Here are a couple of beautiful flower arrangements sent to Natasha. The tulips, which we love and remind us so much of Russia, were sent by the Dickinsons - Missionaries to Columbia. This arrangement of daisies, lilies, and yellow roses, with a little "Bee Well" on the little stuffed bee, to our great suprise was sent by "your Romanian friends and family." Providentially, just as the techs. came to change her dressing - which required lots of movement and pain - the arrangement came. Sally Sebo, fellow laborer to Romania shared with us that the youth and the children from the orphanage were praying for Natasha. I will add that you please pray for Sally and the Orphanage ministry in Romania that God would meet their every need.

They just changed the dressing on her back and removed the one tube that was draining the blood from the spine. The Lord helped. Lord willing this does not need to be changed for 10-12 days. That's good because she can begin to heal. The brace is to arrive sometime after 5 p.m. today. Because she is allergic to nickel, the brace takes longer to make because of using a different metal for the straps. We are not sure if she will be getting up today because she must have the brace and the Physical Therapist who are the only ones allowed to get her up leave around that time. So, Lord willing we will post as we know what's going on.

"Adversity will either tear you apart or bring you together!" - DH Aren't you glad we have a God who helps bring us together? He is the ONLY awesome one! We are so blessed and my heart just cries out in praise and admiration to our wonderful Saviour! The chorus repeats the phrase, "Lord, I stand in awe of you." Some men may say "Why me?" We could answer that questions with a question. "Why not me?" Why am I so special that I am exempt from the harships of life. Thousands upon millions, possibly even billions, have gone through hardships in life and God's holy children come through shining brighter than ever. It is through these adversities that God is refining his children and bringing Glory and honor to himself. We can either "whine," which some say "wine" is good with a little cheese, or we can praise God for what he has done. Lord, I stand in awe of you and praise you for who you are. This whole process has been an opportunity for us to be a witness to Drs., nurses, techs., other parents, some of my teacher colleques, and most importantly for God to be glorified through it all. Thank you for being a part and helping to carry the load. It is because of your prayers that God continues to help on a daily and even minute by minute basis.

What would we EVER do without Jesus? What an awesome God we serve! How I thank the Lord for His amazing care over Natasha! Last night was the roughest yet. many tears on both Momma's part & Natasha's! Today, they say, though VERY TOUGH, will do her lots of good! My devotions did my heart good this a.m. Deliverance! God watches over us. A song I sang this a.m. is... "God WILL Take Care of You"! How true and how wonderful! Sorry for the "weaker" side of admitting this... but we couldn't make it w/o your prayers! I NEED to be strong for Natasha today, but I don't "FEEL" too strong. So I'm asking Jesus, who promises strength for each new day... or could I translate that... "each new turn.. since she needs to roll every 1/2 hr. on the clock.." :) for the strength to be strong for her. So far I've been able to be strong and not break down when she sees me. THAT's ALL GOD... for I'm a very emotional Moma normally. So God is good, we are counting on Him! Natasha memorized the verse Is 41:10 this week, heading into surgery. she loves music as you know, but didn't realize that it was a song too. I sang it to her once and she had it. we'll be singing a lot today no doubt. I quote/sing, "Fear Thou not, for I am with thee, be not dismayed, for I am thy God, I WILL strengthen Thee, Yea I will help thee... Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my Righteousness!" God Bless You all, from this over-whelmed Moma's heart! ~Laura~

Just tonight as we were rolling Natasha over to her side she said, "I can't take this any longer." We got her to her side and paused to pray to our Lord and Saviour. In no time at all, she was comforted and resting. Only in heaven will we begin to understand how awesome God is!

Hopefully this isn't redundant. Today they came and fitted her for her 'brace.' They made a plaster mold of her entire upper torso and got plaster everywhere - of course it was men doing the job - which may account for that, or not! Anyway, then they take the mold and make some type of a plaster brace - I think! The last last two days has been information overload and hearing terms I'm not familiar with and Laura was there for the process not me. The brace is removable and I am not sure as of now if the Dr. is ok with her removing it for sleeping purposes. We will find out tomorrow.

Big day tomorrow. The Dr. has mentioned, it is when we need to get a little mean - getting her up, moving her around more - so there will be much pain involved. It has been real tough on me to see Natasha go through the pain. She rolls from one side to the other about every hour, which requires assistance from Laura and/or myself. However, the nurses, techs. and Drs. are amazed at how well she is doing. For the most part Natasha rolls over on her own, which is very unusual for patients with this surgery, at least the first 24 hours that is.

How my heart wants to thank You ALL for your prayers for Natasha, our sweet daughter. The Lord is really helping her and we praise Him! This is the toughest thing that she will have to face for a long time and how we thank the Lord for his goodness to us... totally undeserved. As I tried to sleep last night and sleep wouldn't come, my heart was SO overwhelmed with tears and praise to the Lord for his greatness to us. What an Awesome God we serve! Our experience here at Children's has been incredible! God is SOOOO GOOD! Everyone is so caring and my mind can't grasp how many ways He is watching over us and caring for our Natasha. We would greatly appreciate your prayers for her tomorrow and Thurs as those will be very rough days for her. She is to get up and walk tomorrow and pain will hit NEW levels! But our God is able to do ABOVE... far beyond all that we ask and even comprehend! As Daryl tried to pray on Monday to find release and couldn't pray... tried again and couldn't get anywhere, that is... til Jesus sweetly whispered to him... "Son, this is when I carry you!" We feel and sense your love and support and we thank you! In Christian Love, ~Laura~

