HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LANE!!

So much celebration has gone on in our little household today:) Not only is it Lane’s birthday, but today we also celebrate exactly 1.5 years of his precious LIFE since the accident that nearly took it. Praising God that he is with us today!

We also have some incredibly exciting news that will forever change our lives for the better..we’ll be welcoming our first child into this world around December 30th! Lane and I are SO thrilled and can’t wait to meet this precious blessing. We appreciate your prayers for a safe and healthy pregnancy and delivery and that Lane’s health would continue to remain stable. I’ve had a wonderful pregnancy thus far with minimal morning sickness and just feel GREAT overall. So grateful for this!

We have SO much to thank our God for today. Mainly for the consistency of who He is regardless of our  uncertainties, but also for the precious gift of LIFE. Lane’s 23 years and our precious child that will be born in just 6 months.

My heart is overflowing with JOY tonight!

-E

 The past several posts I’ve mentioned how much Lane and I have absolutely loved our summer thus far. As of this past weekend we’ve been able to spend precious time with both our families. We were able to go to a nearly barrier-free cabin on Lake Otsego in Gaylord, MI over the weekend with our Bargeron family and had a blast (but missed John and Cordia:/). It was filled with eating, boating, fishing, swimming, relaxing and simply catching up.

On the way home Lane and I were able to stop by  Camp Barakel for a couple hours to visit my sister Elizabeth, who is counseling this summer. We were even able to drive down to one of my favorite lake view spots that I LOVED as a camper/part time staff member to show Lane. It was so good to go back to the place I cherished so much growing up (and still do) and to catch up with Elizabeth. As we ran into different staff members we were also reminded of the incredible amount of people we have praying for us at Barakel. We are so thankful for each  one of you!

I’ve attached pictures below.

Gratefully,

Emily

                                                                       Otsego Lake….

                                                   There was much sand castle building…
                               

                                                            And one fish was caught (ish) 🙂

                                                      Mom and Dad B with Lane and I

                                                                          Barakel:)

It’s been awhile… but as I’ve said before, that’s usually a good thing on our end. We are loving actually being able to do some summer-ish things this year, as Lane is (happily) out of inpatient facilities. I was looking back in my journal the other day and reminded that in just two days it will have been a full year since Lane’s skull flap replacement (cranioplasty)! It honestly seems that its been years by now. Praising God that no infection of the flap occurred (always a risk) and that it’s continued to heal so well.

Therapy wise Lane is continuing to diligently press on, he goes about 3 hours a day 5 days a week with an attendant caregiver so I can stay at home and do my “wifey” things like cooking/resting/cleaning (which I truly do love:) or work. We haven’t mentioned them a whole lot on this blog, but we are so grateful for the 2 caregivers that we have hired (through an agency, Neurocare) to assist us every weekday morning/ some evenings. They are able to assist Lane in getting ready for the day and with home therapy type things while I do other things around the house, run errands, or simply sit down with a book and coffee. They also help with cleaning so Lane and I can do more together (like reading/ devos together) even while they are here. It was something that Lane and I (understandably) didn’t want at first and had to get used to, but as we take on this season we’ve learned to gladly accept small blessings such as these that allow us to live as normally as possible within our marriage. Because Lane’s doctor has ordered him to have 24/7 attendant care, I am also able to be with him 12-15 hours a day/night, ALONE…while being paid, which is another incredible blessing. So ultimately I don’t have to work full time outside the home, which is wonderful. Something we are both tremendously grateful for in this season. Of course when/if Lane is able to take on a job eventually we will very gladly transition to that way of life once again, but we’re learning to be thankful for the many ways our God is providing for us today.

Thank you, once again, for your constant faithfulness in prayer. Please don’t cease. Along with Lane’s continued healing, pray for steadfastness in our witness for Christ and desire to know Him, above all.

Gratefully,

 Emily (for my dear husband)

PS. As I write this Lane just finished up his weekly massage therapy session. So far it has been a WONDERFUL thing for him, allowing him to sleep better at night and relaxing his tight muscles. Another blessing!

Summer weather is HERE at last!! Lane and I have absolutely loved taking daily walks outside and relaxing, reading, or grilling on our porch. We really do love our apartment/townhome complex. There are many young families, college students, and elderly couples.

As far as therapy/ health updates, nothing has really changed in a negative way, which we are very grateful for. Lane continues to press on in his therapy every day and many afternoons a week we spend attending various appointments or simply getting any time we can just together. He’s been seizure free for over a month now! We’re continuing to research HBOT therapy, which we may end up able to do right here in Lansing. We’re very glad for some of Lane’s current physicians/ case managers that are willing to support us in some alternative treatment modalities. If it’s not invasive or harmful and we can afford it, we certainly won’t regret having tried it down the road. Continuing to rest and trust in our good and faithful Creator’s timing as we take on every day. Some days are much harder than others, but we sure can’t begin to fathom how much harder the trials of this life would be apart from Christ.

Praying that you too will look to Christ and rest in Him alone today. Ever grateful for your continued prayer,

Emily (for my hard working husband!)

PS Below are some pictures of our Memorial Day weekend with our Davis family:)

                                       Our niece Heidi was teaching us how to “chill” 🙂

                                                       Uncle Mac and Heidi

                                                      Story time with Heidi and Alice!

                                                            Cousins loving their “walk” time

                                          The same sand  I (emily) built castles in at Heidi’s age

                                          Yeah for boat rides that we could ALL participate in!