tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35727204012171224402024-03-12T22:54:28.302-05:00Jonathan Cooper UpdateUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger242125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-53779431520302961582014-12-31T14:34:00.000-06:002014-12-31T14:34:35.320-06:00December 30, 2014 - 10 Years<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAnS3gCTSxWr9Sjs8QQVyZ0ve51AfvgfIExpqoKdt7vtK-CXmuFZRTDvAiTeeKDl9NXR_Ch-meA93KyxG4_sSfdtsasTpmOvLNjiBUpp2XFER6GGkcDtMYJwHEuVcN8KO87kHRIk1_UR8V/s1600/IMG_8706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAnS3gCTSxWr9Sjs8QQVyZ0ve51AfvgfIExpqoKdt7vtK-CXmuFZRTDvAiTeeKDl9NXR_Ch-meA93KyxG4_sSfdtsasTpmOvLNjiBUpp2XFER6GGkcDtMYJwHEuVcN8KO87kHRIk1_UR8V/s1600/IMG_8706.JPG" height="200" width="133" /></a><br />
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Today, December 30, 2014, it's been 10 years. Can you believe it? 10 years since our lives came to a screeching halt and our Heavenly Father reached down and set us on a new journey of faith - one in which we would know Him in a much more intimate and personal way because of the work He was about to do in our family. From that day on, we have witnessed God at work in our lives and He continues that work even to this day. That definitely doesn't mean that everything has turned out perfectly through these 10 years, but we are confident that He causes EVERYTHING- the good and the bad - to work together for our good. And for that promise, we give thanks on this day.<br />
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It's been 4 years since I posted here and as you can imagine, so much has happened during that time. Jonathan began high school in 2010 and very steadily and diligently worked his way through each year. In 2011, Jonathan went on his first Chapel Choir tour to Baltimore, MD. He sang in the choir this year and did a pretty good job of managing a busy week of early mornings, late nights, and being on his feel a lot. Choir tours are always important and very impactful events in our lives and we are so grateful for the opportunity to go on everyone one.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxnXaIfiXKeijtSWwgaIvJ52zC8KOFm0Yg0I7UdeDGEQ8Je1CNm61voeDindPJxRPxMIFp_QWcs2RemkiDh6TQEAebQC3AKkMeXOUb93Y2KLwnC7CdTdEjrCryrTxHHItF0fYGaWRQbSh/s1600/IMG_1243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxnXaIfiXKeijtSWwgaIvJ52zC8KOFm0Yg0I7UdeDGEQ8Je1CNm61voeDindPJxRPxMIFp_QWcs2RemkiDh6TQEAebQC3AKkMeXOUb93Y2KLwnC7CdTdEjrCryrTxHHItF0fYGaWRQbSh/s1600/IMG_1243.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>This year, we said good-bye to a very special lady who had been a part of my life since I was a teenager. Susan Woodward was not only an important part of my life, but she loved my children as though they were own. She faithfully spent the night with Jonathan each week while he was in the hospital so that we could go home to sleep. She was a constant source of love and encouragement to me during those months and I'm so grateful for her. There's a whole in my life without her here and we all miss her tremendously, but we know she is with our Savior and we look forward too the day we get to spend eternity together again.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1Xc50rbF5Q37g1Q2ShxO27RnJhBPTqZMWtaYA82yhvoatWevpbOgft3gG6e9B-RTV_nJGIFgHPgFi5KEjh2XkHKmgDSuNSclV0lWaLDDp7uOM8WbCNoPvoyW02wTJ5XrctZsO78_EuLQ/s1600/IMG_0518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1Xc50rbF5Q37g1Q2ShxO27RnJhBPTqZMWtaYA82yhvoatWevpbOgft3gG6e9B-RTV_nJGIFgHPgFi5KEjh2XkHKmgDSuNSclV0lWaLDDp7uOM8WbCNoPvoyW02wTJ5XrctZsO78_EuLQ/s1600/IMG_0518.JPG" height="149" width="200" /></a>The year 2012 held another opportunity to go on tour - Los Angeles, CA. This tour, Jonathan had the privilege of playing drums for the choir. This was a first for Jonathan and he did an awesome job! Uncle Tim worked practiced with him diligently every week on his music and he took this job very seriously. We were so proud of him! We saw God work in Jonathan's life in unique ways through this opportunity. It was a tremendous experience for him.<br />
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This same year, we had the blessing of graduating Sarah. That was two down and one to go! It was a beautiful day of celebrating her and and this huge accomplishment in her life. As we did with Elizabeth in 2010, we celebrated this special event with another cruise - our favorite way to celebrate special times in our family! This cruise too us to Routan, Honduras, Belize, and Cozumel on the brand new Carnival Magic. As always, we had a wonderful time together as a family on this trip going to the beach, cave tubing, shopping, and relaxing on the ship. As you can imagine, once this trip was over, Jonathan began to count down the days until the cruise we would take for his graduation!<br />
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In 2013, we traveled with the choir to San Francisco, CA for another tour. This tour was led by a group called NEXT Worldwide. The men who went with us are great spiritual leaders who have made a significant impact and investment in my children's lives through the years. It was great to be led by them again on this trip and to have the opportunity connect with them on a personal level as well. Jonathan has a great love for these men and they continue to be a great source of encouragement to him today. Jonathan had another great opportunity to play drums for the choir on this tour. He did an even better job this year than he did last year! You could definitely see growth and maturity in his playing, and the passion with which he played this year was significantly greater. I stand in awe of him each time I watch him play and thank God for this testimony of his grace and power in Jonathan's life. Again, Jonathan handled this week of music, ministry, and missions with such grace and we came away with another life changing week to thank God for.<br />
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Of the four years since I last posted, 2014 has been our greatest year yet - Jonathan's Senior year. It was exciting and scary all at the same time. This would be a year of change for all of us for sure. This would be the last opportunity to participate in student choir at church, which we did on spring break this year. Jonathan and I went to Seattle, WA where we did concerts, ministry work, and learned a great deal about this interesting city. This year, Jonathan did not get to play drums, but he sang with the choir and did it with such passion and love for the Savior he was singing about. It was a blessing to watch him and brought me to tears at every concert.<br />
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During the spring this year, we finally made a connection with the right people at the Division of Blind Services. After meeting with them, we went through a series of appointments with neuropsychologist, eye doctors, and technologists to help us determine where Jonathan was and what his visual needs were. This information helped us determine the best course of action for Jonathan once he was finished with high school. Through the Division of Blind Services, we were able to get several pieces of technology to help Jonathan with his vision. He's used them many times since then and we are grateful for the gift of these things as they are very expensive and we would never have been able to acquire them on our own.<br />
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In May of this year, the long awaited graduation celebration cruise finally arrived! We headed out again on the Carnival Magic to Key West, Freeport, and Nassau, Bahamas. We had an awesome week doing lots of great things together and making some wonderful memories as a family. We were actually on the ship on Jonathan's birthday which was super cool for him.<br />
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<span style="text-align: start;">Once we returned home, we got to celebrate with family and friends at Jonathan's high school graduation. It was a wonderful day honoring Jonathan and thanking God for his love, mercy, and faithfulness in getting us to this special occasion.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimOrUR9jEBwRxcR_ChMyXmgh30md3Pv6ylR_iQqLQ17pf0w8oir77SkywcxrTy61tmVc0vh7clFGuxl7nyfTKkITRhv4Wq0yn8K5Y7_J51X4Lppo7R1mlWVgG6jwY_QlF8qJR4MrGv0fxQ/s1600/IMG_0521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimOrUR9jEBwRxcR_ChMyXmgh30md3Pv6ylR_iQqLQ17pf0w8oir77SkywcxrTy61tmVc0vh7clFGuxl7nyfTKkITRhv4Wq0yn8K5Y7_J51X4Lppo7R1mlWVgG6jwY_QlF8qJR4MrGv0fxQ/s1600/IMG_0521.JPG" height="200" width="200" /></a>I have to be honest and tell you that while Jonathan's graduation was a wonderful celebration, it brought with it an element of anxiety and uncertainty of what this next chapter in his life would look like. I knew that God had not brought us this far to leave us on our own now, but the unknown still caused me to worry. For the past 10 years, I have been the one to order and control pretty much every detail of Jonathan's everyday life. I began to realize that this would no longer need to be my job - it would not be good for either of us for me to continue this way. I'm okay with that. But that also means I can't be the one to assist him in his job to see that he succeeds at it and gains the approval of his boss, or to be there to make sure that no one will be unkind to him. This means that I have to find a new level of trust and faith in God to take care of him in ways that I can't. Imagine that - me learning again that God is really the one who is in control of Jonathan's life, not me! God has a plan for Jonathan's life and its a good plan. I just need to trust Him completely with this life He has so graciously given to my son.<br />
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Over the summer, Jonathan worked with me at the home school resource store that I work at part time. I taught him how to inventory the books that we sell in the store. He did this all summer long without pay. He was a huge asset to me at the store, but the time he spent doing this proved to be a huge asset to him in his first job that he started in October. He is working part time for an online company, doing much of the same type of inventory work he had done for us over the summer. He is pretty proud of his job and has done well so far. We are thankful for God's continued faithfulness to him. Jonathan ultimately feels called to work in pastoral care ministry and will eventually take courses to pursue that, but that will come later on. We are taking one small step at a time as we navigate this new chapter of his life.<br />
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Each of these past 10 years, we have spent December 30 together as a family and with those we love the most. It's one of the most important lessons we learned from this experience...life is precious. Cherish every moment with those you love. This December 30 was no different. We spent this day making more memories that we will treasure forever. There are no words to express how much our families mean to us - how important they were to us then and how much more important they are to us now.<br />
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As I think back to those dark days 10 years ago, and then read through this post, I see how truly blessed we are to have been chosen to know God through all that we have experienced these 10 years. Believe me, there are still many difficulties and challenges left to face that will forever be tied to this event, but we stand firm on the truth that we were reminded of just last Sunday -<br />
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<u><b><i>If God is for us, who can be against us? But in all things, we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. (Romans 8:28-31, 37)</i></b></u><br />
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May God bless each of you for your faithful love and support for our family through the years. Only God truly knows how much we love each of you and the eternal impact you have had in our lives. I hope that this post has given you the chance to remember with us where we were 10 years ago and to celebrate and praise God for where we are today. We are looking forward with great anticipation to all that God has in store for Jonathan and to watch His good, acceptable, and perfect will for him unfold in the years to come.<br />
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<b><i>HAPPY 2015! WE LOVE YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH!</i></b></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjisn1nPIUMdy0lP6n3MxBYkD7DDWbU5rd9tyKzAtY0_dgguP7HbS7Hx5ys56l_6Q4xe5bqTjLkyaxh9yhyXsICBuFT50Jmmd1S-QdhugAuY8JDAuYfaVX_-M1MHYhclx0yUZid-AIrtQSm/s1600/DSC_0169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjisn1nPIUMdy0lP6n3MxBYkD7DDWbU5rd9tyKzAtY0_dgguP7HbS7Hx5ys56l_6Q4xe5bqTjLkyaxh9yhyXsICBuFT50Jmmd1S-QdhugAuY8JDAuYfaVX_-M1MHYhclx0yUZid-AIrtQSm/s320/DSC_0169.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It's truly amazing to think that it's been 6 years ago today that the Lord changed and redefined the life of our family. Can you believe it? Another thing that's hard to imagine is that is has been an entire year since I have come to this place to share with you about our family. From the time we began this blog, 6 years ago, I never thought I would see the day come that I didn't update for a year. And now, here I am. That, in and of itself is another miracle blessing in this story. To be able to live life for a year without major issues or needs in Jonathan's life is awesome! Oh, that's not to say that we haven't had moments of difficulty and things to deal with this last year, but overall, we have had a great year. God continues to bless and show Himself faithful in our family day after day, and today, I want to share this year of blessing with you and bring you up-to-date on where we are today.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We started out the year pretty well until early March when my Mom (Grandma Smith) suffered a mild stroke. God was very gracious and she only spent a little over a month in the hospital/rehab. She had some weakness in her right side and her biggest struggle was with swallowing. She had some wonderful therapists and we were able to walk through a time with her that was very similar to Jonathan. I don't have to tell you who her biggest supporter and cheerleader was. Jonathan, in all his compassion and understanding, was right there to encourage her every step of the way. We had several opportunities to share Jonathan's miracle story with the therapist there. God continues to use us and Jonathan's story to share about His love and power. We also had a great opportunity to give back to my family who gave so much for us during Jonathan's illness and recovery. Three days after Mom's stroke, the Lord gave me a Scripture to claim for her. I believe it was His Word to me regarding her recovery</span><br />
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<i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ps. 103:1-5 - Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget none of His benefits; who pardons all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases; who redeems your life from the pit, who crown you with lovingkindness and compassion; </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.</span></b></i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Today, each time I see her walk, watch her do every day things, or hear her speak, I and reminded of that Scripture and praise God for his power and mercy in her life.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Our next big event was Elizabeth's high school graduation. Wow! I have been keenly aware these past 5 years that this time was soon approaching, but I couldn't believe it was finally here. It was a busy, stressful time in our family, but it was a beautiful, emotional, and awesome event that I will never forget. She sang a song called </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What Faith Can Do</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> while we honored our Heavenly Father, who is the author of our faith, through pictures of our beloved Grandma Cooper, the miracle in Grandma Smith's life, and God's amazing grace in the life of our family. Tears are streaming down my face as I write about this special moment and as I hear Elizabeth singing a testimony of a life of faith in God. What a beautiful treasure Elizabeth is to our family. We have been truly blessed. After the graduation ceremony, we had dinner together with all of our family and were able to share with the kids that part of this special celebration would include a cruise at the end of the summer. They, of course, were extatic! So our summer was filled with lots of fun!</span><br />
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</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jonathan and I made our way to Denver, CO with the Clarion Choir in June. He did great and we had a wonderful time ministering and singing to the people there. We got to sing at the Children's Hospital as well as Denver Rescue Mission. We got to visit Pike's Peak, the Olympic Training Center, and Focus on the Family. The trip was wonderful and we were blessed by all we were able to do there. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The girls went to New York City and Washington DC with the Chapel </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Choir. I was blessed to get to spend the first 2 days in NYC with them. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We got to experience a worship service with the Brooklyn Tabernacle, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">which was incredible. We did some local ministry work, rode the subway </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">together, and ended my short stay with seeing Wicked on Broadway. I </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">lived a lifetime of dreams in those 2 days and I got to do it with my </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">girls. What a blessing! Then we finished off the summer with a 7 day </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">cruise to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel aboard the Carnival C</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">onquest. We had a wonderful time together as a family. We climbed a </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">huge waterfall, rode a chair lift above the rainforest and rode a </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">bobsled in Jamaica. We visited a turtle farm and swam with </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">stingrays in Grand Cayman. And we went snuba diving in Cozumel. We </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">made so many wonderful memories together and we are humbled and </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">blessed to have had the chance to experience this together.</span></span><br />
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</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jonathan is doing very well in many things and still experiencing some </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">struggles in other things. Can you believe that he is in high school </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">now? Another miracle in this precious boy's life! This first semester</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">of high school has been a great challenge. It has not been easy, but </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jonathan is such a hard worker and he gets stronger and better each </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">week. He is in the high school choir at church and actually went to </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">the youth disciple now weekend by himself, without Dad or Mom. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jonathan has been blessed to have a couple of guys whom he calls his </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"best friends". Eliott and John are not just a great blessing to </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jonathan, but they bless me as well, and I'm so thankful for their </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">presence in his life. Jonathan got his first cell phone for Christmas. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To say he is proud of that is a complete understatement!</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We continue to struggle with weight issues, but we were able to see </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">some success in a plan we worked on throughout the year and are </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">planning to begin working on it again in the new year. The biggest</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">concern right now is Jonathan' growth. A year ago, they did some </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">growth testing (blood work) and advised us to do more testing to see if he is </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">deficient in growth hormone. Right now he is in the 4% on the growth </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">chart. He is growing, but just at a very slow rate. I am sure the </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">doctor feels he is deficient after watching/charting him over the past </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">few years. If he shows to be deficient, he would most likely begin to </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">take growth hormone shots. We have not agreed to do the extra testing </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">yet. We have struggled with knowing what is the right thing to do, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">trying to determine the necessity of it. We will continue to pray and </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">research and try to decide what we should do. I know God will </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">guide...He always has and always will.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So here we are today. God continues to bless and work in our lives 6 </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">years later. Many of you remain faithful to pray for us and we are </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">humbled by your love and care. If you are one who has come looking for </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">a post throughout the year, I thank you for your intereest in our </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">precious son. I am Believing God for a wonderful 2011 for our family. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I feel as though I have come to a place where these post will be as </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">this one - a once a year summary of how God has blessed and worked in </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">our family. Of course, if anything major were to happen, I would be </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">here in a heartbeat. If you would like to know when a post is made </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">instead of checking every so often to see if there is one, please </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">contact me with your email address and I will notify you when I post. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There is a time for everything. Six years ago I needed this blog every </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">day. It was vitally important to me, my family, and my precious son. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It gave me hope knowing I could share our issues, needs and struggles, and you would </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">be there to lift us up in prayer. I don't know what we would have done </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">without you. While today, that need is no as great, I would still love </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">to stay in touch with you and have the chance, if only once a year, to </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">give a testimony of God's work and faithfulness in our family. All that we have, all that we are, and all that we enjoy are because of our gracious Lord and Saviour and we are honored to always speak of Him and honor Him with our story. So I pray that you will let us know how we can keep in touch with you, that when you think of us and you will continue to offer up a prayer for God's continued healing and work in Jonathan's life.</span></span><br />
