OK, We're Back!!

Thank you all for being so patient with us! Although when we started getting threatening emails and people coming up to us and saying "NOTHING SINCE MAY 9th!!".....we said to ourselves, "I think we better update!" You would think that now that we're home we would have all the time in the world to update....NOPE!.... It’s just the opposite. Lincoln consumes every part of our lives with his special needs, so needless to say we have been extremely busy....but OOHHH how fun it has been! Let’s see what you have missed the last two and a half months: There was Kristen’s first Mother’s day with Lincoln; Lincoln going to the Zoo with mommy and friends; Lincoln's first time in the swimming pool; Finally being able to go to church; Lincoln turning 1 and having a big birthday party; Going up to Hume Lake for Father’s Day; Going to the movie theater with mommy and daddy; Going to the park a bunch; Lincoln's first Fourth of July seeing fireworks (last year he was in the NICU at UCLA), and who can forget the pictures taken at his first professional portrait session. Also during that time Lincoln went down to UCLA to have another catheterization for a heart biopsy. He did so well and there was no evidence of any rejection. He has also been to his pediatrician and his cardiologist numerous times and each visit he does great. He has been sick only a few times...one of those times resulting in a trip to the ER but everything turned out fine. He is eating a little bit better, although he still has his NG tube. Lincoln has also achieved some new milestones in his development. Some of his new words include: "Uh-daa, Dada, Mama, Yaya, Baba and Uh-Oh" and some others we're not sure of or of their spelling. He likes to wave Bye-Bye, clap his hands and dance to music. He rolls over, scoots on his bottom when sitting up, and stands up while holding onto you. He is so close to crawling...we're thinking in a week or two. He has 5 teeth...2 upper and 3 bottom. Overall, Lincoln is doing great. He is developing just fine and growing like crazy! Please be praying for his next biopsy down at UCLA scheduled for mid-August. He is also a little under the weather due to teething and getting a cold. Thank you all for your continued love, prayers and support! We Love you all! J&K

My 1 Year Portraits

These are Lincoln's first portraits taken on his one year birthday.

Home At Last!

Lincoln finally got out of the hospital (for a 3rd time) on Thursday Aprl 26th and has been doing great. I traveled back home the next day to frantically clean and sanitize the apartment. The time had come last Tuesday for me and Grandpa to travel back to UCLA to pick up Lincoln and Kristen. We woke up early to pack up, load up and hit the road. We loaded Lincoln in the car and took off; following us close behind was Grandpa and a truck-load of belongings and medical supplies. How did we ever fit it all into a small hotel room? At roughly 6:30pm last Wednesday evening we rolled into Clovis. After 7 months of being cooped up in the PICU and then the hotel, it feels really awesome to finally be HOME! Thank you Lord for a new healthy heart! Thank you Lord for friends and strangers who have prayed, given of time, talent and treasure to support us and get us through this past year! What a blessing the Body of Christ has been! Now it's back to Children's Hospital for clinics, labs, echos. We are exhausted and it will take a few weeks to get settled, get Lincoln into a routine and get some much needed rest. Lincoln has already seen his Cardiologist and Pediatrician here at Childrens Hospital and they both feel Lincoln is doing great! Lincoln is feeling great and growing by leaps and bounds! He is doing so many new things and has endless energy! Its so wonderful that he can now sleep in his OWN bed in his OWN room with out all the noises of the PICU.

So people have asked "How can we help?" Obviously continued prayer! Avoid contact with the family if you are or have been ill, or feeling like you might be coming down with something. Remembering to sanitize your hands if you visit or see Lincoln out and about and only touching him on his feet for now is a good idea. This is a hard request to ask but it's part of his life for now and the price of his health is very high! Thank you for joining us in this process until he and his immune system gets stronger! Again, a heart-felt thanks to so many who have helped out in so many ways! Praying, giving, serving, and more! Please PRAY Lincoln will soon be able to take in all of his feeds and his 16 meds by mouth and the NG tube can be removed. Please continue to pray that he can stay healthy and his body will flourish with this heart and not reject it. Please pray for endurance for us as this is a tough 24/7 job monitoring all Lincoln's medical care needs. We cant wait to see you all and it will be soon! We love you all! J&K