We are happy to report that Luke is laughing and smiling all the time lately!

Thank you for your patience on receiving an update about Luke. Luke has been doing amazingly well. He started laughing in a whole new way last week. Last Wednesday night I was playing with him and tickling him when he started to laugh, not just snorting like he used to do, but actually laughing. What a wonderful sound to my ears. He has been smiling more lately than I've ever seen him do before. I think it is interesting that someone recently prayed specifically that we would see more smiles and laughing and that is exactly what has happened. THANK YOU JESUS!

I took Luke into his rehab Dr. today and the Dr. was amazed at how well Luke's tone is doing. I came into his office today knowing that I wanted to try a new medication for his muscle tone. I don't think he is used to Mom's coming in with 15 pages of reasons why they want to try out a new medication, (thank you Tiffany). I mentioned to him about the fact that at Luke's last visit he made a comment that has played over and over in my head, he asked me "don't you want your child to be comfortable?" after a comment I made about how difficult it is to have a child on a medication that you have to give 3 times a day. Anyway he said that he did not mean what he said, he just always looks at how bad Luke's muscle tone is and so desperately wants to do something about it. I told him though that I thought that Luke had improved recently and he agreed with me after checking out his arms, wrists, fingers and legs. He said he was amazed that he had made such great progress without any medications, at which time I told him we pray a lot and feel that our prayers to God makes the difference. He said to keep up what we are doing since it is working. Thank you everyone that prays for Luke your prayers are making a difference.

One last thing to share with you is that when Luke went to Occupational Therapy last week, his OT was getting out some new things for Luke to play with and we told him to push the big red button and Luke did it every time. It was so wonderful to watch him look at the button and then push it every time. I know that he has done this before but I've never seen him do it so consistently.

I celebrated my Birthday yesterday and I was thinking about all the things that I'm thankful for, so I thought I would leave you with 44 things, can you guess how old I am?
I'm Thankful for: 1. My faithful Father God who never leaves me for a second, that I can trust at all times and for His son Jesus who died on the cross so that I can be saved. 2. A wonderful husband who has faithfully been my best friend for almost 25 years. 3. My oldest son Daniel, who wrote me the sweetest poem for my Birthday. 4. Amy who goes out her way to make life easier for me every day. 5. Natalie who is always by my side going the extra mile to help carry my burden. 6. Isaiah who is such a sweet little organizer. 7. Ezekiel who is always sure to give me good morning kisses and hugs. 8. Luke who has the most beautiful smile and laughter. 9. My little Lily Lou, who keeps me young. 10. My wonderful parents who are always so helpful and giving. 11. My Sister Cindy and her husband Tom, Cindy is always there when I need her no matter what time of the day I call. 12. My sister Jill and her husband John, who just moved closer and has offered on numerous times to help watch Isaiah, Ezekiel and Lily for me. 13. My sister Lori and her husband Lonnie, who is more than capable of helping me out when I'm in need a helping hand. 14. My brother Bud and his wife Lis, who is always ready to give me some advice about a new supplement or vitamin he's heard about that could help Luke. 15. My sister in law Pam and her husband Hal, who so willingly drove an hour just to come to my BUNCO Birthday party last weekend. 16. My wonderful friend Yoli and her husband Juan, who are always willing to take Luke into their home or for that matter any of my children at anytime and for her wonderful listening ear and prayers. 17. My great friend Barb and her husband Rick and her children who are always willing to babysit Luke when able to and for Barb's open ear to my cries when I'm in desperate need of prayer. 18. My friend Mary and her husband Mike, who though they live so far away are always close with a phone call and for their prayers. 19. My "adopted" son Josh, who is always willing to help out around the home and who is a mighty prayer warrior. 20. My friends Kim, Jo, Shari, Laurie, Jane, Colleen, Jackie who are wonderful at getting me out of the house every once in awhile to spend hours playing cards and laughing. 21. My friend Jeri who is always ready to pray and offer a kind word. 22. Tiffany who is amazingly smart and always willing to share with me all her new findings and for her long distant friendship. 23. My friends Andrea, Carolyn, & Laurie, though we don't see each other often, when we do I always feel encouraged when I leave. 24. My friend Susan E., you've encouraged me on numerous occasions. 25. For Teena, Julie, Loni, Annie, Jenni, Kathryn, Kehau and all my other blog friends, though I've never met you I consider you to be some great friends. 26. For all my friends at church, there are too numerous to mention them all. 27. My new friends that went with me to Romania, that trip was awesome and I'm so thankful for the time spent together with you all. 28. For Luke's laughter. 29. For Gordy's job and willingness to supply all our families now. 30. For the sunshine. 31. For our home. 32. Health, everyone is healthy in our family right now. 33. That summer is coming soon. 34. For the YMCA, thank you for your hard work. 35. For Matt the Rolfer, who is so generous and kind. 36. For Doug and Jim at HBOT, you guys are great! 37. For Luke's Dr.'s and Therapists, especially for his PT Sara, who has really gone the extra mile on numerous occasions. 38. For the ocean. 39. For my Mountain Rainier, your beauty gives me strength. 40. For hope that does not fail. 41. Popcorn and Chocolate. 42. For a wonderful report back from the Dr. about my dad's health. 43. For camera's. 44. For too many things, the list could go on and on, but I need to stop.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Suzi

Isaiah, Ezekiel and Lily planting "their" garden

Thanks to Uncle Tom and Auntie Cindy Isaiah, Ezekiel and Lily are planting a garden outside of their home. We are blessed to live right behind Auntie Cindy's home, she is so helpful with the children. She has gone beyond the call of duty in helping with Luke and with the other children. She suggested the children get the opportunity to plant a garden and is keeping a pictorial journal of their progress at her blog, http://teachercindy.blogspot.com/. Enjoy the pictures.

Isaiah showing the seeds

Ezekiel planting his seeds

Lily and Zeke watering them

What cute kids!

I'm so glad last week is over and hope never to have another one like it again!

Have you ever had a week, where you were glad it was over? I just got through one of those weeks. My hard week began on Friday night, April 11th. Luke was very sick that night, Gordy and I were up all night with alarms going off. It seemed that we couldn't get his oxygen levels right, then his food overflowed so we had to change him and his bedding. It is unnerving to be woke up to alarms all night long. Needless to say I only got about 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep that night. The next morning I woke up hoping that Luke would be better because I wanted to take him to a parade. As much as I wanted to take him, Gordy and I knew it would be better to keep him home.

I was so looking forward to our family going to the Daffodil Parade that day, I knew that Luke would love all the music, clowns, floats, etc… There are days that my heart breaks that we have a handicapped child, not only the disappointments of not being able to take him places, but also it breaks up our family. Daddy had to stay home with Luke, so I took the rest of the children. I cried a lot that day, something that I don't do often and just plan don't like doing, but I just couldn't help it. It ended up being a busy weekend because my sister Lori's daughter in law had a baby shower in Eastern Washington that my sister Jill, Lily and I went to on Sunday.

Monday, I finally bit the bullet and ordered a wheelchair for Luke, we've never bought him one because we used a regular stroller for a long time and then we've been borrowing one from the Children's Therapy Unit. He is now growing too big for that one and his Physical therapist has been encouraging me to apply for a grant that helps parents get wheelchairs for their children. I knew that we would not qualify because we never do, but she had me fill out the forms never the less. I went ahead and had him measured for a new chair we will see if we get the help, regardless of whether we do or not we are still going to be ordering it. It's unbelievable how much wheelchairs are, it begins at about $3,500 and then only goes up from there depending on the special needs your child has. That same day I was talking to a friend who also has a handicapped child and I began to realize that I have been living in denial for so many years. I began to beat myself up for thinking that Luke would be different than all the other children out there, that are just like him. Why didn't I apply for any of the programs that were available, I began to think of the money we probably could of saved if I had swallowed my pride. That only got me into a deeper depression. I know that we have followed close to what we've felt has been right for our family, whether that's been right I'll never know.

