Kiddo UPDATE 7/19/11

Josh: so, Josh just took his tests today and got his driving permit.... I believe I may have received my first official grey hair over the realization that my son can now drive.... or maybe it was the thought that he may be driving me (somewhere other than crazy that is). He is very excited and can't wait to get some practice in with his dad (not sure I'm ready for that just yet lol) He's doing pretty well all in all, still looking for his first official job now that he's back home from his vacation, but unfortunately, that is not an easy thing to obtain in our current economy. I am not to worried about it though, because they start back to school in only 3 short weeks. So he won't have as much free time soon anyways. He still wants to work, and I feel for him, I remember my first taste of Independence at his age when I got my first job and could buy my own clothes etc. I just can't believe he's there already... time sure flies....

Gabby: well, Gabby just had her 1st Birthday on Saturday... I can't believe she is 1 already, but the calendar says it's so, so who am I to argue... She took her first official steps a week to the day before her birthday at our friends (Ryan and Rachel's) house. It was a glimmer of joy in an otherwise impossibly hard time, as we were there to say our final goodbyes to Ryan before he passed after a horrible accident. Now she is unstoppable as she toddles all over the place. Steve has put up gates to contain her to the living room, because otherwise it would be impossible to keep up with her. With all that was going on, we were unable to do the traditional big 1st Birthday party, but we had a small family gathering on Sunday, and she had a blast. She had her first taste of cake too, a cupcake on her birthday 7/16 which she demolished in record time, and a smash cake at her party on 7/17 which she also had a lot of fun with. It was so cute to see how much she enjoyed it, and kinda humorous to watch as her Great-Grandma (my Grandma) looked on cringing at the mess..... all in all she had a great birthday, and as I look back over the last year although it has been somewhat more stressful than most with Kaitlyn and my Dad's diagnoses, it has also been extremely blessed now that Gabriella has completed our family :)

Kaitlyn: as for Kaitlyn, she got to see her new pulmonologist last week. Unfortunately she is still fighting the pseudomonas and it is resistant to the Tobi. He put her on a new medicine called Calistin or something like that, but he said if that doesn't do it he will be admitting her for another clean out or "tune up" after her next visit. Her PFT's were in the 40's at diagnosis last year, but in the 90's after she was discharged, and they have continued to steadily and slowly drop since then. They were at about 83 at her visit with the new Dr. and he says he thinks they can go back up with another clean out. Kaitlyn absolutely hates the calistin, she says it's even worse than the Tobi, but thankfully she is not fighting it and is doing it without arguments because she is beginning to understand the seriousness of all this. Also, since she has cultured positive for pseudomonas since February of this year if this calistin doesn't work it probably will be colonized by the next culture... we are still trying to avoid that, but I am getting nervous. It does appear that another hospitalization is imminent, and we've come to terms with the fact that the hospitalizations will be necessary, but it couldn't come at a worse time... the kids start school August 8th or 9th, and her follow up actually falls on my first day back to school August 24th, so it looks like if it comes down to it, both Kaitlyn and I will be missing some school right as school starts. On the plus side, we talked about home IV's and the new Dr. said he'd consider it after the first week.... so hopefully that will be an option as the hospital is 1.5 -2 hours away from where we live. She is still tired a lot, but there are good times where she seems to have more energy too... She is still a bright, bubbly, and happy girl. She absolutely adores her little sister, and spends a lot of time playing with Gabby. I think they are pretty good for each other, as they keep each other busy a lot of the time.

Also, if you are reading this, please add my Dad to your prayer list. He has been fighting leukemia for a year now, and has recently been told that it is now acute leukemia. They say they are running out of treatment options that aren't dangerous to him. He needs prayers for healing and for guidence as we figure out what the best thing for him is. He is the strongest man I know, and he is still fighting and in good spirits, but he still needs prayers Thank you <3