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

Luke needs your prayers once again, along with Maddie and Klinton

Luke has been sick now for over two weeks. I've held off on taking him to the Dr. because I thought for days he just had a cold, since he has not been running a fever. Though today I was tempted to take him into Urgent care because his secretions are getting a bit yellow and just don't stop coming. We've had to suction him more this past week than we've had to in the past few years. He has been on oxygen for about 24 hours straight, only about a 1/4 to 1/2 liter all day, though now he is up to 2 liters. I'm praying that we will be able to get some sleep tonight. If he is not better by tomorrow I will definitely take him in, though I'm praying for another miraculous touch.

I would really appreciate your prayers for Luke to get better quickly. I would also like to request prayers for two other people that desperately need a touch from Jesus today, they are both listed in the Prayer Links to the side. Madeline Lester, a little 3 year old who has had to have 3 major heart surgeries, is in Critical condition right now and needs a miracle, also for her precious parent's Dave and Cindy who need great wisdom and strength to continue on this journey that God is taking them on. Also for Klinton, he is a young man suffering with cancer, today he had to be admitted once again in the Hospital because his pain is unbearable, also be praying for his wife, two children and parents.

I realize there are so many that need a special touch from Jesus today, if you have a special prayer request please share it with me and I promise to pray and if you have a website I will add them to our Prayer Links.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

I'm Thankful For You, what are you thankful for today?

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. Our family had a great day, we ended up eating over at the church annex, which was a great idea since we had 32 for dinner. After dinner we all came over to our home to visit, play games and of course eat dessert. Luke's day started out kind of difficult as he was on oxygen until about 1:00 and then thankfully we were able to wean him off the oxygen and take him over to the church. This week though he has been battling with the cold that Lily gave to Natalie and Natalie shared with Luke. He has been very congested and sleeping a lot this week and had a few very hard nights, but thankfully tonight he seems to be doing a little better.

Here is the list I promised in my last blog.
I'm thankful for:

• First and foremost for my faith in God. He is what keeps me going each day, always renewing my strength, touching Luke, keeping me focused on what's important in life.

• My wonderful husband, he's been my best friend for 25 years, always offering a shoulder to cry on and a person to laugh with, he's done an awesome job of providing for our family and he's a great father, showing the children a great example of a Godly man.

• My incredible children, Daniel who is great at offering a listening ear and helping hand, Amy is a wonderful teacher, cook, driver and who offered to start wrapping Christmas presents today, Natalie always the servant willing to help pick up each evening, teach the boys, and a great cook too, Isaiah who is a little organizer and is getting better a picking up more of the chores each week, Ezekiel who loves helping with both Luke and Lily and is currently teaching Lily how to color in the lines, Luke who brings smiles to each of our faces as he is usually such a smiley guy, Lily who as her middle name expresses brings Joy into each of our lives and she's also getting pretty good at learning how to help pick up her room.

• My parents who volunteer to come over to help around the house at least once a week and blessing us often with delicious home cooked meals, but most importantly spending many hours a week praying for Luke and our family.

• My sister Cindy who comes over to help get Luke ready for the day at least two mornings a week. Also my sister Lori who willingly comes over to watch Luke and Lily when I need her. Last but not least my sister Jill who came to spend Wednesday night with us so that she could teach Natalie how to cook a Turkey dinner, so that I wouldn't have to get up early on Thanksgiving Day.

• My great friend Yoli who so often volunteers to watch Luke and Lily, who also took me to the Hospital after my fall down the stairs and ran Luke and I to appointments last week when I was unable to drive and carry Luke around.

• Our dear friend who willingly fixed our van for free last week.

• The Ksen family for taking our family out to Dinner last week.

• Matt the Rolfer who came to our home on Friday to work with Luke, so that we wouldn't have to make that long drive out to see him.

• That Luke has not been to the Hospital in over 19 month's and that God has kept him pretty healthy for the most part during that time.

• That my ankle is feeling so much better in fact I was able to go for a walk and bike ride today.

• I'm thankful for all those people that still follow Luke's blog faithfully and have not given up praying for Luke and our family.