The week only got harder for me, I was dealing with a depression I just couldn't get through no matter how hard I tried. Wednesday I took Luke on a walk, when we got home he didn't look good to me so I hooked him up to his oximeter and sure enough his oxygen numbers where down in the 80's. We immediately hooked him up to oxygen and had it up to 2 liters before he was finally getting into the 90's again. I took his temp and it was 102, this sickness came on so suddenly, I felt terrible for taking him out while he wasn't feeling good, but I really didn't know he was sick.

Sometimes the stress of having such a fragile child is unbearable. I began to beat myself up, telling myself that nothing I've done for Luke has done any good, that I know nothing about nothing, that old lie of why or why did I buy a pool, I'm lying to myself to think that he is getting better, my other children are suffering because you neglect them, you get the picture. It took a few more days of utter despair before I was able to come out of it. The job of being a parent to a handicapped child is by far the hardest job I've ever had and this past week I wanted to quit, knowing this was not possible, made it unbearable. Have you ever been in a situation that felt hopeless? That's how I felt this week.

Sorry for going on so long about this, but I thought you would like to peek into my little head for a few minutes. I am doing a bit better now, leaning on Jesus is the only thing that gets me through this journey He's called me to go on. I know that I've said on numerous occasions that my favorite scripture is "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" I was having a hard time believing this last week, I'm getting a little stronger again. Would you please pray that God will continue to give Gordy, our family and myself the strength that we need to continue on this journey? It would be a great comfort to see all who are still out there following along with us, would you be so kind to comment on the blog today, it would do my heart wonders.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Suzi

PS Just wanted to let you know that Luke is doing very good, I promise to make my next posting all about him. Thank you for your patience and your prayers.

Finally some long awaited pictures!

Here is Luke with a catapillar on his nose
Here is Lukie holding his stick and looking right at Mom's fingerSue at the home of the Pastor's Family in the Gypsy village in
Romania where the team stayed during our time there

Here are some of the ladies at just one of the Tea's our team
helped put together in Bucharest

Here is the Worship team at a church in Bucharest

Here is Natalie Holding Luke on his "big day" just before his
March with the Stars

Can you see Luke and Natalie on the far left side?
This is all the children in the Parade of Stars

Here is Luke with his favorite Physical Therapist, Sara

Natalie and Sue in front of the Eiffel Tower

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. I will post again soon to catch you up to date on all the news here on the home front.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Suzi

Praise God, Luke has once again made a speedy recovery

I'm very thankful to report to you that Luke is doing great once again. His heart rate and oxygen levels are doing amazingly well. Why is it I'm always so amazed at how quickly God answers prayer?

Sunday was perhaps one of the hardest days that I've had in a long time. Luke at one time in the early afternoon was so sick his fever actually got up to 105 and his heart rate would just not come below the 180's. Here's some honesty for you, as you know that I'm always so honest. I believe Sunday was a huge test for me. You see I've been speaking in Romania and then this past weekend at a Women's conference down in Olympia about God's amazing power. I've said on numerous times that I believe that my faith in God is stronger than it's ever been in my life. On Sunday I began to have serious doubts in mind about everything that I had just passionately shared these past few weeks. I know from being a Christian so long that I have to take every thought that runs through my head and turn it over to the Christ. I was having a difficult time doing this and therefore satan was having a heyday with my mind. Praise God I went to church on Sunday night and was greatly encouraged by the Word I heard from the Evangelist that was speaking. I'm also so thankful for wonderful family and friends who are always there to encourage me to go one another day.

Today was a much better day, though I'm feeling drained and extremely tired right now. I'm so thankful for a Heavenly Father that completely understands me and has so much patience to know that I always come back to him on bended knee's, knowing without a shadow of a doubt that His arms are always open wide to comfort me and reassure me that He loves me no matter what I do or say. I know that my Heavenly Father also loves you so much, I hope that you can feel comfortable to run into his arms, He is ALWAYS THERE, Hallelujah!

Just to let you know Gordy is doing great. Isaiah is feeling much better, which I'm so thankful for, especially since we have a little friend staying for a few days with us so that his mom and dad can have a few days to go away on a little anniversary trip.

One last bit of information, last night I came across a site called Pray for Aidan, http://prayforaidan.blogspot.com/which is a little guy who had a near drowning accident last month. I've added his site to Luke's Prayer link, check it out and please say a prayer for his complete recovery, thank you.

Love in Christ,

Luke's Mommy Suzi

Lukie is sick!

Luke did a great job yesterday at the March for the Stars. The bummer is when we got home I noticed his legs where freezing cold, this is usually a sign of a temperature. Sure enough his temp was at 102 when I checked it. I took him back to his room to check his oxygen levels and heart rate and they both were doing terrible. At one time his heartrate was up in the 180's, they've come down and then gone back up, he is on the mask with 5 liters of oxygen going.

Isaiah came down with a horrible flu on Wednesday night, throwing up and high temp, I have a feeling this is what Luke has caught. I pray that he will get healthy a lot faster than Isaiah did, he is still not at 100%. Gordy left this morning for Tennessee, he is attending a class for his job there, he doesn't come home until Friday.

PLEASE PRAY:

• For Gordy to be safe while he is gone
• For Isaiah to feel completely better today
• For Luke's temperature to go down and his oxygen levels to rise
• Especially for Luke to stay at home and not have to go the Hospital
• For extra strength this week while I'm here without Gordy to help, especially at night

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

PS I will try real hard to get some pictures posted of Luke's Birthday, Romania and from his special program yesterday.

So much news, where do I begin?? Romania, Luke, etc...

Please forgive my tardiness in writing, I realize many people have been asking how was your trip to Romania?? How is Luke doing?? How is the family doing?? You get the picture. I hope that you all had blessed Easter, we had a very nice day.

Let me begin by saying that Luke is doing great! He has been very healthy and is getting more limber all the time. Don't get me wrong, he is still very hard to bend at times, but compared to what he was before he is doing so much better. I took him swimming on Tuesday and was amazed at how relaxed his arms were while we were in the water, I thought perhaps he would fall asleep on the way home from the YMCA, but just the opposite happened, he became more alert and has continued to stay that way the last few days. I took him into get new wrist orthodics yesterday and the OT said that she was amazed that his wrist joints are still doing so well, both OT's continue to be amazed that he has never had any skin breakdown, as his wrist are pretty deformed looking.

Saturday Luke will be in a "Special Talent Show." The Children's Therapy Unit in Puyallup sponsors this time for children with special needs to have a special day for them. They can do according to their abilities. For Luke he will be dressed in his Sunday best and paraded across the room by Natalie, his major accomplishments for the year has been his huge smiles, laughing a little and using his hands more.

