Yes we are still here. I haven't forgotten about the blog, but I have had a lot on my mind lately. Where to begin. Mark went hunting with his family last weekend and had a great time. Our bro-in-law, Wes shot a really nice buck so it turned out to be a successful trip. I guess the next elk hunt coming up falls over Thanksgiving weekend so I may be spending it in Pima with my parents. Mom, save me a bed please. Most of you have probably heard by now but a few weeks ago I discovered that I am expecting a baby. Yes, this makes five, and yes, this was a surprise. I am both joyful and afraid and amazed that the Lord would see fit to send me yet another sweet spirit to look after. I am also really sick. This has never happened to me before, and I have sisters who get so much sicker than I am with every pregnancy, so I am not complaining. But it adds another bump in the road for us. One that I know we will look back on as only a blessing.
Mark is hopefully getting a new wheelchair on Monday, along with a bunch of other equipment we have been needing but didn't know about. The power chair he has been using has been so vital to Mark in just getting around and going places, but it is really built for, as Mark puts it "an old lady", and it's definitely time for him to get a chair that fits him and doesn't make his joints ache and his feet swell. The ALS association has been extremely helpful in getting him what he needs and so far has been good about getting back to him and following through with everything. It is getting harder for Mark to stand up out of his chair and it will help to have one that rises up and is taller to begin with.
Other than that things are going along somewhat normally. Football season is over so we all have a lot more time to lay around and Bryce is so happy to eat breakfast on Saturdays and not worry about making weight. Next year he will be in the older division and won't have to be such a slave to the scale. He's far too young to be even thinking about how much he weighs anyway. I am still using essential oils on Mark and trying to eat healthy. It is hard sometimes because I feel so wretched but hopefully it won't last long. Mark is a really good sport about it. He has always been so nice to me when I am feeling like crap (and acting like it too I'm afraid). He still is really good about getting the kids to help out and clean things up for me.