The most terrific Christmas card

As Matt tells it, he and Holly were browsing the card aisle at the store when Holly spotted this snowman card. "That's the one for Mommy!" Matt looked at it, shrugged, and said "Okay!"

My Christmas card is definitely unique, but still terrific!

Doing the platelet dance!

We're celebrating in our house - I talked to Anna's doctor yesterday, and her platelet count is 132,000! Up 100,000 in 6 days. The doctors prepared me that it could take 1-2 months for her body to "correct itself" so this is great news. Thank you all for your prayers, your concern, and your words of encouragement.

Holly and I had to wake Anna from a very deep sleep so we could make it to her doctor appointment on Wednesday. I rarely see my kids while they're sleeping, so this was a little treat (except the waking her up part). Here are a couple of pictures...

Haircut day!

We had a pretty super weekend. A few highlights I'll share:

- breakfast in front of the (real) fire on Saturday
- lots of family time
- a Pandora radio station created around the Charlie Brown Christmas music
- staying in pajamas until the afternoon
- almost completing the Christmas shopping
- dinner at the Brick Store on Saturday
- changing things up and going to church at 6 pm (love having options!)
- Anna continuing to do great
- haircut day for Mommy and Holly on Sunday!

Holly was a little apprehensive at first...it's been a long time since she got her hair cut and all she remembered was that scissors are involved. But Miss Brooke bribed her with a cookie and she hopped right in the chair.



I don't really have a good "after" picture. I'll try to add that later. But it was sweet time for Holly and me - some rare alone time for the two of us (well, sort of alone time). Now if I could just get her to sit still for a mani/pedi...

Anna update

We have a diagnosis - ITP, or Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura. Basically, as Anna's body fought an infection, she overproduced antibodies which attacked her platelets. This disease often corrects itself over time, but it's the in-between period we have to be careful about. Because Anna's platelet count was so low (10,000 instead of the normal 150,000), she could be in serious trouble if she had a head injury.

The hematologist recommended moving forward with treatment to increase the platelet count. This led to hours of waiting, as we first needed a new blood count. The nurses had an awful time trying to get some blood from Anna and start her IV line. She screamed and fought, and they tried two veins before giving up. It was so hard to have to restrain her as she looked at me with frightened eyes and a tear-soaked face. All I could do was sing in her ear and pray for her.

The nurses were able to draw a tiny amount of blood, but decided to call the IV team in to start the line. By then her numbing cream had worn off, and the thought of them trying several new veins with no numbing cream just broke my heart. As we waited for them to arrive, her worn out little body finally fell asleep in my arms. It the best part of my day. Until...

The doctor came in a few minutes later and told me that she had gotten the new blood counts and her platelet count was at 32,000. Tripled! In a day! She no longer recommended the IV infusion, and was really optimistic that Anna's body was taking care of itself. We will go back next week and check her blood again to make sure the platelets are continuing to increase. We'll probably be doing this weekly or bi-weekly for the next month or so.

I'm overwhelmed with gratitude. I'm so grateful that Anna, seemingly miraculously, was asymptomatic despite her very low platelet count. I'm grateful for platelet counts that triple in a day with no intervention. I'm grateful for our wonderful and perceptive pediatrician, and the amazing doctors and nurses at Children's Healthcare. I'm grateful for friends I can call when I need some encouragement, and for a community of people committed to praying for us. And I'm so grateful that God, in His grace and mercy, seems to be healing our Anna. Thank you Father.

Signing out now, going to bed, and sleeping well tonight.

Asking For Prayer

We had a little (?) health scare with Anna yesterday. Her body is covered in bruises and petichiae (a rash of purple freckles), which points to a blood problem. We had a full blood count taken yesterday, and thankfully her white blood cell count is normal, which means we should be able to rule out something serious like leukemia. But her platelet count is extremely low, which indicates there is still a problem. It could be a viral infection, reaction to an antibiotic, or a number of other things. We are going back to the hospital today at 10:30. I'm not sure what tests will be done, but we need to try to determine the cause of the low count. In the meantime, Anna is making me nervous! She just started walking and is a clumsy little toddler. But because her blood isn't clotting much, she has to be very careful to avoid any injury (even injury that doesn't break the skin can cause internal bleeding). So I'm asking for prayer this morning.

1) That her platelet count rises quickly and drastically
2) For wisdom and discernment for the doctors as they try to determine the cause
3) That Anna will stay tough and keep her sweet spirit through it all
4) That I will stay tough and keep my sort of sweet spirit through it all
5) That Anna will somehow stay free of too many bumps and falls
6) That this ordeal, however big or small, grows my (our) faith and dependence on our Heavenly Father and brings glory to Him.

Thank you! Will keep you posted...

Anna is (almost) one!

I can't believe my baby will be one on Thursday. I've been quite the slacker on all of the one year milestones I'm supposed to be helping her achieve. I think they call this denial. But since it's happening whether I like it or not, I figured a celebration was in order.

So celebrate we did. With grandparents...



And presents...

Good friends and neighbors...



And lots of treats...



I looked around at the community God has surrounded us with in this season of life. You have all been a blessing to us, and we're so thankful that we have you to celebrate with.

Happy Birthday sweet Anna!

Trick-or-Treating fun

(Thanks to Joni for the photos. The camera picked the perfect time to die...which was when Holly threw it down the stairs...)