I did it!! I walked/jogged/biked 26 1/2 miles to complete a marathon for my fellow Marathon Moms.

Well I did it, I said I would and I actually did it, yep I did a 26 1/2 mile marathon today. Nope it wasn't a race in fact it wasn't a traditional marathon, it was a marathon to raise awareness and money for my friends and fellow marathon moms, for our 3rd Annual Mom's of Near Drown Children Retreat happening next weekend. I began with a 10 mile walk/jog, then jumped on my bike for a 13 mile ride, in the middle of the ride I walked two more miles and then finished with Gordy, my kids and sister Cindy for the last mile.

Here I am celebrating with my family that I just got done completing 26 1/2 miles

Just finished my second mile, going strong at this time

The Rodriguez Family cheering me on as I finish my 4th mile

Yoli joined me for 6 miles

Isaiah went with me on my 13 mile bike ride

Amy joined me in the middle of my bike ride and walked another mile with me at Lake Wahop

Gordy, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Lily, Luke and Aunt Cindy joined me for the last mile

 

 

 

 Once again I've listed out what makes a marathon Mom:

• It’s a Mom who has a child that had a near drowning accident that is now unable to walk, talk, move or do anything for themselves. She changes that child’s diaper, even though they are way too old for diapers, she feeds that child because without her help that child would starve to death, she bathes that child which means she has to pick that child up and carry that child into the bath or shower and regardless of the pain she feels in her back she can’t give up on the care of their daily needs, because it’s a necessity that needs to be done. 
• It’s a mom that is dedicated to being sure that her child is receiving all the care and treatments that are available for that child to receive, no matter what the cost or time commitment is. 
• It’s a mom who no matter how tired she is and let me tell you she is definitely tired most days from either constant alarms going off at all hours of the day and night or perhaps she tired from getting her child to numerous medical appointments, while at the same time juggling her husband and other children at home, she keeps on going.
• It’s a mom who constantly tells herself to not lose hope even when the medical community has told her on numerous occasions that their child would be better dead than alive, yes most of us have been told that a time or two or they are telling her to just give up, but she refuses to stop believing in her child.
• It’s a mom who is in this journey for the long haul, it isn’t a sprint, its a marathon. And even when they can’t even see a tiny speck of light at the end of the tunnel they do not lose hope in thinking that their child will do better tomorrow, but tomorrow sometimes never seems to come.

• It's Annie Pettigrew Izzy's mom, Lindsey Black Santana's mom, Shauna Quintero Christian's mom, Tiffany Vara Abbie's mom, Erin Wright Aidan's mom, Kehau Edgamin Caleb's mom, Teresa Jewkes Samuel's mom, Julie Stafford Joey's mom, Jill Hostetler Seth's mom, Lisa Churek Brock's mom, Amy Vinson Jake's mom, Janet Ritenburgh Travis's mom, Sabine Summerville Michael's mom, Kahne Siedel Sam's mom, Joanna Barona Ethan's mom, Gina Harbison JP's mom, Cierra Sonetti Austin's mom, Dawn Gough Collins mom, myself Sue Searles Luke's mom and so many more mom's. 

I'm so thankful that Julie, one of the mom's coming to the retreat decided to do some fund raising this year for the retreat with her help we have just about raised all the money that we need for our retreat, which is actually happening next weekend. YES, I said next weekend it's hard to believe it will be here that quickly. 

Please, please keep all the mom's listed above and their families in your prayers this week as they prepare to come, pray that their special kiddos will all stay healthy and that everything will go smoothly while they are gone. 

Thank you once again for your prayers and your support,
Luke's Marathon Mommy Sue 

PS Luke could also use your prayers as he is still having trouble keeping his oxygen levels up. He's been on almost constant oxygen for the last couple weeks and nights continue to be a nightmare for Gordy and I as we continually have to get up all through the night to respond to his alarms.

Less Than Two Weeks to Our 3rd Annual Mom's of Near Drown Children Retreat. I'm So Excited and So Not Ready Yet, Prayers To Bring Together All The Details Would be Greatly Appreciated!!

Here's all the mom's that attended our Mom's retreat last year

It's hard to believe that our 3rd Annual Mom's of Near Drown Children retreat will be happening in just two short weeks away. My mom asked me if I was ready for the retreat this year and I had to be honest in saying that I haven't really started making all the little details that I usually already have done by now. This past week has been absolutely crazy busy.

On Sunday afternoon I got a text from my daughter saying that one of my best friends was being taken to the hospital, she was having a hard time breathing and had been having quite a few medical problems recently. I didn't realize how serious it was until I got a call saying that Barb was in cardiac arrest. Needless to say I began crying and praying like I rarely have before that God would spare her life, when I arrived at the hospital I wasn't sure if she was dead or alive, it was a nightmare feeling. As I walked in the ER I was told immediately that they had brought her back to life after 20 minutes of trying to get a heart beat, we all believe it was God that brought her back to life because of the prayers that were being said for her during that time. Over the next few day I spent quite a bit of time at the hospital in shock as I would look at my dear friend lying in bed with a ventilator breathing for her as they tried to figure out why her kidneys were not working and the medical community thinking that she had probably suffered a brain injury from her lack of oxygen during her 20 minutes of death. 

Here are Jacob's family, my dear friend Barb, her husband Rick and children Nicole, Andrew, Tessa, Ryan with his wife Maria and their neice Brittany.

Praise God never once did her husband or her 4 children doubt that their mom would be perfectly fine and hallelujah she is!! As I went to see her last night she was definitely cognitively there, not able to talk yet because of the vent, but definitely shaking her head yes and no to questions that were being asked of her and moving her feet when we were singing the song "I went to the enemies camp and I stole back what he took from me" she would begin to move her feet as we would sing, he's under my feet, he's  under my feet, satan he's under my feet. It was an awesome sight to see God's miracle unfold before our eyes. She still needs a miracle touch for her kidney's as they are are not working properly and we are believing that it's just a matter of time before God completely heals her whole body. What a great testimony of God's amazing power!!

All that to say with Barb being in the hospital and with Josh, Natalie and Abigail living with us before they leave next Wednesday to move to Missouri and with Luke not feeling very good this week and with our dyer breaking and me having to go to the Laundromat to dry our clothes and with me finally taking the kids up to hike today at Mt. Rainier, something I said we were going to do all summer long but wasn't able to and with  . . . . . . It's been almost impossible for me to sit down and plan out all the details for the retreat, but now I'm making it my number one priority since it will be here in just 12 short days:-)

I'm excited to say all the mom's that are coming have bought their airline tickets and it looks like we are are definitely going to have 18 moms this year and one grandma. Some are coming in on Thursday the 4th and the rest will fly in on Friday. One of the mom's that is coming has never been to the Pacific Ocean so we are going to be going out to see the ocean on Thursday after she arrives and then meeting up with all the other mom's that are flying in on Friday.

PLEASE won't you join me in praying for our mom's this year:

• That they will all get here safely.
• That their families will stay healthy, especially their child who had the near drowning accident.
• For them not to worry, especially for the new mom's that have not left their children before.
• For me to have the time and energy to get all the details put together for the weekend.
• For everyone to have a great time together and for lots of healing laughter as we all take a much needed break from the constant stress we live through everyday of our lives. 
• I'm so, so thankful to Julie one of the Mom's coming to the retreat for all her fund raising this year, she's raised almost all of the funds we need for the weekend. What a HUGE answer to Prayer!!

Once again if you would like to send a donation to help pay the retreat please e-mail me for my address at sgsearles@yahoo.com.

Thank you and God bless you,
Luke's Mommy Sue

I just can't believe that I've found myself saying ____________ a few times the last few days:-/

Here's the kids posing for this picture by the Yaquina Head Lighthouse, it was a gorgeous windy cold day:-) Natalie offered to stay down at the bottom with Luke and Abigail so that the rest of us could go up to the top of the light house.

Have you ever said to yourself quietly or out loud "life is just not fair?" Can I be perfectly honest with you?? I'm embarrased to say I've found myself saying these words a few times this week, erk. The shocking thing is that I used to tell my kids to never say, "that's not fair" because life is not usually fair and the sooner we realize this the sooner we can come to grips with the way things are for better or worse. Oops, so much for practicing what I've been preaching all these years.

