May. 7, 2008 - The Lord's goodness never ceases

Wait!  Don't give up on me ever posting again!  I apologize for giving ya'll such deep news about Travis last time (3 whole months ago), and then practically falling off the face of the planet.  Our life has had so many, many, MANY things going on this year that I can literally barely keep up.  I do want to share the tremendous news that we have concerning my hubby, even though it's a little late in coming. 

After the overwhelming and semi-scary diagnosis of an immune disorder, God sent us the PERFECT doctor for Travis.  At long last, we were able to sit down with an allergist/immunologist who looked at ALL of Travis' health history and was able to see the whole picture.  He had no doubt that all of Travis' problems were a direct result of a severe allergy to something that triggered an acute case of adult onset asthma.  Going without a diagnosis on this type of thing for so many months had only made everything worse, causing more and more problems.  Yes, he did have low IGG levels, which means his immune system was having some difficulty, but this doctor assured us it was totally within normal limits and that with the right type of focused asthma and allergy treatment, Travis would be able to bounce back without having to go through the costly and extremely complicated IVIG infusions. 

That was six weeks ago, and praise the Lord from whom all blessings flow, Travis is now almost completely back to normal!  Whatever special combination of asthma/allergy medications and treatments that this new doctor gave Travis finally did the trick.  Just two weeks after the initial consultation with this allergist, Travis told me he actually felt like SUPERMAN!   Can you believe that?  I nearly wept for joy when he told me that because it had simply been ages since my baby had felt healthy, let alone like a super hero!

Travis continues to improve, with only relatively small set backs along the way.  The adjustments now are coming because he is learning to live with asthma.  He was able to go back to work a week ago and he seems to be right back into the swing of things.  He even finished up another college semester with three more A's under his belt!

We truly feel that it is GOD who has done a tremendous work in Travis' health and we give HIM the praise for everything that has happened in our lives these last six months.  We also cannot tell you how much everyone's sweet prayers and encouragement have meant to us.  The love we have experienced from the calls, notes, gifts, comments, etc., have utterly overwhelmed our hearts.

This has definitely been a journey of faith, trust, patience and seeking the Lord's face like nothing we have ever experienced before.  I cannot begin to explain how many times our prayers have been directly answered as the Lord has provided for us in ways we never thought possible.  It is amazing how our family has been strengthened through all of this, as well as our faith in our most gracious heavenly Father.  Of course, our journey of faith is not complete, and will not end until we at last meet our Lord face to face, but this one stepping stone along the way has taught us so very, very much.  There is still a great for us to learn (and most definitely re-learn!), but our gracious Heavenly Father has most certainly revealed His love and mercy  to us in ways we will never forget.

- 6 Comments - Post A Comment! - Permanent Link

Feb. 7, 2008 - My Man...

Hello dear ones! 

It seems that I have been completely MIA these last few months when it comes to correspondence and family updates, and for that I am terribly sorry!  Some of you may already know a little about the ongoing health saga we have been experiencing since November.  Well, just yesterday, after months of Travis being mysteriously sick, having countless doctor and various specialists visits, ending up in the emergency room twice, being hospitalized twice (the most recent of which they kept him for nearly a week), a million needles poked in his body, and too many different tests run on him to count, it seems our prayers for a diagnosis has been found.  (But now that we know what he has, in some ways I think it would have been easier NOT knowing... :)

The official diagnosis for my hubby is hypogammaglobulinemia, also known as Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID).  Essentially, it is an auto-immune disease (appearing to be genetic in nature, although it has been acquired later in life) that is the milder version of the "Bubble Boy" disease where children have to live in plastic bubbles because they do not have enough immunities in their bodies to fight off germs and sickness.  The dr. told us it was the opposite of leukemia, meaning he doesn't create enough of the components in his body known as IGG, where as someone with leukemia has too many of these in their body.

While there is no known "cure" at this time, the treatment is very expensive (it can be up to as much as $8,000 a shot) intravenous gamma globulin infusions, which normally people need every month for the rest of their life in order to stay healthy and out of the hospital with every little cold that simply won't go away.  It takes 12 people donating blood to make one shot.  Without these infusions, people with this disease are completely susceptible to sickness because their bodies have no way of fighting things off, which means they are chronically ill and in and out of the doctor's office or hospital.

The doctor was very honest with us about the serious implications of all of this for Travis and our family, but he did say he had a gut feeling Travis would improve, especially since he is so young.  He said he has seen that happen before, but only a couple of times.  He suggests doing the IVIG treatments for a year and then taking him off of them so they can see if Travis' body is able to take care of itself again.

So, we are praying and discussing our options and waiting to hear from the insurance company to find out if there is a possibility they will cover the IVIG infusions.  In the meantime, they are also doing a little test for the next 5 weeks to see if there is any way that Trav's body can bounce back on its own when given a few small virus challenges to overcome.  This will be the extra proof they need that he indeed has hypogammaglobulinemia. 

