Wednesday, February 2nd (Evening)

"I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill.  I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing."

Ezekiel 34:26

I will get to the updates on Laura's health, but I wanted you all to know that you have made community come alive in my family.  The scripture above is written in a leather-bound book on the bookcase in our family room, and I call it our Blessing Book.  It has notes and letters of moments when God has really moved in an amazing way to bless our home.  In my quiet time this morning I realized that when this whole thing is over I will write about one of the scarest times in my life in our Blessing Book.  Laura said today, "What have we done to deserve this type of honor?"  I really don't have an answer for her, but I can say that I have seen the fruit of His community and it is truly an honor to be blessed by God through His people.  With a very humble and sincere heart...thank you.  Laura and I are stronger today than we were 10 days ago because of the role you have all played in this.

So, trying to hold back my excitement I will tell you that Laura is really good.  White blood cells looked better today, and she continues to pursue her new ministry in her new room.  I did not get a chance to talk with the doctors today (part of the bummer of leaving the truma unit), but from what Laura told me all signs continue to point towards complete healing.  And no fever last night, so that is a good sign as well.  Believe it or not the good news is a bit hard for both of us, because this is how we felt Saturday night--only to find out Sunday she was worse.  There is most certainly some nervousness there, but we know we are in Good hands.

The next few days probably won't change much.  She should continue to get a little better at a time, and at some point they will remove her gallbladder. And we have not even had a talk with the doctors about the surgery yet, so we figure we are still a ways out on that.  To top it off, because of everything Laura has gone through, she will have to stay AT LEAST 2 days after the gallbladder is removed.  Typically people go home the same day, but not in this family!  So, Laura is still woken up very early for tests and all that stuff and then waits through the morning for results on if she is better or not.  It's gotten to the point where her arm and fingers are black-and-blue from all of the needles.  She says she is so used to it now that she can just carry on a conversation through it. 

We had some great talks today.  It's a bit scary for us both, but we talked about life outside of the hospital for maybe only the second time.  It's really odd to walk by all the windows with her, knowing that she wants out.  But she seems so peaceful in her moment;  it strengthens me.  She just keeps walking at a fast pace until we reach the end of another hallway, and then she turns around and starts over.  Kind of like Forest Gump running to the end of a coast and then just deciding that he may as well start over again.  My point here is Laura is amazing.  She is so peaceful.  Sure things are hard, but she seems to be right in the center of His will and KNOWS it.  It's a beautiful thing to watch.

Kaitlyn, our daughter, has fallen in love with a song called "Beautiful Things" by Gungor.  She asked me today if I would make sure mommy memorizes the song so they can sing it together when she comes home.  So I played it for Laura.  She really cried.  She loved it.  Not just because is was from Kaitlyn, but because she felt like it accurately descibes her life.  In this year of worship, my family has already connected with songs like "Beautiful Things" and turned them in to themes for our family.  As I have told you before, music is a powerful thing for all four of us in our own way.  Last night Kaden could not sleep, so I told him to try and sing a few worship songs he knows and that might help him.  It worked well, but not before I heard, "Our God, is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above with..." This time I cried.  I realize he is only three, but the idea that he has not seen his mom in 10 days and he found peace in worshiping was great.  I loved that moment and so did Laura.

I spent time with a few different people today that just really encourage me.  Thank you Casey and Lance.  Also, I did not mention it yesterday, but the people involved in cleaning my house are amazing!  You all have made it better to come home to a house - even if it is with one less person.  I can not tell you how much I appreciate you all.  The dog run was even clean!  And thanks to so many people, even helping out with the 3 dogs by walking them or running our husky.  Everthing matters to us so much, and we still are so amazed by how much you are all doing.  I would like to say one thing along those lines though...if you know of someone who is helping us out, please continue to offer help to those people.  They sacrifice greatly, and I would love to see them blessed in this as well.

I look forward to tomorrow.  Sincerely, J.P.