ROADBLOCK.... PRAYERS NEEDED PLEASE!

As Alex and I were doing school this morning, we received a phone call from the doctor that the xray they had taken of Alex's left ankle yesterday revealed a fracture.  He has been complaining of his ankle really hurting so while we were at the hospital doing the botox injections... I asked her to have an xray done of his ankle.  WOW!  On top of all this.... he has had a stomach bug and going to the bathroom like every 5 minutes so he has been having to walk on it ALL DAY!  Bless my father in law as he brought Alex a bedside commode so he doesnt have to keep walking far on it.  I have been on hold ALL DAY with various doctors, receptionists and tricare trying to get referrals to get him in today.  AGGRAVATING!!! Finally at about 4 I got authorization and we are headed to the Jacksonville Orthopedic Institute at the beach at 10am tomorrow morning to get this ankle business taken care of.  We need prayers please because if he has to get a cast this will be detrimental to his progress with physical therapy.  He will not be able to do any therapy nor will he be able to do any WATER activities..... and you have all seen how much he LOVES the water and the free spirit he is able to be while in the water.  I ask that you pray for healing.....QUICK HEALING..... hoping that the fracture is not SEVERE and that he will only be down a short time.  We are going on a cruise for my brother in laws wedding in two weeks and he has really been looking forward to going and being able to hang out at the waterpark on the top deck.  With a cast..... this will hinder his fun.  He also was looking forward to WALKING and getting his diploma in June with his class.... again... this will make that impossible. He can still graduate yes... but he would not be able to walk!  The devil always wants to pop in and put up road blocks but I'm claiming this and giving it to GOD!  Just when we get settled in and the going gets good..... ROADBLOCK!  Lord.... I thank you for always being my rock and for always showing yourself when I least expect it.  You have blessed us beyond my wildest dreams and I thank you for that.  I ask you to please wrap your arms around Alex and heal his ankle, and take away the pain so that he is not down for long.  I know his recovery is on your timeline, not mine and I know that with everything there is a meaning and a purpose.  Thank you for dying on the cross for us and thank you for your many miracles you continue to bless my family with.  We are your children and I know you are the way, the truth and the light.  I pray that we go tomorrow and it is a simple sprain and nothing serious .... maybe the doctors saw something that wasn't there :0).... I give it to you God... In Jesus Name I Pray.... AMEN!!

I'll keep you all posted tomorrow on the diagnosis.

Thanks so much for your prayers in advance!!

PEACE~LOVE~N~THUMBS UP!
 LISA

DAAAAAAAAAAY 6.... OUR DAYS IN PARADISE ARE COMING TO AN END

Today I let the boys sleep in as we didn't have any plans until 11 at Duke's Restaurant for lunch.... compliments of Duke's via Dreams Come True.  This place was sooooo cool and had the most relaxed and beach atmosphere.... just an all around cool place to hang out and the food was AMAZING.... especially the HULA PIE!

THIS PIE IS AMAAAAAAAZING!  If you ever get a chance to go to a Duke's Restaurant.... GET THE PIE!

Once lunch was over, our bellies full and it was game time for the SCREAMER!

http://honoluluscreamer.com/contact_us.html

Alex absolutely LOVED LOVED LOVED this ride and it was sooooo awesome to see him laughing and yelling and screaming and having the time of his life.  THIS IS JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED!  This boat is a 49 passenger speed boat and it was a blast!  Doing 360's and nose dives.... spraying us with water .... not a dry person got off that boat, lol.  As we were out.... all of a sudden we see WHALES!  Jumping and playing... OMG.... what an amazing thing to see.... God and all his wonders..... BREATH TAKING... and a little scary at the same time, lol.  THEY WERE SOOOO CLOSE!!!

What a great day.... An experience of a lifetime ... especially in the water... so close... THE WHALES!  ABSOLUTELY BREATH TAKING!  The kids were in awe and speechless as were Chad and I.  Incredible!  Tomorrow we rent a car and explore the island on our own..... CAN'T WAIT TO TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT!  Stay tuned :0)

PRAYER WARRIORS I HAVE SPECIAL PRAYER REQUESTS TONIGHT:

My sister Kristen has a special request for one of her close friends, jonathan lavezzi? who is in icu in an induced coma after going in for a routine procedure to check out his gall bladder last week. Since the procedure he has suffered numerous strokes and seizures, which in turn led to a spinal chord injury, and oxygen was apparently cut off to his brain for some time.

One of my very dear friends JV.... she is in Mayo in severe abdominal pains and they do not know as of yet what is going on... just running a lot of tests to find out.  Praying it is nothing truly serious and that they find the problem to relieve the pain and find the source of the problem.

