I will do better at posting......soon - our update on life the last couple of weeks

Wow - I feel like I haven't really posted anything in a couple of weeks - I guess it's because I feel like my life has been so busy that I haven't really had time to stop and think about what has been going on and if there have been any really good stories to share.

The most exciting thing that has happened this week is my dear friend Gina's little boy got amazing test results yesterday - even though he has/had cancer, he does NOT have to go thru chemo. What a relief for their family and for little Carter who is only 11 months old. I absolutely can not wait for his 5 year remission party - mark your calendars now :) The whole family could still use your prayers as they have many many follow-up visits between now and then, and each one will be difficult - but man God Is Good!

Hopefully I'll do better about posting now - I really enjoy this blogging thing, sometimes it's hard to find time to think about what has happened that other people might actually want to read about :). Watch out for like 80 posts today as I contemplate what's going on with the Graves family and try to catch anyone who reads this up with our life.

Of course - what's a post without some pics - here is my sis Sarah and my Riley jamming on Sarah's ipod. I'm always amazed how quickly Riley figures things out and how at 2 1/2 she will let you know that "that's not my song" if you play the wrong one.

Please pray for this special boy!!

A blog has been setup for my dear friend Gina's precious baby boy Carter here. Please lift he and his family up in prayer as he has surgery tomorrow to remove a 5.5 cm from his little chest. Surgery on your child is difficult at anytime, I can only imagine, but when your little one is only 11 months old it just seems so huge!!! Surgery will probably be sometime between 12-1pm.

Please pray that the Lord will guide the dr's hands, that the tumor will not be attached to his spine, that it WON'T be cancerous, that the whole family will have peace and feel Your comfort, that big bro Evan will be able to be strong thru this all, that Carter's recovery will be quick and easy and this will be the last excitement in his little life for awhile, that Your name will be glorified Lord.

Please Pray for Carter

Good morning everyone - I have a HUGE prayer request and I will do my best to try and update as I know more details - but please join me in prayer!

***Update #5

Carter has been transferred to Cardinal Glenn Children's Hospital in St. Louis. He has a 5.5 cm tumor which takes up roughly half his chest cavity. They are unsure what type of tumor this is and will do more testing to decide what exactly they are dealing with and will decide when to do surgery. Please continue to keep their family in your prayers. They have started a blog here if you want to check it out.

***Update #4
Carter has had the CAT scan (finally) and is in recovery and they are getting ready to wake him up. Gina & Mike are to meet with the dr as soon as they can get back into town and they told them to leave the boys with someone and come in by themselves. Obviously this is freaking them out a little bit (ok a lot), but I think the dr really just wants to be able to discuss the options and have their full attention. Please pray for their nerves, this is very stressful!

***Update #3
St. John's is also refusing to do the CAT scan, they are nervous about sedating them. They are nervous about the mass, but without the test they can't tell what's wrong for sure if anything.

***Update #2
They are on their way to St. John's in Springfield right now for the CAT scan - praise the Lord - Evan does not have strep, praise the Lord. Now if we can just get Carter's results today that will be AWESOME!

***Update #1
The anesthesiologist is not comfortable sedating Carter so they are not doing the CAT scan at Bolivar - the Dr and Gina & Mike are very upset, understandably, and they are trying to get into St. John's to get it done later today.

Can't feed him until they know if he'll have the scan (fussy baby)
Nerves are offically shot
Big Bro Evan may have strep and is on the way to the dr

Satan is attacking strong, please pray that everything works out and they not only get the scan today, but answers. A weekend is a long time to wait for the unknown!

Original post:
My friend Gina's little boy, Carter (11mo) , was admitted to the Bolivar hospital yesterday for pneumonia and is awaiting tests for a mass they saw when doing the chest x-ray.

His oxygen levels have been very good and they have only had to give him oxygen two times which is awesome. They said this morning that his lungs are sounded almost completely clear which is a blessing and this means the pneumonia is really not an issue anymore -yeah!

He will go in for a CAT scan this morning. His blood counts look great, nothing out of the ordinary, so they are not thinking cancer, but it is still a possibility. It could be a cyst, tumor or who knows what - just pray that its something simple and easy and fixable.

Please pray that Carter to do well with the procedure and the anesthesia. Please pray for Gina and Mike as its hard to see your little one and deal with the unknown. Please pray for big bro Evan who is home sick too.

This is from last month - but isn't he a cutie!