Garment Free

Last month we paid our last medical bill and found out that Grace no longer has checkups or needs to wear the pressure garments on her feet! She is healing up very well!

All praise to God!

So Long Farewell

We wanted just to send a final update as to where we are at the end of 2009 and call it quits on the blog. You can always feel free to email or call.

Thank you so much again for all of your prayers and kind notes and gifts over the past few months. Tomorrow (December 20) Grace turns 26 and it will be exactly 10 weeks since the fire at our house. We are sooo thankful to our Lord and Healer and how He has brought us to this point after a scary few weeks at the beginning. We hope that this blog and the communication we've been able to have has been an encouragement to ya'll in case you ever have to go through something like this. There will be troubles in this world, but if you know Christ you have a rock to cling to.

Grace is doing really well, she has full use of her feet again in terms of walking anywhere, riding a stationary bike, and even driving again!! Her breathing is totally fine as I know that is a question I get a lot. She has a little rasp in her voice but it's getting better each day and doesn't sound bad at all. She has enjoyed being able to sing a little more each day and get the ability to hit different notes back. Last week she got passed from weekly check-ups to every 3 MONTHS!!! We are so thankful for that and she is getting ready to head back to work at HOPE International here in the new year. As you know she will wear the pressure garments on her feet and shorts (like biker shorts) for a year. That is mainly for the scaring so it doesn't happen.

Thank you again so much for your thoughts and prayers through all of this!!!! Here are some pictures of what her feet look like after many weeks of healing already. The pictures were taken just last week. We'll also have some pictures since outside right now it's a BLIZZARD!! We are getting snowed in on Grace's b-day weekend! Pretty fun!!

Our email is lamarandgrace@gmail.com

Love to all!

Stay Tuned...

Final update coming soon...with pictures and all...

Thanksgiving

Hi all,

Hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving this past week! What a blessing to enjoy this holiday again with Grace! It meant even more to us this year and it really seems like we've had Thanksgiving everyday for the past several weeks, thankful for each little blessing along the way. Thanks so much for your continued prayers and support. Meals are still being brought and we are seeing great improvements each day.

Grace is up and about a lot more often and is getting back to normal in a lot of ways. We'll continue to build that energy level back up and get that voice stronger each day. We had a great time with her family this past weekend and look forward to some time with my family this coming weekend. A chance for me to get a big buck maybe :)

Sorry again for my delays in between posts...no news is good news :)

Lamar

Step by Step

Thank you again so much for your thoughts and prayers. Your gifts and your tears. Each day seems to get a little better. Grace has been out and about with her sister Julia today doing some Christmas shopping and for some jeans since the EMT dudes destroyed the ones she was wearing at the time of the fire :) It's a beautiful day here in PA...so beautiful I enjoyed the morning by hitting the golf course one last time for the year here in PA. I won't comment on the score, but I had a ton of fun. Started with a birdie and the first hole and then fell off a cliff :)

We look forward to next week where Grace's whole family will be together, Lord willing, for Thanksgiving up in the Poconos. What a joy it will be for all the sisters to be together as well as 3 of us hubbies. After that we look forward to some cookie making and deer hunting with the Kings for our Thanksgiving and then we barrel right into December.

I've been reading in Job still and working on "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper. I highly suggest both :) Each day counts...love it and live it in love for Him.

You rock and have been a rock for us, thank you!
Lamar

Guinea Pigs

Hi All,

Yeah I know a weird title...but I'll try to explain. Sorry again it's been so long that I've written when at home it's nicer to just be with Grace that be updating all of you...sorry for being selfish :) Earlier it was easy to get on and update because it gave me something to do.

So back to the G-Pigs...when you start doing stuff for the first time again it feels like we are G-pigs. Meals we've never had before, borrowing a wheelchair at the mall, jumping to a size 9 in slippers, and going to the movies for the first time in awhile. Last night we ventured out of the house for a good ole $2 movie called G-Force. One of the newer computer animated movies with Guinea Pigs that were trying to be special agents for the FBI. A cute movie and great chance to get out of the house.

We have been so blessed with an incredible sunday school class that has been bringing us meals this last week, we got to have all kinds of goodies from stuffed shells to roast beef and even an apple pie! We missed being on our retreat this weekend but look forward to joining for the next one Lord willing. We are so thankful to be at home and sleeping in our own bed and chilling in our own LR and kitchen. Thanks so much for your prayers and support over the past month+.

Continue to pray for Grace's healing of her feet and donor sites and for perseverence to keep pushing through one day at a time. We are about to have another first in going to back to church together here this morning...first time in 5 weeks now.

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Home complete...

Today they put the finishing touches on the house and I had off work because of Veterans Day so we headed to the mall to look for curtains!! We found ones that we liked and ordered some for the patio door so that will be nice when they come. But I thought I would put some pictures on of the newly looking house since you saw the pics early on of the damage. They've done a great job...what a blessing to have insurance. I give a personal shout out to Donegal Insurance Group!! Their rates are great and they don't cut corners when you need them!! (Or else the corner needs fixed :) A little dry humor there for you.

I was pushing Grace around in a wheelchair at the mall and that was fun, we got a lot of looks like...why is there a 25 year old, lightweight lady in a wheelchair. Those that saw the fluffy pink slippers I'm sure came up with some reasons as to why.

Sleep was harder last night due to some tightening of the dressings, but we think some of it is the switch from the ibuprofen to tylenol as well. So we'll get some tylenol PM tonight to hopefully help out with sleeping. Grace's feet are healing up and looking a little better each day, putting on Santyl has really helped some of the sores!!

I'll even included a picture of Grace getting help from her sister nurse Julia :) She has come each night after work to do the foot work...as her hands are a little gentler than mine and she knows what she is doing :)

Thanks for your continued prayers and support...Jesus is our Rock and is with us in this storm.