Lukie loves to go camping!

Last week we went camping and we were blessed with beautiful weather, thank you Jesus! Every time I would tell Luke we were going camping he would get a huge smile on his face. It was challenging at times getting everything into place to go as I was still recovering my strength from that horrible flu bug that hit me the week before. Once again I have to say a huge "THANK YOU" to my girls Amy and Natalie who pulled most of it together.

Our good friends Yoli and her children Spencer, Bonnie and Karlos went with us. Gordy stayed home until Friday evening since he had to work all week. We went up to the top of Mt. St. Helens one day, it's so amazing to see all the history of it's volcano eruption back in 1980, there at the top of the mountain. Yoli and her children had never been up there before so they were amazed at the magnitude of the eruption, I have to say if you ever have the opportunity to go up there I would highly recommend it. One other day we went to Portland, OR to go to there Science museum, the kids not only had fun but they also learned a lot while we were there.

Yoli and I went to a Homeschool Conference on Friday and spent the night in Portland, one day I will have to tell you about our MAX adventure on their subway system. It was so wonderful to have a full night sleep as I had been sleeping with Luke all week and had not had a lot of sleep the entire week. The conference was so good, it's wonderful to go there and be reminded of "WHY" I homeschool my children, sometimes it's pretty overwhelming to think that I still have 15 years of homeschooling left.

This week is full of lots of Hyperbaric dives. I hope to get in at least 8 dives this week. Next week Luke has a few big appointments, one with the Orthopedic Dr. and one with his rehab Dr. I hope all the dives help to loosen him up so that his knees will bend better. Please be praying that God will direct the Dr.'s as they look at Luke's muscle tone issues.

This morning on the way to the Hyperbaric chamber Ezekiel reminded me that we can't heal Luke only God can. I told him that I know this is true but we are just helping to keep Luke healthy until God chooses to finish his healing work. Ezekiel then reminded me of the dream he had where God told him that He was going to heal Luke and use him one day for His work. Ezekiel has remained strong in his belief that God is going to heal Luke and often prays to God before going to bed reminding God that he told him He would heal Luke and prays it will be soon. Oh, for the faith of a 7 year old.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Suzi

You can call me a crazy sick Mama!

Here's Isaiah trying hard to catch his first fish, no luck yet!

Ezekiel is having the time of his life fishing, but no fish this time!

Lukie on his first horsey ride, thank Natalie for holding me I had so much fun!

This is so easy I can do it with my eye's shut!

No hands, no problem, just a lot of fun!

Here I type from our new portable PC in my bed, yep I said in my bed. I started to feel a bit sick last Friday night, by Saturday morning I knew I was sick but didn't realize how bad I was until we had taken off for Camp Prime Time. I knew in my heart I couldn't disappoint Isaiah and Ezekiel, they wanted to go fishing so bad and ride on the horses, to say no just wouldn't do. It ended up just being Natalie, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Luke and myself that went. Gordy wasn't feeling that great and Amy had made some other plans, so I knew it would be easier to leave Lily home with them and boy am I glad I did.

We left that morning with excited boys, Natalie drove the entire 2 1/2 hours to get there and I rested, while helping Luke with his coughing and feedings. I left with a heavy heart, not only because I knew I wasn't feeling well but also knowing that Daniel was moving out that day. Yep, I said Daniel moved out, this is not the first time he's done this but it seems a bit more final this time. I know that he is ready for this and I am to, it's just hard to say good bye, I so enjoy his company and having him around the home. He moved down to Chehalis into a home with a few friends. It is real close to the job that he just took, he began working for web design business down there last week and looks to have some wonderful opportunities coming his way if all goes according to plan. I'm so thankful that God has given me this amazing Godly man for my son and am praying that God will continue to guide him and direct each steps he takes.

That said, let me get back to Saturday, we got up to the camp at lunch time, had a delicious lunch and moved into our little cabin. The cabin had electricity but the only source of heat was a small black stove that had to a fire built in it to have heat. Natalie and I tried a few times unsuccessfully to get a fire going, it was not until evening that someone finally came to get a good fire going for us. Natalie took the boys out to the lake to go fishing, though they did not catch anything, they had a blast trying. When they got back I took Luke and the boys for a walk it was so beautiful up there. After getting back from the walk the med's I had taken earlier had worn off and I began to get the fever again with horrible shakes. I laid on the bed for a few hours and took a nap and then woke up feeling a little tiny bit better so went to dinner. After dinner I knew I wouldn't be able to handle the sing along around the fire so I went back to bed while Natalie took the boys to the camp fire. Thank the Lord for Natalie!

That night was one of the longest nights of my life! Luke was struggling most of the night with horrible congestions and I was sicker than a dog. By morning I was barely able to stand in the shower from being so weak, but I made it through we packed up and went over to the Indian Creek Corral for Horse rides. The boys had a blast and even Luke had fun for a few minutes on the horsey. Natalie once again drove home,but now I was no longer able to even turn around to help with Luke so she had to stop on numerous times to help him out. When we got home I went straight to bed and have been there ever since. I've tried to get up on numerous occasions but am still to weak. Sitting up typing this blog has been the longest I've sat up in day and it's only been about 20 minutes.

Am I sorry I went? No, not really I'm sorry I was so sick, I'm sorry that Gordy was not able to go, I'm sorry I had to put so much on Natalie, but I'm not sorry for the boys they had the time of their lives and that made it all worth while. So what do you think am I a crazy Mama?

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Suzi

33 Is My New Favorite Number!

I was sitting in the Dr.'s office counting the times I've been to a medical appointment this week, can you believe it's been 10 times. That's a lot of time! To be fair I have to mention a few of those appointments were for me. Luke did end up having pneumonia as we found out at his appointment with the Pulmonologist on Tuesday. So he is on an Antibiotic and is doing better everyday. Today at his appointment with his Rehab Dr. I think that his Dr. more concerned about his congestion, which I have to admit he did sound terrible, than he was about his muscle tone, which was horrible, but to be expected with him being sick. We decided to up his muscle relaxant to see if that helps him with his tone issues.

Are you wondering why 33 is my new favorite number? It's because that is how much Luke weighed at his Pulmonologist appointment this week. That is one pound more than he has ever weighed in his life. Hearing he weighed in at 33 pounds was one of the sweetest moments of my week.

We had planned to go to a camp up in the Mountains this weekend called Camp Prime Time a camp for special needs children and their families, but wouldn't you know it Gordy came down with the crud last night that Natalie had all last week. I'm praying that his flu won't last as long as Natalie's did. I'm waiting to see what Luke is like in the morning before I make a final decision on what to do. I dreaded telling the boys that we were probably not going to make it because I knew that they would be heart broken as we have been talking about going for weeks. Please pray that somehow we will still be able to go.

On Christ the Solid Rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand!

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue