Settling In

Well, we are all moved in to Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Matt's house. We are so thankful for the huge sacrifice they have made to let us stay in their cozy house. Holly has extra friends in their two dogs, who are the best dogs I know of. They are so content and rarely bark at all, which is good for a household that needs sleep. :) Holly wakes up and immediately wants to play with the dogs or go outside to play with them when they are outside, which is not much since it is frigid here in Memphis.
We came home from the hospital on New Year's Eve day, but Allen ended up taking Joseph back to the hospital that very night since he threw up five times that evening. He ended up being fine; we think it was due to taking his medicine on an empty stomach. But poor Allen didn't sleep much that night, and Joseph had to be admitted again and sleep back in the hospital. But he handled going back there surprisingly well. It is amazing to see his sweet accepting spirit in all the pain he is enduring. It is encouraging but also a little heart-breaking to see him get used to his condition.
But, his condition is definitely much better than after the previous surgery. He is much more enthusiastic about playing, listening to stories told by Nana (or should I say Guido?) We have all adopted Car Movie names--Joseph is Lighning, I am Sally, Allen is Sheriff and little Holly is Mack (appointed by Joe P.). I think he has gotten really tired of TV b/c he never wants it on and now wants stories all the time. It is stretching our imagination a bit, but that is a good thing. He also seems to be a lot more comfortable and doesn't want to be lying down all the time. A major highlight so far was seeing him riding around the house on his new Thomas the Train riding toy last night. His balance also seems a lot better--not perfect, but much better than before this surgery. His legs need some strengthening, so hopefully continued activity and physical therapy will help that.
Tomorrow we have a day full of appointments at St. Jude's. Our first few days there a couple of weeks ago were pretty hard on Joe. He just wanted to lie down in the wagon and woulnd't talk or participate in any of the "tests" (hearing, physical therapy, etc.). Please, please pray that he would be calm tomorrow and God would just enable him to not be scared and get through all the appointments with mimimal screaming and crying, etc. He is not allowed to eat all morning due to sedation so that should be an added trial to his good mood. So, obviously we need a lot of supernatural strength tomorrow, as we do every day. It was so encouraging to see all of our prayers answered with "yes" after the last surgery. God has been so good and faithful to meet all our needs; it is just a constant battle to not be consumed with worry over every little thing with Joseph. So, please keep praying for us, especially all you little ones!