ROMANIA, was awesome. God did so many amazing things while we were there. We were busy the minute our feet hit the ground. We spent the first three days in Bucharest, speaking at one church meeting and two tea's. We then went a city about 1 1/2 hour north to Petish, while we were there we went to visit a home where they take in Prostitutes that want to be helped. It was heartbreaking as I gave these girls, I said girls, because they are only 15, and above, hugs and showed them the love of Jesus. We made a dinner for them them and then that evening we had another tea at a church in town. That was the hardest day for me as it was Luke's birthday, but God was faithful and many were touched by my testimony of God's amazing power in Luke's life. After the meeting I had a sweet lady come up to me and say how thankful she was that I shared my story, you see she has a sister who has suffered a brain injury, she was ready to give up hope but decided that night if God can do a miraculous work in Luke's life, He can also do it for her sister.

We spent our last four days in the Gypsy village of Spantov, which was about 2 hours west from Bucharest, very close to the Danube river, which is on the coast of Bulgaria. The time spent in the village had some huge challenges , but it also had huge blessings. We had a service each night, with the last night being the ladies tea, there was at least 400 people in attendance. In America the fire marshal would of had a fit, because the building was too full. Many of the people had to stand as all the chairs were full, they had to borrow chairs from other churches and even brought in park benches. The meeting lasted at least 3 1/2 hours, the people did not leave until the last prayer was spoken. While we were there we saw miracles, people saved and other encouraged to go on. Thank you for your prayers they were answered.

Since I've been back of course I have been very busy trying to catch up, not only on my sleep as I was very tired and jet lagged, but also those tasks that had fallen behind. I thank the Lord that Natalie and I were able to go to Romania, I also thank the Lord for bringing us home.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Quick update

I want to give you a quick update on how everything is going while Sue and Natalie are in Romania on a missions trip.

Overall, we are doing well, Luke remains healthy, which is always a blessing. Luke seems to be smiling more lately, I enjoy everyone of them.

We all miss Sue and Natalie, it just isnt the same around here without them. Amy has really taken a big role as she is filling Mom's shoes which are very big. We have been blessed to have Tessa help out with caring for the kids.

I spoke with Sue the other day and she mentioned that she had been speaking alot. Both Sue and Natalie mentioned that the time in Romania was amazing, I am looking forward to hearing more of the details. They are in Paris for a few days before returning home on Wednesday.

Yesterday when I was talking with Sue, Lily walked in the room and so I put Sue on the speaker phone so Lily could hear. Sue said Hi and asked Lily how she was doing and Lily responded with "Mama, when are you coming to my house?" I think that really says it all, we all are ready for her to come home.

Blessings to you and your family,

Gordy

Big 5 Years Old

Today is Luke's 5th Birthday! We celebrated Luke's birthday a few weeks ago because Mom and Natalie would be gone. However I want to take a moment and just acknowledge that 5 years ago tonight Luke was born. Mom (Sue) called from Romania today and sang Happy Birthday to Luke. It sounds like Sue and Natalie are doing well in Romania ministering to the women. Sue mentioned that she had shared her testimony twice on Sunday at that the people were very excited. One group took time to pray for Luke and a woman came up to Sue afterwards told her that she was positive that God was going to heal Luke. We have been confident from the very beginning that God was going to heal Luke, it is just a matter of waiting to see the miracle happen. While I would love nothing more then to see Luke healed today, I would prefer that Sue be here to witness it as well. Thank you for all the prayers that you have been praying for Sue and Natalie as well as all of us here at home. God is good! By the way, I went to a Men's retreat this past weekend and all I can say is WOW! We serve an amazing God that as Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD..." Imagine that a God that has thoughts about you. As I read this verse on Saturday, I was amazed to think about God thinking about me. Now that is a personal God.

Blessings to you and your family,

Love in Christ,

Gordy

Off to Romania

Luke is doing pretty good today, though he is a bit "junky", which is another word for congested. He has been doing so much better since I was able to get him into the Hyperbaric Chamber 3 times last week, no I didn't have time, but I made it because I felt it was so important. The little stinker was up last night from 12 a.m. - 4 a.m., he was little congested but really no reason to be so wide awake. I'm hoping that both Luke and Lily sleep better tonight.

As I mentioned in my last post Natalie and I are going to Romania, we leave tomorrow morning and will be home on the 19th. I wasn't sure if I would be going, on Sunday, after church my back went out on me and I was in severe pain, but Praise God yesterday I had a lot of prayers going up for me and I'm feeling much better now. I'm praying that during our long flights my back will stay healthy, will you pray with me on this matter?

I'm sure many of you think I'm crazy to go to Romania, leaving my wonderful husband and children behind. The stresses it will cause in Gordy and Amy's lives taking care of the kids and the home. The stresses of the Spiritual warfare we've been experiencing, so many of our family members being so very sick. The stresses of coming up with the money to go. BUT I know God has called me to go and therefore all those stresses are worth it to be obedient to the High calling of Christ. I go with Gordy's full support and prayer covering, which is HUGE, I could never go without his full support.

Natalie and I will going with 6 other women to put on 4 different one day Women's Conferences. We will be in Bucharest for 4 days. Then we go to Petisi a little city north of Bucharest for a day spent at a home where a lovely lady takes in Prostitutes, these young girls have for the most part been either sold into prostitution by their families or deceived into prostitution by false job offers of Nanny jobs or Secretarial work. In this home they are taught about the healing power of Jesus Christ, healing them physically, emotionally of course spiritually, they are also taught how to sew so that they can get a decent job so that they can leave prostitution.

Next we will be going to large Gypsy village just east of Bucharest, this village has about 4,000 people living in it and it only has a handful of flush toilets and running water. I went to this village last time I was in Romania and really felt the amazing love of these people, who for many years been persecuted for being gypsies. We will be in Calarusi for 4 days, I'm praying that Natalie and I will be in a home with a flush toilet and shower, I realize that this is petty but it is really a desire of my heart.

Please be praying for the team (Sue, Natalie, Pat, Gail, Debbie, Christina, Amy and Brooke) to stay healthy, that we will all have a special word to share with these women, who most of them have felt hopeless much of their lives. Also be praying that God will perform many miracles, I'm believing that we are go to see many lives saved, many people healed emotionally, spiritually and physically. Also be praying for Gordy and Amy as they stay home to take care of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Luke and Lily. Please especially pray that Luke will stay healthy, for that fact all the family, as it would be tortuous to be gone if they are sick.

Thank you for your prayers. Please let me know by commenting if you would be willing to keep us in your prayers, it would be wonderful to know who all is praying.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Finally a long awaited post!

I know many of you are saying, "finally a post from Sue." I've been very busy since coming home from our trip to California and Arizona. Isaiah had pneumonia, double ear infection and asthma, one sick little guy, Praise God he is doing much better. Luke has also been sick off and on and Lily is sick again, she has a horrible case of asthma, we've been giving her breathing treatments at least 4 times a day. Needless to say I've spent over 8 hours in Dr.'s offices this week.

Monday was a very challenging day, as Luke had an appointment with his Rehab Dr., Gastronologist and Dietitian. I got to the Mary Bridge specialty center at 12:30 and didn't leave until 4:30. We decided to take him off his Muscle relaxant medication as it was causing to sleep most of the day away, so his Dr. talked about putting him on a new med. We are still deciding if this is the one we want him to use, because it has some very negative side affects. His Gastronologist was very concerned about him being underweight, which I've also been concerned about for the past year. He still only weighs 30 pounds. So after meeting with his dietitian it was decided that she would analyze his diet and give me some suggestions of things to add to his food.

I got a call from the dietitian today and she was extremely impressed with the ingredients that we put into Luke's food, she asked where I came up with it, I told her that I made it up. She only made a few changes to his diet to add more calories. So tomorrow we will be making his food hoping that with the changes we will begin to see some weight gain. They want to see Luke back in 6 month's with at least a 5 pound weight gain, but hopefully even more.

