Update on The Kids

Hannah had an EEG and it came up normal. What a praise. The neurologist said that they can come up normal sometimes. The next step is to have a sleep EEG done. We are hoping that it comes up normal too. Hannah has been seizure free for a week and a half. She has been doing fabulous at school and is really enjoying it. We were hoping to keep her in her normal routine, and what an answer to prayer that we have been able to.

Charles has been doing really well. He has been getting stronger and really enjoys to practice standing with us holding him. He likes to try to get in a crawling position too. We are so proud of him and how much he has grown.

Hannah

August 6, 2009

Family and Friends,
First I would like to thank everyone for there prayers and encouraging words. Sorry that it has taken us a little longer to get an email out about Hannah's results. Every time I opened the screen to write I would cry and not have the words to write. Tonight as I stared at the screen, my father emailed me to say how sorry he was and sent a youtube video of Psalm 139 as I listened to it peace came over me. God has formed Hannah and He knows her every part and need. So as we move forward with medical decisions and plans we will have to trust God that He has a plan for Hannah. We met with the neurologist late yesterday and went over the results of the MRI and discussed the results with her pediatrician too. The MRI went well, it took a little longer to take more pictures of her brain. During the MRI they found that she has a Hypothalamic hamartoma. Hypothalamic hamartomas are rare, benign tumors of the hypothalamus, a region of the brain that regulates many critical functions. Hypothalamic hamartomas affect children from infancy onward and commonly cause seizures, precocious puberty, abnormalities in endocrine function, and cognitive and behavioral problems. This is a brief description of it. We don't have all the answers as we still have many questions ourselves. The next step is to have an EEG awake and asleep to monitor brain waves to further investigate her seizures. They also found a couple fluid filled cysts in her brain. At this point they don't know what is happening with all of it since it was the first MRI. They will perform another MRI in 3 months to see what the growths are doing and will be able to better understand what to do having a reference MRI. The positive thing is that we have caught all this now at an early age. As my pediatrician put it sometimes God allows things to happen like her seizure to uncover other things. If it was not for her seizure we would have not performed a CT scan or MRI and found the things we did. God has a plan for our little girl. One of our friends from church sent this to us and it was very encouraging to read. Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for Hannah," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper Hannah and not to harm her, plans to give Hannah hope and a future. Thank you again to everyone and please continue to keep us in your prayers as we move forward with her medical issues. Psalm 139- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwNVuPOnKdI

Nanny and Jakob Came to Visit

Nanny and Jakob came to visit when Daddy flew out for a guys trip. It was a short visit but we all had lots of fun visiting and seeing each other. My mom was a big help during the day and night. I was able to catch up on some sleep. Hannah especially loves it when they come. She loves her uncle and he is a real trooper always playing with her and helping out. They enjoyed hide and seek and setting off poppers for the 4th. She like to do what ever he does. We wish they were closer, but enjoy the visits when they come. (Hannah learned to take her clothes off and put them back on, some how they did not get back on in the pictures! Oh well...)

Watching the Fireworks from the deck of our house, somehow Hannah's shirt came off!

Nanny and Charles 4th Of July

Uncle Jakob and Hannah Dancing

3D Glasses

Jumperoo

Trying to get the hang of this jumperoo is tricky. Still trying to learn to put my feet on the ground and push off. Mom said when Hannah was little she would jump very high. I am trying to keep up with her so I have been practicing my jumping and standing in this thing everyday.

Daddy Feeding Me

Don't you love the way Daddy just lets me lay and drink the way I want to. Mommy said that I was sliding but daddy said no this is the way I want to sit. Wouldn't you be comfortable too!

First day of School

Hannah started Montessori school. It was very exciting for her but sad as she had to say goodbye to Melissa a family friend that has been taking care of her everyday since I was pregnant on bed rest. They had some good times together and I know Hannah will miss her and already asks where she is. Hannah started the toddler program as she is very active and needs more attention than I can give her right now with Charles not doing so well. He needs a lot of focus and attention to just get by so we decided that it would be best for her to start school. She loves it already, and loves being around other kids. This was a truly hard decision as a mother to put her in but right now this is what is best. She goes from 9- 3:30 which has given me more time to work with Charles on feeding. He has continued to struggle with feeding and losing weight so being able to fully concentrate on this has helped and when we pick Hannah up they both have had a great day and enjoy playing together till bed time.

The Big Bath

Charles graduated to taking big baths with his sister. Who knows who is happier that this happened, Charles or Hannah that she gets to help bathe him now.

The Morning Rush

This morning I thought of how I need to remember to be more "child like" You are probably wondering what I am talking about. But this morning I was rushing and got Hannah's breakfast ready, Charles was screaming to eat and I told Hannah to just get to the table and get started. I started feeding Charles and he was quite fussy as he was not feeling well. I looked over to make sure Hannah was getting to the table. She climbed up the chair and sat down in it and shut her eyes. Out of her little mouth came these words "Thank-you for my food, Charles' milk, good day, Amen." Even though I was rushing, Hannah still remembered to stop and Thank God for her breakfast, Charles' milk he was drinking and prayed we would have a good day. I could not help but think of this verse.
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Mathew 18: 1-4.
As I was holding Charles, I couldn't help but think of Jesus words when he said in Luke 18, “Let the little children come to me. Do not hinder them.” As I was playing around with Charles later, I noticed his utter dependence on me. During the day, I feed him, cloth him, clean him, and put him to bed. When Charles cries, he cries knowing his mommy or daddy is coming to help him. When Charles laughs, he knows he is laughing because his mommy or daddy is with him. He is utterly dependent on other people to keep him alive. Without his dad or me, Charles would be incapable of living. And I think, for the most part, Charles is okay with that, I think. As all of these thoughts were racing around my brain, I thought a child is a perfect example of how we are to be with God. God wants us to be like children. What is a baby like? A baby is dependent and trusting. A baby has faith that it will be fed, clothed, and provided for each and every day. A baby puts its hope and confidence in someone else other than itself. Every single moment of his day, a baby is wholly leaning on someone else to provide the life-giving elements he needs to keep breathing. In a word, a baby is humble because he looks to something outside of himself for what he needs to survive. Jesus calls us to turn from our proud ways and become like children. Jesus uses children as the example and goal for us to strive for in our Christian journey. But the truth is that sometimes I forget that everyone struggles with the fact that we need to not be prideful and humbly submit to God so that we can grow in faith and dependence upon Christ. Today My daughter sitting at the table taught me that we are never to busy to stop and Thank God and my son reminded me to be baby like and humbly submit to God so I can continue to grow in faith and teach my children what they have taught me today!

Charles Rolled Over On Friday

Ya!!! I am so proud of my baby boy. He continues to push himself. He is growing up and everyone is very pleased with his progress!

Daddy Daughter Hike

On Saturday Charlie and Hannah went hiking with some friends to a place called Twin Falls, it is about 20 minutes away from our house. She loved it and hiked a lot by herself. Her quick little feet were always keeping up with Dad. Some parts of the hike she rode in the pack but she had a great time with Dad. I foresee more of these Daddy Daughter hikes as she is like her daddy who loves the out doors and hiking. The Trail was a four mile trail with elevation gain of 1000ft. By the end Hannah was one tired little girl who took a catnap the last 20 minutes of the hike.

Brother Sister Love

The Kid's New Jogging Stroller

This past weekend we decided to take a trip to REI and buy a Double jogging stroller. We spent 2 hours in the store and finally found the right one for us. The BOB Revolution Duallie stroller. We love it and will get a lot of use out of it. We walk a lot and there are plenty of trails all around our house.

Bouncing My Baby

So the trick to feeding and calming Charles is to sit on a big exercise ball and to bounce while holding him upright and feeding him all at the same time. The same for calming him using a pacifier.
Now knowing that, Hannah went running upstairs the other day and got one of her baby dolls and a "passy" she had hidden. (one of Charles' of course) Came back down rolled a ball against the mantle and began to bounce her baby with the pacifier copying Charlie. It was so cute how she just loves to imitate everyone.

I'm A Big Girl

Hannah has become quite the "BIG Girl" as she would say. She loves to do everything we do. This past weekend she had taken off her diaper and sat on the potty with out us knowing. The pictures speak for themselves. She was very proud of herself as she had made the decision with out any suggestion from us.

Blessed

Wow where did the time go! It has been a busy last couple of months. Looking back we have all been through a lot, especially Charles. If there is one thing I have learned in the last couple of months is that God is always in control. He holds every breathe we take in the palm of His hands. As a parent it has been the hardest thing to see my little baby struggle. God brought Charles into this world and when Charles stopped breathing during the MRI, I realized how precious every moment is. What we thought was a simple scan turned in to be the scariest thing we have ever had to encounter. God breathed life back into my baby and what brings happy tears to me is that God is not finished with Charles and He has so many plans for him. When I think how the past couple of months have been the hardest for my family from Charlie having hernia repair surgery, to Hannah having a kidney infection, to Charles' feeding issues and breathing problems I realize how we are really being tested. There are days when it is so hard, yesterday Charles was struggling with feeding and we have to really be careful because in his swallow study they discovered he was aspirating. Along with that Hannah is still getting use to the fact that she has to share mommy. Even when it does get hard God has blessed me with two great kids and has given me patience to get through each day.