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</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I want to leave you with a Scripture I found recently as I was praying for a very precious person in my life who is going through their own journey of suffering. Our goal in whatever we go through, the good and the bad, should be to become more like our Saviour. Unfortunately, that happens more during the bad times than the good. But praise God for those tough times that draw us near to Him and transform us into the likeness of His perfect Son! Isaiah 53 is a description of Jesus. My Bible titles it "The Suffering and Glory of the Servant." If you are going through your own time of suffering, know that your Saviour did too and be encouraged by this Word of God. We love each of you so much and we are so thankful to have had you walking beside us these past 6 years. Your continued prayers are always appreciated. We pray that God will bless you with His most incredible blessings in this New Year. Until the next time we meet...All Our Love and Blessings - The Cooper Family</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibC6HAReiaWx_cvaXYeNUyHUByiSSNPN3qXOqDn7cdRu9F33_Lzje3Oj7eE62ujj3cc_AjYKMew0L4Eji6dcqqTqbnrt7_Xt0UhYZfq1_Rrvo5dpyVmmrjQsvF2copWSz-hSCinMZRcwAb/s1600/155384_1763428651888_1424264524_31970729_6964870_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibC6HAReiaWx_cvaXYeNUyHUByiSSNPN3qXOqDn7cdRu9F33_Lzje3Oj7eE62ujj3cc_AjYKMew0L4Eji6dcqqTqbnrt7_Xt0UhYZfq1_Rrvo5dpyVmmrjQsvF2copWSz-hSCinMZRcwAb/s320/155384_1763428651888_1424264524_31970729_6964870_n.jpg" width="256" /></span></a></div><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Isaiah 53:10-11a - Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied.</span></i></b></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-60201217956493338462009-12-31T08:40:00.021-06:002010-01-02T11:13:27.786-06:00December 30, 2009<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu12IA6vys1roRszVBxN0_tJc4izHkBkwX22y34TyDnI-HUFunJ7XJNcoWKm1kIGnVo7Ei4J-Adu7PsJUErL1qPTgqJk7ZKjDRYLrj4gchhSj1MCfoPFevwmxST9BeYRr0zzTywaUfBK-d/s1600-h/DSC_0095.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu12IA6vys1roRszVBxN0_tJc4izHkBkwX22y34TyDnI-HUFunJ7XJNcoWKm1kIGnVo7Ei4J-Adu7PsJUErL1qPTgqJk7ZKjDRYLrj4gchhSj1MCfoPFevwmxST9BeYRr0zzTywaUfBK-d/s400/DSC_0095.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422191649939987154" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="">DECEMBER 30, 2009</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></span></div>Today we celebrate the 5 year anniversary of God's amazing grace in our family. On this day 5 years ago, as our lives began to change moment by moment, I truly could not see or imagine anything beyond the moment we were in, much less imagine 5 years from then. And yet, by the overwhelming grace of God that was all sufficient for each of those difficult moments then, and every moment since then, we are here 5 years later at this moment in our lives. It takes very little for me to recall the thousands of memories that surrounded that life changing event...the exact hour that certain things happened, the faces of the people in the hospital that I did not know that God ordained to care for us, the hugs and tears of family and friends who were there in those early, very dark hours, the waiting room full of people there praying and lifting us up before our Father who was listening and acting on our behalf, even when we could not see it. There are a million more memories that I imagine I will never ever forget, nor do I want to. I could go on and on and on sharing all those memories with you again. But you can read them all again right here on this blog. They are precious memories, though some of them very difficult, yet each one a precious part of God's will and plan for our lives. We are not the same family today that we were 5 years ago. I am not the same person I was 5 years ago. Our lives have been forever changed and for that I praise God. As long as God gives us life and breath on this earth, we pledge to honor Him and share, with anyone who will listen, all the He has done for us. <div><br /></div><div>This anniversary would not be so precious without each and every one of you who have loved us, cared for us, prayed for us, and supported us in so many ways over the last 5 years. You will never know the impact that your prayers and notes to us during those 3 1/2 months we were in the hospital had on our family. Each one was a deposit of God's sustaining grace in our lives. We could not have made it without you. As I sit here and write, tears stream down my face as I remember the presence of our parents, our brothers and sisters, cousins, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, our pastors, friends young and old from both of our churches, friends near and far, friends we didn't even know that heard and just wanted to come and support us, and the hundreds of notes that were printed out and saved (to this day) from people all over the world who were praying for us. It overwhelms me and humbles me. And yet, it wasn't just then, during those 3 1/2 months, but day after day, month after month, year after year over these last 5 years you have stayed with us, encouraged us, loved us and supported us through all the ups and downs of our journey. Many of you didn't know us 5 years ago but have come into our lives since then and added your love and support as well. I'm so glad we are part of the family of God! Your presence and support in our family through these years has changed our lives forever. </div><div><br /></div><div>While this special anniversary reminds of us God's work in our lives, His mighty power to heal and deliver, His faithfulness to hear and answer the prayers of His people, it is not a place to reside. Just like the Children of Israel, it is an event we will remember each year and one that we will talk of often. But God has so much more to do and accomplish in Jonathan's life and in the life of our family. We want to be faithful to honor Him with the life He has given us and allow Him to use us as He desires to make Him known. Thank you from the depths of our heart for sharing these years with us. You will never fully know, this side of heaven, the impact that each of you has made in our lives. I don't have words adequate to tell you. But God knows and He has been honored by your love. We pray His most incredible blessings on your lives for the overwhelming blessing you have been to us.</div><div><br /></div><div>Each year we have celebrated together as a family on December 30. We just spend that day thanking God for our family and remembering how very precious the gift of life is. This year, thanks to the generosity of many of our amazing family and friends, we were given the gift of a trip to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine. We had an awesome room and wore ourselves out at the water park inside. We had a wonderful time together as we always do. We ended our wonderful day having dinner with some of our family. As Jonathan said, it was the most special way to celebrate this 5 year anniversary. I hope you enjoy the pictures.</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoE67WMqMfIhRae9fhhi7ybblqjTFatLqf36p1EGHu38LNAncY9tKBakNqHh9cUo9oxtXyFPlAsoPJLAjegQ6rOjO9tqy_ai61mgCxTjP9sCNneghCbjlL-RNBDPkTyKFDtxnKWO3ojBwQ/s1600-h/DSC_0058_2.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoE67WMqMfIhRae9fhhi7ybblqjTFatLqf36p1EGHu38LNAncY9tKBakNqHh9cUo9oxtXyFPlAsoPJLAjegQ6rOjO9tqy_ai61mgCxTjP9sCNneghCbjlL-RNBDPkTyKFDtxnKWO3ojBwQ/s400/DSC_0058_2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422170949379312114" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuvR2gG8j658ikxHW9hyUYUlgD3g-N-RtAb-0wQwgmfhYetkf4dJZtIw5Whvf2CTmhLF4uX_FOptQiedJn9Kdw1HekCQ5fJ40WoAy6YL51Oo80Cs2S0rNFCvNihFOhau0w06ytclTqKLz_/s1600-h/DSC_0031_2.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuvR2gG8j658ikxHW9hyUYUlgD3g-N-RtAb-0wQwgmfhYetkf4dJZtIw5Whvf2CTmhLF4uX_FOptQiedJn9Kdw1HekCQ5fJ40WoAy6YL51Oo80Cs2S0rNFCvNihFOhau0w06ytclTqKLz_/s400/DSC_0031_2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422170386741064930" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO642YMF5BLdOBMqo35cUKbE_nZxwzR19khC2szO-u6f4aVaX-edW4LqHUk7tnuyk50BtP1zCvB_m1aezeO_oqNSmDLc2YXoaYKzvqLA_T1SaJfe5crAaDw9LkIJpLQt4xQBwIReqfJmzQ/s1600-h/DSC_0047_2.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO642YMF5BLdOBMqo35cUKbE_nZxwzR19khC2szO-u6f4aVaX-edW4LqHUk7tnuyk50BtP1zCvB_m1aezeO_oqNSmDLc2YXoaYKzvqLA_T1SaJfe5crAaDw9LkIJpLQt4xQBwIReqfJmzQ/s400/DSC_0047_2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422170794466125682" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAbt40kCyXIHr3bc7owmr04_axf9EVoE-EnYrJ3NSRgZSiRLbi83v6kFPT_yjdBOAqwMkT5OvGCblXKiBbFr5qVqa37tPKg-nE329NzAINdMS1Ph1L46f_6tUW-2vbdhVgBCUGmT7Avy3k/s1600-h/DSC_0016_2.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAbt40kCyXIHr3bc7owmr04_axf9EVoE-EnYrJ3NSRgZSiRLbi83v6kFPT_yjdBOAqwMkT5OvGCblXKiBbFr5qVqa37tPKg-nE329NzAINdMS1Ph1L46f_6tUW-2vbdhVgBCUGmT7Avy3k/s400/DSC_0016_2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422170168120316994" style="display: block; 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margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRPkUdu32pD2lvmnBH-mGZL_vLFpA0vjTaDmXaako122XCT0s3AkTYhKRlwTYtDSDqkQ5Z5TQCa250N-eJjW4ooMhX884q0r1CITAsndcc7MFpVje8H8V1KGoiKHdOg2xmKxq6QG5amsa/s1600-h/DSC_0139.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRPkUdu32pD2lvmnBH-mGZL_vLFpA0vjTaDmXaako122XCT0s3AkTYhKRlwTYtDSDqkQ5Z5TQCa250N-eJjW4ooMhX884q0r1CITAsndcc7MFpVje8H8V1KGoiKHdOg2xmKxq6QG5amsa/s400/DSC_0139.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422172234196596354" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSuR4BPyl_9DoJSOoxalCIOJAa5RtjjlRuzc48mBVXeWxLyd4vbnd7L4ycG0v8JBhcYlO3o8wjoP3UD-1GhfaeTkJ8vBd8o3T8_JxLcSdPS245dNWtwdNCZIdWY0cMYWzJhmrSDXUi_Tc9/s1600-h/DSC_0137.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSuR4BPyl_9DoJSOoxalCIOJAa5RtjjlRuzc48mBVXeWxLyd4vbnd7L4ycG0v8JBhcYlO3o8wjoP3UD-1GhfaeTkJ8vBd8o3T8_JxLcSdPS245dNWtwdNCZIdWY0cMYWzJhmrSDXUi_Tc9/s400/DSC_0137.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422172063123317170" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>As we look forward to 2010 we know there are miracles yet to happen in Jonathan's life. Yes, there will be issues and struggles that we will face, just as there have been over the last 5 years. But faithful is He who has called us, who will also do it...whatever it is we will face (1 Thes. 5:24). God has done incredibly more than we could ever have imagined in our lives these past 5 years, and we look forward with great anticipation to see His will and purpose continue to unfold in Jonathan's life. </div><div><br /></div><div>Thank you again for your faithful presence in the life of our family. Thank you most of all for your prayers for Jonathan. Thank you for your love and encouragement to him and being the hands and feet that have brought him to this place in this amazing journey. You are dearly loved by Jonathan and our entire family. May God's blessings in this new year be more than you could dream for. And may God be praised, both now and in the days ahead, for His great love and His amazing Grace. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; white-space: pre; "> </span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSh9rpFNGurPdDwYAPhDsa04TIGVQjVFLPCfo5rIKMl_shWSQ2f5Luf2JihnNeFnF4CN8pdDCuqqYCnWwwNRpLaTnMbMJBd-4E27Gxl7ryziMNOwaem4c4bZRH4UqJkbdZ0fLTmkn52jk/s1600-h/DSC_0011.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSh9rpFNGurPdDwYAPhDsa04TIGVQjVFLPCfo5rIKMl_shWSQ2f5Luf2JihnNeFnF4CN8pdDCuqqYCnWwwNRpLaTnMbMJBd-4E27Gxl7ryziMNOwaem4c4bZRH4UqJkbdZ0fLTmkn52jk/s400/DSC_0011.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422191292539075122" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 153px; " /></a><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>NOW TO HIM WHO IS ABLE TO DO EXCEEDING ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL THAT WE ASK OR THINK, ACCORDING TO THE POWER THAT WORKETH IN US, TO HIM BE THE GLORY IN THE CHURCH AND IN CHRIST JESUS UNTO ALL GENERATIONS FOR EVER AND EVER. AMEN</i></b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><b><i> </i></b></span><b><i>EPHESIANS 3:20-21</i></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Times;font-size:14px;"><span id="Ephesians 3:20" class="verse" style="display: block; "><br /></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-7680289936162368462009-12-26T09:29:00.015-06:002009-12-26T20:55:15.771-06:00December 26, 2009<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5N3D0s4DG6ICxBjwKTzwQVaQwPyWVWDXR-zuUY5vgnKmdS9DwsQ3acCtEf5y3A9fFJtjtMpEiHwi_ziECHxlXOiuzlVV_eDl2Mzr_0GUO2hqwFkfPidySXh2Va4RMazsicbBGAV2rxQJ/s1600-h/DSC_0064.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5N3D0s4DG6ICxBjwKTzwQVaQwPyWVWDXR-zuUY5vgnKmdS9DwsQ3acCtEf5y3A9fFJtjtMpEiHwi_ziECHxlXOiuzlVV_eDl2Mzr_0GUO2hqwFkfPidySXh2Va4RMazsicbBGAV2rxQJ/s400/DSC_0064.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419642835166276962" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "><br /></span></a><div>Merry Christmas to all our precious family and friends! I pray that all of you have had a wonderful holiday season this year. Ours has been very busy but very good. Much has happened over the last 2 months so let me give you an update on what's been going on.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>God has blessed us and kept us free from illness this entire fall. We are so thankful for that. School has progressed pretty well with a few hiccups here and there. But then what school year doesn't have hiccups, right? Jonathan has done very well so far this year in school. He is very good at staying on top of his work and getting it done. He is not a procrastinator when it comes to school. He is handling 8th grade work pretty well and I am praying that this year will be good preparation for what he will encounter next year in high school. Did I just say that Jonathan will be in high school next year??? Wow! That is almost too fantastic to believe! But what a miracle milestone it will be for him.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our families. Then the Christmas season flew into action! We were busy for most of December with rehearsals and Christmas programs for a good 3 weeks. The kid's Christmas program was first. Our entire family participated in The Wonder of Christmas program with all of the children and student choirs at First Baptist. Everyone did great and it was a wonderful program. Elizabeth had a solo, Sarah sang on the praise team on a couple of songs and Jonathan was The Little Drummer Boy for that song. He had the privilege of playing a snare drum with two other guys in a special version of that song. He had to keep the same rhythm throughout the entire song. In the program, he was called the "Drum Captain". He did an amazing job! He was so proud of the opportunity to get to play, and he was such a blessing to so many people who had the chance to see and hear him play. A friend of our video taped the song and put it on facebook. I will post the link and I hope you will be able to watch it. God continues to give us opportunities to honor Him with the life He has given to Jonathan and show His mighty works that He continues to do in his life.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1265138383774&ref=mf</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJoT8Sp8MrHN6p7B8Qda7NcLek1sNdi6IoPeOlGesDZIkBG0mX6RiTyccCRahjQUX04TJD_sNPvnf-JmXKAd-d5SxIQ7qxBTFmhZ5wbLPpGgs1I-l0V5ZmyKTeJ5wSwe_k5fg5JkWD8Ue/s1600-h/16259_1096744918224_1814645774_213603_2475748_n.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJoT8Sp8MrHN6p7B8Qda7NcLek1sNdi6IoPeOlGesDZIkBG0mX6RiTyccCRahjQUX04TJD_sNPvnf-JmXKAd-d5SxIQ7qxBTFmhZ5wbLPpGgs1I-l0V5ZmyKTeJ5wSwe_k5fg5JkWD8Ue/s400/16259_1096744918224_1814645774_213603_2475748_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419639008487545586" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 267px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The next week was the Sanctuary Choir programs and they were wonderful as well. The third weekend, the kids went and shared their music at Operation Care. This is an event held in downtown Dallas to provide food, clothing, toys, and other services for the homeless in the metroplex. The kids did a great job and Jonathan got to play again at this performance. </div><div><br /></div><div>We had a wonderful Christmas yesterday as a family and with all our extended family. And it was our first white Christmas at that! God remains faithful to bless and provide for us each and every year. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcOY-QyptARqcbw-qsEGYs5NmVbDs6SyyN4Hwlm97xM7hsNTxBnmTa_ihqeEf5iAMlhheBO1zAUON2ec0ZQ7hQqI1ucFCOiCInNHwA43gQtnlgTmV_FwWXDsADmQorWU2_yJ7zozxUggt/s1600-h/DSCN1376.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcOY-QyptARqcbw-qsEGYs5NmVbDs6SyyN4Hwlm97xM7hsNTxBnmTa_ihqeEf5iAMlhheBO1zAUON2ec0ZQ7hQqI1ucFCOiCInNHwA43gQtnlgTmV_FwWXDsADmQorWU2_yJ7zozxUggt/s400/DSCN1376.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419639957981268562" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTMCK1fpnPpKQh49NeSODsUqh0YUDxQ45sLchlk3_FTY05vbp_MTZU9Zef3eQ-xspdzZ0wgZA8PoRlfQ-PUqDScCUTszt7eXJyZH1P2QxvD0vm3CB_3Oohghcp_KnqJQii_yUmnDbuvaij/s1600-h/DSCN1378.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTMCK1fpnPpKQh49NeSODsUqh0YUDxQ45sLchlk3_FTY05vbp_MTZU9Zef3eQ-xspdzZ0wgZA8PoRlfQ-PUqDScCUTszt7eXJyZH1P2QxvD0vm3CB_3Oohghcp_KnqJQii_yUmnDbuvaij/s400/DSCN1378.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419639716266467314" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihFpOfVgjGm7CRFRqn6aMM-K_x0eAJF0lOhxgdSNKNEXCjfXLHuQjKBOhDqHqq2xrv3ED9gppprcF9lLcCStsZ9aMXPOPUEVaUvYocx96CL4YgG2xdFBhxC8P26kfR3uCl78vTF5RjHJDc/s1600-h/DSCN1382.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihFpOfVgjGm7CRFRqn6aMM-K_x0eAJF0lOhxgdSNKNEXCjfXLHuQjKBOhDqHqq2xrv3ED9gppprcF9lLcCStsZ9aMXPOPUEVaUvYocx96CL4YgG2xdFBhxC8P26kfR3uCl78vTF5RjHJDc/s400/DSCN1382.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419639827851473714" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div>One of our special Christmas presents came early and has a story to go with it. Back in October, we walked through an experience that was new to our family. Our little Pug, Sophie, got very sick and we had to put her to sleep. I had no idea how difficult an experience that would be. I think we all cried for a week. She was 8 years old and she obviously left a hole in our family of pets. Well, in early December, we welcomed Samson Howard to our family. He is a sweet little mini Beagle and we are having a wonderful time having this little baby puppy in our home - minus all those little things about puppies that you can't wait to get beyond! I think he loves living here too.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Sweet Sophie Cooper</div><div style="text-align: center;">2001 - 2009</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY_diQ1XWRu68QAkxeQdtYuNc7Lt0oFEiURJg4fzWPWki0wL59kEy1G4kdqaP6tdO8mBaXSUAhZrfXoSP_zVcnliEbiD4DU6q-rsPON7MBE7r9sLTc_8vbDV9jdTzIHADAi26SwcT40Z6V/s1600-h/2DSC_0041.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY_diQ1XWRu68QAkxeQdtYuNc7Lt0oFEiURJg4fzWPWki0wL59kEy1G4kdqaP6tdO8mBaXSUAhZrfXoSP_zVcnliEbiD4DU6q-rsPON7MBE7r9sLTc_8vbDV9jdTzIHADAi26SwcT40Z6V/s400/2DSC_0041.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419741919239770082" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLw0sEo-sgArxwqJBWclZ_Xd9rMHj_FepAR3U11aIH-FoGG7zjcxYQ-czyfoohGlsZBmD0CQHCMTa0kMA4ynyUc4PUmvHis78xB11rwx4aJpBRi6oV58IDDF6t9HCgWq-YVDNZiFVCGCdb/s1600-h/DSC_0002.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLw0sEo-sgArxwqJBWclZ_Xd9rMHj_FepAR3U11aIH-FoGG7zjcxYQ-czyfoohGlsZBmD0CQHCMTa0kMA4ynyUc4PUmvHis78xB11rwx4aJpBRi6oV58IDDF6t9HCgWq-YVDNZiFVCGCdb/s400/DSC_0002.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419639318811659394" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Samson "Sam" Howard Cooper</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ePMG4pmoM8EGifo6zczLzQzsMflJRl0n7tWyatSqCWnhekPGB-r9cCIFm9ki0K1N79bskHdKiEGPdbpTsRX9dVaT9YnxIGCjQgp3Uj7Xy3CZtV65pIAMswDdSdcD5zmBQdYXOzcMEwbo/s1600-h/DSC_0006+1.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ePMG4pmoM8EGifo6zczLzQzsMflJRl0n7tWyatSqCWnhekPGB-r9cCIFm9ki0K1N79bskHdKiEGPdbpTsRX9dVaT9YnxIGCjQgp3Uj7Xy3CZtV65pIAMswDdSdcD5zmBQdYXOzcMEwbo/s400/DSC_0006+1.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419639593650856642" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div>Can you believe that next week, we will celebrate 5 years since Jonathan's illness dramatically changed our lives? Wow! God is so good. As this time of the year approaches, memories of this life changing event are constantly on my mind, no matter what I am doing. Next week will be week of reflection for me and I will share more of those thoughts with you then.</div><div><br /></div><div>Before I close, I want to share one more thing with you that I hope you will pray about for Jonathan. Right before Thanksgiving, Jonathan went for his regular endocrine checkup. At this appointment, the doctor voiced her concerns about Jonathan's slow growth. Up to this point, we have just dismissed it as him being a late bloomer since that's the way Dad was at this age. Lamar didn't have a growth spurt until end of 9th grade, which for Jonathan is a year and a half from now. She wanted to go ahead and do some blood work and a bone age x-ray and just see what showed up, instead of waiting until that much later. Blood work is not easy for Jonathan. His veins are very deep so it is not easy to find them. He always handles it so very well. I think it tortures me more than it does him. About 2 weeks later we got the results back. Everything came back within normal range, although some things were a low normal, with one exception. His growth factor was quite a bit lower - 114 instead of 152 which is the low normal. They are proposing that we continue testing by having him come in after a night of fasting and have two IV meds given and his blood checked every 30 minutes to see what they reveal. These meds would jump start the pituitary glands so they can check the growth hormone, since it actually releases the hormone at 2 am. This test would take about 4 hours. Potential side effects are nausia, dizziness, and faintness with both of them. The second one also has the potential of burning the skin if it leaks out of the blood stream into the tissue. That kind of concerns me. Beyond this extra test would be an MRI of the pituitary gland. Basically they want to see if the gland sustained any damage from the stroke. At this point, I have not committed to have this test done. The earliest appointment would have been early January. I want some time to do some research and pray about the necessity of this test. I am not afraid of doctors or their advice - even if it's something I don't want to deal with. However, I'm also not the type to do everything a doctor suggests, just because they suggested we do it. Because of all that Jonathan has gone through over these last 5 years, I am not interested in putting him through anything that is absolutely not a necessity. At the same time, I received all this information right in the middle of our busiest weeks of this season, therefore really leaving me no time to think it through like I need to. So I am asking you to join us as we pray about this further testing. Pray that God will give us all the information we need to process this and know what His will is about this particular issues. Pray that we will have wisdom, that we will trust Him and not rely on our own understanding. I know He has promised to guide our steps and I am claiming that for this issue. God has been so gracious to us in the past in that every test Jonathan has ever had run, the result has always been normal. Jonathan is willing to have the test run if that's what needs to happen. He is always asking me if I think he looks taller, so the desire to grow is in his heart. If the test results were to show a problem with the pituitary gland, he would have to begin taking growth hormone shots. My prayer is that the gland would be in perfect working order and that growth hormone shots would not be necessary for Jonathan. We will need to make a decision on this soon as his next endocrine visit is in February. </div><div><br /></div><div>I can't tell you how much it means to me to know that you are praying for Jonathan and for our family. These past 5 years would have been so much harder and much more lonely without your constant love and prayers to carry us through. It is a gift that I never want to take for granted. So I thank you in advance for praying us through this particular issue that we are facing at this time with Jonathan. I know that God's plans for Jonathan are good and full of hope for his future - no matter what that might include. I also know that God promises that we will find Him when we come and pray and seek Him with our whole heart. Thank you for undergirding us with your prayers. We pray for God's richest blessings on you and your family during this precious Christmas season. I'll be back with more next week. I love you all so dearly.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Jeremiah 29:11-14a - 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. And I will be found by you,' declares the Lord.</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Times;font-size:14px;"><span id="Jeremiah 29:11" class="verse" style="display: block; "><br /></span></span></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-27276435825173088192009-10-10T10:10:00.029-05:002009-10-10T12:36:49.420-05:00October 10, 2009<div style="text-align: left;">I know it's been so long since I have been here, that I'm sure you are shocked to finally see a new post! You have no idea how many times I have said "I need to update the website" over the last 4 months. We have had such a blessed and extremely busy summer, and then before I realized it, school started. Well, you know what happens when school starts. Life gets busier than ever! But I have finally decided that it must be done, so here I am. So many of you are so faithful to check on us and to continue praying for Jonathan that I really do apologize for leaving you without an update for so long. Let me recap our summer and the last 4 months for you as best I can.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Last time I posted, we had made it through our week of working at Junior Camp and were about to leave for our very first Choir Tour. Jonathan did even better on tour than he did at Jr. Camp! Our trip was to Birmingham, AL. We got on a bus early Monday morning and got to Birmingham late in the afternoon. Tues. - Fri. we were up early every morning to do VBS, back at the dorms for lunch, off to do at least 2 concerts during the afternoon and early evening, having dinner somewhere and sometimes a special event in the evening, then back to the dorms</div><div>to meet before the day was over. It was a very full week, with very busy days. Jonathan only had one time when he really had a breakdown and that was Tues. night. I think he was just so tired that he couldn't make it anymore. We we skipped the meeting and got him into bed and he was fine the next morning, thanks to the extra sleep he got that night. It was truly the grace of God that gave him the strength and ability to make it through that week. The kids and sponsors were all so kind and helpful and made sure that he was okay throughout the week. It was another great first experience for Jonathan. We are now anxiously awaiting to hear where tour will be next summer, and I'm pretty sure he won't miss it for the world! Thank you for all of your prayers for Jonathan during those couple of weeks of travel. He did great!</div><div><br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjN5aI_t8rNXEGiOZZocKYSq3VrTmCEseSfkwr_htXSnNLFxWsHxmnV9-uVdcAIH2iZrTPXGGWuRSfAm3nMfCqMRUV2RtfUZ-ezVQKKWfd4SnZoDpNNbi5Jgl33GOyXKPBGOUkp8d_X3gs/s400/June+20+-+Dscn1104.Jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391007674375396450" /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrK-vFMaGc8PTyrKr_rB5Nq8dScGlnsXz9Rb6mtwFn6IxqxJ4u7KjHelkXzlgpKxB3PMaHyG2rqwS5t_gQuShGUoiKCEtZwK5600Guco4ooVu_MaxbKT36WrIVmXpHwk2nNPiGq-8rWEco/s400/June+17+-+Dscn0974.Jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391007509569381138" /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgadRtUrLZ5JHem5IITBTOCrL0daibcEGsB_C_kTIZ13h1QRj8IkcK3mKIOKDBj-k5Gr3JW_m7W_iBmL2zAr4qq0PF0InR9i_-7q8wpXVOK-7n8Qe-fTaY13FSgbtqS1bkdO_FKbzuDeXW_/s400/June+17+-+Dscn0994.Jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391007402766336786" /><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLrMF7FiLugyKGNfBto8z_NDjN8sKMDNKz1wULlsv9PMcPPaxQkBc5ZjPXB2ujy8cJNp_O3EH6QfwT7ZjNWbJ8JkY8O7HLMfVoAMuNgiDK3OwuOvrvGhgAqihcEhTKnlrC5sdmSg4Qo6HE/s400/June+19+-+Dscn1041.Jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391007269601558418" /></div><div>The girls traveled to Chicago for their tour at the end of June/first of July . They also went to Florida for Youth Camp at the end of July. Since it was so far away and included a 14 hour bus ride, we opted not to let Jonathan go to camp this year. Hopefully it will be closer next year and he can go then. During the couple of weeks at home in the middle of July, we celebrated Elizabeth's 17th birthday. At that time, she became a licensed driver! Once they returned from camp at the beginning of August, we spent most of that month trying to get things cleaned and organized around our house before school started. June and July were so busy that they flew by without our getting much accomplished. As I have said before, once school begins, nothing but school and church gets done for the next 9 months. So we worked hard to get stuff done around here and get prepared for school to start at the end of August.</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMjZUPrpf_p5mPeqY7g2K44XnHNB5htFBYbFIL_p8dPtNDWAwNONn8ZoT5WLcqBQFLl47TFCydViOgGlYRm4qGr2cTExjsSegdKAsZUa9NQAdcd8OIHPD2IvF5nio_VE8vjN6Rjr0Sxgyq/s1600-h/DSCN0870.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMjZUPrpf_p5mPeqY7g2K44XnHNB5htFBYbFIL_p8dPtNDWAwNONn8ZoT5WLcqBQFLl47TFCydViOgGlYRm4qGr2cTExjsSegdKAsZUa9NQAdcd8OIHPD2IvF5nio_VE8vjN6Rjr0Sxgyq/s400/DSCN0870.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391011081339195810" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWBrL0ZpAdkctuWxQO6ZymivOlp5JhyphenhyphenWh7Mh550WMDtDzV0GkhmIFUsiYALNHdyIFeyD7nwf8yScujKQlgPcexEMhvHCqbnU6LPAyXCOOfN1o2Ywupd5t2W0xkbVg2wnAWBljBwB0gczyU/s1600-h/DSCN1400.JPG" style="text-decoration: none;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWBrL0ZpAdkctuWxQO6ZymivOlp5JhyphenhyphenWh7Mh550WMDtDzV0GkhmIFUsiYALNHdyIFeyD7nwf8yScujKQlgPcexEMhvHCqbnU6LPAyXCOOfN1o2Ywupd5t2W0xkbVg2wnAWBljBwB0gczyU/s400/DSCN1400.