Alaska in Pictures, Part 1: Our Arrival

Hello!

Two months after we returned from Alaska, I'm finally sitting down and sharing a glimpse of the beauty and splendor with all of you. Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting pictures and notes of all sorts of experiences, from a fishing trip in the middle of nowhere, to the proposal in ... well, that was in the middle of nowhere, too.

My pictures are mostly of places, but I did manage to get a few of people, too. Comments, as always, are welcomed and appreciated. Oh, and in case you haven't guessed, the best way to score brownie points is to say something nice about my wonderful husband-to-be, or Alaska.

Mom and Katelyn Grace in Seattle airport, waiting for our flight

Katelyn Grace and me at the gate ... on our way to visit Alaska for the first time!

Several hours later ... my very first glimpse of Alaska! ... somewhere over the Kenai Peninsula

What beauty!

Back in July, I discovered a few webcams that gave me a little preview of Alaska. One of them pointed towards Mt. Susitna (which recently got some snow on the top!). Imagine my excitement when I recognized it from the air! We couldn't have had better weather conditions flying in!

The instant we touched down on the Alaska runway : )

My first glimpse, out of the airplane window, of a few of the mountains surrounding Anchorage

We were met at the airport by a wonderful young man holding a jar of gorgeous flowers. Who could they be for, I wonder?

I need to give Esther (one of Tait's sisters) credit for growing these beautiful flowers in her garden!

Someone else who was there to welcome us

After 9:00 at night

Soon we were off on the 60-mile drive from Anchorage, through Wasilla, to the Zimmerman's home. Much to Esther and Ashley's amusement, I took about a hundred pictures of the mountains on the way to their home. ... The first of well over a thousand pictures during our week's stay.

More to come!

Making a "Moose" of Things

Isn't that just the cutest bib? (Yes, I'm slightly partial to anything having to do with Alaska!)

We recently started feeding her "solid" (I'm using that term loosely) food! What a big girl she's getting to be! Eight months old on October 2!

She is still having seizures, although they are only happening once or twice a day. Please keep praying!

Much To Be Thankful For

Katelyn Grace was seizure-free today for the first time in well over a month!

To give you an idea of what an improvement this is, her worse day was last Wednesday, the 5th. She had seizures at 2:20am, 4:20am, 6:20am, 8:20am, and then randomly throughout the rest of the day, making a total of about seven or eight.

The Improvement

We saw an osteopath in Atlanta later that day, and things have gotten better since then. At that time, we also started a few other remedies, so it is hard to pinpoint exactly what single thing or combination helped the seizures. We just want to get rid of them! For the next week, she had two seizures a day: one soon after waking in the morning, and another around 6:00pm. Then, she started missing either her morning or evening seizure. Today, she didn't have one single seizure! We don't know what will happen tomorrow; she could have more, she may not have any at all.

The Seizures

Each seizure - or set of seizures - lasts about three or four minutes and consists of between ten and thirty individual absence and salaam seizures. She gets a glassy look in her eyes and doesn't respond to her name or to visual stimulation (absence seizure). Then her head goes back and there is an involuntary sudden contraction of her arms, legs, and head towards her middle (salaam seizure). She'll go back to normal and fuss for a few seconds, then she'll get that glassy look in her eyes and her head will go back again.... The first few are rather mild, but they grow more violent towards the middle and then slack off towards the end.

The Medical Opinions

The doctors say that these seizures are not enough to cause permanent brain damage at this time, but while she is having seizures, and while her brain is "spiking" abnormally in between, every two to three seconds, that area of her brain (which is quite small) cannot do what it needs to be doing. Also, it is not good for her to develop a pattern of seizures.

Thank the Lord!

We are so thankful that she is developing well in spite of everything. Many special needs children are unable to move at all for the first years of their lives. Others spend days, months, even years in the hospital. Yes, we have much to be thankful for!

Her Development

When she turned six months (she is now seven-and-a-half months!), we took her to the Down syndrome clinic at MUSC to check her development. They asked Mom countless questions about how she responds to this and that, tested Katelyn Grace's tracking abilities, and had her grab various objects. In so many areas, she was ahead of even "normal" babies! Her muscle tone was at 4-1/2 months, which is still ahead of most Down syndrome six-month-olds.

We believe that the hours and hours we are putting into her therapies are paying off!

Katelyn Grace is such a happy, contented baby, and is only fussy after her seizures or when her allergies (which we're still trying to figure out) are bothering her. She recently discovered that she has an extremely loud voice, and has been putting every ounce of her strength into ear-splitting yells and shouts. She loves "talking" to us! One of her favorite things is for one of us to take her into a quiet room, lie on the floor beside her, and just talk quietly to her as we play with her hands and tickle her feet. She watches and listens to us intently.

Thank you!

Thank you so much for your prayers for Katelyn Grace. It is such an encouragement to Mom, especially, to know that people all over the country - all over the world! - are praying for our precious little baby.