We have been so blessed at how God has worked. A few years ago we were able to buy a house in Cincinnati. That house is only 5 minutes from the hospital. Then God providentially opened the door for us to get an appointment with Dr. Crawford - who wasn't taking any new patients. Dr. Crawford is possibly the best spine Dr. in the U.S in his field. To some that may be debateable, but worst case scenario - he is one of the best. We are so blessed that God opened this door. I will post a link to a few articles about his accomplishments. God is so good! http://alumnus.tennessee.edu/2008/09/a-long-way-from-orange-mound-dr-alvin-crawford/ http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/svc/find-professional/c/alvin-crawford.htm

The casting process was quite an ordeal for both Natasha and for Laura, as she watched. Natasha had to be turned and move quite a bit which brought lots of pain. The cast is scheduled to be delivered and put on tomorrow. After the ordeal of being fitted and going through the intense pain, a nurse came in to check on Natasha. When Natasha saw the nurse she replied, if you cause me any pain, I'll send you into the next room. :) The first sign that Natasha is showing her true spirit. She's been working hard, cooperating, and a fighting spirit - a good sign. Currently, she is resting well. The Dr. came by to check on her and everything seems to be going well. Thanks again for your prayers.

Laura told me they were just getting ready to 'cast' Natasha. I don't know if they are fitting her for a cast or the actual process because I haven't made it to the hospital yet.

Natasha had a pretty good night last night until about 6:00 a.m. when she was in lots of pain. They have been trying to ween her off of the morphine so they could give her Valium, which will better help the type of pain she's having. Will try to update this a little later with more specifics. Thank you again for your prayers.

Wow! What a day! I am emotionally exhausted and didn't have anything done to me. Natasha is in her room and resting as well as possible. Thank you for your prayers and the comments as well, they mean a lot and we've passed many along to Natasha and she has been touched by them. Many times we don't see the results of God moving, we pray but never see the end result. May I encourage you tonight that our God is awesome and has answered your prayers. Yes, Natasha has a LONG way to go - approx. 2 months of recovery and 6 weeks in a brace but we serve an awesome God. We sensed your prayers! Yes, it's been tough on mom and dad but a deep peace has been there and that only comes from God. All of the Drs., technicians, and nurses who were in the surgery and that we talked too commented on how well Natasha did and how everything went well. Chance? Luck? Hardly! Not when you are a child of God and His children are praying. Thank you to our Russian, Romanian, Columbian, Canadian, "who knows what other countrian," and our dear fellow Americans who have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. You are our brothers and sisters in Christ. We love you! Continue to pray that God gives Natasha complete healing and mom and dad the strength needed to help Natasha be strong. We will try to keep posting just to keep you updated.

Praise the Lord for his help so far. Natasha's in recovery and will soon be moved to her room. She's been in a lot of pain,but doing well. Everyone involved in the surgery has commented on how well she has done in surgery. She has a long road of recovery ahead of her, but we thank the Lord for his help so far.

Thank the Lord to his help so far! The doctor was pleased with how the surgery went. However, since they had to do so much correction and straightening, he has prescribed a brace for her to where for six weeks.Thank you for your prayers! We ask that you continue to pray for Natasha that the Lord will heal her completely. WE serve an awesome God!

The most recent update is that the doctor is in the correction process, which means that they are straightening her back. The technician said this is the final stretch. He should be completed in a couple hours, and we should be able to talk with Dr. Crawford at that time. Thank you for your prayers!

Surgery Update!
We just got a call from the surgery technician. The doctor is inserting the screws to attach the rods to the spine. They said she is doing fine. Continue to pray that God will guide the doctors hands and for Natasha's recovery. Thank you for your prayers... we sense God's help.
Daryl and Laura

Surgery for Natasha has started! Incision has been made.All is well so far! Before surgery Natasha was in good spirits. The Lord was giving her calm assurance and we had several good seasons of prayer with our pastors, family, and just us. Continue to pray for all involved.

Daryl and Laura

Thank you all so much for your prayers! I will be going in for spinal surgery tomorrow morning at 5:30 a.m. A lot of emotions have gone through me these past couple days, but it means so much to know that people all over the world are praying! Your prayers are really a comfort! Mommy and Daddy hope to keep you all updated on my progress.
Thanks for your prayers.
Natasha

Kid Smiles!
This morning I asked Bryan to bring me 2 bowls to make he and Darla's oatmeal... and he was nearly juggling them as he walked toward the kitchen with them. I said, "Bryan, please be careful!" After safely putting them on the kitchen counter he sighed and said, "I'm careful... just in a dangerous way!"

The Count-Down is on!

Please keep Natasha in your prayers as her surgery is this coming Monday a.m., Lord willing. The Lord is helping and has kept her healthy thus far and how we praise Him. Trusting our Great Physician to give her the strength to go through with this and see her through. He is Able!

The girls decided that they wanted this yummy stuff for breakfast this Saturday. And they wanted it bad enough to get up and make it themselves! They did a great job. One of them made the homemade buttermilk biscuits and the other made the Soppy Chocolate! It was delicious! Every bit as tasty as if I'd made it... no, actually it was BETTER... cause I didn't have to make it! Hee! Thanks girls, Mommy loves you MUCH and I'm also very pleased with the progress Jesus is helping you all to make. Keep up the good work!

Soppy Chocolate! A Family Favorite!