What a difference a year makes...

Wait, I have a blog? Does anyone read this? If not, at least I have something to look back to and read, since my last journal entry was almost 2 years ago...
Last time this year, I was laying in a hospital bed with a very sick little boy, followed by procedures and blood work galore.
 This year, we are running around the house, playing monster trucks, spider man and trains. Playing baseball outside and racing cars. Wow, what a difference a year makes. He turned 2 and decided he wanted to wear big boy underwear, follows his sisters around and mimics every move and word they say. He adores them. He loves to read books. He loves any time we have an opportunity to pray so he can say "Reid's turn" do it by himself. In fact, if someone else says prayer, he still has to say it after them. He loves to cuddle and give love. But his favorite thing is watching monster trucks in the morning with daddy.
We love this boy to pieces and we are so thankful that we have had a healthy few months with him, and many more to come. In June, we were on our way to north Florida to go to a children's hospital to try some different treatments for Reid that would hopefully help him out. The medicine he was on was causing liver and kidney failure so we were in desperate need to try something new. I kept getting the "we have never seen this kind of resistance before and do not know what to do" from his doctors and I was ready for something else. I begged for 2 more weeks of medication for him while I was out of town so I knew he would not spiral out of control while I was gone. The doctors hesitated, but agreed if I would take him to Shand's when I got home. After the 2 weeks, we went in for final blood work and other tests. Exactly one year to the day from the original diagnosis in July, we got the all clear. This boy was a warrior for an entire year! And he has been perfect ever since! We are so thankful for all the love and support through it all.

Last year....

Last night....I like this one better :)

My cutest potty trained little boy. It only took 4 days of nakedness and consistency and he did it! So proud of this man!

8 certainly is GREAT!

Maddison's birthday marks the begining of our "birthday season". She, Reid, and Chloe have birthdays within 3 weeks of each other.

This year is a special one. She is 8. Marks the age of accountability. Which means...Baptism!!!!

 All she wanted was dirt dessert...

 My my, have you come a long way Maddie. From a spunky and spirited little baby...to a spunky and spirited young girl. She can go from the sweetest girl on earth, to a screaming raging mad girl in a matter of seconds. I am told constantly by her teacher "If I could have a classroom full of Maddie's, I would be so happy." She is such a great helper with her brother, a wonderful friend, and an amazing daughter. We are so blessed to have her in our family...forever....

Easter

 Easter weekend was filled with family, just the way we like it. Chloe was sick with a real bad stomach bug and had been vomiting for almost 3 days, and then in bed for 3 days, so Easter was the first day she got out of bed...only to put on her dress for pictures...

 I was brave enough to make the girls dresses this year. They all picked out different patterns, but similar fabric, just different colors. I didn't get good pictures, since Chloe was ready to go back to bed and we were running a little late for church.

 

 The Hunt...

What's going on....

A lot going on, haven't blogged. So sorry.
Hana just finished her first FCAT week and said it was "SOOOO easy". Hooray!
Maddison is almost 8 which means baptism which means...where did these past 8 years go?
Chloe finally stopped sucking her thumb!
Reid....well...is Reid. I could fill a whole page on him. But for now, lets just say we are dealing with that darn intestinal infection again that has doctors scratching their heads and telling me they have never seen such a resistant infection before. Oh, and he broke his face. (see post below)
Bryan continues to work like I have seen no man work before, all so that I can stay home with our children. He is such a blessing.
And me....I start school in a little over 2 weeks!!!!!

Humpty Dumpty

I guess Reid was thinking life wasn't exciting enough for us and not enough attention was on him. First, let me explain that he is a BOY. All boy. Never did any of the girls EVER try anything tricky in the least bit. But, he has been climbing things before he could walk. So, we always keep an eye on him, or try to. He was in the playroom with the girls the other night while I was cleaning up from dinner when I heard a crash...and then screams. I quickly went to see what happened. All that we know was it involved the high windowsill in the back room, a chair, and a kids tool/work bench. Thats all. I thought he just hurt his hand, so we sat on the couch and cuddled for a while. No crying, just telling me it hurts. About 5 minutes went by when I looked and saw his face. A huge line across his eye that was swelling quickly. We watched him, he didn't sleep at all (can you imagine having your face hurt and throb all night?) but the morning came and although it was swollen almost shut, he seemed fine. I called the doctor and they told me to bring him in. While there, the pediatrician said get him to the ER immediately. If there is a fracture, we can not waste time. So, off we went for a CT scan and observation for about 5 hours. The results were a severe bruise on his bone and a tiny litte size of a peice of sand fracture. No bones out of place, no fragments, no pressure or bleeding. So, we were able to go home with just a black eye. He is fine...normal...running around like nothing happened. Sad thing is, I'm starting to get used to this....

