Update on Ethan

Thanks so much for praying for Ethan the past couple of weeks! We have received the results from the EEG and the CAT scan -- both came back normal!! God has been good, faithful and gracious to us and we have been humbled by the support, encouragement and love we've received from so many people over the last few weeks. With the results of these tests we can rest a little easier now.

The doctor will check Ethan again at his 4 month exam on August 18, so please continue to pray for him that he will focus on our faces, make good eye contact and mimic our smiles. Though he isn't yet doing these things as consistently as the doctor would like, we have seen him improve some in each of these areas over the past 2 weeks -- so we're praying these improvements will remain consistent. Additionally, the doctor said that in other areas Ethan may be a little ahead in his development. Ethan has become quite verbal and coos in response to our talking to him. Also, he rolls over occasionally. In both of these areas, the doctor said he is a little ahead at this time so that's encouraging news for us.

As I already mentioned, we greatly appreciated your thoughts, prayers and encouragement over the past couple of weeks. It's comforting to know that Ethan has so many people who love him. We love you and will keep you updated on his progress!

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In other news

In addition to the uncertainty we had over the past couple of weeks, we also have not been living in our home. We are participating in a city/federal program that is called Lead Safe Louisville. The purpose is to make our home lead safe. Our home has a significant amount of lead mainly on and around the exterior of our house. As you know, lead is very bad for young children and our neighborhood just happens to have the highest lead levels in the entire city, so given Ethan's age and our income we were able to qualify for this program. (Ethan's lead levels are safe as far as we know so this is unrelated.)

Basically, we've been shacked up at the Residence Inn downtown while our house is being worked on. When it's done, we will have new siding, gutters, landscaping, a painted shed and a few new windows. Pretty sweet deal since it doesn't cost us anything except temporary relocation and a commitment to live in our home for 3 years from the date of completion. Anyway, I did happen to snap some pictures last week of our house. Check them out...they are pretty humorous and a little scary:

Good News So Far...Please Keep Praying

Thank you so much for all of your prayers!! Terre and I have felt so much support and encouragement over the past week from so many people. We have a new appreciation for friends, family and the body of Christ. We have felt all of you carrying Ethan, us and our concerns through your thoughts and prayers this week. Thank you so much!!

The quick update we have at this time is that the CAT Scan results came back totally normal!! The doctor said it revealed no brain abnormalities and as it relates to the CAT scan there are no additional reasons for concern. Praise GOD for answered prayer!!!

In addition, to this good news our prayers for the day were answered in a number of ways. Because of Ethan having to be sedated, he was not allowed to eat for 5 hours before his CAT Scan. Terre fed him at 4:45 am and he was amazingly content without eating the whole morning -- which given his appetite is an exceptional feat. Also, as you all know, we were pretty apprehensive about Ethan being put to sleep. When we went back for the CAT scan they were preparing to put him under when he fell asleep in Terre's arms. We asked if they could try the scan without putting him to sleep, so they quickly ushered us back to do the scan. When we put him on the table he woke up. He remained awake, but after a couple of minutes of wiggling he became calm. Even though he was awake, they went ahead and performed the scan since he was so still. He remained calm and still the entire time which amazed all of us! Thanks so much for your prayers specifically for that -- it was a huge relief to have that done without sedation!!

The doctor said that we probably won't know the final results of the EEG until Monday, so please continue to pray that this report comes back normal as well. As soon as we find out the results, we'll be sure to post them and send an e-mail to everyone.

Thanks again for your prayers and support -- we love you all!!!