As you can see, since Gavin doesn't have his glasses on in these pictures, Gavin is not keeping his glasses on quite as good as he was in the beginning! But, I was able to get some cute pictures anyway! He does well with them on for awhile, then he continuously pulls them off for awhile. I don't blame him though, I don't like having them on my face either! Gavin is still seizure free and we continue to go down on the Phenobarb medicine! He went to the neurologist yesterday. He is very pleased that Gavin is not having seizures since he wasn't sure if we'd be able to get them under control or not. He wants to do another EEG to measure his brain waves. Hopefully there won't be anymore spikes on the waves. The spikes show irritablity on the brain, which could result in seizure activity. I am PRAYING to and THANKING God often that the seizures are under control for now and that they hopefully stay that way!!! I asked the neurologist why Gavin is able to move all of his body if his whole brain was affected by the stroke? He told me that all areas of the brain were affected, but not all of the cells were. That and the fact that Gavin is so young and not all of his brain was "set" is why he is able to move inspite of the stroke. I asked if this meant that Gavin may someday sit up, walk or talk? He said that we just don't know. He's seen it happen, but rarely. He said that the stroke was quite profound, so only time will tell. This information actually gives me a little hope because I had accepted the fact that this was it for Gavin. I also know WHO holds the future and that only HE is capable of deciding it! This also gives me hope! I had been feeling a little sad lately about this. I have been reading a book on Down syndrome and reading of all the things these children CAN do! It makes me sad thinking that Gavin probably won't have the opportunity to do all that he could have been able to do prior to the stroke. I've been getting ahead of myself and thinking about how we'll be able to care for Gavin when he gets heavier and bigger. How will we take him to appointments? How will we transfer him to a car? How will we get a wheelchair to fit in our car? He can't even sit up on his own right now, so how will he sit in the car when he outgrows his car seat? How will we afford all this equipment?......Anyway, like I said, I have been getting ahead of myself and not taking things a day at a time and giving the rest to God to worry about. I think that I'm back on track, but please pray that these issues will be taken care of. Pray for our peace of mind. Pray that Gavin may, someday, be able to do a little more than he can now. Thankyou!

Gavin also went to the cardiologist this past week. His heart is still able to sustain his body's needs and the leak in the mitral valve has not gotten any worse. So, this is good news! I talked with the cardiologist about some items that I wanted him to share with the other doctors in his office concerning things that were done, or not done back in April when he had the stroke. A couple of the doctors made some very poor choices about the meds that they put Gavin on and they also did not listen to my concerns. We know what happened as a result of this! So, I wanted them to really be aware of this and to remember this when treating other patients!!! Gavin's cardiologist was not really around during those days when mistakes were made, so he was not aware of all that had happened, or so he says. I just REALLY need to know that lessons are learned from what Gavin has had to go through! I know that I have learned lessons and that my faith in God has grown, so if this is the only purpose in Gavin's suffering, I believe it's lesson enough! I am thankful for this knowledge and this peace! I read this recently:

"Now as Jesus walked by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And his disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." " John 9:1-4

This gave me peace, once again, knowing that there is a purpose in all we go through! God knows the plan and will give us the strength and peace to sustain through it all!

Caleb said to me this week, "Mom there is a song that says: "working hard to get to heaven"." "That's a naughty song mom, because we don't have to work to get to heaven!" I said, "That's right Caleb! How do we get to heaven?" He said, "Only by Jesus!" So, as we come into Easter weekend, let us remember those powerful words! Only through Jesus, dying for our sins on the cross, do we ever have the possibility of heaven! Thankyou to Caleb for the reminder and THANKYOU to God for salvation!!!

Have a wonderful weekend! Thankyou for your continued prayers!

Love Alicia and Family