Filled to Overflowing with Gratitude!

My heart is so full of gratitude and praise to the Lord. I just have to blog about it before I burst! Last Thursday night, Mr. Incredible, Rachel, and I made the drive back to Ft. Worth for Rachel's post-op check with her pediatric neurosurgeon. Hannah stayed home with her grandparents because of the much anticipated junior high dance that was finally rescheduled (finally is her word, not mine)and a fun sleep over with her friends after the dance. Even the promise of shopping after the doctor's appointment could not persuade her to go with us. Her feet were set to dancing and nothing would change her mind.

So, the three of us made the drive together. I plugged in my ipod and the three of us sang praises to the Lord at the top of our lungs during most of the drive. We checked into the hotel around 10:00 only to find that the Lord had blessed us with the same room that we had stayed in only 3 weeks ago. It was bitter sweet to stay in the same hotel room, the very room where Mr. Incredible and I had a very sleepless night while our precious daughter slept so soundly the night before her surgery (we would later learn of so many that God would awaken during the night to pray for Rachel on that night too-isn't that incredible-what a mighty God we serve).

Our minds were already flooded with memories of the surgery as we made our trip to Ft. Worth but how cool to be physically reminded too. The three of us looked at each other in amazement that we were given the exact same room but it made us miss our other family members that had made the journey of faith with us too. The conversation was so sweet as we all recalled memories of how we felt in that very room the day and the night before Rachel's surgery.

Mr. Incredible and I slept much more soundly last Thursday night. I woke up early Friday morning to get ready for Rachel's appointment. As I put on my makeup and fixed my hair and looked into the same mirror that I had looked in only hours before Rachel's surgery, I was overwhelmed with gratitude once again. I remember saying, "You are an awesome God! What a journey this has been. You did what only You could do. How can we ever thank You enough?!"

Mr. Incredible told me later that he was just as emotional that morning as he got ready for the day. I'm certainly not doing this moment justice with my words. I can only explain it this way: the Lord ordained every step of this journey of faith...even blessing us to stay in the same hotel room....and we marveled at His amazing attention to every single detail.

We were so happy to see Dr. Roberts. I think he was just as glad to see Rachel. He seemed so pleased to see how well she was moving her neck and overjoyed when she told him that she, "has not had one headache since her surgery!" Glory to God!

He chuckled and said, "This may be the shortest visit ever!" We talked some more, he watched her carefully, and then joyfully announced that she was free to be Rachel again and that he would see us in June! June???? I think we asked in astonishment, "June?" and he smiled and said, yes! She is doing so well that we don't need to do a follow up MRI scan until then. And then the tears that I had been holding back began to flow.

I saw a few tears in his eyes too. I think he was just as overjoyed as we are! And he was so humble about it all. Oh, yes, the glory for it all belongs to God! But, I am so grateful that he chose to use Dr. Roberts.

We hardly said a word until we got into the elevator to leave his office and then Rachel began to sob! Our precious, courageous, daughter, had hoped and dreamed that this day would come and here it was. She was free to be Rachel again...free to dream big dreams for her life again....free to be all the God created her to be~it was a moment like no other....a moment where the King of kings and Lord of lords seemed to fill every corner of that elevator and showed His great glory and favor towards her...and we marveled in the moment!

A few minutes later we arrived on our floor and the texting and phone calls began. We couldn't wait to share the good news. The three of us decided to walk over to the hospital and see all of the glorious Christmas decorations and have a celebratory cup of Starbucks coffee (Mr. Incredible doesn't drink coffee-so he just asked for an Eggnog Latte, minus the coffee-you should have seen the looks). The Lord timed our visit just perfectly because David, Dr. Robert's surgical assistant, the one who actually closed the surgery, was in Starbucks and we were able to thank him and tell him the great news.

We had lunch with our good friend Scott and then he and Mr. Incredible headed to Cabellas while Rachel and I did some shopping. It's funny, we were in one of my favorite places to shop, we even went to Sam Moon, but we hardly bought anything. Our Christmas had already come and there were no gifts to be bought that could even compare.

Are you still with me? I have to giggle at the length of my posts. Maybe I should stick to writing them on my i-phone. Ha! On the way home, we stopped and ate at a fabulous place in Abilene. I have some funny pictures to share-maybe tomorrow.

It's the week of Christmas! The week of Christmas! I better get moving.

P.S. I made a new blog button. Thank you for your prayers for Rachel and for so graciously joining us on this journey of faith. Yes, God still performs miracles today. Rachel is living proof. Please help yourself to the new button.