David takes the runway..

A few months ago, my silly 4 year old was asked to be in a fashion show that benefited the Make a Wish Foundation. He gladly excepted the challenge and joined about a dozen kids from the MB area to strut his stuff...

I have to admit, I was a little nervous. David was one of the youngest kids in the show and he had a long wait "backstage" until his turn to walk. However, he was happy to take his turn in the spotlight! He marched down the runway and took his time at the end... then he struck a pose and walked off. He loved it and the crowd loved him :)!

He was so handsome in the outfit picked for him...

My hot husband also had a turn to show off some clothes!



We had a great night... Aunt Courtney and Uncle Ryan were in town so they babysat Jonathan while the rest of us enjoyed the show! It was fun and we were very proud of David for braving the crowd!

I love this guy!

He is constantly...

singing...

talking...

helping...

teaching his brother...

entertaining...

laughing...

eating...

imagining...

and making me feel like the most blessed mommy in the world! David is growing up so quickly and we are amazed to see how God speaks to him already at the age of 4. While we are aware he is not perfect, we are truly humbled to watch such a sweet little boy grow up before our eyes. We love you so much David!!!

Jon's diagnosis...

Well, we seem to have found a solution to all of this little monkey's problems :)! Jonathan has 3 different issues that are causing his diapers to be so horrible and him constantly getting sores in his throat...

1. He has acid reflux! Who knew?!? Actually, I asked our pediatrician about this last spring, but she ruled it out (we have since changed pediatricians, not just for this reason but it certainly supported our decision). We are starting a prescription for this 2x's per day...

2. His body doesn't breakdown/tolerate whey (or any other dairy product, however he doesn't intake any other dairy related enzymes due to his allergy). He now takes an over the counter lactose chewable pill with every meal...

3. His pancreas is inflamed and doesn't make the right amount of enzymes that helps the body breakdown/digest food. He is taking a prescription for this before every meal as well...

We are thrilled to have a diagnosis and are thankful that they are relatively easy to "fix". Jonathan should outgrow these problems and we are looking forward to our break in drives to/from Columbia for a few months. We go back in February to evaluate how things are going unless we don't see more change before then. We truly PRAISE THE LORD for protecting Jonathan as we pushed to find answers, allowing him to thrive even though his body was not absorbing nutrients and essential vitamins. We have seen God's protection and confirmation as we questioned how strongly we needed to push the doctors and not take "he'll be fine" for an answer. We are thankful for the doctors that did push for further testing and the need for an answer... we have seen God work in all of this and to have a diagnosis is certainly a burden lifted from our shoulders. Thank you for praying and being concerned for our little man. We know God has great things planned for his (HEALTHY) life!!!

Endoscopy Success!

Here is our little man, full of life and energy! Jon did great during his endoscopy last week. Thanks for praying! He was peaceful and well behaved during the 2 hour wait before his procedure. He could not eat or drink anything, so that was obviously the most difficult part. Children's Hospital (aka, "Bayler's hospital") in Columbia did an amazing job of keeping Jonathan happy and entertained. In addition to the staff, I was so thankful Dee Dee and Mimi were there to help! We will find out the results of the biopsy (of the small intestine & stomach) on Nov. 4th. However, we are happy to report that the pancreas medicine his on seems to be helping! Here are few more resent pictures of our little guy...

He was happy to pose for me, but when school picture day arrived, he told them all "NO" and refused to even sit in the chair!


Look at those cheeks! He doesn't look like a child who has spent months not absorbing nutrients, does he :)?!?

All things medical...

I guess that is what my blog has turned into... something I update when life lends time to do so, which means I mostly just update on who has what appointment next! First things first is Jon. Our follow up appointment to the GI doctor was actually good. We saw the nurse practictioner this time and I really liked her better than the doctor. The short of it is, Jon doesn't have Celiac Decease or a zinc issue. They have determined that he is losing nutrients faster than his body can absorb them, which they believe may have something to do with the enzymes in his stomach/intestines or pancreas. So, we return for an endoscopy on the 22nd. Sadly, they will have to put him to sleep but the procedure is quick. We hope this is the case as you can simply add enzymes through supplements... meaning we are back to eating anything he wants except what he is allergic to! I never thought I would be so happy to ONLY have to cut out dairy, eggs, and peanuts!!! He is enjoying his couscous again :).

