exciting news...

we bought a house!!! yes, so hense the not posting for a bit because we have been pre-occupied with papers that are coming out of every parts of our head! holy batman buying a house is nuts! we had some different cirrcumstances to work with but we got it done! oh and did i mention that it is on a LAKE!!! it has been our dream and god has blessed us! it is a fixer upper but that is ok because we need to do some things for ben and his needs! were excited to start the next adventure and make it a home! i will be posting some before, in transition and after photos! fun to come! we are truly blessed!

 

 {the view from our back window...those dead reeds will go}

 

 signing alot of papers and it was super early}

 

{our first job together, removing all the window trim and baseboard...i drew blood}

 

over a month since our last post! wow! well here goes another post full of photos! even today i told myself that after church we were just going to rest. well, that happened for ben but i found myself cleaning and organizing...for like four hours! it was nuts but our house is ready for the week and smells better!

here is a load of photos of what we have been up to!

ben is loving his new therapy sessions up north. he knows that he has his "real therapy" on tuesdays and thursdays and if its any other day or any other therapy it usually ends up with me telling him what it is and him saying boo! these photos are not in order to which i am sorry...

ben has been trying out a new walker and doing really well. he has always had issues with muscle tone (doesn't have anything to do with how strong he is but just how the injury has affected his muscles and how they function) so he tends to arch his back and lean back...then lose his balance. with this cardiac walker he has to lean forward into it. so much safer and hes doing well with it. now to convince the va that they should try it and get him one! its a bit hazy...

 

i have been busy doing my own workouts! i signed up again for another half marathon in may. we started training runs back in january...they are getting longer and longer! ha! it feels so good though and i love it! another thing i have picked up is crossfit...ouch! its been fun though (well the workouts are not alway fun) to see my body transforming a bit and getting these chicken limbs to get some muscle! some days i run, some days i crossfit and some days i do both...

 

 

 

 {after this workout i was hungry...can you tell...}

 

 {burpees gone wrong to the knees...}

 

{and when im tired and want to quit i think of this and ben...}

 

{ben started crossfit too on mondays...}

 

yeah and this is all of us post workout! only my arm made it in because they were being couch hogs...

 

 

and what is a blog without winston! hes so much fun but such a stinker sometimes! i made him wear a bow tie and he was ok at first and then was just not happy!

 

 

 {he is to big for the now....and yes i bleached it after}

 

{snuggles}

 

and just because he looks so handsome...

 

 

and today i was wishing for warmer weather so i could ditch the down jacket but then remembered i will need it because were packing for a cold yet super fun trip coming up! more on that and photos to come for sure...

 

 

 

i believe it was in the last post that i mentioned i would have specific prayer requests for you,

here goes...

 

1. brain funtion. there are several things i could list here but the main ones would be instigation, memory (more day to day), concentration, and of course speech to be clear and concise.

2. mobility...this one is huge right now. i believe ben is on the cusp of doing so much better but we are not there yet. balance, walking, tone, coordination, functionality and the simple movements that we take for granted ben works so hard to get...

3. bens mindset...he is very postitive but sometimes he is just down in the dumps because this is not the life that he chose or deserves. he tells me this is the lords plan and he knows god chose him because he is strong enough but he also gets super frustrated that he cannot do what he wants to do or function in the way he wants to. i know the enemy trys to get in his mind but we continue to pray against it.

4. strength to keep going...this would be for both of us. every day is hard in its own way. i do everything. by no means am i complaining but it just wares on me. also ben works mentally and physically every single day so it is taxing on him as well.

5. wisdom...in future decision, things that need to be looked after, choices, where our family needs to be and just overall life issues...

6. overall HEALING...we are desperate! we need jesus to to take us to take us to that next level of healing. like i said, desperate!

 

thank you all so much for your continued prayers and support. i know i haven't posted as much as i used to but you all understand that im sure! we are blessed to have you in our lives and so thankful!