The danger in writing out a list like this is the fact that I've probably missed someone, if so I'm very sorry, just know that I'm thankful for all that have made this journey that we've been on for the last 3 years easier.

Last but not least I would like to ask for prayer for two families: If you follow any of the Prayer links listed to the left you've probably prayed for Gail. I just want to ask you to keep her family in your prayers as she passed away a few weeks ago from the brain cancer that she had. Also please keep Madeline in your prayers, she is a sweet little 3 year old that is currently in the Hospital. She is once again in critical condition and needs a miracle from God. I was able to meet her and her parents and they are some of the sweetest, most amazing people I've ever met. Their faith in God is amazing and unshakable, they have taught me more than I can begin to express on this blog.

Be blessed today and if you get a minute I would love to hear what you are thankful for today.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

We hope that you have a Blessed Thanksgiving Day

So much has happened lately where do I begin?? First of all thank you for your prayers for my ankle it is starting to feel much better, though I think I did too much today as it is very swollen tonight. I've never sprained my ankle before so I've been surprised that it hasn't healed a lot sooner. When I fell, I really did a number to my back and yesterday I had the worst headache that I've had in a long time, I went to the Chiropractor and found out that along with spraining my ankle and knocking my back out of whack I also suffered whiplash. Enough about me, please just keep praying for a complete healing, thank you.

Luke has been doing pretty good lately, though he was really sick on Sunday night. We went out to dinner with Daniel's girlfriend, Kristin's family to meet her grandparents on Sunday evening not realizing that Luke was sick. I thought to myself that he was looking pretty pale when we were at the Restaurant and when we got home realized just how sick he was after finding out his temperature was at 103.5, his heart rate in the 170's and his oxygen levels in the the high 80's. Needless to say we got him on oxygen right away, gave him some Tylenol and called my parents to get some prayer going. After getting him up to 3 liters of oxygen and anointing him with oil, he finally began to do better. The prayers really did the job once again, as by the time we went to bed he was down to 1/4 liter of oxygen, his heart rate was in the 120's, which is still high but better and his fever was down to 99 degrees. Monday he was fine, except for the fact he been a bit "junky" in the chest and nose.

Monday night I found out that Luke will no longer get any more therapies this year as we've maxed him out. He only gets 60 PT, OT, ST and massage appointments a year. I'm thanking the Lord that I called the place he goes for PT and OT, to find out how many he had for the year, because he was at 51, along with his 9 Vital Stim therapy, which is classified at ST we are completely out of visits. I have a bit of mixed emotions about this in the fact that part of me is happy because we have two less days of running around, but also a bit bummed as I hope and pray that I will be able to get enough time in my week to do all his Range of Motion exercises. I'm also praying that I didn't miscount and end up with a huge bill, as it is we already pay $32 a visit.

This past week has been a week of some extreme challenges, but mixed with some very unexpected blessings. I will blog again in a few days to share with you all the things that I'm thankful for, which seems to be so much lately. Please have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day, I pray that you will be blessed with a Day filled with joy and goodness.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Quick update

I thought I better update everyone on How Sue is Doing, sounds like a blog :)

Seriously, As you know Sue severely sprained her ankle when she fell down the last few steps of our stairs. She is using crutches and was not putting much weight on her ankle She has been spending most of her time resting and reading on the couch.

Yesterday the ankle felt pretty good and she decided to put a little weight on it. For the most part it worked well for a while, although last night she was in a little bit of discomfort.

Thank you for praying, it is making a difference. Our family is adjusting to having mom immobile. At times I dont think Lily understands as she will do something around Sues ankle and Sue tries to explain to her that mamas ankle is sore.

Sue will blog when she feels up to it

Thank you all,

Gordy

Please Pray for Sue

Sue needs your prayers. Last night she severely sprained her ankle. Yesterday afternoon she was leaving the house and missed the last step and fell. She was in so much pain that we thought it was broken. We took her to the hospital and they did an xray and told her it is just severely sprained. She is on crutches and has not been able to put any weight on it so far.

As you know from reading this blog, Sue is extremely busy going here and there with Luke and all of the other activities of life in a large family.

