Spilled Milk

It's 3 a.m. and Morgan is up because her milk spilled on her pillow.  Last March at this time, I was up because  Morgan had her first very painful neutropenic mouth sore - although we didn't understand what it was at the time.  What prompted my post at this hour was browsing over old facebook posts from last March/April and realizing how far God has brought us since that time.  Before reading those posts a few minutes ago, I was in a crummy mood about having to get up with her.  Now I realize how much better our lives are now as now those mouth sores are just small scars.  In retrospect, there is definitely no use in crying over spilled milk.  ;)

Autoimmune Neutropenia - Morgan's neutropenia is still active but fortunately she has the type that she will probably go in remission from - we just don't know when.  Morgan gets injections 3 times a week and bloodwork once a week.  We are averaging about 2-3 visits to the pediatrician a week as we stay on top of bugs.  We are very blessed that she has gotten nothing more than a cold or virus since starting injections.  That is a HUGE reason to be thankful.   We are also very fortunate that Morgan has never been to the ER.  I started an AIN facebook page with over 50 AIN moms and I haven't heard of another kid that has never been to the ER - most have been over 10 times.  In April, we will do another antibody test to see what the status is.  Her last two weekly blood tests showed her ANC was 2300-2500 which is in normal range.  The Neupogen injections are a Godsend.  When we started this process, her ANC was 0, giving her no protection against the bacteria on her own body.

Spiritual Growth - My walk with the Lord has grown immensely through this trial.  He has helped us every step of the way.  I didn't expect for Morgan to be able to even do playdates with friends at this point and now she goes to MDO (Mother's Day Out) twice a week.  God is SO good.  I have started a devotional blog called The Upward Call and I love writing it.  God is faithful to give me something new each week.  I feel like I should write some sort of spiritual synopsis about how far God has brought me but its just not happening at 3am.  So, I'll sum it up by saying that God is amazingly gracious and has led us along every step and bump in the road in this journey. He is SO God.

Mother's Day Out - Morgan is quite the extrovert to the point that her self-appointed role is to be the class greeter, hugging every classmate as they arrive.  That makes me a little nervous from a neutropenic standpoint but she has done so well and the shots are doing their job.  I have a lot of faith in her teacher Brooke who is also a fellow germaphobe.  Morgan absolutely loves going to "school' and as this Spring Break has proved, she is not a happy camper when she can't go.

Women's Conference and Women's Ministry - I am planning a Women's Conference on April 20th, which interestingly enough, is a year from Morgan's diagnosis.  The conference is entitled From Fear To Faith and the theme verse that God laid on my heart is Isaiah 41:10, "Do not fear, for I am with you.  Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, I will help you.  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  I'm excited to how God will use the conference and my prayer is that our speaker will be God's mouthpiece to every woman there.  A few months ago I became our church's Women's Ministry Director.  I am very excited about this role and how God is leading.  There are some amazing women on our team and I'm blessed to serve with them.

Part-Time Job - Due to the expenses of Neupogen, we came to the conclusion that I needed a part-time job.  God provided the PERFECT opportunity.  I am working at And Sew On and the owner is an amazing Christian lady that goes to Central.  I am basically doing their social media from home.  I am really enjoying it!

Jeremy -  My better half is doing well and puts up with me as usual.  He loves his job at Gessner Engineering and this year became his engineering team's lead engineer.  They are getting a lot of projects in which keeps him out of trouble.  Jeremy continues to be an amazing husband and daddy and is always a big help.

My Parents - Baaa (like the lamb) and Pop Pop have lived in their home in College Station for a year now.  It is hard to believe and I don't know what I would do without their help.  We go over there regularly and Morgan enjoys playing with their puppy Holly.  "Hotty", as Morgan calls her, is a five-month old Miniature American Eskimo puppy. She is a really sweetie but is a little stubborn when it comes to potty training!

Prayer Requests - Please keep us in your prayers as Morgan's neutropenia is still a mental and financial struggle for us.  I think I have a layer of stress that normally wouldn't be there because of her disease in general, her shots, blood draws and dr's appointments.  This puts stress on our family as a whole.  All in all, we have come a long way since last year at this time and we are very blessed.  Thank you for your prayers and support.  Above all pray that Morgan goes into remission soon, but that God is glorified through her neutropenia in the meantime.

Morgan is 27 months here.