Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Felt the Baby move!!

Tonight I felt the Baby move for the first time...well first time that I am sure of at least. I felt two strong kicks (flips, punches, whatever). And then a little later I felt it again!

I'm so excited! I can't wait to meet this new little one in May sometime! :o)

Saturday, December 19, 2009

JayDonn's first snow storm!

Our house Friday Night before the snow. We are the one wtih the candles in the window. Josiah is the one who made that tree look so beautiful!



Our house Saturday night after the snow - and I think it is still snowing!

Daddy and Dillon staying warm inside.

JayDonn getting ready for his first time out in a snow storm.





Some "Little angels" brought him this snow suit on Thursday! Thank you so much! It fits him perfectly and the timing couldn't have been any better!

He didn't like the little sled too much :-(

Daddy and JayDonn freezing in the snow!



The down side is that Dillon's nurse called off for tonight and of course no one will replace her. So please pray that Dillon will sleep good. I just found out they are not having service tomorrow morning at church so that is good since we were to be at the 8:15 service so Josiah could serve on video crew. Josiah was just out removing some of the snow from our side walk and in that short time another 1/2 inch fell so it is good people aren't going to be risking their lives out on the roads tomorrow morning. I am sure most people will do what we are planning and worship God at home as a family!
Enjoy the snow - stay warm - and be safe!!
































Monday, December 14, 2009

From the mouth of Jay

Cute story I wanted to share with you:

The other day in the van Jay told me "I go to Heaven." So I asked him, "How can Jay go to Heaven?" and he answered me... "Jesus died for JayDonn." If you ask him if He died for Mommy he says no, if you ask him if He died for Daddy he says no and answers "Jesus died for JayDonn!" Apparently he thinks Jesus died for ONLY JayDonn.. heehee at least he is learning and is tender to the fact that Jesus loves him and died for him.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving pictures!




































14 weeks









































4 generations


























Celebrating Aunt Barb's 80th birthday
















































Great Grandma holding Dillon
















Sister-in-laws
























We will head back to PA after church tomorrow afternoon. It is a little more than 5 hours, depending on how many stops we need to make. Please pray for us as we travel.
One blessing I wanted to share... Thanksgiving night I went to put Dillon to bed and plugged in the suction machine only to discover the charger isn't workng. I don't know how long it was broken at home without the nurses paying attention because I have a different one that we charge it with downstairs during the day. So Thursday night I called CHOP homecare and they said they might be able to overnight it which would mean we would get it Saturday. But we needed it charged before then! I called a few placed Friday moning and was given the name of a place 5 minutes away who deals with these sution machines and they let us bring it in for 2 hours to charge it. What a blessing! It was enough of a charge to keep it going until we got the charger in the mail this morning. Praise the Lord for all the different people working together to make it possible that we did not have to go with out the suction machine at all.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We will be heading out bright and early (well probably so early that it won't be bright yet...) to go to Josiah's parent's house.

SOME of the many things I have to be thankful for this year....

1. Dillon's life being spared about two weeks ago when his oxygen levels dropped to 28%! Dillon is a reminder of how much our children are not in our hands, but in the Lord's. God could have easily taken him home that night, but He still has a purpose for my sweet little boy.

2. We have been taking a class at church every Wed night called "Growing Kids God's Way". It is excellent! I decided last week to start teaching JayDonn to obey me the first time (we are a LONG way away from it, but we are working on it!) Last Thursday JayDonn was helping me cook dinner like he normally does. He knows the stove is hot and not to touch but he was on a stool and leaned to reach for something and put his right hand on the burner that had been red hot only 2-3 minutes before. I saw it happen and threw his hand under cold water. I then put him on the floor with a container of cold water and told him to keep his hand in it so I could go find some homeopathic remedies and call my Dad to see what else I could do. He didn't want to keep it in so I looked at him and said "JayDonn, OBEY Mommy!" And he did! He kept his hand in the water for 2 hours! But he only has 4 small blisters that are healing great. We are keeping gauze on it to keep it clean but it is healing so nice. I really think if he wouldn't have obeyed it would have been a lot worse. So I am thankful for this class that is helping me be the Mommy I need to be so I can protect him.