Bayler Bean is about to undergo some serious treatments that his doctors in Columbia and specialists from Sloan Kettering in NYC are working on together to offer him. Please keep him in your prayers! We have hope, but the last week has been difficult for his entire family.

Brittany and baby Oliver are still hanging in there... she will be 36 weeks next week and we hope to have an estimated arrival date sometime soon. She visits both her urologist and ob this week!

The rest of us have had our fair share of the flu/strep/tummy bugs, but hope to all be well soon. Then I can post about something other than doctor's visits and treatments! God is good and giving us strength daily... oh, and Wellspring is rocking!!! We LOVE what God is doing here in Myrtle Beach. Hope to post some of those pictures soon (must get them from Beth).

Pray for Bayler **UPATED**

**Bayler is scheduled to have surgery Tuesday morning at 7:30am. The doctors will go in and remove the tumor and then we will wait 2 days for the results to know if the tumor is Neuroblastoma or something else. Here are some ways you can pray specifically, and of course you can check out his site as well...

*Comfort for Bayler and the rest of his family. He is brave, but we ask that you pray for a peace BEYOND UNDERSTANDING for Bayler! His family could use the same peace :).
*Wisdom for the doctors as they determine the next steps.
*Healing!!!

Jon-Jon has his follow-up appointment at the GI doctor Tuesday as well. Therefore, I will be in Columbia and hope to see Bayler following surgery. Pray we have answers as well on Tuesday.

Brittany is doing better, though she is still in a lot of pain. We were able to see her some this weekend and I must say, she is just the cutest little pregnant lady ever :)! She is resting a lot and we hope to meet a healthy Baby Oliver in about 4 more weeks!

Thank you for praying for my family. We are in a place in life that physical healing is a heavy burden. Thank you for sharing that burden with us and praising God, even in the storm!

ORIGINAL POST:
Here we are again... Bayler got some not great reports today after some scans. They found a tumor on his brain. They are unsure if it is alive or not, but a neurosurgeon is being called in and it looks like they will try to remove it as soon as possible. Please pray that the tumor is not alive and that he can be cancer free soon. We are so sad for this little fighter... however, we trust God will be glorified and Bayler will be healed. Thank you for your prayers!

*Since I have proven myself to be a slack blogger, please feel free to visit his caring bridge site (located on my side bar) and leave him a message!

Prayer

*Updated* Brittany is home from the hospital. She and Matt opted not to do anything invasive that could possibly hurt Oliver. She will be working from home part time until she reaches a safe enough date to deliver Oliver, braving the pain with minimal meds. Modified bed rest will hopefully help and she can get some much needed rest for the next few weeks. I told her to sleep now... because when Oliver makes his appearance, she will be shocked at how tired she'll be :)! Thanks for your prayers!

And Bayler goes to clinic today... pray for good results!

If you follow me on twitter or facebook, you know I asked for prayer for my family yesterday. I didn't specifically mean just Jon, but we certainly needed prayer as well... here is an update on my little wild man and more prayer requests:

Jon-Jon saw the pediatric GI doctor in Columbia yesterday. I can't say that I was overly assured we are on a way to figuring out what is going on with him, however we ARE taking slow steps in the right direction. He had a complete blood panel taken to check for Celiac Disease, vitamin/mineral deficency, and a few other things. In the mean time (until our visit 2 weeks from now) we are trying probiotics again and this time I am keeping a complete food/stool diary to review on October 6th. He did mention toddler diaherria which sent my blood pressure raging... diapers like Jon's are NOT simply toddler diaherria. Especially when they have been this way for months and months. Anyway, I feel positive about the steps we are taking and hope we can have some answers soon!

Please pray for my sister, Brittany. She is 32 weeks pregnant with little Oliver and it turns out her right kidney is failing. She is having complications with testing and such because she doesn't want to harm the baby. They believe they can put a stint in to buy her some time so Oliver can "cook" a little more... however, she is in a lot of pain and is currently in the hospital so they can manage it and figure out the best options for her and little Ollie. I will keep you updated as I know more. The good news is she lives in Charleston so she has amazing doctors and if Oliver had to come early, his care would be top notch.

And we are always praying for our Bayler. Please continue to pray that the cancer stays away and he thrives as he tries to "get back to normal" soon!

Thank you for praying! We KNOW God is bigger than all of these things and He is in control. Truly comforting... and my life line during times like these!

*These are some pictures from the park yesterday before Jon's appointment. I am tired of seeing my little guy with puffy eyes every time I turn on the computer :).