What do you do when you ask God for something and He says, “No?”

Go ahead. Talk. Or write!

Here is Hope with her oh-so-serious look.

***

Speaking of serious, we would appreciate some serious prayer.

Awhile ago, we asked the owners of our townhouse if they would finish the bathroom in the basement (Really, it’s the first floor. It’s above ground and has a sliding-glass backdoor and lots of windows. But we spend most of the time on the second floor and sleep on the third floor). Our hope was that if we moved Carmen and the nurses from the third floor to the first floor, we could have a little bit of privacy while the nurses are here at night and in the morning. During the day, Carmen would still be with us on the main (second) floor.

Well, the owners said they empathized with our situation but would not finish the bathroom in the basement.

We spoke with a Realtor and there is nothing in Lauren’s current school district for rent.

While these were certainly not the answers we were hoping to receive, they have led us to step back and reconsider something we’ve been wrestling with for the past couple of years.

In short, we are wondering if now is the time for us to leave this area. So many things would have to fall into place:

• Timing: Our lease is up at the end of June.
• Location: Dave needs to be reasonably close to a major airport. Ideally, he would be near one of his company’s offices so he can work-from-home some and work-in-the-office some. Carmen needs to be in an area with doctors, nursing care and Hospice care. And all of those need to take our insurance!
• School: Lauren will be entering first grade in the Fall so school district is very important.
• House: We strongly prefer a home with a separate space for Carmen and the night nurses.
• Support System: We can’t do this alone. So, wherever we live needs to have an instant support system.
• Church: We can always watch Andy Stanley and Francis Chan DVDs but a great local church is very important to us.

Thank you in advance for praying with us. We want to live boldly but not foolishly. Sometimes the line between those two is hard to discern.

]]> http://www.beautifulcanvas.org/2010/05/so-serious/feed/ 13 http://www.beautifulcanvas.org/2010/04/to-bloom-again/ http://www.beautifulcanvas.org/2010/04/to-bloom-again/#comments Wed, 28 Apr 2010 14:35:05 +0000 Lana http://www.beautifulcanvas.org/?p=7715 It’s been a rough week. We would greatly appreciate your prayers. Here are the specifics.

Wes and Steve (Dave’s brothers)

Brief update: Wes’ body rejected the kidney that Steve donated last week. Wes is still in the hospital, hoping to be released tomorrow. He has been dealing with a lot of pain but is feeling better. Steve is also doing better and may get to travel back home today (he has been recuperating near the hospital).

• For Wes to continue recovering from two major kidney surgeries within a week.
• For Steve to continue recovering from donating his kidney last week.
• For both to emotionally heal.
• For Steve’s and Wes’ families. They too have gone through a very traumatic week.
• For the doctors to come up with the best course of action for Wes now.

Our Family

• For our marriage. Lately, we have not been responding well to the enormous amount of  stress we are under.
• For our living situation. We are still in limbo land as far as where we will be living after this summer. The owners of our townhouse did send out two contractors for an estimate on finishing the basement bathroom but we haven’t heard further.
• For Carmen. There’s nothing specific going on with Carmen but we always appreciate your prayers for her.

I took a picture of these flowers in our front yard a few weeks ago. They only bloomed for a few days. But, they reminded me that the bleak, dead days are only for a season and that life does bloom again.

Please pray!

***

The doctors were unable to save Wes’ new kidney.

***

Today is the big day for Dave’s two brothers. Dave’s younger brother, Steve, is donating a kidney to Dave’s older brother, Wes. They are in surgery now. Please pray that all goes well with both surgeries, recoveries, and that Wes’s body accepts the new kidney.

]]> http://www.beautifulcanvas.org/2010/04/good-morning-to-you/feed/ 13 http://www.beautifulcanvas.org/2010/04/brothers-kidneys-and-brothers-with-a-kidney/ http://www.beautifulcanvas.org/2010/04/brothers-kidneys-and-brothers-with-a-kidney/#comments Tue, 13 Apr 2010 12:56:23 +0000 Dave © http://www.beautifulcanvas.org/?p=7387 Once upon a time, there were three brothers. They all had kidneys that worked just fine.

One day, the eldest brother’s kidneys began to fail. Doctors told him that he’d need a transplant very soon. The other two brothers were tested and both were considered matches. And so there was great discussion among the three brothers about donating a kidney to the eldest brother and which of the brothers would donate.