Please continue to pray daily that she would continue to progress and for wisdom for Mom and Dad. Thank you all!

Urgent Prayer Request for Katelyn Grace

I wish I had time to go into both the long and short of everything now, but the short of it all will have to do for the present.

After having an EEG (electroencephalogram) a couple of weeks ago, Katelyn Grace was diagnosed with partial seizure disorder, and is having seizures several times a day.

We have several very specific prayer requests:

1.  That the Lord would completely take away Katelyn Grace's seizures, either miraculously or through the doctors we're working with.

2.  That the Lord would give Mom and Dad wisdom as they're making major decisions about Katelyn Grace's medical treatments.

3.  That the Lord would strengthen Mom, especially, as she's struggling with having to watch Katelyn Grace suffer through these seizures.

4.  That the Lord would lead us to the right doctors.

5.  That the Lord would work through the unsaved doctors we're seeing.

6.  That the Lord would grant special wisdom to the Christian doctors who are helping Katleyn Grace.

Please copy this post and post it on your own blog, or just publish a link to this post.  Please share this prayer request with your family, friends, and church.  We are trying to get as many people praying for Katelyn Grace as possible.  

Please, please commit to pray for Katelyn Grace every day.  If you can do this, please let us know by leaving a comment.  Mom would be greatly encouraged to know how many people are praying for Katelyn Grace.

Thank you so much everyone!

Blessings,

Lauren for the whole family

Matthew 18:19 - Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

John 14:13 - And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

As Most of You Have Probably Guessed....

Important bit of news: Alaska is absolutely, positively beautiful!

More important bit of news: We had a wonderful, productive visit with the Zimmerman family.

Most important bit of news: Tait and I are engaged!

We look forward to a life together spent serving the Lord and giving Him the glory for all of the the miraculous ways He has worked.

There are a few old, familiar hymns that particularly stand out to me at this wonderful time.

"Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him, all creatures here below.
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."

"Great is thy faithfulness, great is thy faithfulness.
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me."

"Praise the Lord, praise the Lord! Let the earth hear His voice!

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice!

Oh come to the Father through Jesus the Son,

And give Him the glory,

Great things He hath done!”

More breathtaking pictures, animated stories, and informative updates coming soon!

********

Tait has also posted an engagement announcement on his blog, Not by Bread Alone.

Patience

Patience, my dear readers, patience.

A new post will be up shortly, as time allows.

Cordially,
Lauren

: )

Heat!

'Tis rather warm here. The heat index is supposed to be 115 degrees today.

We're Back!

Hold on ... just as soon as I sort through my 1400 pictures....

We're back. Things are busy. I'll update with plenty of breathtaking pictures and some bits of news too - some bits more important than others....

Love to all,
Lauren

Katelyn Grace - Pictures and a Letter

A couple of summers ago, while my sisters and I were students at the Amati Music Festival in Hunter, NY, we met an elderly gentleman who faithfully attended all of the concerts. Upon our return home, Mr. Sophocles wrote our parents a very nice letter commending them on our upbringing. This was the first of a great many letters written back and forth between one member of our family or another and this very kind gentleman. Before long, we discovered that he is a sincere Christian.

He was excited to hear the news of Katelyn Grace. I just had to share a few paragraphs from his last letter regarding our precious little baby. One of the things that has been hard for us at times is the way many people act like Katelyn Grace is a burden, and that we are to be pitied. To us, Katelyn Grace is our youngest sister or daughter, a little personality, and the greatest blessing in the world! Mr. Sophocles captured these thoughts very well in the following paragraphs from his letter:

I am very happy to learn that you are enjoying Katelyn Grace so much. She may be less than perfect to human eyes, but in God's eyes she is more than perfect. From the photograph that I received, she appears to me like a little radiant angel. And she will most likely turn out to be much more than you expect when she grows up. I once knew a nice young lady who had been born with Down's Syndrome. She always would express concern that my father was working too hard, advising him to sit down and rest. Consider Katelyn Grace, therefore, to be a blessing from the Lord and not, in any way, a handicap or burden. There is a passage in the Scriptures from John 9, of which I am reminded:

"As Jesus walked along He saw a man who had been born blind. His disciples asked Him, 'Teacher, whose sin was it that caused him to be born blind? His own or his parents' sin?' Jesus answered, 'His blindness has nothing to do with his sins or his parents' sins. He is blind so that God's power may be seen at work in him.'"

So it is that God's power is at work in Katelyn Grace.

Our prayer is that the Lord would use Katelyn Grace to reach others. We can already see so many ways that her life has touched the lives of those around her. What a little blessing!

With Nicole, Mom's midwife

Mommy and Baby

Daddy and Baby

Brother and Baby

Sister and Baby

Trying to drink out of Mom's coffee cup

A habitual thumb-sucker






And my three favorites....




Oh, ya'll, she's just the most precious baby in the world, and we love 'er to death!