Two years ago today...

Yes, I know that it was yesterday that was the anniversary of the accident, but was thinking about the fact that it was two years ago today that I woke up to a completely different life. So many things changed as a result of the accident, but I didn't realize the ramifications of what was happening until two years ago today. What a journey it has been! The first year was mostly a year of healing, rehab, relearning and change. This past year has been a year of adapting and celebrating what we still have! Plus celebrating the additions of two wonderful girls, brought into our son's lives largely as a result of the accident! Our wonderful Lord has given so many blessings, and those precious girls are 2 of them!

But now I look at the coming year as one of moving on. And in the light of moving on, I will not be continuing the blog. I want to concentrate on the establishing of a routine and one of the things I have to let go of is the amount of time I spend on the computer! Not that I've spent that much time on the blog lately, but in general. So if you want to continue to be in touch, I will still be on Facebook. If you are not on Facebook and still wish to remain in touch with us, please forward me your email address to mjwiebe100@gmail.com and I will send you updates as to how we are all doing.

Another thing that I want to focus on in the coming year (years?) is the writing of a book. I have actually started to put things down on paper (so to speak!) and will be using the blog site entries as part of the story. Someday, Lord willing, it will actually become a reality!

So one final thank you to all of you who have faithfully followed this post, and have upheld, supported, prayed for and otherwise shown us more love that we could ever possibly imagine or ever repay! May you be blessed beyond your wildest dreams, and may you give our great God the glory for all that He has done because of your faithfulness! Throughout our journey we pray that His glory will be known by all, and that He will continue to teach us, mold us, and use us in whatever way He sees fit. We pray this for all of you as well, and thank you once again for your ministry in our lives. Know that you will be eternally loved and appreciated!!

With sincere love and greatfulness, Judy (for all of us!)

Oops!

Well, time definitely got away from me again! It's a busy time of year, but there should be no excuse here. I'm sorry for not having updated for so long. The last time I posted, the surgery for my eyes was next on the list. I am so thankful to say that the results were as good as I had hoped, and my vision is back to normal! NO MORE DOUBLE VISION!! PTL!! It is SUCH a relief to be able to see clearly and only one of everything! The surgery went very well, and the results were immediate. But the effects of having another surgery have set my physical strength back some. Perhaps its just the final accumulation of all that has happened this year - multiple trips to Vancouver for tests/appointments, our trip to Germany in June, the first (unsuccessful) attempt at the tummy surgery in July, Jason and Dani's wedding in August, tummy surgery in September, Christopher and Corinne's wedding in October, eye surgery in November, and now Christmas! Hmm, perhaps a bit much while still recovering in general?! So I'm feeling a little bit more lethargic than usual, and seem to be needing more sleep. I suppose I can give myself a bit of a break now!

Christmas was a wonderful time with our newly expanded family! We truly feel blessed with the additions of Dani and Corinne! It has added so much to the dynamics of our family, and we look forward to seeing where God will lead these two new families in the New Year. Aaron is really enjoying his job and had completed his first course to achieve his A+ certification! We officially have our own personal computer technician in the house! Ben is taking off this coming week, and plans on getting some work done at home and at our rental unit, which unfortunately is in desperate need of a complete overhaul. But that's another story for another day!

The new year holds yet unknown adventures for us, but we are going to start off with a time of rest and relaxation in the form of a trip to Costa Rica with my sister and her husband! We actually booked this trip before either of the boys were engaged or married! So it's been long anticipated, and comes at a very good time! We don't know what else lies ahead for next year, but we do know that whatever comes, it's in the hands of Someone who has all things planned. So in that knowledge we will rest well!

We pray always with thanksgiving for all of you who are part of our lives, and know that we are where we are because of how God has used each and every one of you. May you know the rich blessings from our Lord and Saviour who came over 2000 years ago to give life, peace, joy, purpose and hope for anyone who chooses to believe! May these blessings give you much anticipation for what is in store for you in 2011.

New Site!

Hey, a big round of applause for Sarah Kesler, the founder and keeper of this blog site! I love the new look! And hope that you all enjoy the new picture of our family, taken just this past Sunday in the FREEZING cold!! You'd never know but it was about -27 with the wind chill factor! At least it was sunny!

I'm heading down to Vancouver (Abbotsford) tomorrow with Christopher and Corinne, and will be having some tests early next week. The surgery is on as scheduled, Dec. 3rd. I'm really looking forward to next week! And I'll update this as soon as I can regarding the results of the surgery.

Another bit of exciting news - Aaron got a job! And it is a job that he can remain seated when he needs to be!! He is a computer tech for a local company called CMO. He started this week Monday, and so far loves it! So PTL for that!!

More soon!

The Next Date:

FINALLY! I have a date for my eye surgery! Dec. 3rd I will be going back to VGH one more time, hopefully for the last time, to have the surgery that we trust will repair my double vision. I have never been so happy to have a surgery date!! All is confirmed with all parties involved, so there should be no delays or set backs. That being said, I know that God has all things under control, and if there is anything that needs to be rearranged, I know He'll make it happen in His time! But I believe that this will work, and there will be no delays, and there will be restored vision! My Lord has worked so many miracles already, and this will be one more that will happen through the capable hands of the doctors!

