Our Faithful God

Yesterday morning as I watched Luke get Micah dressed to go to the hospital for his second round of chemo my heart became increasingly sad as I anticipated what the next few weeks might hold for our little man. It was then that I was reminded of grace for the day and went to find a faithful friend to help speak truth to my troubled heart... Christ our Mediator (a wonderful little book by CJ Mahaney), chapter 4, my favorite- "The Garden of Gethsemane" speaks of Christ and his immense suffering as he willingly bore the full wrath of God alone for all my sin. He took my cup of wrath and drained it dry so that I can be forgiven and we will never be alone. What a reminder to me...even when we aren't near to Micah, our faithful God is with him and in this my heart can be glad . Jesus loves the little children. What comfort that He who has suffered more than I will ever know is the one who holds us and intercedes for us.

Micah is back in the hospital and has a room which he can see the helicopters from once again =) We were a little nervous about how he would react once he saw where he was but Luke said that he saw the balloons and Cookie Monster on the wall and got excited! Imagine that!! They have been going on walks, watching lots of Baby Einstein and coloring.

Thank you for your constant care, comfort and faithful prayers for our family!! Luke & Kriscinda, Braet, Micah and lil sis

Specific Prayers:

* Micah Man- That the chemo drugs would kill the bad stuff and have minimal side affects (thank the Lord this is what Micah has mainly been experiencing) also that he would get no mouth sores. He also has an MRI scheduled after this round of chemo and would as always covet your continued prayers for this event.

*Also Micah is not eating or drinking well we are not sure exactly why - if he has a bad metallic (caused by the meds) taste in his mouth or if he just doesn't feel so well. And when he does it is nothing but cheese stuff! But prayer that he will eat and drink well.

* That Luke & I would continue to fight for a mind stayed on the Lord and joy as we take care of Micah in the hard times. Isaiah 26:3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you

Popcorn Picnic

Just Wanted you all to know MICAH"S HOME!!
What a fun time it has been already! A popcorn picnic on the living room floor, soda, playing balls with Braet and just hanging out!! Thank the Lord for a nice break! We go back Tuesday morning for the second round of chemo. The stem cell harvest went well especially after they gave him more than just Benadryl as a sedative!
Thanks , Love to You All,
Luke & Kriscinda, Braet, Micah and lil Sis


2 Cor 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.-- Thank you all for your comfort!

Valentines

Thanks Everyone for your prayers for Micah Man!! Yesterday we celebrated Valentines together with a candlelight picnic on the floor of Micah's room. It was great to be together and well Micah he just wanted to sit on his Braet Braet's lap (which as you can imagine didn't last long because he's a little heavy for Braet), let me tell you it was too cute to watch the boys together! What a blessing!
Micah's counts have gone up and he is scheduled to have the stem cell harvest tomorrow (Thursday) morning. This will be done in ICU to keep him sedated and then they said we should be able to go home on Fri. which would be a wonderful treat! His next round of chemo starts Tues the 21 st and he will be readdmitted then.
Thanks for all your prayers for our family, we are so thankful!
Love to All,
Luke & Kriscinda, Braeton, Micah and lil Miss

Specific Prayer Request:
* The stem cell harvest would go well and Micah would be comfortable through the process
* The next round of chemo would do what it is supposed to and Micah would not have side effects or mouth sores also that is counts would come back quickly so he is not so sick

For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. Ps 100:5

Mouth Sores

Well our little pumpkin has painful mouth sores (from the Methotraxate)- thankful he is receiving Morphine for his pain and it is working well! He is doing much better today. My Dad is hanging out with Micah tonight and I'm sure they are enjoying watching Toy Story 2 and strolling down the halls.
Luke & I are sure enjoying the break with Braet after a few trying days for our Micah. Tonight before Braet went to bed he prayed that, "The Lord would help Micah 's head and give him a new body." Little people are so precious and what can I say he totally touched my heart!
Our nurses are great and so kind, Micah even has a nurse that goes to Covenant Life! Many of his nurses have told us they are praying for him, they are so gentle and tender. God is so kind to give us such wonderful people to take care of him!
Thanks so much for all your prayers for Micah and our family, they are truly felt!

Love to All- thanks for being with us in this long journey
May the Lord bless you for all your care and prayers for us
Luke&Kriscinda, Braet, Micah and little Miss

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Ps 25:2

There & Back Again

"There and back again!" Well our stay at home was short and sweet. This morning when Micah woke up he was not feeling and had a fever so we are now spending the weekend back at Children's due to his very low blood counts. They will keep us here until the stem cell harvest. We would appreciate your continued prayers for Micah and us as we seek to trust the Lord and care for our little guy. Thanks! Love to All

Home!

