Thankful Thursday

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

This Thankful Thursday post is going to be dedicated to updating you on Marcia. On April 23, the doctors went back in Marcia's lungs to see what they had saw when they put in her tracheotomy. What they found surprised everyone. She had an 80% blockage of her left bronchial tube! What a surprise because she had 2 CT scans that showed nothing! Thank goodness the doctor insisted that he saw something and fought to check it out. They biopsied it and it is benign and will be removed sometime later. On April 24, Marcia was transferred to a rehab hospital 2 hours from home. She is doing really well. They are teaching her to walk again and to eat again. She doesn't need the feeding tube any longer! They also taught her how to talk with her trach. Gary has called and talked to her twice this week. He was thrilled when he got off the phone with her. He said she hasn't sounded that good in years! We can also send her emails daily that they will print off and take to her. Most amazingly, she is still breathing on her own - even at night. We were told that she would need the breathing machine at night permanently. Well, all I can say is Yippee Jesus! She hasn't needed it since Easter Sunday! Thanks again for all of your prayers!

Thankful Thursday

Well, since it is almost Friday I had better do my thankful Thursday post! We were without internet for the majority of the day and then busy tonight which has left me no time to post. So, I guess the first thing I am thankful for tonight is an internet connection! I can't really post to the blog without a connection!

However, this week the thing I am most thankful for is noise! I know you are thinking, she needs to go to bed who is thankful for noise? Well, I am thankful for noise! This noise we all take for granted Claire is hearing for the first time! Just think about how many sounds that go on around us all day long that we don't even pay attention to. Check out the sounds that Claire is indicating to us that she is hearing..

~the rain hitting our umbrella
~the neighbor dogs barking
~the car radio playing music
~the velcro of her shoes
~the airplanes that fly around our house all day long
~her toy cell phone
~traffic
~the birds in the yard

I just want to yell, Yippee Jesus, each time she responds to a new sound! Have I told you how much I love this girl? What a joy it is to see (hear) the world through her eyes (ears).


What are you thankful for?

9 months!!

We love you our tree climbing...

Rope swinging....

Basketball playing girl!



How could it have been only 9 months ago that we held you for the first time? It seems we have known you forever and perhaps in our hearts we have.

Oh glorious day!

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Mark 10:14-15

Yesterday, was a big day at our house. Hunter was baptized at church by Gary. He had been talking about being baptized for awhile but we wanted to make sure he understood the decision that he was making. About 2 weeks ago, Hunter approached me and asked again about being baptized. We talked for awhile and I knew he was ready but I told him he had to talk to his dad about it too. When Gary got home that night, he immediately talked to him about it. We both agreed that he was ready. Hunter has loved Jesus for a long time and being baptized meant so much to him. He was so excited, Sunday morning he was the first child up and ready to go! He even wanted to wear a tie! He had a constant smile on his face all day. He later told me, "it feels so good to be baptized". Gary felt honored that Hunter wanted him to baptize him.

The family after the church service..

We let Hunter decide where we should go after church to celebrate his baptism. He chose Incredible Pizza. After eating, we had fun in the game area. Claire loved the bowling and the big kids loved the go-karts! Nicholas even won the race! What a day of celebration we had!

Hunter like Dad said yesterday, we are so proud of you but you have a father in heaven even more proud of you and the decision you made! We love you!

Thankful Thursday

This has been a rough week for our family but I'm so thankful that:

1. Marcia is showing signs of improvement. She has been off the ventilator since Sunday. She is breathing on her own even at night! The doctor says that they saw something in her lungs during her surgery on Friday. Even though, the CT scan doesn't show anything the doctor still wants to do surgery again to biopsy what they saw. The hospital staff was great and even let the kids come in to see Marcia (even in the ICU). It really lifted Marcia's spirits to see the kids.

2. We arrived home safely last night. It took us 2 days to get home because it is hard to see at night with just 1 headlight.

3. We were not injured when we hit the deer at 5:30 AM Saturday morning. I thank God for His supernatural protection.

4. Our car is still driveable. It doesn't look pretty but nothing under the hood is damaged (at least we don't think so - no fluids are leaking and it sounds OK)

This is what you car looks like when you hit a large deer at 60 MPH... I don't recommend it!

