You can call me a crazy sick Mama!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Suzi

33 Is My New Favorite Number!

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

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

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

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

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue

We are marveling at God's healing power once again!

Gordy just came into the living room a few minutes ago marveling at how well Luke is doing. God has once again heard our prayers and touched our little Lukie. As I mentioned in our last post about e-mailing Luke's Dr. about asking for a 2nd opinion of the x-ray, well he did just that and both he and the radiologist decided that Luke does not have pneumonia. I already knew that he didn't when he hasn't needed any oxygen at all since Tuesday night, and has no fever at all.

Luke has quite a few appointments next week. On Monday he has his normal PT/OT appt., then on Tuesday he has an appt. with the Pulmonologist and Thursday an appt. with his Rehab Dr. Please be praying especially for his appointment on Tuesday to go smoothly, my biggest prayer request is that the Dr. will give some new suggestions on how to get Luke's lungs cleared up, something other then suggesting a tracheotomy would be nice.

You might notice I've added a new Prayer link to Luke's blog, for the Lockwood Family. This is a dear family that I recently stumbled across, they currently are missionaries to Mexico. They have 11 children and their sweet daddy has been having some huge medical problems. Will you join with me in lifting up this dear family, they are desperate for prayers right now. Also keep Teena in your prayers as she just lost her Momma. Thank you for your faithfulness.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Suzi

It's the roaller coaster ride that never ends, it just goes on and on my friend! Though I will not give up hope that it will end soon

It's the roller coaster ride that never ends, it just goes on and on my friend, sometimes I think that we are getting near the end, but then we take a dip and go straight down into the valley again. All that to say Luke is sick again. Natalie got sick on Saturday night, I'm assuming she caught what the other children had last week. She is still not 100 %, though she is doing much better. Luke began to get sick yesterday, I knew when we took him for a walk with all the family he was not doing good, as the day progressed he continually got worse and worse, until this morning he was on 5 liters of oxygen and his fever hit 103.5 at one time, along with a heartrate soaring way too high.

I took him into his Pediatrician and at that time he was doing quite a bit better, he was only on one liter of oxygen and his fever was down to 100.3. The Dr. listened to his chest and said that he did not hear any bad sounds, but said we should have an X-ray done just to be sure nothing was brewing. I dread Luke getting chest X-rays, he usually ends up yelling and crying by the time they are done taking the pictures. Both the Dr. and I compared his x-ray with his last set in February and decided that it looked pretty good, that is too say good for Luke, which never has a completely clear x-ray. I was so surprised to get a call from the Dr. at dinner saying that the radiologist thinks he has pneumonia, and it looks worse than the last time. The Dr. wanted to get him started on an antibiotic right away, but I told him I didn't think the radiologist was correct since Luke was doing so much better. He is doing great tonight, only on a little oxygen and his heartrate is back to normal, with no more fever. I e-mailed his Dr. tonight asking if we could get a second opinion on the x-rays, of course I haven't heard back yet. The Dr. also wants Luke to go back to his pulmonologist to check out his x-rays to see if anything can be done to clear up his lungs. I'm not looking forward to that appt.

I've been praying for Cindy all week, hoping to hear that your pain has been getting better, also for Teena for her hard situation and for comfort as she just lost her Mom a few days ago, for Alane that her headaches will get better, and Praise God she wrote to say that they are improving and for Kris' ankles to get better. I love praying for people and enjoy hearing their answers to prayers.

I hope you enjoyed watching the video Amy put together of Luke's life in pictures. I look forward to the day that we can complete that video with his walking again. I will not and can not give up on believing that his miracle is coming soon. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, the miracles he performed in the Bible He is still does today. Don't lose hope in your situation God is a BIG God and He can do all things for those who put their faith and hope in God.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Suzi

Hello Everyone,

Here is a video I put together for my mom. She asked me to put it up. I hope you all like it.

In Christ,

Luke's Sister, Amy

I'm not asking for your prayers today, just your prayer requests

Thank you for your prayers! The weekend went far beyond all my hopes and prayers. God moved in so many lives and the testimonies from the weekend are amazing to hear.

