Here it is almost Christmas, Zach is so glad it is Christmas Vacation.  He is enjoying having no school, but misses his friends.  Zach is mad at me, for I did not put names on the presents under the tree, I think even Ashley is not very happy with it, ( I love it).  We will be opening presents with just us and the kids on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day we will hopefully get to go to church and then have a quiet day.  The following weekend we have other family Christmas parties, weather permitting.  

Caleb is slowly declining, he is less comfortable over the last few days.  He is less responsive, and on oxygen most of the time.  He has been congested, and we continue to deep suction him to help relieve him.  He is very  pale and very weak, and getting even thinner.  Nights have not been so restful, so I get lots of time to think, sometimes thats not so good.  Last night I was thinking about how lucky we are to have had Caleb here with us this long.  All the fun times we have had with him.  Boating, Sea doing, going to Disney World to meet his favorite buddy, Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger too, going to the cottage, camping and sitting by the fires. We have been so blessed to have Caleb in our lives. I think Caleb being handicapped, and Zachary having Autism, and raising Ashley and all of the sports events we sat at, God has given us a wide variety of experiences in our lives. Some have been very hard, some have been very joyous, but we have learned from each to live in the moment, and try to enjoy every little bit, for tomorrow it may all change. The biggest thing I have learned is to trust in God and he will lead us through every moment, good or bad. Hope eveyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, 

Caleb at his Christmas program at the OAC, last year.

Caleb is not  very comfortable, he is struggling with congestion. We have him on oxygen, and are suctioning a lot.  He is not taking in a lot of fluids, and basically has had very little formula for at least 6 days, ( about 6 to 8 ounces of fluids, and maybe up to 3 ounces of formula if any in a day). Caleb is losing a lot of weight and is becoming very thin.  I think as a parent it is one of the worst thing not to be able to feed your child, and get him the nourishment they need, and basically watch him starve before your eyes. We feel so helpless, we continue to pray for him to be comfortable.  

Caleb at Frederick Meijer 

Gardens a few years ago.

Caleb has another rough 2 days. Back on oxygen, temperatures, and moans all the time, like there might be pain.  This morning he seems a little better, so maybe he'll get back off oxygen today. It seems like all the changes in weather effect him badly. I call him my little energizer bunny, he just keeps going and going, he is our fighter, he is not going to go easy.  I figure with Windemuller blood and Lohman blood he has no choice but to be a fighter.  We all wonder if he will make Christmas, or if his Christmas present will be the best present he ever had, by being able to go home to Heaven, and out of pain.  But we hope he makes one more Christmas with us.  

Caleb has quieted down a bit since this weekend.  He is off and on oxygen, more on.  He has basically not had any formula for 5 days now, just living on about 6-8 ounces of pedialyte a day.  His temperature is still bouncing all over.   He is such a amazing kid, he has such fight to live.  Please keep praying for his comfort, its been harder to find comfort lately.  

Caleb was visited by his teachers from school the other day.  It was parent teacher conferences and they said he wasn't going to get away with not having them, so they came to him.  Caleb is so lucky to have the care from his  teachers  over the years. The Ottawa Area is a amazing place, the school does so much for disabled children, but they wouldn't be able to do it without their staff.  Caleb still even has the privilege to have his nurse come to see him.  Thanks to all who have had Caleb over the years.

Caleb  has had a tough weekend, he is back on oxygen and lungs have alot of fluid in them.  He has not been very comfortable as breathing is difficult.  Since Friday Caleb has maybe had 8oz of formula, and a couple of ounces of pedilyte with meds.  The nurse from Hospice has upped his pain meds, and he is sleeping soundly for now, I'm glad to see this.  His blood pressure is very low, and his heart rate and temperatures are bouncing all over.  Friday night he had a temp of 104.3 and within 12 hrs his temp went down to 96.6, so the range is very drastic. I can't even imagine how hard this has to be on him. Caleb's stomach is being torn up by the meds, he has quiet a bit of blood in his residuals from his g-tube, this I would think is very painful.  I am sure glad we have God by us, this would be  terrible if Caleb had to go through this by himself and we did not have any one to lean on at these times.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and ate lots of food.  We had a very good Thanksgiving, we had to seperate and take turns going to our folk's homes, and then ate our selves silly.  Caleb had a very quiet day relaxing at home. He has been very quiet, lots of sleeping, and still not getting more than 7 oz. of formula in during the day. We were very Thankful for still having him here with us this Holiday, and for all the people who have been praying for our family.  Zach and I went out shopping at 5:oo a.m., Zach has never been shopping with that many people, he said it was fun. This past year the economy  has made life harder for alot of us, but we still have it better than so many , God is good.

Caleb has had a few very comfortable days. He has taken in about 5 to 7 oz of formula in these days. Yesterday he started with more congestion, we think he is asperating food into his lungs.  We backed off on the amount of food that is given to see if we can get the congestion under control, before it gets as bad as last Thursday.  Caleb is starting to lose a lot of weight, his oxygen levels have been holding steady in the high 80's to low 90's, which for him is good. He has not been sleeping very well for the last few nights, he thinks he has to be up at 4 to 4:30 in the morning. I think Caleb is getting weaker, he has no muscle control anymore, he's like a rag doll. Thanks to all who are praying for Caleb and our family

As many of you know our youngest son Zach has autism.  I would like to ask for prayers for him  also.  Zach struggles with social issues, he is starting to realize he is not like everyone else, and wants to be so badly.  Zach struggles with depression, and school is a big struggle for him not to mention everything going on at home.  Zach is very fun, and has a huge heart, and he's going through a very tough age with lots of changes.  It's tough for the quote normal child, let alone being autistic. I ask for prayers also for the teachers and friends to give them what they need to work with Zach.  He seems to have a great group of teachers around him this year, which is so important.