3 years ago around this time we were requesting your prayers for our preemie boys. Well, tonight I am asking for your prayers on behalf of a little preemie girl named Katelynn Matthews. Her mother, Allison, used to be a member at our congregation. She and her husband, Robert, had their little girl about 2 weeks ago at 31 weeks. Up until recently Katelynn had been progressing very well. She was off of oxygen and was having her milk feedings increased. Then yesterday they discovered that she had developed an infection in her intestines called NEC. This is the same serious infection that our little Isaac fought 3 years ago. This infection has meant a setback for baby Katelynn and she was put on a ventilator today after never having to have been put on it since her birth. She has also been given blood today. They are doing x-rays every 6 hours to see if things are getting better with the antibiotic. If things do not improve for baby Katelynn she will more than likely be looking at surgery to remove the infected part of the intestine.

Remembering back 3 years ago to when Isaac was sick with this infection is not easy for us. He was so sick and was headed in the direction of surgery himself. I remember the doctors saying that if his x-rays did not improve by the following morning then he would have surgery that morning. That night we put it on the internet and had it announced at church to pray specifically for Isaac and his condition and that he would not need the surgery. The next morning when we arrived at the NICU the doctor walked us straight over to the computer to show us Isaac’s x-rays from that morning and she looked at us and said that she didn’t know how to explain it, but everything was back the way it was supposed to be, when just the night before, his intestines were all blocked and pushed over on the other side of his abdomen. Just to explain a little about the infection…it’s like having gain green in your intestines. It is a very nasty infection. Jonathan and I looked at each other with tears in our eyes and we looked back at the doctor and we told her that we knew exactly how it happened…God had heard our prayers and decided that Isaac would not go through the surgery after all.

We know that not all babies in this situation are as fortunate as Isaac was, but we do know that prayer works!!! We have witnessed first hand the power of prayer with our little boys. We are hoping and praying that Allison and Robert may have the same outcome as Isaac had with their baby girl. We know that the best way to try and make that happen is to sincerely pray for her!!! So if you would, PLEASE keep baby Katelynn in your prayers and tell others to do so as well. We had people all over the country and some even out of the country praying for our boys during their time of need and we now have happy, healthy little 3 year olds. We know that prayer does make a difference and that is why we have our boys with us today.

We are praying for the same happy ending for Robert, Allison, and their baby girl tonight and I know they would all deeply appreciate your prayers as well.

We had our ultrasound today and received very good news about Adelyn. The cyst was so much smaller than it was 2 weeks ago that the ultrasound tech had a hard time finding it. She said it is definitely going away. Her kidneys also looked better. They still have a little bit of fluid in them but the doctor said that it was normal and that there were no concerns. He said that everything looks great and to not worry! The ultrasound tech also said that Adelyn is a big girl, 1 lb 2 oz already at 22 weeks, and that she has long arms and legs. No signs of a chromosomal disorder at all! We are so blessed and thankful that our prayers were answered. We are so relieved to have this behind us and are looking forward to enjoying the rest of the pregnancy. Thank you all so much for keeping us in your prayers!!!

For those of you that haven't already seen on Facebook, we are having a girl! Her name will be Adelyn Marie!

Adelyn could really use your prayers right now. We found out today that my 20 week ultrasound I had last week shows that Adelyn has a cyst on her brain and enlarged kidneys. My doctor told me that she sees both of these things show up all of the time on ultrasounds, and that 99.9% of the time they will go away on their own. That percentage definitely makes me feel better about all of this, but as parents we are still upset about this news. Also, because Adelyn has 2 abnormalities my doctor is having me go to a high risk doctor to have a more extensive ultrasound done in a few weeks. Then she said that they will do a repeat scan around 28 weeks to see if the problems have gone away. Jonathan and I have no idea what it could mean for Adelyn if these things to not go away. My doctor said that if they are not gone by the 28 week scan then the high risk doctor would talk to me at that time about what that would mean for our baby.

Jonathan and I have both seen the power of prayer with our boys. Now we are asking for your prayers for baby Adelyn. We know that with God all things are possible and although Jonathan and I are both upset about this news and are very concerned for our little girl, we both are able to find comfort in knowing that God is watching over our baby and all of us. He has always taken care of us through all of our trials in the past and I know He will get us through this one. With the power of prayer Jonathan and I are both optimistic that everything will turn out okay for baby Adelyn.

I just wanted to share this news with you all!!!! Jonathan and I are both so excited about having another baby. We were so relieved to just see one baby on the ultrasound. It gives us both much more hope about carrying this baby to fullterm or as close to fullterm as possible as opposed to carrying 2 babies again. The due date is May 12th, which seems like forever from now. I am only 7 weeks today. Things are also a lot different this time around. With the boys I had absolutely no morning sickness at all...not so with this baby. For the past week I have had nausea pretty much all day. Still haven't gotten sick though. I also have absolutely no energy! I have never felt so tired. It's strange that I feel this way with just one and when you have twins your symptoms are supposed to be doubled. Oh well...maybe it means it's a GIRL this time :)

Jonathan and I would both really appreciate your prayers that things may go differently this time around. I am very blessed to have such a wonderful husband and family that has already helped me tremendously the past few weeks and I know they will continue to help me throughout the rest of this pregnancy. Well, I am needing to try and get some rest in hopes that I can make it to bible class tonight. I haven't been able to make it out anywhere lately.

This past Sunday we moved the boys up to the 2 and 3 year olds class. They usually wait until summer time to move the kids up in the classes. They have been in the baby/toddler class since last April. In January I took over as their teacher and it has just been me and the boys in there for the most part. Sometimes there was another little girl in there with them, but recently the boys had really gotten used to mommy being their teacher. I was worried how the move was going to go...I have never left them alone in bible class. Anyway...on Sunday Jonathan and I took them in there and they were scared to death. They wouldn't sit in their chairs at all and Ezra basically wined while leaning on my lap the entire class. There were 4 other kids in there and 3 other adults. It was pretty intimidating for them I think. Needless to say it did not go very well on Sunday.

So today we were at Walmart and we told the boys they could pick out one little car (they absolutely love cars and trucks), but they could only keep it if they were good boys and sat in bible class all by themselves. If they didn't then mommy and daddy would hold on to them until they could show us they could be big boys. Well we didn't know if it would work or not...and I'm not sure that that was really what made them stay in class tonight and do so well, but it sure didn't hurt. They did so GOOD!!! I was able to sneek right out the door and the 2 adults that were in there were able to keep them distracted enough and they never once got upset. The teacher said they talked, especially Isaac. I guess Ezra was still pretty shy and didn't say much, but he still participated in the class activities. Ezra usually talks more than Isaac does so I'm sure it will only be a matter of time before he starts to talk in class. Anyway...the teacher said that Isaac answered questions and even helped tell the story of the good Samaritan. I am so proud of them, but at the same time I am also sad that I will not be in bible class with them anymore. I know that I will miss it very much. They are just growing up so fast...they will be 2 1/2 this month and they can already say the New Testament books of the Bible and really well to where you can understand what they are saying. They are such smart boys. They have come so far over the past 2 1/2 years. I am so excited for the future and watching them grow and learn even more each day. They are always surprising me. I just absolutely LOVE being their mommy!!!! I can't imagine a day without them! God has truly blessed me!