Results from the TEE scope test

"Negative" is a very beautiful word right now!

The results to the test that was done on Charity this morning showed that there is nothing wrong with her heart! No need for surgery, no more tests... Praise God from whom all blessing flow!!

He is your praise, and He is your God,
who has done for you these great and awesome things
which your eyes have seen.
Deuteronomy 10:21

Please continue to pray that God will give the doctors wisdom as to finding the cause of Charity's swollen legs as now a possibly damaged heart is not in the picture!

Update on Charity - Tuesday A.M.

Prayer with praise!

• Charity was scheduled to have the TEE test done today to get a better view of her hearts condition by sending a scope down her throat. She was told that she could not eat for 8 hours before the procedure but they told us last night that the set time wasn't until 2 p.m. and she could not swallow anything (even water!!!) from 12 p.m. to 2 in the afternoon. She was rather upset at this and discouraged but God was merciful and we just heard a little while ago, (10:45) that she is being taken right now to have this test done!!! Praise God!

• Please prayer that the procedure will go well. That she will not experience any discomfort and that this test will not be in vain and the result will show if there is really anything wrong with her heart or not and most of all that we will be able to know for certain what has caused her to retain so much fluid in her legs!

We serve an Almighty and merciful God!

Update on Charity - Sunday P.M.

As of this evening there are really no new updates beside the fact that Doctors are still puzzled as to the cause of her swollen legs because as of now they are saying that her heart looks OK (depending on who you talk to) and the supposedly new bacteria that was found on Friday is not there. There is a possibility that this is a Lupus flair and hopefully they will soon be able to accurately determine that but as of now we still covet your prayers as Charity cannot get much of her needed rest and discomfort from laying down a lot is really bothersome!

God is faithful and we continue to trust His unfailing love!

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.

I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.

Psalm 13:5-6

Update on Charity - 2:30pm

• After many long hours of sitting and waiting (a very long time) to get into a private room, mom just let us know that they have finally situated her in a room on the 7th floor, section "B" room 124. Praise God for this small bit of progress! Still a long way to go to figure out what the diagnosis is but He is faithful and all we can do is wait on His will.

Please keep praying...

Update on Charity - Saturday A.M.

"Do not be afraid.
Stand still and see the salvation of the LORD,
which He will accomplish for you today."
Exodus 14:13

Dear Family, Friends and loved ones,

Once again we would covet your prayers for Charity and the situation with her health. I know many of you rejoiced with us when she was able to come home on Monday, but since then, she really has not improved at all. The home care nurses that came to help out with her antibiotics, were quite concerned with her over-all appearance, and specifically with her swollen legs and shallow, rapid breathing, and fast heart-rate. They both said that she needed to go back to the hospital to get those symptoms checked out. She also was put on two new antibiotics after they found that she had a different bacteria in her blood.
We finally decided that it would be better to take her to U of M in Ann Arbor where we knew she would receive for specific care regarding her Lupus and we were referred to a very good cardiologist there. Mom and Dad drove her out there last night (around 8:30pm) and they ended up staying there all night. The hospital staff are trying to get her a private room, because they are worried about her bacteria.

• Please pray that they will very quickly be able to get Charity into a room, so that she will be more comfortable and will be able to get some much needed rest.
  

• Also that she would be seen by the Doctors soon, and that they would be able to give her some clear diagnosis, and began to get her heart rate and swelling under control. As of 10:00 am this morning, only the regular E.R. doctor had been in to see her. (although U of M is a good hospital, it is also a very busy hospital!)
  

• Please also keep Mom and Dad in your prayers. That they would stay alert, and that God would give them strength during this exhausting time.
  

"The LORD will fight for you,
and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest."
Exodus 14:14

Pray Without Ceasing

"Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them." -Ezekiel 26:37

Prayer is the forerunner of mercy. Turn to sacred history, and you will find that scarcely ever did a great mercy come to this world unheralded by supplication. You have found this true in your own personal experience. God has given you many an unsolicited favour, but still great prayer has always been the prelude of great mercy with you. When you first found peace through the blood of the cross, you had been praying much, and earnestly interceding with God that He would remove your doubts, and deliver you from your distresses. Your assurance was the result of prayer. When at any time you have had high and rapturous joys, you have been obliged to look upon them as answers to your prayers. When you have had great deliverances out of sore troubles, and mighty helps in great dangers, you have been able to say, "I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." Prayer is always the preface to blessing. It goes before the blessings as the blessing's shadow. When the sunlight of God's mercies rises upon our necessities, it casts the shadow of prayer far down upon the plain. Or, to use another illustration, when God piles up a hill of mercies, He Himself shines behind them, and He casts on our spirits the shadow of prayer, so that we may rest certain, if we are much in prayer, our pleadings are the shadows of mercy. Prayer is thus connected with the blessing to show us the value of it. If we had the blessings without asking for them, we should think them common things; but prayer makes our mercies more precious than diamonds. The things we ask for are precious, but we do not realize their preciousness until we have sought for them earnestly.

