sunshine!

Hi Friends (:


Thank you for all of your encouraging words and prayers after my last post. They were blessings to me. After I sent my "bad day" post on Thursday night I decided to take a shower and relax a little. Just as I finished lathering my head full of shampoo, all of the hot water was gone and I just had to laugh. Seriously!?!? Guess you can't end a bad day with a hot shower! (:


Friday afternoon Evie had physical therapy and we were concerned about her foot, so the orthotics specialist met us at his office to adjust her brace. He moved the strap down a bit and added some sheepskin (think uggs) to make it softer. She is happier, we are happier, and the sun came out! She is in less pain overall, Praise God.


Lyla had her first soccer game yesterday, it was fun to get outside. She was pretty frustrated by the unorganized nature of the start of the season, but with time and practice I think she will really like it. We get to spend time with the most fabulous fun-natured parents, we have such a great time. Saturday night John and I got to go to a friend's birthday party and kick back for a few hours. We took Evie with us, but had plenty of extra hands to hold her. I think we even got a pic of me bowling with Evie in my sling (: It was a blessing to have some adult time, and can I just say that we have the most amazing friends??? Amazing. God knew I was going to need some awesome people to get me through this journey, and he has provided them every step of the way (you included!).


Tomorrow we have Evie's 18 months appointment (shots - yuck) in the morning, and we get her second cast cut off in the afternoon and replaced with her other brace, yay!!! The first thing we are doing when we get home is taking a BATH! She has been ordered to take sponge baths for the past month so we don't compromise the plaster on her casts and my little water baby is going to be thrilled to get back in the tub.


Insurance is... well... depressing... and it's Sunday so I can't make phone calls anyway. We'll save that explination for another time (:


Lastly, and very importantly, I have a major prayer request. I have mentioned our friends from New Zealand before and they are in need of our prayers. Aria had two 4-organ transplants in the past year and a half and now has EBV/mono, which causes PTLD or post transplant cancer. Tomorrow she has several tests including a lumbar puncture and two biopsies that will tell the family if Aria has cancer. The docs think there is an 85% chance she has it. Will you lift their family up in prayer with me? Let's pray that Aria does NOT have cancer and that the tests are conclusive (there is nothing more frustrating than an inconclusive test!) Also pray that the EBV clears and Aria can go home. Her parents are doing 24 shifts at the hospital, which is exhausting. I went and saw Anita today and she looked amazing despite the circumstances. It's amazing how God gives us grace when we need it. You can check them out at http://aria.org.nz if you are interested. God is good, he heals, he protects, and provides strength to get us through the storms of life.


Love you friends, thanks for joining me in prayer, and checking up on Eve!