Hi friends,

I began writing this post a few days ago. But it has since come to pass that Anna's Grandma/Wyatt's mom, Shirley, has gone to be with Lord. She passed away peacefully today after a few years'battle with cancer. She was truly an amazing woman who treasured Jesus, family and loving others through hospitality, listening and a contagious joy for life. She has left a strong legacy of faith, service and love in our family, and we already miss her dearly. The family had a sweet time of fellowship today, and we are thankful for God's comfort, knowing that she is in complete joy being in the presence of her savior and Lord. Anna would not be the person she is today without her Mam 💙

After soon months of radio silence, life has given us renewed reasons to chime with updates and prayer requests.
First to Anna. She and her sister Lizzie have been thriving at Grace Alliance Christian School and Anna quickly found 2 close friends that are wonderful kids. She got braces in December and worked toward dance competitions this spring. Her doctor visits have been limited to switching out braces wires and annual eye exam, thank the Lord! We are now at the 6 month mark, and she will go in for a PET scan and exam on May 20. Please pray that she would have no evidence of active disease or excess inflammation in her system. We have a praise that her thyroid medication has been reduced once again this spring.

In April, Anna was honored with the Chase Youth Award for Arts & Creativity! The Chase Youth Awards are a big event in the Spokane area celebrating outstanding accomplishments and impact of youth individuals and groups. Anna was nominated by her dance teacher, Judy, for persisting in her training and theater and enriching the lives of her peers while going through treatment. This was truly a sweet emotion-filled moment, acknowledging the triumph and power of not giving in when life put her on difficult road. Anna's close friends and family came to celebrate her nomination and win!

Anna, along with Peter, Lizzie and cousin Mark, were cast in CYT's Seussical this spring. We're excited to see them all on stage together! This is Peter and Mark's final show and Lizzie's first.

Finally, we thought the medical needs were diminishing, but we now have a new journey starting with Peter. Since the new year, Peter experienced increasing abdominal pain. We thought it was a dairy allergy and changed his eating habits accordingly. But the pain didn't go away, and he lost weight and became very fatigued. In April, took him in for blood tests and found that he was anemic with high inflammation. After an overnight stay at Sacred Heart to run diagnostics, the Doctors have pointed us toward an autoimmune inflammatory bowl disease, probably Crohn's, that Peter will need to manage for the rest of his life. 

We have an initial appointment with the GI specialist tomorrow 5/7 where we hope to hear a final diagnosis and talk about next steps. He has been on a steroid for a few weeks and, after continued pain, also restricted his diet severely to learn symptoms and heal his gut. Thankfully, pain has been much less recently and we're experimenting with which foods he can handle. How many ways can you prepare chicken and rice?? And I thought the Lord had spared me from kid food issues!

All this to say, we need prayer for wisdom to understand Peter's condition and proper next steps for care. Peter is receptive to altering his diet and trying to manage things naturally to avoid more medication, but this will take A LOT of fortitude, especially starting college in the fall. We also want to find the best doctor for him as they vary in beliefs on treatment and holistic care. 

Thanks for your love, support and prayers! It has been our comfort these last few years, and we do not take it for granted. Praying that God would fill you to overflowing with His presence and perfect love.