Psalm 145:3 NIV:  “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom.”

Dearest Friends,

Stephanie and I would like to apologize to you that we have taken so long to post an update regarding our miracle from Heaven.  Alison turned two-years old on Thursday, August 7.  She continues to grow into such an active and happy little girl under the Lord’s merciful and mighty care.  Our family has so much to be thankful for!  Thank you, dear friends, for your continued prayers for our daughter.  Dear Lord, thank you for your unwavering mercy and faithfulness.

Alison has a full head of brown hair—which looks truly adorable in pigtails (we might be a tad biased).  She is a tall and lean little girl.  She is in the 55^th percentile with regard to her height (she is 34” tall), and is in the 15^th percentile with regard to her weight (she weighs 23 lbs)   Thank you, Lord.  Alison is a strong eater, and burns a lot of energy each day.  She is still limited in what she can eat due to her severe allergy to milk and milk proteins (which are in most processed foods).

Alison had an appointment with her allergist this week, and he shared that her milk allergy had not improved or gotten worse in the last year.  Yet, he restated that a milk allergy is the easiest allergy to outgrow.  We will continue to take special precautions in an effort to protect Alison, and we will continue to carry EPI shots and Benadryl just in case.  Thankfully, we have not had to use an EPI shot to this day.  Thank you, Lord.  Please pray that the Lord will grant His protection and His healing touch to Alison regarding her allergy to milk and milk proteins.  Please pray that the Lord will grant His wisdom to Alison’s doctors as they continue to try to protect her. 

Alison loves to partially read her many books.  J  She loves to watch Veggie Tales and Walt Disney movies (she sits on the couch like a big girl), as well as Andy Griffith reruns with her daddy.  Alison is quite the explorer, getting into our closets and cabinets whenever we are not watching.  She loves to play in her toddler kitchen.  Alison also loves to pretend feed her baby dolls.  It is such a joy to watch her care for her baby dolls (we remain amazed at our Creator-ordained instincts).  Alison loves to walk in her mom’s and dad’s shoes whenever she can get hold of them.  She loves changing clothes.  Friends, Alison is such a big little girl.  Thank you, merciful Lord. 

Alison is extremely social; so much so that we keep a watchful eye on her.  She loves adults.  She loves animals—as she chases her puppy, Bayley, around the house.  Alison loves to play outside—especially when her Pa Pere, Stephanie’s dad, pushes her swing.  She loves to go on walks with us whenever we can.  Alison visibly loves to explore God’s creation.  We gave her an outdoor play set for her birthday (it has a toddler slide and a small clubhouse) so she can enjoy the outdoors a little more.  Thank you, Lord.

Alison has a toddler car, and a bicycle with training wheels, that she loves to ride.  She gives Stephanie and me, and her grandparents, quite a workout pushing her.  J  Alison continues to love her baths.  She is learning to brush her teeth on her own.  Stephanie and I are preparing to begin potty training, as Alison is showing us signs she might be ready.  She has learned to give up her nighttime bottle, and is in the process of learning to let go of a pacifier.  In addition, Alison takes good naps most days.  Thank you, Lord.

Alison visited with several therapists in June to help measure her continued progress.  She tested four-to-six months ahead of schedule on all but one test—her vocabulary skills are a bit behind (her conversation test showed her to be four-to-six months behind).  Thank you, Lord.  Alison has begun speech therapy to help her catch up (we believe part of this conversation delay is due to her long separation from other children and not having any siblings to mimic).  We are seeing steady progress. Thank you, Lord. Please pray that the Lord will grant Alison the needed motivation to talk more and increase her vocabulary. 

Alison was released by her pulmonologist in May to start interacting with other children.  Thank you, Lord.  She started a church-sponsored Mother’s Day Out program that meets two half-days a week during the summer on a trial basis.  She seems to love the interaction with other children, as she tells us “bye-bye” and goes directly to play with the other children when we drop her off.  Thank you, Lord.

Since beginning the Mother’s Day Out program, Alison has contracted one pretty bad viral infection, and several minor viral infections, as her body continues to build a healthy immune system.  Her pulmonologist is keeping a watchful eye on her ability to overcome the normal viral infections that she is now coming into contact with.  If Alison gets sick too often, or her body shows an inability to shake the viral infections quickly, we will have to pull her back to give her lungs and immune system added time to develop and heal.  This week, she received her two-year old shots, which included a booster shot to help boost her immune system.  Please pray that the Lord would grant His protection to Alison from viral infections and grant her immune system the strength needed to fight off viral infections.

We have had to limit our interaction with our church family during the first two years of Alison’s life to help protect her from child viruses (due to her suppressed immune system).  Further, once she became more vocal, those who sat around us could not easily concentrate on our pastor’s message.  Therefore, we have kept Alison home most Sundays until her pulmonologist cleared her to join her peers.  We are still evaluating her progress at Mother’s Day Out and Sunday School before we rejoin our church family on a full basis.  Yet, Stephanie and I are excited to be so close.  Thank you, Lord.

Alison has been able to visit with her grandparents, and her aunts and uncles.  They remain amazed at how the Lord has mercifully blessed her.  Thank you, Lord.  Alison was also able to visit some of her physicians and primary nurses during Woman’s Hospital’s NICU Graduate Reunion during the summer.  They were amazed to see her continued progress under the Lord’s care.  Thank you, Lord.  Stephanie and I remain deeply grateful to the professionals at Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge who took such good care of Alison, as well as her current specialists.

Dear Friends, thank you for your continued willingness to stand in the gap for Alison and our family.  Without your many prayers to the Most High, we believe that we would not have been able to enjoy our little girl’s second birthday.  Please continue to remember how powerful righteous prayer is—especially group prayer.  Our Lord remains eternally faithful and willing to hear His childrens' cries to His holy throne.  We serve a good and merciful God!  Praise be to the Lord for all He has made possible!

Thank you, Lord, for hearing our prayers. Thank you, Lord, for answering our prayers favorably.  Thank you, Lord, for our precious gift—Alison.  And, thank you, Lord, for Alison’s precious prayer warriors, who called out to you on her behalf.  Please pray that Alison will grow into the young girl the Lord intends.  Please pray that the Lord’s mercy, shield of healing, and shield of protection will remain strong with Alison.  Please pray that Alison’s life will continue to testify to our Lord’s mighty power, faithfulness, patience, and eternal love for His flock. 

Thank you, dear friends, and may our Lord richly bless you for your continued sacrifice on Alison’s behalf.  Our family remains indebted to you.

Blessings to you,

Langston, Stephanie and Alison