3/21/07 10:00 a.m.

Sorry for not posting more last night. My computer wasn't willing even though I was! Last night was tough for Josh.  The nurses at St. Mary's Hospital are wonderful but not used to taking care of people with his injury, needing to be turned every 2 hours, etc. etc. It made Josh feel pretty vulnerable. Right now we're waiting on insurance approval for Josh to get back into Mary Free Bed. Please pray that approval comes through quickly and without more difficulties. We'll post more later!

3/20/07 6:50 p.m.

Shelly wanted me to let you all know that the surgery went very well and Josh is in recovery.  Please pray that his recovery is quick and without complications. Shelly will post more later tonight. Thanks for praying!

3/19/07 10:30 p.m.

It was a good day for Josh with lots of hard therapy.  He enjoys feeling like his body is getting stronger. He spent a decent amount of time today working on rolling from side to side so that he can roll around a bit in bed. He did very well with some assistance from Kristy.  It was very hard to get the technique down in the beginning but by the end he was doing very well. Right now he can roll about 45 degrees. He is still not able to turn himself from one side to another, but that's why he's working on getting stronger.

We spent some time looking at land possibilities on the internet today.  My parents also did some driving around looking at some perspective plots.  Right now, our main goal is to get our family back together, comfortably, under one roof.  We are fervently praying for guidance in this situation. There are numerous options but we want to make the right decision for our family, Greenhouse and Noah's schooling.  Noah is our almost 5 year old with developmental delays. We live in the Grand Rapids school district right now and it is serving Noah's needs perfectly.  Our concern is that as Noah grows older and heads off to older elementary and beyond, the schools are well known for being pretty rough.  That is of great concern for us.  We cannot easily send him to a private school because all of his needs will not be met.  No matter where we live, Zoe will have many school options so she is all set. So, we have a lot of things weighing on our minds as we consider relocating.

Josh is having surgery tomorrow to have a permanent catheter placed, coming out of his abdominal wall. Surgery is scheduled for 3:00 tomorrow afternoon.  Please remember him in prayer. He does not feel very anxious, just ready to get this thing done! Pray that his health stays strong tonight and tomorrow so the surgery can happen as planned. It was cancelled last week because of an infection issue. He continues on I.V. antibiotics for a few more days so he should be all set!

That's all for tonight.  This momma is falling asleep at the computer.

Prayer Requests:

-TOTAL HEALING FROM GOD!!!!

-wisdom on our home situation

-surgery tomorrow at 3:00 (Noon for you Pacific time zoners!)

3/18/07 5:30 p.m.

Very slow day for us. Josh just got done watching a movie while I snoozed for almost 2 hours! It was glorious! The kids already came up today and are probably heading off to church as we speak.  They were very excited to see G & G Buck for a little bit (going to the play McDonald's made them even more so). Josh is now watching his favorite basketball team in the whole world (Kentucky) play Kansas and he's enjoying himself.  Church will soon be broadcast over the internet and he says he will be watching both at the same time. And he calls himself a Christian!!! :-)

Josh had a good day of therapy.  A ton of weight lifting and time on the bike that is arm controlled. He enjoys this kind of working out.  He used a new weight machine that he backs his wheelchair into and the handles are right around the level of his handlebars.  He could do a lot of shoulder exercises and back exercises that will help him build muscle so that he can shift himself in his chair.  This will help also with pressure relief so that he doesn't get any pressure sores (a.k.a. bed sores). He needs to build up enough strength to move around in his chair with ease.

As Josh was finishing up on the bike he really starting pushing himself at the end, pedaling with his arms as fast as he could go and feeling the burn.  When he got done and we were on our way upstairs, he was a little frustrated saying that the last minute on the bike made him miss running and reminded him of  the last few minutes in a long run where he would really push himself.  We continue to pray that God will heal his body and allow Josh the privilege of running again.  We continue to wait on his timing.

Please pray for us as we are starting to actively seek out a place to possibly build.  More than anything, we would love it if EMHE came through, but we don't want to wait too long. So, we start looking and seeing the land in GR is very limited.  Please pray that God is very revealing on what he would have us to do.  Right now the plan is for Josh to get out of here in about 5 weeks and heading home to our house. This is not a long term solution.  He will have access to the main floor only, no bathroom, and will be sleeping in the dining room. The timing is becoming more and more of a pressure so please pray for this situation. We know how much prayer has done so far so I thought I'd throw out another request! Thanks!

Prayer Requests:

-TOTAL HEALING!!!

-building and location issues

-Josh's triceps