closing out the first month of a new year...

It is hard to believe that January is all ready coming to a close. Many things took place this month, but mostly it was a quite month with lots of family time. Here is a glimpse of some of the things from our month:

A tooth was lost!

A room was painted (and a new painter was trained).

Projects were made!

(Sadie started a pottery class this month, more projects will be shared as she brings them home!)

Fern was held...

by both the girls!

Thanks Samuel for letting the girls hold your girl! They were delighted!

We continue to be encouraged by Pastor Matt's faith and we continue to pray for his healing and strength!

Read the newest article regarding Pastor Matt: http://www.thetowntalk.com/print/article/20100130/LIFESTYLE/1300301/Enduring-faith

Hear an update from Pastor Matt:
Week 3: Video Update from Matt Chandler

We look forward to many fun updates to share in February. We hope that the first month of the new year has brought you much joy, healthy and happiness!

Prayer for our pastor (part 2)

I hardly have words for how heavy my heart is over the health of Pastor Matt. I ask that you read this update and continue to lift him in prayer, his health, spirit, his wife, his kids, the church, his friends and his family.

On Tuesday, Dr. Barnett informed Matt and Lauren that the findings of the pathology report revealed a malignant brain tumor that was not encapsulated. The surgery to remove the tumor, the doctor said, was an extremely positive first step; however, because of the nature of the tumor, he was not able to remove all of it.

Today (Thursday the 17th) Pastor Matt is meeting with several doctors for several options. Please pray for wisdom and for clarity on the path in which they are lead to take for future treatment.

Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. ~Psalm 139:16

I got mail...

I was SO excited on Saturday when our mail arrived; I got a package and I knew just what it was!!

It was coffee!!! Anyone who knows anything about me knows I LOVE a good cup of coffee!

But this coffee is MORE than just a good cup of coffee... this coffee also supports and amazing cause!

Just Love Coffee is helping bring together orphaned children and their forever families. Not only do they assure that the coffee is purchased under fair conditions (Fair Trade Coffee), but they are also allowing families in the process of adopting a way to help raise money for the extreme cost that can go into the adoption process.

Our dear friends the Caceres Family have had it laid heavy on their hearts that adopting is what God is calling them to do. This process is long, sometimes overwhelming, but a great joy is brought forward in their obedience to the Lord and the excitement is building to meet their newest child whom God will provide. The financial cost to adopt is pretty amazing, I am sure there are many who have looked at the overall numbers and decided it wasn't the choice for them, but Just Love Coffee has seen the need in helping families with the process by finding a way to make fundraising available.

If you happen to purchase a bag of coffee at your local coffee shop, grocery store or online; I would ask that you consider making this purchase through Just Love Coffee to support the Caceres's Family in this very exciting process. You can purchase one bag or two or put yourself on an automatic monthly order. You can do something to help give a child a home... you can make a difference. Please visit the Caceres's path to adoption page to read more about this process and what God is doing in their lives!

Prayers for Grandma UPDATED 7-31

Updates:

When I wrote this below my grandma had come out of surgery just a few days prior and was having some pain and "typical" complications from surgery. I had no idea what was to come. She ended up in ICU, ended up with a aspirated pneumonia, ended up with a feeding tube and with a much longer hospital stay then anticipated all before ending up at home with the requirement of 24/7 care. The good news is she is home, she is healing, she is improving every day and yesterday the feeding tube was removed along with her being able to take off the oxygen. She has a battle ahead, but I am grateful for the steps she has taken forward as the doctor made it clear on the day we left the hospital that we could have lost her. If you are interested you can read more about her progress at:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/connieline

Thank you for all your prayers and support. For weeks we were passing the kids around, scrabbling to figure out day to day (even hour to hour at times) and have literally had a hard time thinking past the hospital, past Grandma. I appreciate all those who helped us get through the last few weeks; we could not have done it all without you.

On a side note... the girls and I had an outing to the Glass Museum the day before Grandma's surgery and last Saturday our family was able to spend the day together... we went out to the Olympic Game Farm which was super fun. I will try to update with some of those fun pictures soon!!!

Mother's Day 2008 Grandma Connie, Me, Mom (Valerie)

As I currently type all these overdue posts, I come with one post most important. I am asking that you lift up my Grandma Connie in prayer. Wednesday she has a major surgery that confirmed she has ovarian cancer. She has had a very long, painful, frustrating few days here in the hospital and recovery is not an easy road. Next week she will be given the schedule for her needed chemotherapy.

My Grandmother is a very monumental person in my life, I love her dearly and deeply and I hate to watch her suffer as she is right now. I ask that you lift her current hospital stay up in prayer... pray for a speedy and full recovery with limited side effects. I ask that you pray for God's healing hand to be upon her and to allow the chemotherapy to destroy any and all cancer that may be left behind after surgery. I ask for strength both physically and emotionally for my Grandmother and for my mother.

Thank you!

Another prayer request...

I came across this blog by chance yesterday or maybe it was as a friend told me, maybe it was because I was meant to pray for this baby all day. I did pray and thought of him all day, but not until this morning did I see the updates which included some amazing testimony to prayer (as did the update for little Ellie May yesterday).




I ask that you be praying for Stellan too; you can read his story and what is going on each day by clicking on his picture above. This guys is so tiny, yet so strong. The Lord is good and merciful and gracious and He has a plan for this little one. Please add him and his family to your prayers.