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391007879092992530" style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></span></div></span><div><div style="text-align: left;">During those weeks, we were making plans to go on vacation. This year, we got to go on our first cruise as a family. Lamar and I have been on a couple before, but this is the first one that the kids got to go on. This is one of the things that I have dreamed about doing as a family but never really expected to get to do it. But God blessed, and we spent one of the most wonderful weeks together as a family on board the Carnival Cruise Ship Ecstacy, sailing to Progresso and Cozumel Mexico. We left from Galveston, so we went down on Sunday and spent the day in Galveston. On Monday morning, we boarded the ship and set sail Monday afternoon. We sailed until Wed. morning and then went ashore to Progresso. We took an excursion to one of the Myan Ruin sites Uxmal. It was a beautiful place with lots of exploring to do. But it was a very hot day so it was a little tough on Jonathan. But as always, he persevered and managed to make it through all of the walking and the heat. On Thursday, we went ashore in Cozumel and went to a beautiful beach called Chankanab where we all snorkled together for the first time. It took Jonathan and I little longer to get the hang of it than the others, but once we did, we had a great time. After spending the morning on the beach, we had lunch and then went shopping for a little while before boarding the ship again and sailing home on Sat. morning. We had a great room with a wonderful window. We all stayed in the same room and it was perfectly fine for all 5 of us. The girls met a bunch of kids their age at one of the clubs and had a great time with them all week. Truly, there was not one thing to complain about on the whole trip - except that we had to leave. Saturday we drove home and spent the weekend in a little state of depression because our wonderful trip was over. It truly was a dream come true for our family, but for me especially. I can't think of anything I would rather do than spend time with my precious family. I am so thankful that God changed my whole life, my perspective and my priorities through the experience we went through almost 5 years ago. Oh the blessings I would have missed if He hadn't. This trip is one of those special memories that I will cherish forever. Here are some pictures and a couple of links to all our cruise pictures so you can see them all if you like.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVIGHn-eadhzt0uL7bXFxrHzKV6UTXk7iMrlfK5EOdwu6LJtnPgzNe4hBIl4GOpjduXwl0t7HM-EZKzFNVvnek2473yS9JEuuACpvbihmtZsalrraeQtE0w1vDWvqRU5GKZQ-z5CUHBWNT/s1600-h/9734_1224131729802_1424264524_30658672_2671202_n.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVIGHn-eadhzt0uL7bXFxrHzKV6UTXk7iMrlfK5EOdwu6LJtnPgzNe4hBIl4GOpjduXwl0t7HM-EZKzFNVvnek2473yS9JEuuACpvbihmtZsalrraeQtE0w1vDWvqRU5GKZQ-z5CUHBWNT/s400/9734_1224131729802_1424264524_30658672_2671202_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391020329300060578" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbqXEXp-EPXKXFsQJZxhO3CcTbHRuBpfJRPK2gRS1Pf-QfF2VfRtw1Vsizv-CFTT-DHvFiiNzKfn1GPXOiWTZn0dr5heKOY1GORggH5At2bg1yHvLTYNb717z26m1aBXWyA4Qc1YARvvUq/s1600-h/9734_1224393736352_1424264524_30659768_5627529_n.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbqXEXp-EPXKXFsQJZxhO3CcTbHRuBpfJRPK2gRS1Pf-QfF2VfRtw1Vsizv-CFTT-DHvFiiNzKfn1GPXOiWTZn0dr5heKOY1GORggH5At2bg1yHvLTYNb717z26m1aBXWyA4Qc1YARvvUq/s400/9734_1224393736352_1424264524_30659768_5627529_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391020443795814418" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4CjLzmmTyo2bdfW14rXO6jcvKyRl0jLTEEYKHHa0rMWqew3YeCwVKEgwUNgR8jsWUr3LfDlEXEgx6N3a_UQ1ST8hjVxWsreJGnsAqgA3dw-BUsVT6xVDAtJoiBiR1M0ubWY6V1k4E9Hrs/s1600-h/9734_1224338734977_1424264524_30659529_7240736_n.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4CjLzmmTyo2bdfW14rXO6jcvKyRl0jLTEEYKHHa0rMWqew3YeCwVKEgwUNgR8jsWUr3LfDlEXEgx6N3a_UQ1ST8hjVxWsreJGnsAqgA3dw-BUsVT6xVDAtJoiBiR1M0ubWY6V1k4E9Hrs/s400/9734_1224338734977_1424264524_30659529_7240736_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391020384742522530" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd6Wlu5OqoqcxHx2frFqwLh5vGfGjiIM9lmtqhDYsTj0VexTdkS9EkDhX29xZQggeJdUEZctUySnNilAR4zDtFTCow9o8qWm76l2P4u2PJd_SXeEelzyJ5gXV97JnFyqSfqqosMo6rRjCp/s1600-h/9734_1224396616424_1424264524_30659838_4877699_n.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd6Wlu5OqoqcxHx2frFqwLh5vGfGjiIM9lmtqhDYsTj0VexTdkS9EkDhX29xZQggeJdUEZctUySnNilAR4zDtFTCow9o8qWm76l2P4u2PJd_SXeEelzyJ5gXV97JnFyqSfqqosMo6rRjCp/s400/9734_1224396616424_1424264524_30659838_4877699_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391020625541294562" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWDusJzXyTPDXR8uxBcBGSpIFfNli2SsmBaJhtzjdKb7ahC-b-rfSTMRPpRcjT8iu_Ts_cVGjLsUu9Jl2yjp1nlScvI8L7BvfpZS-HddoSSR1MxF1i0WO0M_OI4aQW1hT23RKqVrdqtAc/s1600-h/9734_1224394576373_1424264524_30659788_2338466_n.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWDusJzXyTPDXR8uxBcBGSpIFfNli2SsmBaJhtzjdKb7ahC-b-rfSTMRPpRcjT8iu_Ts_cVGjLsUu9Jl2yjp1nlScvI8L7BvfpZS-HddoSSR1MxF1i0WO0M_OI4aQW1hT23RKqVrdqtAc/s400/9734_1224394576373_1424264524_30659788_2338466_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391020566910483682" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:small;">http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2035996&id=1424264524</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=4&aid=2036035&id=1424264524</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036047&id=1424264524</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div>School is going well so far. Jonathan is doing very well and handling pre-algebra like a pro. He is in the 8th grade, Sarah is in the 10th grade and Elizabeth is a Senior this year. Everyone is enjoying choir so far as well. Both the girls made it in the Master-Peace Ensemble and Jonathan made it in the His Kids Ensemble. We are looking forward to a wonderful year at church this year.</div><div><br /></div><div>Last weekend, we celebrated Sarah's Sweet 16 birthday at the Hard Rock Cafe in Dallas. We had a great time and spent about 3 days celebrating this momentous birthday. Then on Tuesday of this week, we took our annual trip to the State Fair of Texas. I think we have been going to the State Fair for about 10 years now and we look forward to it every year. It was wonderful as always and we had a great time there. </div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg09PbOEhcVVnhGGa0KqiTkRcndkVcHnerBmjqoTL3_NV0mzAQB2e-ud_nwsCZXO-Kgbj9aUqHr0AGGlTReQzN7ucDXgLgM2XAww2uMPEOStKjVthmP8b44NopXaMFBOT1oMW2Vi794N3TW/s1600-h/7619_1235635977858_1437977402_662064_8196940_n.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg09PbOEhcVVnhGGa0KqiTkRcndkVcHnerBmjqoTL3_NV0mzAQB2e-ud_nwsCZXO-Kgbj9aUqHr0AGGlTReQzN7ucDXgLgM2XAww2uMPEOStKjVthmP8b44NopXaMFBOT1oMW2Vi794N3TW/s400/7619_1235635977858_1437977402_662064_8196940_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391020179096672194" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5sb-YlwrN5G6i_MWq4a3_NelD_C9qhexQl47QuvuRnydjPnOYLeOnqRBkJSno9PGxUFc3uJ7tgnG2cLCb5QhPvPi0WzFpKmJn7OdEW7S-YBQIlLtiRBChyphenhyphenGlYQoNfNxeisaKdmeBctWwX/s1600-h/7619_1235635897856_1437977402_662062_6560213_n.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5sb-YlwrN5G6i_MWq4a3_NelD_C9qhexQl47QuvuRnydjPnOYLeOnqRBkJSno9PGxUFc3uJ7tgnG2cLCb5QhPvPi0WzFpKmJn7OdEW7S-YBQIlLtiRBChyphenhyphenGlYQoNfNxeisaKdmeBctWwX/s400/7619_1235635897856_1437977402_662062_6560213_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391020115078896610" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAvz1sa_Jhfo6hS9M0iVwv5ClnbE0a5Ma1xhvZtmV4Afu2BpItMgRBNe1pFsRz3QJtmDGZwmv68JoqeGx1Rs7weHpjB1PXbStcTcNe5Bw3Rnm8n9rs3EcQQWd8T_mku_r14X0elWqfMM96/s1600-h/7619_1235636977883_1437977402_662088_5036100_n.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAvz1sa_Jhfo6hS9M0iVwv5ClnbE0a5Ma1xhvZtmV4Afu2BpItMgRBNe1pFsRz3QJtmDGZwmv68JoqeGx1Rs7weHpjB1PXbStcTcNe5Bw3Rnm8n9rs3EcQQWd8T_mku_r14X0elWqfMM96/s400/7619_1235636977883_1437977402_662088_5036100_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391016275628302402" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div>So far, everyone here is staying well, with the exception of a few small colds. Nothing major. Jonathan is doing pretty well physically. He are still working on keeping good blood sugars and eating well. We are trying to stay active and do all the things we know we need to do. It's not easy, but we persevere, nonetheless. We are working hard over the next month to hopefully see some good results by the time we go to the doctor in November. God continues to bless us and we praise Him for His grace and provision in Jonathan's life. </div><div><br /></div><div>Well, that's the last 4 months in a nutshell. I could not have asked for a more blessed summer than what God gave us. Again I apologize for taking so long to update. I am always keenly aware that you are there and praying and I want you to know that God continues to hear and answer those prayers each and every day. Thank you for your continued faithfulness to our family. May God bless each of you with His most wonderful blessings. We love you all.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Psalm 126:2-3 - Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with joyful shouting. Then they said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." The Lord has done great things for us; We are filled with joy.</i></b></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-63597229835867117792009-06-14T14:52:00.002-05:002009-06-14T15:11:44.258-05:00June 14, 2009Well, one week down, one week left to go! I can't thank you enough for your prayers for Jonathan last week while we were at Jr. Camp. It was a wonderful week! He did amazingly well all week at Jr. Camp. He only had a couple of break downs all week, compared to a couple of break downs every day last year. I will tell you more details later when I have more time to write, but I wanted you to know how much your prayers carried us through this past week.<div><br /></div><div>I am asking you again to pray for us this coming week as we leave first thing tomorrow morning for Clarion Choir Tour to Birmingham, AL. We are packed and ready to go again. This will be another new experience for Jonathan, so please pray for his ability to handle all that will happen this week. We will be up early every day, doing VBS in the morning, concerts for nursing homes, homeless shelters, and shelters for battered women and children, working with Habitat for Humanity and site seeing every afternoon/evening. These will be full and very busy days for us. Pray for strength, rest, and safety for us. We will return on Sat. evening. Our home concert will be Sunday evening, June 21. You are welcome to join us as 6:00 pm in the Sanctuary at First Baptist Dallas to hear the choir sing and share about the trip. If you are unable to come, you can watch the service live on line at www.firstdallas.org. Select the View/Listen to Service. </div><div><br /></div><div>Thank you so much for bathing us in prayer this week. We will need every one of them! You are such wonderful and faithful friends. We studied this passage this morning in church and it made me think of how blessed we have been to have such a faithful band of friends to walk with us and support us these past 4 1/2 years. You have been our strength and encouragement and continue to be so even today. We love you all.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; "><b><i>Ecc. 4:9-12 - Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. </i></b></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-20396024014850686842009-06-07T13:46:00.002-05:002009-06-07T14:07:08.844-05:00June 7, 2009<div>Well, I'm here to write, just before we walk out the door for a week. Tonight after church, Elizabeth, Sarah, Jonathan and I will once again make our way to Mt. Lebanon for a week of Jr. Camp with First Baptist Dallas. Last year, you will remember, Jonathan was a camper and experiencing Jr. Camp for the very first time. It was a good week for us, but very trying in many ways. The most unexpected part was how emotional that week was for Jonathan and for myself. This year, Jonathan is going as a helper instead of a camper. He will still be staying in the cabin with Mr. Buford like he did last year, but this year he will be the sidekick of his good friend Mr. Sam Peterson who takes pictures all week at the camp. Lamar and I have known Sam for many years, and he and his wife Janie have become dear and precious friends of our family over this last year. Jonathan is especially excited about getting to hang with Sam and I am so appreciative of Sam's willingness to give Jonathan the job of being his assistant. Jonathan keeps telling me that he is so excited about this week and has a good feeling that this is going to be a great week for him. He is expecting it to be different this year that it was last year...no crying every day for one reason or another because he is older and stronger, and all those things. I know he is a different person this year than he was last year at this time. He is older and stronger and doing so good at so many things. I hope you will pray for him this week that he will be able to handle all that this week will bring and that he will see that significant change in himself during this week. </div><div><br /></div><div>We will arrive home Friday afternoon and spend the rest of that day and the weekend preparing for Jonathan and I to leave at 7:30 on Monday morning for Clarion Choir tour to Birmingham, AL. for a week. This will be another first for Jonathan, a second week of being away from home and a whole different ball game...one that he has not experienced yet. Please begin now to pray for Jonathan that this important week of Choir Tour will be a fabulous new experience for him and that he will be able to physically and emotionally handle this busy week of ministry. Pray for me as well. I know I have told you how emotional these events can be for me as I watch him struggle to experience these things and still push him to handle what I know he is capable of handling. Pray for God's blessings on both of us and on our choir and sponsors as well. We are both looking forward to these events with great excitement. I will write again when we return to share pictures and all that God has done for us. Thank you for your faithful prayers for us. We couldn't make it without you!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; "><b><i>Ps. 100 - Make a joyful noise to the L</i></b><span style="font-size:-1;"><b><i>ORD</i></b></span><b><i>, all the earth! Serve the L</i></b><span style="font-size:-1;"><b><i>ORD</i></b></span><b><i> with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the L</i></b><span style="font-size:-1;"><b><i>ORD</i></b></span><b><i>, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the L</i></b><span style="font-size:-1;"><b><i>ORD</i></b></span><b><i> is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.</i></b></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-75561295308102730092009-05-09T10:25:00.009-05:002009-05-09T16:15:01.763-05:00May 9, 2009<div><div><div><div>What a couple of busy months we have had at our house! It's been crazy busy here since I last posted, but it's all been wonderful things that God has allowed us the opportunity to live. We have been working very hard to stay on top of school. We are in the last 3-4 weeks of school, depending on which child of mine you are talking about. Jonathan is a very diligent student and never procrastinates doing his school work each day. He wants to get it done early every day, which means he gets it done on time, or early at the end of the year. I'm so pleased at how he is doing in school. Each year, God encourages me with his progress and I'm so thankful for that progress that has been made these last four years. We are coming upon the hardest years of all, but I know that 'We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength." Elizabeth and Sarah are also doing well, they are just working overtime here at the end of the year in order to get it all done by the end of May. They have been babysitting twin boys for a dear friend of mine for the last few months. They babysit every Tues. and Thurs. which has allowed them to make extra money for their trips this summer. They love their boys and the family that they are helping, and they have adjusted pretty well in their schoolwork with this new schedule this semester. During these last couple of months, they also spent many hours working their biggest fund raiser for tour, which is the World's Largest Garage Sale. </div><div><br />In the midst of all of that, Elizabeth had the opportunity to experience prom for the very first time...not once but twice! It was such an exciting time for all of us as this was a new experience for all of us. She took her good friend Harrison Ward and they attended the Home School Prom at the end of March, and then they attended Harrison's prom at Grace Prep at the beginning of April...two proms in less than a week! It was crazy but a lot of fun. Elizabeth was absolutely beautiful. It's hard to believe that she is already old enough to go to prom and will be graduating from high school one year from now. God has truly blessed us with the most wonderful children and we are in awe of His great blessing of being able to enjoy this special event with her. I have included a couple of pictures of her, but you can also see the album with all the pictures we took from the Home School Prom at the link that I have posted. It was a pretty amazing event.</div><br /><div> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018957&id=1422914998&l=6fa42dd863">http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018957&id=1422914998&l=6fa42dd863</a></div><br /><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333868408412904818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiio5jBuuw6y2rQvobHPqM2S3YoDgleFm1TtdUYwIQqqS-XxKM_R-fdX_g0igdhey2WZF2giqbbUtB5ZHeVayvc-swqcp9NWHVfnCxtlmlPLG9iBRSQ5U1EkUVeFruGsN0dMwLa3W5nTmWp/s400/27.Jpg" border="0" /> Home School Prom</div><div><br /> </div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333869186661648626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKB1xdVornC8IIpbSi5kKEDAkgJAYFcQ2oKseBnvcB5tZL52ClIPTAEwZxe6OkrYyjL1ObCU0Xh3_3KxweYlBQ3pp7vQlbeTuUY9A0SLRg1tyYkO4sDGoR9nncm3Wux0lQK6geFdiYWTVs/s400/April+9+-+Dscn1254.Jpg" border="0" /> Grace Prep Prom<br /><br /><div>In the midst of all the excitement of proms, there was tons of music activities going on as well. At the end of March, Jonathan participated in his first Dessert Theater with the Clarion Choir. This is a fund raiser that the Clarion Choir (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">jr</span>. high choir) does to help raise money for their trip. The kids sell tickets and then serve desserts to those who come before the present them with music that they have worked on. This year's theme was Rags to Riches. The choir did selections from Sister Act, Annie and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Aladdin</span>. Jonathan took his job of selling tickets very seriously. His goal was to sell 100 tickets (they only asked them to sell 10 each) and I believe he sold 80-90 tickets. I was super impressed with him! The kids did a great job and it was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I was too busy helping to get to take any pictures. Lamar and I also participated in the Easter music, Bow the Knee, that the Sanctuary Choir and Orchestra did, so March and April were full of music for our family...something we all enjoy very much.</div><br /><div></div><div>Just an extra little piece of information...Sarah was photographed for a billboard advertisement for our church that was up in Dallas at Northwest Hwy. and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Greenville</span> for several weeks. Here is a picture we took of it...kind of cool seeing yourself on a billboard! It's not something that happens to just everyone, so we were pretty excited about that.</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333867664368530210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7aIK92ofAEknEd_Ao7YCMk_8Jz2XKTXLtOAKsYd4WiTJGxtvTdgUpAbeHAD7k6dEw9pqEPYn2qKALVZKMKiitv6jXghl8_AGsMr5fCa4rbGC6t3-h9c6p_hThwHhsa2RaR5_3clsTFGHX/s400/March+16+-+Img+3345.Jpg" border="0" /><br /><div></div><div>After several busy weeks, we were able to get away for a few days and go camping, something we haven't had the chance to do in several months. We went to Lake Mineral Wells State Park. It was a great weekend with no rain, and we had a fabulous time together as a family, catching up with each other and catching up on our rest. Here are a couple of pictures, or you can see the album at the link I posted. </div><br /> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2021861&id=1422914998&l=6f6988c418">http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2021861&id=1422914998&l=6f6988c418</a></div><br /><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333931452161698866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZ1DHZrfpKR-lLB0eRsQWaQisopccGS7HDMd6RkpTN51_a0L79VUFDJm5fWkT33kUl230vMhP9lcvwc-Sxf0-pMx7MYPuq-SK_4iaghZF_unrCEY20e92YAa5HVmOyowiDVuVacy_aFb0/s400/April+24+-+Dscn0729.Jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333931676733791218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioRMTNYPn7XyvSRlDxRHqmtuSaL3G7Voui4JoutaTiLnz1Tb3YevOflnOTzPIyHikOxF6tWLtMxSSJ5HdWrxF-F00HfyeTWZYWfAHjp8sWU-x0_LTlvRWzA13o3iUXcUaZhFzPAiF0rSr8/s400/April+24+-+Dscn0690.Jpg" border="0" /><br /><div></div><div>On Thursday of this week, we got to spend the day with some of our family and friends at Home School Day at Six Flags. We look forward to this day every year and we always have such a great time. It's the best day of the whole year to go to Six Flags! This year, we had no rain and pretty short lines to stand in. It was a little warm, but not miserable. It was great fun as it always is. Last night, Uncle Timmy and our good friend Gabi took the kids to see Denver and the Mile High Orchestra play in concert in Dallas. Jonathan got to meet the drummer and had him sign his drum sticks. They also got a picture with the lead singer and he also signed Jonathan's drum sticks. They had a great time there and Lamar and I enjoyed an evening together by ourselves.</div><br /><div></div><div>Lastly, Jonathan had his endocrine appointment at the first of May. We have been struggling with high blood sugars for the last month or so. We increased his insulin and the week before we saw the doctor was the best week of blood sugars he had all month. His A1C was high and his weight increased again. His doctor is wonderful and just really encouraged him in his eating and exercising. Jonathan got a step counter for Easter and has really taken to using it every day and keeping track of his steps. This has helped tremendously in motivating him to be active. We are walking in the evenings and he and I try to walk some time during the day as well. We are really watching what we are eating and I'm trying to help teach him how to do that himself. He is trying...it's just a difficult process.</div><br /><div></div><div>Thank you for continuing to check on us and pray for us. Please continue to pray for Jonathan as he works on losing weight and eating healthy. Pray that we can keep his blood sugars under control with both of those things. Pray that he will continue to grow taller. Lamar was a slow bloomer so I'm not worried about Jonathan, but he keeps waiting to get taller and he regularly checks to see how much he has grown. You can begin now to pray for his upcoming trips. June 7-12, the kids and I will be helping again at Jr. Camp. Jonathan will be a helper this year instead of a camper. Pray that he handles that well. We will get home Fri. afternoon, be home for 2 days and then leave early Monday morning, June 15 for Clarion Choir Tour to Birmingham, AL and return on Saturday June 20. This will be a long week, full of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">VBS</span>, mission projects, concerts and recreation. Please pray that Jonathan will be able to handle this week well. I will be there with him, so pray for my emotional state as well. Helping him handle some of these things proves to be emotionally draining for me. Specifically, you can pray for strength for his feet and ankles, and stamina and energy for the week. I will update as soon as we return to let you know how everything went. I will be counting on your prayers and want to thank you ahead of time for faithfully praying for us. You are also welcome to join us on Sunday, June 21 at 6 pm for the home concert.</div><br /><div></div><div>God is so good and remains so very faithful to our family. We are blessed beyond measure. Thank you for your faithful love and friendship. I pray that each of you Moms will have a wonderful, blessed Mother's Day. We love you all.</div><div> </div><div><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Deut</span>. 