Some Weeks Are Just Hard PERIOD.

This past week began with a gift from God, some of my dear friends called me last week saying that they would like to invite me to the beach for a mom's get away weekend. Gordy gave me his blessing and I took off Friday evening for Seaside, OR. When I got down there it was a beautiful night on the beach, no wind at all. I had a wonderful moonlit walk on the beach, it was a precious time of prayer and singing praises to God. The weekend was very relaxing and fun, just what I needed before coming home to a very hard week.

Gordy told me that Luke had been junky all weekend, he was up most of Saturday night suctioning him and repositioning him to get him to breath better. I decided after getting home Sunday evening that I would give him the night off, that ended up being a nightmare night, full of constant suctioning, praying and alarming. I didn't get to bed until around 4:30 a.m. The next morning I was not able to sleep in so needless to say I only got a few hours of sleep. That night I was once again up until about 3:30 a.m. The next morning I had to be up early to get ready to go speak to my Aunt and Uncle's senior group at their church, of course I was speaking on my journey with Luke, I spoke about God renewing my hope and faith, of how God continually renews my strength, about my motto in life being I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. . . That night I would be tested to see if I still believed those things at 3 a.m. when I was up again suctioning and repositioning Luke.

Wednesday morning I decided I should take Luke into the Dr. to see if he had any suggestions on ways to get Luke's congestion cleared up. The Dr. basically told me once again that Luke's lungs sounded fine, in fact he told me that he heard really good air exchange and told me that his atalectis has definitely cleared up, that was good news indeed! He told me to try giving Luke some breathing treatments and some decongestant. It has been helping somewhat though tonight once again he's alarming off and on about every 15 minutes. That's why I'm sitting here at 3:55 a.m. blogging this post.

I will blog again within the next few days to give you all the names of the 12 ladies coming to the retreat for Mom's of near drown children. The details are coming together nicely, though there have been a few times this week I've thought to myself, have I bit off more than I can handle with all the many details to bring together. Then I remind myself that God is the one directing me and guiding to give me the wisdom and strength to get everything taken care of, I know it's going to be a wonderful weekend.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Blessed Beyond Belief

I am blessed by the out pouring of notes and money that is coming my way for the Mom's of near drown children retreat. It so exciting to see that so many people are wanting to make this weekend a very special one for the Mom's that are coming. I got a call today from one more mom today asking, if we still had room for her to come. She said that her sister called her yesterday to say that she would like to bless her by buying her a plane ticket to come, I was so excited to say that we do have room. She e-mailed me within the hour of her call with her flight information. So we currently have 11 Mom's coming, that's including me. I've been working on bringing together all the details for the weekend and I'm happy to say that things are coming together quite nicely!

This past week has been extremely busy for me, God has been opening doors for me to speak to different groups and this last week I actually spoke at two different MOPS groups on, The Lost Art of Hospitality or the KISS (Keep It Spontaneously Simple) method of Hospitality. It was so exciting to share with these mom's tips on ways to make hospitality a easier possibility in their homes. I was also asked to be a part of a Pierce County Leadership Developmental Disabilities Training, which is an great opportunity on ways to become a better advocate for Luke and others in the Developmentally Disabled community. This class meets one Saturday a month and of course it was this past Saturday, which made my week even more crazy busy.

Wouldn't you know it at the beginning of the last week Luke got very sick, sicker than he has been all summer long, it began on Sunday the day I was having all my children over for dinner to celebrate Amy's Birthday, by that night Luke was doing horrible, his oxygen needs were high, his heart rate was high, his fever was high, he basically was alarming pretty much all night long, I didn't get to bed until 5:30 a.m. when Gordy took over for me. Of course that Monday was the day that we had to make Luke' s formula, he only had one day left from his last batch, so I was running on little sleep, but with God's amazing strength I was able to get through the day, Luke seemed to be doing a little better that day so we decided not to take him into his Dr., but that night when his fever hit a high of 104.2, I was kicking myself for not taking him in earlier that day. We prayed and after a few hours of crying out to God, along with some ibuprofen his temp went down along with his need for extra oxygen. Tuesday morning I decided I better take him in to the Dr. after the Dr. listened to his lungs he said that he actually sounded pretty good, no pneumonia Praise God, but he did think he had bronchitis, this is a first for Luke, so he put him on a antibiotic and he has been doing great ever since.