There is so much to post about but I need to get to bed as it is very late or perhaps I should say very early in the morning. Though before I sign off I wanted to let you know that I would appreciate your prayers. Natalie and I are going to Romania on a Women's Mission team. We leave March 5th and won't be home until the 19th. I will write more information about our trip in my next post. Thank you for your faithfulness in keeping our family in your prayers, we would especially appreciate you praying that we all become healthy once again.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Quick Update

I want to give you a quick update. Sue was able to get the Van repaired on Saturday and then drove home on Sunday and Monday. We are very glad to have both Sue and Amy home.

Isaiah has been coughing for about a a week and we took him to the Dr and found that he had Pneumonia. Luke was running a temp the other day and we found he has an ear infection.

I am sure Sue will blog soon, I just didnt want to leave you hanging with the last news from almost a week.

Someone asked about Brett Jr website. I checked the link and it looks like the www.mac.com account has been closed. If any of you know where it is located, please let us know. I will see what I can find out.

Blessings to you and your family.

Hanging in there

Luke had been running a slight temp all day Tuesday and we were getting a regular update on the phone. When I got home on Tuesday evening he was warm, but his temp was normal. Praise God, it has been normal since then. Luke and Lily both did very well while we were gone.

After we flew home Sue and Amy headed to Flagstaff to visit a cousin. They stopped at the Grand Canyon along the way. Next they drove to Tucson to pick up the table for her dad. Yesterday they drove from Tucson to Highlands CA and just a few blocks from our friends home, the van began making a knocking noise. She made it to our friends and took it to a mechanic today. One of the spark plugs blew out. The mechanic could not fix it and suggested taking it to a dealer to get it fixed. The dealer cannot get her in to fix it until Monday. She found another dealer that can get her in today, so it is being towed there right now. I talked with our mechanic and he said good estimate would be in the $400 range, if it requires removing the head, it could be a couple thousand dollars to repair. Please pray that they dont try to take advantage of Sue.

Yesterday on my way home from work, I stopped at a gas station to fill my truck. After filling it up, the truck would not start. As it turns out, I just had to replace the battery, it was a little over 6 years old (not bad).

We are hanging in there. As you can imagine Sue is upset by the delay getting home and the potential costs to get the van fixed. Please pray that in the midst of all these challenges that we will be LED4God (Light Emitting Disciples for God).

Sunshine and good times

Monday, we woke up to beautiful blue skies. Sue slept all night with very little pain. We had a wonderful day at California Adventure and Disneyland. Sue is still getting better day by day. Thank you for praying, Sue is getting better and hopefully will be feeling normal today. Sue and Amy will be heading to AZ on Wednesday, all the rest of us fly home this evening.

Blessings to you and your family,

Gordy

First day in Anaheim

Our first day in Anaheim began with u Sue waking up at 5am in a lot of pain. After talking with a consulting nurse, I took Sue to a hospital ER to have her examined. They determined that Sue has a Sinus infection and perscribed a antibiotic. We returned to the hotel just in time to head off to Disneyland in the drizzling rain. At this point, you begin to wonder what is going on. Lord, what are you up to? Are you trying to teach us something? I dont know the answer to that question, however I will say the weather cleared around noon and was dry the rest of the day. It felt like we were back home in Washington, not southern California. Sue is doing a little better and by tomorrow, the antibiotinc should really begin to kick in.

Thank you to each of you that has been praying for us, we truly are grateful. I will try to post again tomorrow.

Gordy

Sue is sick

We are in Ashland, OR, very close to the CA border. Sue is sick. She needs your prayer. Pray she will have a restful day as we drive to LA today. We are going to Disneyland tomorrow, pray she will be completely well. I dont know if I will have internet access tonight, but some how I will have someone blog to let you know how she is doing.

A Week of First's for Luke and Myself

This week is a week of firsts for both Luke and myself. For the first time, Luke went to Sunday School and made it through the entire service without his number going up for assistance. We are blessed that Amy is his Sunday School teacher. On Tuesday I taught my first swimming class in about 8 years, Amy was sick so I subbed for her. For the first time, today Luke went into the YMCA nursery during the home school PE hour, I taught Amy's class again because she went to a Children's Ministry Leaders Conference down in OR with my sister Cindy. Luke did great in the nursery, he loves being around kids his age. Then tonight we were blessed to go to Chuck E. Cheese thanks to Starlight Starbright and Luke had a great time, it was his first time going there where he did not get sick or stressed out.

We leave tomorrow morning for CA and then on to AZ. As I mentioned before this will be the first time Gordy, Amy, Natalie and myself have left the area all together since Luke's accident. Luke and Lily will be staying at home tomorrow night with Tessa and Nicole some wonderful young ladies who have babysat them on numerous occasions. Then on Saturday morning Tia Yoli and Tio Juan will pick them up to stay at what we've been calling Rodriguezland, instead of Disneyland. I've explained to both Luke and Lily that they are staying home while we all go and they seem to be fine with that, especially since they get to go to the Rodriguez home, they both love going there. Then on Tuesday morning Auntie Cindy will pick up Luke and Lily and take them out to the Gig Harbor Library where she tutors my nephew in math. I'm sure that Luke and Lily will enjoy going to the Library. She will watch them until Gordy gets home that night.

We will be driving down to Anaheim, spending two days at Disneyland, this is the first time we've ever splurged like this on a fun vacation. On Tuesday afternoon Amy and I will drop off everyone at the airport and then go spend that night with Yoli's wonderful sister Becky and her husband Abe, we've stayed at their home numerous times and have been blessed by their hospitality. Wednesday morning Amy and I will get up early to go to the Grand Canyon for a few hours of picture taking and then we've been invited to spend the night at my cousin Brian and his wife Maureen's home in Flagstaff. The next morning we will head out for Tucson, AZ where we will be picking up the furniture for my parent's which is the whole reason we are going on this trip. Amy and I will then plan to be home on Sunday evening.

Here are a list of things that I would really appreciate prayers for:

• Luke and Lily to stay healthy and to have a wonderful time at home and that everything will go smoothly for Tessa, Nicole, Yoli, Juan and Cindy
• For our family to have a safe trip, free from bad weather and roads. Also for those that are flying to be safe on their flights
• That this will be a time of healing for our family as we have not been to Disneyland since just before Luke's accident, therefore it is bittersweet going back
• I have not been feeling well for a few days, that I will wake up tomorrow feeling wonderful and that no one else in the family will get sick

Thank you once again for your prayers they are what keep us going!

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

No Cavities, Great Oxygen Levels and Humongous Smiles!

I took Luke to the Dentist today. We had scheduled to have his teeth cleaned 3 times before but he was not healthy enough to go. The Dental hygienist and Dentist both said his teeth look great, no cavities, just a little plaque and little bit of swollen gums. I'm very diligent about brushing his teeth every day, I'm thankful that he had such a great report. His front two top teeth are loose so he may be losing them before too long.

Luke has been doing so amazingly well these last few days. He has been smiling like crazy, his oxygen levels have been great. We finally finished up his antibiotics today, so we will not have to worry about his crazy medicine schedule anymore that is a huge relief.

Amy, Natalie and I spent about 5 hours yesterday making Luke's food. I decided to type out all the ingredients since Luke goes to the Gastronologist and Dietitian next month, it took a full two column page to list all the ingredients we put into his food. I've said this many times before but it bears repeating he is for sure the healthiest eater in our family. I leaned down to tell him as we were washing all the bowls and pans, how much we love him and that we will continue to make his food until he is sitting at the table eating with the family again. This batch of food will last about a month, we freeze it in Ziploc bags and take out a bag of new food every two days.