       Shortly after it happened...(Bryan had the camera, so my phone pics didn't show that much)

                                       Last night in the ER...he was so ready to go home....

This morning...swelling gone down but some cool colors going on!

Spring

Lots happening in spring here. I'll let the pictures do the talking. But, I will add, my one and only sister came to visit us and we could not have been more excited. Its been way over a year, I think Reid was only 6 months old when we saw each other last. So sad. I miss her dearly and the time spent was way too short, but enjoyed every minute...

Some encouraging words

Time for another Reid update! A big thanks, to begin, to everyone for the outpouring of love and prayers during this time. We love you all!
Reid had his second colonoscopy/endoscopy last week. It was rough this time around. Hard getting him under, hard getting him to wake up, he was sick all day. But, since he had just gone under anesthesia 2 months ago, this was normal.
It took a week for pathology reports to come back and we went for the follow up yesterday. And, for the first time in 7 months, I had the doctor look at me and say "I'm encouraged by the results." The cultures for the c-diff (the raging intestinal infection) were positive 2 weeks ago. The cultures from last week...NEGATIVE! The mastocytic colitis....practically UNDETECTABLE! So, now, we are dealing with Reid's body's inability to digest certain things. His body is playing a game of dominoes here. The parasite caused c-diff, which caused colitis, which has done so much damage now its causing him not to be able to digest sugars (which causes extreme stomach cramps and diarrhea). But, that is certainly treatable. He is on a strict diet of NO SUGAR. Only water to drink or a special formula that helps repair his digestive track. If it isn't better in 2 weeks, he will go on steroids for a short period of time to rebuild everything and allow his body to absorb the nutrients he needs to get better. So, we are on the mend. Finally. (pictures taken the day of the procedures. He didn't move much from that spot all day)

Our church held a special prayer/fast for Reid this past week. Thank you to all that were involved and set aside their time to pray for our little man. I know that those prayers were heard, and answered. I know that our prayers were heard 7 months ago. We just had a lesson to learn here. Heavenly Father teaches us so much in our trials. And, if it was easy, we wouldn't learn anything. I have learned extreme patience. 7 months ago, if you were to ask me to wait a week or 2 for test results, heck, even one day, I would freak. Today, 2 weeks? No biggie. Patience IS one of my virtues now. We have learned to count our blessings, big and small. I have learned to love like its your last day. I have learned that little things don't matter. Having a spotless house is NOTHING in comparison to time spent with children. I will have years ahead of me to pick up after everyone. But I wont have years to sit and play with cars and trucks on the floor with my little boy.

Since Reid has been sick, and also the fact that he is at the picky eater toddler stage, it is so hard to get any food in him. So, this picture is a joy to see!

Copper

...or, as Reid calls him...Bopper. This beast has got to be 10 times the weight of Reid, and he doesn't even flinch. The kids can not get enough of Copper now that he is past his puppy stage and settled down a bit. It only took a few years.

Uncle Cody

Bryan's brother Cody has been living in Hong Kong since last May. He just came back to Florida last week...but only for a little while before he gets married. Since its been a while, he came to surprise the kids. They were so excited to have him for the weekend. Reid couldn't get enough of him, as you can tell from these pictures. My apologies for the blurriness...I didn't realize that the camera was on the wrong setting until later.

Rodeo

Its become a tradition for us to go to the Silver Spurs Rodeo every February. The kids get off of school here for it, so we take the day to go to the fair and then to the rodeo. This year, it wasn't as exciting as precvious years, but the kids love the tradition and its fun going out with the family no matter what it is we are doing. This year we went with some friends of ours, which made it even better. And, Bryan's dad and brother came to town to surprise the kids, so they were with us as well!