Praise for Healing

Abram had his follow up appointment yesterday at Roger Maris. He has made good progress in the past six weeks and his blood counts are now back within normal range. We are thankful to God and thankful for you, our friends and family who have prayed for him. As is his habit, he charmed the whole place--after the appointment, the dr had us follow him down the hall to the nurses' station and said, "Have you met this guy?" and showed him off. The nurses all laughed at his "dancing" and his contagious smile. He is a delightful little boy who gets compliments everywhere we go. The receptionist just gushed over him and said he totally made her day. I think in a cancer center waiting room, a smiling, happy, healthy baby is a welcome sight. We are so thankful for this gift of healing in our little boy's body. A weight is definitely lifted from our burdened shoulders.

Eighteen

Our boy Nathaniel is 18 today. 

I feel like I should say, "Where has the time gone?" 

But I know where it has...it's been spent in the sleepless nights, the changing diapers, the toddling steps, the irrational fear of worms, the land of make-believe, the school of hard knocks, the growing-out of clothes, the growing in of facial hair, the learning how to drive, the frustration of algebra, the quick wit from years spent with nose in a book, the procurement of a job, the freedom of a paycheck, the adoration of younger siblings, and the love of family. 

Happy Birthday, Son.

He Liked It

Abram really liked his first dill pickle.

See?

Sixteen

Sixteen years ago,

all I'd gotten for my mom's birthday was a card.

So I gave her another grandson, too.

We had bbq chicken for dinner today per Isaiah's request.

We did a short round of "How Well Do You Know Isaiah?" and now

they are spending the afternoon playing Settlers of Cataan

and learning how to make the best sounds with his new Pooter.

Happy Birthday Isaiah and Grandma!

Sick. *Now With an Update!*

They are dropping like FLIES. 

Andrew on Sunday night, Christopher on Monday, Isaiah on Tuesday, Linnea on Tuesday, Elijah, Ruby and Ivy on Thursday, and Abram during the night--all succumbed to The Crud. So far, Dennis, Nathaniel,  LittleBit and I are on our feet. 

*fingers crossed and hands washed*

Since that information is no fun,

here's some that is:

26  27 Things Minnesotans Do That Seem Odd to Everyone Else

UPDATE:  I am no longer on my feet.  I feel like I got hit by a truck.
*groan*

So.

So.
What's new, you ask?
Let me tell you.

Abram has not been growing well.  (That isn't new.)  He hasn't been growing well for several months.
I finally found a doctor that I dared to trust just before Christmas.

I know that babies/toddlers/children come in many different shapes and sizes, but Abram was just...small.  I took him for an appointment and I was right--the first percentile.  He had been growing fine until about July and then he just stopped.
His other development has been just fine...excellent, in fact.  He is a very engaging little man, his eyes are bright, his demeanor is happy and satisfied.  He rolls, crawls, stands next to furniture, reaches for everything, knows us, responds to sounds, etc., etc., etc.
But I could no longer reason away his very small size.
So we went.
She was very nice and understanding of the situation.  (I know I still haven't publicly shared what happened during and after Abram's birth, but one day I will.)

She wanted us to come back in one week for another weigh-in and to do some blood work.  She called me after the blood work to tell me that the results were puzzling and that she thought we'd be better served by a pediatrician (she is family practice).  She referred us to another doctor, and gave him a heads-up that we had had a bad experience with a doctor.

We went to see the pediatrician January 9th.  He ordered more blood work and the numbers were even more puzzling/concerning.

From there, we were referred to a pediatric hematologist in the big city for an mri and a bone marrow biopsy.  We went there this past Monday.

Abram did SO WELL. The nurses and doctors said he was the cutest thing EVER and I believe they were genuine with their effusive comments regarding his charm and good looks.
As for the tests, his mri looked good.
Dr. Anim wanted to do another cbc (blood draw) to see if the results of that would change whether he still wanted to do the bone marrow biopsy. We were comforted by his conservative approach to such a painful and invasive test.
The results did, in fact, change the course and we were able to avoid the bone marrow biopsy.

Abram will go back to see the pediatric hematologist  in one month to see how things are looking then. The dr was very encouraged with how Abram looks and acts, even though his blood work remains puzzling.
Though I cried when I handed over my baby, our time there was peaceful. I believe this was because of the prayers of God's faithful people on our behalf.

The unknown can be scary.  The known can be scary.  So in the meantime, we continue to research on our own, to love on this little man we've been given, and to carry on, putting one foot down in front of the other.

I am encouraged by how Abram acts, his general demeanor, his happy disposition.  He doesn't seem sick.  I don't really think he is sick.  But something's not right with his blood so we need to figure that out.

I will write more as we know more.

In the meantime, it is bitterly, bitterly cold in MN right now and my guys are hard-pressed to stay warm enough to function outside.  I'm probably the odd-duck Minnesotan who never posts crabby weather statuses on facebook.  I don't really see what good it does to carry on about the weather and I actually like winter.  I don't have to show my fat arms when it's 30 below and there's not as much sweat.  These are both good things in my life.  But I don't have to work outside in it, so I suppose my husband can gripe about the cold if he wants.

Additionally, my bff Monica gave me a coffee alternative called Teeccino that I actually really like.  When it's crazy cold, I can drink "coffee" in the afternoon or evening without me & Abram hangin' out all night from the caffeine!  I love me a cozy cuppa.

I feel like maybe I'll be able start writing more again.  I miss it, but there have been some things in the way of this little hobby of mine.

I don't really have a good "closer" for this post so I'll have to just say "the end."

The end.

BOYS

If you're say...seven years old, and you want to make your mom's heart skip a beat, here's an idea: y'know those Crayola tub tints? Take a couple of the red ones, put them in the toilet, wait a minute or two and then say, "Mooooooom, could you come here? I was using the bathroom and...."