Some great news and a prayer request...

If you've been waiting for a new post, here's why. Two weeks ago I came down with strep throat (the first time in probably 15 years!) and then we were at the beach all last week. Blog posts to come about our wonderful vacation but if you can't wait, check Lori's blog for the general overview and some great pictures.

Any way, several bits of great news... my mom's CAT scan came back completely perfect. No signs of anything! Praise the Lord. Secondly, although Philip loves his cousins Hannah and Madeline, in November he will get to meet his new BOY cousin! Mike and Andrea went for THE ultrasound this past Thursday and were excited to announce that they are expecting a healthy baby boy.
Here are Andrea and Mike a few weeks ago meeting Braewyn.

Lastly, my cousin Melissa is pregnant! She and Nick were married last October but dated for about 7 years prior to that. Melissa has a wonderful, loving personality and will be a great mom. Guys, we'll be praying for a healthy pregnancy and baby! Can't wait to welcome your new little one into the world.
Here are Nick and Melissa at their wedding reception. Haven't seen them since then but hoping to visit this summer so they can meet Braewyn too.

The prayer request is for my mom's sister Cindy's mother-in-law Betty (Cindy is Melissa's mom). Betty lost all blood circulation in her legs and so Saturday she had one of her legs amputated just below the knee. Due to other health problems, Betty is not able to take the amount of morphine needed to take away all the pain so she is suffering. Her kidneys would potentially shut down if she was given more pain medicine. Please pray for her leg to heal from the surgery. The family and doctors are concerned that her knee won't have sufficient blood flow to heal and that would mean Monday or Tuesday more of her leg would be removed (above the knee). Mom has spoken with Cindy on the phone and she and Greg (her husband and Betty's son) can hardly stand to visit Betty in the hospital because it is so heartwrenching to see her in so much pain. This is making Mom quite upset too as she takes most things to heart and considers Betty a friend too. Pray for Mom as she has been feeling bad the last few days and possibly because she is letting Betty's situation affect her emotionally (her heart goes out to her as someone who's been in the hospital in pain and distraught) which affects her physically.

Philip's "New" Friends

A newborn obviously doesn't have friends, but as Philip has come to full toddlerhood he has become quite the social butterfly. We have lived across the street from Tracy and Jeff for at least 5 years, maybe longer but I just don't know exactly when they moved in. Over the last two years, Tracy, Jessie (who just moved 10 minutes away last weekend!) and I have been the kind of friends who stand out in the driveway talking until our husbands come home from work. Tracy has two daughters, Emily and Anna Grace with whom Philip has recently become fast friends. He did attend Anna Grace's birthday party last summer, but being 18 months old, he didn't really know what was happening.

Well, Tracy is the one who invited Philip to attend her church's Vacation Bible School last week. He became the little son she's always wanted and a loved surrogate brother to the girls. Update on VBS, he loved each night so much and was actually ready to go right after lunch. I had to remind him that it didn't start until after naptime.
It was a great experience as he was able to participate in recreation, music, crafts and storytime. The kids were asked to bring a pair of flip flops to decorate which Tracy graciously picked up for me at the store. Needless to say, her daugthers' shoes were really cute, but Matthew says he likes the flip flops but the "decorations" have to go. Hey, at least they trimmed the boys' "ribbons" short, right? :)

Friday night was family night and as I said before, I was so excited to see Philip's first stage premier. Not sure if it was the crowd in general or seeing us at VBS ("What are Mommy and Daddy doing here?"), but Philip started crying when the children were lining up in the hallway so he came back and sat with us during the "performance". I'm just grateful that his first week in VBS was such a success. There will be plenty of other stage opportunites in his life.

Emily and Anna Grace were also the first friends to join him in our new pool. It was a tad chilly but the girls didn't mind. Philip really loved being in the water other that the four times he choked and I stuck him at the edge of the pool fearing throw up was soon to follow. He didn't thankfully and just kept on playing after catching his breath.

