What a blessed year 2013 was – not because of anything wonderful or terrible – just because of God’s grace to our family.
Everyone seems to have grown so much in the last year.
Eric’s faithfulness in prayer has increased. He’s been amazed at God’s consistent work through his humble prayers.
I finished my goal of blogging through the Bible. I still can’t believe I was able to write 365 straight posts. You can read what I learned from the endeavor here.
Canon (11) just grew. Man, he’s big.
Anne (9) has shown immense improvement – both physically and mentally. Her seizures are under control, she can walk with a walker and she is able to focus for longer periods of time.
Kate (7) has grown up in every way. She’s responsible and kind-hearted. I’m so thankful for God’s work in Kate this year.
God is always faithful to work in all of us! We are most thankful for 2013 and look forward to God’s adventures for 2014!
This time last year, I hadn’t even thought of the idea to blog through the bible in a year. And here I am… in the final stretch! Today is my first post in the book of Revelation. In 21 short days, I’ll be finished!!
My family is excited about that :)
This endeavor has taken much more time and effort than I anticipated, but I’m grateful for the journey. Many times, as I sat in front of my computer, exhausted and void of coherent thought – God would fill me with the words I needed. I have seen His strength in my weakness this year. The show of His faithfulness to me has been a treasured gift.
So with only 20-something days left, I face my greatest challenge – to blog through BOTH the book of Revelation AND all of the minor prophets in under a month’s time. If you’re like me, I don’t spend much time in the minor prophets or contemplating the beast in Revelation!
But…I hope reading through these prophetic passages will make this Advent season more meaningful. And when I’m finished, I think I’ll sit, drink some hot cocoa and watch a movie… (while doing somersaults in my head :) Merry Christmas!
First, praise God that Anne’s seizures have disappeared!! We removed all video applications from her iPad, and since then she has been seizure-free and all of her irritability has gone as well!! Thank you, God!
With the disappearance of her seizures, something new has emerged. Anne is perseverating whenever she speaks, which basically means she is stuttering, badly. Please pray for the perseveration to go away.
Finally, please continue to pray for the long-term goal of how to teach Anne to be an independent reader.
Thank you so much! Your continued prayer and support after all these years is an inspiration to our family!
Well friends… those of you who have prayed so faithfully and those of you who have prayed once or those of you who just think of Anne occasionally… today is the today to rejoice and thank God for his amazing and wonderful gifts!!
I’m so excited. Can you tell I’m excited??!!!
Anne is now walking with a walker, independently. She can propel and steer the walker independently. She has never been able to propel any assistive walking device by herself before last week. I can’t emphasize how amazing this is… Just watch :)
(Note: Anne’s Physical Therapist is holding Anne’s gait belt which is around her waist for safety only. She is not assisting Anne. Anne is walking, balancing, propelling and steering all on her own!)
In this 2nd video, Anne’s walking improves as she walks past a group of her peers… just watch how proud she looks :)
Here’s a cool twist to this amazing answer to prayer. Three years ago, when Anne was discharged from CHOA’s Day Rehab program, I asked the PT if Anne was ready to try walking with a walker. Her truthful answer of “No,” was very discouraging at the time. Wouldn’t you know that this very same PT accepted a position within the school system last year. And on her first day of work, she walked into Anne’s class and Anne recognized her. Anne, her former patient from Day Rehab, was her first patient in the school system. And it was this same PT (who told me, “No,” to a walker three years ago) who worked to find the perfect walker for Anne. This is Lavonda, Anne’s PT, walking with her today. I am so grateful for her expertise!!
I want to tell the story of my friend Mary Lou and how God has weaved her story together with Anne’s…in the most beautiful way.
To introduce you to her, I have to go back almost 9 years – to when Anne was an infant. Mary Lou was in charge of our church’s women’s retreat, and somehow I ended up helping her with many of the last-minute details. Because I was helping her, we rode down to the retreat site together, with Anne strapped in an infant car seat in the back of Mary Lou’s car.
Anne has made noticeable improvement in her reading and walking! Thank you for your prayers, and please continue to pray for these long-term goals.
