Update on Cole

After the blood draw on Tuesday, our doctor called this morning and asked to see him again. She is very puzzled by his results. She sent us back to the lab for more blood, a chest xray, urine sample and at home stool sample kits.

I had Lucy & Nate with me - again. 3 1/2 hours later, we finally got to leave! The chest xray had to be done twice and I wasn't allowed in there with him the first time since my other two kids weren't allowed to be left in the waiting room alone. The lady seemed very uncomfortable with him and initially just asked him to follow her to the room. I am sure the look on my face was pure ridiculousness at her. :) The second time, there was a nice young mom there who was packing up to leave with her kids and she offered to stay with Lucy and Nate so I got to attempt to comfort Cole as we held him down and waited for him to inhale to get the xray done right.

The blood draw was unsuccessful the first attempt so they sent us up to the pediatric unit (again, Lucy & Nate following along) where they strapped him down and were able to get 5 vials much easier. Every room we were sent to was at the opposite end of the hospital and each time we started the trek I could barely keep it together. 4 big winter jackets, diaper bag, a 1 year old, a 2 year old and a 6 year old. Thankfully, most of the nurses and techs were nicer at each stop which was good since I was so close to tears anyways!

Praying for some kind of easy solution! The terms malignancy, leukemia, bone marrow were thrown out there... Regardless, God is good and sovereign and in control of it all!

Watch Cole Grow - Month 6

Actually this post should be titled: Watch Cole attempt to grow but isn't really doing it and so we have to get blood drawn for the third time tomorrow to try and figure out why his white blood cell count is so high when he's not sick and why he's not gaining weight when he's eating huge amounts of food... but that wouldn't fit in the title box so we'll stick with the usual. :)

All that to say, Cole is doing well, is happy and appears healthy. He is 18 months old, weighs 18 lbs 15 oz and still drowns in 6-9 month clothes. The teeth are slowly coming in and the stranger anxiety is getting less. But our doctor is concerned at his slow weight gain which is understandable but more concerned as to why his white blood cell count is so high. We had to get blood drawn right before Christmas and it was a nightmare experience. I had all three kids and could only have Cole back in the room, leaving Lucy & Nate in the waiting room by themselves. The nurses were so unfriendly, blaming Cole and his small veins for the reason the needle kept coming out again and again. He was screaming non stop and now we have to go back again tomorrow and do it all again! Oh dear...

On a happier note, we had a wonderful Christmas. It was a joy to watch all three kids have fun, wear smiles, and interact with long distance family. We spent at least half our vacation time in the car driving across Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas but thankfully the kids did great! Praise God for in-car DVD player. :) We even got to experience a Texas white Christmas which was magical (although treacherous to drive home in the next day).






Happy now to be at home and look forward to 2010 with great expectations and trust in our sovereign God who remains faithful in all things. Hope all of you have a wonderful New Year's!

Finalization Pictures

Forever Family with Judge:


With our Missouri (church) family:


Proud to be an American:


Thanks to Jim for taking the pictures! We were so blessed to have the Younces and Elliotts come and support us since our family is in Texas. It was a special day!

P.S. Cole's pants are size 6 months and safety pinned on both sides! :)

Cole's video

We finalized Cole's adoption today. Pictures to come! In the meantime, my brother made this video for us highlighting our journey to Cole...

SIX

My big girl, Lucy, turned 6 recently. That. is. so. old. I can't believe how big she is! On her actual birthday, she had a friend over to play and also went to get her ears pierced! I always thought I'd wait until she was older to get this done but then realized I didn't have a good reason for that. They make lots of age appropriate cute little girl earrings!



She chose to eat out for her birthday dinner at the Emperor's Palace chinese buffet! Mostly because they have a yummy chocolate fountain that you can dip strawberries and marshmallows in!


No party for her this year because she & I got to fly down to Dallas for a girls trip to the American Girl Store!! It was amazing. Her best friend/cousin, Gracyn, was the honored guest. Also we were joined by Nan, Aunt Kalee and new baby cousin Lindsey. I really can't explain how magical it was - made me wish it was my 6 year old birthday so I could pick out such fun stuff!

All the girls after FOUR hours in the store:


We had the nicest waiter:


Best friends:



Six: