What a year!!

The boys are ONE!! And we all survived the first year! YAY!!! It is amazing to think of how far we have come...a year ago today we were all anxiously awaiting what God had in store for us. He blessed us with two precious boys! One who had a long road ahead of him and another who was to be his best friend and biggest fan through it all! To look at Carson now, the smiling happy boy that he is, it is hard to believe where he has come from, that he was born with a neck mass over two pounds (over a third of his body weight). I will never be able to fully express my gratitude to the Fetal Care Institute at Cardinal Glennon, the wonderful physicians, nurses, and staff that made our miracles possible. They were the hands of God! And a huge THANK YOU to everyone that has relentlessly sent prayers up for our family and the boys lives! We would have had a MUCH MUCH harder year without all of you! People go above and beyond the call of friends and family and it is overwhelming at times to think of the graces and blessings we have received in this past year alone! I can't wait to see what the coming years have in store!

Carson's journey is not over and so we continue to ask for prayer...especially for the specifics of our trip to Cincinnati...lodging, travel, whether we should take Kellen or not, and for the physicians that will collaborate on his case. And as always, continued prayer for complete healing of Carson's airway and feeding. I will continue to pray for this until ALL medical equipment is gone from our house (okay...I may keep a stethoscope & thermometer just for good measure : )
And for Kellen's feeding...in many ways, tons of prayers have been answered because he is now eating much better and gaining weight and is definitely a healthy little boy but we are far from a typical eater. He still fights the bottle and will not take a sippy cup in any sort of volume : ) We will continue to persevere.

Both were waving to the camera :)

Our first family picture!

Thanksgiving 2011

Mario Brothers!!

I would say our first Halloween was a success!! The boys were of course the cutest Mario Brothers that we saw and they actually left their hats and mustaches alone the ENTIRE time we were trick or treating! They just LOVE being outside...this winter is going to be hard on them (& us).

I like your shirt Nana! (yes, shirts like these never get old even if it was made 20 years ago : )

Checking out the candy!

Our Super Mario Brothers!

The whole trick or treating crew!

Getting some sugars : )

Happy Halloween!!

I spoke with Cincinnati yesterday and unless there is a cancellation prior to this...we will be headed to Cincinnati January 8th through the 10th. We have appointments all three days but Carson goes to the OR for several scopes on the 9th and will stay in the hospital that night. I told them that we would be happy to come earlier if there is a cancellation. I am just praying for God's perfect timing...in regards to weather and traveling conditions, lodging, as well as Carson's health.

Here are some pictures of pumpkin fun!

Carson was practicing the splits apparently, he was able to just keep on playing too! Hilarious!!

Preston is getting the pumpkins ready...

Claiming their pumpkins...

Uh oh...looks like they picked the same one : )

Oh no Mom, I didn't taste the pumpkin

This is fun!!

The finished product (Preston's, Mom's, and mine)

Better try this one too!

Yay!! I got all three tops off!

So excited for Halloween!

Acting like he is a monkey...haha

Happy boy!

 I will post pictures later of their FIRST Halloween costumes!

New prayer request!

Just spoke with scheduling at Cincinnati Children's...unfortunately they are scheduling into January already. So my prayer request is for a cancellation before then...I was hoping for the end of November or beginning of December! Thought I would just send along the request for prayer : )

Cincinnati Bound...Hallelujah!!!

I received word today from Cincinnati that his case has been authorized by insurance. Yes!!!! We are so excited! We do not have a date yet and I know they still have a form that takes approximately two weeks to complete but hopefully I will have a date by tomorrow or at least early next week. Thank you for all the prayers and keep them coming for the logistics of the trip and the outcomes!

Back on track

Just to update everyone on the progress with Cincinnati...we have sent our letter of medical necessity and Dr. Costa, his ENT from Cardinal Glennon, agreed to write one and should have it completed today. This whole process is SO drawn out but we are trying to be as patient as possible. I'm hoping to at least find out next week if it has been authorized. From talking to the people at Cincinnati and Dr. Costa's office, they believe the visit SHOULD be authorized. We did go ahead and postpone any more surgeries in St. Louis until we go to Cincinnati.

The boys continue to do well...I think Kellen has hit a little growth spurt because he is eating more : ) That makes us ALL happy around here! And both boys are back to normal health which is also a HUGE blessing. It makes life much simpler, especially with Carson.

Nana and Kellen enjoying the beautiful weather!

A wonderful 'old' toy...

THE corner... "What?!?...I didn't make this mess"

"It wasn't me either!"

The new tunnel from Mimi and Papa

Reading bedtime stories

Carson looking outside (there was a diamond at just the right height to look out)

Sarah snuck around outside to get a picture : )

These were the boys faces when I tried on my wedding dress, on our anniversary! Priceless... (& Yes it still fit : )

Cardboard boxes are SO MUCH FUN!

Quick one...

Just to keep everyone in the loop...I spoke with a lady from Cincinnati Children's today, who is in charge of insurance preauthorization. The next step is having 1 or 2 Letters of Medical Necessity written stating the complexity and rarity of Carson's case and the need to gain medical care outside the state of Missouri. The parents are able to write one and then they highly recommend a physician write one. Thank you for the prayers! I am hoping this process doesn't take too long because we have a surgery in St. Louis already scheduled for the 24th and we were hoping we would know whether Carson was going to Cincinnati or not!