Just sent this note out to my sunday school class. I wanted to share with family and friends so that you can join us in praying for our miracle baby. In sharing, it is my hope that when you think of our family over the next few weeks that you stop and pray for us.

I am two months along in the pregancy of our fourth child. This alone is a miracle. Last week my second ultrasound showed a low heartbeat and slow growth of the baby. Over the past week we prayed for a miracle and got it today. The baby's heart rate went from 90 to 130 in one week. Unfortunately, the baby's growth is still alot slower than the doctors want. Basically, I am still at high risk for miscarriage and will be monitored weekly until we see positive steady growth. While hearing my sweet baby's heartbeat was the sweetest sound I have ever heard, I stuggle with just not knowing what is going to happen and hearing the doctors use words like "hopefully optimistic". Please pray for us. I take great peace and comfort in knowing the life of my baby is in my Heavenly Fathers hands. I am amazed at God's sustaining love and grace over the past weeks. We want to be open to His teaching and His sharpening through this trial. I am thankful for the body of Chirst who can join us in praying for this precious child. (My next appointment is next Wed.)

Home School Happy

I have been wanting to start posting some materials we use homeschooling that I love and could not live without. Versa Tiles is one of them. I actually got the ones I use back when I taught school. It is a self-checking, independent practice of phonics, math, or whatever you want to purchase. My little ones love it. And it is great to use when they need to work independently while I am helping Hamilton. You basicly use a set of tiles to complete a task on a page. Then when you are done you close the tile holder, flip, and check the back to see if the picture you made with the tiles matches the picture on the page. It really is great. Ordering from the Cuisenaire Website is expensive but you can find them on ebay and amazon too. Just thought I would share.

http://www.etacuisenaire.com/versatiles/versatiles_reading.jsp

Quick Beach Trip

This scrapbook design customized with Smilebox

Happy Fall

Fall Festival with some homeschool friends from church.



Everywhere I saw Hamilton, I saw Faith.  Does it really start this early?



Sweet Sam

Jack picking a pumpkin.

Mr. Cool.



Boys carving our pumpkin.



My boys from church over for Sunday lunch.

Sweet Edrick



Cute little Tibias




Yeah Tibias found a costume....Little AL.  Unfortunately he got the tummy bug and could not join us trick or treating on sorority row.



Best little buds.





Lugie and Mario.  They play the role perfectly. 




Mercades and LaChina joined us at the university for trick or treating. They took my boys by the hand and kept them under control the whole time.  I need to hire them out.



Little Jack in the bottom left is Tebo...too funny.



Our group from church.  Unfortunately the fun didn't last long.  The tornado alarms went off not long after we got there.  The party got cut short.



But Joey saved the day with 10 pizzas, so we went to the Church to enjoy fun fellowship and yummy pizza.

Some Days...

Some days I just get overwhelmed with it all.....

*  cleaning
*  cooking
*  homeschooling
*  laundry
*  church planning
*  lesson plans
*  breaking up fights
*  dealing with whinny kids
*  grocery shopping....while on tight budget
*  finding time to shower
*  more whinny kids
*  trying to find time to exercise
*  finding time to ebay to have hip money
*  trying to be a wife that isn't grumpy or complains while trying to love my husband and meet his needs

Most days I have a pretty decent grip on things.  Today I'm just struggling.

News On Sam

As you know, previously with PH (primary hyperoxaluria) patients, there is Type I and Type II Primary Hyperoxaluria and Samuel never fit into either of those groups (the liver biopsy last year ruled that out)  and he was in the group of PH patients we called PH Non I / Non II.  Samuel gave a blood sample a few months ago for a new research trial that was going on for children in this third group.  We spoke with his doctor at Mayo on a phone conference on Friday.  The study is complete and the new research finding has shown that there is a very small group of patients (that Samuel is part of) within the Non I -Non II group that do have similarities and this group is now being identified as PH Type 3 patients.  Doctors from Israel, France, and one from the US have found a genetic mutation on chromosome 10 that all of these children have in common.  More research has been requested of Samuel in the future.

Obviously, any new finding about hyperoxaluria is a great thing.  The more information research can give us, the better care Samuel and others who suffer from this horrible disease can get.  But on the flip side, his doctor did say we have been extremely blessed with overall good health for Samuel in regards to kidney's and stones and that it may not always be this way (probably will not always be this way).   She said he will have more stones.  He always has a high amount of oxalate that the kidneys have to filter.   Too much oxalate passing through the kidneys, whether in the form of a stone or not, causes kidney damage.   Renal failure in type 1 and type 11 is almost inevitable.  For Type 3, the verdict is still out on long term outlook because it literally has just been identified with the research Sam just took part of. 

Samuel's plan of care may or may not change at this point.  Our doctor from Mayo is going to get in contact with our doctor at Emory and talk about the best plan right now.  We are blessed that God has given Sam and huge huge thirst for liquid.  Sam drinks and drinks.  This is such a blessing.  Nothing is better for him than water and keeping his kidneys flushed.  I just need to make sure he is always drinking, especially in the summer when you loose a lot of liquid sweating and such.

