His Grace

Yesterday was a beautiful Sabbath day! We were so grateful to be able to attend church as a family. The messages shared were just what we needed to hear; messages of being kind (to others and to ourselves), of living up to our potential, of ministering to others one-on-one, and of the grace of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Parts of one of my all-time favorite talk were shared, and I want to invite you to watch the talk -- Brad Wilcox does an amazing job of defining what grace is! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic!



This past week has been another blessing-filled week. With our car needing repairs, and Nicole and I getting sick, we just took it easy at home. Christmas was wonderful -- we feel the love from so many. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making our Christmas so magical! 💜💛💚💙💝💖

On Thursday Ryan had his last physical and occupational therapy sessions. His therapists believe they have taught him all the tools he needs to aid in his recovery, so now the rest is up to Ryan. In occupational therapy we got to see how Ryan's vision scores have improved on the complicated test he re-took the previous week. He also did the peg test one more time. He still has issues with his balance, strength, and gait, but we're hopeful that with additional practice those issues will continue to improve.

The scores on the left are from his first time taking the test a couple of months ago, and the scores on the right are from this month. Only one area decreased, and that was a matter of one item missed, which is not a big deal. Overall, he's making clear progress, and now we know the things he needs to focus on.

This past week Ryan was also able to finish getting all of the continuing education credits he needed in order to keep his x-ray and CT license! That was a very big deal, and the stress of getting all the required credits has weighed heavily on him these past few months. I'm grateful for his determination and perseverance! I witnessed what a struggle it was for him to read through so many complicated articles. What a blessing it is that he was able to get it all done (with a LOT of help from God)!!!

On Friday, Ryan had the surgery to fix his deviated septum and remove most of his uvula. The surgery went well, and the recovery hasn't been as bad as we expected, though Ryan is in a lot of pain. Hopefully, after he is all healed up, we will see an improvement in his sleep apnea and overall wellness!

Ready to go under the knife!

Post-op...not feeling so great!

Yesterday morning, as we were getting ready for church, we were listening to General Conference talks. Ryan loves listening to talks from decades past, and one really stood out to me (if you take the time to read, watch, or listen to it, you may understand why). One part of it that I want to share here is:

"We all knew that if we did all we could, we would have the courage to face whatever would come. That is the nature of hope. We do all we can, and then the Lord stretches forth His hand and touches our lives with light and courage and, most of all, hope. ...hope is knowing that whatever comes, the Lord can whisper peace. Our hope in Christ gives us an unchanging reason to rejoice. ... The Lord wants us to be filled with hope--not just because it points us to a brighter tomorrow, but because it changes the quality of our lives today. Hopeless may be the saddest word in our language. Despair is the enemy of our souls. It can paralyze us, halt our progress, and cause us to lose our way. But hope awakens us like a light shining in the darkness. ... We can endure all things when our hope is centered in one who will never fail us--our Savior, Jesus Christ, who is the Light of the World." (The Light of Hope, Dwan J. Young, October 1986)