Update 11/16/2009

Thank you so much for your prayers and encouraging words. You have no idea of how much it means to us that we have people who are committed to praying for us for strength during this time and for complete healing for our baby. It is truly humbling and amazing.During this time we have learned so much and we are growing like crazy. Last Sunday night I felt like my head was going to explode because I had learned so much this past week. God is amazing and is full of grace. I had an appointment with my doctor on Friday. It was a bit different to say the least. He knows where Jon and I stand with our beliefs. At previous visits he has made general comments like "which ever god you decide to worship", but this visit was different. He really seemed to be perplexed. He stated that "medicine is based on statistics so your outlook for your baby is not good. But with that said, I know that a lot of people are praying for you and there is always room for miracles to take place".When I went to the specialist 2 weeks ago, I was measured at 17 weeks (I was 20 weeks along). They say that when you are 20 weeks, the top of the uterus should be at your belly button. (It was at least an inch if not more below my belly button) At this visit I don't know what week I measured at, BUT the top of my uterus was above my belly button! I'm at the end of 22 weeks. You are suppose to gain 1 cm each week of pregnancy, so we were really encouraged by this. Keep praying...God is listening and healing!I stated in previous notes to pray Big, to pray with Boldness, pray through scriptures and so on. I've been learning so much about this and thinking not of myself during this time, but about a dear friend of mine whose mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year. She is such a faithful prayer warrior and has so much trust and faith in God. To be honest, when I found out that she had this horrible cancer, I knew it wasn't good. My grandmother died of pancreatic cancer. (They told her she had 3 months to live and she died in 6 weeks. I watched this disease eat away at my grandmother and it was horrible!) I'm embarrassed to say this, but over the past year of praying for her and praying for a miracle of healing, I've also had the statistics of this horrible disease in the back of my mind. When praying for my friend’s mother, I made the statistics of this disease bigger than God, which is so backwards to what I should have been doing. The great thing about this situation that Jon and I are going through is that I'm learning to pray again...the way God wants me to pray. So when I encourage you to pray Big, pray with Boldness, pray through the Biblical Truths God has given, I'm encouraging you to make this a part of your daily prayer life, not just with my situation, but with ALL situations. (We are honored though to have your prayers.) As stated in previous e-mails, this situation is not about us or our baby, it's about bringing God all the glory and being faithful servants. I can honestly say that I have surrendered our child and this situation to God. God is Good, All the Time and He is unchanging. I don’t know how to say this. Some of what we’ve been experiencing is so above us and our understanding, so I will do my best to say this, but the words my not be clear. God’s glory and who He is, is not dependant of Him healing my child. No matter what comes of life, my faith will not be shaken. My one and only focus of wanting our child healed is so peoples faith will increase, their lives will be changed and those who are lost will come to know Christ through our child's life...I want this to be ALL about God and for God. It's not that I don't love or want this baby, because I do, it's just not the most important aspect in this situation. I understand that God healing my baby will also give me what I desire, but the number one goal through this situation is to share our faith and be faithful servants to the work God is wanting to do. (Like I said, I know what is in my heart, and praise God, He knows what's in my heart too, but I'm still having trouble putting it in writting/words).Below is an e-mail that I received from someone our prayer request was sent to and then passed on to others. Please read it and be encouraged. I have received so many e-mails like this and will be sharing them with you. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for your prayers. Love, Kristin, Jon and baby LeVanKristin & Jon, I am Betty B's sister-in-law and she emailed us about your situation with your unborn baby. We have been praying for you and your baby and God impressed upon me to tell you about our daughter's miracle! Our daughter and son in law have been married 9 years now, but about 5 years ago decided to start a family. They tried and tried to get pregnant. They started going to a fertility clinic in St. Louis. John had to do those "embarrassing" tests and decided he wasn't the problem. The doctor then did an HSG on Adrienne and it was extremely painful for her and then he said she has a blockage and he operated on her and then he up and left the practice and another doctor took over and she was terrible, she just kept telling them they needed to relax. She kept giving Adrienne shots, clomed, all kinds of stuff. Well she did get pregnant, and lost the baby at 10 weeks and was totally devastated. She teaches school and there were unfortunately 7th grade girls having babies and a high school girl was having her second. She too got frustrated and mad and all the emotions that go along with that and wondered why these young girls could have babies and not be able to take care of them, but they couldn't get pregnant and have one. After messing around with this doctor for over 2 years and after trying on their own for 2 or 3 years to no avail, I talked them into getting a second opinion. That is when we got in touch with Dr. Jorge Penada, he is top in his field of fertility, highly respected by his peers. He did ONE exam and said she has a blockage and he wasn't sure how much he could help that it may take several surgeries to get rid of all the scar tissue in her uterus. He did 3 operations and said everything looked good and if she didn't get pregnant on her own now he would have to help her. Well, we prayed all through this process and she did indeed get pregnant without any fertility drugs. She went to the doctor to make sure she was and they went for a sonogram and said there was no heart beat, that was on a Wednesday. He told her the baby didn't seem to be growing and they would schedule a D & C for the following Thursday, but he wanted to wait at least that long (little over a week). Again, we were all devastated, but this time we stood on God's word that this baby will live and not die and pulled ourselves up by the boot straps and looked this in the face and on Sunday she went up to the altar and asked the pastors and congregation to pray for her and told them the situation. She just KNEW after that that all was well. She went back to the doctor on Thursday and they said they wanted to do another ultrasound before the D&C and the tech doing the test jumped back and said "OH my gosh, I just heard a heartbeat" We all started crying and the doctor came in and confirmed and OH my everyone in the office was going crazy!! I just started crying and saying "Thank you Jesus" about 20 times and we told the doctor and everyone in the office that God had touched her body and that baby and everything was going to be fine. The doctor, again, top in his field said that in the 40 years he has been doing this, NOTHING like this had every happened. So........ little miss Carly Faith was born on April 18, 2008 and is a happy, healthy little girl. Adrienne had even prayed for a little girl with dark hair and blue eyes and that is EXACTLY what God gave her. For me and my house, we believe in miracles from God and God does care about your situation and is willing and able to do a miracle in your life for you and your baby. Keep the faith, give Him the praise and remember you are not alone, HE never leaves you or forsakes you and we are ALL praying and can't wait to hear about your little MIRACLE!!!!!