I read the medical article published on the study that Sam took apart in last night.  It flies so high over my head.  So I plan to start breaking it down next week and learning all I can about what they found.  They want him to participate in a study in the Spring which we will have to fly to Rochester, MN to take part in.  I will do a lot of my own research before we agree to do that.  But obviously prayer for God's wisdom in this would be appreciated.   

So much for saying we were so good in the previous post.  We were literally hit all in one week with this. Sam has had strep throat which went to his kidney's causing back pain.   Now that we are on an antibiotic, it  is feeding a candida over growth  in Sam's body.  The  main symptom being  behavior.  I feel like the sweet little boy that was doing so well in terms of Asperger's has left,  and in his place is a very irritable and irrational little boy.  It breaks my heart Sam has so much on his plate.  I struggle with being overwhelmed with it all.  And because no one really knows what in the heck hyperoxaluria is and because very few people know he has Asperger's I semi feel very isolated in this struggle.  I am thankful for family. Family that loves me and loves Sam.  Family that is prayerful and supportive.   Hopefully much more info will come on type 3 and it will make our path a little straighter and our journey a little more predictable.   I do hate unknowns.

Right in Your Own Backyard

During our VBS this year we outreached the community near our church.  As a result, many new children attended VBS.  After VBS was, over the children continued to come to a summer music camp.  The hearts of these precious children weighed heavy on one specific chruch member, so we started feeding them dinner on Wed. night and having Wed night bible study for them.  Well these precious kids have multiplied since summer, and we are now faced with how to we minister and meet the needs of the children.  These kids have great needs.  Some of them come from abusive homes.  Some are in great need of food and clothing.  It just breaks your heart.  We have had some of these kids in our home over the past few months.  And when you spend time with them you cannot help but fall in love with them.  But then your hearts break for their situations and the life they are living which is no fault of there own. 

We have decided to start a mentoring / adopt a child ministry at our church.  Kris is heading up our first meeting tomorrow night.  We want to effectively serve these children and show them a different life that is offered through Christ.  Teaching them on Sunday morning and Sunday night is such a blessing.  They just love you.  Yesterday one of the little boys that comes over after church sometimes wanted to come over.  I explained that Sam was sick and that he couldn't come because I would not want him to get sick.  So he began to cry.  And that sweet boy just cried and cried.  But to to him my home is a huge, and the toys are great, and the food is good, and he is loved and played with.  Who know what goes on behind closed doors at his home.  I checked on him later in the morning when he went to his small group.  He was adding Sam's name to their Sunday School prayer list.  Dang, it makes me cry now.  Of all the needs he has, not wants but needs, he is going to add Sam's name to the prayer list.    I thank God for these kids.  I love that through this I am able to teach my children how to serve God by serving others.  I currently struggle with that mothers heart that honestly just wants to take them and never bring them home.  I have begged Kris on more that one occassion to lets just buy a big house and adopt them.  (you know I would have 50 kids if I could...the more the better)    But then my level headed husband reminds me that they have moms and don't need another one.  I just hate seeing a child in need.  So pray for this ministry and these children.  They are so open to the teaching of the gospel.  I can't wait to see how God uses this mentoring ministry to reach these children for His kingdom.

Is he not the cutest thing you have ever layed eyes on?  He now gets in my car and either searches for a DS or crawls in the front to start a movie.  I love him.

BLESSED

My sweet Sam celebrated his 6th birthday the end of September.  We celebrated with Kris's parents, cousins, and friends all on different days.  His birthday seemed to be a week long.  He chose to have 2 friends from the ball field over instead of having a big party which was fine with me.  Sam is just a delight and anyone who knows him would agree.  He is wild, crazy, fun, loving, sensitive, and just the life of every party.  Kris and I just adore him and our life would be so so so boring without him. 

He continues to make amazing strides with both kidneys and aspergers issues.  We have managed to stay stone free for a while now........  Amazing and totally God.  We do continue to work with Mayo Clinic and are now being seen at Emory yearly or as needed.  I feel so lucky that his heath is great.  I am so so so thankful for heathly children.  My heart breaks for parents who go through horrible illness and disease with their chlildren. 

One of the things Sam struggles with on the Aspergers front is sensory issues.  Fire has always terrified him.  He doesn't even like candles to be on his birthday cake.  This year for the first time Sam requested candles on his cake.  Talk about making a Mama cry.  He also hates loud noises.  But on the 4th of July we visited Fairhope for a firework show and he LOVED it.  Today we had to visit the doctor because he has been running fever with a sore throat.  They swabbed his throat for a culture.  In the past years, this has sent him into total melt down mode, just irritional behavior.  But today he smiled and said "is that all?"  I just feel like he is making so much progress.  Kris and I have been so patient with him.  I feel like we have simply given him a safe environment and loved him through this.   I just feel so grateful for Sam, his health, and the progress he has made over the past year.  It is a privilige to be his mother, and I look forward to watching him grow and mature.  I know God has BIG plans for this precious boy.