THUMBS UP!!! Please Keep Praying

Max continues to amaze us with his recovery. Though it's true that children heal much faster than adults, how short-sighted it would be to leave it at that. For those of us who profess the name of Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we know that God's presence has been actively powerful in this child's life.

As you can see, Max feels great, but we do have a few prayer request for his continued recovery:

-- Please pray Max will stay healthy as he recovers. When the heart/lung bypass machine is used during surgery, the body's immune system can be heavily weakened which obviously makes patients like Max more susceptible to germs, infections, etc. We know we can't put Max in a bubble, but when we get home we'll be a little over-the-top on the anti-bacterial gel and wipes (especially since our three other children are all in school).

-- Please pray a supernatural protection over his breastbone. Max is such an active 2 year old. As the days go by, the absence of a hole in his heart could increase his energy to a level we never saw prior to surgery. His sternum was put back together with stainless steel wire, which takes about 6 weeks for the bone to heal, and any type of fall or blow to his chest could potentially harm the healing process.

We can't wait to get home and hug so many of you for your kindness and generosity over the past few weeks, just don't be offended if we spray you down with Lysol first!!!

HOME SWEET HOTEL!!!

Hi dear friends...we are NOT in the hospital!!! We just got back into our "castle suite" at the Best Western. (It has never looked so good!!!)

We are now here for one more week. Our follow-up appointment will be either Thursday or Friday and our flight home is Saturday, October 6. Max has just settled in for a private viewing of Peter Pan (along with some Peter Pan loot he had waiting for him at the hotel, compliments of the local Disney Store (are we Baptists still boycotting that??? ooops).

Anyway, not sure how active the posts will be going forward, but I may include some pictures of Max throughout the week for his brothers and sister.

All of you continue to overwhelm us with your emails and posts. This has not been a week I'd like to repeat, but it has certainly reminded us of so many precious people and relationships God has blessed us with over the years.

PSALM 147:3 - "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

Max's heart has been healed!!! Thank you God for your amazing love!!!

Here are a some pictures of us getting into the hotel a few minutes ago.

MAX IS ON THE MOVE!

PETER PAN FOUND HIS WAY INTO MOM'S LAP

GETTING READY FOR HIS FIRST WAGON RIDE AROUND THE FLOOR

KIND OF BASHFUL AS WE RECEIVE WAVES IN THE WAGON PARADE

WHAT DID NONEE (GRANDMOTHER) BRING US FROM THE DISNEY STORE?

MOM AND MAX AFTER A BUSY AFTERNOON

FRIDAY'S REPORT

We are out of ICU and in a general recovery room (1532). Max is doing very well. In fact, if he continues to progress like he has so far, we could possibly be discharged tomorrow...UNBELIEVABLE!!! We'll be released to the good ole Best Western across the street, where we will wait for his follow-up appointment next week. We are told it will not be until Thursday or after.

The last "not fun" thing to do is remove the drain line from his incision site. He'll get a little morphine before it's removed, so we pray that goes smoothly. Every time anyone in scrubs enters the room he gets extremely upset (that's happening on the hour at this point), but we are able to get in bed and hold him so it makes those moments better for all of us.

Courtney slept in bed with him last night, so I get the privilege tonight. How thankful we are to hold him again!!!

I'll post an update later today and hopefully include some pictures of Max moving around!

CHECK OUT THAT SMILE!!!

John David, Hadley and Caleb,

Your little brother is getting better! He still gets sleepy and a little sad at times, but that great smile you love is starting to shine through! (the line on his chest is NOT blood, it is a special soap they put on his scar to clean it)

A Few Early Morning Thoughts

Dear Friends, how grateful we are for the last 24 hours. This time yesterday morning I was watching Max sleep in the hotel and now I am sitting in ICU watching him try to sleep. If any of you have been in this situation with a little one before, you understand the process. He is very frustrated with the restraints, the IVs, the bed, the...well, EVERYTHING! When he sleeps, he sleeps; when he's awake, he cries. He's been awake for over an hour but has thankfully drifted back to sleep.

Courtney went to lay down at the Ronald McDonald House here in the hospital around 3:30 after letting me get a few hours myself. We are both exhausted, but it's a good tired...a "Praise the Lord" tired!

Though the huge hurdle of surgery is behind us, we still covet your prayers for a few things:
- Max continues routine chest x-rays to monitor his lungs. As much as his crying breaks our hearts, there's nothing better at the moment to keep his lungs clear. His lungs need to stay that way.
- Max's emotional state. I intellectually understand that his time in ICU will be a distant memory if a memory at all; but, each moment he's awake and frantically trying to process his surroundings, I pray our Father would wipe these brief hours from his mind.
- REST for all of us! Pray that 3 hours of sleep will feel like 6 to our bodies. "For nothing is impossible with God" Luke 1:37
- Please don't forget about John David, Hadley and Caleb back home. Courtney and I miss them terribly!!!

Every post and email continues to be such an encouragement to us. Though we are far from home, we are far from lonely. We have all of you to thank for that.

THIS PICTURE IS FOR JOHN DAVID, HADLEY AND CALEB. MAX WANTS YOU TO SEE THAT HE IS O.K. I ASKED HIM TO SMILE FOR YOU BUT HE IS VERY SLEEPY. HE LOVES YOU GUYS A LOT AND KEEPS ASKING TO SEE YOU!

LIONS, TIGERS and MAX, Oh My! (and an orangutan)

Since we had an unexpected "extra" day in Houston due to surgery being postponed, we decided to take Max to the Houston Zoo. It was nice to have a little down time, but I have to be honest...delaying the inevitable has been pretty hard for us. Even so, Max had such a great time today laughing and playing, and the animals were exceptionally active (Thank You Lord!).

To be perfectly transparent, seeing him enjoy himself as much as he did made me want to get on a plane tonight and bring him home. Courtney and I both feel like we are betraying him, because he has no clue why we are really here (I KNOW IT'S AN IRRATIONAL THOUGHT BUT IT'S THERAPY FOR ME TO WRITE IT!). The desire to put myself on the operating table instead of my baby is so strong as I write this sentence. When we release him to the anesthesiologist tomorrow morning, I can only imagine the enormity of that desire!

Once again, Max is teaching me a lesson I'd rather not learn at the moment. Max does not belong to me. God's purpose for Max is much higher than mine! A testimony is being built in this child's life that surpasses anything I could ever create, manipulate or control!!! Does this change how I feel at the moment! NO. Will this simple truth impact my life forever? YES!

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” ISAIAH 55:9

Max and I just finished a great talk before he went to sleep. He can't stop talking about all the animals he saw today. So, enjoy some of Max’s favorite pictures from the zoo…they were hand-picked by him.