Updates in twenty 16

Some days are just more happy than others. Today was a two-appointment day at Seattle Children’s. We started with a lung function test…Emri’s first LFT. We are taking the results with a grain of salt, because of the fact that this was her first time, and she didn’t necessarily blow as hard as she could-but from what we gathered Emri has low lung volume. Expected??? Yes. A bummer?? Of course. There is always a little sparkle of hope in me that maybe, just maybe, one test could come back and be surprising in a pleasant sort of way---but alas, her lung volume is indeed quite a bit less than the “average” 5 year old. The lady completing Emri’s tests chalked it up to her pectus interfering with lung growth, but we will have to see what our Baltimore pulmonologist thinks of it all.

Next was the echo. This echo came 5 months after the last one, which, because of my poor scheduling abilities, is the longest stretch of time that we have had in between echos. I was watching the screen intently waiting for the aortic measurement to take place, and I saw it…3.2. According to the latest in mathematics, 3.2 is larger than 3.0. 3.0 is the last measurement I remembered Emri getting. I immediately felt the good ol’ kicked-in-the-stomach type nausea overtake me and attempted to restrain my emotions until we could hear the results from the doc. Throughout the echo, Emri continued to ask me questions about how her heart looked. She looked at the echo screen and at my face a lot. It killed me. She knows stuff now. She has been asking a lot more questions lately. What happens if her heart doesn’t look good?? Does she need “shurgery”?? What will they have to do to her if she has a “bad” heart? These kind of questions, and the concern in her face during the echo are emotionally more than I feel equipped to handle. She’s FIVE and she gets it. When she was much younger, I often imagined her much, much older asking questions and figuring “it all” out. As much I know that this is all a great opportunity to share the good news of God’s sovereignty and how we don’t need to worry about tomorrow, it is still so, so hard. I am teaching my daughter concepts that I didn’t even remotely grasp until I was 22. Because of the life Emri has been given, she will be faced with the tough stuff from an age that most kids receive the privilege of dwelling solely on what flavor and shape of birthday cake they want each year (which she also dwells on often enough).

When the doctor came in he asked all the “normal” questions. Where is Emri’s energy level at?? I always answer, “above average”. She IS the energizer bunny. Any new meds? Nope. After a few more questions, I just asked about the aorta.

“I saw a 3.2.”

“Yeah. Her aorta is big. It’s the biggest I’ve seen in a kid that age…well, I’ve seen one other kid with one that big. It’s really big.”

 Aaaaaaaaand, that folks, is why we are seen at Hopkins.

I am very, very much aware of the fact that her aorta is, in fact, big. Not only is it big, but it’s growing. We are, of course, sending the echo to Dietz to get it read by him, but we won’t get it there for another 2 weeks because we have to send it by CD. I am hoping that he doesn’t see as much change and we saw today….but it could happen. We will prayerfully await an answer.

SO that was today. I got in the car and let the tears flow. Sometimes this is SO overwhelming. But as the drive went on Brett encouraged me, as he always does, to think on the good. Emri’s new rods…AH-MAZING. Emri’s alive, energetic, and full of songs. We have put off heart “shurgery” for 5 years so far…which is great! And the best part…GOD IS SOVEREIGN…and he works for the GOOD for us that love and serve him.

I really, really try to remain focused on these things. But sometimes sadness just takes over….and I don’t think it’s necessarily a BAD sadness. It’s sadness over Emri finally beginning to understand that this life isn’t so easy. It’s a sadness over suffering. I shed tears knowing that Emri’s body is frail and doesn’t work the way it should. When the sadness becomes wrong is when I begin feeling sad for things that haven’t even occurred yet…which is actually fear. This is when I am reminded, quite often, of Philippians 4:8,

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

I cannot be worrying about things that aren’t truth. Right now Emri doesn’t need heart surgery, so I don’t need to dwell on how horrifying heart surgery would be. It has been my largest challenge, by far, on this journey to not dwell on the unknown of the future. But dwelling on things that are not truth is not honorable to God. So tonight I will dwell on his promise, once again, of that day when there will be no more suffering. That’ll be the day.

