Please Pray!

Hi Friends...

I write today with a heavy heart asking for prayers. My sweet second cousin, Madyson (not my niece that lived with us) is in a fight for her life. This past Sunday my cousin's wife, Sonya, and their two daughters, Madyson (4) and Mikayla (3), were in a car accident. One of the rear tires on their pick-up truck blew out and the truck flew off the road, flipping several times.

Sonya was able to get the two girls out and start CPR on Madyson. Once the paramedics arrived they got them to the closest hospital, but quickly had to move Madyson to Jackson, MS to get her the proper care. Sonya, after passing out and being revived, got a clean bill of health. Mikayla had quite a bit of glass in her which they were thankfully able to remove.

Madyson did not fair as well as her mom and sister. At this point we know that she has at least 4 skull fractures, as well as a fractured C4. She sustained liver damage, and an unknown extent of brain stem damage. She is currently still in Jackson, MS in the ICU. Her brain pressure remains unsteady, and her current regimen of medicine keeps her in a coma. At this point there is some signs that her body is trying to breathe over the ventilator, but with her brain being unable to regulate its' own pressure, there is no way for the doctors to know how much damage has been done. We do know there is at least one blood clot behind her eyes keeping her pupils from dilating.

As I write, the accident happened about 72 hours ago. At this point the doctors look for the swelling inside the brain to be leveling out. Please pray that God would supernaturally intervene and heal little Mady! Also please pray that her family would be comforted during this time, especially her mother, as she was driving the car (even though there was no way she could have avoided the accident). Thank you ahead of time for your prayers! Madyson and Caleb are nearly the same age, and I simply cannot imagine having to watch my little boy suffer in this way!

All my love!

Teresa

Pretty in Pink?

Okay, I changed our blog layout. The old layout kept giving me a "Picture removed by photobucket" square right in the middle of the screen. For the life of me I couldn't figure out what photo it was talking about!

So, what do you think about the new layout? Is it a bit too girly and pink? Will hasn't see it yet, so I'm thinking I have a few days to search the web for a new one I like :)

You were probably hoping this was going to be a post with photos, but I fooled you! Ha! Just kidding! No, but really, we bought a new Mac when we arrived here in Illinois because the movers destroyed our PC. I will be honest in saying that I am totally Mac incompetent. In fact, I have often referred to it as the Apple! Yes, I realize that I am totally comparing this great new computer to my family's first Apple-E computer! Some of you out there will think I am crazy, but I digress. All our photos are downloaded on this magnificent (or so I am told) Mac, and since I have only touched the thing twice since we bought it 3 weeks ago, I am not about to make it 3 times by trying to download pics by myself. So, as soon as I can convince William to do it for me, I will post those pictures... to include... Caleb's fourth birthday party, our last days in Colorado, our fun road trip through Kansas (seriously we made it fun!), the new rental, Caleb's first day of Pre-K, Caleb's soccer team, the Magic house, and our trip to Huntsville.

Since this is no longer a blog all about me (shucks!) I am only going to include one little paragraph about myself :). My health since we arrived here has been fairly good! I have been so thankful that my headaches have been few and far between. Right before we left Colorado I was able to see a Medical Massage Therapist. She was amazing! These sessions were in no way nice relaxing massages though! She was very well trained to work specific muscles in the body, and she knew exactly how to manipulate the muscles up and down my neck and back to release the grasp they had on my Occipital Nerve. It did wonders! Here in Illinois we have not been able to find someone with the same credentials as this therapist, but I have been able to get my referral to a new neurologist. As for my primary care, we have already been experiencing the run around with Tricare. Please pray that we can speak to the right people to get the problems sorted out! I am in need of having some medicines re-leveled, so it is very important for this to happen in a timely manner.

As for ministry happenings, Will and I are encouraged by the opportunities we see around us. The base Chapel is always a place in need of people who are willing to labor for the kingdom. We will be teaching the high school Sunday school class starting this Sunday. We are hoping that this will blossom into some key relationships within the chapel community. There are moms all around that I get to interact with, and I am hoping that those relationships will lead to some great ministry times.

Well, that's about all from Illinois right now. I am busy trying to get the house in order, and anticipating a Midwestern Fall.
Much Love
Teresa for the 3 of us.

Dear friends, it has been quite a while since our last post! We have been very busy getting ourselves settled into our new home here in Illinois. I don't have any pictures to share today, but I will soon be doing a giant photo post. Today I just had to share a few words of inspiration. Will and I have been struggling to make our new rental house feel like a home. Things have been constantly going wrong with this house! Between leaking faucets, broken pipes, dirty bathrooms, a broken dishwasher, and strange smells we are really having to trust that the Lord brought us to this house for His purposes. I stumbled across the following the other day and was brought to tears...

"My Home is God Himself"; Christ brought me there.
I laid me down within His mighty arms;
He took me up, and safe from all alarms
He bore me "where no foot but His hath trod,"
Within the holiest at Home with God,
And bade me dwell in Him, rejoicing there.
O Holy Place! O Home divinely fair!
And we, God's little ones, abiding there.

"My Home is God Himself"; it was not so!
A long, long road I traveled night and day,
And sought to find within myself some way,
Aught I could do, or feel to bring me near;
Self effort failed, and I was filled with fear,
And then I found Christ was the only way,
That I must come to Him and in Him stay,
And God had told me so.

And now "my Home is God," and sheltered there,
God meets the trials of my earthly life,
God compasses me round from storm and strife,
God takes the burden of my daily care.
O Wondrous Place! O Home divinely fair!
And I, God's little one, safe hidden there.
Lord, as I dwell in Thee and Thou in me,
So make me dead to everything but Thee;
That as I rest within my Home most fair,
My soul may evermore and only see
My God in everything and everywhere;
My Home is God.
-Author Unknown

Will and I love that we move every few years at the whim of the Air Force. We are always up for meeting new people and exploring new places. The downside to this is that we also have to "rebuild" our home and our support system. Yes we can always pick up the phone and hear friendly voices, but it takes a little while at a new base before we can just walk next door and see friendly faces. This poem reminded me again that as our family sojourns in this world, we have a permanent eternal home in God. It is perfect, steady, and a place of refuge. What words of comfort!
Much love!
T