I Am Thankful...

Today I am thankful for hand-me-downs. I have a friend who gives me EVERYTHING her cute son grows out of from all of his clothes (she dresses him super cute..which is a bonus :), to his little toddler bed (also REALLY cute), to the toys that he has outgrown in the past three years (swing, excersaucer, and much more). This has been such a blessing for our family. Literally every time I think to myself that Taeden needs more of a particular clothing item, Jen calls my sister and has ANOTHER bag of cute clothes for us. Today we got a bag full of long sleeve shirts, which couldn't have come at a more perfect time because A. it just started getting cold here in So. Cal. and B. Taeden has about two long sleeve shirts...not anymore! So thanks, Jen, I am not sure if you even read this blog of mine, but I am just so overwhelmed at how the Lord provides THROUGH YOU and your sweet family I had to let people know!!

I am also thankful that we are surrounded by such sweet and thoughtful people at Brandon's school. One of the teachers, also a friend, came by the other day and took the CUTEST pictures of Macalan and spent a lot of time out of her busy schedule to do it. The pictures came out amazing...(they are the ones posted above...see,... amazing!) Also, every week Brandon comes home with coupons that people have cut out for us for diapers. This just strikes me as very thoughtful as it shows that people are thinking of us throughout their busy days. And I love it, because having two kids in diapers is definitely NOT cheap. :) We also have people who we know will watch our kids for us, that we completely trust, which is awesome. Although I must say, I don't know what I would have done without my sister during these past two years. She is truly the most easy going, kind person I know and is so so generous with her time. She has watched my kids, mostly Taeden, so many times and I know I can always count on her. I have been especially thankful for her the past two months as she has had Taeden A LOT because of all the hospital visits and doctors apts. So thanks, Ker, I don't know what I would do without you...seriously, I really don't know...so you can't move in May!! :) Your the best sister and I love you!!

We have also been blessed by prayer. I know that our family has been surrounded by it for the past two months, since Macalans birth, and we are so grateful. We have felt incredibly loved! So thank you, all of you who have shown us such great love...we are beyond blessed!

Finally Some Answers...

So we just got back from spending practically ALL day at UCLA with Macalan meeting with doctors and getting more bloodwork done. We are thankful to finally have an answer as to why things happened in his little body when he was first born. The doctors have come to the conclusion that he has what is called pyruvate kinase definciency disease. They will not know the severity of it until his blood levels "settle" which does not happen until 4 months to 2 years of age, but basically what we were told is that we really just need to watch him when he gets sick (with colds, etc.) because that is when possible problems would arise. They will continue to check all of his blood levels to make sure blood transfusions are not necessary. We are so thankful that we trust in a sovereign God who has had His hand in all of this and are thankful that for now Macalan is thriving and doing so well (he even slept from 10-5 last night...so he is my little champion)! Below I will cut and paste some info on the disorder for those who are curious...

Definition:
Pyruvate kinase deficiency is an inherited deficiency of the enzyme pyruvate kinase, which is used by red blood cells. Without this enzyme, red blood cells break down too easily, resulting in low levels of these cells (hemolytic anemia).Pyruvate kinase deficiency is transmitted as an autosomal recessive trait, which means that a child must get the defective gene from both parents to develop the disorder.
There are many different types of enzymatic defects of the red blood cell which can cause hemolytic anemia. Pyruvate kinase deficiency is the second most common cause of enzymatic-related hemolytic anemia. (G-6-PD deficiency is the number one cause.)
Pyruvate kinase deficiency may produce mild or severe hemolysis and anemia. Problems may first appear in the newborn as prolonged jaundice and anemia. Older children may be pale (due to anemia) and have intermittent episodes of jaundice.

Treatment:
Blood transfusions may be needed for severe anemia. Removal of the spleen (splenectomy) may help to reduce the destruction of red blood cells; however, this should not necessarily be performed as it does not help in all cases. In newborns with dangerous levels of jaundice, an exchange transfusion is likely to be recommended.
If a splenectomy was done, the person should receive pneumococcal vaccine at recommended intervals.

Expectations (prognosis):
The outcome varies. Some people have few or no symptoms, others have severe symptoms. Treatment is usually successful in reducing the severity of symptoms.
Complications:
Gallstones, composed of bilirubin produced in excess during hemolytic anemia, are a common problem. Severe pneumococcal disease following splenectomy is a possible complication.

Happy Birthday Taeden!

Yesterday we celebrated Taeden's second birthday. Its hard to believe that it has been two years since I became a mom. Taeden has blessed us more than I could have ever imagined. We are constantly entertained by his personality...(he has a lot of it), in awe of how loving he is to his little brother and melt a little each time when he says I love you (which sounds more like la-da-la-da-la) and gives us kisses. He is such a joy and so full of life, but we are very much aware that he is a sinner and needs a Savior. This has led Brandon and I to the Lord in prayer for our boys salvation often. It is our hearts greatest desire that both of our children would grow up and understand their need for a Savior and that they will one day live for Him.

We celebrated the day, just the three of us (we left Macalan with my sister). We started out at the doughnut shop where Taeden found his love for sprinkled doughnuts and made our way to the zoo for the rest of the day. Taeden had never been so we knew he would love it, but I don't think we were prepared for how much he loved it! Just an example...he practically had a minor panic attack of excitement when we pulled into the parking lot and he saw a black bird..so you can only imagine what it was like when we saw giraffes, monkeys and seals, he literally had a little party outside each cage....he was in heaven. It was such a fun day for Brandon and I to see Taeden absolutely enamored by what he saw and we loved every second of it. Here are some pics of our day...

Smiles and Sleep

Well, our little guy has been smiling for a few weeks now and I finally caught a few on camera...seriously, I have been trying so hard to get it on film for the past two weeks and have come to the conclusion that when you have young kids you need one of those really nice cameras that just click away. Mine, unfortunately, never quite captures the moment that I envisioned it capturing...oh well, hopefully you'll enjoy the ones I did get. :) Also, Taeden has come up with a new camera face where he closes his eyes and gives a really cheesy smile. Its pretty funny and makes for some hilarious pictures. All this to say, a family Christmas picture this year is kind of a long shot, but I am going to try for one anyway.

Macalan also is giving me a little more sleep each night!! He takes his last feeding at 10 and has been sleeping until 3:30. This means we are on our way to sleeping through the night...hopefully in the next few weeks...I could really use it :) (if you saw me, you'd probably agree...hats are my very best friend these days!!)