After a long reprieve from the blogging world, I am back at it.  Josh had to teach me how to update on this new site, but it turns out to be easier than the last! I am about as computer illiterate as they come, so easy is always a bonus.

Life here has continued on.  Very little change has been seen in Josh's physical condition over the last few months. This is very discouraging for him.  It is also a fact of life right now.  Although we have seen little change, our prayer is still for God to heal him.  Both Josh and I have come to the consensus that if God chose to heal him to the point of paraplegia, we would almost consider him healed.  What many people do not understand is the significant difference between quadriplegia and paraplegia.  Josh needs about 90 percent of daily living done for him. Because he has such little use of his upper body, his independence is very limited. He needs help eating, showering, moving from one position to another, changing batteries in his wheelchair, getting a drink of water, and the list goes on.  Those with paraplegia (and by no means am I discounting the heartbreak and major life changes these people go through) can typically learn to be 100 percent independent again. They learn to do things very differently than before, and almost everything is more difficult than it was before the accident, but they do not have to count on other people to help them all the time. So, as you can see we would be happy with more independence even if that includes a chair.  This would still take a total miracle, but we serve a very powerful God.

We had an eventful day today.  The morning started out with a church board meeting at our house.  I kept the kids in another room while the group met.  About noon Grandpa S. came to pick up the kids (they hadn't seen them in over a week as they had been on vacation in Mexico).  Noah was absolutely beyond excited, screaming like a wild banshee. They watched the kids while we were going to go over to some friends' house we had met through MFB.  As we were nearing ready to leave, Josh began to get dysreflexic and our plans came to a halt.  We stayed home and worked at getting Josh back to where he needs to be health wise.

We then headed over to my parents for a pizza party.  The kids were all playing on the bikes outside and enjoying the sunny weather.  They all had a great time. It makes me very anxious for spring to show it's lovely face again.

The house is coming along incredible well. Drywall and siding are starting next week.  Framing is completed, shingles are done and many other things are moving at lightning speed. According to the builder, he estimates we wil be in by the second week of June. Amazing.  We would love to have the summer to get used to our new surroundings, spend time with new neighbors, and get the kids acclimated to their new surroundings. We are starting to see the end in sight and cannot believe we are going to be moving into a new house built by amazing people throught he love of Christ! Thank you to all of you who have given so selflessly to us over the last 14 months. We are yearing for the day where things start to feel normal agian.  We keep in mind how long it took us to get to that point after Ava died. We know we have some ground to cover but believe that God will continue to give us peace and reassurance that we can handle this life change if we depend on him.

Pretty good weekend.  This is Josh.  My parents came up on Friday.  This means that Noah and Zoe were counting "sleeps" since Tuesday.  I really enjoy having them here.  My dad and I usually end up talking about boy things, and watching Blu-Ray, and the girls end up chatting while the kids are screaming in the basement.  My mom works her tail off while she's here, doing laundry, cleaning, cooking, changing light bulbs, and watching the kids.  Shelly usually gets a good break.

On Saturday morning, we met up with John and Jean at IHOP on the East Beltline.  It's only a 2 minute drive from our new house, so Jordan met us there when he was done roofing.  It was a big ole’ party.  When we were done with pancakes, we went to the new house.  The framing and the roof is done.  There was snow everywhere, but it didn't matter to me because I was in the IBOT.  A 4-wheel-drive wheelchair is pretty amazing.  I got everywhere I wanted to go except the basement.  It was pretty cool. 

I was reminded how universal pain is this week through a situation that happened to some friends.  Jeremy and Taralynn Best have two kids, Titus and Ava.  Jeremy leads worship at Greenhouse.  Taralynn was away, so Jeremy was home watching Titus.  Titus had a couple strange health things happen during the week, then on Thursday he had what seems to be a seizure.  Jeremy had to watch this happen.  It just doesn't seem fair.  Why do things like this happen?  There are some very easy to quote Biblical reasons that we can point out, but when you're in the thick of it, sometimes it doesn't matter. (Please keep the Bests in your prayers)

We really don't have any promises here on earth.  Nobody is promising me that Shelly isn't going to get breast cancer next month, or that one of my kids isn't going to get leukemia.

So often we feel like we can manipulate God into giving us a great life here on earth.  If we just say the right prayers and give enough money, God will protect our families from getting sick, He will make us financially prosperous, He will keep our cars from breaking down, and He will make us successful at work and school.  I just don't see this in Scripture, but as I was growing up, I subconsciously believed it.  No one really taught it to me.  I just picked it up along the way.

God gives us many future promises.  He gives us many promises in heaven.  He certainly promises that if we live like he commands us to we will be blessed and we will bless those around us,  but he gives us no physical or material promises.

Here's my point.  Enjoy what we have right now.  We don't deserve it.  Everything we have is God's and comes from God.  We didn't earn it with our talent or our perseverance.  Enjoy it now.  Don't wish away tough phases with your kids.  Enjoy them now.  Don't wish away life waiting for the next promotion or the next new vehicle.  Enjoy the God’s little gifts to us right now.  We just don't know how long we have.

A few weeks ago I was teasing Zoe.  I never understood why teasing your daughter was fun until I had one.  I always saw my uncle's teasing my cousins and other people teasing their girls.  Now I know what the big deal is all about.  Anyway... Zoe was half entertained and half annoyed.  She wanted to get me back, so when I wasn't looking, she put eight markers down my back.  Well... I don't have much feeling in my lower back, so they sat there for a few hours - 3 of them with their caps off.  Shelly discovered the situation a couple hours later, and she also discovered a huge blue mark dripping down my back.  We had a big laugh.  I learned my lesson... don't mess with Zoe.

pssst... we're still alive

Thought I'd let you all know that we're still alive and kicking. I have been updating but at www.greenhouseminstries.org

You can catch us there. Hope all is well with all you, my blogging friends.

8/15/07 11:35 p.m.

Hard day today. For both Josh and me. We didn't even know if we'd make it to therapy we had such a hard time in the van on the way over. We were glad we went after we got there. Josh tried out a power chair and then worked on emptying his leg bag into the toilet. We all had some good laughs.

Josh's feet are still a mess. He got in bed a bit after 9:00 tonight and has been playing on his computer. He can keep his feet up while in bed which helps with the swelling. It's not made too much of a difference thus far. Please be praying that this situation is resolved soon. It is very taxing on Josh and such a discouragement.

Josh's birthday is Saturday. He will be turning 31 but doesn't want to do much to celebrate. We are going out with friends on Friday night which should be fun.  When I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday, he said he just wanted to forget it. Not exactly the answer I was looking for. :-)

Huge praise- Ephram slept 9 hours last night! It's a record by a long shot! We are praying it continues.

Just a quick update. Now I'm off to sleep. God bless!