"Prayer makes the darken'd cloud withdraw;
Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw;
Gives exercise to faith and love;
Brings every blessing from above."

from Spergeon's Morning and Evening

Backyard Visitors

Below are images that I was able to capture the other day of some of our regular visitors to our back(and front) yard. Enjoy!!






Can you see him? Though they usually are not very shy, on this particular day Mr. Wren did not want his photograph taken and all I could get of him was this image of him peeking around the feeder.


Throughout all the years we have been at this house we have been blessed on several occasions by being able to catch a glimpse of some rare and striking visitors that are attracted to our backyard feeders. This particular one, though not all together rare has chosen to show himself only a few times a year and at this time, about a week ago has seemed to like our "winter wonderland" and has stopped by a couple time since. I am disappointed though, that I have not been able to get a good picture of him yet so the above image is all there is to show of the exquisitely handsome Yellow Shafted Flicker.


No, he is not screaming. Instead this beautiful specimen of God's creation, a Sharp-Shinned Hawk is actually just finishing up a big yawn while sitting in our front cherry tree the other day.
God's amazing creativeness in the designs of all His creation proclaim one thing - His Glory!

To see more amazing (and much better captured then mine) images of birds, visit www.kanonphoto.com where the photographs of a local photographer recently relocated from Sweden are displayed. We heard about this gifted photographer from our newspaper after he had the very special opportunity to capture on film a truly rare visitor to Michigan's Southeastern soil - a Snowy Owl!

A Dicky-Bird in February

A Dicky-bird sat in the Cherry tree,
one damp and dreary day.
Singing a song to the coming Spring,
And a song to brighten the way.

He twittered and warbled with hardly a care
for the piles of snow or the cloudy sky.
He carried Spring in that brave little breast
and sang, though the sun would hide.

He sang of the balmy breeze from the South,
of the swollen green buds on the trees,
and the melody of the waters' voice
when the brooks and rivers flow free.

He bubbled and chortled in highest glee
as he told of the first Spring flowers,
cheering the world with their brilliant hues
and bathing in sweet Spring-time showers.

He sang to his wife, in her sweet modest dress,
of the babies they'd raise in the Spring.
Of the bounty of insects to feed to their young,
and of teaching to fly and to sing.

He sang with such sweetness, and gusto and joy,
with his head tilted back and his beak in the air.
He gave thanks to his Maker, Creator and God,
As he sang that most beautiful prayer.

~ FaithAnn 2 – 20 – 07

Finally Home!

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11

Praise the LORD! Charity was finally able to come home on Monday night after a long day of back and forth answers as to whether she would leave at all!
Another praise is that they were able to get her a portable monitor to regulate her IV input instead of us having administer it every four hours! We now only have to change the bag once every 24 hours and the cycle will run its designated course by it's self.

Again we cannot thank you all enough for all the care and concern you showed towards our family at this trying time in our lives!

We continue though to covet your prayers as Charity still has a long road ahead of her as we have yet to truly determine the cause of the many physical difficulties she has experience lately and direction as to long term medication use and the strengthening of her heart.


I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O LORD my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me. O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive...Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever!
Psalm 30:1-3b,4,11-12

Update on Charity - Monday P.M.

"Oh, the depth of the riches
both of the wisdom and knowledge of GOD!
How unsearchable are His judgements,
and His ways past finding out!"
Romans 11:33

• Well, this has been quite a roller coaster day! "But thanks be to God Who has given us the Victory through our LORD Jesus Christ!" Charity's fever is down, she has been released from the hospital, and is on her way home!
  

• Please continue to pray that she will not have this reoccurring fever. And that we will have wisdom in knowing how to get her Lupus under control, so that she can regain her strength.
  

"Blessing and honor and glory and power,
be to Him Who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever!"
Revelation 5:13

Update on Charity - Monday A.M.