This was on Luke's 8 year anniversary of his near drowning accident. Luke was not doing good that day, though we didn't realize just how bad he was doing until we went to eat at Mo's for lunch. This picture was taken right after he threw up again and I had to change his shirt, such a hard day as we realized that our plans needed to be changed, there was no way Luke could handle a day of sightseeing and hiking.

I for the most part have always tried to be a person who sees things as being half full, instead of things that are half empty. I have tried to stay positive seeing the good in circumstances even when there is little good to see. I guess I've never enjoyed being around negative people, therefore I choose to try to be positive even when a little voice inside me is screaming words that are the complete opposite of what I know to be true. At least I hope and pray that when people meet me I don't come off as being a negative person:-)

This picture was taken on our way home, we stopped by the Tillamook Cheese Factory. We forgot to take Luke's suction machine inside, which resulted in the fact that by the time we got back out to the van he was very junky. He just didn't look right to me so I checked his oxygen numbers and they were lower than I had ever seen them before, which made for a stressful ride home in the back seat of the van trying to get his o2 numbers back up to where they should be.

Last weekend I heard a excellent speaker talk about taking all the thoughts we have going on in our mind, especially the lies that we tell ourselves all the time captive. Another words we need to grab those thoughts and tell them to leave since they are lies and they only harm us. I know that in the past with God's help I have been able to do this and have found that when I'm diligent about being sure my thoughts are not dwelling on the negative, I'm much better off emotionally.

Why oh why after hearing that excellent message have I been dwelling on thoughts that are not positive, thoughts that are damaging to my emotional well being, thoughts that are lies and half truths?? You know thoughts like:

• Life is not fair
• We miss out on so much because of the fact that Luke has been so unhealthy lately
• I'm never going to get a full night of sleep again
• I'm never going to lose all this weight that I want to lose
• I'm never going to meet all the goals that I've set out to accomplish this week
• I'm never going to raise all the money I need for the mom's of near drown children retreat this year 
• How am I going to go on with Natalie, Josh & Abigail moving to Missouri in two weeks, I'm going to miss them so much it hurts to think about it, though I'm happy they are following their hearts.
• Questions in my mind about whether Luke will ever be healthy again
• Horrible thoughts about  . . . . . 

I'm sure you could fill in your own list of things that are not so healthy to be dwelling on, unless you've already learned the secret of taking your thoughts captive. I know that I know when I dwell on what things are going good in my life and when I think about all the blessings I experience all the time, my thoughts change and they become healthy once again. I am praying with God's help that I will stop these negative thoughts and that I will just let them go, never to pick them up again. And I know that I can do this because I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Phil. 4:13.

Here's Luke hanging out in the trailer with myself and Abigail while Gordy took the kids swimming.

I would sure appreciate your prayers for Luke right now, he's been on a real roller coaster ride ever since his surgery in July, one week he's seems to be doing better, the next week he's dipped into doing horrible. On Thursday we woke up to alarms going off as his heart rate was soaring and after taking his temp found out it was at 102, I gave him some tylenol which helped to take down his temp and thankfully he's hasn't had another temperature since then, though we are still dealing with the almost constant need he has for oxygen to be going. After talking with his Pediatrician earlier this evening we decided that we would try one more dose of antibiotics to see if he can kick what ever is going on. I often wonder if getting the baclafen pump put in him was the right decisions, yep another one of those beat myself up thoughts. Oh well, please pray with us that he will get and stay healthy once again and that the pump will do the job that it's supposed to do, relax Luke's muscles without all the added complications that go with it being in him.

Here is Gordy and the kids walking down the stairs in the lighthouse, it was a fun trip up to the top. but the trip down was much easier to do:-)

 Thank you for letting me be honest with you once again, I hope that perhaps you will not judge me too quickly for my negativity and honesty, but instead will pray for God to help me to change:-)

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Super Blessed vs. Super Stressed, it's my choice as I choose to let go and let God determine my steps. I Choose Super Blessed:-)