Streams in Desert today: But the dove could find no place to set its feet. . . so it returned to Noah in the ark . . . He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening , there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Gen. 8:9-11
God knows exactly when to withhold or to grant us any visible sign of encouragement. How wonderful it is when we will trust Him in either case! Yet it is better when all visible evidence that He is remembering us is withheld. He wants us to realize that His Word - His promise of remembering us - is more real and dependable than any evidence our senses may reveal. It is even more after we have trusted Him without it. And those who are most inclined to trust God without any evidence except His Word always received the greatest account of visible evidence of His love. Charles Gallaudet Trumbull
Delayed answers to prayers are not refusals. Many prayers are received and recorded, yet underneath are the words, "My time has not yet come." God has a fixed time and an ordained purpose, and He who controls and limits of our lives also determines the time of our deliverance.

I continue to trust God in knowing that He has the perfect day to complete Luke's healing progress. Some days I am totally at rest in trusting Him in His timing and other days I struggle in my level of trust. I often wonder if I would go back and change the day of Luke's accident of course I would never wish any of my family to go through the suffering Luke and our family have experienced, but I do know that we have all grown in our walk with Christ. I've grown closer to God and have learned a whole new level of trust in my walk I have with Jesus. My prayer for each person that follows along on Luke's journey, is that they too will learn to trust Jesus in every area of their lives.

TRUSTING JESUS IS NEVER EASY, BUT ALWAYS WORTH IT!

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Luke is doing Great once again

Hallelujah! Luke is finally doing better. He is currently at 98 percent oxygen and his heart rate is back to normal for night time. I took him to see Matt the Rolfer today and he seemed to respond wonderfully to his massage. Have I told you how vocal Luke is getting lately. He actually will whine until we get him out of his bed in the morning. I told Amy and Natalie what a joy it is to hear him tell us he wants to get up in the morning.

Recently we decided to go to Arizona to pick up a table, chairs and dresser for my Dad and Mom. My Grandparents lived in Tucson and they passed on quite awhile go, but the furniture was still in their home. Recently the home had been bought and my Dad mentioned that he would love to have this table and chairs, so I thought it would be a huge blessing to go pick it up for him. Needless to say I thought it would be fun if we as a family could go down to CA together to spend a day at Disneyland, the last time we were there was right before Luke's accident.

Gordy, myself, Daniel, Amy, Natalie, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Kristin and Joshua leave on February 1st to go on down to CA. We are not taking Luke and Lily. It was so difficult this past week to see Luke so sick and wonder if we had made the right decision to leave him behind. This will be the first time that all of us leave him at home, there is always either Gordy, myself, Amy or Natalie here. Though we all work together on taking care of the constant needs of Luke, it can be draining at times, don't get me wrong we don't be grudge Luke's care, we just know that we need a break. We will all be together until Tuesday night when Amy and I drop off the family to fly home, on free award airline tickets. We then will go on to AZ and will not get home until February 10th.

God has blessed us recently in some very unusual ways. We received a very unexpected check for $1200 and then today my generous brother gave us $800 for gas to go pick up the furniture for my Dad. I was jumping up and down all morning for joy at God's amazing blessings. You see I really wanted to go down to CA this past Christmas, but we did not have the money at that time, so now not only will I get the desire of my heart, but my parents will also receive a desire they have.

Here are some thoughts from a mom who has a severely handicapped child: We really shouldn't be spending the money on this trip, because we could be using it for HBOT treatments for Luke, we should not leave him behind, he would enjoy himself on this trip also, what if he gets pneumonia again while we are gone and ends up back in the Hospital, yadda, yadda, yadda.
I can hear so many of you say but Sue, that is a bunch of bologna, you can't live your life in fear of what is to come. I know that I'm just being open and honest with you all once again.

I would really appreciate your prayers that Luke and Lily will be completely healthy the whole time we are gone. That Tessa and Nicole will be fine staying the night with them on Friday night. For Yoli and Juan who are taking care of them from Saturday to Tuesday morning to have the strength and be blessed amazingly by God and that Auntie Cindy will have a wonderful day Tuesday as she watches them for us that last day before Gordy gets home. For our family to have a safe journey and that we will blessed with wonderful memories of this trip. The last time we were in Disneyland was just two weeks before Luke's accident, so it can bring back some happy/sad moments for all of us.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

PS Please continue to remember the Lester family in your prayers, Dave, Cindy, Anna and Sam as they mourn the death of Maddie.

Madeline went home to be with Jesus today

It is with a very heavy heart that I come to you all tonight. Madeline Lester went to be with Jesus today. Will you please join me in praying for her parents Dave and Cindy and her siblings, Anna and Sam, that they will find peace and comfort during this time of grieving.

Today was a hard day before I even found out about Maddie. Luke had an appointment at 2:00 with the Respirational Therapist to try on a special vest that will help keep his lungs cleared. Then we meet with his Rehab Dr. and we decided it was time to put Luke on to Baclofen, which is a muscle relaxant. We are starting out with just a little twice a day to see if it puts him to sleep, the Dr. is going to be working closely with us so that we don't lose any of Luke's cognitive levels. After that we went to his Pediatrician for his post Hospital visit. To say that he was having a rough day would be putting it mildly, I had him on 2 - 3 liters of oxygen and he was still struggling. That said he is definitely improving which is good news.

May God bless you and make His face to shine upon you today!

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Home Sweet Home

It's so nice to be home again and to sleep in my own bed. I realize that we were only in the Hospital for 2 nights, but Luke and I had been sleeping out in the living room previously to Hospital stay. I usually like to sleep close to him when he is struggling so that I can be there quickly if he has a problem or if his alarms go off.

This was by far the least stressful time that we've ever had in the Hospital. Luke really did well and made a quick recovery. I think the hardest thing about being there was the fact that they put him in the same Emergency room that he originally went to after his accident. The memories that come back from that horrible day can almost choke both Gordy and I at times. I was so thankful that the Dr. that admitted him into the Hospital allowed me to continue Luke on a few of his supplements. Usually when someone goes into the Hospital the only thing you are allowed to give the patient is what the Dr. prescribed. I shared with the Dr. how important it is for Luke to get him digestive supplements each time he eats and she allowed them to be put on the list of meds that he got while he was there and I also wanted him to get his probiotic and she approved that as well.

Today was a busy day for me as I had to take Lily and Isaiah into the the Dr. Lily has been having a horrible cough for almost two weeks and I thought we should make sure that it wasn't pneumonia and Isaiah had been complaining that his ear was hurting. Sure enough they both had horrible ear infections, thankfully Lily's lungs sounded fine. This is the first ear infection either one of them has had in years. So we now have three children on antibiotics. After the Dr. appointment I took Isaiah to the Dentist. We then ran to Costco and out to our Medical supplier to get some more little oxygen tanks for Luke. I finished the day with a massage, after sleeping on the hospital "bed" my back has been giving me some grief.

Tomorrow I will be taking Luke back to see his rehabilitation Dr. I have been seriously thinking about trying a baclafen pump out. Luke's muscle tone has been horrible, especially this past week with him being sick. It continues to get harder to bend him to put him into his car seat and it almost impossible to get any bend in his knees. We just don't have the money to continue with HBOT treatments and that is the only thing that keeps him limber. Please pray for God to give Gordy and I wisdom in knowing what would be best for Luke. He also has a follow up appointment with his Pediatrician tomorrow so it will be another busy day for me. Thursday I'm hoping not to leave the house at all.