Because this can be a hereditary disease, there is a possibility that Clarke could have the mutated gene as well.  This is something we will be watching for as he grows, but thankfully it appears he doesn't have any of the signs right now.  

I do have to say thank you to everyone who has been praying for us, giving us sweet cards, making phone calls, coming to visit, making dinners for us, leaving kind comments, and helping us watch Clarke during doctor's visits and hospital stays.  Ya'll have been so sweet and encouraging with everything going on in our lives.  We thank the Lord for you with all of our hearts!


While this is a new and seemingly daunting road that we are traveling down right now, we praise the Lord we do not have to do it alone! :)  When I am tempted to worry about the future, the potential struggles ahead of us, I have to remind myself that our God is so faithful and loves us more than we could ever possibly know.  He is our strength when we have no strength left at all (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

How grateful I am for His unfailing love. :)

- 7 Comments - Post A Comment! - Permanent Link

Nov. 19, 2007 - Where did October go anyway?

Hey there!

Well, yeah.  So it's pretty much going on 2 months since ya'll last heard from me.  (My, my!  Does this life never slow down? ;)  Really, all's been quite well with the Vinsons these days, minus some of that sickly flu junk going around.  My husband is working, working, working, and when he's not doing that he's schooling, schooling, schooling.  I am blessed beyond words to have such a diligent, hard-working, selfless man as he.  We are both excited to be nearing the end of our semesters.  We have big plans to rip out our dated old carpet in the living room and hallway as soon as school is out and replace it with some lovely engineered hard wood floors.  We cannot WAIT.  It'll be our Christmas present to each other this year.  I'll have to post before and after pictures so ya'll can see the beautiful transformation that will be taking place. ;)

Now, onto all of the fun new antics of our bouncing 10-month old boy...

Clarke is truly growing and developing in leaps and bounds. (And yes, I am following close behind him as he leaps and bounds from wall to wall! )  Every day I'm amazed at the new thing he's learning.  For instance, he's picking up sign language now.  He's getting better at asking us for more to eat.  It's precious!  

He's also toddlin' all around these days, gettin' into literally everything.  He has almost convinced himself that walking is more fun and nearly as fast as crawling.  But, until this revelation truly hits him, he'll still do a combination of crawling and walking. 

Clarke has decided that he is such a big boy when he sits in his rocking chair.  He'll sit for the longest time and rock back and forth.  (His daddy and I love those moments of stillness because he rarely stops long enough to stay in one place for very long. )

 Also, he simply ADORES his daddy!  He'll chant to himself "Da da da" and make a be-line for the door when he hears the garage door open every afternoon when Travis comes home.  He's usually standing in the kitchen, waiting excitedly and squealing with delight when his Daddy walks in.  This is their chase each other around the house, wrestle and play time and Clarke knows it.  I love sitting back and watching my boys have such a great time together.

Now, did we name our son Clarke, or Mr. Friendly?  Our little man is SUCH a people person!  There's hardly one person that he won't talk to or give a huge ol' smile.  My goodness, he just won't stop flirting with and charming all the ladies.  (*whispering*  Hopefully that part will only be a phase.... :)

As my dear boy is now needing some attention, I shall have to close this entry.  We are anxiously anticipating the start of the holiday season this week.  We are planning on spending some time with TX family, thinking of our dear KS family and hopefully just enjoying time together as our own little family of three.

May God bless you all and keep you safe this Thanksgiving!  May you take the time to reflect on all of the Lord's wondrous blessings.

- 3 Comments - Post A Comment! - Permanent Link

Sep. 27, 2007 - And there he goes!

From crawling...

...to walking!!

Okay, so he's not ready for any marathons just yet, but after all, he's only 8 months old.   He's been able to stand alone for short periods of time for about a month now, as well as take a couple steps on his own, but Sunday he figured out he could take a couple MORE steps all by himself!  His fear of falling is fading fast, but now it's time for his mommy to start worrying about that.

- 7 Comments - Post A Comment! - Permanent Link

Sep. 5, 2007 - I miss blogging

Ahhhh, for the days of yore when I used to be able to find time to actually blog...

*little sigh*

*big grin*

Of course, running hither thither and yon all day after my nearly walking baby boy is something I wouldn't replace for anything.  In the mean time, I guess the luxury of blogging will just have to wait.

- 1 Comments - Post A Comment! - Permanent Link

Aug. 13, 2007 - Two amazing years

Two years ago today I married my very best friend and soul mate.  While a great deal of things have changed in our lives since then, quite a lot remains the same...


My heart still skips a beat at the sound of his voice...

I could spend all day looking into his eyes without getting tired...

His smile and laughter never fail to lift my spirits...

Holding his hand still gives me "warm fuzzies" inside...

I cannot imagine knowing anyone more kind or considerate...

My admiration for him continues to grow deeper and stronger with each passing day...

I love my sweet husband with all that is in me and I cannot thank my Savior enough for allowing me to be his wife!

