It's been a while...sorry!

I'm needing to get better on follow-through. I want to share with you all that Hudson's Alk Phos levels came down to normal!! Not just "high" normal, but smack in the middle of normal range! God did it. That's all I can say. He was showing me from the beginning that there was a way out, and that he wanted to show me Hudson was going to be alright. Praise the Lord!
We've had a lot going on since my last post...We moved to a different home the beginning of July, and then went to Turkey for two weeks mid-July, then came home and have been playing "catch-up" ever since :) We still have boxes in our back room that have not been unpacked. I will write more later when I make some more time...two tired boys are ready for a nap and are currently wrestling at my feet...they are getting to the age where fist swinging is included with the wrestling...?!

End of June

Today we take Hudson in for another blood test on his Alkaline Phosphatase levels. After the last post his levels had gone down, but were still well above normal for his age. But his levels ares still coming down! Our hope is in the Lord and in His plans for Hudson and our family. God truly is in control.

Last night I was able to enjoy sweet fellowship with family and friends in celebration of my 32nd Birthday. What a blessing! It was a big bash, one that my husband had organized. It was actually my 30th Birthday party, just two years late. So some people thought it was my 40th Birthday since it was a "bigger than usual" get-together. *scoff* do I really look like I could be 40?! Well, I guess somedays I feel like I could be at least 40!

I'll post pics of the party later.
Please keep Hudson in Your prayers. We should have the results back from the test sometime early next week.

We are moving to a new house in Stillwater in 1 1/2 weeks. Then we leave the country July 14th for two weeks. So my normal "3-day" work week will turn into a full time job getting a months worth of work squeezed into 2 1/2 weeks in July. This is one busy summer! I've been reminded by my husband and the Holy Spirit that in order to make it through these more stressful times, I need to push harder into the presence of the Lord. I cannot do it on my own. I've been feeling the stress and anxiety mount over the last couple of weeks.

Please pray with us for a smooth move, a blessed work "month" for me and Caleb, and for God's will to be done on our trip in July.
Thank you!

Hudson's tests

So Hudson has been sick the good part of 4 months now, and his weight has been on the low side. So his Pediatrician decided to do some labwork two weeks ago to rule out any underlying illness. Well, the results were kind of a shock, since his Alkaline Phosphatase lab came back 20times the normal value for a kid his age. So they re-did the lab draw (not an easy task to hold down a screaming 16 month old so they can poke him with a needle...3 times). This time the lab came back 5 times the normal value - better, but still concerningly high. So from that point Hudson's Pedi calleda Pedi-oncologist in Tulsa to find out what the next step should be. Apparently one of the risks of an Alk Phos lab this high is bone tumor. So after a full body x-ray, a urinalysis, and some more lab work to look at tumor-markers, all appears to be okay - which we whole-heartedly praise the Lord for! Now the doc decided to wait until the 20th of May to have the Alk Phos checked again. Please take note that through all of this the Lord has been showing us to trust Him, and to pray for Hudson's complete healing. The Lord is in control, and Hudson is His first. Hudson is more precious to God than he will ever be to us - and that is some serious preciousness :) We are praying that this is all just a fluke lab, and that the values will be back to normal on Tuesday. Would you pray the same with us? As soon as we find out about the labs, I'll post and send out an email.

International days...

Hospitality Day
Hospitality day at our house was so much fun! Three girls from China, and one from Turkey. We got to show them how to use an avocado, and shared probably too many pictures with them (wedding and trips). What a great evening! And Caleb made some fabulous portobello mushrooms on the grill with havarti cheese - yummy! And thst's saying something because I'm not that crazy about mushrooms!



Birthday Party for Ryan

University is done with classes for the summer, and our town has literally shrunk in population. It's kind of nice to have some room to breath when so many students are gone! Not that students aren't wonderful :) It hasn't been THAT long ago that I was a student at OSU as well!

We recently went to a birthday party for Lily and Mooyed's son Ryan who turned 1. It was a fun party with great Persian food! Silas and Hudson kept sneaking outside though, and I found them in the bushes playing several times.

Hands Abroad

The last day of Hands Abroad was in April, and we had a party with all the students. They brought delicious food and we all had a great time eating, talking, and sharing about our classes with the other classes. Here are two ladies from Libya that were in our class. Below are two more sweet Libyan students standing by the nursery.

Our friend Nellie with Libyan student Monya.