Miracles never cease

First of all, some corrections. Joseph did not spend 10 days on this marble track, he only spent one, and this is not the final version. He's still working on it. :)

Second of all, we went to a great basketball game last night! Even though the girls lost, it was a hard-fought game, and they made it all the way to that game - awesome job! What was most fun though, was to see the Mary Jean and Clark and their family cheering for their girls! That was so cool. I love that family. And welcome aboard Karissa!

And finally, a story about Peter. At that basketball game last night, Jesse and Mary came and got us because they said Peter was crying because his stomach hurt so bad. I went over to him, and he could barely talk. He had to whisper that it hurt really bad. I tried to have him stand up, but he didn't want to move. I waved Joseph to come down from the student section an help me carry Peter. Bruce met us up in the lobby, and Bruce and I took Peter to a Quick Care clinic about five minuets away. He was in bad shape at that clinic. He was getting more and more pale, and said that on a scale from one to ten, his pain was at a ten. Then I asked him if it hurt as bad as when he broke his arm, and he shook his head from side to side, no. So it wasn't quite at a ten!
I quizzed him about what he'd eaten and any unusual physical activity, but we couldn't pinpoint anything unusual.

The doctor finally came in, tried to touch his abdomen, and Peter jerked back. At that, the Doctor said we needed to take him to the ER because he suspected appendicitis. After asking for medication, they gave him a shot in the left quadricep of morphine and a nausea medication. Within a minute, his panic had subsided, and he was resting his head on the side of the wheelchair. They monitored him for about fifteen minutes, an then we took him in a wheelchair out to the car. When he got in the car, he sat up and said, "It's gone. It doesn't hurt anymore."

We thought it was just the morphine, so we went through the whole ER thing (2 more hours), but the pain never came back, not even when the ER Doctor pushed all over his belly. They also took a blood sample, and the white count was normal. Peter was all over the blood draw. He had his head up off the pillow watching every move of the phlebotomist. Different genes than Joseph, that's for sure!

We took him home, and he has been fine, with no sign of the pain returning. So what in the world was it that made him immobile with pain? I'm not sure, but I do know this. Another surgery would have been very hard on our financial situation, and just maybe, the Lord saw fit to heal him and not require him to have a surgery. I believe this is what happened. Now, I know there all SORTS of other logical explanations, and I may be writing later that it was something else, but I believe that a miracle happened and he was healed. Prayer does change things.

I also knew that if Peter did have a surgery, that it would all work out. I love the principle that all things work together for the good of those that live righteously. We can certainly live much more righteously, but I do feel that as our hearts are turned to the Lord, EVERY circumstance is one that will teach us, stretch us, or give us opportunities to serve and teach others. Every circumstance works together for our good. I know this is a true principle. When I have this firmly in mind, it's much easier to pray about any circumstance, because I can pray in faith that what I ask will be given, and yet allow the Lord's will to be done at the same time.

That said, I'm so grateful Peter is home running around, and not in a hospital bed today!

On a lighter note, Joseph and Bruce went about 2 hours north of here on a winter campout with the teachers. Actually, only one other teacher and the Bishop went, but they had a good time. They slept on the hay in the barn of the other young man's grandparents. It was 2 degrees outside! (That's crazy). They had a good time.

We also bought two new bull calves to put on Buttercup. One is a Jersey/Holstein cross, so he is brown with white spots, and he's just adorable. The other one is a Jersey and is just a little bit smaller version of Buttercup's own calf. It took a little doing, but she has accepted them now and they are nursing just fine. I'll get some pictures of them soon. We have run out of batteries for now!