Praises

Good Morning,



We slept all night long!!! It was wonderful. This time, though, I was the one with the crazy dreams that caused me to be restless through the night. But, that's ok because we still slept.



Macie is so much better. I will re-introduce her to the world again today as we go have lunch with our homeschool group that meets every Tuesday. I wasn't ready to send her for the day knowing she would be sitting with germy kiddos. So, we are hanging out at home about to give some schoolwork a try.

She is still having mild headaches. I am praying they subside very soon so she can play without being interrupted by pain. Other than the headaches she is doing really well.

I also have good news about our friend Emily Hallman. They received excellent news last night that the cancer is less severe than originally expected. It is still cancer but a stage one cancer is better than any other stage. We are continuing to pray for healing.

A Good Morning and a Lot of Gratitude

Hey Friends,

Macie has had a very good morning. She has had a steady mild headache but has still been able to sit up and eat and play cards with Cody. Yesterday she was horizontal 80% of the day.

She has her attitude back too, but I'm so okay with that!

Another night has gone by and still waking up. It's bad dreams, not pain, and I know she will likely continue to have restless sleep this week. I'm praying that God fills her nights with peace. She needs it and we do too.

So many of you have done great things for us over the past 10 days or so. This is the scariest thing we have ever faced with our children. I knew, though, that when I passed along a new discovery in her symptoms, or the scheduling of another test, or a possible diagnosis it was immediately being lifted in prayer.

And then Thursday night, as we were given news that she was sick but would be ok and we would likely go home the next morning, you all rejoiced right with us. And I knew you were truly happy and as relieved as us. It was so genuine.

And it was just as genuine the next morning as we made plans for testing of Leukemia and I could barely stand on my weak legs. Jeff quickly called friends and you all were surrounding us with in an hour. I knew that no matter the result, people would carry us through.

It is something awesome to see God's church kick into action when there is a need. We experienced that so strongly. I now understand how people who face great trials make it through. God is so able to do more than we can hope for. And He uses us, His body, and now that I have been on the receiving side, I know what a marvel it is.

Our struggle was intense but it was short lived. So many others are in deep trenches and need encouragement, they need hope, they need to be carried.

My friend Jamie Hallman is one of those. I mentioned her daughter Emily several days ago. Please continue to pray for her, all of them, family of 5. They are in a very deep trench and my heart aches for this mom.

I know at times it can seem trivial to just say "I'm praying for you". We feel like we have to do something tangible to be effective. Friends, it is not true. Prayer is the most powerful ability we have. So don't stop praying for little Emily, and others who need God's intervention.

Thank you so very much for carrying us through.

Not the a great start to the day :(

I can't wait to see Macie well again. Having a sick child is so hard on a mother's heart.

Right now I pray for every parent out there that is caring for a sick child, whether it is a simple cold or monstrous cancer. Anything that takes the joy from a child weighs heavy on the heart and only the Lord can really tend to that. So, I pray that He does for every parent in need of it.

Macie had a decent night last night. We didn't go to bed until about 11 so that we could give her one last dose of Tylenol before settling in for the night. She woke up around 3:30 with bad dreams. (Can't imagine why)

She woke up this morning looking forward to a trip to Cracker Barrel. One of her friends brought her a sock frog from Cracker Barrel and it is the cutest thing. So she wanted to spend the money she has gotten there and plus have a yummy breakfast.

As we were getting ready her head began to hurt. We let her decide if she still wanted to go and she did. We got there, she was obviously aching, but still wanted to at least go into the store. It took about 2 mins and she was done. No toy, no breakfast. We ran through a drive thru in hopes she would eat a biscuit. At this point her head, stomach, and back were hurting. She whimpered and shifted restlessly in her seat the whole way home.

Now she's laying down again and trying to eat. The headaches are coming because of the spinal taps she had. They cause a change in the pressures of the head and when she gets up it is really affected.

The meningitis of course also causes headaches but I think these are from the taps.

I handled everything well in the hospital, until they brought up leukemia. But now that we are home I am really struggling. There isn't much I can do for her and I really want my adventurous healthy MayMay back.

Please don't stop praying for her healing. She isn't in the hospital anymore, but she is still sick and we are still very tired and feeling helpless for her.

We continue to covet your prayers.

What to pray for now..

Macie is doing ok. Her symptoms from the meningites are decreasing. Now she is having to deal with the back aches and headaches. The back aches are from the procedures she had done: 2 spinal taps and bone marrow aspiration. The headaches are from those procedures and/or the meningitis. So, we don't know how long those will come and go. The one she had today was bad and it is really hard for me to see her hurt, especially after such a long and tiring week. So pray for us both. Thank you!

Going Home!!!!!!!!!!!

Pathologist gave us the clear on her spinal fluid. The abnormal cells were infectious but not cancerous. So the final diagnosis is viral meningitis and we couldn't be happier!

We will hopefully be home after lunch!

Thank you for all your prayers!

Praise The Lord!!!

Bone Marrow is C.L.E.A.R.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The relief is unexplainable!

We don't have all the results yet regarding the spinal fluid. There are some abnormal cells that are being analyzed and some rare diseases still possible. BUT, leukemia scare is gone, at least 99.9999%.

So we are still anticipating those results but feeling really encouraged.

It is possible that we will be going home tomorrow.

