Flying

Time has flown by since I posted last. I thought the school year was busy, but the summer has put it to it's sorry shame. I admit that I am looking forward to school starting again just so things will calm down a bit.

We have had a wonderful and busy summer, but it's been great having the kids home all day. In just a few weeks, I will be by myself all morning long as Hannah and Isaac will be in school, and David will be in preschool. I don't know what I will do with myself!

All children are continuing to imitate weeds and grow themselves out of every article of clothing in their closets and drawers. Hannah is nearly taller than me (not that this is a difficult feat, but impressive non-the-less). Her hands are already bigger than mine, and I bet that before another year passes, she will indeed be taller than me. Isaac has enjoyed having his friends at home this summer and is putting on a brave face at the prospect of going back into public school this year. I know that he will do great, he's such a happy and friendly guy. David is a bundle of energy. He's so excited about going to preschool, and will be stylin' with all his John Deere gear (backpack, tshirt, and hat). I think it will be great for him to be around some kids his age, and I know that he will learn so much.

I am enjoying my job at the church! Our youth are such amazing people, and my boss is also a great guy. It's a great outlet for me, and I love knowing that I am doing something long lasting and meaningful.

Rob continues to do well at work, and we have enjoyed this period of relative stability in our lives.

Events that are coming up:
1. David goes in for his first in office visit with the eye doctor on August 25. We would appreciate your prayers that this would be a smooth visit and that David will be docile and cooperative with the doctor so that our days of exams under anesthesia can be over. This day also happens to be the first day of school for the big kids, and also Isaac's birthday.
2. David's next MRI will be sometime in September. I am not sure of the date yet, but will let you all know asap. As always, prayers for a smooth sedation for David and great results are coveted for these.

Thanks for your prayers and caring!

-Kim

4 Years

Last Monday, May 30, we celebrated David's 4 years on this earth! We find it hard to believe all those 4 years have held for us, but we are so grateful that God has allowed us to have our little guy for that long!

As of right now, things are going very well. One of our biggest challenges right now is getting David's eye to stay in and stay comfortable. He is taking it out about every 36 hours or so, and no matter how much lubricant I put on it, it seems to be uncomfortable. This is pretty frustrating to me, but I am trying to keep things in perspective. We will hopefully have an appointment with the eye doctor in the next month or so, and we are hoping that he can give us a little help on this issue. Other than that, though we may just have to bide our time until we can get a new eye made (we have to wait a few more months in order for insurance to pay).

Our second big challenge is that David is wetting the bed most nights. I know that a lot of this is because he plays so hard in the heat and he sleeps so hard once he gets into bed that he just doesn't wake up.

We would appreciate your prayers for both of these issues to be resolved in the near future.

Hannah and Isaac are both doing well. Isaac did very well on his homeschool testing, and will be returning to public school next year. Hannah is about to finish up school, and she just performed in her first piano recital! She did such a great job!

Rob and I are just enjoying this period of relative normalcy!

Thanks for your prayers and partnership,

-Kim

Polished

Tomorrow, I take David to the ocularist to get his eye all polished up. I think he will probably do a little fitting as well. Hopefully this will help David to be more comfortable with the eye. It is really bothering him lately, and spends more time out than in. I have a feeling this has a lot to do with the amount of pollen in the air and the fact that his eye doesn't make tears, but who knows.

Other than that, we are doing well, and are only one month away from celebrating his 4 years on the earth!

Hope all of you are safe today and that none of you were affected by the storms of yesterday and last night.

-Kim

Aaaaah!

I can't believe I didn't update you all on David's last MRI.

It was CLEAR!!

The whole process this time was much smoother. David took the "Happy Medicine" before they tried to put in an IV, and although he still cried, he was much less worked up when they started to run the sedation. This meant that they didn't have to use as much of the medicine this time as they usually do, and he woke up much easier. All of his bloodwork was fine too.

We know that people were praying for us that day as there is no other explanation for why things went as smoothly as they did. David is growing like a weed, and will turn 4 years old next month!

As to other prayer requests, I had some dental work done and was on an antibiotic for my swollen glands. So far, this seems to have cleared everything up! I am very thankful since I was beginning to be in a good deal of pain.

Hannah and Isaac are doing really well. Hannah is in her last quarter at school, and she is doing amazing! Isaac is also about to finish up his year of homeschool, and he is doing so well. I really feel like he is going to move on to next year with a great foundation in the basics. As of now, he will continue to homeschool for one more year, and then we will re-evaluate.

Things continue to be busy, but good. We appreciate your prayers so much!

-Kim

March 1

Hi everyone,

I wanted to give you all an update on how things are going.

David is doing really well. He is growing and learning so much. He had a very short bout with the flu in January, but he seems to have recovered quite well. He goes in for his next MRI and oncology follow up March 11, so we would appreciate your prayers about that. Right now, he is enrolled to go to preschool next year at our church! He is very very excited.

Hannah is enjoying school and doing very well. She made friends quickly and is learning so much. We are really proud of her. She is also going to have a speaking part in her grade's play on March 15, and she is having a piece of artwork sent to an art contest!

