We're excited to have Mindy, Jason, Clara and Laura here to visit for a few days! Last night we went to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk... our third trip this summer! The girls had fun going on a few rides (see pictures below). Then later, it was the the dads' turn for some fun... they climbed aboard "Double Shot," Santa Cruz's tallest structure!
Summer is winding down at Frontier Ranch... the last week of camp ends on August 19th. So the 2006 Frontier Ranch staff took some time this past Saturday night to celebrate their summer of ministry together. In the midst of camp, it's an excuse to get dressed up, have a nice dinner together, take lots of pictures and reflect on what God's been doing. Also, each staff member is given a personalized staff award that highlights their funny attributes and spiritual giftedness.
Kaylin has continued her efforts to win the "Big Sister of the Year" award lately by helping to entertain T.J. by "reading" to him. She shows him the pictures in her books and does a lot of "reading" (talking) while doing so. Although this picture doesn't totally capture it, T.J. watching and listening to his big sis.
Trevor is 3 months old today...and cute as ever. I asked Kaylin this morning, "What's your favorite thing about Trevor?" She thought hard for about 10 seconds and then replied, "His eyes. Just his eyes."
Lisa and the kids left today. We had such a wonderful time with them; we were sad to see them go! It was so fun for them to finally meet Trevor!! Now we look forward to next month after camp's over when we'll take a drive down to So. Cal. and stay with them for a few days.
Wednesday, July 26th - Today was the day for the three "P's." Pool, Pizza and Playground. First, more heat meant more hanging out at the pool! For dinner it was make your own mini-pizzas. Then, Uncle D took all the kids except T.J. to the Mission Springs playground. Being 3 months old must be a bit of a bummer when all your cousins get to do all the cool stuff...
Tuesday, July 25th - Today we took the kids back to camp to try a few of the many cool Frontier Ranch activities! Josh and Garrett both climbed our rock wall, Josh zipped down the zip line, and everyone went down the 150-foot slip and slide... even Lisa and Amy!
DON'T FORGET! - You can click on any of these pictures to view the full-size version!
Garrett climbing!
Kaylin & Jenna watching!
Amy getting ready to slide!
Derek's friend Chris (aka Kaylin's "Uncle Chops")
took Josh for a slip and slide!
Then, all eight of us loaded up in Lisa's super cool Astro van to go spend the evening at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk... the west coast's only oceanside amusement park!
Rides at the Boardwalk!
Monday, July 24th - Amy's sister Lisa and her 3 kids are here to visit! Lisa's husband Mike had to stay home and work... we missed you Mike! On Monday afternoon Amy, Lisa and all the kids went to the pool... we've been experiencing extremely unusual high temps of 100+. That night we all went down to camp to see a Frontier Ranch campfire program... including songs, skits, etc. Jenna and Kaylin were dancing to the music!
My (Amy) parents were just here for a few days. We were their first stop on their "retirement adventure." They just retired this past week (my brother Steve and his wife Jill have taken over the garage door business). They moved out of their house in Yorba Linda, put most of their stuff in storage and are now planning to travel in their new motorhome for at least a few months. Next month when camp is over we'll be driving down to So. Cal. (Trevor's first trip!). My parents are planning to fly down for the weekend to see us all at once, so at least we won't have to go several months without seeing them. Way to go, Mom and Dad!!!
Amy mentioned in the previous post that T.J. has begun to smile a lot... including when his older sister talks to him. What a pair!
Trevor John is 11 weeks old today!! We can't believe how fast time is FLYING by. He's such a happy boy most of the time. He now loves to give lots of big smiles (especially to his mommy :) and just started smiling at Kaylin...which she of course loves! Also, just this week he did his first belly laugh. It was very fun. He really is a joy!
Is Kaylin getting too big for her tent?
Today we celebrated 4th of July by enjoying the festivities of the family camp that Mission Springs hosts every year. The whole family enjoyed a nice lunch, carnival games and some carnival treats (ice cream, snow cones, cotton candy). Plus, we were all part of the traditional mini-parade that circles the conference center. We joined with a bunch of other staff and local kids to be part of the parade. Kaylin and Trevor (2 mo. old) rode in a red, white and blue wagon (thanks DeeDee and Steve=). Kaylin was a true parade princess... smiling, waving her hand and waving a flag she was holding!
I was hanging out with Kaylin recently and she asked me to move a couple of chairs into position for her. After doing as she asked, I went back to surfing the web. Meanwhile, as she often does, she began to situate her dolls on the chairs. However, instead of just lining up various dolls on the two chairs, she took a seat on a chair herself. Then, she put another doll on her lap and hollered to me, "Daddy, take a picture and put it on the blog." Just as before, I did what I was told! =) Here it is...