3. I am thankful for God's blessings and provisions. Josiah just accepted a new job that he will be starting on Dec 9. I know a lot of people are out of work right now so I don't understand it... but God is providing for us. The job does have a pay increase and what looks to be better health insurance. Josiah really liked where he has been working but we were praying that God would close the doors if He did not want us to take this job. It looked like it might close as we were waiting for several days to get in writing that my pregnancy and Dillon's conditions would be waived from their 12 month exclusion for pre existing conditions. They were able to get it in writing to us though!

4. I am thankful another chapter of our lives, that I can't go into detail on, is finally finished. God's timing is perfect. This along with Josiah's new job could not have been timed better if we planned it! I praise the Lord for the Christians who generously gave of their time to help us through this chapter.

5. I am thankful for my family. I look at the world around us and see what a mess sin can make of lives. I am thankful for my wonderful, loving husband. I can't believe how God has blessed me with such a man to be my friend and husband. I am thankful for Dillon... well what can I say about all that God has done in my life through that little boy? I am thankful for Jay. He is teaching me a whole other set of lessons that Dillon can't! But he also brings such joy to my life. I am thankful for this sweet baby that I haven't been able to meet yet. I am thankful the baby seems healthy. I am thankful for parents who love us and sacrifice to help us as much as they can. For brothers and sisters that we can call and talk to and ask for help and advice.

6. I am thankful that I can have peace of knowing what the future brings. No, I don't know what tomorrow brings...but I do know what eternity brings! I am thankful I know where my eternity will be and Who I will be with. I am thankful I know peace from the Lord from having trusted Him with my soul. I am thankful that the God of the Universe loves me enough that He literally died on a tree for ME.

There is much to be thankful for. This list doesn't even include a lot of the "little" things that we take for granted (being American, having medical equipment/insurance, having a home, having food, Internet, phones, etc.) My mother in law told me if I am discouraged to think of 10 or 20 things every day that I can be thankful for. I haven't ever formally written the list but there is certainly enough to pick from!

What about you? Anyone who wants to share some of what you are thankful for I would love to read them!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Where have I been?

Wow, where have I been? I haven't been on my blog for FAR too long! I will fill in a few updates...

1. About 2 weeks Dillon had an episode where he was in his room and his night nurse was downstairs getting his formula ready and I went down for my allergy medicine. The nurse and I were talking then heard Josiah yelling for us. Apparently Dillon's machine was beeping but neither the nurse nor I heard it. Josiah heard it (he was also upstairs) but didn't know that the nurse wasn't in the room. By the time he realized that no one was doing anything Dillon's oxygen was down to 30%! We use oxygen to keep him above 92% and he went down to 28% before Daddy was able to help him! Josiah flipped him over, took the CPAP off his nose, did chest PT and was able to get him to start coming back up to a normal range. Praise the Lord for Daddy being there and hearing the monitor. Since this time we have had CHOP Homecare adjust his monitor so the beep volume is at 10 rather than 5. We also now have a self inflating ambu bag and oxygen tanks that go up to 15 liters per minute to use with the bag... just in case it ever happens again... but I pray it won't! Dillon had more seizures the next day and was a little jumpy for a day or two but other than that there doesn't seem to have been any long term effects. Praise the Lord! Another minute or two that low could have caused cardiac arrest!

2. My pregnancy is going well. I am 13 weeks today. The due date is May 27th. Last time I was at the doctor I was not quite 10 weeks and the baby was too small to hear the heart beat so the doctor turned on the ultrasound machine and checked the baby himself. We could see the baby moving all around so he spared me a 60 mile round trip visit in 2 weeks and said I didn't need to come again for a month. So I go again on Monday. I have had the first set of blood work done so I should get the results on Monday. (Just checking vitamin levels, thyroid, etc.)

3. Josiah was pretty sick this week. He came home from work on Monday and had a fever of 103.8! We took him to the ER and they did a chest X-ray - but it was clear. They checked for Influenza A (swine flu) and Influenza B - both were negative. So he has some other virus. They gave him pain meds and the family doctor gave him cough medicine and an antibiotic. So he is doing better and we are praying the rest of us don't get it!

4.I can't forgot about James! James is two years old, he is little and plays with Jay's stuffed monkey, has two eyes and two legs but is GREEN! James went home to be with his Mommy and Daddy though. (Jay's first imaginary friend)

5. Easter Seals in Reading has given us a chair to us use for Dillon until he gets his own. He loves it! He was in it for almost 2 hours today! Often when he put him in it he coos! It is so cute. It must feel good to sit in a full upright position with full support. I am so thankful for Easter Seals loaning us the equipment for Dillon while we wait on insurance! Josiah said we can take it with us to WV for Thanksgiving... for the first time Dillon will be able to sit at the table with us for a holiday meal. He even has his own tray and everything.

