May 2011

This picture is from Easter Sunday. I have not had the chance to update as often as I would like to. Since January, I have been driving 3 days a week back and forth to Norwalk. I feel as if I am becoming a permanent part of our van. Norwalk is nearly an hour away from our home, but that is where Michael is getting "Brain Balance" therapy and we are seeing some remarkable results from it. The progress that we see in him makes every hour spent on I-95 worth it. However, it leaves me in a time crunch to get everything else done. His sessions have been extended until the end of July, so we will keep wearing tracks in the road from here to there!

Tim continues to receive good reports from the oncologist, for which we are grateful. He has had a few other health concerns lately, but over all he is doing well. He has to have a root canal done - he began the process two weeks ago, but will have 2 more appointments before it is completed. That was pretty painful for him and he is not looking forward to the next two appointments, but he knows it is needed. He also recently had a reaction to one of the medications he receives once a month from the oncologist to strengthen his bones. After the IV infusion, he began to feel lethargic and dehydrated. It took about 4 days for those side effects to subside. It was unusual for this to occur, since he has had this treatment every month for several months. Anyway, he is doing well now.

Our family has again had our share of an awful stomach bug that lasted about 5-6 days. The week before Easter, Tim and all of the kids were very sick. Mark ended up in the emergency room because he had become so dehydrated he could hardly move. We also had our associate pastor's three children staying with us that same week. Pastor Fitch and Julie had gone out of town with some of our teenagers and we had agreed to keep their children all week. (Yes, I'm a great friend!) One of their kids got sick along with all of ours, so it was a tough week for me. I felt like a modern day Florence Nightingale, taking care of the sick people all day and through the night. I was exhausted, but praise the Lord I didn't get sick!!! Whew!

Yesterday was Matthew's 18th birthday. Can you believe I have an 18 year old son? I'm way too young for that!!! Actually, he was born when I was 23, so I guess I'm not that young anymore! (You can do the math.) Matthew is at Shenandoah Boys Ranch in Tennessee and is doing really well. It was so good to talk to him and hear his voice yesterday. He sounded so good. It has been a very long road with him and earlier this year, we were pretty despondent over his future. While we still are taking things with him one day at a time, we are surely enjoying the good reports we continue to receive. Thank you to all of you who sent him a birthday card. He was thrilled to hear from so many of you!

This last Saturday, I had the privilege to share our testimony with a group of about 130 ladies at Central Baptist Church in Southington, CT. It was truly an honor to do so. As I prepared, I had the opportunity to once again reflect on God's love and care over us through our difficulties. While I am NOT to the point where I am thankful for all we have endured, I am thankful for the LESSONS God has taught us and the opportunites He has given us to share His love and grace with others. It was a blessing to spend time with the ladies at Central Baptist - thank you!

Thanks for following along! Many blessings to each of you!

~Stacie