friday

another week in the record books. can't wait for the next few quite honestly.

next week is starting to fill, but the following week is jam packed with doctor appts. for austin. he sees his sports medicine surgeon on monday. he's hoping that he'll get the go ahead to start bearing weight on his right leg. he's also hoping to get of his blood thinners in hopes of accelerating the reattachment of his ACL. that's the last of the reconstructive surgery. he has at least one more to remove the hardware in his arm and hand that was put in there to keep it stable while it mends. another reason to get off the blood thinners. everyone wants to wait until he's off those. with good reason.

he sees his arm/hand/left leg surgeon on wednesday. not expecting a lot from that visit. he's gained a lot more mobility in the hand and in the strength of his grip.

we registered him for school today, bought his books. all his classes are online this semester. although i think it would do him good to get back on campus, his future surgeries may keep him immobile for a while longer. best to keep the load light this semester and kick it into gear next semester. he's very well liked by his teachers. many stopped by to see him, shake his hand and wish him a speedy recovery today.

we bought a "train" this week. at least that's what victoria calls it.

it's a 1996 fleetwood bounder. it's very nearly a train with it's 38' length. w wants to take the kids winter camping so scoured craigslist for several weeks to find just the right one. christopher hasn't seen it yet. i'm sure we'll create many a memory with it. victoria has already found it to be quite the playhouse. she played in it while i scraped stickers off the outside. it will be fun. it's at the shop right now getting a safety check, making sure everything works properly before we take our precious load out on their first rv camping trip.

el rosario - much progress has been made. we have almost all of our materials. we continue to try to figure out how to purchase the tile for the kitchen. if the donations don't come in for that, it may have to wait. all of the other improvements will help immensely and will be more than enough for these people who live their lives so simply.

i can't wait to return, to work, in the name of God.

and the wonderful part of it is the people who have been moved to offer financial support, labor if they can't spare the money, and prayers if they can offer neither of the above. it's encouraging to see people so willing to help.

there will be pictures. lots and lots of pictures. before/after and everything in between.