Please continue to pray for all the details to continue to come together for the Mom's of near drown children retreat, especially be praying for all their children to stay healthy so that they will all be able to come knowing that their children will be safe while they are gone. Once again thank you for your faithful prayers and for all of you that have given money to make our retreat be amazingly special.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

ONE of the BIGGEST DREAMS I've ever had is FINALLY coming true!

The good news I wanted to share with you, is that one of the dreams that I've had for so many years is finally coming true. I've prayed about, hoped and have wanted to plan a retreat for moms with children that have suffered from near drowning accidents. With the generosity of the Vara Family's vacation home in Suncadia, it is finally coming true. As of right now we have 9 women flying in from all the over the USA to come to WA for our retreat November 12th - 15th. We have room for 12, so as of right now we have a place for 2 more people.

The realization that many of these mom's have never ever left their child's side since their accidents is HUGE and I really mean HUGE. I have one mom coming from Oklahoma and she has never had anyone but herself feed her daughter every single day, for the last 6 1/2 years. When she first heard about this retreat she thought there would be no way she could leave her daughter to come and then the comment from her husband about the fact that she couldn't leave didn't help matters. But after praying about it silently, her husband actually told her that he thinks she needs to come and has volunteered to learn how to feed their sweet little girl.

I have mom's coming that need this break, a time away from the stresses of taking care of their children 24/7 days a week, it takes a toll on them. If you've read this blog for long you know the stresses that I live with on a daily basis, they are anything from "little, HUGE" stresses like:

• the constant care of bathing a child who is 45 pounds, that is pure weight as he can not help hold himself up, therefore my back goes out on me at times,
  
• the constant suctioning, just to keep his airway open,
  
• the constant appointments with doctors, therapists, hospital visits,
  
• the constant nights of no sleep,
  
• the constant worries of wondering if your child could die tonight because he is on so much oxygen and you are at your wits end to figure out what else you can do for him,
  
• the constant balancing act of trying to keep a healthy marriage while you are constantly having to care for all the family along with the child that takes most of your time,
  
• the constant wondering if you are doing a good job with your other children being sure that they have enough of your attention and time,
  
• the constant feeling like there is always and I mean always more that you should be doing for this child,
  
• the constant time spent in prayer and crying out to God to give you the strength and joy to get through just one more day,
  
• the constant grieving of the child that you used to have, wishing and hoping that one day you will hear your child say "mama" again,
  
• the constant wiping away the tears because it feels like nothing you ever do is enough,
• the constant feedings and medication schedules,
  
• the constant feeling like you are ALWAYS being stared at when you take your child anywhere because he breathes to loud or yells at the wrong time,
  
• the constant feeling like you didn't want this life but now that it's been given to you, you have to find a way to keep going,
• the constant hearing people say, "I don't know how you handle all you do" and thinking to themselves I sure couldn't do it,
  
• the constant . . . . . . . You get the picture.

In all the years that we've had this blog I don't believe I've ever asked for any kind of financial help or donations, God has so blessed our family and though we have some rough times, God has always and I mean always provided all that we've needed and more. I'm actually hoping and praying that some of you will find it in your hearts to help make this weekend a time that these mom's will always be able to look back on with such amazing memories. As mentioned we have a place free of charge at a beautiful resort in Eastern Washington, this was a huge answer to prayer. I've told all the ladies the only expense they will have for this weekend is getting here, their airline tickets and spending money for our day in Seattle. Wouldn't it be wonderful for them to get here and find out that all the expenses for the day in Seattle are covered??