As for other life happenings…oh my goodness…the drama never ends. Brett has a new job. ANC design, the business we opened last year did GREAT for the first year it was opened. THEN came the dry spell. NO WORK for weeks. In a very round-about, unmistakably God-orchestrated way, Brett got hired in Lynden at “Elements” as “Director of Architecture and Interior Design”. A GREAT job and a steady paycheck. God just continually provides and we have no reason to ever doubt that he WILL provide in our times of need. Brett is commuting to Lynden and back daily. Does this mean we are moving AGAIN??!?!?!? I DON’T KNOW. And frankly, I don’t really want to talk about it.

Homeschooling is hard. I only have one student. Her name is Emri and she is stubborn and doesn’t love sitting in one place for longer than 4 seconds. We are making progress…ever so slowly we are making progress. Emri is not missing any crayons in the box (if the "box" were to signify the "brain", and "crayons" were to play the role of "smarts"), and she gets bored rather easily. So it has been my job to balance making sure she isn’t just being lazy, not wanting to do work, and making things more fun and less monotonous. She is a great student, when motivated, and we shall see how the remainder of the year goes.

Abe is just a cool, cool kid. He also does not lack energy and Brett is anxious to get him in a soccer program come spring. Once in a while I just make him do laps around the house in an attempt to get out some of the excess energy and spare the rest of us from getting jumped on and trampled by his bursts of fun. He is FULL of amazing quotes and regardless of what it may look like at times, he LOVES his sister dearly. Emri and Abe are playing well together for longer periods of time, which is wonderful for me getting a few things done around the house…like playing with my niece (what dishes??)…which brings me to my next point of discussion.

Daniel and Steph have inhabited our living room because of a horrible mold problem they had in their quaint little cottage behind our house. Daniel is planning on addressing the mold soon, but for now I thoroughly enjoy the company of my sister and Felicity in our home. Felicity gets cuter, stronger, and more stubborn every day. She is so much fun, and the terrific part is that when she gets cranky I get to hand her off to my sister;) Ahhh, the perks of being an auntie. But really though, having them in our home has been a delight and I will miss the constant companionship and baby giggles when they move back across the driveway.

We heard from our adoption agency that South Korea has FINALLY requested our paperwork, but don’t get TOO excited-there is still anywhere from 6-11 months to wait for our court date. Our littlest man turned 2 on November 19^th, has seen pictures of us and is doing well. I can’t help but think that him and Abe look like brothers. I know, I know, it’s weird…but I haven’t been the only one to notice. In addition to information on his daily bowel habits (all good by the way), his last report discussed a little about his “stubborn nature” to which I replied, “yep, he’ll fit right in!” He is just meant to be our little boy and I cannot wait to bring him home and shower you all with an irritating number of pictures. He is so darn cute.

Well, my brain is begging to cease thinking for the evening and the kids are now finished watching “Bolt” so I must now give kisses, hugs, snuggles and sippy cups to my littles. Thank you all for taking time to work through this novel and for the ongoing support you give our family. Oh! And if you didn’t get a Christmas card this year it’s because we DIDN’T DO ONE. But we still hope you had a Merry Christmas, even without our card. I refuse to not do a family picture and card this year, so you might just be getting a “Happy Valentines day” card or a “Welcome to spring” card…perhaps a “Happy summer” card….or maybe just two Christmas cards next year. But mark my words, we will get a family photo taken before 2017.

Love to you all.

~Erin~

It's "Magec"!

Brett and I are PRAISING THE LORD for a much more peaceful experience putting our dear girl to sleep this morning. We had talked to Emri about getting an IV to go to sleep instead of the dreaded mask, and she agreed to try it out. Emri already had three little bruises on her arms from her blood draw yesterday (her veins are nearly impossible), and she was SO brave getting her IV in this morning. One of the nurses came in and was shocked to hear that Emri had chosen the IV...she said that they never have five-year-olds willingly get poked in order to avoid the mask...but Emri just hates it that much. Emri was given Versed shortly after her IV placement. She was sitting on my lap, and became more and more limp as the meds kicked in and helped her relax. By the time we were ready to wheel her back to the OR, she could barely lift her little eyelids, and was working hard to put simple sentences together. We walked into the OR and for the first time, she did not cry, and she didn't look scared. WHAT a different experience than the last 5 times we have done this! I promptly asked the doctor why parents weren't offered this miracle drug while we sit and anxiously wait for surgery to be over! SO here we sit, once again, waiting for our updates from the OR, and praying,,,always praying.