THANK YOU once again for your prayers while Luke was in the Hospital, I know that is the reason he was able to get out so quickly. I could really sense a wonderful Godly peace about being there this time, which I know had to come from God.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Good News!

Good News! Luke was able to come home late this afternoon. Both Luke and Sue are tired and are resting. Thank you for praying. Continue to praying for Luke to get well.

Luke is still in the Hospital, BUT he is doing a bit better

Luke is doing a little better. He down from 5 liters of oxygen to 1 1/2 which a huge difference. The Dr. is still not comfortable about sending him home, so I think we will be here one more night. Please continue to pray for the pneumonia to go away and for his oxygen needs to vanish.

Two others really need your prayers today, they are both listed in the prayer links to the side. Madeline is in serious condition once again and Lauren had surgery last week and is having huge complications. Please visit their sites if you have a minute and say a prayer for them.

Thank you once again for your prayers they always make a huge difference!

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Quick update

Luke was admitted to the hospital tonight with a bad case of Pneumonia. The main concern is getting it under control and his oxygen levels. Sue is staying at the hospital with Luke.

It is always tough having Mom at the hospital, especially for the younger ones. Tonight when Ezekiel was going to bed he began to cry and said I don't like it when Mommy stays at the hospital. I told him that hopefully Mommy would be home soon.

I will let you know more tomorrow, hopefully it will be good news.

Take care, Gordy

AGAIN PLEASE PLEASE PRAY!!!

Hey again,
So I just heard from my Mom. I guess Luke has a bad case of Pneumonia. They are sending him to the hospital. Please pray he recovers quickly.

Sister Amy

PLEASE PRAY!!!

Hi Everyone,
Would everyone PLEASE PRAY! My mom is taking Luke to the after hours clinic right now. She asked if you could pray that the doctors find out what is wrong quickly and that he gets to come right home. Thank you so much for your prayers. I cannot even begin to tell you how blessed we are to have people out there praying for us. May the Lord Bless you all.
In Christ,
Luke's Sister: Amy

Down and Up and Down and Up and Down, but praying we are on the way up again!

Luke is still in desperate need of prayer. I took him into the Dr. yesterday and left there with nothing. The Doc listened to his lungs and said it doesn't sound like pneumonia, praise God. I wish that was the end of the story. Last evening was hard!! Luke was on lots and lots of oxygen. But as the night went by he seemed to get better. This morning he was doing a little better, then as the day went by the fever has gotten higher, along with his need for oxygen. I just talked to his Dr. asking him if perhaps he needs an antibiotic since he is now coughing up dark yellow, almost green gunk. He suggested we bring him into Urgent Care, but the weather is horrible right now and I would rather not take him out if not necessary. He did prescribe an antibiotic and Gordy is on his way to pick it up right now. I'm praying that our prayers, combined with the antibiotic will do the trick.

One other urgent prayer request is for Madeline. She went into cardiac arrest last night, they were able to revive her once again, but she is in serious trouble. I just got an alert that they are once again putting her on the ECMO machine, which is a huge step backwards. They think that she is suffering from a blood infection, therefore have taken her name off the Heart donor list for now. Please pray for her parents, Dave and Cindy, they are drained of all their strength and need us Christians to lift up their hands for them right now.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU
for your prayers, they do make a difference!

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Faith is not a sense, nor sight, nor reason, but simply taking God at His word.

Luke is sick! I kept praying that he would not catch what Lily or Daniel had last week, but alas it seems he has indeed caught their sickness. Last night I was up late filling out forms for the insurance claims for the accident I was in last month. It's unbelievable all the information they want when you have a medical claim. I had to give them an account of every medical visit I've had for the last 5 years. Needless to say I heard Luke start alarming, he was getting real congested and breathing very hard. His heart rate was going up slowly and his oxygen levels were coming down. I ended up trying to get a few minutes of sleep on his floor as I knew I would be in his room all night anyway.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness Lamentations 3:22-23

Today he has been running very high fever, his heart rate has been in the 180's to 190's, his oxygen levels have not been horrible he is only on 1/2 liter of oxygen right now. Would you please stop whatever you are doing right now and send up a prayer for him to get better? I am praying like crazy it doesn't last like Lily's sickness did for 4 days of fever and coughing. I was getting ready to take her into Urgent Care on Sunday when her fever finally broke.

Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit faileth: hide not Thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. Cause me to hear Thy lovingkindness in the morning: for in Thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto Thee. Psalm 143:7-8

I'm not surprised that this sickness is happening in our home. Don't you know when I announced that this would be a year full of miracles the battle would begin. Of course I'm not expecting hard times or hoping for them but, nothing wonderful in this life ever comes easy. I will not be defeated, I will continue to pray for miracles. I will continue to pray this is the year that Luke will be completely healed. I will continue to pray for Madeline, Josiah, Lauren, Parker, Izzy, Abbie, Brett Jr., Corbin, Caleb, Justine, Madison, Sadie Belle, Nolan, Melissa, Collin, Samuel, Tori, just to name a few who desperately need a miracle.

Faith is not a sense, nor sight, nor reason, but simply taking God at His word. Christmas Evans

The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety. George Mueller

You will never learn faith in comfortable surroundings. God gives us His promises in a quiet hour, seals our covenants with great and gracious words, and then steps back, waiting to see how much we believe. He then allows the Tempter to come, and the ensuing test seems to contradict all that He has spoken. This is when faith wins its crown. This is the time to look up through the storm, and among the trembling, frightened sailors declare, "I have faith in God that it will happen just as He told me" Acts 27:25
January 4th Streams in the Desert Devotional

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Guess who passed his swallow study today?

If you guessed Luke Jeremiah Searles you would be correct. Our first miracle of 2008! To say I was a bit apprehensive about going to the Hospital for the test today would be putting it mildly. But I knew that I could do ALL things through Christ who strenthens me (Phil. 4:13) I also knew that I was to Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let my requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, would guard my heart and mind through Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:6 & 7) Quite often I will paraphrase scriptures for my benefit, as you can see above.

Luke was not at all comfortable in the chair they put him in, but I'm thankful that he stayed awake and alert. It used to be whenever he got uncomfortable around people he didn't know, he would just fall asleep. I brought his favorite food from home, peanut butter, strawberry and pear granola and blueberry baby food. They put in a huge amount of barium in the food, he did not like it so he kept spitting it out, I began to panic a bit praying that he would swallow some for them to see his swallow. I could tell the Dr. was getting impatient, but the Speech therapist wisely gave him a break and when I fed him again he had two good swallows. She said that he definitely protected his airway, I wanted to shout Hallelujah! She said that we could start feeding him everyday.

I mentioned to a friend of mine today that of all the stages my children went through, feeding them was the one that I didn't enjoy at all. I was fine when I could nurse them or give them a bottle, but when they would take so long eating, I would be anxious for them to be able to feed themselves. Here I am back to feeding one of my children and though I'm very thankful for the fact that he is eating through his mouth again, I'm not at all looking forward to the massive amount of time it will take to feed him each day. Once again I'm probably being too honest with you all.

One other huge answer to prayer today is the fact that Madeline was able to be extubated this afternoon. After having a tube down her throat for 6 weeks she can finally talk again. How exciting it will be for all to hear her sweet voice again. If you haven't had a chance to check out her website you really should, she is a miracle story, it is http://madelinelester.com/ She still needs a new heart and lots of prayers to get out of the hospital. One other little girl that needs our prayers is Sadie Belle, she is currently waiting to have brain surgery again. Her website is http://www.babyjellybeans.com.

