Recent Struggles

Well, we are back home and still reminiscing often of our amazing Colorado trip! It's hard for Tanner to understand that at home we have responsibilities and things to do other than spend all of our waking time playing together :).

We have noticed some new behaviors the last couple of weeks that are frustrating and a little bit concerning for us. It's hard to actually describe, but his attention, his responses and reactions are not normal for him. He becomes easily agitated, he's more aggressive and has complained often of his stomach hurting. He's also much more tired than he used to be. These all could be side effects from the medication, or they could also be from the leukodystrophy which, unfortunately, no one will be able to tell us clearly either way.

We have an appointment this Thursday (Oct. 2nd) with the pediatric neurologist in Temple. We're hoping that he'll have some new ideas or recommendations. We hate to stop and start a new medication again because it's typically a drawn out process to decrease one medication while starting a new medication and could result in more headaches while waiting to see if the medication will work (and whether the other medication was actually the problem in the first place). We also hate to try another medication that could have other side effects!

We're also concerned of course that possibly no medications will help the headaches and that it's a result of the leukodystrophy. The positive side to this would be we could stop some of the medications and get rid of any side effects, but would hate to see him struggling with the headaches again.

Overall he seems to be doing well educationally at school and still enjoys it immensely! He is enjoying being able to play outside again now that cooler weather has arrived.

We would appreciate your continued prayers for us to be patient and loving despite his behavior (that is sometimes SO difficult to do!), also for the doctor to hear and listen to our concerns & have some new ideas to try, and most importantly for Tanner's pain to dissipate and him to be able to feel better emotionally as well as physically!

Thank you for your continued concern for our family.

Ike's Welcome Home

We have arrived safely home from Colorado with no damage except a few tree limbs from Hurricane Ike. We are extremely blessed that we still have power, water and can get fuel with very little trouble (for now).

We had a spectacular and memorable time in Estes Park, Colorado. Without television or internet access (it was absolutely blissful), we didn't even realize there was a hurricane headed our way until Wednesday (a big thanks to all our friends who helped tie things down!)

Our week was phenomenal. We spent time hiking, driving up the mountain, playing games, drinking coffee and hot chocolate in front of a nightly fire, enjoying the wildlife (chipmunks, ground squirrels, marmots, elk, birds) reading, and more. Tanner became a junior ranger by completing a booklet about Rocky Mountain National Park (and has loved telling anyone who was willing to pay attention). We also enjoyed an afternoon of snow in the mountains! The main road over the mountain was shut down due to the snow, but, we drove up to where it was closed and Tanner was thrilled to have a snow ball fight with Jon. One of Tanner's favorite things was watching the glassblowers, we went back 3 times! I could go on and on, but don't want to bore you.

It was a truly restful and beautiful week. One of our favorite things was Tanner's joy and genuine thankfulness for the beauty and creation that we experienced. He would notice something and sign "Thank you, thank you for the beautiful mountain Jesus!" and then he'd want us to do the same. Another time, "thank you Jesus for the elk" and did he this all week long! It was such a precious thing to see.

Our last morning there we were packing up the truck to leave, and in the front of the cabin we saw a herd of 40-50 elk! It was a clear morning with an amazing view of the mountains and we were surrounded by these majestic animals. What a beautiful parting gift from our Father. We are truly blessed to have had this week together that was absolutely unforgettable!

I've tried (it was hard) to pick out some of the best pictures to show you here. Enjoy!

We'll be coming 'round the Mountain.....

We are headed out to Estes Park, Colorado this morning! We are anticipating a relaxing, rest-filled, week of being together as a family and creating memories in a new place! We are so blessed to have this amazing opportunity. It was exciting to pull out sweatshirts, hats, gloves and jackets again, Tanner is happy about his new winter jacket (especially because we don't have a long season to wear it in Texas.)

Tanner is incredibly excited to be going to the mountains. He is ready to hike up the mountains (and then thinks he will slide down on the dirt.) He is also ready to see moose and bear (which, according to Tanner, are both very nice) and ride a bear up the mountain (hopefully he won't be too disappointed :)).

We look forward to telling you about the trip upon our return. Have a great week!