Please be praying...

Our family has been praying for Ellie May now for awhile. Ellie May is the daughter of a co-worker of Bill's and on November 28 she was diagnosed with Pre B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

They took her to the doctor not because they knew something was horribly wrong, but because she had been bruising more than normal! Ellie May started the third phase of treatment yesterday and they have warned her mom and dad that his could be the most difficult phase for Ellie May. I ask that you lift up this family in prayer; please let the Holy Spirit make his presence known to them clearly. Let the Lord's merciful hand be placed on Ellie May, that she may endure no negative effects of treatment, but that the treatment can be successful in the restoration of Ellie May's health.

To read more about Ellie May's journey thus far click here

Prayers for my Grandpa (updated)

UPDATE 10/27/2008: Grandpa was moved out of ICU yesterday!!!!!! He is doing much better and appears to be on the road to recovery. For the first time he is being allowed a “clear liquid” diet and some of the many tubes have been removed. He does have one issue that needs to be monitored, but he is the care of good staff! Thank you for all who spent out prayers for him. Hopefully he can continue to get well so he can come home soon!

Grandma & Grandpa August 2008

My Grandpa Harold went into the hospital on Tuesday the 14th to have a minor operation on his heart. The operation was not successful and they told my grandparents that he would have to undergo open heart surgery the following day. This came as quite a surprise as a minor "cleaning of an artery" turned into triple bi-pass in a matter of hours. Grandpa underwent the bi pass on Wednesday and was recovering well. He had some bumps here and there in the road as many do after surgery. In the last few days he has hit some pretty big bumps that has put him back into ICU to be watch closely and a few more procedures have had to be done to help his body heal and help him feel better. I am asking for that you pray for his health and his spirit; that prayers go out to my grandma, his wife of 52 years who obviously is concerned for him and who could use her own spirits lifted. Also, prayer for all their kids (all my aunts and uncles); they all have been down with him over the last week+ and generally hospitals and the stress of all the ups and downs take their toll. Please keep them, especially him and his doctors in your prayers... thank you!!

WE ARE HOME!!!!!

More to come later, but we are home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for every prayer that went out for Sadie's health and for her to be able to come home. I will post more of an update later (maybe even tomorrow) on her site... for now, we are going to get settled in and enjoy some MUCH NEEDED FAMILY TIME!

Free at last...

Finally some good news.... at about 5:45 Sadie was taken off the IV!!!! She was told this morning that her part to getting home was to drinking lots and lots of fluids and man did she!

Here is her all un-hooked!!

Good-bye IV pole!

One Bad IV...

Today Sadie had a really bad experience with an IV which blistered under the dressing and caused her tons of burning. The entire story can be found at Sadie's site http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/sadiejordan- needless to say it was a long day today full of unexpected surprises.

After they turned medication off. The one that is creeping out of the dressing is the one we watched appear.

This is prior to the five injections in her arm.

All bandaged up!

Puffy Hand!

Last night Sadie was having a lot of pain in her IV hand. The nurses realized her hand was getting pretty puffy and it was time to take that IV out and start a new line. After it was out - Sadie had about an hour of being "free" from tubes!! Here is a picture of her hand (no knuckles, no wrist!). The nurse said it will take about 2-3 days for the swelling to go down. All ready this morning you can tell she has a wrist (still no knuckles).

Syrah's visits

No one under the age of 10 can visit Sadie; sadly this includes her sister. Syrah has made several waves from outside the window, but no matter which nurse, doctor or staff member I beg and plead with (which I have done several times); the answer remains no. So, yesterday Bill brought Syrah down and the three of us went for a bite and to walk around so that we could have some time together. (Sadie's Aunt Maria, cousins Jake & Nicole came and played games with her). While Syrah was waiting for the "transition", her and Bill walked around and took pictures with all of the "animals" in the hospital. Here are a few of my favorite shots:

I just have to make note to Syrah's bite... especially in the last picture you can really tell that her bite is changing!!

We really miss being all together as a family and are continually praying that this all goes as quickly as possible so that we can all be together again!

View from within...

Just thought I would share some shots of what we are seeing each day.

~~Prayers for Sadie~~

Calling all prayer warriors; I am asking for prayer around Sadie. I usually keep all medical stuff to her site, but this is whats going on in our "family" right now, so it is important that I ask you all for prayer. Not having a church home to request prayer from is hard right now, it would be comforting to know that there are people out there lifting Sadie up to our Lord!

Sadie is on day two of her stay at Children's (she was admitted Thursday, but they don't count it since she got a late start on meds). She is sound asleep right now.. I type this while listening to her breathing. She has shown so much courage over the last two days and more patience than most. She has been woken up every few hours and had people moving her, poking at her, asking her questions (just what any person wants to deal with coming out of sleep).

My request is just for speedy healing... we were told originally about five days here should do it. Then yesterday we were told it could be 7-10 days. Far cry from where we were a year ago preparing to leave for Disneyland. We would all like to see Sadie come home as quickly as possible, I don't know anyone that enjoys the atmosphere of the hospital. We are pretty family oriented people and the fact that we can't all be together is quite hard on all of us... if we could all be here together it might just make it that much easier.

I will try to get some updated pictures on here soon... another fun zoo trip, Syrah's first field trip (to the pumpkin farm), view from our hospital room (which is actually quite nice).

Thank you for all your prayers and support.