Jake... the little fighter

Update: Jenn and Travis let us all know last night that Jake's doctors have decided he needs the trach to continue to develop. He puts so much energy into breathing that it's hard for his little body to do much else! This means a lot of changes for the Meyersons, but as always they are faithful and they seem to be handling this all the best they can. They amaze us.

Next Wednesday Jake will have surgeries for the trach and for his reflux (it's common for CDH babies like Jakers to have acid reflux problems). He's proven himself to be quite the fighter, so we hope everything goes smoothly.

Please continue to remember Jake and his family in your prayers!

Baby Jake

Our little nephew Jake (Jenn's baby boy) is having a hard time still. He's come a long way, but now we're praying he can avoid getting a tracheotomy. According to Jenn, it's quite a bit to take it. It means one to two years of it with a nurse at home. And blockage in the system can be fatal. His life has been full of miracles so far--please pray for another!

wedding bliss

Our wedding pictures arrived last night! All of my family received their copies days before us, so we've been dying to get them. Part of the delay was that the US Postal Service interpreted Priority Mail to mean the slow boat to China and back. Sigh. But alas they're here and they're beautiful.











In other news, last weekend Doug received the blessed news that he has been rehired by the MTC—phew! He quit last April so he could work full time this Summer doing construction (oh so manly), and then he wanted to reserve time this semester to get through one of his toughest semesters (die Organic Chemistry, die!) and to do some research with a grad student. We had our fingers crossed that he could just hop back on the MTC bandwagon this January, and it looks like our wish has come true! He’s excited to be Hermano Shafer again, and I’m jealous I can’t be Hermana Dunlop anymore. Dangit.

We're also enjoying the holiday season. We’ve been cramming in as much holiday music as we can (did you know some radio stations only play Christmas music? madness!), watching classics like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (gotta love those misfit toys), and inhaling the delicious treats you can justify inhaling in excess but once a year. It’s been fun. But here's my mushy thought of the day: Even though watching Frosty the Snowman at home in your underwear is totally awesome, it only makes you realize that Christmas is only supreme when you’re with people you love. Doug and I are still enjoying wedding bliss, and we’re looking forward to splitting Christmas with our families in Rhode Island and Washington. Should be fabulous.

FYI:
3 days until Stacey Wolfe’s birthday,
3 days until the first day of Hanukkah,
6 days until Jackie’s birthday,
and 13 days until Christmas.

WOO HOO!!

tiny tree

We splurged and bought a real Christmas tree. We love that it's so small it could fit comfortably in our back seat. Awesome.

Oh, and sorry I don't know how to post pictures yet without it taking up pages. Learning curve.

nuestra casa es su casa

Check out our humble abode!

Apartment Contents:
1 family room
1 kitchen (containing 1 olive green fridge)
1 bathroom
1 bedroom
1 terrifyingly full storage closet... eesh

Oh, and don't be afraid of Doug's pajamas. One of these days I'll tell him that a green tshirt doesn't match American flag hammer pants. I sure do love him.

how sweet it was...

Here are some pics from our honeymoon! We cruised... the only way to vacation. We started in LA, visited Shamu in San Diego, put our feet in the cold Pacific near Catalina Island, and shopped 'til we dropped in Ensenada, Mexico. We ate, relaxed, and loved saying to people, "Yes, we're on our honeymoon... how did you know?!"

New Experiment!

Hi kids. We're going to give this blog thing a try. Come visit us from time to time and find out what's new and exciting with us!

Love,
Doug & Jackie