So, I've been catching some flack for not posting sooner. :-) Our lives have been absolutely out of control over the last 2 weeks, but it seems to be slowing down a bit. Lots of doctors appointments, meetings, therapy sessions, and the list goes on.
This past Thursday, Josh spent the day recording a commercial for Mary Free Bed. We thought it would be an easy way to show our appreciation for what they have done for Josh, a real "quick" tape. We were so very wrong! When the cars and trucks started pulling in, you'd think that we were taping a movie in Hollywood. These people take their jobs very seriously! :-) There were so many lights and power cords, we blew breakers! There was a hair and makeup person, a gaffer (who used one of Josh's wheelchairs to move the camera), and many other people you would expect. Lunch was catered in. The whole situations was quite comical- not quite what we were expecting. We had a great time getting to know new people and spending some time with friends from MFB. The commercial will be running on the major network channels during the news and those kind of shows. You'll have to watch for it.
Josh has had an okay week. He has had many ups and downs, times where he is feeling encouraged and times when he is more than frustrated. He made a grilled cheese sandwich for OT today (with some assistance) and it took an hour. After he was done, he was quiet and asked if he would ever really use a skill like that. Just trying to open a bag of bread is a huge task. To get the butter open, he slammed his hands on either side of the big butter container and the top popped off (along with some extra butter). That was pretty ingenious. He continues to work at getting stronger- lifting weights, doing prone exercises with his shoulders and those sorts of things. His PT is on vacation this week so it's a bit different than usual. (Happy Birthday Kristy!) Josh has continued to stay up waaaaaay to late playing his beloved computer games. Some friends of his caught wind of how much he was enjoying Sim City so they blessed him with a few more! :-) Thanks guys... I think! :-)
All of the kids are doing well. Ephram is sleeping better at night. He now usually has a 6 hour span where he sleeps without waking up. This is much more manageable. He did sleep all afternoon so we are hoping he will still sleep tonight! He is smiling all the time and starting to laugh. He is getting quite the little personality and we are having so much fun with him! We had some family pictures taken the other day, and he would not cooperate. Oh well. If you happen to see the pic, you'll have to take note of the little boy with the flailing arms- he would not sit still!
I have had my ups and downs as well. I sometimes wonder how people learn to live like this the rest of their lives. There is not a moment's peace around here if we are trying to stay on top of everything. Sometimes I just forget the cleaning and am happy if the house is somewhat picked up. I have taken to going to bed before Josh and getting up when he is ready for bed. This way, we both get the sleep we want and neither of us is waiting on the other. If he goes to bed when I'm ready, he's awake for a few hours before he's ready to sleep. If I stay awake until he's ready for bed, I'm an absolute grump the next day! This momma needs more sleep!
I have been in prayer over where God wants to use us after this accident. I am starting to feel him leading me in a specific direction so we will see where that takes us. Josh is still praying and wondering how God wants to use him in this whole ordeal. He is speaking at Daybreak on Sunday. So far, this is how he has been telling people his story. On Sunday, he will be speaking on pain. God has allowed us to experience quite a bit and hopefully his words reach others for Christ.
Even in the midst of all this, God continues to bless our family and we are thankful for the life we share together. We continue to go through many challenges and changes and are still trying to figure out how this whole thing works, but we are thankful to do it together.
Prayer Requests:
-TOTAL HEALING
-Patience with all the difficulties Josh faces daily
-Spiritual growth and a reliance on God through this trial
