A continual test of faith

It seems that we are continually being tested with trials in this situation. As you know Joshua had to go back on bedrest because the last of the incision from the bedsore was not closing completely. So we have been down flat in bed again for another 3 weeks. We were hoping so much that during the holidays that we could be up and about and spend Christmas at our "home" here in Denver, but no such luck. We are very grateful to have all of our kids back with us for the holidays. We missed Colton the last few weeks but are happy that he is able to be back to Snowcrest and enjoying school, friends & basketball. We are going to treasure every minute with all of them here for a few weeks.

Joshua got really sick the Tuesday before Christmas with a fever of a 104 degrees, not fun. He was quite ill until Saturday the 28th. Nothing about this challenge has been easy. Quite frankly we are ready for some "free sailing". We are super excited because on Monday they let him sit for 15 minutes in the morning and all looked good so we got to sit for 30 minutes in the afternoon. Today, Wednesday, we are up for 1 hour 15 minutes in the morning and 1 hour 30 minutes this afternoon. As long as his skin on his backside continues to look good, he will be over this bed rest trial and we will be able to begin with the therapy that we came here to Craig Hospital to receive. Josh will be able to be getting in the pool, on the bike, mat therapy, and fully into p.t. within a couple of weeks. We are really excited about this.

During this time we have had a lot of time to think and really ponder about life. We have deepened our understanding of many principals of the gospel and our testimonies that Jesus is the Christ and loves each one of us dearly. We are learning so much about Heavenly Father and how much that He truly cares for us, knows each one of us, and has a specific plan for each one of His children. Every single one of His children has a very specific purpose here on earth. We have all committed to Heavenly Father to come to earth, to be tried in our faith, and have the opportunity and blessing to return to live with Him again. This is all of our goal, to return to our Heavenly Father and live with Him and our families forever! Heavenly Father wants every one of us to be happy. Sometimes in this crazy world we get confused as to what happy really means and where we get our source of happiness. As hard as these months have been, we could not even begin to explain how hard it is, how many tears we have shed, and how scared we are at times. We can tell you though how much we feel the Lord right by our sides. Many of you, some that we didn't even know before Josh got hurt, have been answers to our prayers. Thank you for being instruments in the hands of the Lord to help us through this. We feel like Heavenly Father definitely has a plan for Josh and our family through this experience. It is part of His plan, and we are learning how to exercise faith and hope in a much deeper way than we ever did before. We are physically so tired that some days don't feel like we can go on, but spiritually we are stronger and so grateful for the knowledge that we know that Jesus is the Christ, our Lord and Savior, and He knows us and loves us all.
Thank you for being a part of our lives and for strengthening our testimonies, and for sharing so much with us. We wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Lots of love,
Cord, Lisa, Jake, Josh, Justin, Marne' & Colton

Great to hear from Jake on Christmas Day!

Super fun for our family to visit with Elder Jake on Christmas. He is doing well in Arizona. Actually we are wondering if we are ever going to get him to come home! He has a great companion, Elder Lundgreen, from Kaysville, Utah. They are working hard and blessed with much success in Arizona! Sister Beck thank you for feeding Christmas brunch to these fine young men, they and we love you all so much. We love you, miss you, and are so proud of you Jake.

Pres Beck, Elder Lundgreen, Elder Pack
Sister Beck, Elder Lundgreen, Elder Pack, President Beck
Christmas Day 2008

Elder Lundgreen, Elder Pack

New Friends in Colorado

The Littleton 5th Ward have been absolutely amazing for our family. They have brought the sacrament into Josh every Sunday, come to visit in the week, brought tons of laughs, inspiration, and lots of love. This week the Sabeys, Gibbs, and Adams brought some Christmas gifts for the kids but most of all shared sincere love and concern for our family. They have touched our hearts and made us want to be better people-Thanks!

Justin went home for the Christmas Dance at Davis High

Everybody needs friends like the Watts!

Get some clothes on Alex!

Justin & Caitlin

Too Many Late Nights!

Sweet Friends!

Bri is definately our favorite cheerleader!

"Santa Steve" and the Bronco Cheerleaders

We have had a lot of "Santa's" in our lives these past months and Steve is one of them. Steve and his sweet wife Nancy happened to have a house that they are selling just 3 miles from the hospital. They offered for our family to stay there until we come home. It feels so good to have carpet under our feet after 4 months of hospital floors, and an oven! It was another one of those doors that continually open in our lives after one closes. (Since our time was up in the family housing) Thanks to all for your generosity and love for our family!

