Today we spent the day in Idaho with my Mother and some of our family. It was a small crowd, but we had a great day together. Our children are spread from Arizona to Boise, Idaho today and so it was Dan, Angie and I representing our family at Grandma's house. The food was wonderfully delicious - my Mom is an awesome cook. I especially love the homemade rolls...!
Dan and I are thankful for many things this year. It has been exactly one year since returning home from China. We flew home last year, and then traveled up to Idaho the next day for the Thanksgiving holiday. I remember that I came down with a cold and was sick the whole weekend....
What an amazing experience we have had this year! It has been one of great hope for improvement for Dan -- and also one of some disappointment that we have not been able to realize the progress that we had hoped for. It has also been a year that we have connected with others that share the same hopes for their loved ones, and we have been touched by their examples. We have fond memories of our friends that we met in China and those whose stories we have followed. In many ways, we are different people as we have a deeper appreciation of the struggles of others and the burdens they carry. We have connected to a community of people that has blessed our lives for good.
We have also been forever changed by the outpouring of love and support shown to us by family and friends alike. We were amazed at all the people that stepped forward and donated to our cause... it made us realize that we have a great group of people that care for us and have been willing to give of their means so that we could have this great opportunity for Dan. It was a risk that none of us knew if it would work, but the support came freely from so many sources that it humbled us to know how many others cared for us. We thank you again for your goodness to us and for believing in us!! Someday -- we want to be the kind of people that can see a need of others and be the ones to reach out and help. We want to give back to others as others have given so generously to us.
More than anything, we have a renewed hope and determination to keep going, even if the progress is slow. The things that we strive for in life do not always come instantly or overnight, but that does not mean they are unworthy of the effort. There are many lessons to learn on the journey and we are thankful to be traveling the road together.
Dan got a "reworked" leg brace back on Tuesday this week and so he is able to walk much better now. We are going to switch our insurance back at the first of the year - the carrier that we have been with this year has denied on many items. We hope to get Dan a new brace next year, but this one is better than not having one at all. We are working on not trying to slip back into old habits (of rotating the hip to move the leg...) I have it easy - I say "Dan, why don't you just stand there and practice transferring your weight from side to side... after you do that for about 30 minutes -- let me know how it is going..." He looks at me like I am crazy, but I think if he would listen more to his wife (therapist) that he would do much better! ;-)
We wish you all a great Thanksgiving time, and want to again thank everyone for their prayers and support in our behalf! YOU have made a great difference for us and we love and appreciate you all! Happy Thanksgiving!
4 comments:
Thanks for sharing the holiday with us! Sorry if we were boring-we were really tired. Thanks Uncle Dan for eating my experimental pumpkin muffins, I will have to make some good ones next time :-)
Glad you had fun with Grandma. I too love her rolls! Thanksgiving is always fun at Grandma B's!
I stumbled across your blog and was greatly encouraged. My mom was hit by a care while out for a walk this past thanksgiving. She suffered from a brain aneyism 33 years ago and is now revisiting those same wounds. We have a long road ahead of us. Reading your story and seeing your faith through your walk, step by step, was so very encouraging. Thank you for sharing and keep going toward that goal. God is good and he will see you through.
I stumbled across your blog and it gave me great hope. My mom was hit by a car while taking a walk on thanksgiving. She is currently in the hospital and making very slow steps towards progress. We don't know if "she" will ever come back to the surface, in spite of very healthy vital signs. She also suffered from a stroke 33 years ago and is revisiting some of those pysical injuries. Seeing your hope and faith lived out is so powerful. Thank you for sharing your story and keep seeing God. He will see you through.
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