Merry Christmas 2013

Hello dear prayer warriors, sweet family and cherished friends!  We wanted to take a minute today to send a very Merry Christmas note!  Our family has been so very blessed by the outpouring of prayers and support over the past two years!  We are continually humbled by the grace that God lavishes over us through each and every one of you as you join us in this journey that God has lovingly and Sovereignly ordained for our precious girlie, Hope . . . and so each one of us too, as God continues His work in and though her story!!!  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts dear ones!

We had the special privilege to go to the Alberta Children's Hospital yesterday and take treats for the Unit 4 nurses and staff, as well as the ICU doctors and staff.  They were thrilled to see Hope and the progress from the last time they would have seen her. . . we were thrilled to share God's power and compassion to heal and His sustaining grace with each of them!  We also took some special items and treats to pass out to some children/families in the hospital over Christmas, remembering very well our Christmas in the hospital. God was so good to give us the opportunity to pray with three different families who were struggling through the shocking new circumstances in their child's health and wellness. Tears were shed and we were so blessed to share the comfort of God with them that we have also been comforted with!  What a great and good God to allow us this privilege to minister to these precious suffering people!  What a tremendous way to celebrate and remember how far God has brought Hope over the past two years. The girls were a special part of the visits as well and people loved to hear her story--well a brief version!  : )  Please join us in continuing to pray for these families of Aiden, Sam, and Alexa!  May the love of God to send His only son, Jesus Christ, to be our Saviour, be evident to them even through their disappointment and pain and at this time of year where we celebrate Christ's birth and coming to earth for God's great plan of salvation!!!

Dear ones, you are so very loved!!!  We love you indeed, but so much greater is the love of Christ for you!  He humbled Himself to come as a Servant to save us!!!  May this truth change your life forever and may you be so very blessed this Christmas as you celebrate the real meaning of Christmas. . . the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ!!

Merry Christmas from Hope!!!  : )

December 14, 2013 . . . Our First Annual Celebration of Life Day!!!

Two years ago today. . . what a different place we were in!  We woke up to the most life altering circumstance we have yet experienced in our lives and family. . . Hope was unconscious and barely breathing.  Not long later, en route to the hospital, her heart stopped.  By the end of the day, she was on a heart and lung bypass machine, airlifted to Edmonton, and uncertain if she was going to live or die. . .

November 28th, 2013 -- All Done!!! God is so good!!!

Excited to share with you that Hope came through the MRI and the Baclofen pump refill procedure with gold stars!!!  Click on "Read More" to continue. . .

Prayer Request -- Hope's MRI and Overnight Hospital Stay Tomorrow!

Please keep Hope in prayer tomorrow, Thursday, as she goes in for her MRI of her spine under general anaesthetic. . . 

November 9, 2013 . . . Hope's Doctor Appt Update

Hello dear praying friends and family!  I was thinking of how best to update you on Hope, and thought I would break it up into the doctor side of things, which I will now share, and then later, the school side of things!  Each of these posts will include both praises to the Lord of her progress, as well as requests for you to lift up before our Heavenly Father, as you continue to pray for our precious Hope, her recovery, her sister (Gabi), her family, and that her story will always display and point to the power, goodness and far outshining glory of our awesome God!!!  : )

Chicago Trip Recap and Thank you!!!

We just wanted to give you a recap of our time in Chicago and offer some huge thanks to those who served our family so incredibly during this time.  I already shared with you God's immense travelling mercies on our way to Chicago.  Those continued on the way home as well, with the worst circumstance simply being our Trader Joe's cookie butter, one a treat for our family and the other a gift for Hope beloved educational assistant, being confiscated in security as not allowed on board!  : (  We were sad, but the phrase we've coined for such disappointing or frustrating circumstances was still indeed true. . . "it's not the end of the world!"  : )  But boy we wish we had thought of opening it and each having a quick spoonful to try before it hit the garbage can!  ; )  Lesson learned for next time. . . make sure you check peanut butter or peanut butter-like substances when flying!  : )

The Peacocks Have Landed in Chicago!!!

Hello dear praying friends!  I'm sorry that it's been so long in between our posts lately.  It has been a very busy season for us with our move and all that has been going on!  Let me just catch you up quickly on a few things, with more to follow when I get the opportunity!

Click on "Read More" to continue. . .

Filled with Immense Gratitude. . . thank you!!!

Hello dear prayer warriors!!!  I am sorry that it has been so long since I have been able to post anything.  It has been a very very full past few weeks, and I am eager to get the opportunity to start catching you up!  But I must first start by sharing our hearts after the amazing benefit dinner/auction that was held to raise funds for Hope's ongoing and future needs!

Click on "Read More" to continue. . .

The Benefit for Hope on Saturday night was a huge success! A very big thank you to each of you who donated items, purchased items and bought tickets for the evening. Thank you to those of you who have purchased puzzle pieces and made donations!

I am humbled and amazed at your generosity and how good God is in leading and directing all who were involved in any way with this event.

I was thinking on Friday before the benefit about how discouraged I was when we had to cancel it in June due to lack of response and how this time it was so well supported. God's ways are indeed best and His timing is perfect and it was once again a lesson to me on how I rush ahead of God and try to control things that are not mine to control.

Even today I am still receiving donations but as of this moment we have raised $40,953.52!!!!

God bless each of you!!

September 22 Photo Puzzle Update

189 puzzle pieces sold to date!

To purchase your puzzle pieces at $10/piece (Canadian tax receiptable), please click on the "Donate" button on the sidebar.

Please be sure to indicate that you are purchasing puzzle pieces and names to be placed on the pieces.

Hope Proclaims!

I am very excited to introduce a new section of Hope's blog entitled, Hope Proclaims!  We are so very thankful that God has been so good to give Hope back her voice.  And we would like to start giving her the opportunity to share her heart and what God is doing in her life with you, her beloved prayer warriors!!!

Here is a note from Trevor, Hope's awesome daddy, explaining why we chose the name "Hope Proclaims" for this new endeavour!

Click on "Read More" to continue. . .

First Week of School and Hope in Walker!!!

The girls started school this past week!  We were praying and hoping to step it up this year in Hope's schooling and try to start challenging her academically as she was able, as well as encourage her to interact with her peers more, without help from a supervising adult!  Well. . . 

Click on "Read more" to continue. . .

Photo Puzzle Update

132 pieces bought to date.  Here is a photo of the back of the puzzle:

and the front:

September 1, 2013. . . Happy Birthday Hope!!!

Hope had a great weekend celebrating her 11th birthday, last Sunday.  I picked a few pictures below to share with you of her celebrating fun!  Thank you so very much for all the sweet birthday notes, wishes and prayers that you sent to Hope!  She was so blessed by them all!!!  And it continues to be a huge encouragement to her of how many precious people God has laid on their hearts to pray for her!!!  You are loved, dear ones!!!

Click on "Read more" below to see the pictures. . .

August 22, 2013. . . Tent Trampoline Backyard Family Campout!!!

We had our first tent trampoline backyard family campout back on Aug 22nd, before it got too cold at night!  We had a great time, and thought you'd enjoy some of the pictures and videos of our precious family time together!   There are videos of Hope telling a "ghost" story and then praying before bed at the end.  Thought you'd enjoy hearing her voice!  Click on the "Read More" to continue. . .