Please pray that Sue will rest and her ankle will heal completely and quickly. Also, pray that she will be blessed as she rests and recuperates.

When she feels up to it, I am sure she will blog.

We appreciate you very much,

Gordy

Is anything too hard for the Lord? NO

Just to let you know Luke has been struggling a couple of days with what seems to be a bit of a cold, he is congested and has a runny nose. He didn't really need any extra oxygen until last night and again tonight. He has been doing a great job eating through this sickness which is a blessing, today during his vital stim therapy he ate at least 25 bites of food, the most he's ever eaten. His Speech Therapist was very excited about his great swallowing. She also started bringing pictures of food so that he could make choices to let us know what he wants to eat. He did a pretty good job of looking at the picture of the food that he wanted to eat each time.

Once again my favorite devotional Deserts in the Stream has ministered deeply to my soul, I'm praying that you too will find comfort in reading this passage:
Is anything too hard for the Lord Genesis18:14
This is God's loving challenge to you and me each day. He wants us to think of the deepest, highest and worthiest desires and longings of our hearts. He wants us to think of those things that perhaps were desires for ourselves or someone dear to us, yet have gone unfulfilled for so long that we now see them as simply lost desires. And God urges us to think for even the one thing that we once saw as possible but have given up all hope of seeing fulfilled in this life.
That very thing, as long as it aligns with that we know to be His expressed will - as a son was to Abraham and Sarah - God intends to do for us. Yes, if we will let Him, God will do that very thing, even if we know it is such an utter impossibility that we would simply laugh at the absurdity of anyone ever suggesting it could come to pass.
"Is anything too hard for the LORD?" No, nothing is too difficult when we believe in Him enough to go forward doing His will and letting Him do the impossible for us. Even Abraham and Sarah could have blocked God's plan if they had continued to disbelieve.
The only thing "Too hard for the LORD" is our deliberate and continual disbelief in His love and power, and our ultimate rejection of His plans for us. Nothing is impossible for Jehovah to do for those who trust Him.
from Messages for the Morning Watch

God is so good to remind me not to give up on the miracle of Luke's complete healing. Sometimes as mentioned in my last post it's easy to get discouraged that his healing hasn't come in my timing. I realize that God's timing is perfect, therefore I have to come once again to completely trust that God knows what He is doing. Finding peace in His timing is so comforting.

Please pray that Luke will get better soon. Also be praying for his muscle tone issues, we have some Dr. appts. coming up to discuss what to do, we will need great wisdom in making the right choices for Luke. One last prayer request is for myself, I'm really having a hard time getting to sleep at night, therefore I'm not getting very much sleep each night, please pray that I will be able get to bed earlier and go right to sleep. Thank you for your faithfulness, you are amazing!

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Still hanging on for Dear Life to what seems like a never ending Roller Coaster Ride

I continue to be amazed at how last week could be so very awesome and this week so very hard. Luke has been doing so well, making huge steps toward recovery. I was just saying today to the Speech Therapist he has eaten more orally in the last week, then in the total of the last 3 years. I realize that sounds like he is eating a lot, but for Luke a lot is 3 whole jars of baby food, plus some other tastes. But to be honest I wish he was eating all his food by himself.

Tuesday was a hard day for me. It began with Physical therapy, then on to Occupational therapy, took Luke grocery shopping, got home just in time to help get the home ready for company that night, Luke's old nurse Mary came over for dinner. Then we were off to his Pediatrician appt. I decided after hearing his alarms going off every night for weeks, because of his heart rate dropping I better ask the Dr. just how low should we let his heart rate get before we become concerned. It has been getting down in the low 50's some nights. He requested a EKG to be sure his heart is okay, which turned out normal. The Dr. said as long as Luke's oxygen numbers are good, we shouldn't be too concerned about his low heart rate.