Luke is doing good once again, along with the rest of the children. He ended up having one more rough night and then began to make a complete turn around for the better. The kids go to the YMCA every Tuesday and Thursday, where they do a wonderful Homeschool PE program and participate in a choir. Today Luke went with Amy and Natalie, since I had a lunch date with some mom's of handicapped children. He seems to enjoy his time watching everyone play racquetball and walking/running around the track with Mom pushing him. I took him and Lily to watch the children perform for their choir today, they sang to the YMCA board, it was so amazing to see and hear Luke respond by "singing" along with the children. I had to shush him a bit because he thought he would be louder than those singing. He was such a smiley little guy for the rest of the day, he knew he had performed with the group for the first time.

How's all my friends out there is blogland? So many of you have become good friends, though we've never met. Please comment and let me know how you are or if you need any prayer today, instead of asking for you to pray for our family this time, I thought we could pray for yours.

Be blessed today and I look forward to hearing from you.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Suzi

Quick Update with Plea's to continue to pray

Quick update, Luke had a horrible night last night, did I say horrible! I was up until 3:30 messing with his oxygen levels, that were all over the map. This morning he is awake and doing a tiny bit better. I'm supposed to be leaving today at 11:30 for our church Women's retreat, that I have been directing and organizing with the help of some wonderful friends. I still have a bit to pull together, as I'm in charge of bringing all the food and making sure I have everything else in order for the weekend.

PLEASE PRAY: For Luke to do better, for Lily, Amy and Zeke to be 100% today, they are all doing better but weren't feeling their best last night. Also for Gordy as he is staying home by himself with all the children, for strength and extra patience as he is tired. For me that I will have the strength to not only get through this weekend, but that God would give me His amazing strength and for a peace about leaving my children home sick. For the retreat that women will be refreshed and encouraged in their walks with Christ, that GOD will do amazing things!

Thank you,
Luke's Mommy Suzi

Calling All Prayer Warriors our family is once again in the need of your prayers

Here's a Blessed Momma with all her Children on Mother's Day

What do you get when you have an A+E+L+L+I all sick, a bunch of Searles not feeling well. Two days ago Amy and Zeke came down with some kind of bad flu bug, now Lily has it and Luke has been fighting it all day, tonight Isaiah wasn't feeling so good either. It seems whenever I plan on doing some ministry work my children get sick. I know it is an attack of the enemy, he doesn't want our family focusing on anyone but ourselves. Well, satan is not going to win, I'm still going to be putting together our Women's retreat this weekend. That's right I've been working on putting together a women's retreat for the ladies at our church. The theme of the weekend is "Look What the Lord has Done", ladies will be sharing amazing stories of what God has done in their lives.

PLEASE pray right now that all the Searles will be healthy, that satan will be defeated and the retreat will be victorious in bringing women closer to God and to each other.

I hope all you Mother's had a wonderful Mother's Day, I sure did. I'm blessed with the most wonderful children that have ever lived. They let me sleep until noon on Saturday, that was the best gift I could receive on top of that they cleaned cars for me, bought me flowers, gave me wonderful home made cards and then to top it off we all went for a beautiful walk on a beautiful day.

Thank you once again for your prayers,
Luke's Mommy Suzi

We are ready for spring, how about you?

Here is the family enjoying a rare sunny day

Thought I would share this picture of our family, minus two, plus two, out on a walk to the Nisqually Refuge, a beautiful place full of little animals, birds and amazing scenery. We all had a great time enjoying one of the few sunny day's that we've had here in our area. I don't know about you, but we are ready to have some sunny days, the rain and wind are getting a bit tiresome.

I'm thanking the Lord that everyone is healthy. Luke began a new medication for his muscle tone a few days ago, I haven't seen any changes yet, but we are hoping it will loosen him up a bit. I took him in for a check up a few days ago and was pleased to hear that he is looking and sounding good, except for his legs, which his pediatrician has recommended we take him to a Orthopedic Dr. to check out. I'll be honest the day I take him into this Dr. will be a hard day for me to hear what is going on with the structure of his bones and muscles. I haven't called to set up the appt. yet but will soon.

I went up to the Starlight Starbright office yesterday to do some FREE shopping. We are so blessed to part of this program. If you know of a child that is critically ill or has ongoing medical issues please let them know about Starlight Starbright, it is one of the most wonderful discoveries our family has made.

Be blessed today my wonderful blog friends,
Luke's Mommy Suzi

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