"Say to those who are fearful-hearted,
"Be strong, do not fear!"
Behold, your God will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God;
He will come and save you!"
Isaiah 35:4

• I hate to be the bearer of bad news . . . :-( The infectious disease Doctor came in this morning and said that Charity could not come home, because her fever had spiked back up to 101. Obviously Charity is VERY disappointed (and we are too) with this set back. Please pray for her comfort and that the doctors will be wise in how they diagnosis and treat her. Please pray that they will try to find the cause of this fever, and not just give her Tylenol to temporarily get rid of it.

• They are taking another blood culture today. Please pray that they will find that everything is well.
  

" . . And pray for one another,
that you may be healed.
The effective, fervent prayer
of a righteous man avails much."
James 5:16

Update on Charity - Sunday P.M.

"Oh give thanks to the Lord
For He is good!
For His mercy endures forever!"
Psalm 136:1

(Before anyone else gets worried because we haven't posted in a while, here is the latest and the greatest on Charity's condition.)

• Well, after I posted on Saturday that the bacteria was found in Charity's blood, the Doctor came in and said that her blood culture had indeed come back negative! And that it had been negative for a while. (some nurse had told us that it had come back positive!?) Praise the LORD that the bacteria is gone!

• Praise!! Charity's fever came down some today. Please continue to pray that she will not suffer from bouts of fevers like this.

• Please pray that the doctors will be able to determine why her heart rate is so high. (120's when she isn't doing anything) It was normal on Thursday, but suddenly jumped up. Possibly because of the fever.
  

• O.K. I saved the best news for last!!:-) Charity is coming home tomorrow!! She has the pick line, and we will have to put the antibiotics into that every four hours, so please pray for that. Also please pray that she will continue to regain health, and get a lot of much needed rest. We are not sure of the exact time of her release, (we have a house showing at 10:30 so y'all could pray for that too:-) but please pray that everything will go smoothly.

• Thanks again for all your prayers and support during this ordeal! God has used you all to bless us so much, and to show His care and love. Please don't stop praying for Charity though! She has a long road ahead and will need much strength and perseverance in the coming days.
  

"The LORD is my strength and my song,
And He has become my Salvation!"
Psalm 118:14

Update on Charity - Saturday A.M.

• Unfortunately the blood culture test came back positive for bacteria today. Please pray that the doctors will know what to do to get that under control.
  

• Also, Charity had a fever of 101 last night and this morning. They are giving her Tylenol to bring it down. Please pray that she will soon be free of this high fever and that these set-backs will not be too disappointing to her.
  

"I will lift up my eyes unto the hills,
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth."
Psalm 121:1

Update on Charity - Friday A.M.

(Sorry about the absence of an update yesterday. There really wasn't anything new to report! :-)

• Praise!! The Blood culture they took yesterday, came back testing negative for bacteria! They say that they have to get a negative test result for two or three days before they know she is free from the bacteria and can come home. Please pray that the Blood cultures will continue to come back negative.

• Praise!!! Charity reported that Doctor G. came in this morning (4:00am) and said that her heart is looking very good. He seemed to be very positive about the health of her heart and said that the TEE probably isn't even necessary now. Praise the LORD!!
  

"I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever;
With my mouth wil I make known His faithfullness
to all generations!"
Psalm 89:1

Thank you!

"Thank you" is so worthless a phrase to show all the gratitude we have to all of you who have shown such care and concern towards Charity and our family at this time!

She has a very nice small private room that has been filling up with the floral gifts and teddy bears that have been given and the small board on the wall is quickly being covered with the cards and artwork that have been sent!
We greatly appreciate those who have given up their time (even driving long distances!) to come and show their love and encourage Charity. Even though she is still in ICU God is continuing to bless with positive recovery and Charity is feeling up to seeing visitors if anyone would like to come see her though there is an age limit for children(12) and only two visitors at a time.


We give thanks to God always for you all,
making mention of you in our prayers.
I Thessalonians 1:2

Update on Charity - Wednesday P.M.

“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends."
John 15:9-13

• Charity's IV lines were switched from the large port in her chest to a small pick line (sp?) in her arm. The Doctors said that as soon as the bacteria is cleansed from her bloodstream with this new antibiotic, she can come home. She will still have the pick line in her arm and have to have the antibiotics put in every 4 hours for 6-8 weeks. Please pray that she will be able to get home soon, and that there will be no bacteria still lingering in her heart.
  

