Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope

you had...

a HAPPY!

Thanksgiving!

A Good Day

The kids woke up happy after their FIRST sleepover last night! We decided it was the easiest arrangement to get me to the airport early in the morning. Joel and Kaeden wore their matching pajamas... even if they are two sizes different!
Here in Utah, we had a good day. The future for little Samantha Joy is still unclear. She's now been in the hospital for two weeks, and spent the last few days in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) where the care is especially attentive. Samantha's room is peaceful and calm, just like she is. While she sleeps most of the day away with her little body working hard, Jennifer had a wonderful moment with her while saying goodnight this evening. Sweet smiles, cute expressions and even a little smack! So sweet. This picture says it all!
Thank you for your continued prayer for this wonderful family.

An Unexpected November

You may remember reading about this family back in May. Our good friends, Benjer and Jennifer, have been settled now in Utah for over four months. On October 26th, they welcomed their second daughter, Samantha Joy, into the world, happy and seemingly healthy. While Jim was hunting the following week, we received an unexpected call from Benjer, letting us know that the night before, at only ten days old, Samantha was rushed to the children's hospital in Salt Lake City with fluid in her lungs. After many tests and doctors, it has been discovered that there is a lymphatic duct leaking fluid into her lungs, a condition called chylothorax. The hope was that it would heal on its own, but after two weeks, it seems like that may not happen very soon. So surgery is now on the horizon.

Needless to say, Benjer and Jennifer are living a very hectic life. They have a 22 month old daughter, Bethany, who cannot be in the hospital with her sister, so the whole family has only been together one time in the last two weeks. They are anxious to get back home and live a "normal" life, but are grateful for the excellent care Samantha is receiving.

I (Heather) have been blessed with the opportunity to go and visit Benjer, Jennifer, and Samantha this Thursday for a few days. Thanks to generous help holding the fort down here, Jim and the kids should survive while I am with the McVeighs. When Samantha was born, I wanted so badly to be able to visit (they used to live in Denver) but I sure didn't expect to visit in such hard circumstances. Needless to say, I am looking forward to good conversations, some baby snuggling, and walking alongside these dear friends.

If you would like to hear more about the latest events for this family, you can visit their blog at mcveighs.blogspot.com. Please keep them in your prayers, and if you would like to do something more for them, let us know.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

A confession...

Today is a beautiful, snowy wonderland here in Woodland Park, and I must admit, the inside of the house looks a bit like Christmas too. Last year, I (Heather) got sick at the beginning of December, and I never got the house decorated quite as much as I wanted. Knowing we still had one more Christmas here in Woodland Park, I was relieved... and vowed to decorate immediately following Halloween! Our decorations are something we will take very little of, if any, to Kenya with us. We surely won't have any white Christmases either. So we are going to have one good long snowy Christmas here in Colorado this year!

Here's a little something to get you in the spirit too... even if you are rolling your eyes!