We came to Baltimore planning on another Spinal rod lengthening surgery. We weren't planning on upgrading Emri to magnetic rods because last year when we asked about them, we were told she was still too small to get them. When we got here and had our pre-op appointment, we learned that Dr. Sponseller is now switching the majority of his young patients to magnetic (magec) rods. After a lot of questions and conversations we decided that magnetic rods are really the best path at this point for Emri. These rods really are "magec" because they are able to be lengthened WITHOUT SURGERY! That means that Emri will no longer need surgery yearly to lengthen her rods! We will need to be seen in Seattle 3-4 times are year for external, magnetic rod adjustments. We will still need to be seen yearly at Hopkins by Dietz (heart), Sponseller (back), and Neptune (lungs). But we are hoping that maybe we can be seen at the Marfan conferences and make that our visit if all three doctors are present. 

The reason we were contemplating NOT going through with the magec rods was because with magnetic rods, Emri will be unable to get MRI's. If she were to need an MRI, we would have to resort to a CT scan. We foresee Emri eventually needing cardiac MRI's if her heart worsens, but after speaking with Dietz yesterday, he does not foresee the need for cardiac MRI's in the very near future. We are hoping and praying that Emri's heart remains stable until she is fully grown, at which point the megec rods can be removed and she can officially receive a definitive spinal fusion (and would be able to get MRI's again). If her heart does progressively get worse while she is still growing, we would need to resort to cardiac CT's, which doesn't thrill us due to the radiation exposure...but we all agreed that the benefits of less surgery far outweigh the risks associated with yearly surgery. 

While I sit here waiting for news, I thought I would take the opportunity to update you on the latest with Emri. I will start from the top of her head and move down! 

I think most of you remember Emri's temporal skull fracture that occurred last fall when she fell on our driveway. After seeing ENT at Children's twice, it has been concluded that because of scar tissue build up in her ear, Emri has lost more than 50 % of her hearing in her right ear. This will need to be surgically repaired some time in the near future, or she will need a hearing aid. 

We saw the eye doctor at Children's about a month ago and he gave us good and bad news. The lenses that are balled up and sitting in her line of vision are slipping down covering the bottom 3/4ths of her pupil. She was given a prescription of -21 glasses since her vision is so severely distorted. The good news is that the eye doc was able to see that in the top 1/4th of Emri's pupil, Emri's refraction is +11! Consequently, if Emri's lenses slip all the way down, she will have a much more manageable +11 prescription! The other good news is that since Emri's lenses are slipping down, the doctor is not nearly as worried about pressure build up behind the eye, AKA glaucoma. Sigh of relief! 

Emri's lungs have been doing quite well since her bout with RSV and pneumonia this winter. We saw Dr. Neptune yesterday here at Hopkins and she was pleased with how Emri looks. Emri will be undergoing a lung function test and sleep study in the near future to get more information on how her lungs are functioning. Emri continues to get 02 at night and we will revisit her sleep apnea issues after her next sleep study. We need to keep a close eye (and ear) on Emri's lungs to make sure that her lungs are able to function properly despite her chest wall deformities and the rigidity of her spine.

The wonderful Dr. Neptune!

We received our annual Dr. Dietz picture and hug yesterday and also celebrated a STABLE heart report. Emri's aortic root size increased by an impeccably tiny amount, which Dietz was unconcerned with. Her valves are all leaking, but her heart function still looks good. It was a refreshing appointment! I have to say that I actually know what to look for on the screen while Emri gets her echo..so I already knew the aortic measurements before we got the report. Proud moment for this non-medically minded mother (who used to faint just walking into a hospital)! God's funny, isn't He???

"Dr. Dieeeeeetzzzz...are you out there???"

:)

Funny side note...we had our pre-op anesthesia appointment yesterday, and while reviewing the medication list, the anesthesiologist says, "So I know this can't be right...what dose of irbesartan is your daughter on?? The dose in the computer is way too high!" Nope. Right dose. Our 27 pound Emri is on quite a heavy dose of irbesartan and it seems to be doing it's job! 

