Bob Vila

Well, not exactly the best day for Pops...turns out he has an ear infection. He was in a lot of pain much of the day until they were able to get him some meds for it. On top of that, they are still trying to determine what is causing him to feel nauseous, they don't know if it's the meds or his food...so just a somewhat miserable day. Although he was tired and hurting, he did still get a chance to do therapy with Dale, which involved roaming the halls...scoping for chicks, perhaps?

The bright spot in everybody's day was a visit from good family friend Jason Hall. Jason has been part of our family for many years, and is one of Mike's very close buddies from high school. Jason had his own spinal cord accident about 12 years ago when he was in college, and actually broke his neck in the same place that dad did. So I know dad was looking forward to his visit...even though he was feeling sick. There's no one in the world that can know what dad is going through right now...except Jason. I know that we all are feeling so thankful for his connection to our family, and that he and dad have been good buds for many years. Jason officially nicknamed dad "Bob Vila" many years ago, since he can basically fix anything, so I know Jason and Bob will be spending lots of time together in the months to come. We all have a new appreciation for what Jason and his family went through years ago, and we are all so grateful to have him in our lives. He will be a great friend and encourager to dad. The sweetest moment was at the end of Jason's visit when he closed the door and asked if he could pray for Pops. Mike said it was an awesome moment to be a part of...to hear the prayers of a young man who knows exactly what dad is going through. We love you J.

The day may have been, well, somewhat poopy, but God still rocks. As some of you know, Mom and Dad have been planning for some time to move into Mike and Becky's house. So the last few months have involved complete remodeling of the house to allow mom and dad to have a seperate little space all their own. As if he isn't stressed enough, Mike had to go to the house yesterday to decide how to refigure mom and dad's space to make it wheelchair accessible. One of the builders walked up to him and asked why he was there, and so Mike explained the situation. The builder revealed to Mike that two of his siblings are in wheelchairs so he knows all about walk-in showers, door widths, etc. to make the house perfect for them. What a huge blessing. What a relief for Mike to have one less thing to figure out. God is so good in how he has prepared us for this crisis. There's no better place for Mom and Dad to be than in a first floor apartment in Mike and Becky's house....with soon to be three grandkids running around keeping dad occupied. God knows what he's doing...which is great...cause most of the time we don't have a clue. Praise God that even during a crummy day, He shows us that He is right here with us. There's nothing to worry about...cause He's already got it covered.