Full of Joy

***If you prefer not to read this whole post, our main prayer request is in bold at the bottom. THANK YOU for praying! This smile lights up my heart like no other! Tomorrow Jase is having more blood work done. His doctors were concerned about the blood work he had earlier this week, and want to check it again to make sure his levels are moving towards normal. Waiting for results is agonizing. These results could change the course of our life dramatically, or we could end up going on like normal. I long for normal and boring. Jesus, I long for NORMAL results. I am terrified, to be truthful. God has absolutely given me moments of peace, but then there are other moments where the reality of our situation scares me to death. I am sick to my stomach quite often, and can barely eat. Until last night, I haven't been sleeping well either. I am constantly in tune to Jase, and closely watching to see if everything he is doing seems "normal" or not. It's agoniz...

We've been through quite a lot of awful today. I can not process it all. The unknowns feel too much to bear. Every time I put my hope into something like a blood test or urine test we are fed with more questions, and my hope plummets. My faith is being tested by fire, and I don't know how to handle it. I know as a believer I am not promised a life of ease and constant goodness. I know I am not immune to the worst case scenario. Each day I feel we are inching closer and closer to the worst case scenario. My hope in good news is fading. There doesn't seem to be any good news for us concerning Jase's health right now. Don't get me wrong, we haven't gotten any specific bad news, just more questions. I know as clear as day that my hope can never be in good answers or good circumstances. These are the times I am to "count it all joy" because we ALL face trials. Trials we do not want. My hope is in Jesus because even if the worst case scenario happens in our ...

I don't feel like rehashing the events of the weekend concerning our precious baby boy. To say it has been awful is an understatement. We've experienced similar issues with Jase in the past, and it never gets easier. The first time it happened I wrote about it in his journal, and ever since then I haven't been able to bring myself to write about it again. I feel like I'm walking around in a fog.  What's going to happen next??  I was just doing a load of laundry, and all Jase's sheets, bedding, and clothes from the weekend were still in the dryer. It bothered me so much to find them in there. Things were so different before Saturday night. Everything was fine, Jase had been running around at a birthday party, he had gone out to Target with Chuck....things really can change in an instant. It always takes awhile to move forward. Quite awhile.  Anyway, as it stands right now, we have a pretty sick little guy on our hands. We took Jase to his own Pediatrician t...

I don't like that when I experience a miracle or see a miracle in someone else's life I typically think of it as a "modern day" miracle instead of just a MIRACLE! God is at work right now. He hears. He loves. He answers. Today. I LOVE hearing about miracles, and I love being able to share this special story today. My precious niece was born just a mere six weeks after Basye. Her name is Laela and she is beautiful! We haven't met her yet, but we are so excited to next month! Before even leaving the hospital after Laela was born, Chuck's sister and brother-in-law (Becky and Dave) were told to keep an eye on Laela's hip as her leg was popping in and out of the socket. (OK, I definitely won't get every medical detail and term correct, but you get the gist.) Anyone can hear this and know that would be concerning. Sweet little Laela's hip continued to show signs of issues so she had to be seen by a specialist. Ultrasounds were done, and she was assigne...

Believe it or not, these pictures are the best I can do! All Jase wants to do is rip off Basye's bows when I try to take their picture together. But, he loves his own hats right now. And Papa's hats, too!  Yesterday we had back-to-back well visit appointments for both babes. Jase did really well, especially considering it took TWO hours! Chuck and I were so proud of him. Normally he absolutely hates going to the doctor, but he was well-behaved, and very brave during his shot. We had him watch Praise Baby on Chuck's phone which really helped. Jase finally got his LAST shot (except for the flu shot) until he turns 4! Hallelujah!!  Basye also did well! She's such a sweet little thing- so patient. I hate watching the kids get shots. It makes me want to weep when I see them in pain.  Both kids are growing, both measure tall, and both are healthy! Thank you God! Unfortunately we have a bit of a journey ahead for some issues with Basye. She needs to see three differen...