Another visit from the Prescription Pet Program. This is Levi!

LOTS of cuddle time in the hospital!

WHAT!!!! It's milk for the first time in 6 days.

Carter slept well with the exception of some leg pain. Usually liquid Tylenol resolves this problem right away, but now he can't have it because of the sugar that's in it. So, we had to crush a pill and mix it with Pedialyte. They are doing an experiment today. They gave him some milk and a lactaid pill. This is an enzyme that helps the digestion of milk sugar. If he has no diarrhea, they will increase his diet to include dairy and we will be on the way home - maybe tomorrow.

Docs are thinking the problem is sucrose (commonly known as table sugar), but that won't be confirmed until next week sometime. Sucrose is made from glucose and fructose. His body can tolerate glucose solely, but I guess NOT the fructose. Sucraid has been ordered and is a medicine that will help his body breakdown and process sucrose as it's digested. This is a rare drug and will take a week to get in. So, even if we get to go home, we will be on a very limited diet excluding sucrose, obviously. We will have a slew of follow-up appointments.

I have a lot, lot, lot to learn about all this!

For example, we ordered salad dressing the other day and all it said on the nutritional label was sugar. Well, he could not have it because we didn't know what kind of sugar was in it. More than likely, though, it's the kind his body can't tolerate.

Am I making any sense at all????

The GI Doc has been trying to contact my geneticist back home. I am thankful for this. After all, Dr. P has followed Carter since day 1 and really knows him best at this point. I feel it is important for him to know all the latest details. He is genuinely interested in Carter and is actively trying to find answers. This may help him. There is a condition called Congenital Sucrase-Isomaltase Deficiency. Wonder if this is it? Who knows.

Some pics from yesterday 8/29

mobile library for the patients

Some sweet friends from our homeschool co-op back in Jacksonville were here for a father/son retreat. They stopped by for a visit. The boys looked at football cards and played games. This is a pic of them praying together. Thanks so much Drawdy's! We are grateful for you!

We made masks in the lobby!

A surprise FedEx package for my "strong boy" from my best friend back home! Kelly, I think you get the reward for making him smile the biggest!

And this is it..... Madden 13! See how happy?! I wish I would have recorded his reaction.

First taste of solid food in over 48 hours. Not hard to decide when you only get 3 choices - eggs, bacon, or plain chicken breast

This morning Carter had an Upper GI Small Bowel Follow Through. He hated drinking the Barium, but we were able to get enough down for them to see what they needed to see. Upon initial look, the Doc thinks everything looks normal. They discontinued BOOST last night because he had some diarrhea with it. It is known that he has a sugar malabsorption, but we don't know which sugar or why. Glucose is in Pedialyte and his body is accepting of that. The BOOST was lactose free and he still had diarrhea. So, they are thinking maybe sucrose. Still waiting on results of the Disaccharide Test (I think that is the name) to provide more specific answers. I believe tissue biopsies are pending as well. He has started on a strict diet and is so far doing well. Trying hard to not become discouraged. You just get frustrated after a while. I guess there is also a possibly that this can be a genetic thing and another piece to the puzzle called "Carter." So much to think about. Trying to rest in today and not worry about tomorrow! Pray his solid food causes no diarrhea. I will download pics soon. I've got some good ones. Off to try and close my eyeballs.

This gift was from my sweet friend Holly and her Mom. It came at perfect timing. As soon as Carter was wheeled back to his room after procedure on 8/27, the delivery came. We are blessed beyond measure to have so many kind, generous friends who love and care and pray for us. THANK YOU isn't enough!

This is a program here called Prescription Pet Program. This is Rosie! She was awesome and SO BIG - gentle GIANT would be a good description!

This is Blondie! Seeing these sweet dogs kind of makes me want one. As if we don't already have enough to deal with right now! he!he!

Kohls hosted a craft party in the lobby. Here is Carter making a football in celebration of the upcoming season. YAY for football. We love it!

More crafting in the activity room. I finally changed my shirt. Did you notice?

These glow sticks were brought to us by Aunt Tina. He is the coolest patient at Children's.

Carter slept great. He never drank that Splash drink I mentioned in yesterday's post, but he did accept something called BOOST. Bribing him with money helped a lot. I currently owe him $5.00. He only had 1 very small episode last night and is so far doing good this morning. They were able to stop IV, but left port in just in case they have to re-start it. I am not thinking this will happen especially since he is doing so well with Pedialyte. He had a faecal reducing substance test come back positive. You can read about it here: http://healthengine.com.au/info/Faecal_Reducing_Substances_Test. His celiac testing was negative. There is definitely a malabsorption issue and right now they are thinking it is related to carbohydrate/sugar. GI Docs are going to look at biopsies under a scope today to hopefully provide us with more answers. We are still waiting on some test results as well. Still no solid foods as of now.

I have been reading a book called TRUST for the past couple of days. It's jammed packed with good stuff. You need to buy it. Here is just some of what I've learned in the first 25 pages that has really ministered to me.

Sometimes God will come to near to us in unexpected ways that disrupt our lives and make us afraid. Christians will likely experience such divine intrusion at one time or another. And it is actually a good gift. God is lowering the veil a bit so we can see the reality of who he is and who we are in relationship to him. God might just be using an intrusion to prepare you for special work in his service and to deepen your faith.

Whatever God has in store for you, his drawing near is always designed to give you a deeper, heartfelt grasp of your need for Jesus. When God comes near - through crisis, a loss, unmet need - how will you respond? Will you cling to God in the midst of fear, discovering in the process all that Jesus is for you, or will you run away from your only source of hope?

Real faith - the kind that brings peace - is faith that lets God choose the best answer for you! My trouble is in his all-wise hands!

We are designed to glorify God and enjoy him, not to spend our energies worrying about the details of daily life or fearing the pain of major crisis. He will always supply what he knows we really need for every circumstance we face. Freedom from fear comes from believing that. It comes also from opening our hearts to embrace God's supply, even if his supply differs from what we think we need.

I pray that I can have a right view of God so that my circumstances don't shake my belief. I pray that through this trial I will know him more and, therefore, trust him more.

Hope you are encouraged as I am today!

This morning has been good with almost no poo and now they are changing his drink from Pedialyte to something called Splash. It is medical food that is hypoallergenic/gluten and casen free. It is sweetened with acesulfame-potassium (whatever that is). It can be administered through a tube and this might just happen if Carter does not drink up. They brought us 2 flavors. The grape-raisin is just plain gross, but the orange-pineapple is much better. I told him I would drink the nasty one if he would drink the better one. We made a chart to see who could finish faster. We are moving at snail's pace. Man, this no solid food thing stinks and makes Carter cry.

Yesterday, before scopes we went down to the activity room. He enjoys being in there. It's great to see him "crafting" and smiling. He painted 4 things and made a key chain. Today, he went down and started working on a bracelet. He is always thinking of others and wants to make things to give as gifts. Such a sweet, special boy!

He is doing great drinking the pedialyte which is giving him electrolytes and keeping him well hydrated. He may be able to come off IV soon. Next step is nutrition.

WoW! Was that hard! We can't thank you enough for praying. I was allowed to walk back into the OR with him and stay during the "put down" process. You would think it would get easier after about the 5th time, but it gets harder. It gets harder as your children get older and understand more. It gets harder to answer all their questions in a very positive, happy way. It gets harder to remain strong as you watch tears run down their cheeks. And it's just plain hard not to think of all those "possible complications" the doctors just went over with you and the consent that you just signed. What an opportunity to trust God!

Visually the scopes did not show anything. His esophagus, intestine, stomach, colon all looked normal. We will now wait on tissue biopsies to come back. He cannot have any solid food for 48 hrs. If he can keep Pedialyte down today, they will move to a high calorie, lactose free nutritional drink sometime tomorrow. They are strongly thinking that this is food driven - osmotic diarrhea. His diarrhea has been so severe and he has lost so much fluids that it has taken 4 days of IV's to recover. This is why they are taking a very slow approach in introducing food back into his diet. You can be praying that Carter will understand and not refuse their orders. If he does so, they will have to give him nutrition through a tube. I think just the threat of that will make him comply. He is doing ok so far.

Carter came through the procedure well and is back in his room resting. He is actually calling my name as I type. It's the little things at this point! We try to act silly and crack jokes just so we can see him smile and laugh. It brings comfort to us. We are seriously having a SOLID POOP PARTY as soon as that goal occurs. We are going to invite people over too!

We are blown away by the kindness of our church family here. We barely know them and yet they have so sacrificially served us! They are definitely being the hands and feet of Jesus to us! They have arranged childcare, are providing meals all week, visiting us at the hospital, bringing dinner to me when I don't have it, and have provided us with a very generous visa gift card to help with any extra expenses that may come from being in the hospital.

God is so good and we trust him for complete healing. Please continue to pray - specifically for NO POO and that he can tolerate this no solid food diet. Thanks a lot.

I will post some pics later. I just wanted to get a quick update on here so people could know what the latest was.

SCOPES WILL BE DONE AT 2PM DENVER TIME. 4PM JACKSONVILLE TIME.

Please, please pray! In the meantime, we are just hanging out in the hospital room starving! Poor Carter can only have UNFLAVORED Pedialyte and he is not a happy camper. I will update as soon as I know something. Thanks!

Our aunt from Birmingham is flying in this evening to help us for the week. We are so grateful and blessed to have such loving and caring family that is always ready to serve at a moments notice. We know they would all be here if they could. Love you guys!!

Not much change today. Liquid diet has been pretty difficult for Carter. He wants real food. We were given permission to leave the room. I guess Carter was excited because he walked ahead of the IV machine and ripped out his IV. Fortunately, it didn't hurt much, but the re-stick did. It may have been a blessing in disguise though because now it is in a much better location. I still do not know the time of the procedure tomorrow, but as soon as I do I will be sure to post it. Thanks so much for all the emails, fb messages, and most importantly prayers! We are so grateful!

Money from Nanny!

Amazed at the awesome ball machine in the lobby!

Looking a little rough, but what do you expect?

Spoke to GI docs this morning. I think there initial thought was some kind of Irritable Bowl Syndrome. Now they are thinking it's more of something that is effecting his small intestine. They are running more stool tests to determine if this is being driven by what he is eating or not - osmotic diarrhea vs secretory diarrhea.

Yesterday was kind of rough, with lots of elimination. They are bumping up fluids more and are running them quicker.

He has started a special drink to prepare him for procedures tomorrow and will be on clear liquids for the rest of the day.

If scopes reveal something, they will medicate and focus on nutrition. If they don't, they will focus primarily on nutrition by eliminating foods and placing him on strict diets. He needs nutritional rehab per the Doc. We are hoping nutrition won't be needed through IV.

They will also do a CBC tomorrow which hasn't been done since Monday. Pray for no anemia.

It looks like we may be here for the rest of the week. We were asked to be patient as they await results of tests/biopsies and try to find a solution to our problem.

I found this quote the other day. I had copied it long ago and had stuffed it in a folder.

"Waiting on God isn't about the suspension of meaning and purpose. It's part of the meaning and purpose that God has brought into my life. Waiting on God isn't to be viewed as an obstruction in the way of the plan. Waiting is an essential part of the plan. For the child of God, waiting isn't simply about what I'll receive at the end of my wait. No, waiting is much more purposeful, efficient, and practical than that. Waiting is fundamentally about what I'll become as I wait. God is using the wait to do in and through me exactly what He's promised. Through the wait He's changing me. By means of the wait He's altering the fabric of my thoughts and desires. Through the wait He's causing me to see and experience new things about Him and His kingdom. And all of this sharpens me, enabling me to be a more useful tool in His redemptive hands."

Breakfast! Zero lactose which means Momma got to eat the French Toast!

I'm not sure I like these clowns and, besides, what kind of clown are you if you can't give me a cool balloon creation?

The nurse said this will make my poo turn to lemonade. This should be interesting!

The pediatric resident came in. All stool tests came back negative with the exception of one that they have not yet received. He was hoping for a positive result so antibiotics could be administered and the issue resolved. Scopes are ordered for Monday. My prayer is that these will provide the answer. You can pray specifically for that!

Endoscopy will check for things like Celiac and Lactose Intolerance. Colonoscopy will check for things like Colitis and Crohn's. Of course, these scopes are not limited to just what I mentioned. They will also be able to take tissue for examination.

I don't think he exactly "fits" the problems listed above, but this is the next step. I will ask GI Doc in the morning what they will do if scopes prove to be unsuccessful. The labs he had done today came back good with the exception of his Electrolytes. He is still dehydrated. They have bumped up his IV fluids. Waiting on Vitamin D results still.

We are so thankful for the love and care our church has poured out! They are arranging childcare for us, providing meals and hospital snacks, visiting us, and covering us with prayer.

Carter's last meal will be tomorrow's breakfast. They will then give him meds to ensure he is "all cleared out" for his procedure Monday...... as if he is really having a problem in that area! LOL. You should hear the sounds that come out of the bathroom. Hey, you gotta laugh and smile at something. Justin says it sounds like he is going to take off. I keep asking him if he has a whoopie cushion in there!

I will update as much as possible. As soon as I have the time of the procedure Monday, I will post it so you can be praying hard right then!

Words cannot express our gratitude for your prayers. We love hearing from you, so please email, call, text, or leave a comment. Please pray for me too.