More Prayers for Mom

Although we were thrilled with the results of Mom's tests last week, she will be having a CAT scan on Thursday. She was told the results of her tumor count test by the nurse. It had been 2.0 three months ago and was now 4.3. We thought that sounded good as normal is between 0-5. Well, her chemo doctor is working on the side of caution and would rather catch something early if any new cells are developing. Mom goes to the doctor tomorrow to pick up some medicine needed prior to the scan and then will have the scan at 10:00am this Thursday. Thank you for praying that all will be normal (Lord-willing) and for her nerves to remain calm these next three days.

Adjusting to Motherhood... Again!

There is a big difference between adjusting to having your first child to having that first child (now a toddler) plus your second child. I have discovered that it's true the way people say you love them both the same, but it just makes for more challenges in meeting their needs. Especially when they seem to be screaming "Mommy, I need you!" in their own special ways at the same time.

However, God in His overwhelming love for us provides "precious moments" (someone once said they're called that because they rarely last more than a moment!) when all is at peace. Here was my moment from this past Tuesday morning. Enjoying the refreshingly cool morning air, trying to catch up on some Bible study, Philip enjoying playing by himself, Braewyn sleeping soundly, and the neighbor's cat joining in on the fun! I pray you will take time to slow down and recognize when God provides you with a "precious moment" too.


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Our Pool!

The water is beginning to get warmer so maybe tomorrow Philip and I will go for a swim. It looks spotless in these pictures but alas, it is no longer so. I had to instruct Philip NOT to drop red clay into the pool and that's aside from the bugs and leaves which find their way into the water naturally. We did buy a tarp which we pull over the top at night and even a net skimmer! Now I just have to train Philip to be our pool boy!

Just waiting for the water to warm up!

Mommy, can we get in yet?


Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos This video describes what Philip thinks about having a pool!

Mom's Great Reports

Mom and Dad received great news today from all three doctors. Her tumor count number is 4.3! (Normal is between 0-5) Her bladder looks to be working properly and without infection. Her body is recovering well overall and her GI doctor said that she will continue to heal with only minor adjustments to how things "used to be". Praise the Lord!

Odds 'n' Ends

* Please pray for my mom. She still is having some pretty hard days (just having to go to the bathroom several times which eventually gets her depressed). Also today she had an appointment with her chemo doctor to draw blood. Tomorrow she will find out the results of the test which tells her doctor her tumor count number (prior to Mom's surgery it was 52; after surgery, it was 2. Normal is between 0-5.). Tomorrow she also has appt's with her urologist and gastroenterologist. Please pray that she will receive good reports from all three and for Dad to have strength in comforting her whatever the outcome.

* Philip had a milestone this week: last night he attended Vacation Bible School for the first time! It was big for me as he attended with our neighbor and her daughters at their church. Because of our church's size, VBS is for age 3 - rising 7th grade. If you are teaching, your 2-year-old can attend the "nursery" class. Obviously, I'm not teaching so we just assumed he would wait until next summer for VBS. Philip really likes playing with Emily (age 7) and Anna Grace (almost 5) so I thought it would be fun for him to ride along when their mom Tracy invited him to attend. I missed him the whole three hours he was gone and then was let down when he didn't want to leave Tracy's yard upon getting home. He did say he missed us though. He'll attend tonight, tomorrow and Thursday night, and then Friday night is Family night at which we'll get to watch him sing a song or two with his class! I can't wait.

* Matthew has been trying to get our yard looking really good so he's been digging up patches, tilling it by hand (we're talking back-breaking manual labor!), and planting grass seed. Well, he had done this to a large area across the back of the yard but then it became too hot to plant grass. He decided we could buy a POOL to cover up the large area of red clay. It's a great pool for us as a family with a toddler: 8 feet in diameter and 18 inches deep! We're waiting for the water to warm up and hopefully try it out this weekend. Photos to come!