came in or we could go home and try to find the paper. I vaguely remembered seeing it on top of the microwave. We drove home to find the paper.

Sure enough, I found the paper on top of the microwave so we made our second trip back to the local hospital. We arrived around 9am. The neurology tech informed us that the doctor faxed the order to the hospital 5 minutes after we left. OK, thanks. I would have preferred not to know that!

By this time, Hope was exhausted and in need of a nap. I was expecting a heartbreaking meltdown, especially when the tech said that at this age, she swaddles and restrains the child. She asked if it was OK to turn cartoons on. Sure, anything that might help! Hope was mesmerized by Word Girl. In fact, she lay perfectly still watching Word Girl and then Word World, sucking Dave’s finger during the entire 45 minute test. Ahhhh, thank you God!

When things don’t go as planned, I get really annoyed. I was annoyed that we drove all the way to the hospital and then had to drive home and then back to the hospital again. But, then, I tried to think that perhaps God used that small inconvenience to keep us out of a wreck or to allow the test to go smoothly or just to test our patience and grow our character.

We got the test results today. Normal. The best guess is that Hope refluxed and had what looked like seizures. We are extremely relieved!

For whom or what do you swing?

Cristie was “on call” for Hope’s birth. She carried her phone around for weeks, expecting a phone call to come over because Hope was on her way. Thankfully, Lana’s water broke at 7:00pm and not 3:00 in the morning! As soon as Lana called, Cristie drove over in the snow and spent the night with Lauren and Carmen.

Thanks Cristie for everything.

Poor Carmen Cooper.

Trish is one of the most compassionate and caring people I know. She is also extremely artistic, always involved in some sort of art and craft project. Here are a few artistic creations she submitted to celebrate Carmen:

So, how would you arrange the letters in the last photo to include HOPE? Don’t take the easy way out!

Anyone would be ecstatic to have them as neighbors! Their enthusiasm for life is contagious and we are so grateful that God crossed our paths.

Here are a couple of photos submitted by Ritha:

How do you suppose that stuff smells?

Thank you Stephanie!