Quote from Jim Elliot

    I just wanted to share this quote from Jim Elliot with you. We decided to put this quote on Greyson's wall when I was just 13 weeks pregnant.

Test Results for Greyson

    Today I received the call with the results from the Harmony test. Greyson has a 99%+ chance of having Down syndrome.

    Many of you will ask if I'm ok and I want to tell you that I totally am. I have shed a few tears, but that's ok too.  I know that God planned this for us and for Greyson from the beginning and I pray that he will use of all us to bring glory to Him.  I did want to share with you some lyrics 

that are rich with truth that I always go to when I need encouragement. 

Your Hands 

by JJ Heller

I have unanswered prayers
I have trouble I wish wasn't there
And I have asked a thousand ways
That you would take my pain away
You would take my pain away

I am trying to understand
How to walk this weary land
Make straight the paths that crooked lie
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine

When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave your hands

When you walked upon the earth
You healed the broken, lost and hurt
I know you hate to see me cry
One day you will set all things right
Yeah, one day you will set all things right

When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave your hands

Your hands that shaped the world
Are holding me
They hold me still
Your hands that shaped the world
Are holding me
They hold me still

When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave you
When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave
I never leave your hands

Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul 

By Anne Steele 

1. Dear refuge of my weary soul, 
On Thee, when sorrows rise 
On Thee, when waves of trouble roll, 
My fainting hope relies 
To Thee I tell each rising grief, 
For Thou alone canst heal 
Thy Word can bring a sweet relief, 
For every pain I feel

2. But oh! When gloomy doubts prevail, 
I fear to call Thee mine 
The springs of comfort seem to fail, 
And all my hopes decline 
Yet gracious God, where shall I flee? 
Thou art my only trust 
And still my soul would cleave to Thee 
Though prostrate in the dust

3. Hast Thou not bid me seek Thy face, 
And shall I seek in vain? 
And can the ear of sovereign grace, 
Be deaf when I complain? 
No still the ear of sovereign grace, 
Attends the mourner's prayer 
Oh may I ever find access, 
To breathe my sorrows there

4. Thy mercy seat is open still, 
Here let my soul retreat 
With humble hope attend Thy will, 
And wait beneath Thy feet, 
Thy mercy seat is open still, 
Here let my soul retreat 
With humble hope attend Thy will, 
And wait beneath Thy feet

©1998, Kevin Twit Music (ASCAP).

Brotherly Love

    Emory is always right there when we check Boaz's sugar, or change a pump site. He loves to be involved and I know he will take great care of Boaz as they get older. Today, Emory found the pump site that we had removed from Boaz last night during a pump site change. I supposed it never made it into the trash can. Well, Emory picked it up and ran over to Boaz. He then lifted Boaz's shirt, did his best to stick the site to his back, put Boaz's shirt back down and walked off.  It really was one of the sweetest exchanges between them that I have seen!  I can't wait until they're older to see how they care for each other! 

Update On Greyson

    Today we saw the specialist who confirmed that Greyson does have bilateral club feet. We were still unable to visualize a nasal bone, but we will have conclusive answers on the possibility of Down syndrome when our Harmony test results come back sometime next week. 

Other than that, Greyson was adorable and stubborn as ever! 

Greyson Elliot Corbitt

    I'm not sure how to say all this, so I'm just going to blurt it all out.  A couple weeks ago, an ultrasound revealed that Greyson had a cyst on his brain. We were told that this is a marker for Down syndrome, but not to worry because its not common but it's not uncommon.  Today, I had a follow up ultrasound to see if it had resolved itself. The cyst is resolved, but we noticed that his feet were turned in.   Club feet is also a sign of Down syndrome.  My doctor came in to look at the ultrasound, and confirmed that it did look like club feet, so he requested that everything else be measured and looked at again.  His head measured a little small (6%), but we are not sure if that is a sign for Down syndrome or not.  Also, the tech was unable to visualize his nasal bone- another sign for Down syndrome.  She went back and viewed the pictures from the anatomy scan where she is still pretty sure she saw a nasal bone.  I requested they do the Harmony test (a test where they can take blood from my arm and view Greyson's DNA and therefore, tell exactly if he has Trisonomy 21), and my doctor referred me to a specialist.  I go meet with the specialist on the 24th and should get results from the Harmony test in about 2 weeks.  

    We would appreciate everyone's prayers for our family.  We know that God has planned this for Greyson from the beginning, whether he has Down syndrome or just club feet or nothing.  

"For you formed my inward parts;

you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them."

-Psalm 139:13-16

Our Gender Reveal and Homemade Scratch Card Instructions

    This weekend we revealed to our family what our next baby would be.  We are having another BOY! That makes 3 boys for us!  I had my heart set on using balloons for the reveal but when we realized that wasn't going to work (due to city ordinances), I decided on making some homemade scratch cards. They were super easy to make!  Here's how:  

•Choose your paint color to scratch off and mix it with dish soap; 2 parts dish soap, 1 part paint 

•Paint your mixture onto contact paper or packing tape (I stuck strips of packing tape on wax paper)

•Let dry over night (or at least for several hours, but the longer it dries the less likely you will be to accidentally scratch it) 

•Cut the painted tape into the size and shape you want for the scratch pad

•Peel the backing off and stick it over the area you have prepared for the reveal. 

•Give to your lucky guests, and make sure to take pictures of their faces! 

*I used Glue Dots to attach the popsicle stick that I had painted for them to use to scratch it off.  You could use coins.  The Glue Dots worked well, because then were able to easily pop off the popsicle stick, and reattach it when they were finished. 

Boaz's 3rd Diagnosis....

    Early last week, we had to get blood work done for Boaz. It was just routine endocrine blood work and he did AMAZINGLY getting it drawn. Then we got a call that some of his levels were elevated and we needed to do a repeat.  So we went back to Nemours (which thankfully is only 30 minutes away now) and had more blood drawn.  I got a call from his doctor ealier today telling me that his levels were indeed too high, and that he officially has Hashimotos's.  We are starting him on some thyroid hormone therapy, and....yeah, that's all I've got to say.  We have a lot to learn! 

    Hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism is when the levels of thyroid hormones in the blood are abnormally low. Thyroid hormone deficiency slows body processes and may lead to fatigue, a slow heart rate, dry skin, weight gain, constipation, and, in kids, slowing of growth and delayed puberty.

Hashimoto's thyroiditis, which results from an autoimmune process that damages the thyroid and blocks thyroid hormone production, is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in kids. Infants can also be born with an absent or underdeveloped thyroid gland, resulting in hypothyroidism. It can be treated with oral thyroid hormone replacement.