Elese

I got the call this week that Elese is scheduled for her liver biopsy & endoscopy at the end of February.  I'll keep you updated on how it goes.  Thank you for your prayers!

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 1 year anniversary of living in Cincinnati!  I can honestly say that it has flown by!  There have been so many changes for us and this move was right on God's timing.  As soon as we moved here Elese got very ill and by the grace of God, Cincinnati Children's is one of the top 5 GI clinic's in the world.  I know in my heart that it wasn't a coincidence that we are here.  Here are some of the blessings from the past year...Scott's new job, Scott & I celebrated 10 years of marriage, celiac disease diagnosis, Emery graduated kindergarten, Emery & Eli learned to ride bikes without training wheels, Eli learned to swim, 1st annual Labor Day camping trip, Emery & Eli attended summer camp for the 1st time, Eliot was born, Elese started preschool, Emery gets to eat a gluten free meal at school, our church & small group.  While not all moments were positive, I can honestly look back over the year and be thankful to have gone through all the struggles for it makes us the family that we are today.

Random Pictures

I just have a few shots from the last couple of days.  Scott was reading the kids a new Scooby-Doo book. 

We hung the Johnny Jumper up for the first time this week.  I didn't realize it but the bathroom is the

only place that I have a door frame here on the first floor.  Eliot loved it and the kids enjoyed helping him learn how to jump.

 I don't know why these shots are out of order but I thought this one was funny.  I guess Eli got distracted for a moment!

Eliot can now sit up in the tub too.  Elese always enjoys jumping in with him whenever she gets a chance.  A little sisterly love and a cup full of water on his head!

Isn't that sweet?

A Thought...

Find a church that you can call home-a place where you can lay your burdens down and focus on lifting someone else's up!

I came across this today as I was having my quiet time.  It was something that I had written down on Oct. 18 of last year.  It's a powerful statement and wanted to share it with you.  Scott & I have learned the importance of church and a church family through our moves.  It has been such a blessing to have a church that we can call home.  Through all the ups and downs of life, our church has always played a key role in growing us spiritually, as a couple and as a family.

Grandma & Grandad Visit

This past weekend Mom & Trip came up for a visit.  We haven't seen them since Christmas so we were all ready for a visit.  On Sunday afternoon we went bowling and then Scott & I went on a date.  Thanks to Cameron we enjoyed a nice dinner at Longhorn!


Here's my handsome boy waiting for Grandma & Grandad!  He's sitting up pretty good these days and wears 18 months in his clothes.

Emery was all about the score and who was winning...don't know where she gets that...umm Daddy.  For the record, Scott had the top score...292!

Eli was big stuff this time...he didn't use the ramp a single time.  He certainly looks like he fits in at the bowling alley with his tattoo going down the arm and 2 sizes too big jersey!

Grandma & Eliot were there too!

Grandad thinks the last time he bowled was 40 years ago!  Can you believe that?  He had a good time though.  Let's just say that even the adults were all thankful to be bowling with the bumpers!

Here's Grandad helping Elese.  She figured it out right away!

The look on Elese's face was priceless every time she rolled the ball down the ramp.  She had the best time.  We all had a good time helping her.

Elese Update

Our appointment at Cincinnati Children's went fairly well yesterday. The good news is that most of Elese's blood work came back showing improvements since August. The not so good news is that she still doesn't feel well and her liver #'s are 3 times what they should be.

All throughout her sickness her liver #'s have been high and the thought was that they would return to normal once her small intestines healed. We are certain that her small intestines is healed and that there might be another issue going on that we are unaware of...possibly another autoimmune disease. So, to start ruling things out, she is going to have a liver biopsy. At the same time, they are going to do another endoscopy to look at her small intestines and see how they have healed since August. She will be put under anesthesia and will have to stay for 24 hours following her procedure. This will be her 3rd time to have anesthesia and the liver biopsy is suppose to be fairly easy on her.

I'll be honest when I say that it breaks my heart that Elese is a "medical mystery". This is what she is referred as because she has not been a typical celiac case from the beginning. She was so severely sick that her healing process has taken much longer than normal. Her doctors often scratch their heads because they just aren't sure why she isn't feeling well. I constantly remind myself that healing takes time...answers are not always right away. I know in my heart that God will take care of her and that there is a plan for her and our family. Please keep your prayers coming. As my Aunt Cindy always says, "The more prayers go up, the more blessings come down." Thank you!

Happy Birthday Keith!

Last weekend Scott & Eli went back home to a special celebration for our nephew Keith turning 13. It was a "men only" thing and Scott & Eli had a great time. I remember the day Keith was born just like it was yesterday. I had to go get Scott out of class at IUS and he didn't believe me that Michelle was in labor. We flew all the way to the hospital in a rented Geo Metro laughing the entire way because the car was so loud and so darn small. I was literally sitting in the dashboard! That was 13 years ago...my how time flies by! The blessing in all of this is that Keith Matthew has turned into a wonderful young man. He's patient, kind, easy going, loves God, fun to be around and a good role model for his siblings and cousins. We love you Keith and can't wait to see what the future holds for you.

Prayers Please

This is a shot of Elese last week before she went to school. She got a backpack for Christmas and was thrilled to finally get back to school and wear it. I love the big cheese. From the picture you can't tell that she wasn't feeling all that great. Poor thing doesn't know what is going on with her body but she does know that something is wrong.

I'm calling on all my prayer warriors to start praying for Elese. She hasn't been feeling well for the past several weeks. I think she has some type of infection in her gut. She is doing great on the gluten free diet but it just seems that we might be missing something that's causing her to be in pain. In August she had the same symptoms and when they did another endoscopy, they found an infection. We have an appointment in the morning at Cincinnati Children's Hospital with her GI doctors in hopes that we can get to the bottom of her problems. Please pray that the weather allows us to make it there safely, that her doctors have the wisdom to help her and that she gets on the path to total health. It breaks my heart to see my sweet baby so miserable!

Thought For Today

Occasionally I get a "thought for the day" from the MOPS group that I used to belong to in Columbus. I thought this one was very practical and I should pass it along.

Never look down on anyone...unless you're helping them up!