7:9 - “Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">lovingkindness</span> to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments." </div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-91752761320258081562009-03-14T10:08:00.014-05:002009-03-14T11:51:02.560-05:00March 14, 2009<div><div><div><div>It's been another long while since I have been here to update. We are all doing well and having a blessed 2009 so far. We have been busy, as usual, with school and church activities. Jonathan is really doing well in school. He <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">diligently</span> gets up and does his work every day. He seems to be catching on to every new thing he learns and we are on track to finish each subject by the end of the year, probably for the first time since his illness. What a blessing! There was a time, right after his illness, that I wondered if Jonathan would ever make it through high school. The learning was so slow and tedious. But each year, God faithfully encourages me with the progress that Jonathan makes, that one day, I know he will be able to graduate from high school. We have managed to get beyond the cold season. During this last couple of months, Jonathan seemed to suffer with a cold about every two weeks. We have been cold free for about a month now. Let me back up a little and share a few special things that have happened over the last couple of months. <div></div><div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313080569338680962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7tcqtFL3Pqk_sgK5V10C6tRFP-f7M-4oOWjRAg6Dh3h0rweTc_S9x883roy0Af5ertoQHoNSC7RbpUGXBDJQjcZp5wurw-C-yyqGgUna2rAyBN8BRcvRN_ycLSoXIwx6yURa1V1MaXU_/s400/March+8+-+Dscn0231.Jpg" border="0" /> Clarion Choir singing at Night of Praise <div><div><br /><div>On February 1, Jonathan went to his first Super Bowl party. Since this is Jonathan's first year in the youth, it was his first chance to get to go. It was actually my first Super Bowl party as well. We spent the evening at the Saints Athletic Center in Dallas just hanging out, visiting with everyone and watching the game. Elizabeth and Sarah, of course, have their friends that they hang out with. Jonathan usually hangs out with us. I was so proud of him that he went out on his own a few times and just did his own thing instead of hanging out with Lamar and me the whole time. One time, he came up to me and told me he was going to go outside and see what was going on. He spent some time with other kids sitting on the floor watching the game. He walked around and talked to whoever was around and seemed to enjoy himself the entire evening. I continue to pray for a good friend for Jonathan. It tugs at my heart to see him doing things by himself when he is at a big group event. Everyone is always so sweet to him, but it's not the same as having someone to always be able to hang with. But Jonathan has always been kind of a "by himself" kind of kid, so he doesn't seem bothered by being on his own. Since I am the complete opposite, it bothers me to see him like that. But God knows what Jonathan needs and I know that He is more than able to give Jonathan exactly what he needs in every situation. The highlight of this evening was the speaker. His name is Ray Johnston. He briefly played for the Dallas Mavericks before he was diagnosed with <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">leukemia</span>. He, like Jonathan, ended up in a coma for a time, then had to learn to walk, talk, eat, and use his hands again, just like Jonathan. I was watching Jonathan as he listened to this young man share his experience. As soon as it was over, Jonathan walked right up to me and said, "I need to go meet this guy." He was the first kid to meet Ray and I stood there and listened to Jonathan tell Ray how much he appreciated his story and how he knew just what he had been through because he too had gone through much of the same thing. Ray was so sweet and smiled and told him how great it was to meet him and how much they really had in common. He was one of the kindest, most humble people I have ever met. It was a neat meeting for Jonathan and a blessing for me to see. Even though Ray had a bone marrow transplant, since he was with us on Feb. 1, he has been <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">re-diagnosed</span> with <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">leukemia</span> again. I hope you will join me in praying for this young man, that God would heal him and allow him to continue to share about the God he so strongly believes in. </div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313082518472311394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8prUF81BsMhnlgZBAwlKkjjrntuRRciNzJB5ygjuEWg129DfI3b9vMujPwiYbFFYjvAKUZWJULeBNUTXdtyaZbh6xO8JO46DOizSQIasIK7Y4sALtldUC1vfkXlm7KQjVppE9kDVU3Lj/s400/February+1+-+Hpim1772.Jpg" border="0" /> The following weekend, Jonathan attended his very first Disciple Now weekend. It was also our first time to be part of that weekend as well. We hosted the 7<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">th</span> grade boys at our house since it was Jonathan's first year. I can't begin to tell you how proud I was of him and how he handled this weekend. We had six guys at our house, including Jonathan, so it was a good group to handle. They went to bed late on Fri. and got up early Sat. morning. Jonathan usually doesn't do well with going to bed late and getting up early, and he can be pretty <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">whiny</span> about it. But this time, he joined in without a word. The guys were outside playing football in the street at 7:30 am! When I looked out there, Jonathan was right in the big middle of them all. I couldn't believe it! He didn't even speak to me on his way out! He just joined in and hung with the rest of his classmates, whatever they were doing. After breakfast, quiet time and some Bible study time, they were back outside playing football. That was the game for the weekend. During the afternoon, we took them to Argyle to do a mission project. We were able to hook back up with Mrs. Julie, Jonathan's horse therapy teacher at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">SpiritHorse</span> until last fall. She has just purchased her own ranch and is hoping to start her own therapy center there. We took the boys out to her place and they worked for a couple of hours weeding flower beds, shoveling hay, cleaning out the feed room, carrying off trash and whatever else needed to be done to help Mrs. Julie get her new place in order. The guys did such a good job and seemed to enjoy every minute of it. Once we finished working and eating lunch, they went right back to football and included Mrs. Julie's husband and youngest son. Overall, it was a great weekend and a great first time <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">DNow</span> experience for Jonathan. God continues to bless Jonathan with each new experience and it's so wonderful for me to see His hand at work in Jonathan's life.<br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313078937709207666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TqIbGsYmF92hyphenhyphenwgob7g5nsJeVA8dPnfrnq3OIXe_tU63BFltYfP_TwAAoVCv4wour-_0EnxEHr3f-4DR2if6BTLYFlawtblSb-BGMmt9nP1kGOivuFYlcgxxzlffvuGCzRC3KA5j4tJ7/s400/February+7+-+Dscn0076.Jpg" border="0" /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313078774007693810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNgkUcK0AGvbxXe2T10St8-U4XwroGf2ch8o6dLIDeHmiX639dCFIba8oM3TLvBmlRh_zv3sStH44veD-siDFh1h-trOAOlRcegPTE-tqo2ifJ_JML7rLv_vu2zhijohm6VNi_EZRBmlhl/s400/February+7+-+Dscn0072.Jpg" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313079064794789890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikjix-0NkQJ945M5NVDp3cO2N8RGTNOFwRcILjBsOOhrr5JhFR8ERvcXFuVdqrXm5zp6PixGBsGNzKHYfrknC3KPuxIpuO10IHuZuEWvFsc71T5j6yIN5Fsfzb8onuIR-_JPDMpUCIhQh9/s400/February+7+-+Dscn0078.Jpg" border="0" /> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313079194584265938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDd312wB-cMYftP5tKBe60usUfab511QOuCxo3NOmEU9O_hIgvy7SFcGGPNu3BMzP1_bC309SH_cbjdU6_M82kquoBd0J7DzZU-Ewm4bBTyp7ROAqeBQQsaWlE3sKM9SeQWPvbQMg74vJ_/s400/February+7+-+Dscn0079.Jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313079324238706930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzawBMO9EPQ86K7T-42HMsQcTgYRyD9lmq41YkwY1lveh9MxJZ7hSFveUJQJsU-g7k1q1K_Efjg-mXcaKwvVogKU7t3hHOnMT-E55HaZ4HPMx0b_VbAc-CgiKXsQA5VSPL2PijzUJ5PEaY/s400/February+7+-+Dscn0081.Jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313079438644692050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUb4s1NRb8x9mO_rENGld0sfTB7AIikHgN4aWxQpzWgEccc96WK7eIEW3W1RprfCdG3i6AfVsg0thy_QcAPndRowqb2YHo-Usp4Z1RwDR6WL_zMBm5moRy6acJQ9KKveenaO8KlF2ppXj_/s400/February+7+-+Dscn0083.Jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>This was our first year without Upward Basketball as a part of our family. It was a little weird, but there was plenty of stuff to fill it's place. The last game of the season, we went to watch our good friend <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Koby</span> Walk play. Jonathan found out that Coach Ben's team was going to play later on that day, so we surprised him by coming back to watch his game. It was so fun to see the surprise on Coach Ben's face when he recognized that we were there. A couple of Jonathan's teammates were there and he got to see them and visit with them as well as Coach Ben's wife, Mrs. Leah. Coach Ben let Jonathan come hang out on the sidelines with the team. Most of the time, he stood right next to Coach Ben and several times I looked over to see Jonathan talking to him about the game. You could have sworn he was the assistant coach! It was fun to see them together again. God truly blessed our lives by bringing Coach Ben into it. There have been many people in Jonathan's life, since his illness, that God has brought to impact his life in a huge way. But there is no one who has impacted Jonathan's life to the extent that Coach Ben has. I'm not sure I can even put into words what I see when Jonathan is in the presence of this man. It is truly a God thing. I am so grateful that Coach Ben was willing to be used by God to touch the life of my young son. His genuine love and care, coupled with his constant encouragement and pushing Jonathan to be and do more than he thought he could, have helped make Jonathan who he is today. We all love Coach Ben and Mrs. Leah so very much. Not only did Jonathan get to see them at their game, but Coach Ben invited Jonathan to come to the award night and sit with him and his team, which he did. So Jonathan got to experience a little bit of the beloved Upward Basketball this year, which was indeed a real blessing, as it always has been.</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313082670594347042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQxcWjzrlbe2SfeTrdqqQXnJZWaqzGV_8oMdcrodeiBPFmJFaRC-_BVMm15a3e0S7SRoAD2R85yjiU7NE81GNVL-9aZIA2mOrLAZasr9mPfp8J9-23aPOvPhnXkRK5gRgBSHbiBT9ZLQt/s400/February+28+-+Dscn0857.Jpg" border="0" /><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313082806115028226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwLX9unSd7eLtzw0gbeeUHLepvVZL2g1AwXUif3ffDLhj0t-APT3pVonLH5gLo2a6Vb84sOozQTmREbGa0UOJpssbSv8q6adXC8BZc9weNHQg3wabDGxtTRFB7PimgFJbp8OMOQ3B9D_E2/s400/February+28+-+Dscn0860.Jpg" border="0" /></div></div><div><div>Well, Jonathan continues to progress each and every day. We are still working on controlling good blood sugars. That seems to be getting a little harder since he is close to going through puberty. We still struggle with weight gain and activity, but we continue to work at it. I see progress in Jonathan in initiating activity, finding things to do, and keeping active instead of sitting around idly. He is progressing in persevering and working on things until he accomplishes them instead of quickly giving up if he can't get it. He is progressing in being more on his own instead of always being with me. He is handling most of his diabetes care on his own now. There is so much positive progress that I am thrilled and blessed to see. Thank you for your continued prayers for Jonathan. Thank you for continuing to follow his progress and for remaining faithful to travel this road with us all this time. You are a precious treasure to our family and we thank God for each and every one of you. God bless you all.</div><div> </div><div><strong><em>Psalm 138:8 - The LORD will accomplish what concerns me; Your <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">lovingkindness</span>, O LORD, is everlasting; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.</em></strong> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-46922546542831804922009-01-10T17:51:00.012-06:002009-01-10T18:15:16.663-06:00January 10, 2009<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjShS4eisA37GkzT_fD6XuKT6Hw_dCDlMRj2k-2JjOlOya5ALSQ4sdg1oOYmPm9V7Vffuf9iTTuWz76Rb8ZASWh8tYTDedVInFMaQxqBaYchvRy1x4pvhLREp3sZ3AIAgO1U2xq6lTSts3t/s1600-h/December+30+-+Dscn0501.Jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289821460471680562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjShS4eisA37GkzT_fD6XuKT6Hw_dCDlMRj2k-2JjOlOya5ALSQ4sdg1oOYmPm9V7Vffuf9iTTuWz76Rb8ZASWh8tYTDedVInFMaQxqBaYchvRy1x4pvhLREp3sZ3AIAgO1U2xq6lTSts3t/s400/December+30+-+Dscn0501.Jpg" border="0" /></a> I hope everyone is enjoying your 2009 so far. We have had a great first week of the New Year here at our house. We started back to school and we accomplished more this week than I think we have in the last couple of months. It always feels good to begin a new year on a good note. I am praying that the Lord will give us many more, good, productive weeks as we move through this New Year. <div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br /></div><div>Well, I didn’t really intend to wait this long before posting about our 4 year celebration of Jonathan’s life. This particular event is so emotional for me that I wanted to get beyond those first few days, where every thought and remembrance brings tears to my eyes, so I would be able to share the events of that day without so much emotion. As I have said before, we are a very close family. We do almost everything together, especially because we home school. December 30, 2004 was a day that scattered our family in many places for the next 3 ½ months. It was the hardest part for me to handle. After we returned home, I read this Scripture:</div><div><br /></div><div><strong><em>Joel 2:25-27 - Then I will make up to you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten…And you shall have plenty to eat and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God who has dealt wondrously with you; then My people will never be put to shame. Thus you will know that I am in the midst of you (Israel) and that I am the Lord your God and there is no other; and My people will never be put to shame.</em></strong></div><div><br /></div><div>I have claimed this as a promise for our family that the Lord would restore to us as a family those days that were taken from us while Jonathan was in the hospital. Over these past 4 years, God has been faithful to that promise and has given us many precious memories together that will one day far outnumber those 3 ½ months we were apart. So every year, as God gives us the chance, we spend December 30 together celebrating God’s great power, His great mercy, and His great lovingkindness to us by celebrating the life of our precious son and brother.</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, we got up that morning and spent the time getting ready to meet Dad for lunch. Jonathan called Uncle Timmy to come hang out with us for the day and he met us for lunch as well. </div><div><br /></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289819221664349410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQCvMo2AGtmsjhjZkkxkTnChyqGGg80IySM4Hu5qlVNbEaQ4xB0e1f7CnvpO8QJ3GDgKetTDZsZvuELGIVlj6g5ZCZfzkDvphQeKkxrZShkDEg2I8pCSYH_sAWm4ZYek0pfumq5F8TOWzy/s400/December+30+-+Dscn0122.Jpg" border="0" /></div><div></div><div>We went to one of our favorite places for lunch – Babes Chicken. After lunch, we went bowling while we waited for Dad to get finished working. We bowled a couple of games and had a great time. Jonathan actually beat everyone the first game! (He had a little bumper help!) It was great fun and we had a wonderful time. </div><div><br /></div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289819950399626226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrmF5EwIOP4NeTLBV_ge9qVgG-D71lqPHuqfgsnsylHO7yyhvi0ddTxNTK3JASRCHmwzwJztVpGvEImDtrDuzcBj3q6a21bJV5mrzMf-9udN6Md9dxxz8aBW6ZE_gcOUqOntgWNvvVM4HT/s400/December+30+-+Dscn0046.Jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289820117672312194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUF5pF50mcXFg83K7zZZLKc1OEC2qCAU8_IROxYS0AUJKCu_u6yp5_9rJVunKl_NTvdaN7Wjkjw1vzPmXmIqWaV0Y85v6b1Qcw1oXsjW4Xgro5s4iICJiZtJ7Q0Uzi8s8atSHmNieeszsS/s400/December+30+-+Dscn0057.Jpg" border="0" />We always love having Uncle Timmy hang out with us. Our families were such an important part of that difficult time 4 years ago. I don’t know what we would have done without them. Several of them took a night each week for 3 ½ months and stayed with Jonathan during the night so that we could go home for a few hours. When they weren’t staying at night, they were just there during the day to encourage Jonathan and us as we continued to watch God transform his mind and body with His healing power. Timothy was one of those people. He was the first one I was able to talk to and tell him that Jonathan was on his way to the hospital. He was there to take the girls and help distract them from the anxious thoughts of having a brother in the hospital, not really knowing the seriousness of what was going on. He still has some of the hospital visitor stickers with “Uncle” written them, hanging on his mirror at home. I am reminded of his faithful love and care of our family each time I see them. There is a very special bond of love that exists between Tim and my family – one that only God could have created. My children love him beyond words – especially Jonathan. So it was an added blessing to have him spend some of our celebration day with us that day. </div><div> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289819601509919378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo5hYZNlUpRm6QCjkcasT8Cv_ZkAn6Rp4sndiZrm84vn8UozVW3ccPZE7jmIU_kI8HXcG3rqMdO04twrQIH2YAvE7m2dI8Ahsak8t7waqWlV7vwUCSNPKI9cXXrXvEfo3zggTPrsGcZbnm/s400/December+30+-+Dscn0043.Jpg" border="0" /> <div></div><div>After Dad got home, we decided to celebrate dinner by having the same meal Jonathan had the very first time he got to eat real food again – a hot dog and French fries from Sonic! It was a wonderful memory to celebrate. After dinner at Sonic we went to see a movie together and then returned home. It was another wonderful day spent together thanking God for the privilege of life together as a family.</div><div> </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289820999600154866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvwKnowjiNqUswNvssSozEy1wJ7Ws_KP_tPrG0H-rbkd0y5FBX-f06gw7uvNIB_2MWgOzZYFRcBP9vIoyZv7HTc3RbhoxoSyhLPjnCoPIX1Oq6ahq99BBHL9xlhCf7IFZkT5hMguR8Ax8/s400/P1010008.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289820537551829058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjreUOIlJvzZwPXPVxeOuY6bDUPZQC1ihXpIRPqrAFzpUiYGdJKnuivW_g6thyi2H3m8AE5CCCXD2EiIzuijYcj3skvHi1MygIYvcSbBxmoOchi70OdbIH7loY9aVYjLRJ7jNn7vwUfJJkr/s400/December+30+-+Dscn0068.Jpg" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289821182568980386" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 302px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 397px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSe8bARXUfd7emROcpcajhyphenhyphenudruooPYg3W44KbYwVhLoi350OtKGekoWw2_q73GucHpiHixoI6JFhXENbws86WaaHwo7ipinsAa-uQlcnUgJgLbArZ2wxTgyKJBEIGyFjvp5_7UGuCCyQD/s400/P2250016c.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289820744515957474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxMS1YT_ssuq0uaywtaC85JdnIZoFtcveJPigvt9GREhfw8mrjGJM4Ih4qCiqaQFRYzh-AxnOWd9xnDnISojJxc17ZhJy0pgHe3H1FMqRIgJPlc4yTegLE_WQeC60hHCNxtZ0ashc7B_v5/s400/December+30+-+Dscn0511.Jpg" border="0" /> God is so good. And He remains as faithful to our family today as He was to us throughout every moment of the journey He sent us on 4 years ago. As we celebrate Jonathan’s life and all that God has done in him, we celebrate and thank Him for all of you. God was honored and glorified through His amazing work in Jonathan’s life because all of you got down on your knees and prayed and cried out to Him on Jonathan’s behalf. You Believed God for His healing power and He answered. He remains faithful to hear and answer your continued prayers for Jonathan, even to this day. Like our families, we could not have made it through this journey without you. We love you more than words can express. Thank you for your faithful presence in our lives these 4 years. We pray that you will continue to walk with us and pray for us as God has much more to do in the life of this special young man. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!<br /><strong><em>2 Corinthians 1:8-11 – For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia that we were burdened excessively beyond our strength so that we despaired even of life; indeed we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope, And He will yet deliver us; you also joining in helping us through your prayers, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed upon us through the prayers of many.</em></strong></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-45599175654348562742008-12-27T09:26:00.012-06:002008-12-27T21:00:42.731-06:00December 27, 2008<div align="left">I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We did here at our house. It was a little different this year for us. This was the first year we had Christmas at our house, just with our family. We usually make it to at least one, if not both sides of the family on Christmas. On my side, it all depends on when my brother Tim is on shift (he's a Ft. Worth Firefighter). This year he was working on Christmas day, so we had Christmas with my family on Christmas Eve. We always have a great time together and this year was no different. Lamar's family was in various places for Christmas day, so we are celebrating with this a little later on today. So that left us at home with just our family. I was a little hesitant about it because this is the first time in 20 years that we have not been with some kind of extended family for Christmas. But we had a great time together. We cooked a big Christmas lunch, played games, watched movies, and just enjoyed a great time at home together. Our time together as a family means more to me than anything else. It is a great gift that I do not take for granted anymore. I am so thankful God gave us the opportunity to have this Christmas together.</div><div align="center"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284667057989393586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDUQ6oKiPaW_XKmpgO1vKLYgtiNDgpWfvElUMnxC2a8OQtlP_4uMzF1X8aNqU1duIaQIDmNiz59IimeJnJllgP4dRhuDRld4SRx8esejN4YsUeHm0DOugMbdo3Ahzi3JEtXRnHIo8PhjLX/s400/December+17+-+Dsc04325.Jpg" border="0" /> Well, I'm going to back up a little and share with you the events of the last couple of months. Just a week or so after I last posted, we were headed to Ft. Worth on Saturday Oct. 25 when I got a call from my Mom saying that my Nanny had been taken to the hospital. She was 93 and had been sick with a cold the week before. We went to the hospital and stayed with her for a little while. After reviewing all the test, they determined that she had had a heart attack and had congestive heart failure. She made it through the weekend and I was able to make it to the hospital about 30 minutes before she passed away on Monday morning, October 27. We were so blessed to be able to spend a lot of time with her over the last 6 months or so. Each time we would go to Ft. Worth for a drum lesson, we would stop by and see her. I am so thankful that we had that time with her and so glad, again, for the gift of heaven given to us by our precious Savior. It is weird to think that I will not be going anymore to the only house I ever knew as my grandparent's house, and that I won't see her sitting in her chair before I ever get through the door. I will miss her terribly...we all will. I don't have many recent pictures of her, but I do have some special ones of her when Jonathan was in the hospital. She had just turned 90 years old a few weeks before he got sick. She came one day bringing gifts that her Sunday School class had sent for Jonathan. It is one of my precious memories of her.<br /><br /><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284503500196178034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfzQentgJRLdaso4MXuB2qpejZfdQyVc_0YoCVFC03PKIb1Rt4lqDkQ3Q-zLaWe9KeWzL6LAK7siVqMc-2gZr1t1JzsiKqMhpd18zSG6SPj_cQLxltTF_TZlb3BnC4ZiYOSpUzeO5EQmoF/s400/P4020005.JPG" border="0" />Here she is reading Jonathan one of the books she brought. It was about Jesus healing a crippled boy. How appropriate!</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284504068911983618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgElCf2-O6v3iF-GAT_8GCy5r0uxCD-wMoXDohSbe1M2olgj0CLfZOCK_3pDX2Nfgz5VTQhkRJQDrmMhxpzaoOe08_xJKjhXqnych3qlohhoLGGZ6euOy1MIPLIFDG0K3mhW39JCUukJuWD/s400/pic+21.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center">Here is Nanny and all the special gifts she brought from her Sunday School class.<br /><br />At the end of that week, we celebrated Halloween. We had two 80's girls and a drummer at our house. We had a great time trick or treating and we went and visited our friends at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Lakeland's</span> Fall Festival. </p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284524160136001538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBytInd2Q0Y0hThd4RFdIKDJx_TF7h8pMXYBfSb9R13dDPRINtkA8Be8_zRzjlk2pblYJ6l8CGeAY5tRAKK0Vg3t7UsLwsofkE7s9GdROzx4jUkYbvo5_f_QJvzAbLioFPKWJ_PckhMet/s400/October+31+-+Dsc04212.Jpg" border="0" />The remainder of that weekend, Lamar and I celebrated our 19<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">th</span> anniversary. We had the chance to go camping and spend a couple of days by ourselves while Aunt <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Keby</span> took care of the kids. One of the things they did together was a Starlight event at the Dallas Aquarium. They had a great time there and they made some special new friends - a couple of other kids with special needs. I have amazing children. They are drawn to children with special needs and I am convinced it is because of what they have been through with Jonathan. God has used that event in their lives to shape a ministry that I believe He intends to grow in their lives. They bless me to see their love, care, kindness, and tenderness toward these special children. We picked the kids up on Sunday night and spent the last evening camping together. It was just what we needed after a difficult week.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284661642151665362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_nKUwu4WiS16SDN1QvJ7BlAnqy_OC0j9l-wuNcoyZQHDPItYQk4XKh1Q5DozbeOjy2j-_xLKNk4N0_rKFHwXbbrot1kdcvpjAS0NDjxd1r0R5G3qcWjOgndzymxjT6Qm3bpPWIVB9UoG/s400/DSCF0258.JPG" border="0" />For Thanksgiving, we took a little trip to Lake Cherokee which is between <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Tyler</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Longview</span>. Lamar's Uncle has a lake house there and all of the family from Lamar's Mom's side were there, including Lamar's <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Mamaw</span>. We didn't want to pass up an opportunity to see her, knowing how important that is after just losing my Nanny. The weather was wonderful on Thanksgiving Day and we spent the entire day jet skiing all over Lake Cherokee! It was not what I expected we would be doing, but it was a blast! We had a wonderful time visiting with the family and we loved every minute of it.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284662072273650850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjENL-SId7frblrojBIldH1O8nGt6HWSwXemNqWKvE50OHaWnS23LP5XK_islYQ8LVvc-sWKlN4KbxPJYWYpdbXS3Ah2TANVsJKd-5hA7NFzmW0vovBKV540BSNlLUbJ2iLVvR1FJ4t0mJe/s400/November+28+-+Dsc04266.Jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284662350108510642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCSe0MpvDBFM6GLM3AFaBst-UwSuRoikIAZ6h-jzuvwPK2pPdddaGq6BI11zJoShPDczCRswbdr4leBjjl4fJy7A1oHIN6lhMaNau_F4BkzVmgroORbX4Hz_vjXUJUnYoj2sknrPHqDwVZ/s400/November+27+-+Dsc04242.Jpg" border="0" />We spent the month of December singing in several Christmas programs, doing mission work at Operation Care, and going to several Christmas parties. We also got to go to Holiday in the Park with the Starlight Foundation which was a lot of fun. Again, we got to see some of the new friends the kids have made and we met some more new friends. December has been busy, but wonderful. Everyone is doing pretty well in school and we are looking <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">forward</span> to the new year.<br /><br />In just 3 days, it will have been 4 years since Jonathan's illness. Can you believe it has already been 4 years? Even though it has been 4 years, this time of year always causes me to remember more vividly the events of those days. There is a feeling of dread that fills my heart and tears fill my eyes as I remember the sadness and great emotions of those first days. And yet there is great thanksgiving and praise for all that God has done in Jonathan's life and in the life of our family. It's a mixed bag of emotions and will be for the next few days. We will spend the day together again this year, just enjoying our family and redeeming the time, as we have pledged to do every December 30 as long as we have that chance. I will post more about that later.