A Visit From Jim & Chad

It was delightful to have Jim Sheer and Chad Koford come to visit. Chad is like a brother to Cord, it was incredible to watch the enjoyment in both of their eyes to see one another again. Jim simply made us laugh the entire time he was here. Josh's comment was "I really miss guys like that". You encouraged us and helped us carry on another day- Thanks. Also a big thank you to Steve Griffin and his wife Josh thoroughly enjoyed his steak dinner. He ate the entire steak and savored every bite.

The Denver Bronco Cheerleaders left a little something for Josh and you can see Jim's reaction to what he saw. "Cockadoodledo"!!!!

A week of ups and downs

This week has been a really tough one! We are all trying to be brave with the holidays here and we seem to be being tested again. While Josh was in McKay Dee they put a filter in his vein to stop any bloodclots from getting to his heart. Well this week they had to go and retrieve it, what an adventure! They went down the main vein of Josh's neck to retrieve it. Of course most people get put under for this procedure but not Josh, he does not want to get put out again. He hates the way that the medicine makes him feel. Well he was in pain for a few days, but doing well now.
On Tuesday Josh was put back FLAT ON HIS BACK, we know can you believe it???? We are sure that it is the best thing to do though. We just can't seem to get this small opening from the flap surgery healed; which is what is keeping us from getting up for therapy. The real reason that we came to Craig Hospital for. Oh my we are starting to think if we are ever going to get home. Not really though, we know that Heavenly Father has a plan for Josh and our family. We see his hand touch our lives each day. Each day we continue to try to submit ourselves to His willl. This is challenging but we know that it is exactly what we need to do. Our testimonies continue to grow and be strengthened by the knowledge of the gospel. It is through faith and knowledge that Jesus is the Christ and He know each one of us personally, cares for us, and has an individual plan for all of us. Our family is blessed by each one of your prayers, fasting, and love for us. Please continue them because we are leaning on you. Thank you for sharing your love with us.

A visit from Grandma & Grandpa Pack

What a time to realize that the camera was out of batteries, just as Grandma Jeanne and Grandpa Wayne were leaving!!! You would have thought that we could have taken some pictures ahead of time but oh our brains are somewhere back in Eden.
We had a wonderful time with them and we are grateful that they would venture over to Denver. It was a new experience for the both of them and they did a great job getting on and off of the plane and then over to the hospital. Way to go Grandma, you are quite a lady!!
Josh says that he thinks that Grandpa is the only one that can really relate to how he feels. We think you are right Josh and Grandpa is nothing but an inspiration to keep going forward with faith and determination to walk again. Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for coming we love you.

A Big Thank You To Coach Mendenhall and The BYU Football Team

Brett Denney, Josh, Andrew George

The Fam with the George's & Denney's

Kristy & Brett Denney, Josh, Andrew & Tawny George,
(Tawny asked Josh for his "swimsuit" photo to hang on
their fridge to inspire Andrew. We got a pretty good laugh!

Every Thursday during the BYU football season Coach Mendenhall and the team pick a member of the community to become an honorary member of the football team. It was a great surprise for Josh, as well as the entire family, to have Andrew George (offensive tight end), Brett Denney(defensive end), and their darling wives come to the hospital and present this award to Josh. They explained to us that each week the team chooses one person who is facing a difficult challenge, making the best of it, and is being a great example and hero off of the field. Joshuas pictures will hang in the team locker room with the other Thursday hero's to remind the football players what real hero's signify. They honored Josh with a helmet signed by all the coaches and players, a "Y" flag (which has been proudly placed on his door), a beautiful poster of the stadium, hats, shirts, stickers, and a very special team coin. The team coin is given to each player by Coach Mendenhall with the team quest and mission statement engraved on it. Each player is asked to keep it with them at all times, to help them remember that their quest is much deeper than what is produced on the field.
As a family we were incredibly impressed by the spirit and integrity of these two fantastic couples. They shared with us how being a member of the BYU football team is much more than playing on Saturday. They were great examples of people who carry strong testimonies. Our family talked of their sincere concern that they shared with Josh. Marne' mentioned that she felt like they were the kind of friends that we had known forever. We feel so blessed to have shared some time with them. Josh is looking forward to going to a practice next year and participating with them.

Thank you to everyone who made this opportunity available for Josh and our family!