Spring

We wanted to give you an update on where our status is with Caleb since we last wrote. During the last month as we have waited on second opinions and we have prayed for what to do. We have not had peace about moving forward with treatment. We knew there was a coming endocrinologist appointment and we wanted to wait for those results before making any decisions.

This week we saw the Endocrinologist - these tests were mostly encouraging. We continue to be blessed by the fact that Caleb is showing no signs of puberty and in this most recent visit his growth "velocity" (rate of change) has slowed down a bit - this is a welcome thing if you have been following this blog for a while now.  The Endocrine picture of Caleb is mostly healthy - he does still have elevated growth hormone levels but the rate of their elevation does not appear to be changing - which means that picture is mostly stable.

We are scheduled to visit with ophthalmology next week to get his vision checked out. We don't have any indications that there will be troubles with this visit, but we have learned to be cautiously optimistic with these things - because you never know.  We would love very much to have your prayers for wisdom as we make these decisions, and for a good report from the eye doctor.

Nicole and I have prayed over this for the past few weeks and we have sought to find an answer that we can say we have peace with. We have come to grips with the reality that we may end up in chemo treatment, and we have grieved this reality. Even though we have come to grips with this reality we do not have peace that this is the direction we are to move forward in today. Our paths have crossed with several folks who have shared their experience and spoken to our situation. These meetings were not by chance and we believe they have helped us get to the place where we can wait in peace.

Waiting is hard, and not really fun. I am at heart an impatient man - but God is teaching me that there can be peace in waiting for his timing and provision, even if the circumstances are scary. We recognize that even the smartest among us have finite knowledge and that life is very short. We have been blessed with this day, we have been blessed with this child and today we celebrate good news from his Endocrine visit and we hope for good news next week with his eye doctor. We love you all and will keep you posted as we have information to share.
Thank you for your prayers and concerns, Austin.

Nicole's Family Update

We have had an extremely busy Spring, but feel so blessed that the activities have been such sweet, memorable family events. We have celebrated Austin's brother Chase and his fiance Krystle in their wedding, my dad's 60th birthday, my brother Will T. and his fiance's showers for their wedding this month, and of course birthdays, Easter, and baby/graduation showers along with a weekend with our dear friends from Kentucky and from London! It's been a whirlwind, but really really special!
This picture is taken from the front of our house one day during our home-school time. We were finding the signs of Spring in our new yard! We took pictures and created paper books where the kids wrote about the things they observed. We are absolutely loving our yard this Spring! We have seen 6 turkeys, a ground hog, a turtle, deer, beautiful blue jays and red birds and many amazing insects to name a few! The kids are loving it!

Austin borrowed Will T. and Kayla's four wheeler to do some yard work this Spring- the yard has been a huge project. The kids along with our their dear friends Austin and Sarah Beth enjoyed several good rides around the yard. The sight and smell of the four wheeler took me back to the many rides I had growing up at the farm- what a sweet memories!

Here we are enjoying our dear friends from Kentucky. It was so fun to see Jack and Bennett and their new baby sister, Ella. We love you, Moore family!!

And it was such a gift to see my dear friend Meghan and her husband Chris for an afternoon and evening. They came in from London-we hadn't seen them since their wedding last June in London. I treasured every moment. The kids loved Mr. Chris and had a blast playing with the noise putty here in this picture below! ;)

We will have to mail you some, Chris!

In March I hosted a bridal luncheon for Krystle. I enjoyed getting out all of my fine china and organizing a very girly occasion for Krystle. We had some yummy food including ham and rolls, chicken salad, my mother's famous tea punch, and a baked Alaska cake, Pampered Chef style! Here we are taking a family picture with Krystle -Aunt Janie is next to me, Krystle, Kathy, and Debbie who is a life-long friend who we consider an Aunt!

Annelise had a good time helping Aunt Krystle open her gifts.

I also enjoyed getting to know Krystle's family and friends whom I had never met.

Austin took Chase, their cousin Adam, and a friend to our farm for a weekend away before the wedding. They shared a memorable time together of hiking, shooting guns, eating yummy food, and sitting around the campfire. Austin said he had a really great time.

Adam- you are a goof-ball!