Anne has been extra irritable at home. We are not sure if she is having mild seizures or if she is just going through an “irritability phase.” Please pray for wisdom and insight to help us determine the cause and a solution.
And finally, praise God that Anne is receiving good reports at school, both academically and behaviorally. She has come so far!
Thank you so much! Your continued prayer and support after all these years is an inspiration to our family!
No, seriously, she won, for real. The family went bowling, and she beat us all, badly, fair and square.
Bowling with Anne
Now, it’s true that we are all terrible bowlers, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that Anne legitimately beat all of us.
Anne was excited that she won, but I think she found more joy in just being… She loved the sounds of the bowling alley, she anticipated her every turn. She loved the ceremony of walking up to the lane and pushing her ball down the slide. She loved watching us cheer when her straight and true ball knocked down pin after pin. She loved the hugs. She loved the love.
Anne is free to enjoy the deeper layers of life. Once again, God uses Anne to reveal His joy!
My last post was all about how I had been placing my hope in the wrong stuff… like Anne walking (for instance). Well, wouldn’t you know it – all of a sudden Anne has made a major improvement in her walking??!!! Just goes to show you that God really does love to give good gifts to his children!!
Yesterday, we gathered with Eric’s family for a casual Sunday afternoon get-together. Check out this video of her walking to Papa and Nana’s front door.
As I took this video on my phone, I thought to myself that her walking seemed especially good, but I wasn’t prepared for how Anne would surprise us throughout the day…
Papa rented a boat and we cruised around in the sunshine!
Anne & her Papa
At one point, Anne was sitting on a bench – sort of away from everybody, and decided she wanted to be closer to her Aunt Krista, so she tried to stand up and walk.
Now, Anne struggles with the skill, “sit-to-stand.” We take this skill for granted, but for Anne, it’s very difficult… so as she tried to stand over and over again, she got herself crooked on her bench. She recognized this and scooted herself back to the middle of the bench with her legs straight in front of her. I almost fell out of my seat when I saw her do this. Again, something very simple, but very difficult for Anne. And then that little girl stood up and tried to walk by herself over to where her Aunt Krista was sitting. Thank goodness her sister, Kate, was there, because Anne would have fallen!
And that was our day. Watching Anne stand up and try to walk to one family member after another – on a moving boat!! We would always grab her by the hand so she wouldn’t fall – but I’ve never seen Anne with such determination!
This is a huge step forward for Anne. We’ve been praying that Anne would desire to put forth effort. Thank you God for hearing and answering our prayers!!! She is attempting to move in ways she never has before. We have to keep an extra close eye on her now, but we’ll take it!
Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12).
Lately my heart has felt sick. Not necessarily sad or mad…just “sick.” It hit me today that I’ve been placing my hope in the wrong things…
Now before I continue, I need to clarify the word “hope.” Hope means to expect with confidence. It’s not just wishful thinking – or dreaming of what you want to come true. It’s expecting it to happen. The book of Hebrews calls hope, “a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul” (Heb. 6:19).
So… when I place my hope in things that aren’t sure and steadfast, my heart becomes sick…
I’ve been hoping for Anne to improve. I’ve been hoping for Anne to break through that invisible barrier and start reading. I’ve been hoping for Anne to walk. Now those are wonderful desires and worthy goals to work toward, but I can’t place my hope in Anne walking! Anne walking is not a sure and steadfast anchor of my soul!!! And when I make it so, my heart gets pulled under by the counterfeit anchor.
What should be the only sure and steadfast anchor of my soul??? (I shouldn’t even have to write this, but I will) … Jesus. His life, His death, His resurrection, His promises, His forgiveness, His grace, His mercy, His, His, His!
Anne is in His hands. And He has His purposes for her life. I need to hope in Him, not in Anne’s improvement.
Not that we won’t keep working toward the goals of reading and walking!! We will most definitely persevere!!! But it’s much easier to work toward those goals when I take my hope off of the 9-year-old-disabled-girl and put my hope onThe God of the Universe!
Crayons In My Water 