I guess what made this day so hard was the fact that everyone that day felt like they had to give me a reality check on Luke's life. Letting me know once again, that I really should be thinking about ordering him a wheelchair. Also discussing the fact that they don't think knee orthodics would benefit Luke, in fact they could cause him to break a bone, because children like Luke are prone to broken bones. Thinking about the future of communication devices for Luke. Then his Dr. told me that Luke doesn't qualify for a Make a Wish trip, I guess there was a small part of me still thinking because I know of so many other children just like Luke that have gotten to go that perhaps he would get a "Wish". I don't know why, but that really devastated me. None of these things are negative things I realize, except for the fact I left those appts. wondering if I'm just living in a dream world about thinking that God is going to heal Luke someday.

Here's some real honesty for you, Tuesday night I spent about an hour on my knee's literally crying out to God letting him know how tired I am, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Asking God for forgiveness because there are days when I'm just not sure if I have the stamina to continue on this journey we are on, wondering if I really have the faith to believe that Luke is going to be healed. Usually I go to bed with some resolve to know God has heard my cries, but this night I finally fell into bed around 3:00 a.m. not feeling any better after my time of great pleading to God. I woke up Wednesday morning not wanting to get out of bed, can you say great depression had set in? I finally dragged myself out of bed knowing that I needed to get Luke into the tub and fed, as I was already running way behind on the day's schedule.

Halloween has been very hard these last few years. I don't have any stamina to get my children dressed up in costumes for our yearly harvest party at church. Once again if not for my wonderful girls this year would of been a total flop for our family. The girls not only fed the kids breakfast, but made sure they were all dressed and did school with the boys, when they finished with school, they carved the pumpkins that we got a few weeks ago. They got the kids ready for the party, then ran over to the church to help get the last minutes details done before the children arrived. I did end up going with Luke, who was dressed in a lion costume, I know that he really enjoyed himself as did the rest of the family.

The pictures tell a story about a Lady named Natalie who thought she was a princess for the night, Luke her Lion pet growled to scare off her Jester Isaiah and Clown Ezekiel. Lily who spent the evening as a little "Lily Bug" was the cutest little bug, you ever did see. Daniel's girl friend Kristin saved the day dressed up like Super Girl and then last but certainly not least Amy helped plan and put together the entire party with her Aunt Cindy. A good time was had by all!


Ezekiel was very persistent in bobbing for apples and as you can see it paid off in the end.

Today was a bit better, I woke to an e-mail from Luke's PT saying that someone she knew was giving away an Adult size special needs jogging stroller. That was great news as I was just pricing them the other night at over a thousand dollars, thank you Lord for your provision. The night ended celebrating Ezekiel' s 7th Birthday, with a party at Chuck E Chesses. A good time was had by all, though Luke seemed to be congested the entire evening and came home with his first fever in over two month's. I'm praying that it will be gone when he wakes up in the morning.

I'm so encouraged by your sweet comments and often don't feel worthy to live up to some of them. Thank you for your continued prayers and support, I'm confident to know that God will renew my strength once again and encourage me as He always does, please join with me in prayer that it will happen quickly.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

What a Great Day!

Just wanted to let everyone know we had an awesome day. The Starlight Starbright Luncheon was so much fun. Luke had a great day, along with his brothers and sisters. They passed out flyers, welcomed the people and Isaiah and Ezekiel got to demonstrate the Nintendo game stations. I'm pretty sure there were about 400 people in attendance. We met some wonderful people and were so blessed to know that Starlight was able to raise thousands of dollars. I hope that sharing what Starlight has meant to our family made a difference today.

After we were done with the Luncheon we went to the Seattle Science Center, it was a gorgeous day in Seattle, I think it got up to 74 degree's which normally doesn't happen at the end of October. Gordy's sister Pam and her husband Hal live in Seattle with their boys, we were blessed to be invited over for dinner, it was a perfect ending to a wonderful day.







I thought I would post one more picture of Luke going to a football game. The amazing thing is he never would of been able to go to an outdoor night game in the past for fear of getting sick. We bundled him up and he did great. We all had a fun time cheering on the Lake's Lancers JV team as they won 56 to 0, way to go Spencer, great kicking.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

PS Please take a minute to say "Hi,", we would love to hear from you.