I need to get some pictures/videos on but I wanted to at least get the updates on. I think that is all the important things that have been going on in our lives! :o)

Saturday, October 17, 2009

A New Name Written Down!

I got this email from my mother-in-law and wanted to share it with you all.

Hi Dillon,

Thank you, Dillon, for being my little calling partner. Today I had the privilege of leading one of my patient’s to the Lord because I was able to give out your story about 2 weeks ago. My patient had a stroke. Her daughter was visiting and we were talking about our grandchildren. Her granddaughter was adopted from China so I got to tell her about our China experience and give her your story. Yesterday I talked to her and she hoped she would go to heaven when she died. I asked her if I could share with her how she could KNOW for sure and she said yes so today I went back on my time and got to talk with her and her husband. After going through Scripture she realized she was lost and she said she now believes and asked Jesus to save her. Please ask Daddy and Mommy to pray for her husband as he said he is not saved. I gave him some tracts and marked some Scripture for him to read.

Love and prayers,Grandma K.


What a blessing! I got thinking about how some family and friends have told us that they used to “believe” in God but because of Dillon they don’t anymore. They think Dillon is some sort of proof that God cannot exist. This greatly saddens my heart because the truth is the complete opposite. Dillon is absolute proof of God’s deep love for each of us, he is proof there is a loving God who is reaching out to those who don’t know Him on a personal level yet. I think everyone reading this knows how much I love my precious little son. My heart breaks everyday for the struggles he has to endure, I would give anything to be able to make him well again. I love Dillon with all my heart. But, as much as I love Dillon, his Heavenly Father who created him loves him so much more. Imagine how much it must hurt Him to watch Dillon go through the things he does, yet He allows it.

Why? Why does God allow it? Why does the God who holds the power of the entire universe in his breath allow this to continue? To answer that I ask a question, how many of you have had your life impacted in some way because of Dillon? I know I am not the same person I would have been without Dillon. I have learned so many lessons I can’t even begin to describe them all. I have learned to pray more, I have learned what it means to pray and still trust God, I have learned the meaning of “all things work together for good to them that love God…”, I have learned what it means to see my self as powerless and trust God, etc. How many people have learned one lesson or another because of Dillon? There are at least 4 people who will spend eternity in Heaven with the Lord instead of eternity in Hell with Dillon’s life story playing some role in them coming to the cross. In his short three years his life has helped to bring at least four people to Jesus Christ. Are we healthy, fully capable, highly intelligent Christian adults reaching that many for Christ with our lives??

For those who are thinking “poor Dillon” that he has to go through this for others, I disagree with you. Dillon is the richest three year old I know. He has eternal riches unlike any other three year old I personally know. Every time someone grows closer to the Lord, is encouraged, uplifted, challenged, given the gospel, and even saved there are riches being stored up for Dillon in Heaven. I believe Dillon has crowns waiting him in Heaven based on these verses:

2Timothy 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Revelation 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Dillon will spend his eternity in Heaven and will have crowns to lay at Jesus’ feet because of the lives he impacts. If you had one child that was dying of leukemia and your other child was a perfect match donor… would you not allow that second child to suffer the pain of donating their bone marrow to save the life of your other child? This is what Dillon is doing; he is suffering in this life because God loves you so much He wants you to grow closer to Him. And for those who are not a child of the King – it shows God’s unsearchable love even more! If you are not a child of the King you are His enemy and God still loves you enough that He is letting one of His own dear precious children suffer so that you might be reconciled to Him. He loves his enemy enough that He allows his child to hurt for the sake of the enemy… how many of us love our enemies like that?

Dillon’s brain injury and severe disabilities do not disprove God, they are quite the opposite. They prove His amazing love for us. He knew Josiah and I would grow and be able to lean on His strength to get through the trials of raising Dillon. He knew it wouldn’t break us, He knew that eventually I would be willing to allow Him to use Dillon in a mighty way. I want Dillon’s life to have eternal purpose by reaching others. I want him to bring people closer to God. The last thing I would want is for people to look at Dillon and think that God doesn’t care since he is allowing this to happen. 2 Corinthians 12:9 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” Dillon’s weakness is to show the strength of the Almighty God! To show how God can use something so terrible for good, to show His love for even His enemies. To many doctors and other people Dillon’s life is empty, pointless, and without purpose. Dillon’s life has great purpose, eternal purpose! Maybe Dillon’s life is to help you grow closer to God, to challenge you in some way.