OKAY, so here's what I'm hoping some of you will be able to help with:

• I would love to treat these ladies to lunch down at the waterfront $120
  
• I would love to take them up in the Space Needle so they can get a beautiful view of the city $180
  
• I would love to treat them with a bag filled with goodies and souvenirs as a reminder of their time spent at the retreat $100
  
• I would love to treat them to a great dinner out that night $300
• I would love to give each of them some money to buy themselves something, as I know that these mom's sacrifice on a daily basis to keep their children healthy and alive $250
• BUNCO prizes $50
• I'm hoping to get all the food donated for the weekend, along with some friends to come help with the preparations and clean up.
  
• I'm asking people to help pick up mom's from the airport and take them back there again.

I figure it all adds up to about $1,000, I don't want anyone to feel pressured to think that you have to do this, I hope I don't offend anyone by asking. But I do know that unless you ask sometimes, there is no way for people to know the need. It is a bit overwhelming to think of all the details, but I know that with God's help it will all come together. Would you be willing to help out?? We are not a non-profit so there would be no tax deductions available, just the joy of knowing that you are helping make a special weekend for these mom's who are overworked, overstressed and who quite often feel hopeless. Just to let you know any money sent will be used for this weekend, I will distribute it equally among the mom's. If you would like to help out you can e-mail me at howslukedoing@yahoo.com and I will give you my home address to send your donations to.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

PS Thank you so much for your prayers, I'm feeling sooooo much better. I know it had to be a touch from God, because the amount of pain I was experiencing just doesn't go away so quickly without a touch from Jesus. My mom had her back surgery today and she is already feeling relief from the horrible pain that she has been living with for so many months. Please continue to pray for her to have a speedy recovery and that she will regain her strength, she's been bedridden for so long and she is not very strong right now, thank you.

I Am In Desperate Need Of Your Prayers Right Now

I'm calling all you of you powerful prayer warriors to do some praying for me today. On Wednesday when I went to pick up Luke my back went out. Luke is now 44 pounds and normally it's not a problem to pick him up, but there are times that my back, which has been bad for many years goes out. I was totally bummed when it went out as I have been faithfully walking and exercising lately and that threw off my exercise pattern. Along with my back going out I've been experiencing some severely painful muscle spasms in my upper leg/hip, for the last month, so when my leg would spasm, my back then would spasm, to say I've been in pain is an extreme understatement.

I finally decided to go to the Dr. yesterday and she told me that she thinks I have bursitis in my hip along with a bad disk in my lower back. She said to take it easy for a few days, she offered me some Vicaden, but I turned it down, what a big mistake that was, she also said I need to get into some physical therapy ASAP to help me to learn some exercise to help get me better. She also gave me a shot of Tordal in the hip and that did help. This morning when I woke up I felt a lot better, so stupid me I folded all the clothes that had been stacking up for the last few days and then helped direct the cleaning of the garage for a few minutes. I then took a shower and when I was getting out of the shower the pain hit me so bad that I could not move without screaming out in pain. Gordy got me to take 4 Ibuprofen which didn't really help that much and got me into bed the pain was not going away and I was so wishing I had taken that prescription from the Dr. I was able to get some stronger meds. in me and get out of bed, but am still in lots of pain. Needless to say I am desperate for a touch from Jesus today!!

My mom could also use your prayers right, ironically she has been suffering with extreme back pain. It all started after she was in that horrible accident back in May. She is scheduled to have surgery on Tuesday, we are praying once she has that surgery she will begin to get back to her normal self. She has basically been home bound for the last month, constantly either lying in her bed or on the couch. Please be praying for her as she goes into surgery on Tuesday, that she will be free from her pain and that the surgery will fix her disks once and for all.

I'm soooo very thankful that Luke has been healthy lately. Ever since May when the Dr. basically said that there was nothing else the medical community could do for Luke's lungs he has been better. I know that GOD reached down with His Healing Hand and touched Luke's lungs, he has been pneumonia free and hasn't had any major breathing problems since May, THIS IS A HUGE ANSWER TO PRAYER!! I also know that it would be so easy for God to reach down and heal my and my mom's back with the same Healing Hand and that's what I'm hoping you will agree with me in prayer.

As I said in my last post I have some exciting news to share with y'all and very soon I'm going to sit down and tell y'all about it!

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue