Logan Thomas - This is my Story: August 2013

Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

- Psalm 62:8

This post is probably the longest one I've ever written, but it will also be our last post on the blog, so grab a coffee and take a seat as this may take you a few minutes to read :)

August 31, 2012 - one year ago today, the Lord entrusted unto us the gift of a precious son, for whom we will remain forever grateful. Shortly after Logan was born the complications began & we found ourselves at MacMaster Children's Hospital in confusion as to why our baby, who looked so perfect & healthy when they placed him in my arms, could now be wilting away on us with no explanations. With many uncertainties at the time, we then found ourselves clinging to the Lord, entrusting our dear sons life into the Hands of our loving Father, knowing that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him!

Its hard to believe that almost a year ago everything started with Logan, a year that seemed to go so slow, yet so fast all at the same time. Alot can happen in a year, especially this past year for us. There were times of uncertainty, let downs, frustrations, many sleepless nights, and definitely times of weakness when I was tired & didn't think I could do it anymore, and when I'd finally reach my lowest point the Lord would surround me in His loving arms & carry me on. People always said they admired our strength, but the truth is we would not have had the strength to carry on if it hadn't been for God in His mercy giving us that strength..."I can do all things through HIM who gives me STRENGTH. - Philippians 4:13. We know that our children are in the Hands of our Lord & his plans for us are always good even in the midst of uncertainty. We always felt Him so present with us, and we've learned that no matter what hardships may come our way in life there is a Great God who is truly able to comfort beyond understanding, and give you strength in ways you never imagined.

As hard as it was at times, this year has also brought us alot of joy & blessings! We are so thankful for all of you who have supported us & stood beside us through the joys & the tears. We are so blessed to be part of such a large communion of the saints, where the Lord uses us to do His work - to help eachother & carry eachothers burdens..."Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13. We had the opportunity to make new friends & talk about our faith in Christ with them during our stay at Mac, we had complete strangers read our blog & write to us saying that they've started praying even though they never believed in a God before. God used our situation in these and so many other ways for His glory & to further His Kingdom - how wonderful! We had so many visitors, meals, cards, prayers, gift cards and so much more done for us during those 3 months at Mac & in the days, weeks & months to follow. We were blessed to be able to stay at the Ronald McDonald House, which was a HUGE help for us & words can not explain how thankful we were for this place. If you are looking for a charity to support, PLEASE consider supporting the RMDH! You can find the link here: http://www.rmhhamilton.ca/. Now we have the opportunity to drop food off when we have a little extra to support those who are staying with them from time to time & visit with the wonderful people who work at the RMDH. Most importantly we realized that sometimes God takes us to a place where we have nothing to rely on but faith, in order for us to truly see His glory and just what an awesome God He is!

Logan has come a long way since then, and much to all the doctors surprise it has not held him back developmentally - if anything he's excelling well in everything. Logan is at the 50th percentile on the growth chart now - 20 pounds 2ounces & 29 inches long. He will eat anything you put infront of him & has a healthy, big appetite (we actually have to cut him off at times!). Thankfully since switching Logan over to milk he rarely throws anything up anymore - this is a recent development for probably about a month or so now. We've recently been discharged from McMaster Hospital with no concerns of having to run any allergy tests - Dr. Issenman said that considering how far Logan has come & the fact that he can now eat just about anything there are no big concerns anymore. We are so thankful for this! If you've been following the blog then you'll know that the g-tube is removed and healed wonderfully, Logan eats solely on his own and is doing great! He pulls himself up to everything & crawls faster then you can imagine - probably because he does not like to be left behind by his siblings. And just in the last week he's started to stand up on his own in the middle of a room without holding onto anything - it won't be long before he's walking I imagine. Logan loves to babble and tries to out-do his big sister Olivia, sorry to say though Logan I don't think anyone can out beat her on talking & use of vocabulary!! Logan LOVES to wrestle around with Malachi & Olivia, chasing them around the yard & trying to keep up with them in any way possible. Logan is also pretty laid back most of the time, but when he doesn't like something he lets us (and the neighbours) know! He is a joy to be around & lights up the room with his sparkling blue eyes, big grin & zest for life. As many of you have heard Logan is also going to be big brother in February 2014, Lord willing. We are very excited to add another little one to our family, and add a little more craziness to our life :) The doctors say that if it is a boy there is a very high percentage that he would have this same hereditary problem as Malachi & Logan did - just hopefully not as severe as Logan's. However, there are no guarantee's & worrying won't change anything, so for now I am trying to enjoy the pregnancy & look forward to meeting this little one in the new year. Thankfully we also have a proper diagnosis & we know how to deal with it - we know that though we may have to be in the hospital again, it will only be a short while and not near as long as what we went through with Logan.

As I said before, this is our final blog post entry. I will keep the blog open so that we can look back over the years, but I will no longer be writing on it seeing as Logan is doing so much better. Thank-you to all of you who followed along and continued to keep us in your prayers. We know that things could have been so much worse, but we are thankful that the Lord gave the doctors wisdom & insight to figure out what was going on with Logan's frail body & we were able to do something about it. I've come to realize that even if my children outlive me, my time with them as children is still only temporary. This life & role we have as their parents on this earth are gifts, our precious children are gifts...“Children are a heritage of the Lord.” - Psalm 127:3 - so hug your children tight, and take a moment from the business of life to thank Him for these little ones & for the many blessings we've received by His grace. We feel extremely blessed to have come this far with Logan, and we are thankful that things in life do not just happen by chance, but by the will of our Father in Heaven. God is good, all the time. All praise & thanksgiving be given to Him!

"The Lord is faithful to all His promises, and loving toward all He has made." Psalm 145: 13b

* A special thank-you to my aunt Jessica Keizer for taking
these beautiful shots of our family this summer *