Still Clinging to my Heavenly Father's Hand

I'm so grateful to say that Luke is doing great! I was just telling someone today I could get used to having a healthy child. Luke went to see Matt, the Rolfer again today and I'm so excited to say that he is responding great to these treatments. He has also been getting into the Hyperbaric chamber once a week, which has been great for his tone, though he still has a long way to go. He has been doing great with his new foot orthodics, they thought that he would only be able to tolerate them for a few minutes a day, but he has been wearing them for a couple hours a day. His Vital stim therapy is also going very well, he is doing a great job of swallowing and I've been trying to feed him orally more often through out the day, but to be honest this is extremely challenging since I haven't had to do this for so long, it is very time consuming, to say the least.

Tomorrow is going to be a big day. Our family is going up to Seattle to the Starlight Starbright 15th Anniversary Benefit Luncheon. They asked me if I would be willing to be interviewed by John Curley, who is the host for a local TV show here in Washington called Evening Magazine. I will be sharing Luke's story, how it has effected our family and letting the people know how Starlight has been a blessing in our lives. I would appreciate your prayers that I will be able to convey a positive message of hope and faith during these past few years.

This past week was challenging at times, I am still working on our application for Extreme Home Makeover. I thought it would be good for them to see a video of Luke before the accident and then after. Looking at all those picture last week brought many tears to my eyes, one of the days I cried out to God to ease the pain and He reminded me of all the blessings that have come out of Luke's accident. It's so good to have a Heavenly Father that comforts and reminds us of our blessings. I will try to post a copy of the video once we get it done.

I have to share one more brief statement from my favorite devotional, Streams in the Desert: Difficulty is actually the atmosphere surrounding a miracle, or a miracle in it's initial stage. Yet if it is to be a great miracle, the surrounding condition will not be simply a difficulty but an utter impossibility. And it is the clinging hand of His child that makes a desperate situation a delight to God. This has ministered to me on many days, I hope you too will find it comforting.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Please take notice of changes to our Prayer Links

You might of noticed a few changes in the layout of the Luke's blog page. I've added some new people to our Prayer Link, here is a brief description of each link:

• Pray Abbie, is a little girl who had a near drowning accident 3 months prior to Luke, her mom Tiffany has been a huge help and encouragement to me over these past few years.

• Pray for Brett Jr, is a little guy who had a near drowning accident February 4, 2006.

• Pray for Caleb, is another little boy who had a near drowning accident in March 2007.

• Pray for Gail is a precious mother to 7 children who has a brain tumor.

• Pray for Izzy is a little girl who had a near drowning accident in May 2004, I love visiting her web site as she is making great progress and always has great pictures to show.

• Pray for Klinton is a young father of two child struggling with cancer, his dad and mom go to our church.

• Pray for Madeline is a little girl who was born with a heart defect, she has had many major surgeries in her short 3 year life span. She is currently in the Hospital very ill and desperately needs our prayers.

• Pray for Madison is another little girl who had a near drowning accident March 2006.

• Pray for Melissa is a mother of seven children, who has a brain tumor. God has really done wonderful things in her life as she was not expected to live as long as she has.

• Pray for Nolan is a little baby boy born just last week, he is in the NICU struggling with some oxygen and eating issues.

• Pray for Parker, is for a little guy who was born with Downs Syndrome, along with a hole in his heart and many other huge health problems.

• Pray for Sadie Belle, is for a little girl that has Rasmussen Syndrome, which is basically a disorder in the brain that causes massive seizure problems. She has already had brain surgery and is going in again soon for more brain surgery, she is in desperate needs of prayer right now.

Visiting these websites have become almost a daily ritual for me as I check up on these precious people to see how they are doing. I know I've mentioned this a thousand times, but it bears repeating I believe in miracles and as I've followed these websites I've been awed by God's healing power in so many of these lives. I pray that you too will begin to pray for these ones that so desperately need our prayers. If you go to their sites leave a little note for them, the encouragement of knowing that people are praying for them is huge. Please let me know if you need prayer or know of someone else needing prayer.

One last prayer request, our son Daniel left today to go to Denmark, he will be gone for two weeks. As I've mentioned in the past my brother and his wife live there. They asked Daniel to come and tile their bathroom floor and tub area. Please be praying that God will surround Daniel with a hedge of protection while he is gone and that he will be able to get the get the job done quickly and beautifully.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Busy, Busy, Busy we are probably too BUSY!

