Ready for the Big Move

Again, my apologies for not posting lately. We are in the middle of packing as well as Christmas time and events.
We are moving sometime in early January to a home that will better accommodate our family size. It will have some acreage that is exactly what we wanted to do all the fun things our kids have wanted to do.
The only thing about this home is that it needs the upstairs finished. The homeowners never finished the upstairs, but we intend to do so, but need a lot of help to do it. We're praying that God will provide the finances and physical labor to help us. He's done it before and all we can do now is ask for His provision in His economy, which is unlimited.
We hope to have some time next week after the current homeowners are out of the house to start the insulation and wiring, etc. But we need materials first. That's the first order of business.

Lightening is doing very well from his surgery. His large intestine has decreased in size smaller than when we first picked him up in Arizona. The doctors believe he was slowly getting backed up and Thanksgiving dinner may have been the final "plug". He will have another surgery in February/March time frame to reconnect things and hopefully he won't have to have another bag hooked to the small intestine while the colon heals. The doctors will not know that until they get into his abdomen.

Christmas day is an exciting day for all of the kids even though we don't have the house decorated for Christmas since we're moving. Either way, they all understand. The three new boys probably haven't had a Christmas like this. So, we aren't sure if they fully understand the real meaning of Christmas, not with all of the presents and such.

Until next time, pray that we survive the move and construction project!

Lightning Update

Sunday afternoon was when Lightning arrived back home after a week in the hospital. He is like a brand new kid! We also celebrated his 5th birthday yesterday, but we didn't enjoy any cake as his stomach and colon have to adjust slightly to a new diet.
We anticipate him wearing the colostomy bag for three months, which will allow the large intestine to decrease in size. Then, they will go and perform another surgery to connect everything back the way it was meant to go.
In the mean time, we are trying to pack anything we can so we can move in early January!