Caught off guard

Grace with prize/bribe after injection (she talked me into going to American Girl Store and getting PJs for her doll and matching ones for her.  Her braids are from her trip....and yes, I promise I will post photos soon.)

Thank you for your prayers, emails, and phone calls regarding Grace's appointment at Children's yesterday.  It was a very tough day for her...one of the toughest she has had since surgery.  Just as they had told me, the injection really did hurt and Grace reacted to a needle for the first time in her life.  I think we were both caught off guard because she has become so used to needles in her lifetime...but thankfully, we serve a loving God that was not caught off guard and He had a wonderfully, loving nurse stationed there to take very good care of Grace.  We are so thankful for sweet Martha Cate and for her loving arms and encouraging words.  It's been a long time since we have both been that sad but we were comforted by the sweet hands of Jesus.

I am also thankful that we have 27 days until the next one!  Although Grace is very sore today, she continues to amaze me with her sweet spirit.  When she woke up, she hobbled down the stairs and told me that even though she hurt, she had so many things to be thankful for.  I pray that the soreness goes away soon and that she never loses her sweet spirit through this medical storm that never seems to end.  I also pray that the treatments will be effective.

Thank you for your continued prayers for our family.

In Him,

Carrie   

Growing stronger each day

Thank you for your continued prayers regarding our family.  We have had a good week this past week.  We were able to visit a few spots around Dallas that the kids enjoy going to and Grace did pretty well.  We also made a few short visits to the pool, which Grace always loves and on one of those trips she saw some school friends and really enjoyed her time with them.  So, all in all, a good week with Grace continuing to make progress and grow stronger and stronger. Praise God!

Please continue to pray for Grace for the coming week and for the many weeks ahead.  She will be going to Children's on Tuesday to begin treatment that she will have every 28 days for about 3 years.  She will receive an injection of a medication, that we have been told is quite painful and then we will have to wait about an hour to make sure she doesn't have a reaction.  We pray that the treatment is successful in treating her pituitary cyst and that there will be no side effects for Grace.  We are so thankful for all the doctors involved in this decision and for the Lord's guidance.  

Thank you for your continued prayers for our family!

In His Love,

Carrie

  

Vacation Bliss

Thank you so much for your prayers while we were away.  We ended up having a wonderful vacation and are so thankful that we were able to get away!  God heard us and answered our prayers and we are so thankful to Him!  We are rested, relaxed, and ready to do life in Dallas again! 

We ended up spending 9 days in our favorite beach spot in the entire world, a little place in the US Virgin Islands on St. John called Caneel Bay.  It is absolutely gorgeous and for me, it is my version of the Garden of Eden, here on earth.  Our little spot is just steps from the baby blue water, a place that offers such a tranquil, peaceful setting and really restores my soul every time I am there.  I am always so amazed at how wonderful the people are there, how kind and giving they are to us and how much they love their island.  They don't have much at all, but they are filled with such joy and it is really refreshing to talk with them.

Thank you for your prayers for Grace.  It was really good to get her out of Dallas and into a different climate and environment.  Even though, she still had days that she didn't feel well, she was able to lie in her bed and look out into the water and be at peace...knowing that no one would be taking her to the dr anytime soon.  She also had one day that she played on the beach and in the water for hours and for that one day it was so good to see a glimpse of the child that she will one day become again, once she gets all of her strength and endurance back.  All in all, it was a good trip for her and she came back with her island braids again. She looks really cute.

Cannon and Kevin had a great time too.  They spent a lot of time snorkeling and looking at a lot of different things underwater, like eel, turtles, barracuda, at least those are the really cool things that Cannon mentioned.  Cannon continues to grow up before our very eyes...and growing taller every day.  I continue to thank the Lord for his desire to be in His Word each day.  We have been reading through the Proverbs and he and I have really enjoyed some great discussions regarding all that God has to teach us about wisdom. 

For me, I think the most important thing that God taught me on this trip was to continue to trust God's perfect plan even through the pain and the hardships.  On one of the days that Grace was feeling really sick and was in a lot of pain and I had already had several conversations with God that went something like this, "Ok, I just don't understand this God, we're here, in a beautiful place, I look up and down the beach and see other boys and girls enjoying the beach and the water, I'm really trying to trust you, Lord, but I just can't seem to understand why Grace can't just feel good.  Oh, why, Lord, does she continue to feel so badly?  Can't you please, please take this pain away from my sweet baby girl?  I just want her to run up and down the beach with the other kids, please?"  I was sitting in a chair by the water but I kept looking back at the window where Grace was lying in bed.  About that time, the woman, Beth, who was staying next to us walked up to me and asked me if my little girl was feeling ok.  She had noticed that she had been inside all day.  We started talking and I found out that she was a speech pathologist in Atlanta and she has a patient, who is three years old that has a similar diagnosis that Grace has.  His parents, who are friends of Beth, have been given a very poor prognosis and after watching Grace the past few days, Beth was very encouraged.  I ended up giving Beth my email and phone number to give to this family so that we could talk more and I could hopefully encourage them more.  I walked away from the conversation with Beth, asking God to forgive me for not trusting Him, thanking God, and being reminded that He does have a purpose and He is in control.  I know that I would not have had that conversation with Beth, if Grace had not been sick that day.  Thank you God for your plan is greater than mine will ever be!  2 Corinthians 1:3-4 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." 

Thanks again for your prayers regarding our family.  Please continue to pray for Grace to grow stronger, for pain to subside, for wisdom regarding her medical tests and decisions that we will need to make, and for us to continue to be able to enjoy the rest of our summer.  Stay tuned for pictures of Grace and our trip!

In His Love,

Carrie        

We're out of here!!!

Thank you for your prayers.  Grace felt better by the morning of the 4th and her body held up pretty well throughout the day.  She loved our neighborhood parade, came home and rested, enjoyed swimming for a few hours, came home and rested, and then ended the evening with friends and fireworks.  We were very thankful for a great day for her!

Sunday and today have been spent resting a lot but Grace doesn't seem to mind too much.  She keeps busy by reading, playing with her toys, and sometimes even arguing with her brother.  We also made another trip to the dr today to have her elbow rechecked.  For some reason, it's having a hard time healing completely.  We continue to pray for complete healing so that she won't have to undergo another MRI.    

Tomorrow, our family will be going on a vacation and I'm not sure who is the most excited about it.  We are all thrilled that the drs have agreed that Grace is able to travel!  Grace seems very excited to have a break from tutoring, working on math and language skills, and to know that we don't have ANY drs appts or trips down to Children's scheduled for at least 2 weeks!  I wanted to let each of you know so that you could cover us in prayer.  We ask for specific prayer regarding:  travel safety, Grace's health while we are away, fun family times, rest, relaxation, and most of all that we would be able to shine our lights brightly for Jesus while we are away.

Thank you for your prayers.

Love,

Carrie

Keep Praying Please

The last few days for Grace have been pretty hard.  She hasn't felt very well and I'm not sure if she picked up a bug from Children's or if it's just more of the same.  The heat has also really become a factor for her as well, and so I am thankful that we are blessed with air-conditioning!  

We continue to pray for her body to grow stronger and for her to feel well again.

Thank you for your continued prayers,

Carrie