Home Sweet Home

We arrived safely back in Chattanooga late Sun Night/Early Mon Morning. It is great to have everyone home again and to see how the Lord worked so powerfully in each of our lives during this challenging time. Jacob continues to improve with each passing day. He began Physical Therapy today to help him get back to full-time walking again. He is still having a couple of minor (hopefully) issues with one of the scars that was repaired. We hope to have a nurse come to our home to help treat this wound area so that it will heal properly. Also, when he walks, one of his legs seems to turn out quite a bit. Since it is the same leg where the scar/wound is located, it is possible that the two things may be related. Otherwise, he has been doing well. He, James and Daddy were able to wrestle last night for the first time in awhile (and really the first time without the SP Tube there to worry about). The boys have been dealing with some runny noses and coughs this week, but that all seems kind of insignificant compared to everything else.

We can't thank everyone enough for all of your prayers over the past five + weeks. As parents, we know that the Lord used these prayers to help sustain us, because we certainly would not have been able to hold up well at all w/o them. We hope to still put some photos up from time-to-time and periodically provide updates as to Jacob's progress through the PT and wound care.

He will have a follow-up appointment and another scope in about three months or so and we will let everyone know more details once we actually get things scheduled.

And to all of our friends and family at CPC, we hope to see everyone this Sunday morning for worship. We have been absent for many months and miss you all terribly. We rejoice, however, at the thought of being back in the house of God this week (Lord willing, of course).

He is faithful. He is merciful. He is gracious. He is powerful. He is loving. He is Lord.

The Arringtons

Heading Home - Minus one SP tube

Praise the Lord! The procedure went very well today (Saturday). Dr. Gearhart was pleased with the scope and also removed the SP tube. So, Jacob is officially "peeing down below." Dr. G advised that there is nothing further that he needs to do at this point, so we are planning to hit the road back to Chattanooga tomorrow (Sunday). Please pray for safety in travel as there is a possibility of more wintry weather, this time in Chattanooga. Also, please pray that Jacob will handle the long trip well with the car seat, etc.

We were treated to a wonderful dinner this evening at the Children's House, hosted and prepared by the Morse family. They served Maryland Crab Cakes, Flank Steak, Cream of Crab soup, Green Beans, and for dessert, Tiramisu (along with some other goodies). And while the dinner was great, it was the testimony of this fine family that meant so much. These folks had a child that was treated here at Johns Hopkins a few years ago. The family received excellent care at the Hospital and wonderful hospitality from the Children's House. However, the Lord decided to bring their little one on up to be with Him. What a great testimony, though, and a great expression of what it means to be a child of God. Please uphold them in your prayers because it is no doubt difficult to be back here with all of the memories and so forth. Yet despite all of this, they still give of themselves to help families like ours. It is these situations that humble us and just bring us to our knees before the Lord, thankful for his grace and mercy - neither or which we deserve at all.

We look forward to being back at home soon and sharing all that the Lord has done for us.

"He is the Rock of our Salvation - His banner over us is Love"

Mommy and Daddy

Prayer Request and Update

After quite a few e-mails with Dr. G this morning, he has decided to try and do the scope tomorrow and remove the SP tube. The appointment is scheduled for noon. We are certainly excited about the possibility of bringing all of this to a close, but, Jacob continues to have a little bit of congestion and just a little bit of a cough. So we ask that you pray that he will be well enough to have the procedure tomorrow and that it will be a success. The procedure itself is very short - probably less than 30 minutes - but it does require light anesthesia.

Jacob has continued to walk around using his walker and certainly seems like he is feeling well. He has slept really well the past few nights, with minimal pain an discomfort.

Thank you again for all of your prayers.

Mommy and Daddy

Today's Update

Jacob had a good day today. He continues to gain strength in his legs and enjoys tooling around with his walker. He has a little stash of items in a make-shift basket that we've attached to the front of his walker. He keeps his DVD's, a couple of stuffed animals and his toy cell phones (wonder where he got that interest from - yes, Daddy is the cell phone geek in the house).

We contacted Dr. Gearhart today via e-mail and he wants us to continue to monitor the output from the SP tube every 2-3 hours, during the day. The output still seems a little high, even though there is decent output from down below, too. Please pray that his "pee-pee" will continue to make its way out through his urethra and that the amount coming out via the SP tube will continue to drop. The clinic was closed today, so we are not sure, yet, whether this will delay us in getting the SP tube removed. Also, he still has quite of bit of congestion, although his cough is not nearly as bad as it was earlier in the week.

Daddy was able to get quite a bit of work done today while Mommy took Jacob out for a stroll and while he napped. Mommy has really been able to connect with some of the other families that are staying here at the Children's House. Please pray that God will use her, through these developing friendships, to bring glory to Himself and as a testimony of His mercy, grace and power. The Lord can use even the most challenging situations to draw people unto Himself.

May His Name be Lifted Up

Mommy and Daddy

A good night and lots more snow

Praise the Lord that Jacob began peeing down below early yesterday afternoon. We were a little concerned that things might be digressing back to where they were in 2008, but by God's grace, things are actually progressing well.



Jacob had a very good night of sleep, which means that we also slept well. This is also a big praise. He still has the cough and congestion, so we ask your continued prayers for him in this regard.



The Baltimore area has once again been hit with a major snow storm. We are expecting another 12+ inches when all is said and done. This is on top of the snow that was already here from the weekend storm. The roads in downtown were still fairly messy yesterday before this latest storm began. Check out the link in the previous post for some video footage and photos from a local news channel.

We are not totally what the next steps will be for Jacob. Dr. G advised that he will check in with us today at some point. We continue to report our results to him periodically. He did advise yesterday that he is pleased with the results.

"The Universe declares Your Majesty"

Mommy and Daddy

Check out Baltimore's weather

If you want to see what the weather is like here in Baltimore and also see some cool videos and pictures. Go to www.wjz.com.

Love to all and thank you for your prayers

Jacob looking out the window at Children's House

Jacob looking out at the snow
A few more days of wrapping Jacob's legs and he will be out of this wagon