- 3 Comments - Post A Comment! - Permanent Link

Aug. 2, 2007 - Clarke's Great Adventures

There's so much to see, do, and learn in Clarke's little 6 1/2 month old world... He's such a BLAST!


Happy little blinkin' eye boy.

 
Our Crawlin' King!


Funny face droolin' puppy.


I caught him trying to crawl up into his carrier the other day...


Think he's trying to tell me something?


He loves to look at this photo of mommy and daddy on their wedding day.  He especially enjoys looking at his daddy.  He'll always smile and reach out to touch Travis in the picture.  Too sweet!


Box playing.


He looks like a tiger about ready to spring here!


Playing with daddy's hat...


Our little Dude...

 
Whoops, where'd he go?


"This is just waaaay too fun!"


Ahhh, and finally sweet sleep after playing hard all day...

- 0 Comments - Post A Comment! - Permanent Link

Jul. 9, 2007 - Another Milestone

Our handsome little boy started saying my name on Saturday - Momma.  It's also the very first thing he said to me Sunday morning when I got him out of his crib and was giving him super mommy hugs and kisses, just as clear as can be.  

Yes, my dad is right.  Words cannot express our feelings right about now.

- 2 Comments - Post A Comment! - Permanent Link

Jul. 5, 2007 - Life keeps moving on

My word!  Has it really been that long since I updated this blog?  Yikes.  This summer is turning into one big blurrr.

Let me start by saying that life has been absolutely wonderful here for us!  Even though it feels like the tasks we must accomplish from day to day will sometimes consume us, we are still enjoying life and feeling God's blessings upon us always.  

So far our summer has consisted of quite a lot of school for Travis and I.  We are both taking online courses this summer and I have to say that he's amazing me once again with his ability to work full time, spend quality time with his family and still make fantastic grades!!  He is such an inspiration to me.  There’s really no one quite like my hubby. 

Because there has been such a huge amount of things keeping us occupied of late, I’ll just fill you in on what Clarke’s been up to lately.  After all, he’s waaaay more interesting.

First of all, he is growing sooo fast!!  Travis and I say all the time that we LOVE the stage that he’s in right now.  It's not that I want Clarke to stay this age forever, but I definitely want to remember as many of the details and precious things he's doing at this stage of his life.  Pictures and home videos only capture tiny glimpses into the life of this adorable little man of ours.  He truly is an absolute JOY.  Somehow, I just want to hold on to these days in my heart so that I can cherish them for years to come.  When he's snuggling up close to me I just pray that I won’t ever forget these wonderful moments together. 

Our little guy started army crawling/jumping forward/rocking on all fours about 3 weeks ago.  He’s so cute!! He loves his newfound freedom and mobility.  

Also, we gave him his first bite of real food (well, if you can call rice cereal “real food”) last Thursday.  We couldn’t believe it, but he DEVOURED it like we have been literally starving him his whole life!! 

He and his daddy are such buddies!  Travis always makes Clarke just SCREAM with delight when they’re playing together.  It’s so cute.

Also, Clarke enjoyed his visit with his sweet cousin Faith at her 1-year-old birthday party last month!  

A couple times Faith looked like Clarke was invading her personal space a little here, but he seemed oblivious.

What else can I say?  Clarke just brings so much joy and laughter into our home.  

GOD IS GOOD. 

- 0 Comments - Post A Comment! - Permanent Link

May. 18, 2007 - A look back

My journal entry on May 17th, 2006 - Exactly 1 year ago yesterday:

Wednesday
9:29 PM

Oh my word.  Yesterday we found out that we're expecting!!  I can hardly believe it!   I got all teary-eyed and had trouble breathing as the little test strip was sitting there showing off 2 pink lines.   All of my headaches, exhaustion, etc. make sense now.  Looks like I'm about 4 weeks along!  We've been discussing names, how to tell everyone, when to go to the doctor, etc...

Help us, Father, as we begin this journey.  I give you my fears - fears of safety, miscarriage, delivery - everything.  This little one is Your's and we give him or her to You.  Please take good care of Baby Vinson?  Please help me to be careful and safe, esp. in the first few months here.

Guide us, God, as we embark on this new journey You have laid out for us!  Thank you for this amazing and tremendous blessing.

   

I love you, Father, I love you, Travis, and I love you, our child. 

___________


I still remember the lump in my throat and the shaking of my hand as I stared down at the 2 pink lines on the test strip looking up at me.  In my disbelief all I could say was, "Travis, there are TWO pink lines!"   A year ago I was only 4 weeks along with Clarke, who was just the size of a sesame seed.  Now, our little man is 4 months old and weighs over 15 lbs.  How did we get here so quickly?!    Clarke has brought sooo much joy into our hearts and lives that it is difficult to express in words how our life has changed and what he means to us.  We simply wouldn't trade him for anything in the entire world. It's such a wonder to me, this precious miracle of life.  We love our son more and more with each passing day... 

- 4 Comments - Post A Comment! - Permanent Link