JUST THINK"
Your SON is here, not by chance,
but by God's choosing.
His hand formed him
and made him the person he is.
God compares him to no one else-
he is one of a kind.
Your son will lack nothing that
God's grace can't give him.
God has allowed your son to be here
at this time in history
to fulfill His special purpose
for this generation.
  by Roy Lessin

(This was on a card that was sent to us. It has meant so much to us and we wanted to share it)

God's Faithfulness

We enjoyed a nice Christmas and trust that all of you did the same. Brett was very easy to travel with and adapted well to wherever we were. We've enjoyed many trips to church, where he has been a little angel. He even made it through our New Year's Eve program with not much more than a few whimpers. Big sister Alisha was ready to hold and comfort him, which she thoroughly enjoyed. We know that God will continue to guide us down the road He has set us upon. The poem "Footprints in the Sand" has taken on new meaning. God does literally pick us up and carry us. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. Lam 3:22-23

First Steps & Doctors

Right after Christmas we were visited by an evaluation team from a program called First Steps. Three therapists evaluated Brett to see if he was indeed in need of therapy. All three are recommending therapy and soon we will be choosing a physical therapist, speech therapist, and a developmental therapist from a pool. We can do this on the internet. Most therapy will not begin until after 3 months, but they all gave us things to look for in his development and one physical exercise to do with him. We are thankful for this program because the therapists will come to our house. They believe the child will do the best in his/her home environment.

We made our first visit to our pediatrician's office. Although never caring for a baby with Brett's syndrome, Dr Feldman is knowledgeable about clefts and weak pulmonary systems. He gave us some things to think about concerning possible problems in the future, and a reminder to continue to work hard at "growing" Brett big and strong. We are glad to report that he is now 6 lb and 12 oz. We are praying for a continual weight gain like we've seen over the past month.

On January 9th, we return to Riley for our appointments with the Cranial/Facial team and the Pulmonary team. Hopefully we will get a clearer picture on the first surgery, fixing the cleft lip, as well as how long Brett will be on oxygen.

Haiti 2006

Jan will be making his 1st trip back to Haiti January 16 to Feb 3rd. He will be touching base with the trade schools, well drillers, and will be preparing for the Bay City construction team coming at the end of the month. Harvey Gutwein and Chris Huber from Francesville will also be on this team, so he is looking forward to spending some time with them. He will also be trying to find out where the rats got into our house and made a smelly mess. We are thankful to have Dean & Connie Pashak staying in our house for a few months.

Closing Thoughts:

Again, we continue to covet your prayers as Brett grows and some of the landmarks on our new path become clearer to us. We look forward to seeing him look at us and give us the feedback all parents desire. A dear friend recently shared a poem with me about what it is like to find yourself in the place we've arrived. It is written by a mother who had a Downs baby. It is called "Welcome to Holland" and if you are interested in reading it, click on the following link. http://www.our-kids.org/Archives/Holland.html. It sure has been precious to us.

IN CHRISTIAN LOVE, JAN, VAL AND FAMILY

Brett in his Christmas "duds"...deep in thought!

THE BEGINNINGS OF THERAPY!