Big month for Liam!!

WOW! August proved to be a big month for Liam, as you can see from the pics above! He is sporting his birthday stickers on his helmet and showing off his new cup-holding skills. Yes, indeed, we are WEANING him from the TUBE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's a slow process, and right now we can only feed him either formula thickened with rice cereal from an open cup or baby food (which he's been able to eat for the past six months). However, we are so happy to see him drink from a cup!!

He turned one on August 9, and we discovered he does not like icing or cake, especially when it is on his face. Made for a rather boring first birthday party, but it was such a joy to see him turn one that we really didn't care about the cake-on-the-face thing.

Chris Rice, a favorite Christian recording artist, sings a song called "Life Means So Much." It's one of Lisa's favorites:

"Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
That somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much"

May we always make Liam's days count!

In Christ,
Bill and Lisa

Great echo results!!

We are THRILLED to announce Liam's most recent echo results!! We met with Liam's cardiologist on July 23 but (once again) Lisa is slow about getting the word out. So, here you go:

1. The ASD (hole in his heart) appears to have closed on its own. We'll do a repeat echo in 9 months and they'll confirm this then.
2. The aortic root dilitation (area we feared was developing into an aneurysm) that was moderately enlarged in March appeared to only be mildly enlarged in this echo. So, no meds and no surgery needed yet.
3. The cardiologist said, "OK, so I'll give you a 50-50 chance that you're looking at one additional heart surgery before age 18."

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! You have no idea what terrific news that is to two parents who started down this road in April 2007 looking at an HLHS diagnosis. ONE surgery? In the next 17 YEARS? 50-50 chance?

THANK YOU, GOD. So many prayers answered! And did you catch that we don't have to go back to the cardiologist for NINE MONTHS??!!??!!

"Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?" Exodus 15:11

So, we're still looking at a possible skull surgery this fall or winter. We take it one month at a time, and no, I don't have any idea when we'll get the final word. All the docs involved with Liam's care defer to the skull doc for his opinion on this issue, so we have decided to do the same.

Most recently, the ophthamologist saw Liam last week and determined he has a problem with his right eye. I can't pronounce it nor can I spell it, so I won't even try. It doesn't really matter. What does matter is that he will probably need a minor outpatient eye surgery at some point down the road (after the skull surgery, if and when he has that). For now, he has a lazy right eye and we're going to patch the left one for 4 hours per day to see if we can strengthen the right eye.

A patch and a helmet. We're considering having a pirate's hat affixed to the top of the helmet to give him the look of a pirate. What do you think?

Liam turns one on Saturday. We're considering the words from his cardiologist to be God's early birthday gift to Liam.

We bid a very sad farewell to Bill's mother on July 18. Thank you so much to those of you who have surrounded our family with your prayers, flowers, memorial gifts, cards, and love since she became ill earlier this year. To say she will be missed is such an understatement.

In Christ,
Bill and Lisa

New pics and a long-awaited update!

Sorry, folks. What a crazy spring it's been!

Above you can see Bill with the kiddos at a picnic in May. Liam is sporting his helmet, which is old news by now, but the only people who have seen him in it are those who see us regularly. The other two pictures are Liam at school this week, painting for the first time. Just overlook
the pink t-shirt, because they throw those on the kids to keep them from painting all over their clothes--no, we don't dress Liam in pink.

Liam can roll over front to back and vice versa, though he doesn't do it very often. He can sort of sit up now, and we're working on crawling (he can scoot around a bit) and helping him learn to put weight on his legs. He's a happy child who loves to smile and laugh. Can you believe he's still toothless at 10 months?! Good grief! Where are those teeth?

We're still waiting for the helmet to do its job and we're watching his heart closely. No update on the skull surgery, other than that the doc was a bit more hopeful the last time we chatted about the potential surgery. In March we learned Liam may be developing an aneurysm in his heart. We'll get an update on that in July. Please pray that the area affected hasn't grown and that if it has, medication will resolve the issue. Both doctors have told us to be concerned but not to worry about these things yet, so that's what we endeavor to do on a daily basis.

I got behind on scheduling doc appointments, but we hope to have the next swallow study date within the next week. It's funny that the feeding tube has become such a non-issue. The only problem it creates is when we need someone to watch him--then we have to find someone who is trained (or at least comfortable learning) to feed him using the tube. Many, many thanks to our friends Heather, Melissa, and Candice for all the hours they have put in caring for Liam as well as Sarah, all three often refuse payment of any type.

I found myself in a blue funk this spring--everything seemed to catch up with me all at once. Work has been incredibly stressful (God's way of keeping me distracted from worrying?) and there are always the niggling fears about Liam working away at the back of my head. Thankfully, Bill earned the husband of the year award for being so supportive, and many family members, friends, and colleagues were there to show the love of Christ through their actions and words of wisdom. I always find Psalm 46 a comfort to read. It is one of my favorites--I've probably quoted it on this blog before:

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. 'Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.' The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah"

We all need to be still and know that God is God, but at certain times we need to do that with greater urgency and frequency. So, I took a break from blogging and let God push me once again out of my comfort zone, into uncharted territory, and am now reaping the benefits of following Him there. Alright, to be completely truthful about it, it was more like God dragged me kicking and screaming out of my comfort zone. ;)

Hopefully things will be slower now that we've reached the lazy hazy days of summer and I'll be able to keep up with this blog better!

In Christ,
Lisa