Pool Party!

Who needs water?

The kids had a ball! (and a few donuts, and some goggles...)

Balloon Sunday

Scene: The Road To Jerusalem

Time frame: 2,000 years ago

Event: Palm Sunday

Characters: 

Crowds- Daddy, Joshua, Rachel, Madelynn, Hudson

Jesus: Joshua, Rachel, Madelynn

Donkey: Mommy

He Heals All Our Diseases...

  What do you do with a verse (see title) like that?

Why does our seven year old boy need to live with this consuming, painful, expensive, wasteful disease?

Why should our little boy need a man-made pancreas? 

(The box above contains Joshua's new insulin pump.)

Or why does our little girl need to deal with a disease that separates her from everyone else? 

(Yes that photo above has two toasters. One's Gluten Free, the other is gluten.)

How do you explain to your baby that she will never go outside, why she has tubes down her throat 24/7, needs a machine to breathe for her and is constantly being poked and beeped at? 

And then she leaves before we say goodbye.

And yet through all of this darkness

there is love...

And spring times...

The Lord is my strength.

And the Lord shines through Joel like a beacon, like a lighthouse.

I am so thankful for them both.

All Good

The Big Day is wrapping up:

Blood platelets are in the normal range. Joshua no longer has ITP! (hip hip hooray!)

Joshua was brave and now has the insulin pump. Thus begins another adventure...

Rachel and Madelynn and Hudson had a good time at their respective babysitters. :)

And now, as I type this, a dear friend is being rushed to the hospital via ambulance with a possible stroke.

Lord, have mercy on us.

Big Day

Today we embark on yet another day of doctor's appointments.

Today Joshua is tested one last (we hope!) time concerning his blood platelets. If they number in the normal range - Josh will officially not have ITP anymore.

Today Joshua, Mommy and Daddy get trained in to use an insulin pump. He actually gets hooked up to it today, which he is (a little) nervous about.

Thank you to those who are watching our other children-we so appreciate it!!!!