Hello All,

Our Micah was able to come home last night!! He has been in the hospital just over three weeks and was so excited when we told him we were going "Bye Byes". He even put his jacket on with great joy (he usually doesn't like it)! We arrived home to a beautifully decorated sidewalk, balloons and banner from the kids in our CG. Once inside he wanted to sit in his chair, go upstairs and downstairs, read books with Nana, and hang out with his family we finally got him into bed about 10:30! But he slept well and we were all so glad to be home for a few days.

Micah is scheduled to have his stem cell harvest early next week and that will be an overnight at the hospital. After that we will be back home for for a few weeks. We have a very kind home nurse, Susan, who comes twice a week (Mon & Thurs) to draw his blood and help us out with any questions. We are also getting physical therapy set up to come to our home and his left side is getting stronger each day. He was quite tired today but seemed to enjoy playing with his toys.

We are so thankful to the Lord to be home as a fam and thank you for all your continued prayers for Micah and our family. There is no greater kindness! You all have cared for our family so well! We love the cards, emails, calls and are so thankful for all your prayers!!

With Love and much Thanks=)
Luke & Kriscinda, Braeton, Micah, and little Miss

Specific Prayer:
* The stem cell harvest would go well and quickly so he doesn't have to be in the hospital and sedated for long.
* That Luke & I would take one day at a time. There is alot to get used too. Luke is doing wonderful giving Micah his shots and our kitchen counter looks like a mini pharmacy. We are working on getting a schedule of his medicines together (there are alot, like 5 and then mouth care) and he doesn't like taking them even though it is through his NG tube. He is very sensitive to the medicine going through his tube so it must be done slowly or he throws up.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” Lam 3:22-24

1 Round of Chemo Over

Hello All,
Friday was the last day for Micah's first round of chemotherapy and so far so good! Micah did have some vomiting and diarrhea, but overall he seemed pretty comfortable. He has had a full week of watching helicopters, walking on his own through the hallways, taking wagon rides through the hospital, and spending time with friends and family. If all goes well we will be able to bring him home sometime this week, as early as Monday! Kriscinda and I are getting pretty excited about that - it's almost been 3 weeks since we first brought Micah into the hospital. Looking back I can see God's hand at work in our lives and his kindness to us as shown through all of our family and friends and all of the care, counsel, wisdom, and prayers that that offered up for us. We can not thank you all enough for your help and for coming along side of us during this difficult time. God is glorified in the ways you have served us.

Please continue to pray for:
*Micah's complete healing.
*That Micah's sodium will stabilize and he will be eating enough on his own (without the tube feeds) to have the NG tube removed from his nose
*That the symptoms of Micah's chemotherapy would continue to be minimal. The most recent chemo he had was called methotrexate which is known to cause severe mouth sores, and sores all along the digestive tract. Please pray for mercy for Micah's little body, that he would not be in any pain.
*Please continue to pray for Kriscinda and I and our family, that our trust would be found in the Lord, and that we would walk through this trial in a way that would bring glory to him -

Thanks Again!
Luke & Kriscinda, Braeton , Micah and Baby

"When I am afraid, I put my trust in You." Ps 56:3

First Day of Chemo

Hey Guys & Gals,

Yesterday was Micah's first day of chemo. I'm not really sure what I was expecting but it was an emotional morning for me. Joy and strength seemed absent. Micah was having a tough morning and hadn't really slept well the night before. But God in his kindness and faithfulness met us once again! First it was through our social worker Janice (what a jewel she is!) she saw my tears as we walked down the hall and stopped to inquire about how we were. She was so kind to remind us of God's goodness, through our family, friends, and most importantly the faith God has given us. Then later a friend stopped by to pray for us, how encouraging. It was just what we needed. Not to mention all the wonderful scriptures that are continually being sent for us to meditate on.
By the afternoon our countenance had changed (thank the Lord that his joy is our strength- and he gives help to the weak). Micah had physical therapy and they brought mats out on the floor for him to sit on and us to play with him. He also got to sit in the exersaucer and play for awhile (which he fell asleep in while his Dadda sang) - he even got a sponge bath. We truly enjoyed our afternoon with the little guy and so did he. Luke and Micah even got to watch several helicopters take off and land (you can see the landing pad from Micah's window), this was for sure a highlight for Micah!
Luke sent me home last night to rest (it was great rest!) and this morning when I came into see them, they were both smiles! Micah finally seems to be getting back to his old self and his momma & dadda are overjoyed!!
The docs say his hair will probably be gone by the end of the week but he was a cute bald baby anyway! His treatment will last until Friday and then he has a stem cell harvest on Saturday. Once he is stable and his numbers look good we can go home for a few weeks and we are all looking forward to that =)
Love to All,
Luke & Kriscinda, Braet, Micah and little baby

Nahum 1:7
"The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him"

Specific Prayer Requests:
* That the chemo and other drugs would be successful and Micah would have none or minimal side effects
*Joy and strength for the journey
*Complete healing for our little man