Jonathan Cooper Update

We continue to stand in awe of God’s awesome work in Jonathan’s life. We had a good weekend here at home. Friday, we got Sarah back from camp and enjoyed spending the day together as a family. We went swimming together so Jonathan could show Sarah and Dad all the new things he started doing during the week. We had a wonderful time swimming and spending the rest of the day together before we had to tell Elizabeth good-bye that night. Jonathan did very well telling her good-bye and she was gone before he woke up the next morning. She left him a very sweet note telling him how much she loved him and that he didn’t need to worry about her while she was gone. It made me cry. The tenderness of both of our girls towards Jonathan has been such a blessing for us to watch. Elizabeth has called several times and Jonathan has had the chance to talk to her. Saturday was a low key day and Sunday we went to church. We have just two more weeks before promotion and we continue to prepare Jonathan for reaching the goal of going to his classes again by himself. He is pretty confident about being able to do this but I have a feeling it may be a little tough for him to start out with. Please pray for him about this over these next couple of weeks. Promotion Sunday is August 7. On Sunday evening, he was very thrilled to get to take the Lord’s Supper for the first time since last year. We are blessed to have all of our children know the Lord and this is such a special thing for us to share as a family. After church we went to Grandpa and Grandma Cooper’s house, which we always do on Sunday evenings. It has been a long time since we heard Jonathan talk as much as he did that night. He talked about everything, non-stop it seemed, after he finished eating of course! It was so much fun to hear him talk so much. What a blessing! We had therapy on Monday this week instead of Tuesday. Jonathan worked up in the office because his Grandma Smith came to watch him. It had been a while since she saw him during his therapy and he did not let her down. He did such an awesome job! He also had Ms. Heather work with him instead of Mrs. Dana. Ms. Heather watched Jonathan do therapy when he was in the hospital at OCH back in March. Needless to say, she was very amazed at his progress and it was such a neat thing for Jonathan to be able to show her all that he is able to do now. She really worked him hard; he was really sweating when he got done! She had him jumping on the colored circles on the floor, he jumped side to side, walked side to side and backward, worked on the balance board and the balance beam, walked up and down three different size steps, bent over and picked things up off the floor, did deep knee squats, stood on one foot and balanced, got down on the floor and up again without holding on to anything by himself, and did a few exercises on the exercise ball. We were all very proud of him! One of the things Jonathan is doing very well on his own is getting down on the floor and up again by himself without holding on to anything. When the kids sleep in our room on the weekends, they all sleep on the floor. Jonathan showed us how he can get down on his bed and get up in the morning by himself to go put his clothes on by himself. That is an awesome thing for him to be able to do on his own. He can’t get up by himself all the time. Early in the day he can do it almost every time he tries, but in the evening, it is much more difficult. For those of you who didn't know Jonathan before his illness, Jonathan always loved to dance. He would willingly put on a show for anyone interested in watching. He had his own unique style of dancing but was always interested in learning new moves. He has even tried some break dancing before, like spinning around on his head and most recently "The worm." Well, after our prayers the other night, he proceeded to show us how he can still do "The worm." He was very proud of himself and we thoroughly enjoyed watching him. We are all looking forward to the day that he is able to dance for us again. Every day, we continue to stand in awe of the power of healing in Jonathan’s life. He is a constant reminder of the awesome God we serve. After therapy on Monday, we picked up one of Sarah’s friends and went swimming again. We had a great time again and Jonathan did a great job again as well.
Thank you so much for always praying for Jonathan. The power of your prayers is evident every day in our family. Pray for continued strength in his legs, ankles and feet. Pray for strength in his stomach muscles. Pray for ease of mobility and for increased endurance and stamina. Continue to pray for healing of his brain, vision and diabetes. Pray for our doctor appointment this Friday at 9 am with the new endocrinologist. You can pray for Elizabeth’s safety while she is on mission trip in Arkansas this week. LORD, there is no one like You, and there is no God besides You, as all we have heard (and seen) confirms. 1 CHRONICLES 17:20 Blessed be the name of the Lord!