We have lots of exciting news to share today. Last Friday Luke began Vital Stim therapy, which is swallow therapy to help him eat through his mouth once again. His speech therapist said that she heard a good swallow and thinks that we will have great success with this therapy. I'm finding that he doesn't like putting things in his mouth, but once he tastes the food he chews and swallows it. One of the nice things about this therapy is that I don't have to leave the home for another appt. the therapist comes twice a week to our home. I'm so excited about Luke eating orally once again but am also a bit apprehensive about how time consuming feeding him will be. For the last 3 years all we've had to do is hook up a syringe to his g-tube and pour in his food, now I will have to feed him like a baby. I'm comforted to know that this won't last forever, I know one day he will be feeding himself.

Luke also began seeing a Rolfer massager on Monday. I found about Rolfing through Abbie's mom Tiffany, she was so impressed with how Abbie was responding that I decided if I could find a Rolfer in the area we would try it out. I'm excited to say that Luke responded great, he would let Matt know when he was uncomfortable and Matt took it real slow. But the greatest thing that came out of the day was that afterward I put Luke into the Hyperbaric chamber, which happens to be in the same building and Luke was very verbal the whole time he was in the chamber, he also seemed to be more alert, I think that he was actually seeing the TV for the first time. The TV is real high so I don't think his sight was good enough in the past, though this time he seemed to really be looking at the picture.

Luke came home with a new pair of ankle/foot orthodics on Monday. His feet have begun to get worse so we decided it was time to get a new pair. He was also fitted for a new pair of knee orthodics, though the OT thought he needed to be re casted as the pair that they casted last week did not seem to give enough bend. She realized that next time they cast I will need to hold Luke on my lap so that they can get better bend. Luke bends his knees so much better when he is sitting up. They are hoping that the knee orthodics will help him during the night when he doesn't have as much muscle tone going on, therefore while he is relaxed we hope to train his leg to bend more.

I praise the Lord that our insurance is covering the cost of the Vital Stim therapy, I just wish they would pay for his massage therapy and HBOT treatments. I know that some moms have fought their insurance companies to pay for these treatments and a few of them have won. I just wish I had more time in my day to be able to fight our Insurance Company. I'm very thankful for that recent donation from the Zander Fund as it is making the Rolfing and HBOT treatments doable. I really wanted to take Luke to Dallas, TX, but am realizing that we have to spend our money wisely. I know so many people with special needs children have fund raisers and have thought seriously about doing one, but once again time is a huge issue for me right now. I realize that God will supply what He wants for Luke, I just have to continue to trust Him at all times.

I know that I mentioned in my last post that I was hoping that life would slow down a bit this year. This has not been the case. I struggle at times knowing that I need to stay home more often, but also realize that Luke's needs along with the rest of my children are my priority right now. I cracked a tooth and had to make two visits to the Dentist office, along with Amy's glasses broke a long time ago and needed to be replaced. Natalie had a hole in her ear from tubes when she was 2 years old, the Dr. had told us to bring her back about 3 years ago and I finally got her into the ENT Dr., good news the hole is completely gone, this is an answer to prayer. I also took Isaiah in for a eye check up, good news they are fine. Add to all the medical appts, Luke's PT/OT, massage, HBOT, orthodic fittings appts., Natalie's piano lessons, Amy's voice lessons, the YMCA twice a week, home school choir once a week and you can see what I mean by life not slowing down. I'm so thankful that God is my strength!

I probably could go on, but realize if you are still reading this blog you are amazing, as it is so long already. Thank you for your continued prayers. I say it often but this journey we are on is much easier because of your faithfulness to remember us in your prayers.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Good News, Good News, Luke's Dr. has given us some good news!

I have some great news to share with y'all. I took Luke into the Dr. on Friday for some blood work, I wanted to be sure that his iron levels were good, last time we had his blood work done he was very anemic, we got the results back today and he is doing great. But, that is not the good news I wanted to share, though it is definitely good.

