silently planning...

He will silently plan for you,
His object of omniscient care;
God Himself undertakes to be your
pilot through each subtle snare.

He will silently plan for you,
So certainly He cannot fail!
Rest on the faithfulness of God,
In Him you will surely prevail.

He will silently plan for you,
Some wonderful surprise of love.
No eye has seen, nor ear has heard.
But it is kept for you above.

He will silently plan for you,
His purposes will all unfold;
Your tangled life will shine at last,
A masterpiece of skill untold.

He will silently plan for you,
Happy child of a Father's care,
As if no other claimed His love,
But you alone to Him were dear.
M.Grimes

I came across this in my readings and it is settling in my heart. It is truth and everything that I am feeling in my heart. The "silently" is so hard yet to know His purposes will all unfold is so good for my spirit to know. I could go on and on about this...let it sink into your heart...

Another week of busy with a capital B! Life moves so fast and it doesn't leave Ben and I to sit around much! I feel that it is good to stay busy and live as "normal" of a life that we can now instead of sit around and sulk...which is so easy to do!

This post will be yet another post of random things we have been up to. I think random posts are becoming a thing on here but hey, it keeps it interesting right! This way you get a small glimpse into what is going on even if it is just a photo!

We have been going to my lil brothers basketball games! They are now in districts! They lost there last game but have another one coming up Sat...



{lil bro warming up and then the losing faces!}

we celebrated ben's birthday...ok a few weeks ago! Birthday pre day massage "good morning birthday boy" greetings, breakfast, standing, mission impossible at the theatre and a basketball game...







trying new foods and recipes. curry lentil soup, pumpkin chili, barley drinks (taste nasty yet super healthy), and asian chicken (who says you cannot bbq in feb with a headlamp??) and Ben's been trying to help more...








Ben reading the Word over us in the mornings...


back to the chiropractor...


Ben got a lil practice of feeding a baby in! He did great...



Ball work and stretching with me when there is only ST and no OT/PT that day...


trying to be vintage...


best valentines day gift ever...running two treadmills down from my man walking...


Speaking of Valentines day. Ben and I have never been big fans of the day and played it pretty low key and just liked to love on each other all year. I think that Valentines day threw up all over face book this year! :)
Ben and I had said we were just going to do cards and chocolate this year...I would just buy the chocolate and the party would begin! My dad called and wanted to take Ben out at first I said nah cuz we were just going to be low key but dad put his foot down! So later on Monday they hit up the store. I was out of the loop and when they got back I was given a pile of clues that I was not able to look at until Ben said I could the next day.






and I got Ben some chocolate and some yummy, yummers cupcakes! Oh and since it had been some time since we had red meat I also bought some good steaks that I bbq'ed oh so perfectly...


The rest of our Valentines was watching some Biggest Loser while indulging on cupcakes...ok, admit it you do the same! :)

charging forward...

I love the above photo of Ben! This was captured when him and his PT where exchanging funny words while taking a break! I don't even remember what got him smiling but I am glad that I was able to get it! It is still getting closer to his regular smile which means his muscles and face are still healing!

This is a well deserved post so y'all can see a few of the things that Ben is working on in therapy. He has been working so hard and yet it is never enough to him! He will do "anything to get me better" and anything "to get me out of this situation and brain injury." I will say that he gets super frustrated that he just cannot get up and do what he wants to do. He continually says, "if I could just walk" "all I want to do is walk." In his mind he can do it all but his body just wont do it. I cannot even think that I could comprehend what he is thinking or going through. His balance and hips are so off right now that when he wants to and trys so hard to walk it throws him all off. His biggest request is just to "walk on his own with no assistance!"

He has been working on his walking...alot! The last few weeks it has been outside, inside, on the treadmill, with a walker, trialing a cane, with nothing, with support of therapists...any way that we can think of to get him going! It is amazing how hard he works and doesn't want to stop...he just keeps going and giving it his all! The last few days were really nice so they hit the street and did some walking. In the am he went out with his PT and walked both directions from the driveway and back. Later that day in working with OT they went all the way to the mailbox and back! That was the pic I posted a few days ago! GO BEN!











