"What would have become of me had I not believed that I would see the Lord's goodness in the land of the LIVING. Wait, hope for and EXPECT the Lord. Be strong and of good courage and may your heart (Ned) be sturdy and enduring.....Yes, Wait For and Hope For and Expect the Lord."

Psalm 27:13-14 (Amp)

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Not Much To Report

Tonight I am thanking our Lord and Savior that he has kept Ned stable this weekend in preparation for his next surgery (aorta coarctation repair) this coming week. Betsy was able to go home Saturday afternoon to spend some much needed, much appreciated time with Jacker and Margaret, and hopefully get some rest of her own. She was happy to report to me that Jack ran around all weekend with his full UNC football uniform on shouting "Now I'm a reall Tarheel". I sure have some ground to make up with him! Betsy will return to Chapel Hill Monday morning. Normally, Betsy would make absolutely sure she was confident in leaving me with the kiddos if she ever went out of town or anything, but she seemed to be alright with fact that Ned and I wouldn't be getting into much mischief in her absence.

The doctors and nurses are saying they are going to try and start weining him off the jet vent tomorrow morning, so we'll see how that goes. At this time, we are praying that the transition to the regular vent will go smoothly, and that God will have his mighty hand on Ned, the doctors and nurses, and us while they prepare to fix Ned's aorta this coming week. It has been a rocky week, but God has blessed us with a smooth weekend. Ned is still swollen, but it seems to be subsiding some. He has been taking in much more fluids that he has been urinating out since last Thursday (hence the swelling), but this morning, he started urinating out much more than he was taking in, so hopefully, he will continue to loose some of that excess fluid in his tissue.

Overall, the weekend has been pretty uneventful (thank you Lord), except for Ned's many visitors. Aunt Kim Beam and Tammy Hefner showed up around lunch, as did Nana and Paw-paw Bill (Travis's parents), and got to see our little bundle of joy. Later this afternoon, Uncle Mark and Aunt Dawn Beam also came up. Visiting with all these wonderful people sure did make our weekend while we were both missing Betsy.

Anyway, it's late and I'm going to bed. Please keep Ned in your prayers, as well as Betsy as she travels back up to Chapel Hill on Monday morning. Again, thank you all for all you do. The cards, visits, and most of all prayers mean the world to us.

In Christ,

Trav

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear the weekend has been smooth and that you and Ned got to spend some "guy time" during Super Bowl weekend, while Mom got to go home for a bit and make sure Jack remembers he's a "Real Tarheel." lol

We are always thinking of your family and praying for you all, especially for little Ned. I know it is a great feeling to have company come to visit and share encouragement with you.

We are trusting the Lord as Ned is prepared for his next surgery during the upcoming week. We are praying for God's presence to be with all the doctors, nurses, and attendents at Chapel Hill, as they minister to Ned and the others that are there. We are also praying that God will continue to give you and Betsy strength, peace, and mighty faith for any challenges ahead.
Thanks for being such a great witness of God's ongoing faithfulness to His people.
Hope to see you soon! Sherry

Anonymous said...

Betsy & Travis
So glad Ned was able to have a stable weekend. He will be in my prayers and in my heart as they prepare to repair his little heart.
I am expecting Jack to arrive in full football uniform this morning! He and Holden are getting along so well together and Holden is already learning much (good things!)from Jack.

Anonymous said...

So glad that the weekend went well, and that Betsy got to go home for a bit. I know Jack and Margaret were very excited. All of you will be in our prayers this week as Baby Ned has his heart surgery. Emily just came in as I was writing to you guys, and she said Baby Ned is a little trooper, and he is, she just said that she didn't know how she would handle what you guys are going through, but she knew that God knew for a fact that the two of you could handle it because of your faith. We are here for you, and our prayers will uplift all of you. You precious, precious family. We love you, "The Alexander's", Kim Donald, Emily and Brock