Let me start at the beginning. I've had a few friends I know go on Make a Wish trips with their children. I have been told recently that we should apply for Luke to get a "Wish trip," well I finally went on line the other night and put in an application stating that we were interested. I received an e-mail back stating that in order to get a "wish" the child's condition must be degenerative, progressive or malignant. Gordy and I talked about whether we thought this is how you would describe Luke and both felt that we did not necessarily see him this way, though we know that anytime he gets really sick his respiratory system puts his life in danger at times.

Now to the good news, as I mentioned I took Luke into the Dr. and was asking him whether he would be willing to fill out a referral for Luke to get a Make a wish trip, I told him what the application said, and that other children like Luke have applied and got a trip. He told me that he does not see Luke as degenerative, progressive or malignant. He said that he sees that Luke is making new neuron connections in the brain and he is definitely getting healthier all the time, and will continue to make good progress as time goes by. He also said that Luke's respiratory system is still not always stable, but is getting better all the time. He volunteered to refer Luke for a Make a Wish, if he could come along. To say I left there wanting to shout Praise the Lord, is an extreme understatement. This is the first time we've heard from a Dr. that Luke's brain is improving and that he getting healthier. This is the same Dr. that told us 2 years ago that Luke would be in and out of the Hospital for the rest of his life. Every time I think about this I want to cry tears of joy. I know God is healing Luke, there is no doubt in my mind, I know this is just the beginning of good reports we are going to be hearing, because I serve a Mighty God who is in the miracle business. Each one of you that have continued to pray for Luke's miracle can take part of the credit for Luke's miracle, your faith has made a difference, thank you!

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

PS I wanted to answer a few questions from our comment page: Alesha asked how to get on the list for the Zander fund donations, I will be honest, I am not sure as we did not ask for a donation they just sent us one. Cindy asked if our life would be easier if we put our kids in school, I would say perhaps and then again perhaps not, right now with Amy and Natalie helping it is going good. Homeschooling is something we feel the Lord has directed our family to do, so until we get a release from God we will continue on, but thank you for asking.

I am just counting my blessings!

We got back from our wonderful camping trip late Sunday night. We were very blessed in the fact that Luke did awesome. He only had to have a little bit of oxygen the last night we were there. He has been so smiley lately, it seems that he is more relaxed and comfortable, which is a huge blessing. The only bad thing about our trip is that Natalie caught the bug for a few days, beside that we were blessed with good weather, great camping sites, the gorgeous ocean to look at, fun times around the campfires, good times playing card games at night, Gordy & Amy went golfing a few days, the girls learned how to do one stroke painting, to say we had a great time would be putting it mildly. God is so good to have blessed us with this wonderful time after our stressful sick summer.

We were blessed to receive a donation from the Zander fund, http://www.thezanderfund.com. The Zander Fund was established in order to benefit other children in memory of Alexander after his death in May of 2003. Alexander died from a drowning accident. I got to know his mom on-line, shortly after Luke's accident. This is the second time they've chosen to bless Luke. To say this was a huge blessing would be a understatement, as I've mentioned before having a child like Luke is very expensive, not only with his regular medical bills, but with the extra treatments and supplements that we give him it adds up to be huge at times. I was just praying to God recently to bring in some extra cash for Luke as we've just about come to the end of the money we can spend on him and God is so faithful to answer my prayers. Now I need wisdom in how to spend the money as there are so many ways that it could be spent. Some of the things that we are praying about is Hippo therapy, which is Horse riding for special needs child, more HBOT treatments that have really helped Luke in the past, going to either to Dallas, TX to see Dr. Tennant and take advantage of the treatments he has to offer or going to FL to visit a Dr. Cralle who has had amazing results with children's tone issues. Please be praying with us that God will continue to supply our needs and also for wisdom in how to spend the money we've been blessed with.

We began our school schedule on Tuesday. This year I'm putting Luke's PT and OT appointments together on Tuesday mornings, then in the afternoon is the Homeschool PE program at the YMCA, then off to choir after that is done. Amy and Natalie have really stepped up to the plate this year as they are homeschooling the boys in the morning and then both of them are volunteering at the YMCA, Amy will be in the pool giving lessons and Natalie will be helping to teach the Racquetball class, both are looking forward to helping out. I will be teaching the boys in the afternoons on the non-YMCA days. I'm hoping to be able to be at home more often this year, as the last few years have been so busy with appts for Luke, though I do have quite a few appts. scheduled soon for some of the other kids.

