The past 12 months have been some of the most educational, enlightening, scary, busy, wonderful, challening, emotional, and celebratory months of our lives, marriage, and family. Last December, five days before Christmas we were in Milwaukee, Wisconsin staying at the Ronald McDonald house for the first time, going to multiple appointments at Children’s Hospital Wisconsin.

It was at this time Novella met one of her best friends Caroline, and I met one of my best friends Stacy. We had no idea how God would use the relationship of their family to support, love, grow and change us as individuals and as a family. At this time we also found out that Aveline would likely be needing a feeding tube after the new year. We had a lot of decisions to make for our little girl. We headed home with lots of new knowledge, some answers, new friends; and celebrated Christmas, just the four of us, and poured our love into our little girls.

In January of this year, Aveline had her first surgery to place her feeding tube. My Grandmother also passed on this same day. There were a lot of prayers, a lot of tears, a lot of processing. The coming weeks and months are almost a blur as we tried to figure out a new routine, a new schedule, tube feeds, our normal lives, therapies, dr. Appointments, lots of vomiting, tears, and celebration over the little inchestones rather than milestones. You truly begin to be more grateful for the little things when your circumstances and situations are changed in such a manner.

We got orders to Bangor, Washington, and began our preparations for our move across the country. Celebrated the girls 4th and 2nd birthdays one last time in Wisconsin, the only home they had ever known, said our goodbyes, hoped we could get settled in with doctors and therapists quickly and that we would continue to move forward and we moved.

Once again the first few months are a bit of a blur, waiting on our belongings, unpacking, settling in,Doctors, referrals, Ryan starting his job with a new schedule. However, we began to find our groove. Four therapies a week for Aveline, gymnastics and AWANAS for Novella. We homeschool during therapies to break up the time we have in waiting rooms. Ryan is home most afternoons and weekends, which is a huge change for Ryan and I over the past 5.5 years.

We found out Aveline has a very rare genetic duplication, only about 50 people reported in the whole world with said duplication. It almost fully explains all of Avelines struggles that we have encountered in her short little life. Not really anything we can do for it except what we are already doing with therapies to help support her. However, since we got really involved in weekly therapies and working at home with her, we have seen vast improvements.

Her speech has improved and continues to, and we have not had to use her feeding tube in about five weeks. We have a lot to celebrate this year, despite the challenges we have faced.

As you know from our last blog, we are expecting baby Frazier 3.0. We will find out in January the gender of the baby, we are currently 14 weeks, and I (Micah) have begun to finally feel better. I have gestational diabetes again, and do four finger pricks a day to monitor my blood glucose levels. They are watching us closely this time.

As we sit back and reminisce about what the past 12 months have held for us, it has certainly been a journey, and an eye opening one at that, but I would never change it for the world. God has big plans for the Frazier Frontier, not just for 2019, but for the long haul. We have been so grateful and thankful for all of the support, love and prayers we have received for the past 12 months and we ask that you please continue to keep reading and praying for our family. God is not done writing our story yet!