Holiday fun

Our good friends Brad and Crystal stopped by to visit. (Brad is one of Caed's heros!!!)



Making cookies.........Play-Doh style



Who needs Christmas presents when you have a box of Kleenex!!



Having fun at Jumpin' Jungle (I allowed Caed to be "backpack free" for a couple of hours. He had so much fun!!)



Caed and cousin Xan (Stan & Megan's little girl)



Caed had his weekly blood draw and weight check yesterday. We think he may have lost some. It's hard to be accurate when you use different scales, but hopefully it wasn't too much. He was 40.4 last week.........I believe 38 yesterday. Next week, we will go back to Dr. Higgins' office (same scale), so we should get a better idea. Then, Caed and I will head back to Nebraska for a clinic visit on Jan. 2nd. We're hearing there is plenty of snow now so Caed should be happy!!

JOY to the world

Shout aloud and sing for JOY.................(Isaiah 12:6)


Being back here in Idalou at my parents' house is wonderful. Just the joy of being with family comforts my soul. However, everywhere I look......there are memories of some 'very tough days.' I had to clean out the pantry (aka. Medical Supply Central). I experienced both joy and sadness in doing so. Joy in the fact that SO much of it could be thrown away!!!!! A bucket full of medicines, tubes, etc....that are no longer needed. Praise God! Maybe "sadness" is the wrong word to use. I wasn't 'sad' I was throwing it all away, but just reliving the painful memories of having to use it all. Remembering what life was once like here. The exhausting days and nights! As Caed got into his little bed 2 nights ago, again I was filled with happiness of just being here, but also sick to my stomach. Seeing the old supplies nearby and having flashbacks of him in that bed crying for hours in pain did not settle well.

Outwardly our little rambunctious Caed is back! It's as though none of this ever happened. However, seeing him hooked up to his backpack continually, having to carefully monitor what enters his mouth (and record it), give the daily meds, have a weekly blood draw, and guard his infamous "poop journal"..........remind me again that he is not the same. I'm not sure if fear will always be apart of my heart now. The "what ifs" continue. Will he have a setback? Will there come a point where he no longer improves? I try desperately to stay optimistic, but satan of course creeps in ever so often and whispers those lies of fear and doubt into my head.

I am eternally grateful for his progress. We are home. We are a family of 5 again. We are able to go and do things that normal families do. I don't take them for granted. Just a few days ago, we were in WalMart, and my mom reminded me of the first time we took the kids there after Caed had been discharged from the hospital. He did not even make it to the front door before we had to stop in the middle of the parking lot......get out his throw up bag.....and then drain his G-tube. I was so excited to be taking him into a real store again!! As he sat in the basket, joy flooded my soul. I wanted to scream out "Look at us! Look at my little boy! You may think we are just a normal family doing some shopping. We are not! This is a HUGE moment for us!"




However, once again.....we were reminded of how sick he still was when we had to stop every 10 minutes or so and "drain his tube" because he was crying so hard from stomach pains. The stares.........I wanted to scream out this time "Leave us alone!!! He is just a sick little boy trying to experience something 'normal' again. He hasn't been out in public in over 3 months!!"

................................fast forward.............. 2 days ago, I am having to get on to him for running in that same store! There is JOY!! Sure, we still experience the stares at times (with his tubes), but I don't mind a bit.

I want people to get a GOOD LOOK at what God has done for this little boy. Caed is our miracle, and we want to share him with the world..............................!!!!!!!!!!!!


One of the daily entries in the journal we kept at the hospital. Looking back over this notebook was heart wrenching!!!!!



Off to the garbage!!

Thank you Lord for Your Faithfulness....for Your Mercy on Caed....thank you for reminding us through pictures like this of YOUR HEALING POWER!!!!


There was once a day these little bags were glued to our hips 24/7

Christmas morning.....

...at the Hollingsworth house........10 days early. Because of travel plans, we decided to have our family Christmas this morning. We have done this every year (except one) since Reagan was born. It doesn't matter the day on the calendar, there still is something "magical" about the kids waking up and seeing their presents. Caed kept saying, "this is the best day of my life." (ha! He says this every year!) I guess for a child, it probably is. It was fun getting to experience Caleb's 1st Christmas too. Even though he didn't really have a clue, Reagan & Caed sure made up for it.

The excitement was short lived as Caed had to get dressed and go to the dr. to get blood drawn. Poor thing. I will sure be glad when these days are over! He is doing much better with it. Still cries (of course....who wouldn't), but understands this is just a weekly duty he has now. He continues to make slow progress. He still is on his tube feeds 24/7 (except for early mornings and before he goes to bed - while I'm mixing and getting the new bag ready.) This week we are slowly increasing them by 1 ml / day. (he is currently at 102) When he gets to 110, he will be allowed 2 "free hours" a day.........120 - he will get 4 hrs. without backpack. However, we will also be watching his lab work and stools to make sure his body agrees with the changes. He has been on the antibiotic Vanco for over a month. We are now down to just twice a day!! (started as 2 weeks / 4x day.........2 weeks / 3x day.........2 weeks / 2x day) We will stop on Christmas Eve. His stools have also continued to improve a little in consistency and frequency. He gained a little weight the last week and 1/2. Today he is at 41 lbs. even. We know he still has a long way to go, but he is definitely improving. Thank you God for answered prayer!!!!