Carter kicking my booty in Skip-Bo

I am sorry the game SORRY was ever invented! I lose every time! And for some reason, they thought creating a million different versions was cool. Do you see that Boost sitting on the desk? They want Carter to drink it and it's not going too well.

Wonderful care basket from our care group at church and they brought Pizza Hut!

Lift Him Up... Please!

Well, to say the past few days have been difficult would be an understatement. Our middle son, Carter, was admitted into Children's Hospital during the wee hours of the morning 08/23. He has been eliminating most of what he puts into his body for some 20+ days now. Docs, are not sure what is causing this. He is hooked up to a continual IV and 2 scopes under anesthesia will be performed Monday.

We pray for quick answers and we pray for quick healing. In the meantime, the wait is very hard and I am in a constant battle with the Devil. I'm trying to fight my thoughts with God's TRUTH! A friend gave me a quote that I keep going back to.

"WHEN YOU CAN'T TRACE THE HAND OF GOD, TRUST THE HEART OF GOD!"

We have no idea what is happening, but it's good to know that God does and that He loves our Carter even more than we do. Trying to hopefully hold on as we wait for Him to reveal answers in His perfect time!

Here are some pics of Carter! He is doing pretty good overall. Praise be to God!

Little LIFE in the hospital. Appropriate, huh?

Food Day

This Thursday I want to share with a recipe my Mom-in-Love introduced me to a few years ago. It is, by far, the best lasagna recipe I've used to date. I used to only make it on Christmas Eve because it can be quite expensive, but I'm going to break tradition and start making it more often. My kiddos just love it. I hope you do too!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/turkey-lasagna-recipe2/index.html

If you try it, I'd love to hear your review.

That Day

I took my middle son to Children's Hospital in Denver yesterday for a hematology appointment. As I sat there, I was completely overcome with gratefulness. My heart was broken though. Broken for each bald child that walked in hooked up to oxygen tanks and other medical equipment. Broken for their parents. It was hard to hold back tears. But, then, my thoughts quickly turned to what it must be like in that office upon news of a child healed! Rejoicing I'm sure is an understatement. Those doctors and nurses work tirelessly towards "that day!"

I was deeply affected and I thought about my experience all day. You know what..... For the Christian, there is always reason to rejoice. "That day" is coming when all hurt and pain will cease and we will be with our Savior forever! God's Word says our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Isn't it wonderful to know that this life is not all there is! I want to be the kind of person that can grab hold of this truth and live above the pain I will face here on earth.

I pray I won't be blinded by unbelief and allow the devil to have the upper hand. I pray I won't lose heart and that I will remember his grace is sufficient. I pray the Lord will give me His view of things and will fill me with JOY as I anticipate what is to come. And, I pray for each of those families I saw yesterday.

Lift your eyes reader and be encouraged as I am! These present sufferings are not even worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us!

**Thanks for your prayers for Carter. We are grateful for medicine and for "fresh eyes" here in Colorado. Our appt was great yesterday. It's pretty safe to rule out any major blood disorder. The problem is trying to find the reason for his very large red blood cells. The hematologist here and our geneticist back home spoke this morning and I should here details of their conversation later today. I am confident that Carter will be well taken care of by these 2 doctors and, of course, by the GREATEST PHYSICIAN of all!

Block Party 8/18

Our Block Party in an acrostic

They do things BIG in Colorado

FOOD DAY!

I think it would be fun to devote one day a week here on Our Big Top Life to all things food and because food just happens to be on my mind right now, Thursday earns the title, "FOOD DAY!" I know, that is not a very original title. Do you have something better?

I don't know about you, but I cannot go major grocery shopping without a menu in place and, more times than not, making my menu takes half a day. I strongly dislike grocery shopping because of what comes before it - meal planning! Wouldn't it be nice to have recipes all neatly organized in a binder so you could just quickly thumb through, grab some, and go? Of course, every recipe in the binder would have to be tested and approved of and easy and quick! I hope to get to that place someday. I envy those of you that are already there (Michelle Watt).

So, please, please, please help me! I will share with you things we enjoy and you share with me. Together we can BUILD OUR BINDERS!

This is a recipe we have been making a long time that my friend, Rhonda Sposato, shared with me.

Place 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast in the bottom of a crock pot. Pour LaMexicana Salsa over the top of the chicken. It comes fresh in the produce dept. I use mild, but you can choose your level of spiciness. Let it cook on low until chicken pulls apart with a fork. Remove chicken from pot and shred. Put back in the pot. Add 1 can of corn drained and 1 can of black beans drained. Mix all together. Serve over rice of your choice. We use yellow rice. Add shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips if you would like. Left overs are great in a flour tortilla the next day!

**You could use less chicken if you would like, but the less meat the more juicy it is and I like mine thicker.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. It is quick and yummy and perfect for the working woman. Looking forward to hearing from you and learning from you on Thursday FOOD DAY! I may just use one of your recipes as my FOOD DAY post!

Did I Not Tell You!

**Funny how God works. I was in the middle of typing this post when I was interrupted by my sick child. We ended up at the Children's Hospital and were there all day! Talk about practicing what you preach! Yikes! It was hard!**



This past Sunday our pastor spoke on the familiar story of Lazarus. I was sitting against the very back wall trying my best to pay attention. The sound of Ryder crying in the lobby was quite a distraction. Towards the end, the pastor read John 11:40 - Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” He made a point to emphasis the words "DID I NOT TELL YOU." It hit me!

Just 17 verses earlier Jesus had told Martha that her brother would rise again. She responded by saying she knew he would rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said, "I AM the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" Martha said, "Yes, Lord."

How quickly she forgot the Lord's promise! He had just told her Lazarus would rise again, but when the Lord commanded the stone to be rolled away from the tomb in verse 39, Martha was concerned with her brothers odor because he had been there 4 days. "But, Lord," she said.

I can be like Martha everyday. I have need to be reminded often of the Lord's promises to me. Jesus did not give a direct answer to Martha's "but" nor does he give her any particular promise. He simply orders her to BELIEVE.

So, as everyday struggles come, I try to say to myself, "DID I NOT TELL YOU, CHRISTINE!" Just that little phrase turns my thoughts from my circumstance and onto all the wonderful promises in God's Holy Word. Try it! The next time you are struggling, say to yourself, "DID I NOT TELL YOU!"

I thought I would end with just some of God's promises to us.

DID I NOT TELL YOU, "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

DID I NOT TELL YOU, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor 12:9

DID I NOT TELL YOU, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you." Psalm 32:8

DID I NOT TELL YOU, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the I will deliver you out of them all." Psalm 34:19

DID I NOT TELL YOU, "Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and I will save." Isaiah 46:4

DID I NOT TELL YOU, "I am good to those who wait for me, to the soul who seeks me." Lamentations 3:25

DID I NOT TELL YOU, "I will supply every need of yours." Phillipians 4:19

DID I NOT TELL YOU, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay." Romans 12:19

DID I NOT TELL YOU, "In all things God works for the good of those who love him." Romans 8:28

DID I NOT TELL YOU, "I know the plans I have for you, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

DID I NOT TELL YOU, "Nothing will separate you from my love." Romans 8:37-39

And back to what Jesus told Martha in John 10:25. DID I NOT TELL YOU, "If you believe in me, you will never die."

If we take God's Word and rely on his power and faithfulness, we shall see the glory of God. And, IF YOU BELIEVE, you have a spiritual life that death cannot conquer. What blessed assurance!

These are just some quick promises I thought of. Go ahead and search for promises yourself. They are all over God's Word. And when you find one that encourages your soul, comment and share it with me.

Wednesday 8/7 I took the kids to Water World (rated as one of America's top 10 water parks) and yesterday all of us went to Miners Maze Adventure Land in Golden for Ryder's Birthday. Admission to both parks was cheap for us. At Water World, we received Westminster resident rates which were fantastic and we used a Groupon at Miners Maze. The kids had a wonderful time at both places and probably would want to return, but in my opinion, they have just as much fun exploring the great outdoors and playing in mountain creeks.

Think about it. Costly admission at an adventure park or free admission into one of Denver's 200+ city or mountain parks? LONG lines for a 2 min thrill or no lines with never ending thrill? People everywhere you look or just you and God's wondrous creation? You get my point.

I don't regret going and I'm glad my children got to experience these places, but I'm not going to advocate a trip back. And, when my children convince me otherwise, I will stand in the 60 min lines with JOY as I daydream about being in the Rocky Mountains.

Here are some pics from WATER WORLD. Didn't get many because water and cameras don't get along too well.

Ryder thought he was swimming!

Pics from MINERS MAZE

Daddy, Carter, and Ryder lost in the maze. Ty took off, of course! He tried to see how fast he could complete it.

Bouncy House

Silver Spring Bungee

Carter is smiling, but I don't think he liked it much

**I got on this trampoline thing too, but didn't think you would want to see the gluteus maximus shot J took!

Magic Mountain Climbing Wall

Water Walkerz

Rio Golden Railroad

Carter really likes horses these days

The big kid only ride

On the way out. YESSSS!