MRI and DNA test for Serene

Serene's MRI and DNA blood work will be done on December 1 at Cook Children's.

Please pray for peace as this comes closer. Serene will have to be put fully under for the MRI and this is something Jimmy and I are both dreading. Putting an IV in such a little thing and then having her completely under is just scary. Please pray for this experience to be as pain free as possible for her and as peaceful for mom and dad as possible.

Psalm 103:1-3

Baby #3

Baby #3 is on the way and we could not be more excited!!!

The Bible says in Psalm 127:3 that children are a blessing and we are so grateful that God is choosing to bless us again!

It looks like the baby should be here around June 19 (which is Jimmy's bday)!

More about Serene

We just found out yesterday that Serene will have her first appointment at the NF clinic on JANUARY 13..... Yes, that's right, not until JANUARY... UGH! We are a little annoyed to say the least and I will also tell you that Cook Children's has been anything BUT helpful to deal with in this process. I know many people who have had great experiences with them but for us that has not been the case.

We are praying that anyone else we deal with will be friendly and kind and even helpful!!

Thanks again for all your prayers! We feel them!

Cousin Ellie and Serene

This is Jimmy's cousin Katie's little girl Ellie. They came for dinner last weekend and the girls got to play together! It was so fun watching them interact. I know they will enjoy each others company more and more as they get older. Yay for cousins!!

Sleeping sisters

This was Saturday morning at about 5:00 AM. I had to use the flash right in their faces because it was so dark but they were both so cozy they never knew the difference.

First sleepover

One of my best friends is very unexpectedly expecting her 4th baby. So she and her hubby wanted to take a night together to plan and prepare and of course just be together alone! So her youngest (and one of Anna's best friends) Elise came to our house last Friday night and stayed the whole night. This was our first experience with the whole sleepover thing. Although being parents of two little girls I don't think it will be our last! =)

We had a GREAT time. The girls made cookies with pink icing and pink sprinkles... pink what else!!! They strung beads and made some very beautiful necklaces. Daddy took them to the playground across the street and after all that they were worn out and actually went to bed early.

YAY for good friends and super fun sleepovers!!

Lunch on the square

The girls and I went to Southlake Town Square a couple of weeks ago and got Corner Bakery and sat in the park area to eat. We had a great time watching all the people shop and stroll. Plus the weather was AWESOME! I love spending time with my gals!

Thank you!

Jimmy and I want to say thank you so much to everyone who has reached out to us with such kind emails and posts of love and prayers as we deal with this diagnosis. It is incredible to know that we have so many amazing friends and family who care so deeply for our little Sereney!!

We hope to find out in the next week or so when we will be able to go to the NF clinic for testing. We will update as things progress.

On a very good note, the doctor did tell us that since Serene has shown so many signs of normal development to this point... pulling up, walking along the couch, saying "da da, ma ma, ba ba" and various other things that those are GREAT signs. Speech development can be one of the first signs that there is a very serious problem and at this point Serene's speech is developing right on schedule. It is little things like this that keep our hopes VERY high that she will only be very minimally affected by NF.

Just a a mother speaking about her child I have to say how incredibly infectious Serene's little smile is. Everywhere we go people comment on how happy she is. Here is one I hear there all the time.....(only in Texas would you hear this).... "that's the SMILENEST baby I ever saw". I don't even know how to spell that word but I know what they mean because she is. She is such a gift!!