<br /><br />Thank you for letting me update you on our lives. We are thankful for each and ever day and for all that God is doing in our lives. Thank you for walking this journey with us and for keeping us lifted up before the Lord. We love each of you dearly and praise God for you. May your holidays be precious as you remember God's faithfulness over this past year.<br /><p><strong><em>Lamentations 3:21-26 - This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is Thy faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him." The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the Lord.</em></strong><br /><br /><br /><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-40666607883226335682008-12-24T14:36:00.003-06:002008-12-24T15:12:01.033-06:00December 24, 2008<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0rwl4ZaHQrFT7Dcwd-p_idXBq4Htec0PEg7_jkhnungEIzPjHgusEsuqeEPmn_xuU6NR9Dt7CvS_FbHNWcXjz4IpZP_Ptjy4DPD3o5oLl7f_3FP07NYtXwmjHINfxWVvdBCRieBVQOrg6/s1600-h/P1010001.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283465607702592290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0rwl4ZaHQrFT7Dcwd-p_idXBq4Htec0PEg7_jkhnungEIzPjHgusEsuqeEPmn_xuU6NR9Dt7CvS_FbHNWcXjz4IpZP_Ptjy4DPD3o5oLl7f_3FP07NYtXwmjHINfxWVvdBCRieBVQOrg6/s400/P1010001.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><div></div><div align="center">MERRY CHRISTMAS!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I hope this post finds you all having a wonderful Christmas season with your family. I know it has been a while since I have posted and I apologize for that. Much has happened in our family over the last 2 months. We have been busy, mostly just trying to keep up on school work. That alone is a full time job for all of us! I think we finished well and will be ready to start the second semester in January. We are all thankful for the time off, however. Hopefully, over the next few days, I will have some time to sit down and catch you up on our lives these last couple of months.</div><div> </div><div>For today, I pray that you and your family have the most wonderful Christmas ever. God is so good and He remains faithful to our family day after day. One of God's most amazing gifts to our family is all of you who have loved us, cared for us, prayed for us, and continue to support us in such a faithful way. We would not be where we are today without you. So this Christmas Eve, as we thank God for the gift of His precious Son, we thank God for the precious gift of friends like you. We pray that God will bless you in a wonderous way this Christmas. All our love to you - Lamar, Kristi, Elizabeth, Sarah and Jonathan.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-27425722997113654592008-10-18T10:21:00.012-05:002008-10-18T10:47:22.097-05:00October 18, 2008<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSsftZZYiwt5DnsLav6mXtbp-4c-vdZoPYMeITAWR0DqVuw3RYFeutC5CNPd4b_K_RkL1lPiSVq2VqhGJ1CFFdjcHHH2M4fQUd9XG4ftETejUPikR6GCQEmDIV497qSOsSn_udcLP-B_vU/s1600-h/P1010020.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258520845367122354" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSsftZZYiwt5DnsLav6mXtbp-4c-vdZoPYMeITAWR0DqVuw3RYFeutC5CNPd4b_K_RkL1lPiSVq2VqhGJ1CFFdjcHHH2M4fQUd9XG4ftETejUPikR6GCQEmDIV497qSOsSn_udcLP-B_vU/s400/P1010020.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>We have had a busy couple of weeks here, but I think things are finally settling down and I’m trying to keep the outside commitments to a minimum for the rest of the year…or at least until Christmas gets here! Jonathan is on schedule in school and doing very well. He seems to be understanding the concepts he is studying very well. He is such a diligent worker. He never puts off his schoolwork. He is always ready to get started before I am. He is also doing very well on the drums. He is practicing a lot and he sounds really good when he plays.<br /><br /><br /><div><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEyc2rX3Wc4y30-Xp0NGpSRrQpbgC0ZSccv123I9g1CRsVyg5tgtPlDrY8zlXg7ufOVJjVrVHKxvYsnl5SDnLd4ful6hXARmYX5Hdt1KrRUzp5JNfeB3gZrYEujeH13k8GviN4Fg_M8lts/s1600-h/P1010020.JPG"></a>At the beginning of the month, we took our annual trip to the State Fair of Texas. This is one event that we look forward to every year. As always, we had a fabulous time. We spent the day walking around the Fair together, just enjoying our time together. We’ve been doing this for so many years and we are so blessed to have so many precious memories at this place.<br /></div><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258519370108747506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrsoCGSuQ9SfxP6XjBN-9ND9a6vLVKt4SWwqMljP6WQeAR7VNgj9CkW_JZUTZuUEhxh1IWx0APH1_8JugoIBIquF2_5-oCFOc68pIX612uwnxijDFin6UVMcou5iiJh3tHGBM6LPZYLLG/s400/P1010022.JPG" border="0" /> </div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258519510457536290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8lCN0erVmzdLV3C5uM9QECtFdV-AZfOyw6jWXpnPIoy2CX3RhjLcDD68hP_nC84HbigE66vGtZ_fIoEkun96Ffp5Nrk9YHB0FPECO7S8-a35kq_0UmI83W2PHpJt17JVUkGmYasjfnJI1/s400/P1010042.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>Jonathan is also about a month into his fall session of horse therapy. It has been another season of change for Jonathan. We found out that our beloved instructor, Mrs. Julie, was not going to be able to come back this session, so we started out the session with a new instructor. One of the most amazing things about Jonathan is his flexibility with change. Me? Not so flexible. It’s amazing to watch him take change with such stride. He seems un-phased by it and embraces whatever comes next without hesitation. I, on the other hand, am always quick to tell people that God has always, faithfully handpicked each person that was part of Jonathan’s life, and this time would be no different. I truly believe that and know that to be true. However, sometimes what I know in my head and believe to be true doesn’t make it to my heart. So needless to say, I was skeptical when we went for the first lesson. Our new instructor is Mrs. Julie…not the old Mrs. Julie, but a new Mrs. Julie. She was very sweet and Jonathan was perfectly fine with her from the beginning. He ended up riding one of his old faithful friends, Gracie, because his horse, Ella, had just had some surgery and was recovering. So we were told she couldn’t be ridden for about a month. Jonathan began showing the new Mrs. Julie what he could do and in a couple of weeks, she had him moving right along in his therapy. She taught him how to turn his horse with just the movement of his wrists instead of using his whole arms. Jonathan was amazed by that and instantly took to it. She was amazed by his ability to catch on to that, as she had not had any other students able to do that. He was very proud of that! I can already see improvement in his ability to control the horse on his own. The more he works at that, the more independent he gets and the less he relies on others to help him finish what he should be doing himself. After the first couple of weeks on Gracie, it was determined that Jonathan had outgrown this horse and so they were going to give him a new horse, Houston. He is a much bigger horse, but he is beautiful. Jonathan commented to me that week that he wondered when he would be able to ride Ella again. I reminded him that it would be about a month and that she was still recovering. We actually saw Ella that day, talked to her and pet her for a few minutes before he rode. By the time we returned the following week, we found out that Ella had take and turn for the worse and died. Jonathan has watched several of his horses pass away and it was sad to know that another was gone. We were so glad that we had gotten the chance to love on her for a few minutes the week before. So, here’s another change to deal with. But Jonathan has fully embraced his new horse Houston, and has done a great job of riding him as well. Again, another change handled well. </div><br /><div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258517934074983234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSGWZzNAS1YP2Y6yHY6xNHxxx9jOto1xj-NbTVvHd_SOShQoLxwnmFJ4r1gpCexuxv4-gAGpSupQckJusr7DbqIB49lBTgJx92E6240h00ujxCKEWFiRI5zah9chtGuJW2eTd7S4lU1Kg_/s400/P1010055+(2).JPG" border="0" /> Overall, Jonathan is doing really well. Thank you for your continued prayers for him. Please continue to pray for his progress physically, mentally and emotionally. He is doing well at church in this new area of youth. He is embracing all that comes with that and enjoying everything about it. Please continue to pray that God will send him a close friend to hang with and to grow up in the youth with. Continue to pray that he will grow in his independence and ability to do things without us with him. Continue to pray for his physical activity to increase and for his body to handle the diabetes appropriately and all the effects of that, and that his blood sugars will remain in a good place. He has another endocrine appointment on November 5, so you can begin now to pray for that. I believe there are still more changes that Jonathan may be facing in the near future, so pray for him and for me as well, that we will trust God for all that comes his way, knowing that He is truly in charge and we can trust Him with every detail, standing on the promise that He will work it all for good in Jonathan’s life. Your love for Jonathan and our family is overwhelming and we thank God for you all today.<br /><br /><br /><p><strong><em>Isaiah 45:5-7- I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.</em></strong><br /></p></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-51558721308452249602008-09-25T09:26:00.005-05:002008-09-25T11:58:03.796-05:00September 25, 2008<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-VyotVCNpWPOmJ1jOUnLPkcj0BLXAKwT2alaanIZuWlIwlnUqkI1THCF4KZMI7y08PeOlkipSseGTgrOC3B8kW1VNchslAoR756d1JY8U9qN4RA26IKowPZtJoT-T2psIgAByWmdeYdoU/s1600-h/Picture_003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250004077813974226" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-VyotVCNpWPOmJ1jOUnLPkcj0BLXAKwT2alaanIZuWlIwlnUqkI1THCF4KZMI7y08PeOlkipSseGTgrOC3B8kW1VNchslAoR756d1JY8U9qN4RA26IKowPZtJoT-T2psIgAByWmdeYdoU/s400/Picture_003.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Thanks so much to all of you who have checked out the new blog and sent sweet messages to Jonathan and our family. Your faithfulness to check on us and pray for us means more to me than mere words could ever express.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;">With that said, I wanted to come and ask you to pray for a couple of things for Jonathan. First of all, tomorrow, he and his Dad will be leaving for an overnight retreat with the Junior High at church. It is called Break Away Weekend. They leave on Friday evening and spend the night and most of the day Saturday at a camp studying the Bible and having some fun before returning Saturday evening. This is his first official event with the Junior High and I think he is pretty excited. Please pray that he will have a great time and be comfortable being part of this new part of his life. Pray for Lamar as well. I know he is already tired and not getting a weekend will be tough on him. Pray that God will give him grace and strength to make this event and that he and Jonathan will have a great time together. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Arial;">I would also like to ask you to pray about something very specific for Jonathan. I would like for you to join me in praying that God will bring a boy or two into Jonathan's life to be his good friends. As I have observed him over the past few weeks, I realize that he has no friends to hang out with. Don't get me wrong, all the guys in his grade are very nice to him. They always speak to him and they are never mean in any way. All of the kids are like that and I have always been so very grateful for the kindness of the kids around him. But that is pretty much as far as it goes. After speaking and saying hello to him, Jonathan either hangs out with us or he hangs out by himself. I don't think he really notices it, at least not as much as I do. Jonathan has never been as social as his sisters, at least not with other kids. He has always played by himself and even when he would have friends over, he would eventually end up on his own. However, since his illness, he is much less social and much more on his own most of the time. He doesn't initiate interaction on his own very well, at least not with other kids. He is great with adults! After talking with the girls about it some, they seem to think the kids think he needs to be taken care of and are afraid that something will happen that they can't handle. I'm not sure what it is, but I have been burndened by it and have commited to pray specifically for God to send someone who can be the "David" to my Jonathan. Pray that we can continue to guide him and help him grow in his social skills and become more independent and less dependent on us as his parents. Pray that I will be willing to give up my expectations and let God do what He desires and what only He can do with this in Jonathan's life. Sometimes I forget that he is still only 12 years old. I probably needs as much prayer in this as I think Jonathan does! Anyway, I hope you will join me in praying about this specific request for him. It strengthens my faith and helps me to trust God knowing that you are praying for my son.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;">I read through some Scriptures again this morning that I have Jonathan's name written by. I was reminded of my need to follow the example of Abraham, not waver in my faith, and continue to Believe God that He is able to do what He has promised. So I will begin today to Believe God for this and trust His faithfulness in Jonathan's life. Thank you for praying with me.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></div><div><strong><em>Romans 4:18-21 - In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.” Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.</em></strong> </div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-87462001107116273052008-09-20T13:24:00.010-05:002008-09-20T14:54:13.117-05:00September 20, 2008<div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXj9C4qGN-FprNW4Y5Hxoi_DP8q9GtS9GOWSeJF37IgsRu33lmptR-P7SK7xVjMBNz5XV31zTUWEim2jjHnbPlPRUV6zeM75Z35_kN7qykutlsiJRb4qCJhTyQkVY_1wcEWs8r_qnQlxOK/s1600-h/DSC04091.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248192751083372642" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXj9C4qGN-FprNW4Y5Hxoi_DP8q9GtS9GOWSeJF37IgsRu33lmptR-P7SK7xVjMBNz5XV31zTUWEim2jjHnbPlPRUV6zeM75Z35_kN7qykutlsiJRb4qCJhTyQkVY_1wcEWs8r_qnQlxOK/s400/DSC04091.JPG" border="0" /></a> Well, we haven't disappeared off the face of the year, although I'm sure it seems as though we have! I can't believe it has been almost 3 months since I last posted! We were busier this summer than we have been in several years. It could be that I have 2 high schoolers and a junior higher now! We went through 2 camps, 2 choir tours, and a host of other things. Once we stopped, at the beginning of August, we spent one month working like crazy to accomplish some things at home that needed to be done before we started school. I'll share some of the highlights with you and hopefully not make this too long. By the way, I hope you like the new blog. We are trying to get up to date with this and make it easier for me to update and you to get them without having to wait so long in between. Thanks so much for waiting for me. <div><div><div><br /><div></div><div>Well, one of the highlights of our summer was to be able to go on vacation for the first time in 5 years. We get to take long weekend trips when we go camping, but it has been since before Jonathan's illness that we have been able to take a real vacation. So the last week of August, we hooked up our camper and went to Galvaston Island State Park and camped on the beach for about 9 days. We had an awesome time together! We spent time on the beach and in the ocean almost every day, we walked the beach each night and found a bag full of beautiful shells, including 2 whole sand dollars, we spent a day at Moody Gardens and a day at the Johnson Space Center and Kema Boardwalk, we slept late every morning and stayed up late watching movies every night. We had a great time together and we were sad to leave and come home. We are so thankful for God's provision to us and allowing us to be able to share this week together. </div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikhAVPzVDhE8eqR49v2NQcJ-bv6GvwNTiJM3HhJoTDaUHfiYIfGuAW8oDMZVASBEV93zaTesu1la5rcRJH6hj7rjLsidFRH69Dp2CQknB75GTZQWKOBOjjuGCSfqE2x4pucELA0XRi_fiA/s1600-h/DSC03993.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248192107015556722" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikhAVPzVDhE8eqR49v2NQcJ-bv6GvwNTiJM3HhJoTDaUHfiYIfGuAW8oDMZVASBEV93zaTesu1la5rcRJH6hj7rjLsidFRH69Dp2CQknB75GTZQWKOBOjjuGCSfqE2x4pucELA0XRi_fiA/s400/DSC03993.JPG" border="0" /></a> Once we got home, there was much to do in getting school started. That always brings with it some challenges that take us about 3 weeks to overcome and get beyond. I think we are there now. I have struggled these past two weeks with the death of a dear friend of mine, waiting to get some test results back and knowing how to deal with them, and trying to keep things going with school. In the midst of all of that, we were working on putting together 3 worship sets of music for the Lakeland Women's Retreat. This was the biggest event that our family has ever done together. Lamar played guitar, Jonathan played drums, and Elizabeth, Sarah and I sang. It was somewhat stressful pulling it all together, getting everything practiced, and feeling prepared, not just musically, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually in the midst of all we were dealing with. But God in His faithfulness, used that weekend to bring healing to my hurting heart, renew my strength, and help me find my faith again. Music is awesome. Getting to use this gift of music together as a family is such a precious thing to me. Jonathan did a fabulous job! He and I sat down during the week and just worked on what he wanted to do on each song. I gave him some ideas, but overall, he did it all on his own. I was so proud of him! He had a great time with it as well. This was his biggest "gig" yet. What a testimony to the grace of God, and the amazing power He has to heal and deliver that Jonathan portrays when he plays for the Lord. So many of those ladies at the retreat prayed for Jonathan and we were so honored to worship with them as a testimony of answered prayer.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248193217495381938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYcCoEnjLyRdNtt5kG5giHKSciYuX1ZVhDpPjdDQEfqaoZxIcCU4DsTwOw1w9ALVJkjwq_IbdX-3dFH7kiR-DQ9OnBwr3wO5tLHTYNQijacx1rA0LIX9TGFiyY9fmRZ6VT1nEYevKywrk/s400/DSC04065.JPG" border="0" /> Jonathan is doing well. We had a year follow up appointment last week at Scottish Rite. If you remember, last year we went about his walking. They told us then he didn't need surgery on his foot and that the reason he was walking the way he was, was because his upper leg strength was weak. We have worked on that a lot this past year, but he is still dealing with the same issue a year later. They took an x-ray of his hips and told me that they looked perfect. They said that he does not need any orthopedic intervention and to keep doing what we were doing. They thought he looked great. That was a praise! We are thankful that no surgery is needed, and we will continue to on strengthening his legs and praying for God to make it right. So far he is doing well in school. He is a diligent worker and I'm proud of him. We are really trying to work on his writing and reading and handling some things that normal junior high kids will need to handle. He has promoted to the Junior High department at church, to Solid Rock on Wednesday nights and to Clarion Choir on Sunday afternoons. He is so proud to be there. Next weekend, he will be attending the junior high retreat at a camp in Waxahachie. These will be more learning years for Jonathan and we are praying that he will excel and that God will bless him in amazing ways.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248193694198448962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCXJ8-fBGgZyk0BSMGuvaIbXQon49uNsGeEf8FDNfCoankZYOt4DgDkJAVsegCG1e8sNw_wKkrXL-O9kDqoEobDov1F6azPSluMai5MDgWMYnS3M6zeYzTNMJdPLj6Z2owAfc8R8v1LzRX/s400/IMG_0342.JPG" border="0" /> <div>I hope you haven't given up on my updating. As I have said before, when it takes me a while to post, it is because we are living the blessing of life. In the midst of my sadness and hurt last week, I remember thanking God for all the difficulties I was facing because I was remembering the time when our lives stood still and we spent day after day in the hospital longing for the chance to be home. I try not to ever take life for granted. It can change in a moment and never be the same again. Life is precious and an incredible gift from our Father. Please continue to pray for Jonathan. He is struggling again with his weight and high blood sugars more often than we would like. It is tough to see the discouragement and the tears come when he struggles with his weight or tries to understand why his blood sugar is always high. Pray that we can adjust his food intake, do what we can to lead a healthy lifestyle, and that his body would process his insulin appropriately to keep his blood sugars in normal range and not store any as fat. Pray for him as he transitions into junior high life. Pray that God would bring good friends into his life so that he can enjoy these years and make some great memories with friends. Pray that he will continue to grow more independent and be able to do things without Lamar and I always being with him. We love all of you and are so thankful for the love, care and prayers you give to us. You are a precious blessing to us. We hope you enjoy the new blog and I'll be back soon to update again...I promise! God bless you all!</div><br /><div><strong><em>Isaiah 40:28-31 - <span style="font-family:arial;">Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. </span></em></strong></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-76358289906477160162008-09-15T17:05:00.002-05:002008-09-15T17:06:46.261-05:00New Jonathan Cooper BlogWe are in the process of creating a new blog for Jonathan's updates. We feel like this will help everyone stay more connected and have better interaction. We will be updating more soon. Let us know what you think.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-1068605428826141832008-06-28T10:03:00.000-05:002008-09-16T10:03:58.433-05:00Well, this has been such a busy month for our family. One thing after another has happened since I last posted. Let me back up to Jonathan’s week at Junior Camp. Thank you so much for your prayers for him during that week. It was one of the hardest weeks we have gone through, but I am so thankful that we took the challenge and went. We left for Junior Camp on Sunday, June the 8th, right after church. Since I was an advisor and both of the girls were helpers on the rec crew, we needed to be out there Sunday evening to be prepared for everyone’s arrival on Monday morning. I hesitated to do that because I figured one more night at home would be better for Jonathan instead of one more night away. But it was just going to be easier for us to already be out there instead of having to get there by 8 am on Monday morning. We got Jonathan all set up in his cabin with his counselors, Mr. Buford, and two teen guys, Ryan and David. All three of them were wonderful to Jonathan all week long. They were very patient and encouraging and made sure he was well taken care of at all times. I had a great time eating meals and getting to know both the teen guys better each day. Jonathan slept fine with them on Sunday night and we met for breakfast on Monday morning. There were nine other guys in his cabin. As the week went on, I watched all the kids in his cabin talk with him, encourage him, and help him anytime they could. They were always kind and never mean. God has blessed us so much by the other children we have encountered over these 3 1/2 years since Jonathan’s illness. I know that kids can be brutal with other kids, but I will tell you that we have seen the good side of kids as they have encountered Jonathan…the side that doesn’t get talked about much. We have been blessed to see that kind, good side of kids over and over again and for that we are so thankful.<br />Junior Camp is a very intense week of non-stop activity - something Jonathan is really not used to. Going to bed late and getting up early everyday cause some distress for Jonathan each day. He did pretty good on Monday, but he ended up falling a couple of times and scraping his elbow pretty bad. He cried a lot and it took quite a bit for me to get him back into action with the rest of his cabin, but he finally did. I thought he would be better on Tuesday at breakfast, but I was wrong. The instant he saw me he started crying. I had to send him on his way with his counselors crying, telling him I knew he could handle the morning and when I would see him next. By the time lunch got there, he seemed to have turned a corner and was doing much better. I decided that day that I would break up my responsibilities during recreation time and spend an hour or so with him during things I knew he would not be able to do. That seemed to help. On Wednesday, Jonathan and I both took a turn on the zip line. We both loved it and he, of course, did it without screaming, unlike his mother! I’m so glad we attempted it because he had the chance to do something many of the other kids did as well. Thursday was the longest day of the week. There is so much to do on Thursday because it is the last full day of camp. The most important thing for Joanthan was the talent show that evening. Uncle Timmy put together a drum solo for him to play and he was really looking forward to it all week long. During rec time, I sent Jonathan to the nurses office to take a nap for a couple of hours so he would be up and ready for the talent show. That helped quite a bit. He played great and all the kids really enjoyed his playing. They were awesome in their encouragement and applause. Unfortunately, the talent show lasted until almost midnight and Jonathan was completely worn out. But Friday morning, we were met by Dad and made our way home, accomplishing what we set out to do. God was faithful and Jonathan was brave. I am very proud of him.<br />The most important thing that happened was on Tuesday night after worship time. Jonathan spent some time talking to the camp pastor and our good friend Mr. Scott. Jonathan loves Mr. Scott and thinks so much of him. Jonathan had been feeling the tugging of the Holy Spirit in his heart, but didn’t know exactly what it was about. I was trying to figure out if it really was the Holy Spirit or just the emotions of the week there. We talked with Mr. Scott and he helped Jonathan understand what was going on in his heart. I’m so thankful he was there, because I knew I could not appropriately deal with this important issue for Jonathan at that time. Jonathan rededicated his life to the Lord on Tuesday evening. He was so proud, that everyone he talked to for the next 24 hours knew of his rededication. I saw the peace of God pass over him, I saw understanding and truth touch his ears and his mind each time he listened to Mr. Scott’s messages. It was such a precious thing to see.