Here is an update on Josiah as of Sunday, December 12, 2010 at 8:15 PM.

Today was a day of rest and goodbyes for Josiah.  He was able to see a few people to say goodbye before he goes to Grand Rapids in the morning.  He took all of the goodbyes very well, except for his mother.  He was pretty sad to see her go, but was relieved to know that she would be here taking care of his siblings and that she would be visiting him.  He has had a pretty restful day as well since we did not have any therapy other than what we have done with him.  We walked him and sat him up to talk with his visitors and he just seemed to really enjoy the day.

Here are some brief highlights from the day:

• He slept most of the night.  Jennifer stayed with him, and before he went to sleep they must have had some party up here on the floor from what I saw in the videos she sent me!  They were hilarious!  He is such a comedian right now!  She enjoyed every minute of it.  In fact, here is what she posted about it on her facebook page:

“Josiah again had his best night yet. Beings its the weekend he doesn’t have therapy so I think getting to rest from the work of that, and no visitors he got to rest really good. We had a WONDERFUL night together last night. When Jason left Siah said, “Mom we are gonna party!” We listened to Christmas music, he drummed with his drum sticks to the songs a bit, we talked about the future, and the fact that HE HAS ONE!! PTL! The nurses took him for a walk and ride around the floor. I got great video coverage!!! He had the whole floor in stitches. He looked in one persons room and said, “Oh my! there’s someone almost dead like me!” I didn’t realize this boy was sooo funny. (Something what we stop and take the time to notice & appreciate when we have walked so close to deaths door for one of our kids. GULP!) By the time I tucked him in he thanked me for a fun night. And that it was. Pray for me when I tell my boys goodbye tonight or in the morning. Hard to let him go yet I have a peace about it that I cant even explain. Excited to visit him in a few days or next weekend and see his progress.”

• I already have walked with him tonight and experienced some of this hilarity myself.  It is SO good to see my boy having fun.
• We just a real good talk about rehab.  He expressed some fear about it, but then spoke right up and said that he just knew he was going to get better and this was the best place to go.  He is being so strong!

Here are some specific and very important things to remember in prayer for Josiah and our family:

• Pray for our trip tomorrow.  The roads are terrible up here, and it is only suppose to get worse.  If it is to bad I would rather put it off another day.
• His confusion and irritation have been very little the last few days.  Pray that he is able to remain like this, even when he starts rehab.
• Michigan Medicaid is his health coverage. With my job loss at the beginning of the year also came the loss of my insurance.  When we got here, the first thing we did is see if they qualified, and they did.  They are giving us issues right now, so please pray that it gets sorted quickly and completely.  This is obviously not as important as his life, but the financial concerns do weigh on me.  Mary Free Bed in Grand Rapids gave us some very encouraging news today.  We are not getting the cart before the horse, but we may find out tomorrow how this will all be handled.
• The doctors are still looking at the right side of his face that is not totally doing everything quite right; like raising eyebrows and such. They are leaning towards as a pinched nerve, which will heal as the swelling in his face/head goes down.  Please pray that there will be healing in that area of his face.
• Pray for our family as we are apart.  Jennifer will visit as she can, but she needs to be here most of the time for the kids. Pray that the kids will be understanding at this time.
• Pray for Jennifer and I to have patience.  We know God is in control, we count on that, but we want to see him healed!  Also, pray for strength, endurance and the ability to rest as fatigue is a great enemy right now.
• Pray that God’s Kingdom work will be accomplished through is during this time.  God know exactly where we are headed and what the outcome will be.  We count on that!

Ps 57:7-11

“My heart, O God, is steadfast,my heart is steadfast;I will sing and make music. Awake, my soul!Awake, harp and lyre!I will awaken the dawn. I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;let your glory be over all the earth.”