Update on Jackson

Jackson had an appointment with the Pediatric Nephrologist on Monday. Thank goodness, Dr. Pena was awesome with Jackson. He was so gentle and Jackson responded well to him. However, the news was not quite what we had hoped for. After reviewing Jackson's past labs and sonograms - he highly suspects that Jackson had an autoimmune disease called IgA Nephropathy. This particular disease is very rare. Basically, it's a disease that attacks the kidneys and bladder. The bleeding will come and go. The next time the blood reappears in his urine - he will immediately have a biopsy done of his kidneys. This will give Dr. Pena a more exact picture of what all we are dealing with. In the meantime, he has made some dietary restrictions, alleviating sodium from Jackson's diet. He hopes this will give his kidneys a chance to rest and rebuild. More blood and urine samples were collected on Monday and we will meet with Dr. Pena in February to get more details. We did not discuss in detail what might be down the road for us. For now, we are just trying to process the information that we were given on Monday. As hard as it is to understand, we know that we will not face this alone. Jason and I know that God has been with us thus far and He will continue to walk with us during this uncertain time. As most of you know, we have faced many challenges in the past year, but at the same time we remain to feel so blessed. Please continue to pray for guidance for Dr. Pena, strength for Jackson and for peace of mind for me and Jason. I will update with more information as it become known. Thank you for your love and support.

Welcome Home, Bella!

Let me introduce you to the newest member of our little family, this is Bella. After many years of begging for a puppy, Jason and I thought that it was the perfect time for our kiddos to have a little furry friend to love. I have researched, talked to friends that are puppy owners and I even spoke with two different veterinarians. Jason and I wanted to make sure that we picked the puppy that would be just right for our family. After lots of opinions, we took the vets advice and decided on a Labrador Retriever. After even more research and many phone calls, we were led to super nice Christan lady in Azle, Texas. This is where we found Bella. From the first moment we saw her, we were all attached. She already has a special place in all of our hearts. With that being said, we're so glad that she is now a part of our family. Welcome Home, Bella!

After a long and noisy ride home, Bella was exhausted. I took her in the back yard hoping that she would go potty - but instead she went straight to sleep.

They next thing I knew, Jase was no where to be found. Guess where I found him? He was watching Bella sleep. Can you imagine how much he loves this little ball of fur?

Could she be our little boy's best friend?

The little girls - Miss Gracie and Miss Bella. These girls are gonna have lots of fun together while the "brudders" are at school. Shhh...don't tell!

All four of the Tatum children - Jase, Jackson, Gracie and Bella. Our little family now feels complete!

Oh my goodness! Look who is already so attached to this little girl! Who would of thought that the ones who were the last to "get on board" would be the first ones to fall for her? Jason and I love her already - even though she kept us up all night! I am sure more sleepless night are on the way!

This is Bella playing with one of her Welcome Home toys! Before going to pick her up, we all went to PETSMART to get all of the "new puppy" necessities. Of course, we had to get Welcome Home gifts. Jase, Jackson and Gracie each picked out something special for her.

This is Bella's very first bath. The breeder told us that she was probably ready for one. You all know me, I am a believer in baths! So at the end of a long day I gave her one. I think she did great considering she had such a large audience. Good Girl, Bella!


After she was all clean, she decided to take a little nap in Jackson's lap. Of course he loved it! He said to me "Mom, Bella smells so cute!". He is so funny and he is tickled to have her!

After a long day Bella drifted off to sleep in her crate. Bella loves her crate. The boys couldn't stand the idea of leaving her alone so , after they took their showers they went into the study and watched her sleep for awhile. They LOVE her so much! Night~Night Bella!

Yummy Chocolate "Cudding"

Can you guess what Gracie's new favorite food is? You're right - it's chocolate pudding. According to Gracie it's "cudding" - not pudding. I was checking my e-mail this afternoon and noticed that Gracie was really quiet. I went into the kitchen to find her eating one pudding cup after another. The proof was all over her little face! Thank goodness she had only eaten two cups! I guess just one cup too many!

Update on Jackson

I just wanted to post a quick update about our Jackson. We saw his pediatrician a few weeks ago to go over the results from his blood work and to have another urine check. There was still blood present in his urine - but it was less than before. Thanks goodness. All of his blood results came back negative except for his ANA (antinuclear antibody). This test helps doctors to determine if there are any autoimmune diseases present in the body. Because of my arthritis - I had a positive ANA blood test at my last Dr.'s appointment. Which this is very common in individuals who have certain forms of arthritis. Because of my history and Jackson's positive blood test, he has been referred to a pediatric nephrologist. This is a doctor that specializes in the kidneys. Some forms of arthritis can effect the major organs. His appointment is in a couple of weeks. Please continue to pray for Jackson. We love him so very much - but God loves him so much more. From this we trust that God will hold and protect him. We ask that you pray for guidance for his doctors - that the Lord will provide the wisdom that is needed to determine what is going on in his little body. Please pray for peace for me and Jason. I will update as soon as we know more.

Christmas Fun 2008

These are a few pictures from Christmastime at our house. The picture range from waiting on Daddy to come home from work Christmas Eve, opening gifts from family, to seeing what Santa brought! We had lots of fun! Hope you enjoy as much as we did! Merry Christmas! Love, The Tatums

Baking Cookies for Santa 2008

We spent some time on Christmas Eve baking cookies for Santa. Everyone was given a "job" to do. The kiddos favorite job was being the taste testers. Santa was lucky to find himself some cookies Christmas Eve night. Jackson even ate Santa's leftovers on Christmas morning. Ha! Ha! Guess we did an okay job in the kitchen after all!

Our Unk looked high and low for these special chef hats for our Christmas baking. I think Unk's intentions were for us to make a gingerbread house - sorry Unk! We did good to get some cookies baked for Santa - store bought cookies at that. Oh well - we had good intentions. Thanks Unk for going through so much trouble to make our baking experience extra special. We had lots of fun! Thanks Again - Unk! We love you - The Tatum Chefs

Jackson's Christmas Party @ Granger

Here's me and Jackson at his class Christmas party. We had so much fun! It was really fun to watch him enjoy himself and interact with all of his little friends. He was sad when it was time for me to go to Jase's party. He doesn't want to understand the concept of "splitting time".