Thank you so much for your prayers today, I felt them and so did Luke. Please continue to pray for Luke's muscle tone issues. After today's miracle I'm just looking so forward to the day that Lukie becomes limber again, it's coming soon!

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Happy New Year 2008 the year of New Beginnings!

Life is finally slowing down a little, only to get going faster again next week when we start back to school, the YMCA, choir, piano lessons, voice lessons, Luke's therapy appointments. . . I've been trying to get all kinds of things caught up during these last few days before school starts again. Poor Daniel caught the flu, please pray that he will fell better and the flu bug doesn't spread to others in our family.

Luke has been doing pretty good lately. His nose has been running a bit, but it's not so bad. I made an appointment with Luke's Rehab Doc today. His muscles have been getting very tense these last few weeks since we've not done any HBOT treatments or Rolfing appointments recently. Would you pray with me that God will give us wisdom in knowing what to do for his high muscle tone. I don't know if we should put him on baclafen a muscle relaxant, which can cause him to zone out when it's in his system. I know so many people either getting or talking about getting a baclafen pump lately and I've been wondering if this is something Luke needs. A pump would go straight into his cerebral fluid of his back, therefore not causing drowsiness.

One other prayer request for Luke is I have scheduled another swallow study this Friday. To be honest as I usually am, I do not want to go for this. You have to wait in the ER waiting room before you are taken back. This is not a place I like going at all, for one thing all the sickness and germs cause me great distress and then that place always brings backs horrible memories. I have canceled four of these appointments over the past year and feel I need to keep this one. Please be praying that Luke passes this swallow study with flying colors and has the o.k. to start eating by mouth.

As you can tell by our new family picture on the side of the post, we finally got our picture taken on Saturday. I was surprised to get a call from Costco asking if I could sign a form stating that we weren't printing a copyrighted picture from a studio. Amy was excited to hear that they thought our photo was done by a professional. I'm just about finished with our letter all I have to do is address the envelopes. To help jog my memory about the past year I went and read all of the posts in Luke's blog. I was amazed to see how often I'm asking for prayer for Luke and then a couple day's later mentioning that our prayers had been answered because he was doing better. I'm looking forward to this year, knowing that I'm going to be praying for miracles, believing that God is able to do abundantly above all that I ask or think.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Praise God for Huge Smiles!

Here's Luke enjoying his Christmas Day, it's the first picture that we have of him showing off his huge smile and look at his eye's notice how centered they are, this picture was one of the best gifts I received this year.

I hope that you all had a blessed Christmas. Our Christmas was good, God blessed our family with good health and so many wonderful gifts. This year was much better for me, Christmas and all holiday's bring some sadness as I shop for a little guy who never asks for anything, doesn't really care if he gets anything, doesn't show any excitement for any part of Christmas. I think back to that first Christmas after his accident and remember a little guy with with a trache, no emotions, no smiles, no movement of any kind, and I have so much to be thankful for, his smiles are priceless!

I'm thankful to say that Luke has been healthy lately, though he's been a bit more congested than normal. His appointment at the Pulmonologist was disappointing to say the least. He was definitely not at his best that day, when they first checked his oxygen levels he showed up at a 90, which is terrible for him or anyone. I again had to tell his Dr. that he is usually doing better. I am thankful that I could report that he has not been to the Hospital at all for 20 months, this is a huge milestone for him. We talked about getting a special vest for Luke that does chest percussions, we might give it a trial to see if this keeps his chest clearer.

The day before his appointment had been a crazy day, we had celebrated Lily's birthday having about 25 people over for lunch and her party, then I had to run to Costco to get a gift for Daniel's girlfriend, Kristin, who's birthday was that night. On the way home I got in a little accident, as I was merging onto the Interstate, the car in front of me stopped, I barely hit it, the car behind me stopped, but the car merging into my lane hit the back end of my van. It didn't seem like a bit deal at first, our van only sustained a long scratch, our bumper took most of the impact. Though his car was completely smashed in. As I got out of the car to be sure he was okay, I twisted my bad ankle, I was shook up, but didn't realize until the next day how sore I was, I had re injured my neck and back, I've had many Chiropractor appointments since that day.

The next day was Luke's appointment, by that night all I wanted to do was cry. I told Gordy I was "mad at God," I had prayed so hard for Luke to be at his best, he was not even close, there are times that I have a hard time understanding why God doesn't seem to hear my prayers. I realize this is not so but I feel this way at times. I've been praying for so many miracles lately, for little precious Maddie to get a new heart, for Katie Belle to stop having seizures, for Abbie, Izzy, Caleb, Justine, Brett Jr., Madison, Samuel, Josiah, Parker, Nolan, Lauren, Tori, to have a miraculous healing, for Melissa and Klinton to be healed from their horrible cancer and then Klinton dies last week. I KNOW THAT GOD is able to heal each one of these people, I guess I just don't understand why He is not doing this. I'm praying that next year will be a year full of His miraculous healing to pour forth. I will not stop praying, I can not, I do believe in miracles and I'm ready to see them happen soon. Will you join in me in praying that 2008 will be a year full of miracles?

For those of you that have followed Luke's blog from the beginning you will probably remember after his accident a man heard my screaming and knocked on the door to see if he could help. We named him "Angel Jim" he was the man who did CPR on Luke until the Paramedics ran with him out of the yard. I found out last week that he died unexpectedly, would you please pray for his family to be comforted during this time of sorrow and grief? We will always be thankful for his quick response during our time of greatest need.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

PS We are finally taking our annual Christmas Photo tomorrow, I'm sure many people wonder why they have not a got a card this year. I'm hoping that we will get a good picture to send out for our Happy New Year card.

Santa Pictures with the Kids

I know I mentioned in my last blog entry that this week would be very busy, well I was right, it turned out to be a good but very busy week. We ended it today with a Birthday party after church for Lily, who is turning 3 on the 20th and then this evening a Birthday party for Daniel's girlfriend Kristin, who turned 21 today. I figure we had about 50 people over to our home this week, about 15 on Tuesday night for the baby shower, 6 friends of Amy and Natalie's had a Christmas party and sleepover on Friday, 16 last night for our church Adult Christmas party and then 17 today for lunch for Lily's party. Tomorrow we end our busyness, Luke has a Pulmonologist Appointment, which I would appreciate your prayers that he has an awesome appt., I'm praying that he is alert, happy, that his oxygen levels are doing great and that his breathing sounds great. I will be asking the Dr. for some idea's, other than a trache, on how we can help get Luke's lungs cleared and stay that way. Then our evening ends with the Kid's Christmas Concert.

Here are the promised pictures of Luke, Lily, Ezekiel and Isaiah with Santa at the Children's Therapy Unit Christmas party last Thursday. Luke was really intrigued with Santa' beard and as I mention had the biggest smile you ever did see, I wish we could of caught it on camera.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, how lovely it is to have a live one!

Praise God, Luke has been doing great this week. He has not needed any extra oxygen and his nose has finally stopped running non-stop. He seems to be communicating more lately, two nights ago he was making new noises, I asked him to repeat it and he did, this was the first time he has done that.

Listed below are some pictures of our family getting our Christmas tree, this was the first year since Luke's accident we cut down our own tree. We used to do that every year, but the past years have been so challenging at times, we just didn't have the energy to go out there and do it. As you can tell this is a tall tree, the tallest one we've ever had.


