Merry Christmas from Builder Zion

Zion recieved a small tool box for Christmas yesterday. He rewarded mom and dad for the nice gift by putting a small hole in our newly painted kitchen wall when we weren't watching. He thinks he can fix it with his tools, but as with the hole in our living room wall, mom will get the honor of doing the repair. Here is Zion with some of his tools after church today.

Merry Christmas from Moriah

Time Flies at Home

Zach was released from the hospital on October 23rd. We came home and shortly after we arrived my Dad (mom was with us), Josie and Javan, Julie, and Jason arrived. We enjoyed a visit from Joy and Jordan the following weekend (Oct. 30-31st). Zach's parents and siblings have been stoping by often to eat with us or just to visit. On November 2nd Zach returned to IU for appointments and they removed two of the drainage tubes, leaving him with the internal tube in his colon and the neph. tube that drains the urine from his left kidney. Zach was really thankful to have some of the tubes out since they were causing some pain-the two left aren't too bad. We haven't gotten a full report on the CAT SCAN that was done that day yet, but Zach's surgeon looked it over and his assessment was that the cancer in the liver seemed to be the same size as it was at the time of the last scan (maybe even a little smaller.) We go back to IU again on November 30th.

We had a wonderful time with our friends at Leo this past weekend and were thankful to attend Testimonies and Baptisms for Jeremy and Gavin. Zach started back to work this week and worked around 4 hours each day. He is tired at the end of the day, but is glad to be back.

Zion is potty training (again). The process has been slow since Zach and I have been gone so much. He seems to be making some improvement. Uncle Ryan told Zion a scary story a few weeks ago and now he insists on having Zach tell him one every night before bed. We found out that Zion likes to tell stories too. Last night Zion told Zach a story that lasted a 1/2 hour about a lady who kept getting eaten by animals and then climbed out of their mouths (possibly related to hearing Jonah and the Big Fish?). It is so neat to see his imagination developing. Zion is very into playing with construction toys and begs me to get him Bob the Builder DVDs at the Library.

Moriah is learning new sounds and words everyday. She says "bye, bye," "da,da," "ma, ma," "thank you", "all done," and a form of Zion. Just this week she started trying to sing "Jesus Loves Me." She definitely knows what she wants and tries really hard to communicate with us. Moriah loves to eat and insists on using the spoon to fee herself (thankfully she isn't too messy).She has been kind of grumpy since she is getting four teeth.

I have been spend my time taking care of the kids, cleaning up after everyone, working a few hours for Gateway, and finishing up decorating projects. Zach's mom and some of her friends started painting my laundry room while we were at IU and also took down the wallpaper in our dining room. Now I am trying to figure out what color to paint the dining room. I am looking forward to a visit from Joy tomorrow and possibly a shopping trip with my sister-in-laws on Saturday. Excited that Cassie was scheduled to arrive home in Indiana today.

Thanks everyone for your continued prayers. Our God is so Good and He is showing us that He can use this Cancer for HIS HONOR AND GLORY!

Surgery Update

Zach's surgery went well and he seemed to feel pretty good when I left the hosptial last night. We are hoping that he will get to go home tomorrow if everything continues to heal.

Short Update

Zach was admitted back into the hospital yesterday. Today was a busy day for tests and procedures. We couldn't get wireless access in Zach's room, so I am on the Internet for the first time today. Zach has a surgery tomorrow late morning/early afternoon to address the leak they found in his colon. Thanks for all the prayers. I will try to post more information tomorrow.

Prayer Request

Zach and I have appointments tomorrow with his three doctors. We are really concerned that he has an infection. Please pray with us that the doctors will be able to figure out why Zach's body isn't healing and have wisdom to treat whatever problems they find effectively. Pray that we will know how to work with the doctors even as it can be very frustrating when we feel like our concerns aren't being addressed quickly enough.

Thankful for our Busy House

We were blessed beyond measure by our church family over the weekend. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday Brothers (and a few Sisters) tore off the old roof on our house and put on a new one. Several sisters provided meals to us and the many volunteers. My cousin Sarah and her husband, Mike, came for a visit Friday-Sunday and blessed us with their company and their remodeling skills. They tore down the wall between our kitchen and dining room and with help from some Leo Brothers got everything back together by Saturday Night.

As I reflect on the weekend a verse from a song goes through my mind. "God will repay what I can not. Only Heaven knows my heart." My words can not begin to express my appreciation to the many who gave of their time to bless our family. It was so humbling to see over 25 people working on our behalf each day, knowing that many of them were sacrificing time at work and with their families to give to us. My prayer is that each one will be richly rewarded in Heaven for their efforts.