Update on prayer list

Many of you have asked for an update on our friends for whom we've been praying. Thank you to everyone who has been praying along with us.

No update on Tom DuBransky. Please just keep the prayers coming.

Reese Stewart has finished his chemo. Unfortunately, one of the chemo meds started to damage his lung function, so the doctors stopped that treatment. They have assured the family that his prognosis is still good, even without this part of the chemo. Understandably, Reese is pretty beat right now and is not feeling his best. Please pray that his strength returns soon, that the pain subsides and that the cancer is gone for good!

We've had a lot of inquiries about little Luke Massey. Rather than try to paraphrase, here's an update right from the family:

"Luke was in PICU for 2 weeks and (now 2 weeks ago!) was transferred to the rehab unit to begin working with Physical and Occupational therapy. He has been doing very well in recovering his basic functions, he is breathing, eating, smiling, holding his own head, using his left side very well, and starting to utilize his right a bit, and learning to sit on his own again. He did go back into surgery tonight to have a shunt put in to drain some excess fluid that he had accumulated. He did great with that and so we will continue with inpatient rehab here in Fresno for probably another week or so before going home if all goes well. We won't quite know the extent of his injury for a while yet, as he is so young and in the scheme of things hasn't learn much as he had just mastered crawling, so it will be quite a while before we know where he may have challenges. He is already surpassing what Doctors expected of him, so we will keep pushing him to continue exceeding expectations! Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers, and as we have more updates we will try to get them out in a timely manner!"

Here's Luke Massey after emergency surgery

4 weeks and another surgery later. What a miracle!

Please join us in our continued prayers that Luke has a full and complete recovery!

Thank you, friends! We feel your love and support as you pray alongside us. God bless you all!

Bike Ride

It was such a nice day today, so we decided to take the boys on a bike ride...

Who's in that trailer?
Jack to Luke: "I've ridden with Daddy before. You'd better hold on!"

"Where are you taking us?"

Wedding Weekend

Nick's sister, Tiffany, and Will were married this weekend. We had a great time with family and friends all weekend long. It was a beautiful wedding and we are so happy for Tiff and Will. Jack was in the wedding and after some coaching, coaxing, and bribing, he made it down the aisle on his second attempt (had a false start after making it halfway on his first attempt. As expected, when he looked up and realized all eyes were on him, he turned right around and ran back to Nick. On try number two, he ran to me. It was very cute, and he was so proud of himself (and excited that he would get the promised prize of Spiderman!)

Me and Nick at the reception.
Nick's Godmother, Terri, Tiffany, and Uncle David

Nick with his Godparents, Uncle David and Terri

Steve and Shawn busting some fine moves!!! This is a rare sighting of Shawn on the dance floor. We had to capture it on film to prove that it occured!

Father/Daughter dance

Julie and Shawn sharing a sweet moment.

First Dance for the newlyweds!

What a beautiful cake!

How cute! Jack, Nathan and Olivia

Me and Jack

Nick and Jack

Uncle Will (the Groom) and Jack

Practicing for the ceremony

Uncle David and Luke

The Gisler Family- Nick, Luke, Jack and Mona

Aunt Leah and Jack

Aunt Leah, Jack and Nana

Cool Gift!

Jack got a great present from Auntie Tiffany and Uncle Will for being in their wedding. He is so excited about his new backpack for school, and he fills it up with all sorts of goodies!

What a big boy!

Here he is stuffing his backpack with all sorts of explorer tools- magnifying glass, shovel, bug collector, flashlight, and binoculars!

Little Luke

Here's a video of Luke having some "tummy time." He's pushing up really well- it won't be long until he's scooting around. He's not sitting up yet...he can do it for a few seconds, but he likes to lean back which doesn't make it easy to sit. He loves to babble- he has a lot to say!!

Jack the Swordfish

I got a new Flip video camera for Mother's Day, and it's so much fun! Here are some videos of Jack at swim lessons. He is doing so well and is just a few weeks away from his survival test! He is learning to swim with his arms above his head, like a "swordfish." For a while he wouldn't kick his feet fast enough when swimming with his face down, so we have been bribing him with new Disney Cars (we are not above a good bribe!), which seems to be doing the trick. His teacher, Scott, is an amazingly patient guy and we are so greatful for him. He is so good with Jack, and he's Zak Del Vecchio's teacher, too. The school recommends that babies start lessons between 6 and 9 months, so we're going to start Luke in June (he'll be 7 months). Jack was 2 when he started, but we think that was too late, because he was old enough to feel unsure of his abilities in the water. Luke seems to really like the bath, so hopefully he'll enjoy swimming, and starting him now will help if we're spending any time in a pool this summer.

Please Pray

We've had a few people in our prayers lately, and I thought I'd reach out to anyone reading this to please join us in praying for our dear friends...

1. We've been continuing our prayers for Tom DuBransky and family. Tom continues to suffer from an immune deficiency that the doctors at City of Hope are working hard to narrow down and treat. http://highlandparkdubranskys.blogspot.com/
2. Our dear friend, Reese Stewart, has entered the next stage of his battle with cancer. He is in round 2 of 3 of his latest chemo treatment. The nausea is subsiding and his spirits are high. Please pray for him as he continues with the next round of treatment, as well as for his wife and their three kids. http://betterhandsnow.blogspot.com/
3. We received terrible news last week from our friends, Kim and Brian Masse, that their nine month old son, Lukas (also called Luke), had a random accident with unbelievable impact. Little Luke just learned to pull himself up to a standing position. Last week in doing just that, he toppled back, as babies do, and hit his head on the floor, causing a vein to rupture. Praise God that he made it safely through surgery to relieve pressure on his brain from the subdural hematoma. He has been in an induced coma off and on over the last week as they monitor the pressure on his brain. As his body works hard to repair itself, they are looking for signs that his brain is functioning properly (response to touch, pupil dilation, etc.) We've continued to get updates, and every little small bit of progress is a blessing. Please add Luke and his family to your prayers. It will be several days before they know the extent of any damage. We continue to pray that he will make it through this accident with no permanent damage. Here are some pictures of Luke at Jack's birthday party.

Little Man

Luke is 6 months old already! Time goes by so fast...

First Bites

Luke experiencecd rice cereal for the first time, and boy does he love it! He likes to hold the bowl, and I have to be careful because he wants to stick his whole face in it! He had no problems swallowing and he can't get more fast enough :)

Hand or spoon- whatever can be used to shovel it in fastest!

Phew! Eating is exhausting!

From the same mold

Jack likes to watch cartoons in the morning while I'm getting ready. I walked in the room the other morning to find both boys with their legs propped up on the dresser. Seems like Luke is already looking up to his big brother! :)