Here at the home front everyone is settling down into the daily schedules again, and the honeymooners are home and settling into married life. What a joy to have them over for dinners or whatever, and to see their love for each other growing! And to have 'my girls' around is wonderful! They were worth waiting for!!

Aaron continues in his studies for computer tech, Ben has done his official training for his position on the special investigations team, and I am back to the gym and other therapy. The biggest help for me recently has been the introduction to the Prince George Brain Injured Group (PG BIG). I have learned SO MUCH from these weekly meetings, and has given me insight as to why I do what I do (or don't do!). Next week there will be a conference held in Vancouver for the Pacific Coast Brain Injury groups, and it will be transmitted via satellite to Prince George. I'm very excited to be able to take part in this conference, and look forward to learning more about brain injury and the coping skills we will all need to learn to develop.

I have to apologize for not writing that often any more, but I want to see this through till the 2 year anniversary. So thank you to those of you who are still following this and praying for us. I'll say it (at least!) one more time - we couldn't have made it without your support, love, and prayers! Hang in there, and I'll try to post at least once a month! It's on my "to do" list....now if I could only find it.....

Wedding #2 - also beautiful!!

Our Thanksgiving weekend was somewhat different this year, but what a way to give thanks! Christopher and Corinne's wedding was a beautiful testimony of God's faithfulness and grace, and it gave honour and glory to their Saviour! What a joy to witness their vows and share this precious moment with them.

We hosted the rehearsal dinner on Friday, a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings! It was a challenge, but thanks to all the help from my family and friends, it was a wonderful evening. Then Saturday was, of course, the wedding day. Sunday we shared with family and friends again, but this time with Chinese food and a good movie to laugh at! And today has just been a lovely day of relaxing! The kids made it safely to their honeymoon destination, my family has gone home, so it's quiet in the house, but that's okay. There's lots to be done, but it will have to wait! Now and then I still need to watch how far I push things, and today was a good day to just take it easy!

Tomorrow I am going back to Vancouver to GF Strong for a follow up appointment with the doctor and physiotherapist. I'm looking forward to their evaluation of where I am at now, and where we go from here. It feels like this is almost the start of a new year, a new phase of settling in. The weddings are over, and now we all need to learn to live in our new normal again. I know I need to start developing a better routine, and get back to working on my endurance and stamina. I'd also like to get back to my music history course, so much is to be done.

Onward and upward!

Wedding Countdown...#2!

I can't even begin to explain how wonderful the past few months have been! And now we have the joy of seeing Christopher and Corinne join their lives together as man and wife this coming Saturday! We have been helping out in Christopher's house to get it ready for Corinne to move into. He has totally redone all the kitchen cabinets, the floor, one bedroom and built a bed! It's been wonderful to see the two of them working together on this project in such harmony. We also had the privilege of celebrating Chris' birthday with his future in-laws and their whole family. They are a generous, loving bunch!! I'm so thankful for all the blessings that we are experiencing - forgive me if I sound like a broken record, but I just feel so overwhelmed by all the goodness around us at this time!

One interesting side note: today I visited the office of the Prince George Brain Injured Group (PG BIG) and will be attending sessions there to learn coping mechanisms for the problems that I am now encountering. As wonderful as it is to have most of my physical abilities back, enough to do the basic things I need at least, there are times that both Ben and I have noticed that I don't always process things correctly. I often find myself not managing my time well, or my perception of how much time/effort I need to do something is unrealistic. There are a few other things that we have noticed as well, and that is why I am seeking help for that. What I found out in my initial interview was very enlightening! There are many other things which I thought were unrelated, or 'had written off' as a result of the nerve damage or bad habits developing, that are actually caused by the brain injury!  So that was good! I am looking forward to learning much more!

This week is going to be wonderful, I know, and I'm looking forward to sharing it with family and friends. I'm not sure what I'll do when this is all over, but I'm sure I'll think of something! Oh, I almost forgot...I recently spoke to the office of the doctor who will be doing my eye surgery, and they hope to have a date for the surgery before Christmas! That is such an answer to prayer!!

So keep checking back - I'll post more pictures as soon as I can! Hope your week is as wonderful as mine will be!!

Surgery is done!

PTL everything went very well! I am done with the abdominal surgery (aka tummy tuck!) for the repair of the scar on my stomach from the accident last year. I am SO incredibly thankful for how well it all went and that I had no nausea coming out of the surgery! There is some discomfort (read: it hurts something awful to cough!) but for the most part, I feel really good! So for the next couple of weeks, I'll be trying to hold things down to a dull roar before we have another wedding! It's coming up so fast! Christopher and Corinne will be married October 9th, and we can hardly wait for wedding number 2 this year! Jason and Dani are settling down to happily married life, and C & C will soon be there! Aaron is working hard at his studies in computer technician training, and Ben is currently in Ottawa for a training course for his new position. Change seems to be the constant denominator for us this year! But it's all so good, and we just have to be thankful that we are here to experience these changes!

I am staying with my sister for these weeks of recuperation, and I'd just like to say another MAJOR Thank You to my whole family, immediate and extended, for their love, care, and support for all of us, but especially me. There is no way that we could be where we are without you!

I wish I had some major spiritual wisdom to share with you but right now my heart is just thankful! So please join me in being incredibly thankful for all the joys we are allowed to experience every day, even when they hurt! God is good...all the time!