But as these discussions took place, the kidneys of the eldest brother stabilized. They weren’t particularly effective. Yet they weren’t bad enough to warrant an immediate transplant. One day passed. Then a week. A month. A year. God had stood time still, or so it seemed. Talk of a transplant dissipated.

Almost ten years later, the kidneys of the eldest brother once again began their downward spiral and discussions about a transplant ensued. The youngest brother stepped forward and said he would be the one to donate one of his kidneys. They scheduled the transplant for April 20, 2010. They underwent additional tests to prepare for the surgery.

Now…they wait.

Lord willing, my two brothers will go under the knife one week from today and my younger brother, Steve, will donate one of his kidneys to my older brother, Wes.

I humbly request that you join me in prayer for this surgery, that all will go well and that both of my brothers will recover quickly and fully. My prayer is that come this time next week, I’ll have two brothers, each of whom has one perfectly healthy kidney.

Thanks,

Dave

I hate to write this, but we need to.  Elise is doing really bad now.  Her O2 sats are not coming up, and she is severely anemic.  We can’t do much else for her now except keep her comfortable and prepare for the end.  I wish we didn’t have to let her go, but it has to happen, I guess.  We’ll let you know what happens as time progresses. She’s on oxygen and just had some morphine to help calm her.   —John

Elise’s 7th birthday is a week from Friday. Please pray for Elise and her family. I am praying that Elise will pull through this and her family will be able to joyfully celebrate her 7th birthday. And I’m praying that Elise will be comfortable and that her family will feel God’s love, comfort and peace.

Update Tuesday night from Elise’s parents:

With an aching heart…Elise officially earned her angel wings at 7:07 p.m. She was being held by John and I as she took her last breath, surrounded by her loving family and friends. Rest in peace Sweet Angel.

Recently, Carlos over at ragamuffinsoul.com posted perhaps his best blog ever. I’ll send you over there but in quick summary, Carlos had an amazing encounter with a homeless guy named Danny. Most of us wouldn’t think that a homeless guy is exactly making it in life but Danny would disagree. He actually told Carlos that he is not just trying to make it, he is making it. And that God says, yea though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death… and He places some of us in that valley.

I’m still not sure how we are going to make it through this valley but if Danny is making it, I pray Dave and I will too.

We sure could use your prayers for strength for each day.

Click here to read Carlos’ blog and watch the AMAZING video of Carlos and Danny.

***

Dave would certainly appreciate your prayers too. He went to the doctor this morning and has bronchitis. He started an antibiotic today and hopefully it will work fast!

Thanks to Tammy and Jason for the delicious chili, cornbread and salad. I am just about to go eat more for lunch!

Speaking of nurses, our case manager called this morning to let us know that Carmen was approved for four more hours per day of nursing coverage. We’re super excited and grateful! Thank you, thank you, thank you, God!!! And thank you, Tricia. The additional hours will be huge.

Thank you all for your prayers! We’re hanging in and hanging on and will persevere through these trying times! I sort of follow a pastor in Charlotte, NC named Steven Furtick. I haven’t read his blog in quite awhile but decided to click over to his site earlier today. This was his current blog post. I think he was writing to me . He might have been writing to you too.

Thank you all for your offers of support. Thank you, Monica, for sitting at the house last night so I could go visit Lana while Lauren slept at home. And a big THANK YOU to Sun, who drove over to the hospital yesterday afternoon to sit with Carmen in the parking lot while I went into the hospital to visit Lana. Children under 12 aren’t allowed — or are greatly discouraged from going — into the hospital because of rampant swine flu.Please forgive me if I’m forgetting anyone else. My memory isn’t as good as Lana’s!

In short, we went in for her follow-up doctor appointment early this afternoon. Apparently, a week of strict bed rest didn’t quite do the trick. Upon examination, the doctors found that Lana is 1 cm dilated. She’s in the hospital now. They are giving her additional medication to try to stop the contractions and are also giving her steroids that will increase Baby Hope’s lung capacity in the event of a delivery in the near-term.

I’ll head back to the hospital tonight, after the night nurse arrives to take care of Carmen and after Lauren is asleep (kids aren’t allowed at the hospital due to rampant swine flu). I’m going to add a Twitter feed on the right side of the web page to post short updates. Look at the “Twitter Feed” section.

Appreciate the prayers!