Ben has also been getting in the pool about 2 times a week anywhere from 45-90 min! Of course he loves it! Ben lives for the water! About a year before our accident Ben had the opportunity to go to scuba school in the Florida Keys. This was not one of those schools that are a few weeks long but this was a military one that lasted about 8 weeks and was hard! I remember him calling me with the quietest most tired voice saying, "we have about 5 min to talk before I fall asleep!" He said it was the hardest and mort tiresome school he had ever done! Ben came out of it graduating with his master diver certificate and bleachest blonde hair I had ever seen on him!
Anyways, he had been wanting to use his snorkle and mask again so I found them in the garage to use. It took him a few trys to get the rythemm down again but now he goes underwater and gets his swim on! The first long swim was 9 min underwater and then this last week he went up to 15! It's pretty amazing to watch! He has a long ways to go but since the pool is set at 82 degrees he gets alot of good muscle relaxing in and good stretching of his muscles!








Remember the tree that split in front of our house in the snow/wind/ice storm? Well, Ben and his OT have started to saw some of it and get some good arm use in at the same time! Ben, like his swimming, is in his element! Being outdoors is just an amazing adventure for him and makes him so happy! The first time they started it was about 45 degrees and the second time 60! Darn weather is messing with us!
Of course Diesel had to watch in on all the fun and get some play time! Oh, I failed to mention that he had to go to the vet this last week for a chip and rabies shot and weighs 55 pounds...at 5 months! Oh man, I think he's going to be a big-in!









There is one more amazing thing Ben has started doing! He has only done it three times and the second time went about double the time and the third a few min longer! He got on the treadmill again! I was not able to see him the first time that he went about 6 min but I was able to see him the second time when he went about 12 min! I was running on a treadmill and Ben and his therapist came in and Ben must have told him he wanted to get on the treadmill too! So just four treadmills down from me Ben started walking! I paused mine (got in 5 miles and payed for that later), jumped off and got a few pics and a video! This time last year Ben was on the treadmill all harnessed up and with two people helping him! This time, the treadmill, Ben and his therapist standing behind him! It was amazing!! He went about 12 min this time but yesterday he went 15...walking at a 1.5! He told me today that when he starts walking on his own again that he's "going to be all over this town and show people what I am made of!" Lord, please continue to give him this ability of freedom!



I think this was the first time Ben got on the treadmill in CA...


This was last year in NJ...fast walking but not alot of control of his body...


and this was on Tues...


As you can see Ben has been hard at work! Like I said above, he never, ever gives up and says he is doing it all for me, him and Diesel! This man always puts others first.

A few specific prayer requests as far as Ben's body...

1. head and neck control...ben's had botox, massages, chiropractor and therapies to help. it's kind of coming along but needs alot more healing! where his neck and head goes, so does his body so it throws him all off!

2. walking...ben's biggest desire at this point and almost all he talks about these days. sometimes he just wants to leave places because he feels he cannot participate how he wants to and that his body is holding him back. please pray that the Lord continue to help coordinate his body and that the connections would be made for his ability to walk on his own. I really believe that once Ben is able to get around on his own that he will take off...nothing will hold him back! It will free him up from so many things that now hold him back. He wants it, I want it...we need it!

3. bathroom abilities...he still has a catheter. he hates it. ben's sensory ability is coming back a little in this department but it is something that his brain is still a lil slow on...

4. his tone in his muscles. he does not have contractures and he can move them and build them up muscle wise but they get tight which limits his movements at times and causes tremors.

5. bens mind emotionally...his mentality is amazing but like any other person he gets frustrated, disturbed, annoyed and another one of his big things now is that he wishes that he can do more for me and around the house. although we still make decisions together (as much as he can) he knows that his role of the man of the house has changed for a bit. He wants to lead, he longs to be the man God created him to be, he wants to be involved in things and be there for me. please pray for his heart and that the enemy would have no place in his life!

Thank you all for following our journey so faithfully! We feel your prayers and appreciate them so much! What we are going through is nothing I could have ever imagined that we would do but if people are blessed by it, encouraged and brought closer to Jesus then it makes it a lil more worth it! To God be the glory!

The God who says he will...WILL!!

"Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God..." Ps 62:11

"Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." Neh 8:10

still here...

...been sick
...been busy
...been exausted
...been poopy (in many ways)
...been active

...yes all of these things and more!
...i am gathering up all the photos and videos that i have taken...there are many!
...we will be back!!!

...a taste of what's to come...

birthday boy...

Get out your birthday hats,
blow up some balloons
and start singing some
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Yup, today is Ben's 32nd birthday!
He always says, "I am not getting old, just older!"

This man has my heart, he has my love, he has me!
This man is my best friend!
This man is the strongest most determined man I know!
This man desires nothing else but too be who God wants him to be!
This man is my hero!
This man has served his country well!
This man puts others before himself and always sees my needs!
This man is the man that I will always love!
This man will be healed!

I Got the Gift
It’s your birthday, but I’m the lucky lady
who got to be with you for another year.
It’s your birthday, and the older you get,
the more wonderful you become.
It’s your birthday, and I’m privileged to share the years with you.
It’s your birthday, and each year
I find the depth of my love for you growing.
It’s your birthday, and I look forward with joy
to each day we spend together.
It’s your birthday, and I wonder how I got along
for all the birthdays I didn’t know you.
It’s your birthday, and it’s amazing
how easy and enjoyable it is to be with you each day.
It’s your birthday, and no matter what fate has in store for us,
I know it will be a pleasure to spend life with you.
It’s your birthday, but I got the gift--
You in my life for another year.

Karl Fuchs

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABES!

what a week...

In the last post that I wrote we were without power and I was updating if from my phone! Yes, my fingers were a lil sore after that post but I wanted to get something on to let people know we were ok and although there was crazy weather we were doing good. Well, I don't know if my fingers were sore from writing it or the fact that they were freezing from being out from under the covers!

I had told you we went to my brothers house Thursday so that we could be warm. We pretty much got home and went to bed so that we could be warm. I wrote the blog post, read by head lamp and watched as I could see my own breath in the air! It was coldy cold as Ben would say!

Just trying to stay warm...





Oh and at my brothers house we played some games. We played a new one that I don't remember what its called but it was good for Ben because it made him work on his fine motor skills. Pretty much you had to go around the table and put one of your rocks on the pile...goal is to not knock any down and if you do you have to take the rocks that fall down! It was fun and Ben did really well!







oh and remember how I told you that a branch hit the back of Ben's truck on the way back from my sisters house and that it didn't do any damage?? Well, I was wrong! I saw some damage the next day after all of the snow had fallen off. Praise Jesus it didn't hit closer to us or get Diesel in the back. Yes, we have a dent and some paint work coming...



When my lil brother went to test the roads the day after the big snow and ice storm and our power was out he delivered us some heat...



Just some of the craziness in our yard...











Diesel has been playing so hard in the snow the last few days that he has been sleeeeeeeeping alot...either that or he's going though a growth spurt...





Ben got some love from lil L who is loving people's faces right now...



I came home yesterday to Ben working on his vaccuming skills...first time eva!





Today Ben had a dental appointment. He was to have it last week but the snow kept us from it. We had to go to the dental clinic on post which was new to me but went really well. Ben hasn't been to the dentist since the accident and I don't remember when he was there before although I know he went. Ben did really well and got throught the whole thing just fine. The black glasses and why everyone has to wear them...no idea! Good news is Ben's teeth looked healthy and very lil plaque (no fair) so I guess me and the nurses did a good job caring for his teeth when he couldn't or when it was just with sponges. He does have 3 small cavities but they said that they could have been there pre accident but he just never had them taken care of. Bad news is that he has a part of his back tooth broken off which they thing was probably from the impact of hit but really not going to do anything about it. Other bad news...Ben's jaw is not good and may require jaw surgery, braces or a combo of both. He has always had a small overbite just from how his teeth are but it is huge now and he not only has an overbite but an open bite. When he bites down there is a huge gap. This for sure was not the case before the accident. Muscle weekness, intubation tubing, accident itself and so on has messed it up. He will get his fillings taken care of soon and then we will be referred to an ortho doc to see what they say...praying for no surgery but there are alot of positives to it as well. We shall see...






{yes, this is Ben biting down...bad}

Please pray because there are still alot of people here without power! My sister has been out since last Thursday and they are saying a few more days...she's even close to town! There are many others who are still patiently waiting! I can hear the wind howling now and am hoping that no one including us loses our power again!

Hopefully that is the last of our crazy weather and that tomorrow is in the 70's...a girl can hope right?!?!