Learning to walk...

Well, Caleb got his leg yesterday!!! I find this very exciting but Caleb is a little apprehensive. He is afraid of falling, I can't say that I blame him. He will start physical therapy on Tuesday to learn the correct way to walk. Hopefully tomorrow we will be going to get his new dog. Now this is exciting to him! He has been wanting a dog of his own for so long! Jacob is worried that it will upset his little Sugar, but I think it will be fine. Well I think that's about it for now. Have a wonderful week-end!
Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth. . . .
— Isaiah 43:19

Answered Prayer...

I should have updated a few days ago but I let time get away from me... Caleb went last Friday for his first fitting and the leg fit like a glove! His technician was shocked that it fit so well and I told him that much prayer had taken place before he did the casting for this leg, he said we should pray for him all the time! he said Caleb can wear it home on Thursday (yes, this Thursday), he was really surprised by how well Caleb was doing with it. I do need to find a PT for him to work with some. We are at the hospital right now doing chemo, this is a short treatment so we go home tomorrow. He only has 3 treatments left, hopefully (prayerfully) he will be finished by the first week of November. We have been told that the further he gets into his treatments the more blood transfusions he will need, so far this has proven to be true.
I can hardly believe that he will be 13 in a little more than 3 weeks! He had wanted to go play laser tag for his birthday but we will have to put that off until after chemo and when his blood counts are back to normal. We thought we had a dog for him but it looks like that fell through so if anyone knows of an unwanted yorkie let me know. He really wants one and asks for one all the time! He has actually eaten a little bit today, I had beef fajita's for lunch and I always let him have them (he only eats the steak strips) and then there was apple sauce on my dinner tray that he ate most of, I got him a bag of doritos and a hershey bar that he will snack on later and a sprite. Well I gotta get off of here, Dancing with the Stars will be on soon!
Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, 'says the Lord, who has compassion on you" Isaiah 54:10

Getting Blood

We are in OKC today, Caleb had to have a blood transfusion, his hemoglobin was too low so he needed blood, his platelets are low also so he can't do chemo until next week. We will be back in OKC on Friday for his pre-admit and then over to Scott-Sabolich for his first prosthesis fitting. We are very excited about this! Last Saturday they had the Caleb-Fest and that went very well. Caleb really enjoyed it, he sat there selling t-shirts all day with his friend, Anna, from school. It's exciting to see how much people care. I will be putting a picture of the shirt on here with a number to call in case anyone wants to order one, Caleb liked them really well. Well we are getting ready to leave so I better close this out. Have a wonderful evening!
Psalm 121:1-2I lift up my eyes to the hills -- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth

Today...

Where to start... This has been a really tough week, I'm not sure why exactly. Someone from church is making t-shirts for the Caleb Fest and she asked if there was a scripture that we had held onto through this...I thought that would be easy, I'd just go through the blog and pull one out, HA! Let me tell you, going back through the blog...Oh man, it brought everything right back to the surface, that was on Monday, Tuesday I had to go through pictures for a video of Caleb for the Caleb Fest, again ripping my heart out...Seeing him all through his life, so full of life... Mom's hold their newborn babies and count their toes and fingers and bend their legs and arms...we make sure everything works, that everything is all there and ok....Then today, I just listened to the interview that I did about Caleb and ... She asked me about Caleb...there is so much I didn't say, he is a vibrant child... I love words, I always have, but there just aren't big enough, or colorful enough words to describe Caleb... Caleb is the brightest, sunniest, blue sky, full of lighting and thunder and the most fantastic rainbow you have ever seen all at once! Can you picture that? All of this that he has been through this year, it has made him a better person, he is the same, but different, yes, more grown up, that is a given in a situation like this, he is more loving, more caring, more open, tender, softer, gentler, brighter, happier... Wow...how do you go through finding out you have cancer, go through chemo and all that that entails ( hair loss, weight loss, nausea, low blood counts...) have your leg amputated, wait 3 months to be told you can have your prosthesis, miss a year of school, lose any form of normalcy whatsoever, have people stare at you, and somehow, through all of that wind up being a happier , better, more content with life, person? Oh, and only be twelve?
Well I need to go get Caleb up so we can get ready to go to OKC to have his leg cast, by the way, the scripture that I finally came up with?
Lamentations 3:21-23 21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Great News...