<br />We were not home from Junior Camp for 36 hours before Sarah left to go on Choir Tour to Memphis, TN for a week. We spent a week without her and now Elizabeth is on her Choir Tour to Hawaii for the next 10 days. Jonathan loves his sisters and he misses them when they are gone. He had an endocrine appointment while Sarah was gone. He had to have blood drawn as well and he handled it with such bravery and grace. We are struggling with higher blood sugars right now for some reason and I’m not sure why. He has gained back his weight over this year which is a little discouraging, but he has grown an inch since the last visit.<br />I have found myself stuggling some with Jonathan’s situation over these last few weeks. I’m not sure if it is just the emotion of being at junior camp and then missing my girls one at a time as they go off on their tours, or what it is exactly. But there are times when my focus turns to the reality of Jonathan and the limitations or differences that I see in him, instead of the God who created him, recreated him and has a perfect plan for his life. I cry as I watch him struggle with things that seem so normal for every other kid. I think I cried as much at Junior Camp as he did. There are times when I ache for him to be the kid he was before because there are many things that used to be part of him that are no longer part of him. And then I stop and remember all the miraculous things God has done in Jonathan’s life and that deep down what I really want is for him to be what God wants him to be. It’s so hard to remember that. I fail miserably so many times. So I know that just as God is working in Jonathan’s life and making him what he wants him to be, he is also working in my heart and recreating this mom to trust in Him with my whole heart, not relying on my own understanding of Jonathan’s life, but believing that He will complete the incredible work that He has begun to the praise and glory of our Heavenly Father.<br />I hope you will continue to pray for Jonathan. Pray for us as we continue to work with him to help him live his life to the fullest. There is so much that needs to be done during these summer months…so much that I am easily overwhelmed and find myself getting nothing done. Pray that I will focus on what is important and not worry about the rest. Pray for Jonathan’s blood sugars to be within normal range. Pray that God will give us wisdom as we help Jonathan develope important disciplines in his life that will make him a good steward of the life that God has given back to him. Thank you for checking on us and for your continued prayers for our family. I am encouraged to press on and not give up on this journey each time I sit down to write because I know many of you will read and will hold us up before the Lord with your intercession on our behalf. We love you all so very much.<br /><br /><strong><em>Psalm 138:8 - the Lord will accomplish (perfect, bring to completion) what concerns me; Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting; Do not forsake the works of Thy hands.</em></strong>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-79405533152151276672008-06-07T12:49:00.000-05:002008-09-16T12:50:43.729-05:00Well, it seems I have done it again…it’s been two months since I have updated. I hope that you are still out there and that you haven’t given up on me. When Lamar asked me one day, “Have you updated the website recently?” and I realized that it had been almost two months again, I started to think about it and wonder, why is it that I had not updated again for so long. To be honest, I don’t have any reason other than we are just living life. I know that may sound kind of dumb and way too simple for an excuse, but it is true. Since we spent 3 ½ months in the hospital with Jonathan, I have never thought of my life the same way. Those 3 ½ months were the longest days of my entire life. In reality, I check on many kids each day whose families have spent a hundred times more than just 3 ½ months in the hospital and the possibility of more time in the hospital is always looming over their heads. The Lord taught me a valuable lesson during those months that I had forgotten and that I pray I never forget again. Life is precious. Time is precious. Family is precious. And all of it is a gift from God. When things get turned around, and work, activities, money, and possessions get in the wrong priority, we miss out on the incredible blessing of living life. Life can change in a moment. It did change for us, dramatically, on December 30, 2004. Many times I find myself thanking God that we are at home and not in a hospital, that we are well and not sick, that we are together living our lives and not apart from each other. I thank God for teaching me this valuable lesson. My goal is to live my life in such a way that first of all, I please my God, who has given me this life, in everything; and second, that when I come to the end of my life, I don’t have to look back and say, “I wish I had done things differently.” No regrets. So, with all that said, know that when several weeks go by and there is nothing new on the updates, it is probably because we are busy enjoying God’s precious blessing of living life. Let me look back through my calendar and see what has happened over the last couple of months that I can share with you.<br />First of all, we are officially finished with school! Yippee! I can’t even begin to tell you how much I look forward to summers. Oh, I love homeschooling my children and I wouldn’t give it up for anything. But I will say that it is a full-time job during those 9 months and little else gets done in my life or home except for the everyday necessities and school work. So I always look forward to summer break. I am praying for a supernatural strength and organization to get as much done as I can this summer, all the while enjoying time with my kids when they are home. I’m already enjoying my children, but I’m having a little bit of trouble with getting stuff done! There is so much that needs to be done and that I would like to do, that I really don’t know where to start. But I will get there. As far as school goes, all the kids did very well this year. Jonathan did incredibly well on his school work this year. He has come such a long way since his illness. I am so thankful for his progress. He has memorized so much Scripture this year between Awana and Sunday School. It is amazing how well he has done. He officially finished his life of Awana. Last week he received a trophy for finishing four books in this section of Awana. Since his illness, he went from my teaching him every verse, to learning every verse in this book this year all on his own. He progressed from my going with him to verse time each week, to going for the entire Awana time each week all on his own. God has been so good, and we are so proud of Jonathan. He was the only one who got this trophy and all the kids were so quick to applaud and praise him for his accomplishment. It was a very special time for us to share together.<br />At the end of April, Jonathan finished his last year of Children’s Choir. This has really been a year of endings and looking forward to new beginnings for Jonathan. One of those things is choir. This year’s spring musical had something new in it that Jonathan got to be part of. They did a musical called Rock Solid and there was a stomp band in it. This was a group of guys who got to play special drum parts on most of the songs. Jonathan, of course, jumped on that opportunity! It was even more special because his very own drum teacher, Uncle Timmy, was the leader of the stomp band. I’m not sure how much Tim enjoyed it, but these guys had a great time learning to beat on stuff with drum sticks. Jonathan was so proud and because of his experience with playing drums, Tim gave him some special parts to do on his own. It was such a fun thing to watch. Jonathan continues to improve in his drumming every day. He sounds so good when he plays. I pray that one day God will use Jonathan like He uses my brother to play for His glory. I am so proud of Jonathan each time I hear him play.<br />We made our annual trip to Home School Day at Six Flags again this year. Because we do not frequent Six Flags as a family, we always look forward to this special day each year. We had good weather, with no threat of rain this year, so Jonathan was able to ride two new rides – the Batman and Mr. Freeze. I am in complete amazement each time he gets on a roller coaster with me and loves it, knowing how fearful of everything he used to be. What a change! But what a blessing to have him riding beside me and hearing him laugh and enjoying himself so much.<br />I think I may have failed to tell you in the last update about one of our most wonderful blessing of this year. After the beginning of the year, we began looking to upgrade our camper. After looking for a few weeks, we found one that we really liked that met all our requirements. We just kept looking to see if there was anything else out there that caught our eye, we waited for the right time and prayed about purchasing it. In March, we were able to buy this new camper and we have been able to go camping at least one weekend each month since then. It is absolutely beautiful! We love it and have enjoyed camping in it so much. In April, we went to Eisenhower State Park and we loved it there. We had a wonderful weekend just hanging out together. A couple of weekends ago, we went to Cedar Hill State Park and camped on Memorial Day weekend. The Saturday of that weekend was Jonathan’s 12th birthday. It was miserably hot that weekend, but we had a great time camping as always. On Saturday and Sunday, we had some members of our family come out and spend some time celebrating Jonathan’s birthday and we had a great time. Can you believe he is 12??? It is truly amazing. His favorite present was his new mountain bike. He loves riding it and tells me all the time how much he loves it. He wanted to go camping for his birthday, so we were happy to make that happen for him. Needless to say, we are making some precious memories together as family each time we go camping and we are so thankful for God’s provision and His special blessing in this camper that we get to enjoy.<br />Along with camping for Jonathan’s birthday, we planned a special surprise birthday party for Jonathan last weekend. Last year he wanted to have a birthday party with his basketball team and I was not able to make that happen. I thought it would be fun this year to surprise him with a party with his teammates. Coach Ben and his wife Leah graciously offered to let us have it at their house last Saturday. It’s not hard to keep a secret from Jonathan. He was completely unaware of what was going on. It was such a great surprise! Almost all of the guys on his team were there and many of the parents were there as well. We spent 3 hours eating and swimming and jumping on the trampoline and playing basketball and other games together. I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say it as long as we have the privilege of knowing these guys and their families…these guys are awesome! They are so gracious and kind and such wonderful friends to Jonathan. We have all been blessed by them and their families. It was a very special day for Jonathan and such a blessing for us to enjoy as well.<br />Well, as you can see, the blessing of living life over these past two months has been full of many more blessings from the hand of our great God. Thank you for coming back to check on us and for not giving up on me. Thank you for praying for us and for remembering to lift us up before the Lord. Our summer is full with many opportunities for each one of us. It all begins next week. I hope you will remember to pray for us this next week, especially Jonathan. This is the first time in Jonathan’s life that he will be attending camp. He is going to Jr. Camp with our church this next week at Mt. Lebanon in Cedar Hill. Elizabeth and Sarah will be there as part of the Rec Crew and I will be there as an Advisor/Assistant. Jonathan is very excited about going. It is going to be a wild, busy week, and I really don’t think he has a clue what he is about to get in to. While I will be out there during the week, I will not be with him for a majority of the week. He will be living this week mostly on his own and under the supervision of someone else. He will even be sleeping in a cabin with other people than his family. This will be a huge week for Jonathan. Please pray for him this week. I want this to be a week of great fun and blessing for him. I want this to be a week that he grows and progress in his ability to handle life on his own. I want to see him accomplish much in his life this week. Pray for his ability to handle things without me. Pray for his physical protection this week. Pray that he will be able to sleep okay on his own. Pray that God will use this week to speak to Jonathan if He desires to, and to accomplish much in his life. Pray that I will not worry about him and that I will let God do what He wants to do in Jonathan’s life this week. We will be leaving Lamar at home by himself for the week. Pray that I will not miss him too much and that God will protect him while he is here alone. You can also pray for the girls as well. As soon as we return from camp, Sarah leaves for her choir tour to Memphis for a week (June 15-22) and then Elizabeth leaves for her choir tour to Hawaii June 27-July 8. Pray for wonderful trips for them, for their safety and protection, and that God will use them in a mighty way to touch the people they will come in contact with. Thank you for your faithfulness to support us in prayer. We love you all dearly and are so blessed to have you in our lives. Until the next update, may God bless you with the incredible blessing of living life.<br /><strong><em>Psalm 100 - Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.</em></strong>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-44475511204630971962008-04-05T12:55:00.000-05:002008-09-16T12:56:50.558-05:00Well, my dear friends, I have set the record this year…it’s been almost 2 months since I have updated! That’s the longest I have ever gone without updating. Oh believe me, I think about needing to do it every day, but these past couple of months have been pretty crazy around here. We have been incredibly busy, trying to accomplish many things on top of the usual load of schooling that always keeps us busy during the school year. More than being incredibly busy, these past couple of months have been incredibly emotional for me in many different ways that I will share with you. So between all of that, if I actually had time to sit down and update, I was just too exhausted that I went to bed. Not a great excuse, but it’s reality for me right now. So I hope you haven’t given up on me and I thank you for coming back to check on Jonathan and see how he is doing. God has been good, even in the midst of all the busyness and changes that we have been through and are experiencing. When I feel like I’m getting overwhelmed with life as I have so many times over the last couple of months, I just remember where we have been and I thank God that we are where we are…not in a hospital somewhere, but at home, living this overwhelming life that He has allowed us the opportunity to live. So with all that said, let me fill you in on what has been going on in Jonathan’s life and in the life of our family. It may take me so long to share everything with you that it might take you two hours to read it!<br />Well, first of all, Jonathan had an endocrine appointment back at the end of February. He is, and has been doing pretty well with his diabetes. We were a little disappointed with his weight results this time. He seems to have gain back quite a bit of his weight, according to their scales. However, his doctor did not seem bothered by that. We have not done nearly as well with our diet and exercise this year as we did last year at this time. We need a new plan. We are tired and our bodies have grown accustomed to what we have been doing for the last year, and it is not have any effect on any of us at the present time. I have a possible plan in mind, but I have to have the time to sit down and research it and put it into practice. That is proving to be very difficult for me right now. It is interesting, however, that even though Jonathan has gained some of his weight back, he seems to be wearing smaller clothes than he was at the beginning of last year. Someone suggested to me that he might have gained muscle as opposed to fat, which I had not thought of. Anyway, overall, he had a good doctor visit in February. Since then, we have had some difficulty keep his blood sugars within normal range. He started being high on a regular basis instead of the normal that we had been experiencing. I changed his insulin/carb ratio which means that he is getting more insulin at his meals than he was before. I hate giving him more insulin, because I don’t want his body to get accustomed to it, not absorb it effectively, causing him to store it, it turns to fat, meaning he gains more weight, etc. It’s also very difficult to figure out why his blood sugar does what it does. I can get very frustrated with this disease. But we just keep working at it, keep trying things and keep praying that God will take care of Jonathan’s body like it needs to be taken care of. Over the last couple of weeks, I have finally been able to take to the time to pursue getting insurance information and visits from three of the pump companies that we are most interested in. The excitement and anticipation of using the pump almost came to a screeching halt once I heard back from the first company about our out of pocket costs to use the pump. Because the pump and all of the supplies (it seems) are covered under the durable medical equipment (dme), no matter who we decide to go with, in order to just get the unit and start using it, it will cost us over $1000. Since it is so late in the year, this year, we would not meet the max covered by the insurance, but next year, we would start out the year with another $1000 payment and end it with a $750, making us pay somewhere around $3000 just for the pump supplies. That doesn’t even include his insulin, or test strips that we have to buy as well. Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed and a little discouraged by all of that news. But again, because of some of the things I have recently experienced, I was able to quickly remember that the God who takes care of Jonathan and has always taken care of Jonathan is sovereign. His plan is perfect. It is my job to do the work to try and discern His will and when I figure it out, to accept it and do it, knowing that His plan is the one we want to follow. I talked with Jonathan about this as well. I told him that I was not giving up on the idea just yet, and that I would continue to inquire and gather facts about the pump, and then based on what we find out, we will make a decision about whether or not we will use it. I told him that when he prayed about it, to pray that if it was God’s will for us that he get the pump, that He would work out all the details and provide the money that we will need to purchase it. I told him to pray that if it was not God’s will for us to use the pump right now, that God would help him accept that will and that He would show us what we need to pursue in being a good steward of taking care of his diabetes to the best of our ability. So for now, I will continue to gather facts and talk to as many people as I can to find out how they do it, talk to the insurance and verify our benefits, etc. Please pray that we will know exactly what God’s will is regarding Jonathan using the pump. For those of you who have the pump, if you can share anything with me that would help me in this process, I would greatly appreciate your input. I have heard from many of you on occasion regarding your experiences with diabetes, and I always welcome your insight. Thank you for taking the time to share with me.<br />Well, the beginning of this year has been one of the most emotional times of my life, since we have been on this journey with Jonathan. Most of my emotional times have been because of some difficulty we were going through, but this one has been different. This year, we have had to turn the page on one of the most blessed chapters of Jonathan’s life. Jonathan officially completed Upward Basketball this year. Each game of this season was awesome! Jonathan’s team finished this season undefeated! Every practice, every game was so precious to us. Upward Basketball has been one of God’s most precious blessings in our lives. It has brought so much healing, so much hope, so much joy to Jonathan and to those of us who have watched him grow over these last three years. From the moment I told Doug Jackson three years ago that we wanted Jonathan to play, until the moment we said good-bye to his team, to this wonderful blessing on March 3, 2008, we have seen God’s divine hand choose and orchestrate every person and every experience for Jonathan’s good. It has been one of the most phenomenal things I have ever witnessed. This year, I saw so much growth, not just in Jonathan, but in every guy on his entire team. I have shared with many people that even though these guys are only 11-12 years old, they are my heroes. Tell me how many 6th grade guys you can say that about! These guys are different. They were always kind, not just to Jonathan, but to each other. They never hesitated to help Jonathan remember where he was supposed to be so he could play his best in each game. They always encouraged him giving him high-fives, pats on the back, and “Way to go!” every time he did something good. There was never any selfishness on their part. They truly set into action the Scripture that says to think of others as more important than yourselves. This team was amazing. I had a chance to put together a power point presentation of the journey of this team over the last three years. It was my desire to honor these guys and to thank them for their important role in Jonathan’s life. Elizabeth, Sarah and I had the chance to sing a song that night for them that I think expressed just what they meant to Jonathan and to us as his family. Hopefully, we will be able to put it out here for you to watch, one of these days. As much as I tried to make it about this team, as soon as I was done, they turned it around and honored Jonathan once again. Coach Doug and Coach Ben presented Jonathan with the Iron Man Trophy for the Most Courageous Player. Jonathan is incredibly proud of this trophy. He got to thank his coaches, his teammates and all those who have prayed for him and helped him get to where he is today. It was such a beautiful moment. So you see why this has been such a hard thing for me turn the page on. I just don’t want to let go of this precious blessing. I probably cried off and on for a month as I worked on the power point for the team, but I had to force myself to keep it together as much as possible. I managed to do that until the day after awards night. I think I cried the entire day. I am going to miss this team of guys, these coaches, and the joy of watching Jonathan play basketball in such a wonderful organization as Upward Basketball. But I know that this is just a small piece of all that God has planned for Jonathan’s life.<br />In the middle of all of this emotion, God brought another blessing to our family. Elizabeth and Sarah attended Disciple Now with our church back in February. Over that weekend, in answer to so many of my prayers, Sarah came to know the Lord as her personal Savior. She had made a decision when she was 7 years old and was baptized at that time, but this time, she really settled that matter once and for all with the Lord. She was baptized the day before awards night, so you can see why this has been such an emotional time for me. Not only did she start her spiritual journey this year, but Elizabeth celebrated her 7th spiritual birthday on March 24, and Jonathan celebrated his 4th spiritual birthday on March 28. What a blessing to know that your children have committed their lives to follow the Lord Jesus.<br />Well, there are other things I could share with you, but those are the most important. Thank you for waiting on me to update. I apologize for taking so long to share with you. Thank you for your continued prayers for Jonathan and for our family. I know that you are faithful to pray and I am so thankful for each of you. Please keep praying about Jonathan’s weight loss, exercise, his blood sugars, and the decision about the pump. He is doing incredibly well in school and Awana. I see growth and improvement every day. He continues to play the drums and loves every minute of that. He is back at horse therapy for the spring session and in just three weeks, I have seen much growth and improvement since the fall. God is so good and continues to do great things in Jonathan’s life.<br /> I want to leave you with one last experience I have had, just in the last two weeks. On March 26, my dear friend and choir partner lost her daughter who was 32 years old and her beautiful granddaughter who was 6 weeks from being born. It is very rare these days to lose a mother and a baby in childbirth, but in a matter of a couple of hours, both mother and baby were in the presence of Jesus. My dear friend, her husband, this daughter and her husband are all members of the choir, so needless to say, our choir was devastated that night with this incredible loss. Last Saturday, we sang for the funeral of this dear girl. We sang about heaven and pictured her walking on those golden streets, running with the angels, resting with her sweet little girl in the place that God has prepared for those who love Him. At church on Sunday, we heard about and studied the sovereignty of God. Over these last three years, I have learned about the sovereignty of God. I no longer just talk about it. It is a vital part of my faith. In the days that followed Jennifer’s death, I tried to think of some profound thing that I could say to my friend that would bring comfort to her in this difficult time. Before I had a chance to speak to her, she was the one who brought comfort and perspective to me. This is what was printed on the back of the funeral program:<br /><br /><strong><em>There is nothing – no circumstance, no trouble, no testing that can ever touch me until first of all it has gone past God and past Christ, right through to me. If it has come that far, it has come with a great purpose, which I may not understand at the moment. But as I refuse to become panicky, I lift up my eyes to Him; and accept it as coming from the throne of God for some great purpose of blessing to my own heart. No sorrow will ever disturb me, no trial will ever disarm me, and no circumstance will cause me to fret, for I shall rest in the joy of what my Lord is…That is the “rest” of Victory. “The will of God will not lead you, where the grace of God cannot keep you.”</em></strong> <br /><br />Our pastor said the next day that when a believer fails, changes, dies, or the unexpected happens, nothing of God fails, changes, dies, or is unexpected. Nothing happens by chance. God will accomplish His purpose and His will in the lives of His creation. I don’t know about you, but that brings me great comfort and peace. Thank you for loving us. May God grant you His incredible peace as you rest in His unchanging sovereignty. We dearly love you all.<br /><br /><strong><em>I Peter 1: 3-9 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. </em></strong>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-7628358632108287692008-02-16T12:58:00.000-06:002008-09-16T12:58:56.535-05:00Well, I have started this update several times and I’m finally going to sit down and finish it this morning. We have had a great start to our year. We have stayed busy and everyone is doing well. A lot has happened this month so let me see if I can highlight the major things and share them with you.