Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!





















Hey everyone!! We hope everyone is well and had a great thanksgiving! It's been forever since the last update! Let's bring you up to speed. Besides Lincoln crying because we are on the computer and not paying attention to him...he is doing great! He is getting to be such a big boy...in fact Kristen calls him her "little man." Lincoln is doing so much, and he is just about caught up to where he needs to be physically according to his Physical Therapist. He tells us many things by using sign language. He babbles allot and makes animal sounds. He is getting taller by the second and is just about to break the 20-pound mark. Oh ya...he started walking this past week (although a little shaky still)!! Last time we talked we were leaving for LA to have another biopsy done. Obviously the results were great, and since then Lincoln has only battled a few colds and still is doing great! In fact, he had an echo and check-up yesterday with Dr. Caton (his cardiologist), and everything looks great! We also just got word from his cardiologist down at UCLA. He told us Lincoln won't need his next biopsy until his annual (in February), which is the year anniversary of his transplant...that will be 6 months after his last biopsy...and they don’t usually like to go that long in between them. Lincoln is eating better but nowhere near where he needs to be for his caloric intake...but he is growing and the Dr's are pleased. Lincoln finally got to celebrate some of the holidays spent inside the hospital...outside the hospital for the first time! He was a pediatric cardiologist for Halloween...which was a hit with all of the Dr's and nurses! We celebrated mommy and daddy's birthdays and Grandparents day. Our first Thanksgiving home was especially great...there was a lot to be thankful for! We just got back from LA this last weekend where we went to the UCLA annual pediatric heart transplant party. Yes...that’s Lincoln and Tom Arnold...he was at the party too. And the group pic with all the kids are all kids who have had heart transplants! Lincoln is in the upper left of the picture (the smallest kiddo there). It was great seeing our UCLA family and friends. Which reminds us...please be praying for 3 families that we know that were in the hospital the same time Lincoln was. One family lost their little 2 yr old girl due to pneumonia and another family's 3 yr old boy is currently rejecting his new heart. Both of which received new hearts while we were down there waiting with them. And the third family has a 13 yr old girl who needs a heart desperately as she is extremely sick! We also went and saw the Clovis annual Christmas parade...which was cold!! We had to leave early because the noise freaked him out! Please keep praying as Lincoln still faces the daily battle of being rejection free! Well, we hope everyone has a blessed and merry Christmas and a happy New Year! 2007 was a tough but great year for the Carter's and we can’t wait to see what God has in store for 2008! See ya then...We Love You All! J&K