2/20/09 van Beek Family Update

    Thanks to all of you who keep on checking this blog and asking for updates. I feel very blessed and happy to report that we are all doing well and enjoying life in North Carolina. I continue to have MRIs about 2 times per year and everything continues to appear stable. I am trying to stay on a consistent exercise schedule, which is not always easy with 3 young children and all of their activities. I have been attending an excellent Beth Moore bible study on the book of Esther at my church.  I started a book group a couple of years ago with friends and neighbors and it is still going strong.

  Fortunately, Willem’s job at Bank of America appears to be stable. He is working as hard as ever but still manages to coach Luke’s soccer team. When he can, he also enjoys taking the boys on mountain hikes. With the demands of  his job these days he has not had a lot of time for extra activities. We are looking forward to a little less intensity in his job this spring.

  Luke is now in 5th grade. He will turn 11 in a few weeks. How can it possibly be? He is doing well in school. He loves to read, play soccer, spend time with friends and is our video game expert.

  Andrew is in 2nd grade and is age 8. He is also good student. This past summer he began playing baseball and seems to be “a natural.” He is looking forward to playing again this spring.  His biggest desire is for us to get a dog. In fact, he wants one so much he has been saving his own money for months. Let me tell you, it’s going to take much more then money to convince me that our family needs a dog right now!! He really does have a tender heart toward all kinds of animals. I wonder if becoming a vetrinarian might be in his future?

   Jakob keeps us laughing and amazes us with his determination most days. He has a great little power wheelchair for the last two years.  He uses at school and in the neighborhood. He really is a good and cautious driver.  He is able to walk with tall leg braces and a walker but it takes a lot of energy for him to go just a short distance. We are pleased to see that he continues to progress in therapy. I am trying to be creative about keeping him active. Recently he expressed an interest in karate. We found a school that was experienced in working with special needs children and he started lessons with a class of  typical children this past January. In fact, tonight he earns his very first belt. The first belt level will be green. He is very excited. Next week he will begin swim lessons and he is very excited about this also. He is not afraid to try anything! He is doing well in a christian transitional kindergarten program and will begin kindergarten all day at public school in the fall.  I am praying that it will be a positive experience for all involved.

  We are planning a 3-week trip to Europe to see family and friends in July. We will be celebrating Willem’s mother’s 80th birthday. His sister has put us into contact with a Dutch family who is interested in traveling to America during  that time. We have arranged a house swap with them and are very excited about how well everything is coming together.  Now if our boys will travel well… we should be all set.

  I hope that all of you reading this are well. In the case of my blog entries, no news typically means that we are just going about the ordinary busyness of our lives without much new to report.  Thanks for your interest and support!

    Still Cherishing Every God-Given Day,

       Janelle and the boys

I love my froggy balloon!

9/27 Jakob is home!!

Jakob’s surgery went very well. He requested green casts before the surgery and then afterward changed his mind about the color – just a few hours too late! The night we spent in the hospital was a rough one. He loves to sleep on his stomach, but couldn’t because he had to keep his legs elevated. So, I tried every imaginable position for him, slept in bed with him for a little while, attempted to sleep in the hospital chair/bed beside him. He slept about 20 minutes of every hour through the night and refused oral pain medication after they had removed the IV. We walked the halls, I sang to him and neither one of us slept much. Anyway, as we were leaving the hospital exhausted the next morning he said, “Mom, wasn’t that a great time at the hospital?” I just had to laugh at this child with the positive spirit that has been such a gift to us. The rest of this week has gone very well. Surprisingly, he loves to lay on the floor and stretch his legs with the heavy casts up in the air and touch his nose to them. We were thrilled that he feels like moving so much right after surgery. His casts come up to his mid-thighs to ensure that he will not bear any weight on his legs for the next four weeks. He was able to play baseball with his daddy and help with some outside chores from his wheelchair this morning. So, once again, God has been faithful to our family and we are grateful. Thanks for all of your prayers and support.  Here are some recent photos of our family. Please keep in touch.

Leaving Hospital

Home Sweet Home

16th Anniversary

van Beek brothers at Disney

Note: after riding on the firetruck with Pluto in the front of the parade!

Jake and Corky the Clown – 4th Bday

Jake’s Birthday – who invited these people?

9/19/2007 Update and Prayer Request for Jakob

Wow! Time does fly. I can’t believe that it has been 6 months since I have made a blog entry. That means that no news is good news. Thanks to all of you who have been faithfully checking and asking if I was ever going to make another blog update. Our lives have returned to a good “normal”.  However, after facing cancer, nothing can ever go back to being the same. Our priorities are forever changed. I am happy to report that I had another stable MRI in July. My next one will be on November 9th.

We are asking for your prayers for our family again. This time for Jakob, our four year old son with Spina Bifida. He will be having surgery next week on Sept. 25th. We have known that this would be coming, but thought perhaps he would be one or two years older when it occurred. He will be having surgery to straighten his tibial torsions on his legs. Basically, this means that the his legs and feet turn inward at the bottom, causing his feet to be turned inward, toe to toe. He can contort his feet and legs in ways that are very unnatural, but don’t bother him at all. If he is not in his braces, he steps on his own feet when he stands and it is understandably difficult for him to stand very long like this. So, we are excited, yet somewhat anxious about this next step. Hopefully, this will mean less bracing will be necessary for him to stand and walk. His desire to walk with his walker and his endurance have been greatly improving over the last several weeks. This has been a great answer to prayer and brings us a lot of joy.

Please pray that Jakob’s surgery would be successful and that he would heal well. Apparently, due to the neurological component of a Spina Bifida diagnosis, recovering from this surgery can be complicated and may require more surgery if it is ineffective. Also, he will be in casts for 8 LONG WEEKS (Yikes!!). Please pray for everyone in our family, especially him, to be patient and understanding through these weeks. 

Thanks for your support and prayers! Janelle