• Some of the Doctors are still worried about her weak heart, and are pushing to do the scoping procedure so they will know for sure if she has any damage that would possibly require surgery. Please pray that if necessary, Charity will be willing to go through with the scoping and that they will find that there is no permanent damage to her heart.
  

" In this is love, not that we loved GOD, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if GOD so loved us, we also aught to love one another."
I John 4:10&11

Update on Charity - Wednesday A.M.

"But GOD will redeem my life from the power of the grave,
for He shall save me. Selah."
Psalm 49:15

• Praise! Charity was taken off the Catheter! She is very happy about that, and is obviously much more comfortable now.

• Praise!! They also took her off the Insulin IV. She was on that to combat the glucose and other sugary IV fluids. Her blood sugar is stable and doing well.
  

• Praise!!! Her Blood pressure monitor was removed. Even though they took her off the blood pressure medicine earlier, she was still being monitored and her arm was being squeezed every 1/2 hour or so, making it a little difficult to get good sleep.
  

• Well, as of last update, Doctor G. had said that she did not have thrush. But two other Doctors confirmed that she did indeed still have thrush. So they seem to be a little confused. :-) Either way, please continue to pray for her mouth sores!
  

"The LORD of hosts is with us;
the GOD of Jacob is our refuge. Selah."
Psalm 46:7

Update on Charity - Tuesday P.M.

"Behold the LORD's hand is not shortened,
That it cannot save:
Nor is His ear heavy, that it cannot hear."
Isaiah 59:1

• Unfortunately there was still some bacteria found in Charity's blood as of today's lab test. They have put her on a new antibiotic that is suppose to more specifically combat this bacteria. Please pray that this will be effective.
  

• One of the Doctors checked her mouth and said that the Thrush seems to be gone now, but she still has a lot of very uncomfortable sores, which are probably left from the thrush or even are a side affect of the lupus. Please continue to pray that she will be able to bear the pain associated with these sores and eating.
  

• Thank you to all of you loving friends for your prayers, cards, flowers, meals and surprise visits! Even though Charity sometimes might feel embarrassed to have all this attention when she is ill, I know your care is a real blessing to her.
  

Just as a side note: Charity was moved to a different room in ICU this afternoon. Someone came into emergency there at the hospital who needed the room where she was. The room she has now is in a slightly more secluded spot and has a little more privacy, so that is a blessing. She is now in Room 205 in ICU.

"The LORD your GOD in your midst,
the Mighty One, will save:
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing."
Zephaniah 3:17

Update on Charity - Tuesday A.M.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to GOD. . ."

• A blood culture is going be taken today to see if the bacteria in her blood is being affected by the antibiotics they are now giving her. If it isn't, they will have to try different antibiotics. Please pray that they will find NO Bacteria in her blood!

• Please continue to pray that the leaky and fluttery heart valve that the Doctors are seeing, is not infected by the bacteria, and that it is not permanently damaged.
  

• The Thrush is still very severe in her mouth and throat. Please pray that in spite of all the antibiotics (which are just inflaming the thrush) that God will quickly heal these very uncomfortable sores, so that she would be able to eat and become more nourished.

" . . . and the peace of GOD which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6&7

Update on Charity - Monday P.M.

"What then shall we say to these things?
If GOD be for us, who can be against us?"
Romans 8:31

• A Praise! Charity was taken off her Blood Pressure medication this afternoon. Her blood pressure is stable now.
  

• The Doctors have found that the bacteria that is in her blood is a certain kind that tends to congregate in the heart. They say she has a leaky valve, and are now deciding whether they should send a scope with a tiny camera down her throat to get better details of her heart. Please pray that if this is necessary, Charity will not be in much discomfort, and that they will find all is well!
  

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the Love of GOD which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!"
Romans 8:35 & 37-39

Charity update and prayer specifics

As of this morning Charity is about the same as yesterday but with seemingly better spirits.

Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication,
O LORD my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer
which Your servant is praying before You today.
1Kings 8:28

Please pray :

• That the Thrush that is greatly troubling her in her mouth would be quickly cured so that she can be able to eat and get the needed nourishment to gain strength.

• That the antibiotics would kick in and quickly destroy the bacteria (unfortunately the antibiotics are not helping with the Thrush problem at all!).

• That her spirit would be encouraged to rise above all the pain and discouragement and to trust God to get her through all this!

