We've chosen a home!

It looks like our home for the next 6-9 months will be at Duke University Medical Center. Thanks to all who were praying today that Matt and I would sense the Lord's presence during our visit to Duke. Matt and I prayed specifically that the Lord would go before us today, prepare the way if it was His will and make His peace known. Well, would you believe that as we walked into the lobby of the Children's Health Center a gospel choir was belting out loudly "O Come Let Us Adore Him ... CHRIST THE LORD!" He had gone before us, and His name was already being praised in this place! The singing echoed through the lobby and up to the loft of the oncology clinic! Aside from the singing, we had a good visit - met a couple of great doctors and most importantly have peace about starting treatment here at Duke. That being said, there was a bit of a scheduling kink, due to the holidays and the time span needed to switch all of Matheson's tests and lab work from Baptist to Duke. Therefore, the doctors from both hospitals have agreed to work together in a somewhat creative fashion to get Matheson's treatment started as quickly as possible- So here's the plan of action:
We will be able to be at home for Christmas. While we are anxious to get things started, we are also pleased to be able to spend Matheson's first Christmas together as a family. Jaxon and Jones deserve some loving and lots of presents too! This is going to be super tough on them as well- (not that presents change that...)
Monday, Dec 29th - we will have pre-op visits with the oncology clinic, pediatric surgeon and anesthesiologist at Baptist. Tuesday, Dec 30th - the surgeon at Baptist will place a central line (to enable Matheson to receive chemotherapy), do a spinal tap (to check spinal fluid for leukemic cells) and inject an initial dose of "preventative" chemotherapy into the spinal fluid. If all goes well, we will be able to bring Matheson home that night. Wednesday, Dec 31st - Matheson will be admited to Duke and will begin his first round of chemotherapy.
Please continue to pray for Matheson - that in this time that we are waiting, and enjoying our family time, that the leukemia will not spread elsewhere. We pray that the procedure next Tuesday goes according to plan, with no complications and that the transition to Duke is a smooth one on Wednesday.
From this point on, I will be journaling on a caringbridge site that I have created for Matheson. We would certainly appreciate you passing this site along to others you know that are praying -
www.caringbridge.org/visit/mathesonbarber

Thanks for your prayers!

At this point, most of you already know what is going on with our little
Matheson- In that case, this note will serve as somewhat of a summary for you. For the rest of you, this will come as a shock - as it did to us on Friday.

We have taken Matheson to several different specialist at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital over the course of the last month in attempt to figure out the origin of some "buise-like" splotches that he has on his body. As a result of a skin biopsy, we got a phone call on Thursday evening telling us of "suspicious cells" in the biopsy. We were instructed to bring Matheson back in first thing the next morning for a series of additional tests and procedures. After spending the entire day at the hospital and many many tests, we were presented with a most terrifying diagnosis - leukemia. As you can imagine, Matt and I were shell-shocked. No parent ever imagines they would hear this about their child. Fortuantely, his numbers (blood count and bone marrow) looked good and we were able to bring him home with us. This time has allowed us to contact several other doctors, enlist the help of family and friends, and spend some quality time as a family being as normal as possible before things change drastically.

Currently, we are in a bit of a "holding pattern" as we research doctors, hospitals and various treatment protocols in attempts to make the best possible decision for Matheson. Please pray specifically that Matt and I will have peace with a decision. While we are fortuante to have this time (and Matheson's good levels, etc...), it is also just delaying the obvious - we are ready to make a decision, start treatment and face the music. We will visit Duke on Monday and intend to make a decision after our time there. As soon as a decision is made regarding where Matheson will be treated, I will update you all!

We covet your prayers during this time- We are honored to serve a great and mighty God. We cling to the many truths in His precious word. We know for a fact that it was God himself who created Matheson, and knit him together perfectly in my womb. He knows ALL of his days - the beginning and the end. Therefore, none of this is a mistake. It is all a part of His plan - Matt and I desire earnestly to fulfill God's purpose through this life experience. We ask you to join us in prayer, not only for the healing of our precious baby boy but, also for strength and wisdom so that we can shine for Him in the midst of this darkness. Pray that the Lord would lead us to the right place, and the right doctors to treat Matheson best. If there are options to his treatment, please pray that the Lord would make His way clear and that Matt and I would be able to
stand on that decision with no looking back or second guessing ourselves. Thank you again for your prayers and your friendship!

What a big boy!

Jones pee-peed in the potty!!! He has been "playing" with the idea for about a month now - He would go to the potty, lift the lid, pull down his pants and stand there. But, it was always too late - he had already gone in his diaper. But, tonight for the first time - he made it to the potty before he went in his diaper! You can imagine the joy on my face and the celebration that ensued afterwards! Yeah for Jones! One BIG step in the right direction ...

Feeding Time at the Zoo

11:00 am - Check out our little Pilgrims and Indians enjoying a "feast" to conclude our Thanksgiving unit yesterday -

9:30 pm - Our little Matheson had a feast of a different kind - his first solid food! After letting him "taste" rice cereal a couple nights in a row, I decided that he was ready for a whole serving. So last night before bed, we braced up for the mess - and he loved it!

9:30 am - And then, like most of us, after a Thanksgiving feast, Matheson slept. I mean, he REALLY slept. He slept all through the night and into the morning. I kept going in his room to check on him, and finally at 9:30 am, this is what I found - a smiley, happy baby ...

... ready to eat again! :)

Snowy November Surprise!

At 7:00 this morning when Jaxon ran in my room proclaiming that it had snowed, I almost didn't believe him! Fortunately for Jaxon, atleast one of his parents (father dearest) gave him the benefit of the doubt and looked out the window! Would you believe it? Snow in November in North Carolina! Crazy Times! Needless to say, we were up putting on our gear and outside in no time! Jones wasn't quite sure what to think and spent most of his time on the sidewalk!

My little angel ...

Who was I kidding????

JAXON FOR PRESIDENT!

After spending the better part of last week and this week learning about the election process and studying past presidents during "school time," Jaxon has decided that he wants to be the president when he grows up. This decision lead him to dress up in a shirt and tie, create a list of laws and parade around to different rooms of our house giving campaign speeches. And it even lead us to stand out front of the polling place this morning in the rain handing out literature! Actually, Jaxon handed out literature in the rain, I sat with the other boys in the car most of the time! I am so impressed with his interest and political involvement! Who knows he really might be president one day ...

That being said, if Jaxon were president, things would be a little different than the are now:

"Little brothers would not allowed to bother big brothers when they are doing puzzles."

"We'll just shoot the bad guys."

"It will NOT be okay to kill babies."

Wisdom from the mouth of babes - He's got my vote, how about yours?

For reasons other than the candy, Halloween really rocked this year!

Jaxon, obviously, decided to ditch mom's cute family theme idea and go on his own, as a rock star! Rock on dude - The other two were a bit more tolerant of the "cuteness." Check out my monkey (shown here with Grammy the cat) and my banana! Everyone enjoyed the festivites trick or treating in the neighborhood, fall festival at church and Trunk or Treating at Grammy and Papa's church. I've never seen so much candy!!