What a wonderful holiday season!

Well, we just celebrated Preston's 30th birthday and I feel like our holiday stretch has come to an end : ) These past few months have been alot of fun! Since the boys' birthdays, we have had another 4 birthdays in our family along with the normal holidays. It'll keep you busy! We were able to spend Thanksgiving with both sides of our family. The Clarks on Thanksgiving day and then we joined The Bunches in Columbia for a Mizzou football game and more eating! We had Christmases in Rog and Dexter and finally got to put our house to good use when family came in for a late Christmas celebration that happened to fall over New Years. It was a blast!

The past couple months have been filled with fun but also some frustration and really hard times for me, primarily with feeding Carson. Thankfully, we are in a better spot right now. It just isn't one of those journeys that only gets better. It is often one step forward and two steps back. Carson is still making progress overall but there are days he seems to gag on everything and doesn't want to eat anything. I always wrestle with the question of how much to push without turning him away from food completely. We had to increase his tube feeding for the first time in the past year (because he wasn't gaining weight at the rate the dietician was wanting). It wasn't a big increase but it still seemed like a big failure at the time. Thankfully, after being down in the dumps for awhile I realized it is nothing to worry about. It actually is a blessing of a feeding tube and bottom line, I want what is best for Carson.  I never knew how incredibly hard this feeding process would be and I hate that meal times are my least favorite part of the day. We actually have some pretty fun times at the table but I just feel like I'm always holding my breath as to how Carson will eat, will he gain weight, etc. and then the bigger thoughts...will we ever have a meal where we all eat the same thing and both boys will be eating independently WITHOUT our help. Which I know are thoughts that are best left in the future, where they belong, but they still cross my mind at times. Anyways, I continue to ask for prayers for healing of Carson's airway and swallow. Oh, can I also ask for prayers for me not to have to deal with the typical toddler eating issues (liking something one day and hating it the next) ; ) because I know some of Carson's is just that...He IS a 3 year old (but add in legitimate swallowing and feeding problems)! Ha! All in all, I continue to learn how important and how powerful a thankful heart can be. It turns the roughest days into okay days, it points my focus towards the positives and opens my eyes to all the little miracles that do happen every day. "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

We did have a good report when we went for several of Carson's follow up appointments in St. Louis this week. Plastic surgery says Carson's scar has healed great, the skin is soft and looks good. So we should NOT have any problems with it restricting his range of motion. We will only follow up every couple of years and surgery will likely only be needed for cosmetic reasons if we/Carson decided to. Carson was discharged from the cardiology service. His heart checks out great! Wahoo!!! He had been followed distantly by cardiology due to a couple PFO's that needed to close up (they did on their own) and some changes in the heart that were caused by the teratoma and ECMO in his beginning weeks of life but unless we have any concerns, we will not be following up further. Praise the Lord! Otherwise, we still follow up with GI yearly for managment of his Prevacid and with Endocrinology 1-2 times/year for management of his thyroid levels. This is amazing considering we were going to St. Louis almost every month for the first several months of Carson's life.

And last, I would just ask for all the prayers I can get for my grandma. My grandma, my most independent, fun-loving, "I can keep up with all you younger kids' Mems was diagnosed with Alzheimer's about three years ago, but has been really suffering these past several months and specifically this past week. I just ask for prayers for God's mercy on her life and for peace for her soul along with prayers for all those that are caring for her. It is suffering I wish no one had to go through but unfortunately that is not what this life is about. We know God is in it with us but it is so incredibly painful to watch. "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

We love our Mizzou football!

The boys picked out the tree (after finally agreeing on the same one : )!

The boys' first trip to SDC!

Waiting for the SDC Christmas parade!

Santa's Helpers

That's just funny!

It was Rice Krispy Treats for Santa this year.

Celebrating Poppy's 60th!

A little LCR on New Year's Eve (Check out the game if you haven't played before)

One of my family's traditions...banging pots and pans on NYE

St. Louis Science Center

Daddy's birthday cake!

He's 30!

This is in Preston's office...I just had to take the picture because I can only envision a similar picture in 20+ years

What seems to happen alot lately!

 Speaking of being thankful! I don't have far to look to find things to be thankful for. Every day, I could simply be thankful for my amazing family and that would be more than enough!