Gary spoke to Aunt Joanna on the phone for a few minutes this morning, and Sis. Ann is about the same. She doesn't have much of an appetite and is very fatigued most of the time. Right now they are getting ready to make some hard decisions about what route to take next, and I'm sure they would all appreciate your prayers. We hope to be able to go by one afternoon and sing for her and encourage her, since they aren't able to attend Church right now, but we'll just have to wait and see when she feels up to it.

We were able to go and visit with Bro. Charles Carlton last week. After Church we went by and sang for him, he seemed to really appreciate getting to visit and hearing the songs. It's very evident that he misses being able to attend Church, and we miss him as well. He is still very thin and weak but seems to be recovering from the burns. Right now he has a staff infection, they have shown Aunt Patricia how to give him a daily injection and iv to help out with this so that they don't have to drive so far to the doctor's office every day. They are a little concerned that these shots may not completely clear up the staff, because several years ago when he had heart surgery they used wire to close him back up and hold several bones in place. If the staff has gotten into the wires, they may need to go in, open him back up take all the wires out and scrap the bone to get the infection out. We hope that isn't the case and that these shots will take care of the problem. Please continue to be in prayer for him.

Dad was able to come home from the hospital on Thursday. He is doing pretty well other than one minor complication. He has an infection around the incision site, they belief it was caused by the colon rubbing against it when they pulled it out. They are cleaning out the site twice a day at home now, and feel like it should be just fine. Needless to say, he's very glad to be out of the hospital and eating real food again.

Sis. Gayle Smith is doing really well. We talked with Bro. Phil a day or two ago. Since she has given up the experimental program she has had alot more energy and her counts seem to be coming down faster. She's about half way to their target numbers now.

I've not updated on little Nate in a while. He has had a few colds and a few hospital visits over the winter. Right now he is doing well, but he lost alot of the weight that he had managed to put on over the summer. He is roughly 22 lbs, and they really need him to gain alot more weight, however the mito keeps his cells from breaking down the nutrients in food very quickly. Remember to keep him in your prayers. He is a happy little man full of laughter and was constantly on the move when we saw them at MacClenny a few weekends back. Too stinkin cute!

I've also not mentioned Parker Allen in sometime. Parker is able to communicate very limited manner with his family now, and they are able to go out some. He especially enjoys getting out and watching the local high school basketball. He has hit a platto in his recovery and while they are still very hopefully that he will regain much of what was lost in the accident each new gain comes more slowly now. My understanding is that Mrs. Allen is no longer teaching and is home with him full time and that makes things a little more difficult for them. Please continue to remember them.

Finally, as for us. Gary got word late last night that the position that he so wanted has been filled. He made the top two candidates, but apparently they have chosen the other individual. We appreciate all the prayers that have been going up, especially about this particular job. We are once again looking at all the options and hoping that something comes along soon. Please continue to keep all of us in your prayers.