Isaac is really working hard in homeschool and doing very well. I am pleased with the progress he's made this year, and we are planning on homeschooling him again next year. He is doing well in Cub Scouts, and is very helpful to me around the house and with David during the day. He loves to read and study history!

Rob and I are doing well. I have been having some trouble with some swollen glands. After having them checked out, it seems that I keep fighting off infections one after the other. I would appreciate your prayers for these to subside since they do cause me some discomfort. Rob's job is still great!

I'll try to update again as soon as we get the results from the MRI!

-Kim

Begin

"He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God."
Psalm 40:2-3a

Tomorrow we will have completed the first full week of a new year. It's hard for me to believe that even this first small piece has gone by so quickly.

David did not end up having an MRI in December. After the change in oncologists, we got onto a wrong MRI schedule. His last one was done 3 months early, and instead of making him go through all that again, we are just going to keep him on a wonky schedule. I am glad. MRIs are no fun for anyone. David is becoming quite anxious before his doctor's visits too, so it's nice to have one where the worst thing that happens is a finger stick for bloodwork.

As we go into this new year, I feel like I am starting to emerge from a cloud. There is still a little haze, but I am starting to see things with a little more clarity again. I guess for the past 3 years I was just trying to make it through, but I didn't even really know what that meant. Everything was starting to shut down: my brain, my body, even my soul. It was a very dark time for me in every way. My prayer every day was, "Just let me make it to bed tonight." I couldn't finish my thoughts, my sentences; in many ways, I couldn't even pray. Not because I didn't want to, just because that fog so inhabited my brain that I simply couldn't complete those tasks.

I am feeling a bit better now.

I know that this isn't over. We still will have the same stress and anxiety each time we take David in for an exam. And we don't know what the future holds. I do know that this will not be the last valley we pass through in our lives.

I am thankful for those of you who have prayed and continue to pray in our stead. I am thankful for the love and support you all gave to us. I am thankful for people I don't even know who have lifted my gaze out of the valley through deed, word, song. I don't know how people can live without the Body of Christ around them.

Rob and I have been running together for the past 6 months or so. This is nothing new to him since he ran in both high school and college. It is a new experience for me, however. One of the things I notice is: it doesn't take much time or work to run down a hill into a valley, but getting up a hill is another story. Your muscles burn, you can't get enough air in your lungs, your pace gets slower and slower, and mentally you feel like you can't take another step. But once you crest that hill, your pace quickens, your lungs fill with air again, your muscles feel strong.

So, I guess as we begin this year, I feel like we have crested this hill. I know we couldn't have done it without all of you at our backs.

-Kim

Holiday

Hi friends.

Here's a little update on what is going on in our lives.

David had and eye exam about 1 month ago. Everything checked out fine. We don't have to go back to see the eye doctor for 6 months! This is the longest time we've ever been without seeing him since David was born!

We take David in on Friday, Dec. 10, for his next MRI. Thankfully, we have the earliest appointment - 8am. This will help to make the day a little easier as he will not have to fast as long, and we will have more time for him to wake up in order to go upstairs to see the oncologist.

Hannah has been back in public school now for about a month. She is really enjoying it and is doing well. She is learning that in order to keep up with the work, she needs to be much neater and more organized - a good life lesson, but a hard one for her. She's still taking piano lessons, and she's doing so well! I love to hear her practice each afternoon. She is entering the emotional roller coaster pre-teen years, so please pray for her mental, emotional, and spiritual protection as she enters this chaotic time.

Isaac continues to homeschool. I have seen a huge improvement in several areas this year. He is still having some struggles with focus and concentration, so please pray that we will be able to come up with some good tools to help him deal with that.

Both of the kids are feeling the need for some great friendships. There are a few kids around in the neighborhood that they play with, but they don't get to play with them that much. Please pray for some great friendships for them that will help them to grow as people and as young Christians.

Rob and I are doing fairly well. Rob's latest cholesterol test showed that all his levels are back in the normal range. We have worked hard on our diet to bring his levels down, so we were very excited by this news. Both of us have struggled with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Rob worse than me. Lately, these episodes have been less frequent and not as bad as they have been in the past. This is a huge praise, since these episodes can be quite debilitating. We have been hit especially poignantly this holiday season of all the many blessings God has poured on our lives. We are so grateful to Him and to all of you for extending yourselves to us.

My parents are doing quite well. My dad is coming right along with the demolition of the burned house, and they are working on house plans for the new house. Their main focus right now is to build the house back basically the same as it was, but with a few changes that will make it more handicap accessible for my mom in her older years. There were several areas of the house that need a good bit of tweaking to make them really handicap accessible, so I know they would appreciate prayers that they will be able to make smart changes.

My grandmother continues to decline both mentally and physically. This is proving to be a huge challenge for both of my parents as Grandma is very disoriented. They could all use your prayers for God's grace.

My brother is trying to get back into his dissertation, but this has been a challenge for him. He is feeling quite disorganized still and this is quite discouraging to him. We would appreciate your prayers for encouragement, mental clarity and stamina, productivity, and for things to come together with his committee for his defense. He is so close to finishing!

Sorry to be so long winded. I have been trying to sit and write an update for some time, but haven't seemed to be able to get it done. We pray that all of you will have a particularly sweet Christmas and New Year. We love you all.

-Kim