Vertigo

Hey everybody. Marc here. I wanted to update you all on my wonderful wife Stephanie. I think a lot of you know this already, but she's been diagnosed with vertigo. For a few weeks now, she's felt dizzy (with varying levels of severity during the course of a normal day), along with being tired, having a bad cough, and feeling like she was about to pass out on several different occasions. She's been to the doctor a few times and to a ear, nose, and throat specialist yesterday. They've prescribed her Valium and some strong nasal sprays. She's going to get an MRI tomorrow to determine if there is anything more serious that might be causing the vertigo. For now though, they believe that the cause is an inner ear infection.
Steph's staying home from work this week, per doctor's orders, which is hard for her as a teacher who loves her kids and takes her responsibilities in the classroom very seriously. So if you could keep her in your prayers, that would be wonderful. The medications she's on make her very tired, but rest will probably serve her well. She's a bit nervous about the long-term prognosis, because some people take months (literally) to recover from vertigo. It's our hope that God will heal her of this sooner than that, so as to avoid a medical leave from work. God is ABLE to heal her, we are sure, but whether He will very soon is up to Him. Steph has had a great attitude throughout. I'm sure she would appreciate your emails or phone calls (though she might not have a lot of energy to talk).

Happy Halloween/Reformation Day to everyone. It's interesting that Halloween is celebrated on the same day of the year that Martin Luther posted his 95 theses several centuries back. Our church is doing "Trunk or Treat" tonight, so hopefully we can meet some young families!

Monticello

We had a fantastic trip! It was definitely emotional. It was my first time being there since the farmhouse was arsoned. The man we are confident did it was never pinned, and he actually has a road named after him right next door to my family's property. It made me sick to my stomach. It was very hard to see the land look so empty, but grandma was blessed with an awesome worker who made the old garage into a beautiful place to stay. There is nothing like Monticello...the hills are beautiful, and it's so peaceful. I will always regret not going for years leading up to the arson, but now it's a new start. Marc and I plan to visit again soon! My grandma's strength is admirable, and she kept us smiling the whole time!

Rachel, Matt, Aubrey, Uncle Danny, and Grandma met up with us in Lexington. Once we got to Monticello we went to visit Lena, my great aunt, and we had such a great time remniscing...I missed her. We then went back to the farmhouse and ate Pizza Hut outside where the house once was...weird, but absolutely perfect. Badminton was interesting as well....Marc and I got beat bad. =) We hung around outside then went to bed. The futon in the "new farmhouse" was great! The next day we spent the day at Spring Mill and Cumberland Falls....God's creation is amazing! Aubrey loved the outdoors, and grandma was quite the tour guide. She's very adventurous. =)

We then ate dinner at Lena's...she fed us well the whole time! We saw more of my extended family and enjoyed catching up. Marc and I left Saturday night to come back home. Here are a few pictures of our time. The rest can be found at our pictures link. I love my family so much, and this trip really helped me to reevaluate my priorities and count my blessings. =)

This is an old picture of the house.

Me =)

The "new" farmhouse....can you believe this used to be the garage???

A view of the land without the house...the trees mark it.

Church at the end of the road where papa is buried

Apartment Rearranging

Randomly, a few Friday nights ago, we decided to rearrange. =) We like it, so we thought we'd post a few pics. We are so blessed with a nice apartment, but naturally we can't wait to have a house. =)

Marc and I had a GREAT weekend in Monticello, KY with my family. We'll post an update soon.

Steph