The Best News EVER!!!

Last night, I was in my car listening to an audio book, when it paused and chimed indicating that I had a new email. I paused the book to check the email,(Calm down, I was just sitting in the driveway listening to the end of the chapter--not driving!) and it was from Kelli! And it contained the best news EVER!!!

WE HAVE AN APPROVED KIDNEY DONOR!!!

WE HAVE AN APPROVED KIDNEY DONOR!!!

SURGERY IS TENTATIVELY THE END OF MARCH!!!!

5 YEARS FROM THE DAY I WAS FIRST LISTED!

We just got word that Sarah has been approved, and should be flown into Cedars in the next 2 weeks or so.

Surgery is tentatively the end of March, but we will know more as we go.

Are we excited? Yes/No. I think with all we have been through it will be a "once I am on the table" thing.

I will need to be going to LA for treatment starting the first of March for 3 treatments, one week apart.

So, now, we just have to kick fund raising up to the moon to get all this paid for.

Ok God, sell a few of those cows on the hill please :)


YOUR PRAYERS ARE SO APPRECIATED OVER THESE LAST 5 YEARS EVERYONE. You have sustained us through so much fear and doubt and and and and and ....

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yeehaw!! Woo-Hoo!! WOOT-WOOT!!!

I am sooooooooo happy for my friend who will hopefully have kidney function within the next two months and then perhaps she can get those legs to start working again! The road is far from over, but the light is bright and shining at the end of a very, very long tunnel.

You can pop on over to Kelli's Blog to get more details, or to get to know this amazing friend of mine a little better, or to make a donation to help her pay for all of the travel and surgery and whatnot.

Did I say Yeehaw???

An Update on Baby Lily...

As you can see, she is a peaceful little thing.

Since I last posted on her, she has been taken off the ventilator, but apparently still "forgets" to breathe sometimes and will go quite pale--which scares her mama quite a bit. But, she was up to 2 lbs. 4 oz. at her last weigh in and is eating quite well.

She has brain scans regularly to look for infections and other problems common to preemies. So far, they have all come back clean. However, her last test showed a potential problem. Here is the post from her mama.

Please pray especially for healing for Lily. Her brain ultrasound came back with evidence of small cysts in her frontal white matter which is known to cause cerebral palsy. The doctors said we have to wait to have an MRI done for a more conclusive diagnosis, but it will not be done until she is closer to going home. These cysts can go away which is what we are praying for.

Please join us in praying that these cysts disappear on her own and that Lily continues to grow and develop normally as she would have in the womb.

She is getting so big, I think you'll be seeing some pictures of "big girl" knitting projects popping up here soon! :)

Sorry, I Got a Bit Sidetracked...

I've been a bit busy for the past couple of days. I have been working on a couple of different knitting projects this week. There is this scarf for the neighbor kid that asked for a solid red hat and scarf. It's really a simple 2x2 rib, but it gets a bit boring AND I can only stand to look at Nebraska Corn husker red for so long before I start to twitch....
So, when I need a break, I work on this lovely pair of charcoal grey boot socks...FOR MYSELF! I rarely knit for myself, so I'm anxious to get these finished and on my feet! They are a merino wool/bamboo blend and so very, very soft and just lovely to work on. However....
...I still managed to get sidetracked into knitting this little, itty-bitty, baby had and socks.
And just in case they don't look all that itty-bitty in the picture, take a look at this...
That's a 16.9 oz. bottle of water, and the hat fits it just perfectly.

And right about now, you are probably wondering why I made them so tiny. Well, I would love to introduce you to Lily Claire! Below is Lily's very first picture! Isn't she beautiful? She was born at only 25 weeks gestation and weighed 1 lb. 11 oz. She is a miracle, but look at how big that hat is on her head! She most definitely needs a new one, don't you think?

Her mom has been keeping us up-to-date on her progress via Facebook. The following pictures and quotes are from her page.

Well we started 2010 wanting a baby more than anything in the world and today we are ending 2010 next to our beautiful and strong little girl. She is a miracle!!!

Look at how tiny her hand is as she grabs on to her daddy's finger!

Lily had another good day today. I could not see her tonight because I had an elevated temperature, but Luke comes back with a huge smile on his face every time he sees her. She truly is an amazing and perfect masterpiece. We are hopeful for her recovery and are counting down the days to when she can come home.

I just LOVE this picture of her daddy hugging her incubator before they were allowed to hold her...I think he likes her! :)

Lily is doing well. The doctors and nurses are amazed at her strong lungs. She has been able to breathe on her own since she was born. They keep telling us how feisty she is. We can not wait til we can hold her and bring her home. Thanks for all the prayers, we feel God's presence among us.

See how tiny her feet are? I had to come up with my own pattern to make socks that little that wouldn't fall off...at least I hope they won't!

