Brenda was born nearby in Carlsbad, New Mexico, and Lewis was born in Oahu, Hawaii. They met and married in Oklahoma where Lewis was stationed at Tinker Air Force Base and Brenda was working as a barber. It was there that they had their first daughter, Rebekah. After moving to California, where their other daughter Rachel was born, they moved to Germany and then back to New Mexico. Holloman AFB was their last stop as a military family where, after twenty years in the Air Force, Lewis retired in 1999. It was a new job that moved the family one more time, to Las Cruces.
While Lewis was still in the Air Force, he was exposed to a small company at that time called Alaska Structures. The CEO of the company knew Lewis was retiring and approached him about opening an office in Las Cruces. Alaska Structures makes portable, permanent fabric structures that can enclose everything from the size of a Jacuzzi to the size of an airplane. These structures can be combined to simulate a mobile city that houses military personal and operational activities. Lewis continues to work building up the business, a military and commercial company, in this area. Brenda graduated in May 2004 with a Master of Arts degree with a specialty in Communication Disorders and now works for Las Cruces High School as a speech-language pathologist. Rebekah is an undergraduate attending New Mexico State University and Rachel recently moved to Scottsdale Arizona to attend a trade school, D’Armi Esthetics University of Scottsdale.
After arriving in Las Cruces, the Lankfords began looking for a house and settled in the Mesilla Valley area for about three years. They outgrew the size of their home due to business and educational needs. For at least a year they hunted around the area. “When we began searching, Picacho Hills was not a place we really wanted to live,” Lewis remarks with a smile. “We drove up and didn’t really like it. Later on I was working with a particular realtor who suggested a home in Picacho Hills.
My boss Richard Hotes, CEO of Alaska Structures, was with me at the time and encouraged me to go see it.” At a later date when they got to the site, the home was still under construction. They were viewing another house further up the hill. “When we saw the Desert Sage Showcase home through the windows of another home we were viewing, we walked straight through that house to the one we now live in,” says Brenda. After frequent visits to see the progress of the showcase home, we prayed as a family to God that we’d be able to get the home. After seeing the home we wanted, we couldn’t even look at any other homes.” And they didn’t have to.
Now the beautiful 4,012 square foot home overlooking the Mesilla Valley and capturing a breathtaking view of the Organ Mountains belongs to them. “I love the openness of it all,” says Brenda, and for her and Lewis the home is a sanctuary after stressful days, and a place for their daughters to have friends over and come and go as they please. “There are a lot of indoor and outdoor areas to escape to,” affirms Lewis. “We really accomplished what we wanted; we want guests to enjoy the house, and for them to come here and feel like family.”
The home itself features an infinity-edge pool with adjoining hot tub, a sauna and a gym. The spacious kitchen, breakfast nook, and adjoining living room lend themselves easily to entertaining with various ceiling heights.
Each room has circulating fans, doors that lead to the spacious backyard and the pool area, and large windows that let in views of sky and mountains. The Lankfords have fulfilled their wish to have a home where family and friends can relax and have plenty of space to retreat inside or outside. They are grateful to know they don’t have to move any more and can do whatever they like to “their home!”
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