Answered Prayers!

It has been two weeks since I updated so this will be long, but it is full of answered prayers and unexpected blessings and LOTS of Pictures!

I mostly have fun updates, but let me get the medical out o the way. Maddy is doing great. Still having leg pain, but otherwise my little firecracker is doing well and keeps us on our toes! Alex is doing better then he was, but we discovered this week that he has a UTI. I am hopeful that some of his pain has been caused by this as it looks like its been brewing for a while. Hopefully, the antibiotics will kick in and he will start to feel great!

On April 17th, we went for our annual Bluebonnet pictures with Tina at Tina W Photography. I haven't seen our whole session yet, but the couple pictures I've seen are beautiful!

The rest of that week was pretty normal with school, doctors appointments, therapy, golf, dancing and acting!

Last Saturday we got to attend Seaquest Aquarium with HopeKids. We had so much fun and the interactive aquarium was a blast!

On Monday morning, we were so excited to get an offer letter for a great position for Bruce.  We scrambled to try and secure a vehicle for him to start work on Tuesday! he had a great first week, while we again were busy with all of our regular activities.

This weekend was focused on Alex's confirmation. Yesterday he had a party to celebrate with his friends.

Some of these kids have known each other since they were little. Their friendships were cemented during the 5th and 6th grade years and the friendships have continued to deepen over the past 7 months as they met weekly to discuss their faith and prepare to begin their own walk with Christ. These friends have meant so very much to Alex and I have loved watching the kindness and love they all share.
This morning was special. On April 17, 2005, Alex was baptized at Keller United Methodist Church. On June 8, 2004, Maddy was being baptized on Alex's 10th birthday and Alex asked Pastor Chris if he could reaffirm his baptismal vows. This morning, Alex was confirmed at the only church he has ever known. I have watched this church family, nurture him, love him and help him grow in his faith.

April 17, 2005

June 8, 2014

Thank you to everyone who has prayed over this special Child of God for the past 13 years. I am so grateful every day that I get be his mom and watch his incredible journey on this earth.
Ali

Dogs and a normal week

I have decided that if you want to be in our family or really even be our friend or work for us you have to LOVE dogs! We are lucky that Erin (Alex's nurse) loves our fur babies as much (or maybe more) than we do.

Pups make the best pillows!

Zoey really does believe she is a lapdog and she is HUGE!

Overall, we had a pretty good week. Maddy had school. She was really excited because our church recently purchased some goats and she got to see them! On Thursday, I was lucky enough to volunteer in her class for a pizza party. I love watching her with her friends. She had a break from therapy this week so that was a nice break!

Alex felt pretty good all week, but it was a busy week with multiple doctors appointments. He was happy to be back at Improv this week and has been really helpful at home. I love to watch how patient and kind he can be with Maddy. He is hoping to get back to Violin and Golf this week as well.

The hospital had a Monster Truck on Thursday for the patients to explore.

Yesterday, we went to the Hospital for a fun event for Pancakes for Patients. They had a pancake breakfast served by the Fort worth Fire Department and lots of fun activities sponsored by the Junior League. We had a great time and got to spend some time with some of our friends from the Foundation. Maddy reminds me of Alex at this age. Everything we do is so exciting and so full of joy!

We are praying that Alex continues to feel better and that this week brings good news on the job front.

Ali

Update on Houston

Ten years....

For 10 years these incredible women have guided Alex's care. For ten years they have stood by our side. They have cried with us. They have laughed with us. They have stood by his bed in the PICU when we weren't sure he would make it through the night. They have shared in the joy when Alex has done well. They have fielded middle of the night phone calls and answered desperate emails. This has been a long journey and they have been by our side every step of the way. To say we owe our lives to them is not an understatement.

We headed to Houston with hopes that these miracle workers could wave a magic wand and make Alex feel better, but unfortunately they didn't have much more to offer then every one else. They were however able to change my perspective a little. They shared with us that six months ago they were once again fearing for Alex's life and his ability to survive to adulthood.   Now while he isn't feeling great he is in a better place medically. They have asked us to give his body a little more time. He is recovering from major GI surgery and they want to give his body time to adjust. So we really didn't change anything based on our visit.

For my Maddy Moo...I had two concerns going into the appointment. One was how often she is getting sick and the other is her constant complaint of leg pain. Dr. P let me know that she is not holding any of her titers from her vaccines, confirming other blood work that shows an immune deficiency, so we are starting the process of getting insurance to approve her for teh immune replacement treatment that Alex has been on since 2011. As for her leg pain, we will continue to monitor it and try and build strength through PT. When we head back to Houston we will see a rheumatologist to rule out arthritis. 

Please continue to pray for our family, specifically for Bruce to find a great job and for Alex to feel better.

Ali

PS- A few more pics from our trip.