Some days I feel so blessed and wonder why God pours out so many blessings on me, that was exactly what I was feeling this passed weekend as I went to Life Center's Women Retreat at Cannon Beach in Oregon. I had known about this retreat for awhile but because of the busyness of new grand babies being born, lots of showers to attend and wedding's to plan and attend it got put on the back burner of my mind. It wasn't until I came home last Tuesday that I realized that I really, really needed a break from the constant stresses of taking care of Luke and after returning from what was a great but also a very challenging camping trip with my family I was in great need of some R & R. Thankfully there were still some rooms available and the church let me register after the deadline for the retreat. Thankfully I had recieved some very unexpected checks from a recall campaign on some shoes that I had bought over a year ago that paid for the entire cost of the retreat. Thankfully my friend Yoli was able to go with me, which was a added blessing.Thankfully God used so many wonderful ladies to put together this amazing retreat and I was able to benefit from all their hard work. Yep, I was indeed feeling thankful and very blessed!

Yoli and I on our last walk to the famous Cannon Beach Rock, perhaps you can tell by our fly away hair that it was windy:

This weekend was exactly what I needed both physically, emotionally and spiritually. God ministered to my heart as He whispered great words of encouragement to my soul, one of those words reminded me that He is always willing and ready to bless me with His Super Natural Strength every single time I ask and I ask often:-) I was also reminded that I need to rest in knowing that God is in control, His timing is perfect and He is trustworthy, timely words for me to ponder at this time in my life. I was also able to do quite a bit of walking which is great as I'm training for my special marathon later this month. And last but not least I got some great nights of uninterrupted sleep which is necessity in my life to recharge my batteries.

I got this notebook at the retreat, I love this saying, it's a good reminder that with God NOTHING is impossible!!

The night I got back Luke sounded terrible, he was struggling to breath and just about everytime we would suction him to help him clear his throat he would throw up. Needless to say I was up until 5 am suctioning him. Then last night it was just about a repeat except I gave him some Sudafed so it wasn't quite so bad. Today I wasn't sure if I should take him into the Dr. but he really did seem to be doing better, thank goodness. Tonight has been a little better once again, so I'm praying he is on the mend.

This week I am getting ready for my marathon, my goal is walk and ride my bike everyday, so far I have accomplished this goal, just not as many miles as I set out to do orginally, but at least I'm getting it done. Today Amy, Cindy and I went through all our school books and planned what the kids will be doing this year in school. I'm soooooo thankful for Amy and Cindy's willingness to help once again this year, without their help I would be unable to homeschool the kids. God's provision once again is so amazing!

My 30th High School Reunion is this Saturday night, I can't believe it's been 30 years since I graduated. I'm looking forward to reconnecting with old friends that night:-)

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

PS I just wanted to let you know that some checks have been coming in for the Mom's of near drown children retreat I'm about 1/3 of the way along in my fundraising, thanks to Julie's fundraising this year. Please won't you think about donating a few dollars to make this retreat happen. Thank you:-)

I'm doing a marathon for the Marathon Mom's who will be attending our 3rd Annual Mom's of Near Drown Child retreat in October. Would you like to help:-)

Call me absolutely crazy but I’m going to complete a marathon on September 29th, not a regular marathon where I try to run and win, but a marathon where I’m going to be raising money for our 3^rd Annual moms of near drown children retreat, which happens to be 4 short weeks away, October 4^th – 8^th.  I am excited to tell you that once again our retreat is growing and adding 3 new mom’s this year, that with all the mom’s returning puts our number at 19 mom’s plus one grandma, oh my goodness that is amazing!!! Because of the amount of Mom’s we have coming this year we will not be able to fit into the generously donated Vara home that we’ve been able to use these past two years, which will mean we will need to rent a room in the Lodge for some of the mom’s to stay at this year, that along with the cost for the food for the weekend and the gas for all the trips to the airport is adding up to a lot more money that I need to raise this year. 

You see my vision for this retreat is to keep it FREE, yep you heard that right the only cost for these moms to come is buy their own airline ticket and if I could help those mom’s that are working soooooo incredibly hard to get their tickets I would and perhaps I will be able to if I raise enough money.

