The Ups and Downs

I have many updates to post this week, so hang in there with me (I'll do my best to condense):

~I am now 16 weeks pregnant. That puts me at month 4 and only 4 weeks away from the halfway point. Yes, I am counting down and marking the days on my calendar!

~ Jackson is the sweetest thing and now says, "I miss you" and "I love you." It just melts my heart. He and daddy have been swimming in the pool at MawMaw's twice and he loves it (especially the water falls). We will begin swimming lessons on June 7th (this was pushed back due to the next update).

~ On Friday morning, Jackson's pediatrician, Dr. Hunt, told me that the results from his stool samples showed a malabsorbtion of fats. This means, when he is eating, his body doesn't absorb fats and it passes to his stool without his body receiving enough of the nutrients (from the fat). He is absorbing carbohydrates and proteins so this was positive news. This all came two days after our appointment with the Gastro pediatric doctor who told us that it seems very probably that Jackson is having some pain when he eats and this has lead to food/eating issues.

~ We have scheduled a endoscopy procedure for this Friday to have Jackson's stomach, esophogus, etc. viewed and to have biopsies taken from the tissue. The biopsy should help us determine what may be causing the malabsorbtion of fats. We will also have a better understanding of his possible acid reflux issues.

This is a very minor procedure that will involve a pediatric anesthesiologist who will sedate Jackson with a gas mask. We are able to be in the room during this part of the procedure. We will then step out for the scope that will take about 20 minutes. He will awake about five minutes following the procedure and after a short recovery, we can take him home to rest. Please pray for our little man during this time!

~ We also received word on Friday that a mass was found in my grandfather's abdomen, near the location of his previous mass. You all may recall my posts describing his miraculous recovery from major surgery back in February. We have been blessed to have these last four months with him. They performed another surgery last night and were unable to remove the mass. It has encompassed most of his organs in that region. The doctors are unable to do any more surgery and chemo is not an option on this rare form of cancer. Please pray for his comfort and peace during this time.

~ Despite this news, we welcomed The Bush family to Dallas (James, Ethan and Allison) for a little visit and had a great time. We went to the park on Friday while the daddies went to the Byron Nelson PGA tournament. James had his first swing ride - Allison has video! On Saturday we went to the zoo - it was crazy busy but Saturdays usually are! - and the boys enjoyed the sights. Jackson preferred the monkeys, elephants, zebras, etc. while James watched all the little girls around him. Sunday was a relaxing day and we went to lunch at Cowboy Chow, visited the Grapevine Botanical Gardens where we got some great photos, and then grilled by the pool. James loved putting his feet in the water and splashed around. On Monday, we had lunch at Towne Square and walked around to some of the stores. Right before we left, we had a celebrity sighting - the oldest Jonas brother. They live nearby and he was with his wife and another couple. I only recognized them from pictures in People Magazine which is where I get most of my information from these days...

When we finally made it to the airport without a minute to spare - sorry E! - we were sad to see them off and hope to have more time together very soon. The boys were really enjoying each other by the end of the trip - I have pictures of them reading books together, playing cars and rolling the ball to each other. Jackson was smitten with his "Uncle E" which made James a little jealous but they shared him pretty well.

Tomorrow is my monthly checkup with Dr. Neal and we'll schedule the ultrasound for next month to determine the sex. We are hoping Whitney (also known as "ninnie" to the kids) will be able to fly in tomorrow as planned but this, of course, will depend on how my grandfather is doing.

I'll have much more to post later this weekend. Please continue to pray for Jack, my grandfather and our family...