2 month old little girl was in hospital on life support....doctors told her mother she would have to take off of life support and would not make it as she has meningitis which caused her to have seizures and they say that more than half of her brain is dead.  Her mother refused to give up.... took her off life support and straight to church!  She is now at home, STILL ALIVE...PRAISE JESUS... and nurse came today to see her and said she looked really good.  ANOTHER MIRACLE....THANK YOU JESUS!!

You are all witnesses as to what God can do so I ask that we all band together and pray for these three in need of our prayers.  Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Thank you sweet friends for checking in with me every once in a while..... It's nice to know you are still there even though I have slacked off because of our busy schedule.  Alex had botox injections mostly in his left arm today and 3 shots in left leg...... all was successful.  He has some kind of stomach bug today.... probably will be missing therapy tomorrow which I hate doing but I feel like we just waste our therapist time when he isn't up to par... his mind is elsewhere and they don't really get the full potential out of him.  Also.... we had xray's taken of his left ankle because it has really really been rolling bad everytime he walks on it... especially at the beach yesterday.  He has a special ortho brace that he wears during therapy but I have got to figure something out for when he walks around the house or beach.... without shoes.  he can't wear the brace to the beach or without shoes.... if anyone has any suggestions... please shed some light on this.   The doctor mentioned that he may need a walking cast until his ankles become stronger.  Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh just another thing I gotta deal with, lol.  On a happier note... here are some pics from his beach day yesterday.... LOVED IT!  He swam and boogie boarded.... not like he used to lol... but this is as good as it gets at this stage and brought joy to my heart!!

Brooks, Brittany and Kinlin... THANK YOU!  Thank you for making it such a fun day for us.... Your love is unconditional with Alex and I thank you for your love, patience and understanding when it comes to Alex and his needs.  I LOVE YOU!  Brooks... I cannot tell you how proud I am of you and the awesome little brother you have grown up to be.  Alex couldn't get thru this without you... neither could I.  Thank YOU from the bottom of my heart for all that you do on a daily basis not because you HAVE to... but because you WANT to.  Alex is so lucky to have you and so am I!  YOU DA BEST BOO!!  Together we have a solid family....  Chad, thank you for going to work everyday and being the bread winner for our family.  You have sacrificed a lot and we truly appreciate you and all the hard work you do to provide for us as a single income.  Mom... thank you for coming at the jump of a call to assist whenever I need.  Even though I don't express to you guys on a daily basis just how much your love and support means... please know that you play a huge part in our success with this recovery and I appreciate you and all you do so very much.  Brian and Dana... thank you for having Alex on the weekends you have Brooks.... it gives him and I some time apart...... Chad and I sometime together alone with Alex becoming a little more independent from me.  Alex is very lucky to have so many caring people in his life that you all play a significant part in his successful recovery.  Soooo... I don't say it enough but THANK YOU.... to all who encourage, support and pray for my handsome boy!  Isn't it nice to know you play a part in this thing we call a miracle?  Thank you God.... it's all you.... IT'S ALL YOU!

PEACE~LOVE~N~THUMBS UP!
LISA

DAY 5...... SEEING PARADISE FROM ABOVE

Up and at it bright and early the next morning we were excitedly waiting at 7am for the helicopter bus to pick us up for our Helicopter ride!!  This was one of our most exciting adventures together as a family and for sure something we will never forget.  It will probably be a very long time before we ever head back to Hawaii as a family so we were very excited to see as much of Hawaii as we could from a different perspective.

It was a little difficult getting Alex in the helicopter as you can imagine but he and I had front row seats and it was AMAZING!  The helicopter company that we chose to go with just so happen to be owned by the gentleman Richard Schuman and he actually is the one who flies the helicopter in the new series of Hawaii Five-O!  We thought that was pretty cool all in itself, lol!  

Here is one of Nick's video's.... noisy may want to turn down your volume :0)  Notice the beautiful blue water!

 Below is our hotel.... our room was at the top right floor 30!

 There is our pool and beach  ...we shared the beach with the Royal Hawaiian (the pink hotel)

 I believe this is the inside of Diamond Head of which you may have seen in previous pictures

 This was the military helicopter that had recently crashed and they were still investigating.....glad I didn't know about it before hand because I probably wouldn't have gone thru with our tour, lol.

 This is a valley where they filmed parts of LOST and Jurassic Park

 Waterfall

 We saw two beautiful rainbows while on our tour... the rainbow comes full circle, sorry I couldn't get a picture of that my lens was too big, lol......but it was amazing to see the rainbow make a complete circle and fly thru it..... as we can't see that from the ground!

Here is a video that Nick took... if you look close you can see it on both sides and see that it makes a circle as he scrolls from left to right on each side of the helicopter.  It's a little noisy you may want to turn volume off.

We actually visited this waterfall.... you will see pictures up close on another day.