• That she would be able to get into a regular room soon (she is still in ICU) so that mom can stay with her throughout the night and she would be able to become more comfortably situated and we can visit her more easily.

We greatly appreciate all the prayers that have been lifted up for us and the help that has been offered! May our Lord richly bless you all!

"For where two or three are gathered
together in My name,
I am there in the midst of them.”
Matthew 18:20

Prayer Request

From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Psalm 61:2

For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.
Psalm 27:5

For those of you who do not know, Charity is in the hospital right now battling a very serious infection in her bloodstream!

Friday afternoon we found that she had a temperature of 105! We did our best to get it down but she was really foggy and unresponsive and Saturday her fever started to go back up, her vision seemed to be affected and she was becoming more and more delirious. We prayed and prayed seeking the Great Physicians wisdom and finally had her taken to emergency. Many tests were done and efforts to get the fever down but in the meantime her blood pressure was dropping fast and also her pulse was starting to slow! They quickly put a large port into her chest to send the needed fluids directly to her heart and were able to get her somewhat stable though as of now her blood pressure is still needing to be a bit higher. Finally they told us that they believed she was suffering from Sepsis Pneumonia which is very toxic and bacteria had already gotten into her bloodstream. (There is still so much we do not understand about all this but we are learning as fast as we can!)
Many things are still being checked and found out - one this morning being that she now has a leak in one of her heart valves - and we are still praying and petitioning our Great King on her behave to deliver her. Having Lupus for the past 12 years does not help the matter either!

As of now she is alert and communicative but weak and discouraged, so we continue to ask for the prayers of the saints to lift her up before our Father in heaven and seek His presence on behalf of this dear child of His!

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For my soul trusts in You;
and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,
until these calamities have passed by.
Psalm 57:1

All that our friends and family have done and are doing we are so appreciative of and again thank you all for your prayers through this tough time.

And He said to me, " My grace is sufficient for you,
for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
2 Corinthians 12:9

God is our strength, we could not live with out His ever present help and constant comfort as we read His Holy Word and seek His face!

In the multitude of my anxieties with in me,
Your comforts delight my soul!
Psalm 94:19

For God has not given us a spirit of fear,
but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7

He is worthy to be praised no matter what takes place in this life. This is only temporal, for His Glory awaits us beyond these grey clouds!

"Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
and I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me."
Psalm 50:15

May His Name forever be praised and glorified and all His chosen people say : " AMEN!"

All things are possible with God!
Mark 10:27

I will try to keep updating as we continue to walk this path our Lord has set for us.

Love to all our family and friends,

Grace

Winter in Riverview...and Beyond

Winter has finally come! Though we were getting a little worried back at the start of January and thinking that we would never be able to go sledding or enjoy snow - due to the fact that we had none! - we have been quickly reminded that God designed this season to last for several months and to not worry when we don't get much snow in January 'cause we will get it in February and who knows maybe in April too - like we did two years ago! Also we have again been amazed at the stark difference there is in the weather - even in Michigan- when you travel 80 miles North from were we are and find that from our home to our Lapeer friends can sometimes fit the ratio between Florida and Canada! (ok, with maybe a little stretching of the imaginations, but really it does seem like that some times!) Anyways you have to wonder when our friends get two feet of snow and we only get a dusting!

Below are some pictures I have wanted to share but have not had the opportunity to post before so here is a glimpse of the different ways our world has been affected by this "wonderful" Winter! Enjoy! -Grace

What is this picture of!?! This pictures shows two things... first it shows the weather conditions we experienced a few Sundays ago at our Northern friends house, and second -if you cant tell what those dark things are- it shows John, Joshua, Shawn Eddy and Tim Wagner standing out on the Eddy's pond looking at the frozen Muskrat trapped under the ice! Check it out on their family blog
for detailed pictures!

"God walls the sea with sand. God clears the air with storms. God warms the earth with snow....He exalts us to heaven by the stumbling-block of the cross."
Christopher Wordsworth


First we had an ice storm...

...and though this picture doesn't do it justice, a shimmering glaze covered everything.

Then...

We had freezing cold temperatures, way below what this photo shows!



...And last but not least our living room window was graced with this unbelievably beautiful work of art- a touch from our Makers hand!

From whose womb comes the ice?
And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth?

The waters harden like stone,
And the surface of the deep is frozen.

Job38:29-30
(The LORD reveals His Omnipotence to Job)

May the Name of our God be praised forever and ever!