May God's blessings be poured out on you today!

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

Luke seems to be doing a little better

Just a quick update on Luke. He is finally doing better today, he seems to be more alert and have a bit more energy than the last few days. This flu as I've mentioned before really knocks you out for at least a week or more. Gordy is just now beginning to feel better after being sick for close to 2 weeks. We hope to leave tomorrow when Gordy gets off work for the Oregon Coast. We will spend 4 nights at Ft. Stevens one of the most beautiful parks in Oregon and then go down to Newport once again for 4 more nights. Please pray that God will allow us to go on this trip as I really feel after this summer of sickness we could all use a few days of rest and recreation. I would also like prayer for sleep for me as I've had a few nights of no sleep recently, I know I need to get my clock turned back around. Thank you for your constant prayers!

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

It's been 3 years since Luke's drowning accident and we are so thankful for your continued support and prayers

Can you believe it's been 3 years since Luke's drowning accident? There are days that it seems like it just happened yesterday and other days that I can't remember what life was life before that horrible day. We are very thankful for the progress that Luke has made and feel blessed by the fact that so many people are still praying for his complete healing to come. It would be so wonderful to hear from those of you that are still following Luke's progress, your comments are very special and each one of them makes my day.

Here's some pictures from the Torchlight Parade, Luke did such an awesome job that night, below is the kids, plus Karlos at the Zoo, then the Railroad Museum with the Starlight, Starbright group, ending with the beautiful waterfall at Mt. Rainier.

Luke came down with the horrible flu on Saturday, by that night I had to change his diaper many times. Yesterday he kept throwing up or having diarrhea each time we would feed him. Last night I was up all night watching him, I didn't want him to aspirate his throw up so I held him until this morning. This morning he has kept down his food, please be praying that this will pass quickly, as he just can't afford to lose any weight.

We had actually planned to go camping today until the 15th, we always love to go when school has started the campgrounds are empty and the weather is still wonderful. It's gotten to the place lately though where I almost dread making any plans as they seem to always get changed. I'm hoping that Luke will be better by tomorrow and we can get out tomorrow evening. We have had a good summer filled with trips to the Zoo, hikes on Mt. Rainier, free tickets from Starlight, Starbright for a tour on the USS Turner Joy, to go Putt Putt Golfing, to attend a Mariner's game and go to a Train Museum with a ride on an old steam train.

As I mentioned on Tuesday night we received 15 free tickets to go to a Mariners Game, so we filled up our 12 passenger van and went to have some fun. I invited a young gentleman that we met awhile back, he is Ukrainian, this was his first baseball game, so I had the fun task of explaining the game to him. The Mariners lost but we still had a great time. Then on Thursday the anniversary day of Luke drowning accident I decided I needed to get away from the home so Natalie, Isaiah, Ezekiel and I went on a beautiful hike up one of Mt. Ranier's many trails. We went up 2 miles, about 2,000 feet to see some of the most beautiful waterfalls I've ever seen. To say this was challenging would be a understatement. There were many times the boys wanted to quit, but I would say we Searles are not quitters and we would plug on, they both thought it was worth it when we got there. The hike down was a whole lot easier.

On Saturday we went to Seattle, Gordy dropped Natalie, Isaiah, Ezekiel and myself off at the Seattle Science Center, where we saw the IMAX movie the Eruption of Mt. St. Helens, which is a very good movie. We then walked 2 miles to QWEST Field, I really enjoyed walking through Seattle it is a beautiful city and we were blessed with beautiful weather. We went to see our good friend Spencer play football at QWEST Field. He plays for the Lake Lancers High School Football team. He is the only home schooler on the team and though he is only a sophomore he is on the second string for the varsity. He did not get to play but we had a great time cheering the team on to victory.

May God richly bless you today! Once again thank you for your continued support and prayers, we have gotten to know so many new friends through this blog and it would be good to hear how you are doing.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue