A Video of our Trip...

Home again!

We arrived home safely last night and it was great to see our kids and sleep in our own bed last night. Today we slept in after getting Zach off to school and Eric's mom went home. After we got up I felt a little overwhelmed with the messages, mail, emails, phone ringing, cleaning, laundry and all the catch up stuff but it is good to be home.
Here are some more pictures from our trip. We took over 600 pictures (thank goodness for digital film) and need to narrow them down. Brian already made a slideshow of our trip on the plane ride home and will post it in Youtube on our blog soon. We had a nice day by the pool our last day there and the weather was just beautiful! Yesterday we were up by 4:30 am and off to the airport with a 4 hour layover in Chicago arriving home about 7:30 last night so it was a long day and we actually had a 3 hour time change so we are pretty tired. Zach played his first 3 baseball games while we were gone which was a bummer, but thank you to Joel R and Matt K for taking Zach to the games and cheering him on! His team won all three games so he is pumped up! Can't wait to see him play on Friday!

Someone from the Advance called Eric at the airport on Friday and published an article in Tuesday's Advance for the fundraiser on Friday. We have to clarify a typo on the headline. It states that Eric is a former Wellspring youth pastor! The article is correct about Eric's job at Wellspring, however there was an error in the ALS association families across america stating that Eric was a former pastor (must have been assumed since Eric worked at a church) Anyways, the article was written by someone we have never met in Detroit and we corrected the many errors, but it was already sent out. Just goes to show how things can be easily mixed up from person to person to person, etc. Just wanted to clear that up for those of you who don't already know Eric to know this was a mistake :)
We did receive good news while we were gone that Eric was approved by the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference as a lay minister which will allow Eric to share his testimony in any 4C churches in Michigan of which the first will be a 4C conference in Maple Rapids this Saturday! It is exciting to see how God will use Eric in this way!

We just noticed that Brian posted the youtube video he made of our trip on our blog for us. He did a great job and so quickly. If you want to read their entries on our trip from another view, check out their blog! Their link is at the top right of our blog! or www.briankristi.blogspot.com

Blessings,

Lori and Eric

One more day left!

It's hard to believe we only have one more day left of our vacation. We drove back to Vegas yesterday and it was a beautiful drive through the mountains. On our way to the Grand Canyon, it was dark and we missed the amazing scenery. It is very warm in Vegas compared to G.C. The elevation really makes a difference in temperature. Our resort here is really nice. It is about 5 miles off the strip and is a little tropical paradise. The rooms are huge. It is a time share property so we each have our own room and bathroom and a kitchen and living area and a balcany with a view of the city. We went downtown last night for dinner at the New York New York hotel which has a roller coaster in front of it. That hotel lobby was like a city in itself. We didn't stray far from the corner where we were dropped off. The city is very dirty and very smokey and has people from all walks of life.... definitely not somewhere we would take our children. We will spend most of our day today relaxing by the pool. We will add some pictures tonight after we get them on a disc. Take care and enjoy your Monday!
Lori and Eric

The GRAND Canyon

Exodus 15:11
11 "Who among the gods is like you, O LORD ? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?

Chronicles 29:11

11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.

Today was amazing! We got up and had breakfast and headed to our helicopter launch for our ride over the Grand Canyon. It was unlike anything we had ever seen before. God's creation is so beautiful and He created it for our enjoyment. The ride was 45 minutes and we headed over the Kaibob forest until we headed over the canyon as majestic music played in our headphones. It took your breath away. The pictures don't do it justice since it was so vast to take in. It was also a little hazy out. I took at about 2oo pictures so far! We also went to the National Park and drove and walked around the canyon and took more pictures. We saw some Mule deer just walking all around through the park. And some other large animals we couldn't identify as well as a condor flying over the canyon with his wings spread wide. We plan to go back to the park tomorrow. We are all pretty tired and ready to crash! Brian and Kristi have been so much fun to be with. We have been laughing so much and they have been so helpful to Eric and me. Brian has driven the whole trip which has also been a huge break for me. We rented a car and they gave us a choice of a Crown Vic or Mercury Marquis and we chose the latter knowing that both of them were boats. We wanted to get a SUV or something rugged or sporty, but they were out.

We will try to update again soon. We heard it is cold in MI today. It was in the 70's here today and sunny!
Blessings,

Lori and Eric

We're Here!

Yesterday we had an uneventful day of traveling but we made it here safely! Praise God. So far so good. It is beautiful here!!! We are looking forward to the helicopter ride today and viewing the Grand Canyon. Here are some pictures from yesterday...

Here we are sitting on the plane...waiting for the maintenance men to fix the toilet.

Driving from Las Vegas to Hoover Dam

The Hoover Dam...

PS...we have a showing today while my mom is there watching the kids. Please pray that the showing goes well and if it is according to His timing, we sell!!

"May the mountains yield prosperity for all,and may the hills be fruitful" Psalm 72:3

Another beautiful day!

We just found out that the article will be in the Grand Rapids Press today (I think in the Region section) It is also viewable on mlive (see link below) and look for the article (says Georgetown family.....) This is quite an honor in one week. It's quite overwhelming that everything happened in the same week. Madison says she feels like Hannah Montanna. She loves it!
We have many appointments today and Zach is in a concert tonight with Three Men and a Tenor at Fair Haven which should be great! Between these things, we will be packing to leave tomorrow and Eric's mom will be here tonight to stay here with the kids while we are gone. Thank you, mom!!!!! Once we are packed and at the airport tomorrow, as Brian (my brother in law who is going with us and Kristi) said, we will be officially on VACATION! Hooray! The weather is looking good there too as I'm afraid this weekend here will take a little dive to the 60's which is still great for April in Michigan! We will try to update the blog while we are gone and hope you all have a blessed weekend as well!
Lori and Eric

http://mlive.com/grpress

FOX NEWS STORY...AND WHAT GOD IS DOING

The Pulse - Living With ALS - 04.21.08 Someone told us that the Fox interview from last night is on their website, so here is the link for those of you who have asked. Not sure if this works or not? or go to www.wxmi.com and look for the interview link.

We serve a BIG GOD. I just recieved an e-mail update from our prayer chain at church that Jason Horjus' tumor on his brain is non-cancerous! Praise the Lord!! God is our mighty healer. God hears our prayers offered in faith. Keep him in your prayers!

Everything is possible for him who believes. Mark 9:23

Have a great week. We are counting the days until we leave on our vacation to the Grand Canyon (3) We will try to update the blog with some pictures of God's creation!

Eric and Lori

Interview on Fox news tonight at 10:00

We had a good friend of ours who works for Fox come out on Saturday to interview Eric for a story on Fox news about life with ALS. We just heard from him and found out that the story will air tonight on Fox on the 10:00 news (probably around 10:30). That was pretty fast editing! I don't believe the article has been in the GR Press yet that we are aware of.
We are also showing our house tonight at 6:30 for the first time so I have been cleaning all day!
We will update more later this week.
Please pray that the showing will go well and there may be some interest.
God Bless!
Lori and Eric

Loving this weather!

Not much new to update, just wanted to tell you that we are all doing well. Zach is feeling better and we are all loving this sunny, warm weather!!! It just makes you smile. We are really looking forward to our vacation next week Friday with Brian and Kristi in the warmer climate as well away from the day to day business. I just pulled out the summer totes to start sorting and packing next week. Our dog is enjoying the warmer weather too and jumping the fence to visit other dogs so we need to get him an extra long chain to roam the yard with. I had my last day at work last Wed. and am really looking forward to more time at home with no running to work or appointments daily. There are just some days that I want to stay home all day and not even get dressed if we don't feel like it until noon. I know Eric agrees. It gets tiring so this will be a huge blessing for us. Eric and my dad are making a video for Washington DC and are almost done with that. They gave me a sneak preview and I started crying the moment it started out of no where. Some days I feel like I just live in auto pilot and do what needs to be done at the moment and don't think of the reality of this disease. I think I prefer living that way as long as I don't become numb to my own feelings. Eric and I choose to laugh every day. Seriously, I don't think we have laughed more together than lately. I think it is because we spend so much time together and we talk a lot and Eric just makes me laugh! He is my best friend. We have two weddings at church this month and I help coordinate them for church right now so I attend the rehearsal and the wedding day and it brings tears to my eyes thinking about the covenant they are making to each other. Pastor Gary emphasizes that this covanant is for life, better for worse, sickness and health and that is so true. Go give your spouse a big hug and tell them how much you love them and appreciate them if you are married and hug your cute little children too if you have them. Treasure your time together and choose to have joy!

We love you!
Lori and Eric

Another Busy Day

Today was another busy day. We had an appointment at the Born Clinic and when we got home we had about 15 minutes before a reporter from the Grand Rapids Press was coming to interview Eric and the rest of us. She called last week because ALS Association sent out a press release nominating our family as a family for ALS Across America and asked if she could interview us. She was very nice and gathered info about life with ALS and how it affects our family as well as efforts to help fight ALS and find a cure and what Eric is doing now. She said she had twelve inches of press to sum up our life so we will see what it is narrowed down to. She said you have ALS, but you seem like a machine that keeps on going. We told her that we have our down days, but mostly Eric keeps trying to do things that he still can do. A Photographer came out later to take pics of our family and of course the dog jumped right in too. He was very nice too. He said that the article will be in the GR press on Wed. and the reporter said any time from tomorrow up to the next 8 days so check out the Region section if you get the Press if you think about it on Wed. or Thurs or Fri. ...... :) After they left I swooped Maddie off to her last Cheer class and then picked up Logan's to go (our new favorite) We noticed that Texas Roadhouse across the street also is having 2 meals for 12.99 on Mon thru Wed also but haven't checked it out yet.

Well, Zach was a little off all day today and sure enough he just woke up puking so he is now laying on the couch with a bowl. Eric is sitting in the Sauna and staying clear of Zach and his puking germs. Please pray that Zach will feel better soon and that none of us will catch his bug.

Eric wanted to share how awesome Men's Bible Study was on Monday night. He said there were 86 men there and they were really opening up about strongholds, how God is blessing their lives and giving God praise. It is so good to be around other believers in the body who lift each other up and to feel God's presence. One of the most encouraging part of the evening was seeing Jason Horjus, a 22 year old young man from our church who just accepted Christ recently and had brain surgery last week for a tumor that was causing pressure and fluid on his brain. They are awaiting the results to see if it is cancerous and we are praying that it is benign and that God will shrink the tumor since it is inoperable. Please pray with us for him and his healing. Pastor Gary encouraged us all to live victorious over our strongholds and not in defeat just as Gideon trusted in the Lord to prove that God is in control. Thank you to our neighbor, Tom who faithfully calls Eric and picks him up to take him to Bible Study.

Please pray for Eric as he sleeps with the new Bi-Pap machine and that he may rest well and adjust to the machine and experience the benefits it can provide.

We are truly blessed!

Lori and Eric

God is Good!

It has been a cold, busy week but a lot of good things have been happening and we just want to give God some praise!! First, my garage sale was a huge success! I set a goal of $1,000.00 and thought it was crazy but I just recounted the money today and we made just over $1,000.00 to go toward our Born Clinic bill. Not only did we raise the money, but my house is so cleaned out. I am attaching a before and after picture of my storeroom so you can see what I mean. My friend Sherri has started an organizing business and has been so instramental in helping me make this happen. We did my closet, my kitchen and pantry and my storeroom and it is incredible. I am so thankful for all of Sherri's insight and help and will send some of you all of my before and after pictures in an email soon. This will also make our house easier to pick up and show.

This week we also received a letter saying that we are entitled to special home adaptation that we applied for only less than two weeks ago! We will find out how that works and hope that we can apply part of this grant to the purchase of land to build on since this will be the next step after selling our home. We already have two plots in Jenison in mind.

An update on our newest family member. He is still called Prince since we didn't come up with a name fast enough and the name just stuck. We did come up with the name Toby (after Toby Mac the Christian music artist) but he is mostly Prince or Prince Toby. He has been doing very well and has had no accidents and is right at home with us. A minor problem we have with him is those tiny little legs can jump our fence in the back yard so he has been on some adventures.

We have been having many people being saved over the last few weeks at our church and it is so exciting to see God working among our congregation! More than 30 people have come to know the Lord at Wellspring and God is glorified! Some people have come to realize that they didn't actually have a point in time when they gave their life to Christ and have been unsure of where they would spend eternity and have made that step of faith and assured their eternity in heaven. Can I just take a second to ask all of you who are reading if you know the One who died on the cross to save us from our sins? Our Savior Jesus Christ!! Without him and the price of his blood, we would be lost! We have hope in Him!! He died so that we may have life to the fullest. He paid the price for our sins! We are not worthy of this free gift! I praise the Lord that I made that commitment at Camp Geneva with a camp counselor when I was young and that Eric made that commitment after Zach was born in his car one day when our marriage was failing. God is our redeemer, rewarder, rebuilder, restorer! He is a life changer. Even our son Zach made the decision at age 5 to ask Jesus into his heart and we are praying that he will continue to seek God's direction for the rest of his life and that Maddie will some day make that decision. I want to leave you with a verse from last Sunday's pm service that rings so powerful for us and hopefully you as well:

Romans 5
Peace and Joy

1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Blessings to you today!!

Lori and Eric

Eric got his bipap machine today

This morning, Eric got his bipap machine and tested all the masks to see which one was the
least invasive. He chose one that just covers his nose which he can keep as long as he can sleep with his mouth closed so pray for this so he won't have to have the one in the picture above which covers his mouth too. These machines have come along way she said and hopefully Eric will be able to sleep tonight with it for the first time. The goal is 4 hours at a time for now. He has been a good sport about this as I know it is kind of overwhelming for him.
My garage sale started today. It was supposed to start at 5 pm but as soon as I opened my garage at 2, people started coming in so I just put my signs out and opened early. This sale was solely to raise money to help pay Eric's prior balance (before we got disablity) at the Born Clinic for the treatments he has been and is currently doing. My goal was set very high for the sale and we are 2/3 of the way to this goal on the first day which will help out so much with getting rid of this debt. God is so good!!! I sent an email to ask for help with tables, help running the sale and setting up etc. and I have had so much help and even some donations to the sale. I am so grateful and want to acknowledge some of you for all of your help. I couldn't do it without all of your help! Thank you so much to my mom, Eric's mom, Sherri, Tanya, Cathy, Deanna, Robin T, Sorrell's, Bonacci's and all of you who have donated tables and of course all of the people who shopped and are helping us get rid of our stuff! I hope I didn't forget anyone!

Lastly, as Zach said on his entry, We have listed our house for sale as of yesterday. We have contemplated renovating this house or buying or building for a while now and it just doesn't make sense to remodel this home as it means knocking out walls and adding foundation or roofing issues so as much as we love this neighborhood and we have only been here 1 1/2 years. It looks like we need to sell our house and look for land to build on to fit all of the future needs Eric may have if he would need a wheelchair.

Please pray for:
*Eric's adjustment to the bipap and the benefit of more energy
*Two more days of my sale - energy as I am fighting a cold or allergies
*Maddie is going to grandma Foxes tomorrow for the weekend
*Please pray that our house would sell at the right time and for God's direction on decisions to be made as they come
*my sister Kristi and Brian and the kids are in Georgia over break on a mission trip. They are working hard and very busy. Don't forget to check out their blog when you can www.briankristiblogspot.com

Thanks for your prayers and I hope you are all enjoying your spring break despite the cold weather!
In Him who gives us strength,
Lori

Spring Break!!!!

Woo Hoo!!! It's Spring Break! No school!

For an 11 year old kid like myself, this is the closest thing to Summer Break. I get to play with my friends, hangout with my dad, stay up late, sleep in, and best of all,

No School!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you don't know who's talking right now,

It's Zach Fox.

Well let's start out with Thursday night. I had lots of friends over and when it got dark we played "Ghost in the Graveyard."

On Friday I played with Jared Zink for a little bit. Then my mom,sister,and I went to Culvers where I got my basketball and we ate ice cream. My dad left for Lansing with some friends on a Men's Retreat.

On Saturday I played with Max for almost the whole day, and Maddie (my little sister) played with her friends Allie Wiegand and Olivia Barr. Then my dad came back from the retreat. Afterward, the Barr family and Matt Bowers came and we all ate Pizza. Then Mrs. Barr and her 3 daughters left, and my dad, Mr. Barr, Mr. Bowers, and myself watched the final 4 in college basketball. We had a little fun during the comercials.

(chucking my nerf basketball at each other)

On Sunday Our family went to church at Wellspring. It was awesome seeing all my friends and learning about Nicadimus. After church we went out to eat with the Peterson's at Red Robin. Pastor Gary was hilarious(as usual). Later, Maddie and I played with our friends. My parents and I went to the evening church service, and Maddie was at Allie's house.

On Monday I helped my dad with sorting our C.D.'s, went through his old hockey gear, and his old military items. He gave me one of his hat's, a mosquito net, and one of his medals he recieved for fighting in the Persian Gulf War. Mom worked some more on the garage sale. After that I met with some old next-door neighbors, and played with them until dinner.

Today Grandpa and Grandma Kammeraad came over and video-taped my dad on his everyday life struggles with ALS. My friend Austin Bouman came over and we got a video game at Family Video called "World Championship Paintball." Then we went to Logan's Roadhouse for dinner. It was to busy so we got it to go and brought it back to our house to eat it. Now here I am right now typing this blog while my dad and my sister are watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas.Also, my mom is out in the garage working on the garage sale.