The little guys wanted to help so Gordy and Daniel let them carry the tree, before they got tired they were having a great time.

You can probably tell by the way we have Luke bundled up it was a very cold day, in fact when we got home I was hoping that we wouldn't regret taking him because his nose started running again, but by the time he went to bed he was doing great.
Gordy took the kids to the Festival of Trees a benefit for Mary Bridge Hospital, while they were there Isaiah, Ezekiel and Lily got to sit on Santa's lap. You'll never guess what Lily told Santa that she wanted, it was a Christmas tree, you see we hadn't got our tree yet and after seeing all the beautiful trees she knew that was what she wanted. She continued to ask for one everyday until we finally got our tree put up. Luke wasn't in the picture because that was the day I took him to Urgent Care.
I will soon post a picture of Luke on Santa's lap. We went to the Children's Therapy Unit Christmas Party today and all the kids sat on his lap. Luke was intrigued by Santa, in fact he almost laughed, his smile was so big.

The joy that the Lord gives you will make you strong. Nehemiah 8:10c. This scripture is so true, when I'm joyful I'm full of energy and when I'm depressed I'm usually very tired. I thank the Lord each day for His strength, He is so faithful to give it to me when I ask.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

PS Please continue to pray for Klinton and Madeline, they are both in need of a miracle today. Also please pray for Izzy's family they have been without power for days because of the ice storm that hit their area in Oklahoma.

Praise the Lord our family is getting better

We are finally getting healthy once again here at the Searles home and just in time for the Christmas busy season. Luke is doing much better, his nose is finally not running any more and his breathing is so much better. Gordy is feeling a little better today and worked from home all day. My biggest prayer right now is that no one else comes down with anything.

Tis the season to be busy! How about you? Our family has a very full schedule. Tomorrow I take Luke to Poulsbo, which is a hour drive each way to go to see Matt, the Rolfer, then on the way home to Pt. Orchard for a HBOT treatment, at night we are going to Chuck E. Cheese, compliments of Starlight Starbright. Saturday we are cleaning our garage in the morning, then going to cut down our Christmas tree and decorate it. Sunday is church then in the evening the girls have a Birthday party to go to and I am going to an informational meeting about a Missions trip to Romania. Monday I am planning a Funday Monday, this is a day where I kidnap a few friends and sisters to take to Seattle and have a full day of fun. Tuesday the kids have choir practice, then we are having a baby shower that night at our home. Wednesday is a stay at home day, with church that night. Thursday the kids choir is singing at the Children's Therapy Unit Christmas party in Puyallup. This is the place where Luke has his PT and OT, the choir is also sponsoring a craft table, which I am organizing, we will be making a Candy Cane Mouse. Friday night the girls have a friends Christmas Party and I'm hoping to go to the Mom's night out. Saturday evening is our church adult Christmas party. Sunday is church and then Daniel's girlfriend Kristin's 21st Birthday Party. Monday Luke has an appointment with his with his Pulmonologist, I'm praying that he can see Luke healthy this time, that night is the kids Christmas Concert. After that we are done. Except of course for Christmas baking, finishing shopping, wrapping, you get the picture.

I hope and pray that you all will have a blessed Christmas Season and you won't forget that Jesus is the reason for the season.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Just about at my Wit's End, but realizing this is where God wants me to be

Have you ever been at your wit's end? For years we've been calling Luke our mysterious man, he continues to live up to his name, I'm just about at my wit's end not knowing exactly what to do for him. Last night around 11:00 I almost blogged to say I think he's finally turned a corner, only to be disappointed a couple hours later. Today he woke up once again with a non-stop runny nose and breathing hard. Thankfully he's only had to be put on oxygen a few times during the day. I just checked up on him, he has his face mask on with his oxygen concentrator going at 5 liters, though if I put on his nasal cannula he's only be on 1/2 liter of oxygen. He sounds terrible like is he's running a race, he's breathing so hard with his heart rate up to 152, then down to 120 and up again.

Between his alarms and Lily waking up every few hours crying I've just about given up on sleeping tonight. Then poor Gordy is very sick also, he's been running a high fever all day along with aches and pains. Isaiah is finally feeling a little better today, Praise God. I keep praying that the rest of us won't catch whatever they've had the last few days.

As bad as things are here in our home I realize that they are nothing compared to what Maddie and Klinton's families are going through tonight. So many people desperate for miracles, God is a big God and is able to work in amazing ways, that is what I'm praying for. Would you please join with me in praying for Luke, Gordy, Lily, Maddie and Klinton.

Here's another wonderful quote from Streams in the Desert:
He generally waits to send His help until the time of our greatest need, so that His hand will be plainly seen in our deliverance. He chooses this method so we will not trust anything that we may see or feel, as we are so prone to do, but will place our trust solidly on His Word, which we may always depend upon no matter our circumstance (C.H. Boyartzky) This scripture went with this quote: Romans 4:18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed. I've changed this verse to Against all hope, Sue in hope believed. This verse just about sum's up my goal for today, I will continue to put all my hope in God, that's exactly what God wants all of us to do.

Love in Christ,
Sue

Luke went to the Urgent Care today and is already doing much better

After I blogged last night Luke continued to get worse. I ended up spending the night in his room turning off alarms all night long. He was struggling to breathe and his nose was running like crazy. I decided to take him into the Urgent Care today and after spending 4 hours there I found out that his x-rays showed that his lungs were a bit cloudy, which is not unusual for Luke and his right sinus looked unusual which could mean he has a sinus infection. The Dr. also did a throat culture because his tonsils were huge. I had a feeling that his tonsils were big because of the way he was breathing. The main reason I took him in was because I had a feeling that he needed to be put on steroids for a few days. If you know me very well you know I don't like Luke on medications, but I was desperate to get some relief for him and myself, we left there with a prescription for antibiotics and steroids.

Currently Luke is sleeping better and is not on any oxygen, his numbers are holding around 94 to 95 and his heart rate is down to 105 which is so much better than last night. So I guess the one dose of steroids and all the prayers are working. Wouldn't you know while I'm typing this out I hear Luke's alarm going off and he is once again in need of some oxygen, but Praise God his breathing sounds so much better. Tonight I've had to hold Lily three times I don't think she is feeling too good and I just put Isaiah back to bed, he had a fever earlier and is not feeling so hot. I might be taking a few more children into the Dr. tomorrow if I don't see some positive changes in the morning. Please be praying for our whole family to get healthy once again.

I am bummed because I had an appointment to get Luke's teeth cleaned tomorrow. I've put off that appointment for too long and now I will need to reschedule as I know he will not be able to go tomorrow. I also had to cancel his swallow study that he had scheduled last Friday, because I knew that he would not be successful with this cold he is suffering from.

One last note, I went to church tonight for the first time in 3 weeks and was ministered to by the Pastor's message, he spoke on fear. I sat there wondering if he knew I would be there tonight, because his message was just what I needed to hear. On the way to the Urgent Care Clinic I began to fear that perhaps they would send Luke over to the Hospital. I spent some time in prayer on the way there quoting the scripture, God has not given me a spirit of fear, but He has given unto me a spirit of power, a spirit of love and a sound mind. That was the first scripture the Pastor quoted along with other ones, the main thing I went away with was knowing that we need to stand on God's Word to overcome our fear and that is exactly what I was doing today. God's word is so powerful and comforting, I'm thankful for the verses that I've been able to memorize, as they always bring such comfort into my life.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue