My wife ROCKS!!!

When we started going to SSCC, Brandi really missed being on the praise team during worship. She especially missed being on the praise team with her sister. But for the last couple of months we have been helping out with the kid’s large group. She helps out leading worship and I do storytelling. This has been challenging but a lot of fun.

This last weekend she had to lead the kids in a song by the David Crowder Band called No One Like You. First of all Brandi isn’t a rocker, she likes crooners and country music. Second, she’s a high soprano. She was freaking out about singing this song. More than any other one she struggled with the words and was just very uncomfortable. She was stressing.

But before she started the first small group she just prayed that God would work everything out. She put herself out there and it was AMAZING!! The kids were so into it and they were doing some serious rocking out in praise to God. She had them get the air guitar and air drums going; it was so awesome!!! I was very impressed. I know what an amazing person, mother, wife, singer, Christian, and over all incredible woman that my wife is, but I have to say that I was blown away this last Sunday.

She gives all of the credit to God, as she should, after all, he was the one who made this incredible woman.

Rock on, baby!

Prayers for Brandi

My sweet wife starts another round of back shots today. These are non-epidural shots, so we are hoping for a faster recovery. Please keep her in your prayers. If these are effective for her then there is hope of another proceedure where they actually burn some of the nerves for longer term relief.

*** Update : Initial reports are that the shots (six of them) went very well. B said that she definitely noticed an improvement when she picked up the baby this morning. This is really good news. Please pray for complete healing. :)

Number three

Keep B in your prayers, she is having her third and hopefully final epidural shot tomorrow.

We are praying that this will be a good long term fix and that within a week to ten days she will be returned to full or very near full mobility.

Thanks.

FYI... Second shot was yesterday

Brandi did have her second epidural steroid shot yesterday. Everything went very well and Brandi did great. She will have one more in a couple of weeks and that will be the last of the shots for at least 6 months (hopefully/prayerfully MUCH longer).

And, just in case you were wondering... no, I did not make her go out and vote yesterday. :)

We're kind of a mess

The shot went good for B. She's taking it easy today, but her back is significantly better. PRAISE GOD!!!

I went to the dentist this morning to deal with the canker sore that has given me a Rocky lip. He said the thing you never want to hear a doctor say, "I've never seen that before." Nice. It turns out it isn't one killer canker sore on the inside of my upper lip, it's actually FIVE killer canker sores. Nice.

He asked me if I have been having a lot of stress lately. HA! Don't make me laugh... it HURTS too much.

Well... give it a shot!

Pardon the pun.

Brandi gets her first of three shots today. We have been encouraged over the last few days by people who have told us how much the shots have helped them.

Please pray that the shots will help and that they will reduce 'the bulge' significantly. This is the seventh week of this ordeal and we're just kind of worn out.

Thanks and God bless.

Down for a while

My last post was last Thursday because since then my wife has been down with a relapse. I tell you, back problems just stink.

Please keep her in your prayers.

We are going to the surgeon for a follow up to see if there is anything else (non-surgical) that they can do.

Big day today... but not in Iowa

Check out the family blog.

Okay, so I did...

I have to admit that I fell off the face of the earth for a while. A couple of weeks ago my wife went down for what we thought was her normal "back episode". Unfortunately it turned out to be so much more. By Friday of the first week (it started on a Monday) she was still in so much pain that she couldn't sit up or stand up, despite the fact that she was on muscle relaxers and pain killers.

So, we waited for the kids to go to school, then we called an ambulance (yes, she was in that much pain while ON the pain meds). The main reason for this was because she couldn't physically sit up for any length of time, just too much pain.

Once we got her into the hospital, they finally decided that someone on that many IV meds and still awake, let alone crying in pain, probably needed to be admitted. So they got her a room and on Saturday morning did the MRI and found a bulging disk that was pushing on her nerves.

We sat down and had a consult with a surgeon, who fortunately said that we should start with the least aggressive treatment of steroids and physical therapy.

Well, it's been a week since we came home from the hospital. Brandi is doing good and making progress. It's slow progress, but good progress. She had a goal the last two days to get up once and hour and walk to the kitchen. Which she did marvelously. She tries to stop by any clutter on the table or counter and weed through it, which I greatly appreciate. She is also completely off the meds, except for OTC stuff. She's a trooper.

The real BIG DEAL through this whole thing is the tremendous, I'm sorry that should have been TREMENDOUS, outpouring of love that we have experienced. God is awesome and amazing and he has used SO MANY people to bless us and take care of us in this situation. Every day last week we had someone who volunteered to keep an eye on the younger kids, while I took the older ones to school and then went to work. After an abbreviated work day (another blessing... a GREAT boss) I picked up the kids a couple of days, but three days someone else did. Then we were fed the most delicious meals every night. It's humbling and encouraging at the same time. God has truly blessed us with a fantastic group of friends who have just reached out in every way shape and form.

This week we have people lined up to help with kids until Friday, which we have an option to fill if Brandi thinks that she needs it. Right now she is hoping that having Bubba around to lift the baby will be enough help, but we are just going to wait and see. The last thing we want to do is go too fast and mess her back up again before it can really heal.

So on that note. If you aren't already praying for her, I would greatly appreciate your prayers for my wife. She is just an awesome wife and mother and she has been so strong through this whole thing. I tell you, you know you married well when your wife is on morphine and percocet and though STILL in pain is crying, not because it hurts, but because she just wants to go home and take care of her kids. She's awesome!