Today was a long day for us. It gets harder and harder to leave Lily and come home empty handed. They had to up her oxygen because her lungs were a little deflated and she is back on her beliruben light. I wish that it was time to bring her home already or at least just get to hold her.

This is her daddy's wedding ring around her WRIST!

I just saw my daughter without machines all hooked up to her face. Her eyes were opened and she wrapped her tiny finger around mine. It was a breathtaking moment...she is absolutely beautiful!!!

Well, Lily for sure does not have any infections. She went down in weight and is having blood sugar problems, but they say it's normal We did get to see her whole face and eyes opened but just long enough to get a picture, then the breathing apparatus went back on. I am beginning to understand these next few months will be a roller coaster ride!

This is the first time her mama got to hold her, and the first picture that really shows how tiny she is. I think the water bottle may be bigger than she is!

This is the most recent post from her mom.

Please pray for Lily today. Last night she had to be put on a ventilator and they think she might be septic. She has worked so hard these last two weeks to breathe on her own and while the ventilator is giving her lungs and brain a rest, it can still be damaging to the lungs and of course we hate to see her in pain. She has fought so hard so I just ask that you pray for God to give her strength and give us peace.

They are working on getting Lily her very own blog, but they gave me permission to share her with you here. When they get her blog up and running, I'll be sure to link to it for anyone who wants to keep track and to pray for her. In the meantime, I decided that a plain, pink cotton hat and socks just weren't fancy enough for such an amazing little girl, so I started on this little set that is just a touch fancier, and as you can see, I still have one more sock to make...so I'm going to get off this thing, and get to knitting!

Sunday Sing-a-Long

This is one of my all-time FAVORITE songs off of Mandisa's newest CD. I love this song because it's about worshiping and giving God praise even when you don't think you have anything to bring to Him. It was my anthem when I was going through my latest kidney battle.

Every time I've heard it over the past few weeks, I've thought of Kelli and other friends and family who are going through some life-changing and scary medical issues. So, I thought I'd share it with all of you today just in case you might be going through something that makes it difficult for you to praise God right now.

I hope it blesses you as much as it blesses me each and every time I hear it. :)

Psalm 103

Psalm 103

A David Psalm

1-2 O my soul, bless God. From head to toe, I'll bless his holy name!
O my soul, bless God,
don't forget a single blessing!

3-5 He forgives your sins—every one.
He heals your diseases—every one.
He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
He renews your youth—you're always young in his presence.

6-18 God makes everything come out right;
he puts victims back on their feet.
He showed Moses how he went about his work,
opened up his plans to all Israel.
God is sheer mercy and grace;
not easily angered, he's rich in love.
He doesn't endlessly nag and scold,
nor hold grudges forever.
He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve,
nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.
As high as heaven is over the earth,
so strong is his love to those who fear him.
And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
he has separated us from our sins.
As parents feel for their children,
God feels for those who fear him.
He knows us inside and out,
keeps in mind that we're made of mud.
Men and women don't live very long;
like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,
But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
leaving nothing to show they were here.
God's love, though, is ever and always,
eternally present to all who fear him,
Making everything right for them and their children
as they follow his Covenant ways
and remember to do whatever he said.

19-22 God has set his throne in heaven;
he rules over us all. He's the King!
So bless God, you angels,
ready and able to fly at his bidding,
quick to hear and do what he says.
Bless God, all you armies of angels,
alert to respond to whatever he wills.
Bless God, all creatures, wherever you are—
everything and everyone made by God.

And you, O my soul, bless God!

(The Message)

A Time To Dance...

You may or may not have noticed that the prayer list over in my sidebar has had a couple of changes. Now instead of listing "Baby Ethan" and "My Friend Renee", it now reads "Ethan's Family" and "Renee's Family". That is because first my friend Renee died, and then Little E died, but their blogs are still up and able to be read, and Little E's is still being updated as his family gets the "Ethan Powell Foundation" up and running to help fight leukemia.

So, several weeks ago, I attended a service to say good-bye to my friend, Renee Atkinson. Renee was a remarkable woman, and I hope one day to be able to write a post all about her. But today, I just wanted to share something else with you in Renee's memory.

Renee was a people person, and wherever Renee was, there was the party. Renee celebrated life even when she spent it itching and in pain and greatly disfigured due to a rare form of cancer. So I found it fitting that my daughter danced at Renee's funeral. Yes, she danced.

At Christmastime, Maddie participated in a dance at church choreographed to Chris Tomlin's "How Great is Our God". That just happened to be one of the songs that we sang at Renee's funeral, and since we were sitting in the front row, on the aisle, my daughter decided to dance. I didn't stop her... I knew that Renee was absolutely loving it! In fact, if she had been there, she would probably have joined in!

So Maddie and I headed up to the studio where she studies dance, and her teacher allowed us to use the studio to videotape Maddie doing this very dance. I wanted to videotape it so I could post it here in honor of my friend, Renee Atkinson. So Renee, this is for you. I know you'll enjoy it. We sure do miss you down here!

