Romans 12:12

12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

When we got married, I thought our biggest issue would be that Derek enjoys a good, thought provoking argument. I basically say "I'm sorry" within 2 seconds of a disagreement and then start to cry. We've both been like this since children and we've found ways to work around it. I need a warning that he is just arguing to argue and he will force me to explain my reasons for  apologizing which makes me realize I have no idea why I am apologizing. But there is one thing we can't seem to get over:

Derek hates surprises.

Daggar to my heart. In typical LeAnne fashion, I planned a surprise 30th birthday weekend for him because I was convinced that he didn't like surprises because he never had a good surprise! Well. The surprise was quickly spoiled about a week later when the host from the AirB&B house emailed our joint email address. Forehead slap.

So, I forced Derek to act shocked anyway and a group of close friends swept him away for a fun weekend in Kentucky. We rented a cute little house, toured a couple bourbon distilleries, grilled out, played some card games, and soaked up the weekend! It was a great way to practice traveling. I will say, there is a lot more that goes into paraplegia than just finding a good ramp to get up steps. We are happy to be getting the hang of being away from our comfortable apartment and enjoying the things we loved to do before the accident.

Here are a few more updates:

1. Derek finished driving school! He did so well that they cut his required hours in half. Here in Indiana, there is a program called Vocational Rehab where they will cover the cost of your vehicle modification if you have started the process of returning to work. The paperwork has been filed and we are just waiting for the thumbs up to send our car to the shop! We will also run to the DMV for a new license which shows that he is trained for hand controls. Don't worry, we will show you how hand controls work once we get our car back!
2. The second big happening is the teeth. We have finally settled on a treatment plan and are really excited to get started. Derek will be doing braces for 18 months and then will move forward with implants. The implants can take around 2 years depending on how well the bone grafting goes. Basically, we are in it for the long haul (about 4 years). We joked that our future children could have teeth before he does. 
3. All around health has been going well. His heart rate and blood pressure seem to be leveling out a bit. We have only had one scary episode recently with his blood pressure but we are fairly certain that was from me feeding us questionable ham for lunch. 

I feel weird leaving out details about the new house but those are over in a different tab.. So, head on over to the "house" tab at the top of your screen. That is where the renovation updates will be!

I will cheat and give you a hint: We did officially close on Bunker last Thursday and also got the keys to The Quarry. We are meeting with 3 different contractors to get quotes and then we will move forward with the renovations. Fingers crossed! 

Also, please scroll back up and read that verse one more time.

With Love,

The Lavenders