<br />As I told you the last post, we attended a pump class right at the beginning of January. We knew once we completed that class that we would have to spend an entire week on a very regimented meal plan. We would have to select a specific carb amount for each meal and eat that amount of carbs at that meal for the entire week. Our meals had to be at the same time each day for the week. We would also have to check Jonathan’s blood sugar at each meal, 2 hours after each meal, at bedtime, midnight and 3 am for the entire week. Needless to say, I was a little overwhelmed at the thought, but knew that we would be able to do it. There would be a couple of days that it would really inconvenience us because of our schedule, but overall, we should be able to handle one week. My biggest concern was that I would forget to do something or miscalculate something and we would fail and have to do it again. But thanks to those of you who wrote to encourage me and share your experiences with me, and lots of prayer from all of you, we were able to successfully pass our week of blood sugar logs and meal logs. I only forgot to check Jonathan’s blood sugar one time throughout the entire week. Ironically, I remembered it while I was leading a prayer group at my house with a couple of my Mom’s In Touch friends and I was thanking God for helping me not forget to check his blood sugar this week when I suddenly remembered I should have checked it an hour ago! Well, so much for that prayer time! But God was gracious and when I called and explained what I did, they told me they would not fail me for one miss. I got to share Jonathan’s story with the dietician who called about his log as I explained why we did what we did. We got a positive response from her and from the educator as well. So we are now on to finding the right pump for Jonathan. Once that happens, we have been told that we will be on that same regimented meal plan for 4-6 weeks, so this one week we did was just a shadow of weeks to come! Really, it was not a bad experience and I learned some things during that week that I think will help us in the long run. Thank you for your prayers for us and for your words of encouragement. We are praising God for helping us succeed in this process thus far. At the end of our week of pump logging, we went camping. It was the coldest camping trip we have ever taken! But we had a great time anyway. I needed that weekend to rest, relax and recuperate from getting up 2-3 times a night checking Jonathan’s blood sugar throughout the week. I was pretty pooped to say the least. We had a lot of fun, as we always do, and enjoyed visiting with friends we hadn’t seen in a while. The kids and I had the privilege of singing for our Senior Adult friends at Lakeland Baptist Church early in the month of January. They are a wonderful group of people who love us and pray for us regularly. Mr. Al, in particular, reminds us every time he sees us that he continues to pray for Jonathan every day, right after he prays for his children. I can’t tell you how that encourages my heart! To know that people are praying for us brings us such hope and peace as we continue to walk this road God has called us to walk. That has been the single most amazing part of this journey. I can remember getting emails and having people tell me of those they knew all over the world who were praying for Jonathan when he was in the hospital. I was awe struck to say the least! God used that to bring peace and hope during those dark days and long term, to change my perspective on what it really means to pray for someone who is in need of God’s work in their life. I will never view prayer the same way ever again. Well, we had a great time singing for our friends there at Lakeland and look forward to sharing some time with them again soon. We have spent the last 5 Saturdays at the gym watching Jonathan and his 76ers team play their final season of Upward Basketball games. This has been the most exciting year of Upward Basketball that we have ever played! Jonathan has improved physically so much this year! He is running so much better now. He is getting better at remembering who his man is and where he is suppose to be on the court. He is making plays and helping make plays without the “J play” this year. It has been an exciting year. It breaks my heart that this is our last year to participate in Upward. God has used Upward to bring such healing and growth to our lives. This is the third year that Jonathan, his teammates and coaches have played together. They are the most incredible group of men/boys I have ever been around. The boys on Jonathan’s team are so kind and helpful with him. They never hesitate to help him remember his place, point him in the right direction, and encourage and praise him when he does well. I have never been so impressed with a group of 11-12 year old boys as I am with these guys. They have truly been placed in our lives by the very hand of God. So I will try to concentrate on enjoying these last 3 games instead of thinking about the end of this wonderful season of basketball. We had a great day on Thursday as we celebrated Valentine’s Day. We took the day of school and played together the whole day. We made cookies for a special friend, went to the mall and shopped, met Dad for dinner and ended the day with Jonathan’s basketball practice. I spent the entire day enjoying my children, constantly aware of the overwhelming blessings God has given me. It was one of my favorite Valentine’s Days.<br />God has been so good to us and we are so blessed. We have received so much from His gracious hand. I am overwhelmed by His blessings. You, dear friends, are part of our incredible blessings and we thank God for each of you. We are grateful for your continued prayers for Jonathan and for our family. I hope you will continue to pray for him and for us as we continue the process of selecting a pump and getting him started on it. Please pray that God will guide us and give us wisdom to know which one we need to get, that He will provide the finances that we will need to get it, and that the timing will be right to get started using it. Pray specifically that Jonathan will not gain any extra weight once he begins using the pump. We are still working on our diet and exercise, but seem to have hit a stopping point on our weight loss. As many of you know, that can be quite frustrating. So pray that God will reward our efforts by allowing us to see more weight loss and that Jonathan will be able to maintain his weight and not gain, once he begins using the pump. Jonathan is doing so well in school and he continues to make great progress in his schoolwork. He is still memorizing lots Scripture for Awana and Sunday School. He continues to sleep well also. Overall, he is in a very good place right now and we are so thankful for that. Thank you for your faithful prayers and for the love, support and encouragement that you faithfully give to us. You are a precious treasure that we never want to take for granted. Thank you for waiting on me to post again and for continuing to check on Jonathan’s progress. Until next time, may God bless you with His most wonderful blessings.<br /><br /><strong><em>Romans 5:1-5 - Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given.</em></strong>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-77449547499468125522008-01-05T13:01:00.000-06:002008-09-16T13:02:45.251-05:00Happy 2008! We hope your Christmas and New Years holiday was wonderful. Ours was. We had a beautiful time at Christmas here with our family and with our extended families as well. Our holiday was very busy, but this year, that didn’t seem to bother me. I can get easily overwhelmed with all that I have to do at Christmas and then I turn into a grouchy Mom instead of enjoying the season like I should be. But God was so gracious to me this year and allowed me to enjoy the busyness and still look forward to and anticipate a wonderful Christmas. Our first week out of school, we had something that had to be done every day. The first thing we got to do was to sing for the Worship Ministries Christmas banquet at Lakeland. This was a special event for us because the three songs we prepared featured Jonathan playing the drums for the first time. This was his public debut on his drums and he was beyond excited. We had a great time practicing and putting it all together. Uncle Timmy helped Jonathan learn a part that would be easy for him and allow him to play along with us. He sat next to Jonathan so he could help him play while he was playing the base. We also had our wonderfully gifted friend Daniel Rister play the keyboard for us and Lamar played guitar while the girls and I sang. It was the first time that our family sang together that Jonathan played and did not sing. We have been looking forward to this time since he began to play drums 2 years ago. He did a wonderful job and it was such a great thing for all of us. What a perfect place for him to play drums in public for the first time. Worship Ministries at Lakeland Baptist Church is a very special place for us and holds many precious memories. These people have prayed for us and supported us to this point in our lives in such a significant way, just like so many of you. We are humbled and blessed by this group of people and we are grateful for the chance to get to show the ongoing miracle in our family’s life. It was one of the highlights of our year; one that we will not soon forget. Our friend Stephen Burnett was gracious to video tape it for us, so hopefully one of these days, we will be able to put it up here so you can enjoy it as well. We spent the rest of that week trying to get our shopping finished between all the other scheduled events that happened that week. But it all got done and were able to relax a little and enjoy Christmas once it arrived. We had Christmas with the Smith family on Christmas Eve here at our house. We enjoyed having everyone over for the evening. After that we ended up watching the very first home video we have, which was when Elizabeth was a newborn. It was so much fun to go back and see her as a baby, since she is now 15 years old. So we spent some time together, just our little family, remembering many special memories before we went to bed. Our family is so very special. I think there were many years that I took that for granted. God had done so much work in my heart and mind regarding my family since Jonathan became ill. Oh what I would have missed if He had not taken us down this road! Where once I let so many other things get in the way of cherishing the time I spend with my family, now I seem to be constantly aware of those precious moments. There are so many to enjoy and treasure. But this special time of years causes me to reflect so much on the blessings God has given me in our family. I’m not sure I can even frame the right words to express it. I’m glad God knows exactly how I feel. Our Christmas Day was beautiful as always. Jonathan was up early with excitement and we had a beautiful time together opening presents. Everyone was thrilled with their gifts. We have a special tradition in our family. After we open presents, we gather around the kitchen table, Dad reads the Christmas story, we light the candles on Jesus’ birthday cake that we have made for Him, sing Happy Birthday to Him, and then have cake for breakfast. We have done this every year since our kids were little and we love to do it. It is a very special time for us and it never fails to bring tears to my eyes each time we sing. We spent most of the rest of the day with the Cooper side of the family and enjoyed our time with them. Thankfully not much happened the rest of that week. We did have the opportunity to go to the Ice exhibit at the Gaylord Texan with the Starlight Foundation a couple of days after Christmas. We had a great time there, even though most of our time was spent standing in line with a million other people! One of the projects we have been planning on doing for a while is to take our home videos and record them on to DVDs. We actually started that process at Christmas the year that Jonathan got sick. We got one done (the one we watched on Christmas Eve) and that was it. After watching that one on Christmas Eve, Lamar began working on it again. We have spent the last couple of weeks watching many of our home videos of the last 15 years. Sometimes we find ourselves sitting for hours just watching them as they play through. We have laughed a lot as we have watched our precious children grow up. I have walked away from some of them with tears streaming down my face as I remember my precious little boy and see him as he was before he got sick. It is interesting that we chose this particular time of year to work on this project as it has been 3 years since we began this journey with Jonathan. One of the hardest thing that I have had to deal with in this whole process is being willing to let go of the past and to set my eyes on what lies ahead. There are times when I look back at pictures or videos of Jonathan and I miss who he was then. I have had to work through those thoughts and feelings over the last three years and the Lord has been there to walk me through it. It is not as painful now to see him as he was, although it never fails to make me cry. But I love who Jonathan is now and I know that God is remaking him to be the vessel that He desires him to be and I would never want him to be anything but that. This year, on December 30, we spent the day together as a family. Because our family was separated on that day and for the next 100 days that followed, we have chosen to spend it together as a family to honor and remember God’s blessing on us. It is a tradition that I hope will last a long time in our family. After going to church in the morning, we spent the rest of the day at Holiday in the Park with Uncle Timmy and Aunt Keby. We had a wonderful time together and spent much time laughing and enjoying being with each other. At dinner, we sat and talked through many memories of this experience. I think we talked more detailed about it that day than we have in a long time. Jonathan was very quiet during our remembering. I’m not sure he knows exactly how to handle or process everything that he hears. Even though he doesn’t remember much about it, it causes him to become very thoughtful and that’s how he was the rest of the evening. It’s hard to express what we go through when we remember those difficult days. Even watching the videos we took of his rehab, I often wonder how we made it through those days. And yet, there is no questions about it…it was God’s faithful, loving grace that carried us through to this day. It’s been an amazing time of reflection on the past and as we begin this new year, there is much joy and anticipation as we continue to believe God for what lies ahead.<br />Well, I know this post is long. Thank you for letting me share my heart with you. Thank you for continuing to read and pray for Jonathan and for our family. As we begin this new year, I want to ask you to pray especially for Jonathan and his progress in a couple of areas. We went to a pump class this week and got much information about him starting to use a pump. There were 4 different companies with their pumps that we talked to and there is so much information to consider. Pray that God will guide our decision and that He will give us the wisdom we need to make the best decision for Jonathan. Thank you to those of you who have written me with your experiences and your encouragement. If you can share any information about the pump you use that you think would be helpful to us, we would be so grateful for your input. Pray that God will provide the insurance and the funds that we will need to get this going. We will have to adjust our lives some in order to get it started. It seems a little overwhelming, but nothing that we cannot handle if this is what God has in mind for us. One of the things I am a little concerned about is that they told us to expect Jonathan to gain some weight at the beginning, until we get settle on the pump. Needless to say, that was not good news to hear. We managed to maintain our weight pretty well over the holidays. Each of gain about 5 pounds back which is not too bad. Pray that we will be disciplined to return to our diet and exercise program and that Jonathan will be able to maintain his weight and not gain it back once he goes on the pump. Pray for me that I will not set my focus on that but that I can trust the Lord to handle all those details. Pray that Jonathan will continue to gain strength in his legs and that his stability and strength will increase even more this year. His blood sugars have been up and down (mostly up) and we seem to be having a hard time keeping them under control. God was so gracious to show Himself strong in Jonathan’s body last year and caused his sugars to be very good for most of the year. Pray that we will continue to seek His guidance and trust Him to care for Jonathan’s body, since He made it and knows it better than we do. Thank you for your love, your care, and your prayers for us this year. We are looking forward to what God has in store for our family this year. We love each of you and pray that God will bring his richest blessing into your lives in this 2008 year. Happy 2008!<br /><br /><strong><em>Phil. 3: 7-14 - But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.</em></strong>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-25649296584174783722007-12-15T13:03:00.001-06:002008-09-16T13:04:46.614-05:00I can’t believe it’s been more than a month since I last updated! Where has the time gone? It’s the wonderful holiday season! I love Christmastime; I always have. Some years have been better than others, but I love the beauty and the excitement that Christmastime brings to our lives. It doesn’t take much for my mind to go back to the Christmastime of 2004. It was the most miserable Christmastime for me and I can remember longing for it to just be over. I missed so much that year. I missed everything special about Christmas; everything that Christmas is really about. But just 5 days after that miserable Christmas, God began to change my priorities, my perspective, my focus…my life. It brings a flow of tears as I think of how much God loved me and how merciful He was to pursue me and bring me back to Himself. My life is very different today because of the great lovingkindness of my Heavenly Father. I was out very early this morning taking Sarah to a day of mission work with her Clarion Choir. I cried and praised God all the way back home for His love and mercy in my life. I pass Children’s Medical Center at least 6 times a week as we drive back and forth to church. It is very seldom that I will be passing that hospital that my eyes do not automatically travel to the top floor of the building – the ICU. I wish I could describe the feelings that well up inside my heart each time I look at that place, as I remember standing at the windows of the ICU wondering, praying and trusting God for the life and future of my precious son and my family. I can look at many of the hotels on I35 that surround the hospital and remember the nights we stayed there, crying an ocean of tears, praying for God’s will and for His healing upon Jonathan. Yes, the Lord allows me to remember those moments quite frequently, but I do not dwell on them. Like the Psalmist, remembering those difficult days causes me to remember the mighty works of my God. That is where my mind dwells. I never relive the overwhelming emotions of those difficult days without remembering the goodness of the Lord all in the same thought. So as you can tell, this time of the year is even more precious to me than ever before.<br />Well, let me see if I can attempt to remember what has happened in our family over the last month. We had a great Thanksgiving in our family. Yes, we finished school and had a week off, but it was filled with intense house cleaning, getting ready for Thanksgiving. My side of the family came over and we had a great time of food and fellowship with our relatives. Later on in the afternoon, we went to spend the rest of the day with the Cooper side. It is always a busy day, but one that we cherish as we get to spend time with all of our family. We spent that weekend decorating our home for Christmas. It was a busy week and a fun week but a tiring week and we were definitely not ready to start school again the following Monday. The only thing that got us going again was knowing that there would only be three weeks of school before we had Christmas break. As I write to you this Saturday morning, I am pleased to say that we have completed those three weeks of school and are now officially on Christmas break! Yippee! I think I’m more excited about that than the kids are! Everyone is where they need to be to begin the next semester of school on schedule. That alone is an incredible praise! Jonathan has done so well this year in school. I am so encouraged and thankful for the progress that he has shown this year. It’s wonderful to see him excel like he is in school. He has also finished the first semester of Awana and he is halfway through his book. He has made great improvement and progress in Awana this year and we are so pleased with what we have seen him accomplish so far. It’s been an amazing thing to watch. Well, our month of December has been busy with all of the wonderful things and events of the Christmas season. Sarah and Jonathan have both had their Sunday School Christmas parties. Elizabeth got to sing for the Dallas Life Foundation when their Sunday School class went to do the service for the people there last weekend. I hear she did a beautiful job. She also got braces on her teeth the first week in December. The Lord has graciously answered our prayers and provided not only the money for her to get braces, but He also sent us to a wonderful orthodontist who we are very pleased with. We have been asking the Lord for this for Elizabeth for a few months now and He has been faithful to answer those prayers. She is thrilled to have them on because she knows what the end result will be. She will have beautiful straight teeth to go along with the beautiful smile that lights her beautiful face each day. The kids all sang in their Christmas program last Sunday night. Everyone did a great job. Each of their choirs sang a couple of songs and all the choirs sang a song together at the beginning. It was a fun program and we enjoyed it very much. Tomorrow evening is the Sanctuary Choir Christmas concert. Jonathan was asked to sing in the children’s ensemble that will sing with the Sanctuary Choir on 3 songs, so he will get to be part of that as well. We are excited about this evening as well. Lamar’s work Christmas party is at the Gaylord Texan and we have the opportunity to stay there tonight. Aunt Keby is going to come hang out with the kids while we are at the party and then we will spend the night and get to have some family time in the midst of our busy Christmas month. We are all looking forward to it!<br />No w, I want to share the biggest event we have had this month. As I told you in the last update, Jonathan was asked to represent SpiritHorse in the first annual Ride-A-Thon fundraiser. That was last weekend. It was at a camp in Decatur, literally in the middle of nowhere. When we left our house in Lewisville, it was 75 degrees. We had our air conditioner on at our house because it was so warm and muggy. After an hour’s drive to Decatur, we got out of our car to about 50 degrees! It’s a good thing I made everyone bring a jacket because we almost froze to death the entire time we were out there! We spent most of our time standing by the fire that someone started or sitting in our car trying to get warm. But despite the cold weather, we had a great time. There were 9 kids from SpiritHorse that rode around a course with their instructor. Mrs. Julie was there with Jonathan and he rode Lollypop. Some of the kids got to ride by themselves and some of them didn’t. I really didn’t think they were going to let Jonathan ride on his own, but when it was his turn to ride, Mrs. Julie let him do some of the riding on his own. Since Lamar hasn’t gotten to see him ride much the last couple of sessions, he got to walk around with him while he rode. At the very end of their rides, all of the SpiritHorse kids, instructors, and volunteers that were there were introduced to the crowd. Since Jonathan was one of the last 3 to ride, he was still on his horse when they introduced him. When they said his name, he stood up in his saddle to be acknowledged. It was so cute! He was so proud to be out there and have the chance to ride with Mrs. Julie. As I told you before, Jonathan had a fundraising page and made sure that just about everyone he came in contact with knew about his fundraiser. Thanks to so many of you wonderful people, Jonathan raised the second most amount of money for SpiritHorse! By the time we went to the Ride-A-Thon last weekened, he had raised $1,337! We were thrilled and humbled by your gifts and your love for Jonathan. Although we haven’t heard a total amount yet, the word was that almost $20,000 had been raised in this fund raiser. Their goal was $10,000 so that are doubling their goal, which we are all thrilled about. Because Jonathan came in second place, he won an MP3 player which he is very proud of…even though it is hot pink! So that was a very special thing for him and for all of us. Thank you for loving this little guy so much and for supporting him in this event. You are a blessing to us and your gifts will bring a blessing to many other children and their families who really need this help.<br />Well, God has been so good to us. We are so blessed. Thank you again for waiting on me and for continuing to pray for and support Jonathan and our family. I hope you will continue to pray for Jonathan. His blood sugars are so-so right at the moment. They are not at a consistently good level. Pray that he will continue to process his insulin effectively and keep good blood sugar levels. We will be going to a pump class on Jan. 3 to see about beginning that process. Pray for wisdom and that we will know exactly what needs to be done for him. Also, pray that we will stay disciplined with our eating and exercise during the holidays. Pray that we can all maintain our weight and not gain any before we hit it hard again at the new year. Jonathan has been having a little bit of pain in his right foot. It is bothering him quite a bit and kept him from getting to practice with his Upward team this week. Pray that it will resolve itself over the Christmas break so that he will be ready to play his games in January. Also pray for our family as we near the 3 year anniversary of Jonathan’s illness. Pray that God will continue to bless our family as we share this time together, remembering His love and power and mercy in our lives. We pray that He will continue to use us as His witnesses to a world who desperately needs to know our great God. We pray that God will truly bless your families with His most special Christmas blessings this season. We love each of you dearly.<br /><br /><strong><em>Psalm 77:5-15 - I have considered the days of old, the years of long ago. I will remember my song in the night; I will meditate with my heart, and my spirit ponders: Will the Lord reject forever? And will He never be favorable again? Has His lovingkindness ceased forever? Has His promise come to an end forever? Has God forgotten to be gracious, or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah Then I said, “It is my grief, that the right hand of the Most High has changed.” I shall remember the deeds of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will meditate on all Your work and muse on Your deeds. Your way, O God, is holy; What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your strength among the peoples. You have by Your power redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.