We Wiss You a Merwwy Chwistmas!

Preschoolers Christmas Program

Our beautiful angel and lovable sheep...

And the X-ray says.....

Grace had follow-up X-rays taken of her hips this week. Her doctor said everything looks GREAT. There is no bone death on the right side where she had surgery last January. The bones continue to calcify. The shocker is that on the left side (where she did not have a socket either at birth) there is now a growing socket -so much so that you can see the white C shape on the X-ray. The hips are actually "perfectly" aligned. The doctor was surprised. He said, "It is in the realm of possibility" that she will not need a second hip surgery. We were bracing ourselves for possibly scheduling the next surgery and the following 12 weeks of spica cast fun. Instead we got a miracle!

Extensions!

Tournament Champions!

Congratulation 7th/8th grade Rockford Eagles!

The bizarre things we do...

They crawled though a 40 foot long tube underground to climb into this storm drain to rescue a musk turtle and a painted turtle. The only surprising part is that neither turtle came home with us=-)

Thus begins the reign of the 4 year old...

Eric Ludy - Depraved Indifference

Halfway through watching this video with the kids Grace says "There's Daphna!"

Congratulations U.S.A. - The Princess is officially a permanent resident!

Daphna's greencard finally arrived today!

Vacation!

Grace Turns 3!

Happy Birthday to our spunky little 3 year old! Uhhhh....I mean our second spunky 3 year old.

Sam on the UP bike trip

Met up with old H.I.S. Home friends Lovensky and Jennifer today.

Josh Meets his Sponsored Child - Baby Jamie (+ his loving parents)

Congratulations U.S.A. - You Officially have a new Permanent Resident!

Behind the scenes pictures from the ride...

Fox 17 News

It's media blitz weekend here. Geoff was interviewed on Fox 17 news this morning about the H.I.S. Home 300.

Watch the interview by cutting and pasting this link:
www.fox17online.com/videobeta/5ddc154b-3a1f-418a-bc76-6d5681eaf7ef/News/300-Miles-for-Haiti-6-17-11

Welcome Home Joey

Joey was 19 days younger than Grace. He died yesterday from cholera. Please pray for the H.I.S. Home as other children are also sick. Pray for Chris & Hal as they grieve this special little boy.

Please pray for Jamie

Jamie is Josh's sponsored child. Please pray for a miracle:

Baby Jamie, only 7 months old, was hospitalized in February and diagnosed with leukoencephalopathy (a terminal brain disease which destroys the brain). He fought for life through many complications involving respiratory distress, severe anemia, cerebral meningitis, seizures, and GI bleeds requiring 2 transfusions. As his body systems began shutting down, hope of survival faded and I left my phone on at night, expecting the dreaded call. One day on my drive to the hospital, I feared what I would find because I was told on the phone that Jamie’s IV antibiotics were stopped and oxygen had been discontinued. Through my tears, I started listening to the words coming from Ray Boltz on my car’s CD player.

…There’s a voice that’s deep inside you, saying it’s time to stand in faith. Dare to believe, that miracles happen, yeah. The mountains still move, and demons must flee. The God that we serve, He is much more than able, yes He is, so don’t be afraid to stand up and say, “I dare to believe.”

I made a decision right then to dare to believe. Miraculously, Jamie was breathing, and his oxygen saturation was 100%. Over the next week, his systems began functioning again and he appeared to be a little more stable. In the two months since his hospital release, Jamie has become physically stronger, but follow-up CT scans show his brain is deteriorating. Doctors in the US Children’s Medical Center have agreed to examine Jamie, so we drove to the Embassy to request a medical visa for him. Turning on the CD player, the above song was playing once again. I prayed while officers considered his case, and giving God the glory, Jamie was granted a visa. He is now in the US, and we don’t know the end of his story yet, but we are reminded that we are to endure through every circumstance. God tells us to “pray without ceasing”, so please join us as we continue to intercede for Jamie!

The above is copied from the HIS Home news letter written by Chris... below is from Tracy, Jamie's "host mom"...

Today I met with the doctors in the US with him and they told me... well, I can't see what I am typing with the tears welling up in my eyes but, I am going to listen to the voice deep inside me saying it is time to stand in faith.... Jamie's story is far from over only God knows where this road will take him and those that have the blessing to share in his story! Please help us in prayer for this beautiful "perfect" child of God!

Easter in Chicago

She's Hatched!

After 12 long weeks, Grace is out of her spica body cast! She is doing great. She pulled herself up and took steps while we were still checking out at the doctors office. She has to wear a hip abduction brace all the time. She is supposed to have 2 hot baths a day too to help loosen up her joints. She is pretty proud of herself and seems to be moving the hips no problem. Xrays show the right hip is still in place and a socket is calcifying over it. On the left side, there is new calcification on the socket as well (that one seems to be improving all on its own). Dr. Forness wants to wait 3 months and then xray again to see what happens naturally if she is left alone. Grace was fitted for new shoe insoles too. We are getting to be a museum of used DME equipment around here. Grace lost a lot of weight/muscle tone while casted. She went in fitting in a size 5 diaper - now a size 3 is a bit big. She has definitely grown taller and developed strong arm and ab muscles, but she is shockingly thin. This surgery was definitely a success. There are still a number of possible surgeries in her future. For now we are rejoicing to be back in a high chair, a normal car seat, and having independent bathroom visits.

Van Berkel Greatest Hits

The top 2 hits of the week:

1. Jesus loves me, I SAID NO!!!

2. Jesus loves me, e-i-e-i-o, BIBLE!!

April 2011

Y'all Knew This Was Coming...

SPICA CAST WEEK 10
(2 more weeks to go)

48 Hours Later...

Spica #2

Here's our little spring chick's new shell

Back to OR

Wednesday Grace will be back in the operating room. No incisions this time, but she needs to be put under anesthesia while she gets a new body cast and has an MRI taken. She has been in this cast almost 6 weeks. We are eagerly looking forward to April when she will be free again.

Pictures from Geoff's trip to Haiti

Here is an album of some pictures I took last week in Haiti. It was a good trip, we got lots of work done on the sponsorship program and I had a chance to wander around a little and meet some new people. Thanks for all the prayers and support

This is the area where Gracie was found.

“Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can, with all the zeal you can, as long as ever you can” John Wesley

Geoff's New Buddy

Meet Mr. Brown - the security guard

Pictures from Haiti

This is Marie Mica reading the Rockford Independent story about her that ran last week- it made her feel very special and famous. Marie Mica is 15, and gave birth to a boy just before Christmas. A very sweet and quiet girl.