I've been reminded once again that it is easy for Jesus to heal and forgive sins!

I did end up going to visit my sister and her husband, along with Amy, Isaiah, Ezekiel and my Mom. We had a great time, the only icy portion we hit on the way over was in Western Washington, it was so weird to see snow on both sides of the Mountain. Usually we have to go to Eastern Washington to see the snow, but we actually had snow that lasted for about a week, most of us that have lived in Washington for a long time can't remember the last time the snow has stayed around that long. Uncle Lonnie and Aunt Lori had all kinds of fun things for the boys to do, Uncle Lonnie works for the Washington State Department of Transportation and since he had a slow day on Saturday he offered to take the boys for a ride in the big trucks that he drives, to sand and plow the roads. To say that the boys had a blast would be an understatement. On Saturday evening we went to Pizza and bowling and had a great time! The best part of the trip for me was that I actually had some awesome nights of uninterrupted sleep and came home feeling pretty rested.

Luke and Lily had a wonderful time at Tio Juan's and Tia Yoli's home. Lily got her appetite back after a week of eating close to nothing, she made up over the weekend by eating more then you could imagine. Luke did so well that Yoli called me late Saturday night to see how low Luke's heart rate should be before being concerned, it was at 95 and she thought that was low, I told her that if it gets below 60 then I would be concerned. It's interesting that his heart rate has been lower at nights lately, just showing us that he is so much more relaxed and feeling good lately. He has also hardly had to have any extra oxygen at night which has been awesome.

As you know I could go on and on with too many details of this past week, but I will try to narrow it down to Friday. To say that Friday was a stressful day would be putting it mildly. I began the day by getting up early so that I could get the kids fed and dressed before Luke and I went to what I knew would be a full day of appointments. We began with our first appt. with a physiatrist, which is a rehabilitation Dr. He usually helps people get the equipment they need to get kids on the road to recovery. I had heard great reports about him from a few other people, so I was thinking it would be a good appointment. It went okay I guess, he requested x-rays of Luke's knees to see if there is any structural damage, since his legs are so twisted, they have a scissor look to them. I know that I've mentioned time and again about the problem we've had bending his knees. He is the third Dr. I've seen that has mentioned that Luke's tone is opposite of most kids like him. He told us to come back in 3 months that he would try to get some information on some things that would possibly help him out, he suggested new leg splints, like the ones he had a long time ago, I told him that they were very expensive, they cost us close to $1,000 after insurance paid there part. He said he would check to see if they have any grants to help out, I guess we are going to just have to wait and see at his next appointment in April. I was a bit disappointed in the fact that he didn't want to see us back a bit sooner, but I guess if you look at Luke from his standpoint, what is the hurry he will be like he is the rest of his life. I was a bit discouraged when I left his office.

I went from his office to sit in the x-ray sitting room for 30 minutes got the x-rays done and went straight from there to the Dietitian's office, where I was very disappointed once again. I guess that Luke lost a pound when he was sick last week, he has basically not gained any weight for the last year. Though he looks healthy, he is very skinny. The Dietitian said we need to keep a close eye on him to be sure he gains some weight in the next two weeks. Please be praying that God will help me to know what to feed him, his diet is very healthy, but we are just not able to get enough calories in him to make a difference.

On my way home after being gone for 4 hours, I got a call from home saying that one of Luke's pillows had been dryed in the dryer and had basically burst open filling the dryer with millions of tiny balls of Styrofoam, Natalie had been vacuuming it out for over an hour and had not even come close to getting it all. I told her to try to start the dryer to see if it would collect in the lint area, needless to say about an hour later of cleaning it up I heard Natalie yell in a panicked voice, "MOM, THERE IS A FIRE IN THE DRYER," sure enough I ran down the stairs and we had a fire. I knew that we keep a fire extinguisher in the closet so Natalie ran up to get it, while Amy is yelling should I call the fire department, I told her not yet. I sprayed the extinguisher into the dryer and thankfully it went out easily. Needless to say our home smelled horrible for awhile. We were blessed to find another used dryer on Saturday for only $75, we've been using it today trying to get caught up on our massive laundry, since we've not had a dryer for a few days.

Last Sunday I went to my sister's church and the pastor that day had an excellent sermon. He told us a story from the Bible about the sick man who could not walk and was put down through the roof of a home on a bed, for Jesus to pray for, the room was so crowded they couldn't get him through the door. Well, Jesus said to him your sins are forgiven, he rose up and walked out of there healed. The pastor made this statement, it used to be in Jesus' day people could not understand how Jesus could forgive anyone's sin, It was hard for them to believe that He could do that, but it was easy for Him to be able to heal someone, in there eyes. Today it is just the opposite in many churches today, people believe that it is easy for Jesus to forgive sins, but it is not easy for him to heal people. He died on the cross to do both forgive us for our sins and to heal us of our sicknesses. It's easy to get discouraged, as I have been many times, to continue to believe when we don't see the results that we want right away, but I know that I can't quit believing because, I know that Jesus died for me and He loves us all the same. He is just waiting to forgive sins and heal people, all they need to do is ask. If you've never done this before it is easy to do and you will be amazed at the peace and joy you will feel, you will never be the same again.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

PS Please continue to pray for Melissa and her family as she is near the end, without a miracle. Also for a little guy named Joel he needs a miracle too, his web site is http://www.weloveyoujoel.blogspot.com. I know that I asked for prayer for Zach also, he is a little guy that is battling Leukemia, I've had the opportunity to go up to Seattle to visit with him and his mom Ruth a few times and have really enjoyed getting to know them both, he is actually doing great and is home right now, but will be going back to the Hospital for another 5 months sometime next week, his site is http://www.prayerservant.org/zack/gallery.shtml