</em></strong>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-55223871053102211852007-11-10T13:04:00.000-06:002008-09-16T13:05:42.855-05:00Wow! It’s been a very busy month for us! Sorry I’ve been slow in writing. We have had so many things going on in our family and I’ve had so little time to sit down at the computer and write. Hope this finds all of you enjoying this beautiful fall. I love the changing of the seasons. There is not a season that I do not love. I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving, mostly because we get a week off of school! It will be just as busy of a week as any other, but we won’t have the added busyness of school to deal with. I’m so ready for some time off! So I am looking forward to the holidays. Well, let me see if I can back up and share with you what has been going on in our lives.<br />Way back in October, on Sunday evening the 14th, Jonathan’s choir sang in the service for the first time this year. He had a little bit of a spill when he was going up the steps to the top of the platform to get in his place to sing during practice. He didn’t lift his foot up high enough and therefore tripped and fell forward hitting his chest on the corner of the arm of a chair. Although I was not there, it must have been a pretty bad fall because he scared everyone to death. He was definitely upset by it and cried a good deal. But after he finally got calmed down and regained his composure, he was fine. He was able to sing in the service and he did beautifully. I hate for those things to happen to him, but at the same time, it’s good that they do because it helps him learn to deal with the spills that come with everyday life. On the following Tuesday, Jonathan had his Endocrine appointment in the morning. We saw a nurse practitioner this time instead of our regular doctor. From his appointment in July until October, he grew ½ inch (55 – 55 ½), he lost ¾ of a pound (118 ¾ - 118), and his A1C went from 8.3 to 7.5. All these things are very good news for Jonathan. We did discuss the issue with the classes we have taken and they seemed to have gotten the same input from a number of other parents. As far as the pump goes, there is a class that he needs to take in order to get the process rolling. I plan on talking with them and trying to get that going by the end of the year. They did mention that because we were charged for a couple of classes that did not benefit us in any way, they might be able to apply the charge of those classes to the pump class. So I am going to see what we can work out with them and hopefully get this thing going. I have had several people share their information with me regarding their kids and their pump experiences, and I appreciate it very much. It just gives me more to think about and check into. So I am very grateful to all of you who have taken the time to share with me. Before we left, we had the chance to talk to one of the doctors that we saw every day while Jonathan was in the hospital. Dr. Adakari is now a doctor on staff at Children’s in the Endocrine Dept. It was the first time we have seen him since Welcome Home Jonathan Day at church after he got out of the hospital. It’s always great for us to have the chance to see people who cared for Jonathan when he was so sick and when the diagnosis was so grim. It gives us one more opportunity to testify of the power of the God we serve. It was a treat for us to see him and talk to him. After we went to the doctor that morning, we spent the rest of the day at the State Fair of Texas. This is one of the special highlights of the year for our family. We had a great time together at the fair, as we always do. Later in the week, we got to spend the day celebrating Uncle Timmy’s birthday. Jonathan is really loving having Uncle Timmy as his drum teacher. He is doing so well and he sounds really good. It was great fun getting to spend the day celebrating his birthday with him. The next big thing we did was Halloween. Since it got dark later in the evening this year, we went to the Fall Fest at Lakeland and got to see and visit with so many friends. We had only planned on staying about 30 minutes, but ended up staying 2 hours! It was great to see so many friends! After that, we went and did a little Trick or Treating before we went to celebrate Uncle Chris’s birthday. That was an extremely busy day for us, but one that was lots of fun. At the end of that week, we celebrated my 40th birthday and our 18th anniversary, so we basically spent the weekend partying! I don’t remember that happening since the weekend we were married! My family threw me a surprise 40th birthday party and Lamar and I got to spend an evening together for our anniversary, thanks again to our wonderful Aunt Keby. She came to stay with the kids and her and my wonderful children put the entire surprise party together for me. It was the most fun birthday/anniversary weekend I have had in a long time. I felt so special and so loved by so many people. It was an awesome blessing for this Mom. On Sunday, we finished a great weekend at church by our Sanctuary Choir giving a concert in the evening service. The Lord has greatly blessed our family by bringing us back home to this church. And for me personally, I am blessed to be back in this incredible choir. It was such a wonderful, worshipful experience for me and one that I was thrilled to be part of. God is so very good! Well, needless to say, I was hoping that this week would be a little less busy and a little calmer for our family. I’m not sure it is every “not busy”, but “less busy” works for me. Jonathan had evaluations for this year’s Upward Basketball season. He got to see his wonderful Coach Ben while we were there, which just increases the excitement of the upcoming season. This will be a bitter/sweet season for us as it will be Jonathan’s last year to be able to play in Upward Basketball. So this was the last time we will ever go to evaluations. It’s kind of a sad thought. But we are looking forward to a great season and watching Jonathan play. He will begin practicing in December and his first game will be in January.<br />Well, last but not least, we are excited to share that Jonathan has been asked to ride for SpiritHorse Therapy in a ride-a-thon in December. A church in Argyle is sponsoring this ride-a-thon and all of the money raised will go to SpiritHorse. There will be about 10 kids who take lessons that will be riding to represent SpiritHorse. Jonathan has a fundraising page with a picture of him Lollipop, whom he will be riding, and a small bio about him. Anyone who wants to can go to his page and donate a one-time gift or a dollar amount per mile to sponsor him in this ride-a-thon. God has used SpiritHorse for such great good in our lives; we are pleased to be able to represent this wonderful charity in hopes that God will use for good in other family’s lives. Jonathan is very excited to get to participate in this and he is really looking forward to it. We have posted the information at the top of the screen if you are interested in learning more about it or sponsoring Jonathan in this event.<br />Well, God has been so very good to our family. We have been physically well, everyone is doing well in school, and we are blessed to be living life to the fullest as a family. Thank you for waiting on me again to update. It means so much to us that you continue to check on Jonathan and that you care about him and what God is doing in his life. We are so blessed to have so many precious friends. Please continue to pray for Jonathan as we finish out this year. He is still holding steady with his weight loss and exercising. Pray that we will stay faithful and disciplined with this through the holidays and that God would reward his diligence by allowing him to lose a little more weight before the end of the year. Also, continue to pray for his blood sugar levels. We had to go back up a couple of points on his lantus as his numbers began to creep back up over the last month. Pray that God will help his body to process his insulin appropriately and that we will be able to go back down on his insulin. Ultimately, we are still praying for God’s complete healing of his diabetes. I have been reading through the Psalms each morning. There are so many Psalms that speak the prayers of my heart or the praise of my soul and there is not one that does not speak to me in some way each day. It’s hard, sometimes, to find exactly what I want to say at the end of my posts. God’s Word is incredible. I’m so thankful for it. So I will end this post with words of praise to our God for the blessing of life and for the incredibly precious family He has blessed us with. You are part of our blessings and we praise God for all of you. May God bless each of you in an incredible way this week.<br /><br /><strong><em>Psalm 92:1-4 - It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night, With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp, With resounding music upon the lyre. For You, O LORD, have made me glad by what You have done, I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.</em></strong>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-75612654348871752502007-10-13T13:05:00.000-05:002008-09-16T13:06:37.062-05:00I hope this post finds all of you doing well. Everyone is great at the Cooper house. God continues to be good and faithful to our family and we are incredibly blessed by His love and care for us. We continue on a good schedule, doing well in school so far this year. For a home school mom, that is such a tremendous blessing! Everyone is on schedule and everyone seems to be understanding and grasping the concepts they are learning. Jonathan continues to do well. I wish you could see him each day during his schooling. He is very diligent. He gets up to his alarm better than anyone else in the house. He gets himself ready for school and sits down at the desk in his room to listen to his Bible on the CD. After he finishes his Bible, he studies his memory work for the week. I can’t even begin to tell you how incredibly improved he is in this area. We have made such huge strides this year. Each week, he studies 8-10 verses on his own and later with me. I am amazed and realize how well he is doing when I sit down to go over his verses with him and he recites them almost perfectly after having gone over them more on his own than with me. This is the very first time in his life that he has gotten to this point. It is a joy to see him progress like this. He is also going to Awana, Sunday school and choir all on his own and doing it all by himself. I knew he could do it, but he had to find out that he could do it, and I think he has. What a confidence builder for him. Anyway, back to school; after he finishes studying his verses, he begins to work on his school work and doesn’t stop until he is finished. He never complains about what he has to do, he just does it until he is finished. His determination and steady diligence will be a great asset to him in the future. This week, because the weather has finally gotten cooler in the mornings, we have been taking a bike ride when we finish school work. He is greatly improved in his bike riding, even though it has been several months since we have ridden. After riding for 30 minutes, he may begin to get slower and more tired, but he starts and stops with little effort and handles the bike very well. For that I am grateful. His legs are definitely stronger as a result of our working out. The only negative thing about our bike rides this week was that he took a pretty good tumble on our first day out. He clipped a pole with his handlebar, which threw him off the sidewalk, and when he tried to stop, he just happened to be in an incline, which caused him to tumble right down it and land on his head in the street. All I could do was watch it happen. Thankfully, he had his helmet on which saved a serious head injury. He didn’t hurt himself too much, but it did upset him. He managed to make it home without any problem. And it obviously didn’t bother him too much because he has asked to ride again every day. We are enjoying the cooler weather and the chance to get out and exercise again during the day. We had great fun last weekend as we had the chance to go camping at Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose. We spent the week getting ready to go and left on Thursday evening. We all get so excited when we get to go camping. We love the time together and just getting away from life’s routine to just hang out together. We loved this campground. It was beautiful, relaxing, and had lots of places to explore. The only negative was that it was much too warm for an October camping trip. Friday was Sarah’s 14th birthday, so we tried to make it as special for her as we could. We went hiking and looking for the dinosaur tracks which were mostly covered by the water in the river that runs through the park. We helped Jonathan up and down the paths and made our way to the little river. After exploring some, we drove into Glen Rose, had lunch on the town square and did a little exploring in the historical downtown square. After that, we came back to the campsite, grilled some steaks and had a mini birthday party for Sarah. During the evening, the rest of our camping group showed up. It was a great beginning to a great weekend of camping. We spent some time in the afternoon on Saturday playing in the river because it was so hot. Jonathan did well walking through all the rocks in the river and seemed to have a great time hanging out learning how to skip rocks with his Daddy. We left Sunday afternoon and made our way home so we could celebrate Sarah’s birthday with our families after church. On Monday, we received an addition to our family – a sweet, little, solid white kitten whom we named Lacee. Our good cat Allie, that we had for about 9 years, disappeared a couple of months ago. So now we have Lacee and we all love her. Jonathan loves to hold her, pet her and play with her and has told me many times this week that he wants a cat of his own. While all of our pets technically belong to everyone, we got our dog on Elizabeth’s birthday, Sarah got the rabbit for Christmas and we got Lacee for Sarah’s birthday. So I think Jonathan’s feeling a little left out. He, however, is able to claim his horse, Ella, as his own. He is doing very with his riding. He gets stronger and stronger every time he rides and he is handling his horse better and better each week. He loves Ella and loves to ride. Jonathan also continues to do well with his sleeping and with his diet and exercise. He is still hovering around the same weight, but he is doing well with his exercise and continues to diligently work at it each time we go. His blood sugar has been okay since we lowered his lantus. It has been a little higher this week that we would like. I am praying that the Lord will touch his body and allow it to control this insulin and use it to the best of its ability so that we do not have to go up again. Jonathan has his endocrine appointment this Tuesday at 10:00. I hope you will be in prayer for that. We will discuss the pump again I’m sure, as we are no closer to getting it now than we were in July. Pray that he will get a good report and that we will continue to see God’s hand in Jonathan’s physical life.<br />Jonathan and I have been reading a book about the life of George Muller. I have heard so many stories about him and the miraculous answers to prayer that he experienced in his life. Not only did I want to learn about him, but I wanted Jonathan to learn about him as well because I wanted him to be encouraged by the life of someone who experienced miracles as he has. Did you know that George Muller dealt with some physical ailments as well? Once he became a Christian, he was so ready to serve the Lord as a missionary. But because of some government issues that stood in the way, it seemed that he would be hindered from doing that. God allowed George Muller to get sick for a period of time to remove the plans of the government in Muller’s life. But God did not have plans for Muller to be a missionary. So he allowed Muller to suffer from these stomach problems at other times in his life in order to prepare him for the ministry He had for him and to get him going on the path that He had planned for him. Amazing! Did you also know that George Muller learned to trust God for EVERY need he had? He never took a salary and he never told a single human being of any needs that he had. He only told the Lord and waited for Him to provide for those needs. I am in awe of this man’s faith. And God proved Himself faithful to answer and supply every need of this man’s entire Christian life. Jonathan faces some impossible needs in his life that only God is able to provide…his complete healing to be the biggest one. I pray that he will learn to put his faith and trust in God and Believe God for this miraculous provision in his life. What a day of rejoicing that will be! I pray that I will learn to trust God and Believe in faith for God’s faithfulness in every area of our lives, just like George Muller.<br />Thank you so much for your love and faithfulness to pray for Jonathan and for our family. You are precious to us far beyond our ability to express it. We love each of you and pray that God will be faithful to you and bless you with His most awesome blessings this week.<br /><br /><strong><em>Lamentations 3:21-25 - This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. The LORD's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him.</em></strong>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3572720401217122440.post-48598932855988870142007-09-30T13:06:00.000-05:002008-09-16T13:07:24.780-05:00Wow! Can you believe I’m here and it’s only been two weeks! I must be doing good! I knew if I didn’t update today that it would be another couple of weeks since we are going camping again next weekend. There is not a whole lot that has been happening except that we are living our lives and loving where God has us right now. We continue to see God’s hand of faithfulness in our lives each and every day. We are truly an incredibly blessed family. We are seeing some significant improvements in Jonathan’s life so far this school year. So let me share them with you so you can see how God is continuing to work in his life.<br />So far, school is going well. The first school year after Jonathan’s illness, things progressed so slowly. I was less than encouraged at the end of that year that we might ever be able to make it through high school. But at the end of last year, I saw so much improvement in Jonathan’s school work. I ended the year with hope that as he progresses through each school year, things will get better and better and we just might make it through high school. This year has begun with some great changes in Jonathan that are very encouraging. As you know, Jonathan is a very dependent person. It’s not that he has to be and can’t do things on his own, but he seems to choose that option more often than not. He relies on me heavily for most everything. I think that is a result of our relationship throughout his illness and hospital stay, and the months following that. Typically, we are together most of the time and it is just a natural thing for me to handle or help him with much of his life. I am aware of that and have been praying and working on helping him become more independent in his every day life. This year in our school schedule, we have worked in a 30 minute time period at the beginning where everyone has a quiet time. Jonathan is currently listening to the Psalms on CD. He will turn on his CD and listen to his Psalm every morning on his own. As you also know, Awana has begun and Jonathan is in a new Sunday School class. Both of those classes come with lots of Scripture memory work. He is very motivated to learn the memory work in both of those classes which is in itself a huge improvement. Right now, he is learning 3-4 verses a week in Awana and 5 verses a week in Sunday School. And he is doing it, for the most part, on his own. I type up the verses he is learning for the week and enlarge them so that they are easy for him to read, and during his quiet time, he spends some of that time reading and memorizing those Scriptures on his own. This has been a wonderful change that has brought me so much encouragement. I know it may seem like a little thing, but it is a huge thing in Jonathan’s life and something for which we praise God for. Jonathan also sits down each day and begins his schoolwork on his own. He is able to practice his spelling words, do his handwriting, read his grammar sentences and do the work on his own. He is doing pretty well in math as well. He is struggling a little with his 3 digit multiplication, but we continue to work on it each day, and I know that he will soon master that as well. God has been good to show us improvement in Jonathan’s life through his schooling. Jonathan has also begun taking drum lessons from Uncle Timmy. So far he has had two lessons with him, and I think they have stayed in there and worked for about 1 ½ hours each time. He is doing very well with it and I can already hear a change in his playing. This is such a blessing for Jonathan as he loves his Uncle Timmy greatly. I know that God is going to use this in a great way in Jonathan’s life, and I hope in Uncle Timmy’s life as well. Jonathan is also doing very well in horse therapy. He and Ella make such a great team. I can see so much added strength in his legs. It is exciting to see how much he has improved and how far he has come with this. We continue to work with him to help him become independent in his riding. As I have said before, he has a tendency to rely on Mrs. Julie to make the horse do what he is asking her to do, instead of working to get her to do it because he has asked. Horses are a lot like children. Sometimes they have a mind of their own and decide not to do what you have just commanded them to do. It is much easier for Jonathan to just do what he can do and wait for Mrs. Julie to step in a make it happen for him. This is the next big hurdle for Jonathan to tackle, but when he does succeed, it will be a huge turning point for him. I am praying and believing God for this in Jonathan’s life. We continue to remain faithful to our diet and exercise program. It is sometimes discouraging when you stay at the same spot for a period of time, but we try not to lose heart. The good thing is that we are not going up! We are maintaining. Jonathan is still at 113 pounds right now. However, even though his weight may not be changing much, his blood sugars have been great. When we first began this program at the beginning of the year, it seemed like when he was losing weight, his insulin levels would remain the same. But when we were not losing weight, we would be dropping his insulin. We got down to 25 units of lantis and kind of stopped for several months. Honestly, I guess I thought that was so good that I quit praying for God to continue to work there. I just realized that recently and have begun praying about that again. After spending the last week and a half checking his blood sugars at 3 am, we have dropped his lantus again by 3 points. He is now taking only 22 units of lantus each night! What a praise! He is growing so much in caring for his diabetes on his own. He knows when he is low and he knows how to check his blood sugar on his own. The only thing he still does not do on his own is draw up his insulin. We still continue to pray and believe God for healing of his diabetes. It will be awesome when it happens! While we are seeing more strength in Jonathan’s legs because of his faithful exercising this year, there is still a great deal of weakness in his right leg. It is amazing to watch him walk so well when he really thinks about keeping his foot straight. We encourage him to make a conscious effort to keep his foot straight, knowing that one day it will be a natural thing instead of something he has to concentrate on doing. We continue to pray for strength and healing for his right leg. The Scripture I claim for Jonathan regarding this is Hebrews 12:11-13. I will share it with you at the end. Elizabeth and Sarah are both doing great as well. They are such tremendous blessings to me that I can’t even describe how incredibly thankful I am that God has given them to our family. They love and care for Jonathan in such a beautiful way. One night while I was taking a shower, Jonathan slipped and fell in the bathroom. He did not significantly hurt himself, but it did hurt and upset him. Lamar helped him up and got him to sit on his bed. By the time I got there, Elizabeth and Sarah had surrounded him and were talking to him and making his laugh so that he had already forgotten all about the fall. The unconditional love and constant care they both give to Jonathan truly blesses my heart each time I see it. They are such precious treasures.<br />I want to share one last thing with you that has been on my heart lately that I have been praying about for Jonathan and would like to ask you to join me in praying for him. One of the things that I have always been amazed at and so grateful for is the kindness of the children that we encounter towards Jonathan. I know that children can be unkind and make fun of other kids who are different or kids who have obvious issues. I can only think of one incident in these past almost 3 years where a child has been less than kind to Jonathan. They are all very kind and caring toward Jonathan and that has truly been a gift from God. It has come to my attention in recent weeks that while the children he is around are always kind and considerate of him, Jonathan really does not have a close friend that hangs out with him like the other kids do. Jonathan has never been an extremely social child. He would always ask to have someone over to play, but then half way through the visit, we would find him playing on his own while his friend was playing with the girls or doing something else. Those social skills are even less now. We always encourage him to go hang out with the other kids, talk with them and see what they are doing. While he may go and do that, it usually doesn’t last long, because he doesn’t interact much and he is easily overlooked. It breaks my heart. He doesn’t seem to notice or be bothered by it because he is just content with our presence in his life. But we watch it happen and it bothers us. It makes me cry. While we continue to work toward helping Jonathan become less dependent of us as his parents, to branch out on his own in some things, and develop his social skills, I have begun to pray that God would bring a “David” friend into Jonathan’s life. I am praying that God will bring someone special into Jonathan’s life to be his special, close, kindred spirit friend. I’m not sure what God has in store for Jonathan in this area, but I know that it will be for his good. I hope you will join me in praying for Jonathan about this specific thing in his life. God has begun an incredibly good work in Jonathan’s life and I know that He will be faithful to bring it to completion and the results will be amazing.<br />Thank you so much for your incredible love and care and your constant prayers for Jonathan and our family. I can’t imagine what this journey would have been like if we had had to walk it without you. Knowing that you are praying encourages us more than we could ever express. We hope you will join us in thanking God for His work in Jonathan’s life and pray with us for His continued work and blessing in these areas. May God richly bless each of you this week. We love you all.<br /><br /><strong><em>Hebrews 12:11-13 - All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.</em></strong>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0