Landon's visit to the "liver doc"

(Pictures from Landon's ultrasound. I did not have the presence of mind to take pictures during the doctor's appointment; more on that later.)

Wow, can I just say that God is good. Looking back over the last almost-four years, I can honestly say I didn't see things working out this well. I don't know exactly what I expected, but not for our time inside TCH as patients to come down to 30 minutes a year! For those of you who don't know/remember, from the time Landon was born until almost 1.5 years, we spent a LOT of time in the hospital with him.
So here is the short of it: Landon has NEVER had normal liver function tests (LFTs) except for his bilirubin. Well, due to a lot of prayer and skillful doctors, his labs from last week are NORMAL!!!! I cannot tell you how good this does a mother's heart. Only one number (GGT for those of you who know the specifics) was out of range by 5 points, but compared to what it has been, it is amazing!
Thank you God for a great report. The doc's words were the same as last year: "See you in a year!" Biliary atresia is still a nasty disease; Landon is definitely the exception and not the rule. So we are keeping the other families we know in prayer that aren't having such an easy time.
Speaking of, since most kiddos who have BA eventually have a liver transplant, Ben and I are very much into organ donation awareness. April is Organ Donation Awareness Month and so we went to an event today to get TMC employees to sign up to be donors. Ben actually signed up the president of TMC! Anyway, Landon got to wear a shirt as a "future potential recipient." We got to hear stories from donor families, and let me tell you that is emotional. They are such selfless people who use their pain to bring joy to others.
Here is Landon playing with a friend who already had a liver transplant as a baby:




Side note: The actual doctor's visit last week is a blur to me because Allison was an absolute TERROR. And I am not exaggerating. Horrible. Embarrassing. Screaming. Throwing toys across the room. Don't let the cuteness fool you, that child has a mean streak in her! But we love her to pieces just the same. But hence, the reason for no photos of Landon with his awesome doctor!

Our First Sunday as a new church!

Today was a very exciting day for the Church in the Center. We had our very first worship service in our new meeting space! It was a great time of bonding together as a core group and renewing our vision for our church to be a ministry to the Texas Medical Center.
It was absolutely the most incredible/strangest feeling walking out of church and immediately seeing Texas Children's Hospital about one block away, which of course is where this whole journey began for us. We are finally here!
Ben and I went on a date tonight (thanks to Andrew and Fabia!) and we were just saying we couldn't believe that we actually were beginning what began as just a thought almost two years ago exactly.
We thank God for this incredible culmination of two years of prayer, hard work, excitement, nervousness, moving, faith, doubt, and most of all, his hand of mercy upon us!

July 18th: a bittersweet day

July 18th. This day always brings mixed emotions for me, and undoubtedly I will cry, at some point, on this day. You see, today is the anniversary (3rd this year) of Landon's life-saving surgery that he had at teensy, tiny seven weeks old.

At seven weeks old I handed him over to a nurse I had never met before, kissed my precious baby good-bye, and walked out into the waiting room- where I would sit, stand, talk with the 30 friends and family members that travelled to be with us on that day, cry, and even laugh a little. Mostly, though, I stared at the photograph of Landon I had carried with me. I still have it, and it is wrinkled from my carrying it around all day- nine hours to be exact. Nine hours. It was within these hours that our life's course was determined, I feel. If Landon had not had biliary atresia, we probably would have been released from the care of Texas Children's, and Houston would by now be a faint memory of Landon's first year.

But he did. Sometimes I want to scream, "God, you could have chosen a different way to get us here! We would have obeyed whether Landon was sick or not!"

But, where would our connection be? (although my grandmother received excellent care at MD Anderson, I never actually had visited the Texas Medical Center before Landon was a patient) It makes so much more sense for us when explaining why we came when we tell them how we fell in love with Houston, because of the great care Landon received here.

So, yes, today is a bittersweet day. Bitter because I remember the heart-wrenching grief I felt as a new mother, trusting our wonderful surgeon, Dr. Wesson. But it is also sweet, because it enabled me to have the adorable, fun-loving little boy that I have today.

Thank you God, for modern medical technology.

I love my son.

**The first picture is the one I carried around all day with me. The second is Landon now! Praise God