Great news! Caleb's leg has been approved!!! We are super excited! He has an appointment next Wednesday for them to cast his leg, then we go back the next week to start the fittings. Isn't that just awesome? His teacher (Ms. Heather) is here right now, they are trying to find him a book to read. He is just now starting his schooling for the year. I love Heather, she won't let him get away with slacking. Well, I think that's it for now, I just wanted to catch you all up. I appreciate all of you so much, thank you for all your prayers and support and please don't stop praying! We still have a long way to go on this journey! Once the leg is ready to wear it will have to be fitted a few times for comfort, and I am sure walking with it will be a challenge of it's own. I have no doubts that he will be able to master this challenge with the same strength he has had through all of this, and like he said to me just a little while ago. "God has been working!" . I agree and I believe He will continue to do so!
"The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."(Luke 18:27)

Today...

We are home from the hospital, we got here around 3:30 yesterday, just in time to pick up Jacob and feed him before his game. Jake had his very first football game last night, he didn't get to play but he sure looked good in his uniform! (Big grin here from mom) They won, 24-12, yeah!!! He was running around saying "we're undefeated!" Yeah, he's a goober.
Caleb had to have a blood transfusion before his last round of chemo night before last. He was so ready to come home (me too). I think it is getting harder to go do this instead of easier. It is easier in that we know what to expect but harder to just do it. I let him go to school today and it was harder to drive away today than it was on the first day of school. I cried all the way home. I prayed as I drove away that God would protect him from all sickness, to keep him from falling and to protect him from meanness. I know that no one made fun of or picked on him the last time he went but I also know there is a first time for everything and some kids can be very cruel. Pastor Doug came to see us this trip and has asked Caleb to do an interview. Doug is going to do a sermon (sermon may not be the right word) at Youth Convention on heroes. He wants to use Caleb as an example and would even like for him to be there and to come out on stage (with other people). Caleb isn't sure about this yet so we will see what happens. Well I think I have you all caught up for the moment, I am including something from one of my devotions from today. I waited to read them until I got home from dropping off the boys, solitude, just me and God, I can hear Him speak that way! I know all of you mom's know exactly what I mean! I will add my own thoughts in red so you know what is mine and what inspired me to think.
Psalm 46: 1 "God is our refuge and strength, a tested help in times of trouble." One of my absolute favorite scriptures!
I don't like pain. I dread uncertain times. When life spirals out of control, I often withdraw from friends and family in an attempt to hide. Stress can paralyze me and make it difficult for me to function normally. Small tasks become huge mountains as the clouds gather and the winds pick up speed. To think that storms are for my good is a stretch to say the least. (All of that describes me perfectly! I seriously couldn't have described me any better! I have dealt with all of this through this journey we are on, and even Caleb has gone through the withdrawing part.)
I know you have repeatedly heard and even taught the truth that we are strengthened by our storms. Honestly, there have been times when I felt as if I would explode if one more person told me to praise God for my storm.( I will add, you don't praise Him for the storm, you praise Him THROUGH the storm!) Looking back, however, there is absolutely no doubt that my greatest growth has come during my most fierce life storms. Each storm has become a spiritual marker, a testament to the sufficiency and faithfulness of God. ( I have to agree with that) It is from those markers that a powerful life is shaped and molded.
Father, give me new eyes to see Your hand at work in the midst of my life storms. I surrender my fear and disbelief to the certainty of Your truth. I choose to trust You even if I don't understand You. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, I ask that You strengthen me for whatever tomorrow holds and help me to remember that tomorrow is in Your hands.
In Jesus' name, Amen( I thought that prayer was spot on so I left it alone!)