Thank you for continuing to pray!

more test, more questions

Well, we thought we had a clear diagnosis, but not so much, at least not for sure.

They are seeing some abnormal cells from the csf fluid (spinal fluid).

There are several things that cause certain abnormalities in the fluid....meningitis is one of them. Leukemia is another.

She is having a bone marrow aspiration and a 2nd spinal tap this afternoon to rule out the more serious and scary diagnosis.

We are still hopeful that it is meningitis. Have you ever wanted your child to have meningitis? I do.

Please keep praying for answers and for strength. Thank you. May God be glorified

today's events

Oh my gosh! I can't believe we are STILL in the hospital. Jesus!, Set your people free!

Ok, now that I got that out.....

LP didn't happen. Macie caught a glimpse of the setup and then saw the neurologist drawing up some med in a syringe, and then she was done. Even with sedation she was not consolable. It was a hard day with that whole event, hard on a mom's heart.

So it was rescheduled for today at 4pm. She will be in a sedation suite and will never know that anything is happening.

It seems like we will be able to leave tonight, but not promised.

The LP will show if there is increased intracranial pressure. If so she will get meds to treat it. If it is normal, we will leave with a likely diagnosis of post viral neuro involvement. That just means that she had a virus that ended up affecting her neurologically and all will return to normal in time.

Her vision is better today. She has iv fluids going so she is peeing more.

She can't eat until after LP is done so I'm asking for specific prayer that there is a cancellation early in the day and she gets moved up.

Thank you for continuing to pray for us. Those of you that visited MayMay yesterday made her day. It was such a blessing to all of us to see love poured out on her.

Side note: please also be praying for Emily Hallman. She is Macie's age, autistic, and had a tumor removed from her spine this week. She had an MRI this am and hoping to see no more tumor anywhere.

The things that were scary to us are the very things that the Hallman family are actually going through. So please, if you think of Macie, think of Emily too!

another update

Ok. MRI wasn't very helpful. Stink!

She is having a lumbar puncture in just a few minutes to see if there are problems with intracranial pressure. Still unanswered questions so some frustration on our end.

Pray: obviously, for answers
that she can be still after LP is done. she has to lie flat for 1-2 hours. yuck
that we go home today, still possible
thank you

Macie Update

Thank you for the prayers already lifted.

Macie was admitted to the hospital Sunday and we are still there. And we are still testing for different things. The main concern at this point is that her vision is altered and are eye movement is abnormal, but it is slight. She already has had a normal ct scan and is about to go for an MRI any minute now. They are checking for an abnormality with a cranial nerve resulting from the virus she has had in her system the past several weeks. We are hoping that is confirmed because it will be an actual answer and it will get better in time. If not confirmed by MRI she will see neurologist and discuss further testing.

Her stomach is not hurting today (first time in 12 days) and she slept well. We feel like she is turning a corner from that aspect. She is asking for food which she can't have until after MRI is done. This is the first time she has asked for food without being prompted since last Friday. So there are some good things happening for her this morning.

We are praying this is the last test and the last day of being in the hospital.

Oh, we are also waiting for urine culture to come back as first urinalysis was abnormal. Hopefully that won't be something that keeps us hospitalized.

Thanks again for your prayers!

PS. If we stay again tonight, and you are capable of visiting I'm sure she would love to see a friend. :)

Pray for Macie

Hi friends,
Macie has been feeling badly for a week and 1/2 now. During last week she had highs and lows, playing at times normally and then stuck by my side with a belly ache at others. This weekend everything worsened and she has been a different child. I'm too tired to put all the details in this post, but please just pray that she recovers quickly. Specifically pray for her appetite. She has not eaten since Friday and that meal did not stay in. She is also complaining of vision changes and we can't quite make sense of it all. I'm praying that she will start to eat and all the oddities of what she's experiencing will dissipate and we'll have our regular Macie back.

Thanks for your prayers.

It has begun!

Foster Classes.....I can't believe I'm taking foster classes. It is so strange simply because I never imagined this as a part of my life. The first 30 mins of class I kept reminding myself of where I was and why I was there. Again it was strange.

When the shock wore off, I settled in and just started taking all the information into my overloaded head. Wow, it's a lot to think about. I mean you already know that fostering is a big deal and not to be taken lightly, but, wow. It so much more than just having another kid around.

I'm excited, though, anticipating how God is going to use us as a family. That's the thing for me. This something that we all get to serve in. Each one of my family gets the opportunity to minister to others through this process. We all have a role to play and I love that.

When Jeff knew that God was calling him into full time ministry, we knew He was calling our whole family. This is such a tangible expression of us all being a part of that calling.

So, we have 9 weeks to go. That's a lot of paperwork, role playing, and q/a's. But it is an awesome experience.

If you ever been interested in fostering and have questions I would love to try to answer them as we learn new things each week.

Prayer Request for a friend

Please lift up my friend to the Lord. Her name is Sherry. Her family has been through a lot of trials over the past couple of years with the most recent being the loss of her father over the holidays. She has just learned that her son has a tumor on his brain. His name is Danny and he is married and has a daughter, with another on the way. The hope is that it is benign.

Sherry is a godly woman and spiritual mentor to me. She trusts heavily in the Lord and His sovereignty. Please pray that God would grant her strength and endurance as she faces another trial.

Also pray, if you will, for Danny's healing and strength for his wife and family.

Thanks friends