Praise the Lord!

Ben got his test back last night (finally!) and it is negative for now at least! Yea!
Sorry for not returning the phone calls of those of you who so sweetly checked on us yesterday, but I had a rough day with a migraine... yuck. We are so thankful for all your prayers and support for us. He will have another test in 6 weeks, and the result could have changed by then. (it usually shows up between 6 and 12 weeks - and we just passed the 6 week mark) Keep praying!

After a month of night float and these test results in the back of our minds, Ben and I decided we needed a little break! Our sweet parents kept Campbell so we could have a weekend alone. We went to dinner with Joy, Kimmie and their husbands Friday night and saw the new Batman movie - it was so good! I night with adults is a rare occasion for us - and we had a blast! Then Saturday morning we went to Atlanta for the night, and stayed at the new Mansion Hotel on Peachtree... wow... it is amazing. The cheapest room there is $495 a night - but thankfully since we had a connection (my brother works in the building next door and got us a business rate - thanks brian!) we got to stay for much, much less. We even had our own butler, and art work that turned into a flat screen tv, not to mention a flat screen in the bathroom... heaven! I even got to get a massage Sunday morning while Ben helped my brother move -hmmmm, how did I get the sweeter end of the deal? :) Brian and Savannah took us to a really good restaurant Saturday night, and we even went out afterwards. Brian had us laughing so hard we were crying... its always so fun to spend time with them.

But while we were having so much fun in Atlanta, poor little Campbell started breaking out with a rash in Auburn, which we later found out was hand, foot and mouth disease. (not as bad as it sounds - but still very sad) My mom had to take her to the doctor in Auburn, and I was so glad to see her on Sunday. I hate being away from her when she doesn't feel good! Thanks Honey, Papa, Doll and Pop Pop for taking care of our sick little girl! She is much better now, and back to normal. She even ate the Red Pepper and Sausage Baked Ziti I made for dinner last night... and when Ben told her it was spicy, she took a huge bite and yelled "mmmmmmm... spiiiiicy!"
Ben took some pictures at the hotel with his phone - I'll try to get them up soon.

Waiting

So, Ben had his test done this afternoon - but he was told they wouldn't have the results until tomorrow afternoon, or possibly Monday. It kills me to have to wait even that long, but then there will be more after that! There are 6 more weeks of waiting for the next test after this - could the Lord be teaching me some much needed patience?!? :) Thanks for all your prayers - I will update as soon as possible.

The big test...

Well, Ben's first HIV test is tomorrow afternoon - and when he told me today, I didn't believe him. I really thought it was still a few weeks away... This will be the test for the 6 week mark, but he will continue having them for over 6 more weeks, and even if it is negative tommorrow - it could still change at the next test. BUT, we are trusting in our wonderful, loving, living, healing God to get us through what the next 6 weeks holds. Please pray for our family - and I will keep you posted with our news.

Ben's Birthday

Well, Ben turned 27 since my last post (June 25) - happy birthday dada! He is well on his way to 30, and not too happy about it. :) He started a pretty rough work month before his birthday, so we celebrated a little early and just stopped celebrating last weekend! The week before his birthday we had "birthday week" - a great concept stolen from our friends Nathan and Taylor, where you do something special (gift, etc) each day of the week of your birthday. I made him his favorite foods and desserts each night that week, and we went to the Farmers Market at Pepper Place on Saturday. For those of you in Birmingham that haven't been there - you must go! Or, if you come visit us - we'll take you! They have great fresh fruits and veggies, music, food, and other vendors. Campbell even got some home-made ice cream! We also went to Auburn the weekend after his birthday to see Ben's sister Lauren and her family, and we celebrated there too! (pictures from the Auburn trip to come soon...)

He is doing well on the medication they have given him for the HIV stick other than some stomach problems... but not too bad. He will have more blood drawn in 3-4 weeks and we might know something then, but nothing definite for several weeks after that. We are just trusting in our Maker and praying for His hand of protection to be over us during the waiting period. Keep praying!

Campbell is walking SO well - we are really proud of her. We thought it may never happen! She is going through this independant period right not - wanting to do EVERYTHING herself, most of which she can't. So it has been interesting... but really fun to watch her grow. I wish she would slow down! Here are some pictures from the the Farmers Market - we wore Campbell out!