The first week of camp is winding down at Frontier Ranch. I spent May 28 through June 10 training the summer staff... it was a wild, long couple of weeks... but it's always great to have the staff arrive for training! There will be 6 weeks of elementary (4-6 grade) camp and 4 weeks of jr. high (7th-9th grade) camp at Frontier Ranch this summer. Here's a picture from week #1 and below is a glimpse into this summer's theme.
We'd appreciate your continued prayers as we adjust to life with a little one again... and for Amy as I begin camp and have to be away from home a lot in the next couple of weeks. Thanks!
Today is Amy Lynn's 29th birthday! As is tradition in her family, she was bombarded with early morning phone calls with various relatives singing the good-old Happy Birthday song. :) Then, the kids & I (that still sounds hard to believe) presented her with cards and a gift-certificate for a massage! Plus, the four of us (that's wierd too) went to lunch together. Now, we're headed off to join some friends for dessert in her honor.
As we continue to thank you all for your prayers and support over the last week, we want to tell you more about what exactly you were praying for. In the midst of the health chaos with both Trevor and Kaylin (see earlier posts), we faced another very difficult and alarming scenario. Situations like this remind us that we live in a sinful, fallen world where "the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). However, we are also "convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39). God has already won the battle and is with us always and in all circumstances. We couldn't have made it through without our faith in God and the support of family and friends. So here goes... an amazing example of God's faithfulness in our lives:
Saturday - May 6th
During the initial procedures of getting Trevor set in the NICU, a nurse got accidentally stuck with a needle after assisting the doctor with Trevor's spinal tap. As a matter of routine policy they then had to draw some of Amy's blood in order to screen both Trevor and mom's blood.
Sunday - May 7th
The on-call pediatrician that had sent Trevor to the NICU and was doing rounds on Sunday, came to visit us and let us know we needed to talk in private. She first assured us that Trevor was doing well... but then she proceeded to give us the biggest shock our lives. Initial (preliminary level) screen tests of Amy's blood had come back positive for HIV. Even though we had strong doubts about the validity of those results, as you might imagine, that's a horrible conversation to have with a doctor. However, there turned out to be many reasons why we could try to believe that the result was a false positive. First, the obvious, basic reason that came to our minds... neither Amy nor I have any high-risk lifestyle issues that can lead to HIV (multiple partners, drugs, transfusions, etc.). In Amy's pre-natal screening, she tested negative in October. Also, we found out that pregnancy (recent pregnancy in Amy's case) can cause a false positive test. Not to mention that Trevor was negative and my blood test later that evening came back negative as well. But as I wrote earlier, even though we really doubted the result, it certainly brought some scary worries to our minds (especially for Amy obviously).
As if that conversation weren't alarming enough, the doctors had a responsibility to recommend that Amy discontinue breast-feeding in order to protect Trevor. We of course wanted to do the right thing for Trevor (even if we felt the chance of Amy being positive was very small) but it was very difficult for Amy to give up taking care of feeding her new baby.Romans 8:28 - "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him"
We were told at that point that we wouldn't hear more conclusive test results until Tuesday at noon... so we're going to have to carry this enormous burden until then. Another unfortunate aspect of Sunday (as we look back) is that we weren't offered access to an expert who could really answer our questions and alleviate our concerns.
Monday - May 8th
Monday they started giving us the idea that more conclusive test results would be obtained Monday night, instead of having to wait until Tuesday. Come Monday evening we are told that "Monday night" could mean the middle of the night (early Tues. morning). Amy and I give up on waiting for results and leave the hospital about 11:30 pm to TRY to get some sleep... Trevor's nurse said she'd call as soon as they heard anything.
Tuesday - May 9th
We woke up the next morning having still not heard anything. At about 7:30 a.m., a nurse called to let us know they still didn't know anything but that Dr. Gallagher (our actual pediatrician) was going to be coming through at 8am and she wanted to see us. She'd gotten back from vacation, been brought up to speed on our situation, and was very frustrated for us and what we were going through. She found herself as the unfortunate person to bring us the news that in actuality, the more conclusive test hadn't even gotten underway yet... so we thought we were still 24 hours from getting some more answers. But is was great to have Dr. Gallagher as our advocate, finding our why the needle-stick ever happened, seeing that we got to speak with an infectious diseases expert (who really helped ease our mind and confirmed that it was very likely a false positive), getting to the bottom of why we'd been given bad info about when we'd get a result, fighting to get test results quicker, etc.James 1:2-3,12 - "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance... Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."
