It is hard to believe it, but our second oldest biological son, Joshua, turned 20 years old today.  It is amazing how fast the time goes by, yet when I think of all that has happened in the last 23 years, I know it is only by the grace of God that we are making it.   

Samuel had four great days in a row!  I haven’t seen him smiling this much since his accident.  He is back to taking short little walks to the gate and back.  He is teaching his Sunday School class and Youth Group again.  The medicine is certainly helping him deal with the pain until he can have his next procedure.  I could be wrong, but as well as he seems to be tolerating it, I am hopeful that the tubes are staying in place better than they previously did.  That is what he needs most right now because it will let him heal so he can have the major surgeries in the future.  Yesterday evening, he even went outside and tried to teach Joseph how to trim calves hooves on the trim table.  Samuel knows he won’t be able to return to trimming hooves for a long time, so he is going to try to teach Joseph and Jacob how to do it. 

This little break from Samuel’s hospital stays has given me a much needed break to try to catch up on the everyday things I’ve not been able to do since the accident.  I’ve been trying to catch up on well-child check ups and appointments with the specialists who follow some of our children with special needs.  Last week, Olivia had a great appointment at Scottish Rites in Dallas.   They want her to make a list of all the things she wants to one day accomplish and then they will set up an appointment to go over that list and see what things can be adapted etc. to help her reach her goals.  We probably won’t do it soon, but possibly in a year or two.  It was just great to hear them talk about things she will be able to do that we never dreamed would be possible…..like driving a car!  They told us to have Rachel start on her list too.    

Jonah saw the transplant team at Memorial Hermann Hospital last week too.  We missed his May check-up appointment, so it was nice to try to get back on track again.  His blood work and tests came back showing that his liver is functioning very well and there are no signs of rejection.   They will keep him on the same dosage of anti-rejection medications.  Jonah is now nine years old and he had his transplant when he was 17 months old.  He is 8 years post transplant!!!   What a blessings!!!   

This week, I’ve decided to try to tackle the stacks of mail and bills on the desk.  I am also working on taxes and have set the goal of getting them turned in to our CPA by Friday.  It is such a depressing task, and at times it seems so overwhelming.  Tonight we are going to take the little kids to the fair and it will be a nice break from it all. 

Last, but not least…..I just want to say thank you to everyone who is walking through this with us.  Your prayers and love mean so much to us.   We greatly appreciate everything that has been done to help Samuel and our family through this.  We are so impressed with all the support our Longhorn family has shown Samuel, even those that we don’t even know personally.  Our friends have been amazing through all this and we are so thankful for each of you!!!!