5. Lastly, I am thankful for you. Thank you for praying for Marcia and for safe travels for us.

Happy Easter from Nebraska

Jesus is Risen!! What a great day here in Nebraska. Can't remember the last time we shared Easter with family. Marcia showed signs of progress today. She is now off the ventilator and breathing on her own, still with the help of oxygen. My brother and Dad went up really early this morning and caught the doctor. He went ahead and looked at Marcia's CT scan from yesterday. Good news...the doctor said there really wasn't anything there and nothing to worry about. Bad news...we still don't know what's causing her breathing problems, the low iron count, and then her heart problems from Friday. Marcia really worked at communicating with us today through a word chart and also by writing on the chart. We loved getting smiles out of her. She also told us she's "angry" and "disappointed" about still being in the hospital and when we leave. She knows there is family in town and she can't be with us all the time. She has a real connnection with my oldest brother right now. He and his wife have spent a lot of quality time with her this past week. I'm very thankful for that. Some specific prayer requests for Marcia and family:

1. Continued improvement with her breathing so she can leave the ICU.
2. She will be able to speak again soon
3. She will be able to eat solid food again
4. Doctors discover what is causing her breathing, heart, and blood issues
5. Marcia will keep the "fight" and "will" to get better
6. Strength for my parents as my brother and I depart over the next couple of days
7. Safe travel for my brother and his family on Monday

Thank you for all of the prayer warriors across the country. We are grateful for your continued prayers and keep reminding Marcia of all the people concerned about her. Thank you for the encouraging comments.

Gary

P.S. Claire colored Easter eggs for the first time today after church. She had a blast coloring them, and I think then even more fun eating them. We'll post pictures after we get back home.

Update on prayer request for Marcia..

Just wanted to post a quick update. We are in Nebraska right now. We got a call on Friday saying they had complications during Marcia's surgery and that she was on life support. We packed immediately and drove straight through to get here by 9:00 this morning. When we saw Marcia for the first time she was awake and was responding. She is still on a ventilator but she is maintaining her blood pressure on her own now. She is in ICU so we can't spend a lot of time with her but it is good to see her with our own eyes and be able to talk to her. Our trip took 17 hours but Gary and I switched drivers about every 2 hours and praise God we really didn't have to fight fatigue. However, at about 5:30 this morning we were driving on an empty road in Kansas and came upon deer across the roadway. We couldn't avoid hitting one. I think it was the biggest deer I had ever seen. We hit it head on at about 60 miles an hour. We have a lot of front end damage and we lost a headlight but we praise God for His protection. When I talked with my mom later she told me that she woke up at 5:30 with the urge to pray for us and so she did. I said "mom, that is when we hit the deer". We are so thankful that the car is still drivable and that we were not hurt. Claire was the only child awake at the time and she kept signing giraffe. I think she thought we hit a giraffe! I think she saw the deer fly in the air (believe me, I didn't know they could fly that high) but praise God because I think that is what kept it from flying into the windshield. Claire now signs to everyone that the deer broke our car. We don't know how long we will be here but thanks for your continual prayers.

Thankful Thursday and Prayer request updates..

This Thankful Thursday I am thankful

~ that my kids have tomorrow off from school. I am looking forward to spending time together and just having fun.

~ that tomorrow is Good Friday. How could I not be thankful that Jesus willingly died on the cross for ME. What totally blows me away is the thought that if I was the only person on earth that He would have still gone to the cross for ME.

~ that Easter is on Sunday. Christ's gift to us didn't end on the cross because 3 days later He rose again. My Saviour Lives, My Saviour Loves, My Saviour's always there for me!

~ that I had a great birthday on Saturday! I'll try to post some pictures later. Let's just say I was surprised with a cake and a pink boa!

~ that my brother-in-law, Dale, is out of the hospital. He did have an infection in his pancreas. They discovered it was the same infection that infected his foot; so it was a systemic infection not just isolated to his foot. He may have to go back to Omaha for 6 weeks of hyperbaric chamber treatment. I guess the high oxygen treatments will help his foot heal. He is still being worked up for a kidney transplant. Omaha is about 4 hours away from where he lives so he most likely won't be able to drive back in forth but instead stay in Omaha for the 6 weeks.

~ that Gary's brother and wife (who live in Georgia) are in Nebraska helping care for Marcia. Marcia is still in the hospital with breathing problems. She is going to have a tracheotomy put in tomorrow. She has to have a breathing machine at night because she stops breathing. Well, she has been fighting it and pulling it off and at the same time pulling out her feeding tube. Hopefully, the trach will help. Marcia is very weak and has a hard time speaking but she knows what is going on and has been very weepy and distraught. Gary and I will probably be going to Nebraska in the next couple of weeks to go help with Marcia and to give Gary's parents a break. Just 2 weeks ago she was up and walking around and had been moved to rehab so her condition has definitely gotten worse. Hopefully, this is just be a small bump in the road and she will be on the road to recovery soon.