Maybe Dillon’s purpose in life is to turn your heart to God so you will no longer be His enemy…

Monday, October 12, 2009

A MUST see video....

Hi everyone,
Wanted to share this video with you it really is a MUSt see (pay attention to what Jay is saying around the 19 second mark...) Sorry the video quality isn't good - I can't find my camera so had to use Josiah's blackberry to take this.


CLICK HERE

Thursday, September 24, 2009

LONG TIME!

Hi Everyone!

I'm sorry it has been SO long since I last wrote, sorry I left you hanging about our trip! Everything went well. We had some mix-ups with what terminal to go to so that took a lot of time to go to the right one, but we got there. We also had some problems with the Chinese TSA allowing my oxygen batteries through, but someone helped us and all was worked out. The flight home went great! I was so happy to be home with my dear sweet husby!

When I got home my allergies hit me hard! I was taking benadryl every day, nebulizers everyday and was still miserable. Praise the Lord my body did adjust back to the allergies in about 2 weeks and I have been much better. Jay, Dillon and I adjusted to the time change within 3-4 days I think. It helped that we got home around 9pm Saturday and went to Sunday School and church then took a nap and went to night church.

We were able to head to Ohio on Monday to see my grandparents before they moved to another state, so even though it was short visit (we left Tuesday) it was good to see them.

Since then we have been busy with scheduling all the new therapist (they changed when he turned three and we are just getting started with them). We also have been working at getting started with his therapy again and all the normal things in life. :o) Needless to say we have been busy - hence the reason I have not even been on to post. Oh and the fact that I have tried to cut the computer out of my day so I can get more accomplished. I am trying to either turn it off or leave it on but not be on a lot so I will have more time to care for my family and my house. It is great, I really do have more time!

Dillon since China: Dillon's arms, hands, and legs are still more relaxed. He is more vocal and trying to swallow more (I don't know if he IS or if he is just trying....). I found an acupuncturist who will see him once a week for $5.00! So I am excited about getting started with her. Some people have told me he seems more alert and like he is looking more, but I am not sure yet. I need to wait more to know for sure. Josiah, Robin (his nurse) and I all think his seizures have decreased so we are going to start keeping a journal so we will know. If it seems like they have I may ask for an EEG to be sure. We know the last EEG said he was having 30-40 everyday! One day this week Dillon even kicked his way down his inclined floor with great effort! He hasn't done that in a long time! Please keep praying for all these improvements - that they would be even greater and that they would be consistent.

So thank you again to everyone who played a part in our trip to China. God did some amazing things in China! In my life, in the lives of others that we met there, and I believe He is still going to do amazing things in Dillon's life! I will try to keep you updated better than I have been...


Thank you again!!!!
(How do you say thank you enough to the people who gave so generously to help my little boy have such an opportunity?!?!)

Monday, August 31, 2009

LEAVING TODAY!

Sorry I didn’t post anymore the last two days. Thursday I was so sore from carrying Dillon around the country I went to sleep without doing it and yesterday I couldn’t get on the internet.

We are leaving in just over an hour to go to the airport. It is 5 hours in the van, we will be there about 3 hours to get through security and check bags, then our plane leaves about 3:45pm (my time) and we should arrive about 5:30 pm (PA time). Then a 2 hours drive home. In all it should take about 23 hours to get home. Thank you for praying for us…please pray specificlly for
1. Safety
2. Dillon would do well on the plane, all his machine would function properly.
3. JayDonn would sleep
4. That we would be able to use extra seats like last time so we can lay Dillon down
5. Strength for all of us as this is going to be a LONG trip. )

We miss everyone here, thank you so much for all your help! The doctors, nurses, therapists, and translators were great! Jay is going to miss playing with everyone. We will keep you posted as to Dillon’s progress. I am praying for a miracle, that Dillon would make some huge progress. If however, he does not make progress this trip was still worth it. I know God wanted us in China with the miraculous way He brought in all the funds. I know He wanted us here because of the all the obsticles that where over turned in order to get here. I don’t know if Dillon will make progress or not. God’s Word – the Bible – does not promise me that Dillon will get better. I do have the promise from the Bible that Dillon’s eternal life issecure in the Lord’s hands because he is not capable of making the decision to trust the Lord Jesus Christ for eternal salvation. I, however, had to make that decision – which I did almost 6 years ago. So I know both Dillon and I will spend eternity in Heaven with God. But I know there are many people who do not know what Christ did for them on the cross and if our being in China has helped even one person understand that they need to trust Christ and Christ alone – IT WAS WORTH IT ALL!!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

VIEWING THE COUNTRY SIDE!!!

Today we went to see the country side! Wow! What an experience! I am so humbled by this experience. I feel like I have learned what it is like to live simple. I now know how rich we are in America. I have always been tired of hearing Americans complain about the recession and all, but now I am just disgusted by the Americans who think they don’t have enough. The Chinese people live in such humble accomodations. The countryside is beautiful. I just fell in love with the view. It was amazing how as you travelled everything changed so quickly. Every inch of land is used for vegetation. The houses are small brick squares. If I ever go to complain about my house I want to remember the people here and just be thankful for the amazing home God has blessed me with.
We stopped to walk around a village and see some of the homes, an old school (which says on the side something about no matter how poor we are our kids still need a place to learn). There is an old basketball hoop in the background of one of the pictures. After we were all tired from walking we got back in the van and went to a lake. We were skipping rocks, finding sea shells, and climbing trees. All the pictures below have a small caption about each. I took over 200 pictures, not all are good though. I also need to get the pictures from Tessie that she took on her camera. Later I will make a movie with all the good ones, but for now here are several to give you an idea what it was like.



All of us in the van - Jason and the driver were up front

Inside the old school there were still signs on the wall, there was even a black board


See the basketball hoop in the background?


An old abandoned house


The beautiful mountains

Scenery


A house where someone has their laundry out to dry


Dillon and I hiking along


A beautiful temple that we could see on a mountain side

skipping rocks at the lake - my best one was 5 jumps! Jay just had fun throwing them into the water

Grandma, Jay and I at the lake (Dillon was resting in the van after his big adventure hiking)

I climbed a tree to get a picture for Josiah! :o)

Of course Jay wanted up with me!

Being silly with Grandma

Driving along...this is what all the stores looked like

This was the newest apartment complex I saw.

Jay was SO well behaved on this trip! He sat on Grandma's lap the whole time (except when he rode up front with Jason) He was WONDERFUL! If he is this good on Saturday when we come home - that would be GREAT!

Thank you Jason for taking your day off to go with us and teach us about China!! We learned a lot on this trip. It was something I don’t think I will ever forget. I am so glad while we were in China we got to see a big city as well as the country life.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

LAST STEM CELLS!!!

Dillon finished his last stem cells today!



Getting the IV

Here come the stem cells!

Pray they will help Dillon!

Max is one of the translators and was playing with JayDonn today…



Max and Jay


Pauline (on th left - head nurse) and Lili (on the right)


One of the waitresses from upstairs

Sweet and sour pork - it was pretty good!



Our favorite food - fried rice with egg it is only about .50 for this whole bowl!

I went out all by myself today after Dillon’s stem cells. I got a taxi and everything. They dropped me off on the side of the street and I had to walk in the tunnel that is under the road to get to the store I wanted. I shopped, negociated prices and everything, alone. Then I walked back under the tunnel and went to McDonald’s. It was the first beef we have had since we got here 27 days ago. It tasted so good! And I don’t normally think McD tastes good at all! I got a picture of it for my sister (who manages an McD)…. I didn’t take a picture inside but I did get a little video I will send you when I get home.



McDonald's

Tomorrow we are leaving by 8 to go drive around the countryside. I can’t wait! I think it will be so neat to see some of China other than the small part of the city where we are. The doctor is going to do Dillon’s acupuncture before we go.
I know I am starting to understand life here a little more for a few reasons:
1. I can cross the streets without having a heart attack now.
2. I can ride in a taxi without having a heart attack and/or having to close my eyes.
3. I can go shopping and negotiate prices by myself (I use pen and paper but I think I know my numbers 1-99 IF they would say it slow enough).
4. I don’t care as much that people are staring at me. I know why I am here, I know where I am going, I know how to go where I want to go so I am more confident and it doesn’t bother me as much that they look at me.
5. When the lady from Romina - who speaks NO Chinese and very very very little english - was holding the door for me yesterday I said “Xie xie” Which is thank you in Chinese!
As much fun as I am having here, and even though I am going to miss everyone… I can’t wait to see you all soon!