Amen and Amen

I just got home from picking up B. at youth group. When I went into the church to wait for him, they were having worship and they were singing this song that just made me say, "Yes, that's what I want." And I thought I'd share it with you all...

The more I seek You, The more I find You.
The more I find You, The more I love You.

I wanna sit at Your feet
Drink from the cup in Your hand.
Lay back against You and breathe.
Feel Your heartbeat.

This love is so deep
It's more than I can stand.
I melt in Your peace.
It's overwhelming.

Amen and Amen!

Quick Praise Report

Okay, I'm way behind on the cake decorating for today, so this is gonna be short, ya'll, but seriously you have to go read the last 2 or 3 updates on Little Ethan Powell. (Just click on his sweet little picture above and follow the "Updates" link. If you have been following him at all, you will know that they have just attempted their last resort at a cure for his leukemia and although this procedure has been tried 8 times before...it has never worked. They tweak the procedure a little each time, and I won't go into all the details, but basically, they killed all the leukemia (again) with chemo and then they transplanted his father's stem cells into baby Ethan and were needing them to "take over" in Ethan's body. When they ran the blood tests, they needed the cells in his body to be 0% leukemia and 100% daddy. Well, the first tests are in and GUESS WHAT?!?!? 100% DADDY CELLS!!!!! This is just the first step, but it's a HUGE one.

PRAISE GOD!!!

Urgent Prayer Request

****UPDATE***The two-year-old girl has a broken arm and broken pelvic bone, but no internal injuries. She will remain in the hospital for now as she needs to be immobilized. The boy had scrapes on his back but no other injuries and will probably be released today. Thank you everyone for praying with us on this!***UPDATE***

I just got a call from my friend, Denise, and a mutual friend of ours is in the middle of a nightmare. Her husband was backing the car out of the driveway and didn't know that two of his kids were behind the car. I don't have all the details yet other than that they were both taken by Star Flight to the Children's Hospital here in town although I don't think that they both needed to be. I believe the 2 year old girl was the most critical, but since they were taking her, they took the older boy as well. My understanding was that the little girl's head was not hurt. (Thank you, Jesus!) She was hit in the side and was unable to move her arm. I'm not sure about the boy yet.

Anyway, when Denise called, she said she was calling everyone she knew to start praying for this family....so I, of course, thought of all of you out there in bloggy land! Please lift up this family today as it comes to your mind, and I'll post updates as I get them.

Thank you everyone!

Praise God!!!

I have been checking Little Ethan's Website off and on all day for updates. I just left there, and had to share the latest update with you all!

6th update/ 1:49pm [Ben] BRACE YOURSELF... ETHAN'S MARROW CAME BACK WITH ZERO CELLS... NO GOOD CELLS AND NO BAD... THAT MEANS THAT HE IS STARTING OVER FROM SCRATCH... WHICH IS A GREAT THING! WE ARE GOING TO TRANSPLANT!!! HIGH FIVE SOMEONE, STAND ON A CHAIR, YELL IT IN THE STREETS!!! I AM CRYING MY EYES OUT AS I TYPE THIS. WHAT AN AMAZING GOD WE SERVE!

IF YOU HAVE BEEN SITTING AT YOUR COMPUTER WAITING FOR MONTHS TO SEE IF THERE IS A GOD... THEN THERE IS YOUR ANSWER. AND THE EVEN BETTER PART IS THAT HE LISTENS TO INSIGNIFCANT PEOPE LIKE YOU AND ME. WE ARE STILL FIGHTING THE ODDS WITH THE EXPERIMENTAL STEM CELL TRANSPLANT PROCESS... BUT TODAY IS A DAY TO CELEBRATE! GOD HAS CLAIMED A VICTORY OVER THAT 'LITTLE PUNK' THE DEVIL. THANKS TO THE CHAT ROOM FOLKS FOR COMING UP WITH THE NAME... WE HAVE OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED TODAY MIRACLE MONDAY!!! MORE INFORMATION COMING LATER TODAY... FOR NOW, PLEASE SEND UP A PRAYER OF THANKS TO GOD.
BELIEVE IT!!!!!!!!
PRAYER WORKS!!!!!!!

Isn't God good? The last few times they have tried this test, his leukemia cells were too high for transplant. This was their last chance before being told to take him home to die. AND I just read recently on the website that last Father's Day was supposed to be the due date of another baby that I'm guessing they miscarried. So, they went through a miscarriage, then had this beautiful boy just before Christmas, and by Valentine's Day, they were at St. Jude fighting for the life of this precious little boy. It just makes their faith even more amazing doesn't it?

Don't forget to keep praying for Little Ethan. He isn't out of the woods yet, and his next treatment is experimental, but we all know that God can work His miracles regardless of our limits. And don't forget to thank Him and praise Him for the miracles he's already done in Little Ethan!