We also have more good news!! The Make-A-Wish Foundation contacted us this week and said Caed qualified for "a wish!!!" They will come to our home sometime after Christmas to talk further with Caed and get the process rolling. Oh!!! How this little boy deserves some real fun after ALL he has been through. We thank God for allowing us to have this special time together as a family. Lifetime memories will definitely be made!

The kids and I will leave out for Lubbock tomorrow morning. We will be picking up Megan and Xan (sister n law and niece) 1/2 way and taking them on with us. This year is going to be a big year for the Everitt side. Stan and Megan (Xan) haven't been "home" for Christmas in 5 years! We are all so excited to have this time together. It's sure hard when we only get to see them once a year.

more Christmas pics

12 yrs. ago today...

...I married the love of my life. I vowed to God in front of family and friends to love, honor, and cherish him for as long as I lived. Although as I look back now, I know I did not truly understand what that simple, common phrase meant. I couldn't. Neither of us had ever been married and had a clue what marriage really involved. We were 'in love'..........floating on the clouds.........everything was as it should be. Perfect. However, it didn't take long for the honeymoon to be over and the storms of life to roll in. We have had our ups and downs, like everyone else, but the one prayer I have every Dec. 14th is for the Lord to draw us closer than the previous year. For Him to teach us what it truly means to love unconditionally and give us grace in areas we are lacking.

God has been good to us this year. Not only with Caed and his health, but with the enormous difficulty of living the majority of it separate. I promise you satan attacked more times than we care to count. He knew what prime circumstances were present to bring fear and doubt into our marriage. I am so thankful for the protection and grace that has been placed over us these last 12 years, but especially this last one. It was tough..............

Todd, as I often tell you, it is extremely difficult for me to verbally express my feelings. Writing them.....no problem. But, face to face.....I struggle daily. I am sorry. I love you more today than I did 12 years ago. I continue to be so grateful to you for your example and Godly leadership in our family. Thank you for providing for Reagan, Caed, Caleb, and I and allowing ME to fulfill the desires of MY HEART by having the opportunity to be with them at home. It has not been easy, but I thank you for always supporting me in this. I thank God for your heart. For your genuine desire to know Him better, and your passion to see others do the same. Thank you for the wonderful gifts you have given me through Reagan, Caed, and Caleb. They are the joys of my heart!! I pray that as we continue to live this life together, we grow closer, and be the example to our children of what a Godly marriage truly looks like.

Thank you for loving me.........despite me!

A special prayer request for a special young man

I have been extra burdened by something the last several days, and finally decided to share it on the blog. I know how the prayers of hundreds (all across the country) blessed our family this past year, and I wanted to ask the same for a sweet family.

Many of you (who live in and around the Lubbock area) probably have heard this story on the news or you know this family personally. However, I wanted to share this with the many "curious about Caed" prayer warriors across the nation and world that have not heard.

I grew up in a small West Texas town called Idalou. I even went back after college and taught elementary school there for 5 years. During 3 of those years, I had the honor of having a little boy named Tanner Cook (now a Senior at Idalou High). He was an incredible student and all around leader. I have watched him grow up over the past 7-8 years (through the Idalou newspaper), and he has continued to be an awesome role model and star athlete.

On Dec. 6th......Idalou was in a play off football game against Cisco. Tanner suffered a major head injury and is in critical condition at Covenant Children's Hospital there in Lubbock (same one Caed was in).

Please add this young man to your prayer list! He desperately needs a miracle. As we have seen first hand, prayer is SO POWERFUL!!! We give God the credit for Caed's healing, and we believe He can do the same in Tanner's life as well.

You can keep updated with Tanner's progress by visiting a website:

www. carepages.com

(you will have to register, but it doesn't cost a thing. Once you have registered, you will need a password to view Tanner's page. It is:

Tanner24

Thank you so much!! God is already answering our prayers as Tanner is slowly making progress. However, he has a long road ahead of him. As a mother who has experienced sitting by your son's ICU bedside and watching him "breath" through a ventilator.....I am hurting for Sandy (his mom). There is such an incredible helpless feeling that you have. Those early days were tough.......as I know they are for his parents and brother.

But, God is Faithful!!!! He WILL bring them through..........................stronger!

Refreshed

A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
(Proverbs 11:25)



A morning I have needed for so long.....................

Time with one of my very best friends..........

An hour long massage........................

Time to simply "get away" from it all.........................



Thank you Jennifer and Shelton! You will never know how much I appreciate this. It was exactly what I needed, and I love you both!!