Happy Easter

Happy Easter! After a wild and crazy few days in the airport, thanks to a blizzard in Denver, we are all together again! Praise the Lord! I never dreamed that Noah and I would be gone from Tim and the girls for a MONTH! We truly enjoyed our time in the states and had great time with family and friends but goodness, we were glad to be HOME! I can truly say that home is where your family is and I am thrilled to be back with mine!
Thank you for your prayers and encouragement to us. My leg is so much better! The nerve pain is gone. There is still healing to be done, but the doctor feels like it will be back to 100% within 7 months. Noah is doing great too. We are trying some different medicines to help him and are still working on finding just the right combination. We feel like we are on the right track and have a good plan in place to help him thrive with this new challenge.
We are ready to get back into a normal family and ministry routine. Tim has been busy researching Panama and we are looking forward to what God has in store for our team there. In fact, maybe I can convince Tim to write a little post about what kind of work we plan to be doing once we get there.
For now, thanks again for your prayers. God has been so faithful to us during this time.

Post Surgery Update

The surgery went well. The doctor was able to release 2 entrapped nerves and now we just wait. I am still very sore and swollen from the surgery, but the pain is different. So, I am very hopeful that I am on the way to a full recovery. I have a follow up appointment on Monday. I am sure at that time, we will talk about what kind of rehab I will have to have. I am praying that the doctor will release me to travel at that time. I am enjoying the good ole USA but I am ready for my whole family to be in one place!!! Please pray that the nerves will continue to wake up and that I will have a total recovery from all of this!
Noah is still waiting to begin the medicine that the doctors have recommended for him. Because of some of the side effects of the medicine, he had to have to have some tests done to make sure that he was a very healthy boy overall. We expect for them to be just fine, but until they all come back, we can not start the medicine. I spoke with the doc this AM and he is hopeful that we will get to start the meds by tomorrow. Noah is anxious to start. Please pray that they will work well and that there will be minimal side effects.
I will continue to update you as we have news to share. We can not thank you enough for your prayers!

An update from Texas........

THANK YOU so much for all of your prayers and emails to our family. I wanted to give you a quick update about where we have been the past few days, and where we are headed in the next few weeks.

The doctors that I have met with for my leg have been so amazing! The orthopedic surgeon feels very confident that he can fix both my pain and my numbness with surgery. I never even dreamed that would be an option! As much as I dread having another surgery, I am SO EXCITED about the possibility of it being all better! My surgery will be first thing Tuesday AM. The doc will have to see me a week later, and then we will make a decision about when I can return to Costa Rica.

We saw a pediatric neurologist for Noah yesterday. He was so wonderful! He did give us an official diagnosis of Tourettes. He also gave us lots of hope and great ideas about how to manage with this new information. He also agreed to work with us as much as possible via internet and phone. We walked away feeling very good about how to manage this new challenge.

Tim and the girls are, of course, living large! They seem to be managing well with momma gone.

Here are a few specific ways that you can pray for our family in the days ahead:

Pray for the surgery to go well and relieve the pain as well as repair the nerve damage.

Pray for the medication that Noah will be starting. Pray for it to work well for him and for there to be no side effects.

Pray for Tim and the girls to hang in there while momma is away

Pray for our family in general. It is hard for all of us to be away from each other, but we are trying to be positive and remember that it is just a short time.

Pray for my mom as she is having to put her life on hold to take care of us here in Texas. I know she does it willingly, but I also know, we are a lot of work these days!

We are so blessed to have such amazing friends who pray for us. Thank you!

Thanks for the prayers and keep on praying!

A huge thank you to all of you prayer warriors out there! In record breaking time (and with the help of my amazing sister-in law) both Noah and I have secured appointments with specialists for next week! What we thought might take several weeks at best, took only a few days! Praise the Lord! So, we are in a bit of a whirlwind packing and getting ready to head to Houston. We are leaving tomorrow and will be back as soon as possible.
Here are some specifics you can pray for during this time:

Monday~ Tina's doctor appointment. Pray for the doctor to have wisdom and know how best to treat my damaged nerve. Pray for there to be a clear vision as to what is going on.

Thursday~ Noah's doctor appointment. Pray for Noah (and mom) to feel at ease with the doctor. Pray for him to be able to give us practical advice on how to help Noah manage what it going on.

Pray for Tim and the girls as they are at home in Costa Rica.

Pray for sweet time with our family and friends in Houston.

Thanks again for being willing to lift us up in your prayers! You are the best!