Okay, so I guess this blog is a weekly thing now. (sorry) "So much time so little to do! Strike that, reverse it."

But I've got great news! We've got great progress! Caleb has been using his passy muir valve all day since Thursday and has been doing wonderful with it. In fact he does better with it than without it. We were only taking it off when he had a feeding and when he fell asleep but then we saw that he does better with it when he eats too! So now he's got it on all day long! We only take it off when he sleeps. (But his O2 levels are still better with it than without it when he sleeps too.) Praise God! I'm so amazed...the doctor didn't anticipate that he would be able to handle that in such a short time. I talked with his pediatrician today and told him about it too and he was happy about that and told me to call the specialist and let her know...maybe he can take out the trach sooner than anticipated? PRAY, PRAY...please.
Caleb is now using his stander twice a day now too and has been doing great with it. He's got his new feet and hand splints too and it's working REALLY well. He still continues to get much therapy from his nurses, my mom, and I and massages from my dad that he very much enjoys. (I'm jealous) :) Caleb had a speech evaluation last Wednesday and it went really well too. From what I hear, the speech therapist was very impressed with him and all his expressions he makes with his eyes and she's looking forward to working with him.
At the meeting last Tuesday (w/ the DOE), I had gone in thinking I wasn't going to send him to school. That was my decision going into the meeting. We had gone to observe at the school and there were cons that out did the pros. But after meeting the teacher and talking with her, I was convinced to check it out once more and made a decision about it. (sort of) Well, Caleb will be going to Jefferson starting July 31st. I decided to try it out and start him off once a week for just two hours. That doesn't mean that he will continue to go there for sure yet. I still need to check it out to see how it is during the regular school year. I hear great things about it but I really want to see it for myself. So I will be taking Caleb for two hours while the physical therapist is there so they can work with him. I will also be staying with him the whole time. (He's my baby, I've got to make sure he's well taken care of.) And I want to make sure he likes it too. So we will see how it goes! Please pray that I will be able to make the best decision for him.
On Friday, I took Caleb to a prayer and healing service at our church. The Lord is surely going to pull him out of this! He IS going to recover completely!
On a not so good note...Micaiah caught a cold! He's got a sinus infection...but I'm trying my best to make sure Caleb and I don't get sick and I'm trying to keep him away from Caleb as much as possible. Please pray that Caleb does not get sick. There has been quite a few restless nights with Micaiah these past few days. But he's still happy and smiley as ever! (He loves to brighten everyone's days)
As for me, I've been hanging on. I had a really bad day on Saturday and thought I was going to go nuts. But thank you God for always catching me when I fall and hearing my prayers! And Satan was REALLY trying to pull me down with horrible thoughts in my head...guilty feelings about that night and thoughts about Caleb that night. But as soon as they would creep into my mind I would start to pray and pray until it went away! And God continues to take me in his arms and carry me through those rough moments. We've got such an awesome God!
Things have been going a little better for Brandon and I (well, in the past day anyways). I'm thanking the Lord for bringing sunshine every time through this storm that seems so long but as I was reminded in my daily devotions yesterday..."These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold- though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. "
1 Peter 1:7 ...Jesus will not abandon us...He carries us through every trial!

Thank you for praying so faithfully for Caleb as well as our family! God Bless your hearts!