Prayer Request

We ended up going to church in Carmi this morning so that we could stop by to see my uncle this afternoon before he leaves for Barnes-Jewish in the morning. We found out on Friday that his stem cell transplant is no longer working. They got back the results from his bone marrow biopsy from the week before (at approxmitely the 100 day mark).

Here is how his oldest daughter described it: "The bone marrow biopsy showed only 15% donor, the other 85% is acute leukemia. Daddy received platelets and then they headed home about 3:00 ish. They report back to St. Louis on Monday morning to begin another round of chemo (stronger this time) and possibly some other treatments. Without treatment Daddy only has a few weeks to live, so they will be aggressive and do all they can to help him, but we know that God is the one in control."

They are leaving for the hospital at 6:30 in the morning to check-in around 9:30 for an undetermined journey that has been discussed as being a couple of months or so (if it works). They don't really know what the future holds...as none of us really does. However, they would greatly appreciate prayers from anyone.

Here is a list of names if someone would like to include them in their prayers:

Bob Lamp (my uncle - had myelodysplastic syndrome which has now progressed to leukemia)
Madeline Lamp (my aunt)
Dawn Lamp (my cousin's wife who is going to be with them on Monday and Tuesday)
Brooks and Anna York (my cousin and her husband who are traveling over on Tuesday night and returning Thursday night)
Barbara McArthy (my cousin who is going over on Thursday night)

Please keep these people in your prayers along with the entire family as they begin the next leg of this journey.

Thanks,
Kim

Emma Elizabeth Early

Emma Elizabeth Early has arrived!

7 lbs. 4 oz.
21 in.
12/25/08
1:27 pm

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We are all doing pretty well. We ended up having to take Emma to the doctor yesterday afternoon after she was sleeping way too much, eating less, and was starting to show signs of jaundice. Her bilirubin was high but not high enough for a bili-blanket yet. So, we are going into the doctor's office tomorrow for another weight check to see how things are going. We are not quite settled back in as Christmas at the hospital (because you know that Santa can always find you) along with a new baby has overtaken our world. We are just trying to figure out when to "finish" Christmas with the rest of the family. We are going to be "going" a lot over the next week or so as some of the great-grandparents can't really travel to see her. So, we will probably be heading to Carmi, Jasper/Dale, and Owensboro during the next week or so which will make us hard to catch (especially with added doctor's appointments due to the jaundice). Things should settle down after Drew starts back to school on the 5th of January. We will try to keep the blog site updated as time permits with the new adventures of Emma and Drew.

Wishing everyone the best throughout the rest of 2008 and a Happy New Year!

Kim (Ben, Drew, and Emma) Early

12/25/08 Pictures

12/26/08 Pictures

12/27/08 Pictures

99.9% sure...Official Announcement of her name!

We have decided that it is time to let you all in on what our new little girl will be called. We are 99.9% sure that her name will be Emma Elizabeth Early. We have purchased the letters (however, they are not on the wall yet). I took a picture so that you could see the "bumpy soft" bedding that we have for her (at least that is what Drew calls it).

As Drew was named John Andrew after family members, she to will be named after family members. My maternal great-grandmother's name was Mary Emma Fields; however, she went by Emma. Ben's aunt was named Elizabeth and was a very important person in his life. To top it all off, my Grandma Juanita's official given name was Eliza Juanita. She would have been proud to know that the "Eliza" would be incorporated in this great-granddaughter's name. Her other great-granddaughter's middle name is Juanita after both of her great-grandmothers.

We go back to the doctor again tomorrow to find out how things are going. With a due date of January 3rd, we are hoping to make it well into December this time around if all goes well.

Boo at the Zoo!

We took Drew to Boo at the Zoo in his "Fun Fireman" costume. He was quite tired; therefore, pictures were a luxury. Hope you enjoy these. Notice the flames on the back of the boots at the top (you can see a little bit of it in the last picture)...I think that they are his favorite part of the costume.