all things new

thank you all for your thoughts and prayers -- Max fared pretty well, save for an additional night's stay due to "gastric dilitation," meaning he was pretty swollen and had a funky x-ray the doctor didn't care for too much in medical terms. he is home now and camping out on the couch.

his friend thought it would be a cool thing to video tape himself for 5 seconds a day over the next year to show himself shrinking and become all the rage on YouTube :) he might do that as a study for his doctor to use, since he is his youngest patient ever and it might be cool to add to his archives. i'll keep you posted on that.

on the day of his surgery, God offered me some profound insights. it isn't every day you get to see your child's wish come true, see them being afford an opportunity for incredible change. obesity is something Max has been battling since he was a little guy, and something as his parents we really have not had much control over it (i challenge anyone to come and look in my fridge and pantry to see what type of "junk" food we have). there is only so much we could do and as someone who battles her weight and has lamented about it here on a fairly regular basis, this entire process has helped me to take a better look at what i do to myself and i am determined to eat like Max will (once he can eat again) regarding portion control and process - protein first, complex carbs second, not-so-complex carbs third. i don't see where sugared anything is on his new diet plan, and drinking a ton of water is also part of the program, along with exercise (we are looking into another dog to walk -- it's been 2 months, we are pretty certain the Derbs won't be returning -- and i am meeting 2 candidates this weekend...) we have all good things coming up!

so all in all, it's be a life-changing experience for my son as well as me. God has been in this entire process and His hand has been present the entire time. we still have work to do as this was simply a tool, but i can't wait to see the transformation in Max (and hopefully, me.)

And he who sat upon the throne said, "Behold I make all things new." how cool to experience it this side of heaven.