 PINEAPPLE FIELDS

 Dole Plantation's Pineapple Garden Maze hold the record for the world's largest maze from the Guinness Book of World Records

 PEARL HARBOR....these boats are not functional but they did use them in the movie Pearl Harbor

If any of you ever get the chance to go to Hawaii I highly recommend you spend the money and do this.  We even bought the video of our tour, lol!  When I asked the kids what their favorite thing was from our Hawaii trip.....they ALL named this in their top 3 things....It is definitely well worth it!  Thank You Mr. Richard for being so sweet to my boy and for making us feel special on your tour.....ANGELS ALL AROUND US.... everywhere we turn!

We still had our whole day ahead of us as I said we we left the hotel at 7am for our helicopter tour so once we got back to the hotel the boys and I decided to visit the aquarium.  We learned that it was only a little over a mile away from the hotel so we decided we were going to walk and so some sight seeing along the way!

First thing ....SURFBOARDS..... everywhere surfboards... imagine that!

 Statues like this were all up and down the walk on the beach

 These trees and their trunks are amazing

 Little man made waterfalls perfect for picture spots... of course Alex was tired of me stopping and taking pics and insisted we keep moving.

 Diamond Head

 I don't remember the name of this little swimming area but there was a wall separating it from the ocean and all the little kids would swim in it and the surfers would surf right up to the wall.... crazy!

 Alex wanted me to get a picture of this bum chillin with his music :0)

 And this one braiding her hair, lol

 See the surfers... CRAZY

 This was the boys favorite local,lol

 Lifeguard huts.... We should have these at Jax Beach, lol.... we need an upgrade!

 There were trees like this everywhere so the boys took advantage of the vines and had a little fun

 More of Alex's friends he wanted me to capture lol

The aquarium in Waikiki is VERY small and took us all of about 15 minutes if that to go thru but I really enjoyed the walk with my boys there and back just soaking up some momma/son time and enjoying their laughter as we encountered different things along our journey :0)  IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS THAT MEAN THE MOST SOMETIMES.

We headed back to hotel to rest a bit before our dinner at The Chart House, one of our dinners that was set up by Dreams Come True.  This place was across from the marina and we got to witness a beautiful sunset from our seats of open dining.

Thank you Chart House and Dreams Come True for an evening of good food, great staff, laughter and smiles with an awesome view of the sunset :0)  There is nothing better than seeing these smiles at the end of the day and savoring every minute of it!!!!  I love going back thru these photo's to share with you because it was actually the happiest week of bliss that we very much needed away from reality.

Thank you to those of you who continue to write me and encourage me as I still have those moments and days..... had one last night.  We had all gone to bed and Alex kept waking up.... calling me in his room, the last time to go to the restroom.  His words.. "Mom, I'm sorry.... I wish we could have our old life back."  "me too Alex.... me too".  GETS ME EVERY TIME!  If ever I stop....the waterfalls begin.  I think that's why I try to keep myself so busy so that I don't have time to think about where we are and the reality of it all and how far we still have to go!  We are STILL adjusting and working thru things and I guess going to one of Alex's friends birthday parties put it all back in perspective for me of how it was and now how it IS!  It is very hard for Brooks and I to sit back and watch him with his friends now as to how it used to be.  He sooooooo desperately wants to be right back in it.... hanging with his friends.... doing the things that they do....the things he SHOULD be doing.  Playing basketball, running around... talking about senior trips, grad night, the beach, movies...... ALL OF IT.  I know how very far we have come..... but yet I know how VERY far we still have to go .... both mentally and physically.  Day by day.... baby steps... taking the good with the bad... keeping my positive attitude in tow trying to put the past behind and focus on not what was but how I can make things better in the NOW.  THIS TOO SHALL PASS..... The future is what we make it.  I took the boys to see "SOUL SURFER".... if you have not seen it...GO SEE IT!  It is "faith" based of which I didn't know but am thrilled that it was!  I only wish I had seen the movie before we went to Hawaii so we could have met her!  The movie brought me right back to DAY ONE with so many emotions running wild and memories of that day flooding back as I watched the events from her day unravel.  A very inspirational heartfelt movie.....I can only imagine what her mother and father were thinking
and feeling as well as her family and having to adjust to a whole new world of the unknown.  To those of you dealing with children with disabilities of some sort.... God Bless you!  I had no idea until I was thrown into this world as to what you deal with on a daily basis and I have mucho respect for all of you.  At the end of the movie the screen read these words ...... "IT ISN'T THE END.......IT'S JUST THE BEGINNING".  How very true that statement is!  Thank you God for my many blessings from the past and present and for your unending love for all of us.  With YOU I know that I can get thru this and I have every bit of faith that you will bring a full recovery to Alex in YOUR time!!  I truly believe that you have great things in store for Mr. Alex and I am sooooo very thankful for one more day with my handsome boy!!

PEACE~LOVE~N~THUMBS UP!

LISA