The lower half of Emri's body seems to be much less complicated than the top half! Emri is walking like a pro-and even RAN, like literally RAN on the treadmill the other night. She frequently shows off her brace-free walking and asks, "mom, aren't you so proud of me??!?" I AM SO PROUD EMRI!!! So proud. And SO thankful for the strength, mental and physical, that the Lord has provided for our girl! 

We left the three day marfan conference on Sunday afternoon and once again, are so thankful to have received the opportunity to go! Such a whirlwind of a weekend. We got to meet friends from the UK that I have only ever known on facebook...such a wonderful experience! We made some new friends, and met many fellow believers at this conference. We also attempted to absorb all the new information available and get questions answered that we have been waiting to ask all year. It was truly a blessed time.

Ready for the welcoming reception at the conference.

Isaiah Austin!

Our buddy Donovan!

Austin Carlile (Of Mice & Men)

Our Friends Soo and Toby from the UK!

Emri up on the screen. Still amazes me to see this!

Isaiah Austin's mom

Stuffing "Jenna" with new friends!

Brooke! 

Catherine!

Catherine's mom-first time meeting each other after years of facebook communication!

victory is...

ipad watching with Toby!

New friend, Hope!

We've seen Peter at every conference:)

Marfan moms!

New friend Katie!

Donovan again:)

Kerry!

This morning as Brett and I walked through the hospital hall to the surgical unit, we were greeted by a mother that I have known on facebook for years. Her sweet, brave little girl, Ellie, has broken her spinal rods multiple times, and is in the hospital for 21 days for an infection after her recent rod replacements. She was waiting for us because she knew we had surgery scheduled for this morning! We were greeted with hugs and prayers...what an amazing family we have found in the marfan community...our "marfamily". Truly a community that loves, cares, and even prays for each other. 

I know this journey is a difficult one...the worst form of torture is watching your child suffer over and over again. Emri has been through more pain and nightmarish ordeals than I like to recall...but we are so blessed. Emri has a mature soul and loves Jesus and Heaven more than anyone I know. She has met so many kids that suffer with her, and shows empathy to these kids. Emri just met a little girl named Samantha in pre-op yesterday. This little sweetheart was non-verbal, blind. She had a trach, and a g-tube, and was pre-op for spinal rods. Not only did Samantha's mom offer to pray for Emri, but she also gave Emri a bracelet from Samantha. Emri wasn't afraid of this girl...she felt for her. She was concerned about what this little girl was going through and wanted to make her smile. It's a hard life, but a beautiful one! I have said this many times before, but Emri is a constant reminder of what is really important in life. We are here to glorify our Savior! God promises to work in the lives of His sheep for their good, and He tells us that suffering refines us and brings us closer to Him! Emri knows pain, but she knows JOY even more. I learn from that girl every day. She knows suffering, but when she isn't suffering, she is the happiest. We are so blessed. This is our life, and we give God the glory. 

Thank you for reading this update, and stay tuned for more news as we get it! Keep the prayers rolling! 

The latest

So....Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy New year....I think that's it for now! We had a beautiful Holiday season, spent with family and friends and then commenced 2015 with a move to Mount Vernon. We had a smooth move with a lot of help (THANK YOU to those that came to help) and are slowly settling into our new/old farmhouse in Mount Vernon. The farmhouse was built in 1910 and is quite charming. We have a beautiful farmland view and even get to see the sunset...which I have always really wanted! The kids love their new rooms, and have adjusted to the new place really well. There is much more room to run out here and the kids have thoroughly appreciated having our dog back from his vacation at my parents house.
Speaking of Jack...his vacation at my parents house led to a little bit of an accidental litter of 3 puppies...one of which somehow ended up at our house. Emri has fallen madly in love with "Perdy". Emri originally picked out the name "Flower Butterfly", but we compromised and agreed to name the puppy after Perdy on 101 Dalmations, and she can call the pup "Perdy Flower" if she so wishes.

The sunset and our "lake" veiw.

Could YOU say no??!?

