OK, OK, I am finally making another post after a year. It has been quite the year, as I am sure you can tell by my last post. Marty is continuing to improve. Of course, we would all like it to go faster. However, I can't complain because the improvement is steady. If we can just convince his body that he is not on a boat in the middle of a hurricane we could probably make a lot more progress.
Marty came home on October 17th of 2009. This was Rachel's 8th birthday. He went into the hospital on my birthday, and came home on Rachel's big day. Everyone but the dogs had a birthday while he was away. We asked Rachel what she wanted to do about her baptism. I told her that she could have her grandfather baptize her, or she could wait until her dad was well enough to do it. She was determined to have her dad do it. She had to wait a while, but finally Marty was ready. One June 5th 2010, Rachel was baptized and confirmed by her father. It was amazing. Most of Marty's family was able to be there and several friends who live far away came for the occasion. We filled the font room and it was fabulous. Rachel was so excited that so many people came. Sophie felt a little gipped because only Grandma made it to hers (we lived in CA at the time). My wonderful sister-in-law, Karlie, had the presence of mind to snap a photo of Rachel on Marty's lap right before the baptism. I will be eternally grateful to her for taking that photo. I know that I would not have remembered to do it. This was one time that I wished I could take a photo of the actual baptism. Marty's brothers Karl and Brad and his brother-in-law Nate Haws all helped Marty into the font and kept him standing so that he could baptize Rachel. It was amazing. Marty has come so far and this was a huge accomplishment for him. Rachel was beeming and so excited. Afterwards, Marty confirmed Rachel. We were a little worried because his speech is still a little difficult to understand. I understood every word and just about everyone else understood at least most of it. The blessing was short, but beautiful and very tailored to Rachel. It was an amazing day and we are so grateful for everyone who helped make it possible. We feel so blessed.
One of the highlights of the weekend is that Marty was finally able to go downstairs and sit in his beloved library for the first time in over a year. His dad and Nate helped him up and down the stairs. Marty loved it and the next day he kept asking when he was going to get to go upstairs.
