Praising God as we celebrate 1yr. from Alisha's accident!

Tonight was so different then a year ago tonight! Allot has changed around our house and all for the good! Allot of changes!

I love this picture, because it reminds me of the beautiful girl Alisha is inside and out! She stands tall carrying her donut for her broker back and her right foot in a surgical shoe as she waits for her broken foot to heal, and her face carries the caring, sweet smile that I love so dearly in my daughter

Alisha Jane Leffring

I look forward to the future as we continue to watch God use her life for His Glory!

 

 

Today we ran the rat race of life: business, kids, school, business, fieldtrips, getting pulled over..... Things that really.... are the easy things!!! 
Tonight Alisha helped me make meatloaf for dinner,  cleaned up the living room for our Bible Study, then she quietly played in the back yard conducting a dance with Abby and her friends. Then before she fell asleep she came in to tell us the funny stories of her and her friends goofiness at school. She laughed so hard she was almost crying!!!
I have quietly sat by as the one year from her accident has  approached and praised God for His gracious hand in our lives! For a good 8 weeks we were not sure if we would see the precious, healthy daughter that we had shared life with for 11 1/2 years!

 

 

I can honestly say I celebrate today.  I celebrate that we experienced that He really is our Rock, our Strong Tower, our Shelter..... And not just because Alisha is better, but because he was there holding each of us in the darkest time of our lives!

Better Late then Never!

I have had multiple people ask me over the summer how Alisha is doing. I was thrilled to be able to give a good report, that she has not been having migraines, that her neck is doing better and that the symptoms of conversion disorder (passing out, non-epileptic seizures, loss of vision...) had not been an issue!

I had a little extra time on my hands this week, since baseball is done for a bit, soccer isn't in full swing and Alisha and Ashton are off to camp! I thought I would take the time to write this update, but somehow time slipped away! I had a great plan to Glorify God for the healing that has taken place in Alisha's life and give Alisha credit for being a trooper and fighting through this rough last year. I had even had the thought of how we would remember this year as the year we were blessed with a boat that made our summer loads of fun! .....Then I woke up with my dear friend standing at my bedroom door.... "What happened?!" Alisha had severely sprained her ankle earlier in the day at church camp and had was in allot of pain. It seems that when she is in constant pain that this is when her other symptoms start to surface! She had developed a migraine as well, and with the exhaustion of camp on top of that, her body once again gave in! Her poor camp Counselor was helping her back to her room after visiting the nurse when she collapsed to the floor and to the counselor appeared to go hysterical, then glazed over for a short period of time, unresponsive to questions. Alisha, explained that she started losing her vision, "All the sudden everything started to get blurry and I dropped to the floor and could hear what was going on, but could not make myself speak. All I could t
hink was what Mom always says "fight through this, fight through this!" She then came out of it, and was shaken.

As time passes between each event we all hope that we have seen the last, but we have no certainty that it will be. If I look forward and try to imagine  life with the struggles she could face, It becomes so overwhelming, but when I look back to how God has greatly provided. I have a peace that she has everything she needs in Him.

So as you think of her and wonder how she is doing, you can know, she is stronger then she has ever been! She is facing the fact that we don't know what the future holds. She is learning that mom and dad can't fix everything. She is learning her deep need to be fully dependent on God who will be her peace even when her body fails her!

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalms 73:26

One Choice at a time!

Normal life is beautiful! I know when I find myself thinking about what I should do with my time and how I am going to get the motivation to lose some weight, life is easy!!
So thankful as time has gone by Alisha's brain has continued to heal and her headaches are subsiding and her life is almost back to normal! With a few glitches here and there, we could not be more thankful!
While I love normal, I pray that by God's mercy He will continue to Transform our minds, that each of us might prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God!!


Today I am excited for my 3rd child Abby Lynn! She has not been the focus now for a while, but as we get back to spreading out time as a parent, I love touching base with my little girl!

Abby Lynn has been considering baptism for quite some time now! It was something she believes she a Christian is called to, but was so worried about speaking in front of everyone! (our church will let the kids do a video testimony, but her dad and I thought she needed to be willing to obey even when it is hard) I think there have been three baptisms that have come and gone at our church that she has sat and watched. You could see the guilt in her eyes as she would choose to wait, but that was her choice and I just encouraged her that God always helps us do what we know we should do! Well last Sunday on our way home from church she heard church was planning a baptism this Sunday. She thought about it for a quick moment and said "I want to get baptized!" She told me today that when she finally decided to do it, she felt so good inside! I enjoyed reminding her that allot of Christians don't ever decide to do what God asks them to do, because they are afraid, or it doesn't make allot of since or any other reason people disobey! I pray that Abby Lynn will continue to feel awful when she chooses to disobey or wait to obey and extreme joy when she chooses obedience!