 Emri started pre-school at Mount Vernon Christian for the second semester and has loved EVERY SECOND of it. She is ridiculously social and totally thrives in social environments (don't know WHERE she gets that from). Mount Vernon Christian has been very gracious accommodating Emri's needs and has done everything they can to make sure she has a successful and safe experience at school. We still have no clue what the future holds for schooling, but for now, this is working well. Emri also began going to AWANA and is really enjoying it.What a great experience for the kids that go. I am just amazed at the Biblical memorization that takes place during each week. What an amazing program.
Abe continues to amaze me with his unlimited amounts of energy, life-enriching stunts, and inability to sit still. I love the kid with all my heart, but he knows how to scare his mommy...and I think he enjoys it. He loves his big sister and imitates her every move. He is looking forward to when the weather turns sunnier and we can play outside all day long!

AWANA vest

Don't smile Abe!

I turned 27....which is cool I guess. ;)

The cake that Brett and the kids made me!

Emri had an echo today...and the results were great! We always love to hear the word "stable" and cling to it for the next four months until the next heart check. Going through this every 4 months is tough, but God proves to provide strength in our times of need. Emri's skull fracture in September and surgery in October sent my body into a little bit of a stress reaction mode....but I am slowly feeling better and more at peace.We are praising our God for the wonderful heart news we received today! A stable heart...just in time for valentines day! Emri enjoyed listening to the Frozen soundtrack on the way to the hospital, watching Frozen during her echo, and even seeing a clown perform "Let it Go" while throwing tissues all over the place in the waiting room. You would assume that the girl would have nothing but Frozen songs stuck in her head all day long....but do you want to know what she started singing while I took her potty right after her appointment???
"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with Joy! Yes sir!"
A song she has just learned in pre-school and AWANA (thanks Mrs. Messmer:). I couldn't help but be a little amazed and perhaps slightly teary after hearing Emri sing Psalm 126:3 right after an amazing heart appointment. Weather or not it was an intentional connection made by Emri...God is intentionally using Emri is so many marvelous ways...and my heart is saturated with joy and thankfulness for my front row seat in witnessing the incredible testimony Emri is living out every day. What a gift.

EKG after echo...Emri almost knows where all the stickers have to go.

Abe congratulating Emri on her great results:)

So much love in one wagon.

We continue to pursue our adoption and get monthly updates on our handsome little man (wish I could share all of his pics...but I can't yet!!!). He is thriving and healthy and we couldn't be more excited for the day we get to finally bring him home. We are planning a few fundraising events since the adoption costs total about $30,000.00!!! We weren't planning on having to provide the money so soon, but since we were matched with a waiting child so quickly, we are now faced with a large chunk of money to earn quickly. The day we get to meet our son could not come fast enough.We have set up a fundraising page for anyone who feels led to donate to the cause and have recently received our first anonymous gift of $100! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/9tn7/bring-jaemin-home-

We are planning on a garage sale/bake sale at the end of March/beginning of April that anyone is welcome to donate items to. Every cent will go towards the adoption. I will be setting up a facebook event page for the sale, but if anyone is interested in donating items, baking or helping in any other way and would like to contact me by email or phone, here is my info:
Email: erin.b.vanandel@gmail.com Phone: 360-296-4915

Also, for anyone interested more in Korean adoption...here are a few great links!

http://www.rainbowkids.com/adoption-stories/adopting-from-south-korea-925
http://www.rainbowkids.com/adoption-stories/sons-from-korea-bring-joy-to-families-854
http://www.dillonsouthwest.org/korean_program.php

Please continue to pray for peace and strength for our family through all of the ups and downs, and upside-downs. God's grace has been abundant to us, and the support and prayers we continue to receive from so many of you has been overwhelming. We are so thankful. Thanks for stopping by:) ~Erin~

NEW NEWS!

Happy Fall and almost Thanksgiving to all of our family and friends! What a whirlwind of a season it has been for us! Our little big guy is now two! It's a little humorous, because most of the time when your kid has a birthday, there is a sense of unbelief that your child is growing so fast. With Abe...it's a little different. He has been looking, acting, and tantruming like he was two since he was one. So, although we had a great time celebrating Abe's official two year birthday...it was just funny to everyone I talked to that he was ONLY turning two. We love that kid so much...but he HAS earned the title of "mommies little sour patch kid". He can be SO sweet, and incredibly sour all in the same 5 second span. He keeps us on our toes...and also somewhat in shape (wrestling that kid into his pants covers my cardio and strength training for the week;).

construction cake:)

Got his first undies!

Not quite Abe.