Thanks to Dr. Gallagher's efforts to keep us properly cared for and informed, we were able to relax a bit, not get more angry, and just settle in to care for Trevor and wait for further results on Amy. Meanwhile, Dr. Dietz (a local infectious disease expert) came to chat with us and as I mentioned above, that was very helpful in giving us peace of mind while we waited. After reviewing our situation, he seemed convinced that we were dealing with a false positive. He also explained yet another reason why Amy may have a false positive result, she'd had a flu shot in Dec. and those can cause false-positive results. Also, he explained what to expect when the results of the two additional, more conclusive tests came back. If he hadn't done that, we'd have probably been unnecessarily worried even more when one of those tests came back with an "indeterminate" result.
Tuesday evening
Just after Trevor had officially been cleared to be released from the hospital, Dr. Dietz called Amy with the great news that the last (and most conclusive test) showed that she is definitely not HIV-positive. It was indeed a false alarm. What a ridiculously HUGE relief! So in a matter of 2 days, things went from crazy to resolved. Kaylin is feeling much better, Trevor got to come back home, and Amy is good to go! Praise the Lord!Romans 4:25 - 5:5 - "He (Jesus) was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."
We're all home! Trevor was released from the NICU earlier this evening. The results of his last test came back and everything looks good... still nothing serious, just the conjunctivitis and a cold. So we've got eye drops to finish clearing that up.
Here we are with Trevor's nurse Kris right before leaving the NICU.Trevor continues to do well... hes' doing what newborns do... eating (well), staying awake a little, going to sleep a lot, etc. The results of the spinal test are still not back but the Doc would be surprised if things didn't continue to look good... becuz all other tests are just indicating the conjunctivitis and a cold. We're hoping that he'll be released on Tuesday evening.
Kaylin has had a much better day today. She slept well for the first time since last Tuesday night and has been drinking quite a bit of fluids today. So we're no longer worried about dehydration, just having to wait it out as her virus runs it's course. She also had much longer periods today where she seemed more like herself and was comfortable enough to play.
So, as always, thanks for your continued prayers!
Sunday AM
I talked with Amy a few minutes ago and she said that the doctor just saw Trevor. She said he is doing good. Lab results yesterday and today just show signs of the conjunctivitis that he has a typical indicators of a cold. So far no results to say that there is anything more significant than that wrong with him. More test results are due in the next day or so. So far, so good! Thanks for your support and prayers!
Sunday PM
Nothing new to report about Trevor really. However, Kaylin is mildy dehydrated due to her lack of interest in eating and drinking. There's a lot going on... so our family could still really use your prayers! Thanks so much.
For everyone who has heard (or hasn't heard) a bit of what is going on... below is an update. We so appreciate all of our family and friends we'd appreciate your prayers right now... it's been a rough few days.
Some background... On Wednesday afternoon, Kaylin woke up from her nap with a high fever. We monitored it for a day and then on Thursday evening we noticed spots on her tongue and the roof of her mouth. She was (and still is) not very interested in eating because of the pain in her mouth. So we called the pediatrician on call that night, then took Kaylin to the doctor's office on Friday. We've heard 3 opinions on what it is from 3 different doctors... but regardless of what it is, it's something viral that can't really be treated other than keeping her as comfortable as possible. So she's on good pain meds but not sleeping or eating very well. Fortuneately, she is drinking so at this point so we're not worried about dehydration.
Meanwhile, one-week old Trevor woke up on Friday morning with goopy eyes. We hoped it was just clogged tear-ducts (common in infants) but it got worse and some cold-type symptoms also came. So, we took him to see the pediatrician on call this morning and she discovered that he had a slight fever. When newborns have a fever they are very cautious because even if it's just a little cold, they need to rule out other more serious things (especially since his sister is sick). So, the pediatrician sent us to Dominican hospital in Santa Cruz where Trevor was admitted at about 1:00 pm today to the NICU. There, he'll be well taken care of and some tests can be run to determine what he's got and make sure it doesn't become any worse. The doctor thinks that the worst-case scenario would be that Trevor needs to be there for a week... but it's more likely it will only be 3 days.
Amy and I, thanks to our faith in God, are feeling confident that Trevor will be fine and we know that the hospital is where he needs to be. But we would certainly appreciate your prayers for both Trevor and Kaylin to recover as swiftly as possible. Plus, Amy and I are exhausted and could use your prayers as we care for our sweet kids. Amy was initially really concerned that she wouldn't be able to be right with Trevor enough... but it looks like we've got a good plan that will allow Amy to be at the hospital quite a bit to help care for him.
In order to keep everyone posted as well as possible, yet not being able to call everyone with each update, I'll probably try to post updates here as I'm able.
Thanks with love,
Derek
The Mission Springs welcome sign always displays the guest groups that will be arriving for the weekend...
A little kiss for baby brother
What a great big sister!
KAYLIN - a couple days old
TREVOR - a couple days old