I have been dreaming about doing a marathon for a few years now and I wish that I could say that I’m able to run it this year, but no I’m not in that good of shape, perhaps I will next year:-) This marathon will be made to meet the specifications of what it’s like to be a Marathon Mom, a mom who is in the middle of her marathon journey towards keeping her child alive. This marathon will be 26 miles long, I plan to walk half of it and ride my bike the other half. The bike ride will represent our kiddo’s that cannot walk but have to be pushed in their wheelchairs. Did I mention this is not a race? I don’t care if this takes me most of the day to complete I will with GOD’s help complete it.

So what is a Marathon Mom exactly??

•     It’s a Mom who has a child that had a near drowning accident that is now unable to walk, talk, move or do anything for themselves. She changes that child’s diaper, even though they are way too old for diapers, she feeds that child because without her help that child would starve to death, she bathes that child which means she has to pick that child up and carry that child into the bath or shower and regardless of the pain she feels in her back she can’t give up on the care of their daily needs, because it’s a necessity that needs to be done. 
•     It’s a mom that is dedicated to being sure that her child is receiving all the care and treatments that are available for that child to receive, no matter what the cost or time commitment is. 
•     It’s a mom who no matter how tired she is and let me tell you she is definitely tired most days from either constant alarms going off at all hours of the day and night or perhaps she tired from getting her child to numerous medical appointments, while at the same time juggling her husband and other children at home, she keeps on going.
•     It’s a mom who constantly tells herself to not lose hope even when the medical community has told her on numerous occasions that their child would be better dead than alive, yes most of us have been told that a time or two or they are telling her to just give up, but she refuses to stop believing in her child.
•     It’s a mom who is in this journey for the long haul, it isn’t a sprint, its a marathon. And even when they can’t even see a tiny speck of light at the end of the tunnel they do not lose hope in thinking that their child will do better tomorrow, but tomorrow sometimes never seems to come.
•     It's Annie Pettigrew Izzy's mom, Lindsey Black Santana's mom, Shauna Quintero Christian's mom, Tiffany Vara Abbie's mom, Erin Wright Aidan's mom, Kehau Edgamin Caleb's mom, Teresa Jewkes Samuel's mom, Julie Stafford Joey's mom, Jill Hostetler Seth's mom, Lisa Churek Brock's mom, Amy Vinson Jake's mom, Janet Ritenburgh Travis's mom, Sabine Summerville Michael's mom, Kahne Siedel Sam's mom, Joanna Barona Ethan's mom, Gina Harbison JP's mom, Cierra Sonetti Austin's mom, Dawn Gough Collins mom and myself Sue Searles Luke's mom. 

Even though we Marathon Mom’s share similar journey’s we all come from different families, different parts of the USA and have seen and will continue to see different outcomes for our special children.  NOT one of us would of chosen to be a part of this Marathon Mom’s group, we didn’t get a choice. But now that we are living this life that’s been chosen for us we definitely need a break from the ongoing stresses that we face year by year, month by month, week by week and day by day. We all come together for this special weekend to take a much needed break from the daily stresses we all constantly live, we laugh together, play together, do a little shopping together, we learn from each other and even shed a few tears together. Most importantly we Marathon Mom’s all feel safe together being with other moms who “get it” our lives are hard and it’s comforting to realize once a year that we don’t walk this journey alone. 

Ways you can help with our retreat this year:

•     Your prayers are much appreciated and needed for the mom’s as they leave behind their special child and their families to fly to Washington for the retreat. Specifically be praying that their child will stay healthy and for those few mom’s that have never left their child before not to feel anxious about coming. 
•     Would you consider donating to our retreat this year, as I briefly mentioned above the costs of putting together this retreat is significant. Would you sponsor me as I walk/ride the 26 mile marathon, a dollar a mile is only $26, two dollars a mile would be $52, three dollars a mile would be $78, four dollars a mile would be $104 and of course $10 a mile would be $260 . . . I figure I need to raise about $2,600 this year to cover the cost of the room in the lodge, the food, the gas for all the trips to and from the airport, the maid cost of the house that has been generously provided for our use, gifts for our annual BUNCO game. . . As I mentioned my goal for this retreat is to keep it FREE for the mom’s and with your help I hope to accomplish this goal.

Thank you for considering to help make this retreat a reality once again this year, I truly do appreciate your prayers and support. If you would like to make a donation please e-mail me for my address, which is sgsearles@yahoo.com.

Love in Christ,

Sue Searles