Update 2/21/10 14 weeks since crash

Dear friends,

Today felt the closest to "normal" of any day since November 8. It wasn't a weekday, so Stephen being home wasn't strange. We all went to church in the van, and Smitty drove. We stopped at Freihofer's Thrift Store for bread and a yummy cake after church which we often do on Sundays. I had a pita bread with hummus for lunch while we watched a half hour political show on PBS called "The McLaughlin Group". Hannah worked on her report using her beautiful yellow laptop (thank you again, you wonderful anonymous donor), and Joe played guitar while David cut out some cardboard thingamajig. For a minute, maybe the first minute since the crash, I forgot about the last 14 weeks. I was simply home with my family on a Sunday afternoon. Wow.

We're still looking for a second car to replace the squished one, and frankly the whole car shopping thing is a mystery to me. Neither Stephen nor I really know much about cars, or how to negotiate for them, or what's a good deal. We are praying the Great One will help us through the process as we learn and grow and find the right car. Safety, of course, is a great concern. It amazes me how expensive cars are, even ones with pretty high mileage! Our van has been wonderful, and we'll keep running it til' it's no longer sensible. It's like a comfortable shoe that you understand. We've test driven a 2000 Saturn and a 2000 Buick so far. So send up your prayers for the right car. We know there's one out there for us!

The kids go back to school tomorrow, and we return to the old routine. It was so much fun going skating with David this week, and being home with my children in general. Joseph got a few driving lessons, and Miss Rejoice had 3 sleepovers. When I think what could have been for her, I am filled with a profound gratitude. Despite the challenges still ahead for Hannah, she can experience life. The devastation of brain injury is very real to us. But our hearts are filled with hope and joy at the recovery our dear daughter is making. We trust His Majesty to restore to her ALL from her losses, indeed to give her even more than she lost. In the meantime, she is a delight to our soul just where she is in the process. So are my boys, who make me smile inside and out.

Stephen is doing very well working at home. His new employers are absolutely top drawer, allowing him to work part time from here until he's ready to go back to an office. They have provided him with a laptop to access important things for his work, none of which I understand. I know they are just one more piece of the puzzle of God's gracious provision in all of this, and I am praying the Lord will bless the company greatly for their kind understanding. Steve continues to study for an exam that will give him another license of value in his type of work. It's so healthy for him to be working, even though he really can't do it for a whole day yet. He gets very tired and sore in the afternoon. Sometimes it's easy to forget (because he's doing well) that he's still in the midst of major healing of his bones, lymph system, vascular system and even his brain from concussion. Fourteen weeks is a short time in the wake of the types of injuries Stephen sustained. He stretches himself, but I see the fatigue and the pain he experiences everyday. I love that Hercules! We've got to keep walking the road steadily, but slowly, to allow for the amazing healing power God placed within this miraculous frame to do its job.

Steve's brother Tom gave him a set of the old Batman TV shows, so I'm signing off to watch the Boy Wonder say one of his cheesy lines, and to cheer on the dynamic duo as they put the bad guys in their place. I might have a piece of Friehofer's cake too. My own dynamic duo, Steve and Hannah, are watching the show together right now. And they have been a picture of God putting the ultimate bad guy right in his place. There is no darkness that our Jesus can't put his foot on and crush. POW! BAM! ZAP! God wins every time, no matter what!

I better get in there, sounds like Mr. Freeze is doing something diabolical!

Wish I could share my cake with all of you. You deserve extra frosting.

Your friend on the pilgrim road,

Loriann