One thing I forgot to tell you if you didn't know was that our house is for sale. We're hoping to build a new house that will be more accessible for my dad.

Have an incredible blessed day,

Thank you for your prayers,

$$$$$$$$$$ Zach Attack is out $$$$$$$$$$

Psalm 147:10

I found this verse last night and thought some of you may need to hear this today.

Psalm 147:10
His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Isn't it wonderful to know that we can put our hope in his unfailing love and he delights in us when we do. It's not about our strength.

Have a great day!! The sun is shining!!!! His mercies are new every morning!!!!

ALS Clinic appointment

We had our follow-up appointment at the ALS clinic on Tuesday. This is the clinic that was established at Mary Freebed which has doctors set up specifically for patients with ALS to be seen and evaluated. They recently had their grand opening as our first two visits in July and October, they were still in the startup phases of the clinic. Eric received a call from MDA to see if he would be willing to be interviewed for their Black and Blue Ball and Jerry Lewis telethon media and video footage needed for promotions for these fundraisers. He of course said yes. What he failed to tell me is they would be interviewing us BOTH, which was probably a good thing because I would have been very nervous had I known I had to talk too. The interview went well although every time we mentioned our faith, satan would interupt with a cell phone ringing or they ran out of tape. We know that the tape will be edited and they were looking more for how our life has been affected by ALS and what our hopes are for the new clinic and what the MDA has been doing, but how could we talk about our life without mentioning Christ and our hope in Him and how our faith is what get's us through the day!!
They followed us through our appointment with the camera in those tiny rooms with two or three doctors in at time as well. We saw a speech therapist, nutritionist, occupational therapist, a pulminary specialist and Dr. Averill. Speech and nutrition are great. The occupational therapist gave us a prescription for a lift chair to make it easier for Eric to get up from sitting. He sinks into the couch and has a very hard time getting up from that position. She said medicare may cover the motor portion with a script. She also told us what kind of beds to look at since Eric has been having a hard time sleeping and our mattress is getting pretty old. So it looks like we will need to go shopping for those items soon. The pulminary specialist checked Eric's breathing and compared it to his visit in July and said that it has gone down a little bit so she wanted to order a bipap machine for Eric to wear while he sleeps at night to help keep his lungs cleaned out and relieve the pressure for breathing both in and out so that he would wake up feeling rested and have more energy. This came as somewhat of a surprise to us as breathing capacity is a vital part of survival of ALS. We have been praying that the ALS will not have any effect on his breathing or swallowing so please continue to pray fervantly that this will remain the same and that the machine will be comfortable to wear and really help Eric. This machine is very similar to a cpap machine used for sleep apnea like the one my brother in law uses except that it helps with the in and out to make it as easy as possible for Eric. We should have it next week and she will bring and set it up at our house and show us how to use it. I know Eric is having a hard time with this. During these visits at the clinic, you hope to hear that nothing has changed and you don't need to come back for 6 months. Our next visit is in 6 weeks to followup on the bipap and then we will return in 3 months. Dr Averill didn't have a lot new to say except that the bipap has only been shown to help people with ALS in many good ways. He actually showed a little sense of humor this visit which helped lighten up the day. He is usually very quiet and subdued.
I have to say that Eric leaves an impression with everyone he meets because he is always so joyful and that is something to remember. Not everyone walks around with joy in their heart especially during a trial like this. I am so grateful for my husbands attitude and choice on how to deal with this disease. We talk so often about things because we spend so much time together during appointments, excercises, sauna and every meal we share together. We can still laugh with each other and cry together and he just means the world to me and my kids. I have to say I can't imagine loving him more during this time.
We have been talking more and more about the idea of building and being prepared IF things change. I have to always say if not when. Pastor Dobson also taught us that. We are aware that a house doesn't just come together overnight and there are alot of decisions to be made. We will likely list our house in the next month or two as we explore what is out there for us. Please pray that our house would sell quickly if that is God's will for us to move.
We are looking forward to Spring break next week and sleeping in. We have been on the go way too much this week and need some down time. Eric and my dad have been working on a video of Eric's life for the ALS Advocacy trip to Washington DC and I just had to pull a couple pictures of my cutie pie husband when he was little for you to see that he smiled that big when he was little too!

Thank you as always for your prayers! It is so wonderful to live in such a small world where we hear that someone is praying for us through a prayer chain or through a friend that knows us. It is so good to know that we are the body of Christ and we can lift each other up in prayer even when we don't know each other.

Grace for the day,
Lori and Eric