We barely settled home after Emri's surgery before we decided (since she was doing SO well and because we're crazy) to take a last minute trip with Brett's parents to Denver to see Brett's brothers and their families. The trip was.....interesting. I flew out with the kids and Brett's parents, and Brett came a day later. The trip there went well....I sent Abe back to Grandpa on the plane and Grandpa made the wise decision to pay 6 dollars for Abe to be able to watch some Disney Junior. We didn't hear a peep from him for the rest of the trip. Emri was great and didn't need O2 which I was very thankful for. We got to Denver on Friday and had a good time hanging out with family that night. On Saturday, the girls took the kids to the zoo and soaked in the 70 degree Denver warmth (It was 17 degrees the day we left Denver...). It was such a fun time---the kids got to spend some fun time together and the animals were all out to show off. It was Abe's first time at the zoo and he was INTRIGUED. He zoomed around that zoo with the most astonished look on his little face. Brett came in that night and we had some more fun with family. Sunday morning Abe woke up with no voice. By Monday Abe was miserable with croup and an owie ear. Brett had already left Monday morning, so grandpa went with me to take Abe in to urgent care. They decided he needed antibiotics for an ear infection and steroids for his croup. He spit out anything they tried to give him orally and ended up with four pokies. I have never had a kid on steroids...so I didn't know what to expect...and I didn't receive adequate warning. By Monday night Abe was in a RAGE I can't even describe in words. I called a nurse to make sure it was normal...which it was. When I told her I had to fly with him the next day, she just LAUGHED. She laughed. We DID have a great time hanging out with family, but Abe's hulk-like rage definitely put a damper on things. Tuesday went OK until we got to the airport where Abe decided he couldn't handle "it" anymore. I took him to a corner and just put him on the ground where he continued to thrash all over the place, giving himself a bloody nose, bruises and scratches all over the place. I had the kindest old retired nurse walk over to me and say, "it looks like you need a buddy." I did...and I took her up on her offer for company. We had a great long talk while Abe finished his rant. He came up to me when he decided that he was done and held up him arms. I picked him up and he was asleep within 10 seconds. The plane ride back was less eventful than the wait in the airport. Abe only had enough energy to throw two small fits. I was one happy mom when we finally landed in Seattle again.

ZOO!

Smirky

The whole Family!

Emri and Giselle:)

Grandma Schemper!

I'm officially allowed to make fun of Brett for being OLD...he turned 30 on November 19!!! He said he feels older...and he currently has a torn ACL and back issues...so he also looks a little older too! Poor guy...we will have to fix him soon. As most of you now know, this November 19 was extra special for us. Besides celebrating Brett's 30th birthday, we were also celebrating the birthday of a very special little boy across the ocean! Although it is not official on paper, this little guy is part of our family in our hearts. Adoption has been on my heart since I was young...and my heart has been nothing short of exploding with the desire to adopt for quite some time now. Although our lives have been slightly chaotic in the past few years, Brett and I have always known that we wanted more children....we just weren't exactly sure how they would join us. How did we choose South Korea?? It's a long story...but God led us straight there...and that's really all I feel like explaining at this point. There are numerous little boys waiting to be adopted in South Korea. The people of South Korea really value clean blood lines...so they won't adopt boys....which is why there are so many waiting boys. The adoption process in South Korea takes time, and we were told to plan on waiting over a year to get our call to court. Of course, we hope it won't take that long, but we trust wholeheartedly on God's perfect timing.

We have picked out a name for our little man. His name will be Jaemin (pronounced Jay-min). "Ae" in Korean means love...and "min" is in Korea's official name...Dae Han Min Guk (Great Country of the Korean People). We wanted to find a good Korean/American combination and we feel like it is the perfect name for our little boy. I can't share many details on our little guys past or present situation since we have not officially passed our homestudy or signed referral papers...but Jaemin is officially not on the waiting child list anymore...and according to the adoption agency we are working with, he is on hold for us!! We are so excited for this next adventure on our rollercoaster of a journey....and cannot WAIT to meet Jaemin and bring him home to become an official member of our family!

We have a life stuffed full of things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season and we strive to make sure that we remember to thank God for all the ways he has been working in, and continues to work in our lives. We give God the Glory for His never ending sovereignty...through it all. As always, thank you for reading! Until next time!