Hello everyone,

We hope you are doing well. Yesterday JT had another sonogram of his brain. Jake was able to talk to the doctor at the NICU and today I had a chance to sit down with her to discuss JT. Our huge praise is that the bleeding in his brain is no longer an issue!! YAY GOD!!!! The other news we received wasn't so good. JT has something called PVL (Periventricular Leukomalacia) This is the first thing they noticed on the sonogram and the big thing we have been praying for. Before I go any farther, we would encourage you to not look this up on the internet. You will drive yourself crazy! Plus so much of what is on the internet is not from professional resources. Okay, so basically he has damage to the white matter of his brain. The damage seems to indicate that he COULD have motor development delays. The doctor told us that he will most likely have to go through years of physical therapy beginning at a very young age. She also said that they believe he will experience most of the delay on the left side of his body. HOWEVER, there are cases where although there is damage it never shows. The brain is able to heal itself. It is important for you to know that Jake and I are at peace in all of this.

Today I am sitting here writing you in a peace and calmness that only the Lord can provide. I have had a few people express their concern for me in the sense that I haven't had many break downs. Believe me, I have cried at times. But the strength that I have, that Jake and I have isn't ours. We have strength in the Lord. When you look at us and wonder how we are making it through, it's important for you to know that we aren't doing it with our own strength or courage. We don't have that much strength or courage. We are doing this by leaning on the Lord and trusting Him! God is walking with us and when He isn't walking next to us, it's because he is carrying us. When we can't manage to take another step, He lovingly scoops us up in His arms and carries us. I was thinking that it's like when Jake scoops Ethan up in his loving arms. Ethan feels safe and loved and at peace. That is how we feel in the arms of our Father in Heaven. We feel loved, safe and at peace. The other thought that struck me today was that God tells us in the bible that He will never give us more than we can handle. Then I thought, WOW! God must really have faith in Jake and I. We are so blessed to be going through this. We are being put through an incredible challenge and thankfully God is right here with us. We are blessed not only by and through this challenge, but we are blessed by our family, friends and church. We have been given the opportunity to go and visit JT EVERY SINGLE DAY since he has been born. It's amazing!! I have a child at home who needs to be cared for, and that need is being met. I have a husband who has the ability to work around visits to the hospital, although it's a challenge his company and his boss are allowing him to flex his schedule... what a blessing!! Even in my sheer exhaustion my joy is in the Lord.

JT may have some serious struggles in the years to come, and he might not. But anyway you look at it, he is a blessing! He is a miracle from God and Jake and I are so blessed to have our two boys. We have an amazing life and we are so thankful for all God has given us. Please join us in praising God for all of His gifts.

We will be praying and have been praying over JT every day! We will continue to pray for healing because God can and does. We know that you will be joining us. We know that when we don't have the words to pray, you are there praying in our stead. We thank you for that. We know God is listening!

Overall Justin is doing very well. He continues to eat well, and he is on the next lower level machine for breathing. He is breathing 100% on his own. The machine just gives some added pressure so his lungs don't collapse when he exhales. As for the issues with the brain, we won't know anything until he is 6mos to a year old. So for now we are going to love him and do what we can to help him develop. Mostly we are going to pray for him.

We love you and are so appreciative of all of your love and support.
Jake, Melissa, Ethan and JT