~ that I have friends around the country that will lift up my family in their prayers.

I almost didn't do a Thankful Thursday post today. I was just going to post prayer request updates instead but I got to thinking that I still have things that I am thankful for despite the fact that my heart is heavy with concern for Marcia and Dale. I think it is important to remember God's provision especially when your heart is heavy. What are you thankful for today?

Oh, no she didn't...

This post is titled Oh, no she didn't because I am going to share stories of some of Claire's antics and you will find yourself saying "Oh, no she didn't" but alas oh, yes she did!

First, I will start with what happened last night. Claire and Hunter went to bed at 9:00 last night and all was quiet. We thought "wow, she was really tired, we didn't hear a peep out of her". Well, imagine our surprise when we went up to bed at 11:00 and found her laying in her bed playing Hunter's Nintendo DS. She has never played with it before but she had it on and was using the stylus and everything. I know, oh, no she didn't but oh, yes she did. I wish I would have taken a picture of her guilty face but I was so shocked that she was still awake and I wasn't thinking photo op!

This is what her guilty/mad face looks like..

The next story happened a few weeks ago. Claire loves to sing and found the microphone that we have for the Wii for the High School Musical game. She would carry it around the house and sing for us. Well, I guess one day she figured that the microphones on TV don't have a cord so this one shouldn't either. That's right, oh, no she didn't but oh, yes she did. We now don't have a microphone for the Wii but Claire has a handy cordless microphone to carry around the house!

Here, Claire is singing before she took the scissors to the cord..(I'm not sure about the bowl on her head)

The final story is about a sweet little girl that has captured her momma's heart and brings her momma such joy oh, no she didn't but oh, yes she did. However, you already know that story don't you! :)

Here, Claire says "oh, no she didn't! I can't believe that my mom shared those stories with you!" but oh, yes she did!

Thankful Thursday..

Today I am thankful for my paternal grandparents, George and Maxine, who are celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary. That's right, 70 years!

I am thankful that as a child I was surrounded by grandparents with strong, Christ filled marriages. What a blessing! I have fond memories of my grandma Maxine reading to me from her very worn Bible every day we were at her house and doing devotions each morning during breakfast.

I am also thankful that my maternal grandparents celebrated 65 years together before they passed away. These days it is unusual to see marriages that last and I have had the honor of seeing my maternal grandparents celebrate 65 years and now my paternal grandparents celebrating 70 years! I would be delighted to share that many years with my ever-lovin'!

My grandparents at our wedding in 1991.

George and Maxine & Doc and Joyce

Grandma Maxine with the kids at Christmastime

Grandma Maxine and Me (she is out of the hospital now)
Happy Anniversary, Grandpa and Grandma! I love you! Thank you for your example!

Would you please pray?

I am asking all of my bloggy friends to please pray for my brother-in-law, Dale. He is currently being transported to a hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. The doctors are unsure what is going on but they think he has an infection some where. He is running a fever and is in a lot of pain. Several years ago, he had a pancreas transplant that cured him of his diabetes. Thankfully, he is no longer a diabetic. However, he still has to deal with the damage the diabetes had already done. About a month ago, he was hospitalized with an infection in his foot. At this time, it was determined that he needed to start kidney dialysis. He has been on dialysis ever since. He needs a kidney transplant. He has several people who have volunteered to give him a kidney but the doctors can't even proceed with working him up for a transplant until they figure out what is going on right now. Will you please pray for Dale, the doctors, and for my sister, Pam. They have 2 young girls and this is putting a strain on all of them.

Claire with her Uncle Dale

My sister, Pam and her family

Will you remember Gary's sister, Marcia, as well. She is still in the hospital. She has been in the hospital for about 6 weeks now. It looked like she was improving and then all of a sudden she started running a fever and started having breathing problems again. She also has a very hard time eating. She was very discouraged with this set back. Pray that she can get on her feet again and go home soon.

Marcia and her husband Andrew with the kiddos

Thanks for praying. It has been a rough start to 2009 for my extended family. A lot of illness and hospitalizations. I am thankful that I don't have to rely on my own strength and understanding but can rest in God's care.