WEATHER UPDATE

Candida has started clearing in the land of Deqlans Tummy.

The foginess and cloudiness has disapeared which brought about alot of thunder and lightning.

The sun is shining again, the rainbow bringing bright and cheery dispositions throughout the country

The bulging appearance of the tummy, has gone back down to normal

Forecast for tommorow MORE SMILES, MORE LAUGHS, MORE WORDS!

Thats right folks, Deqlan is back - happy , loving, cheerful, smiling, cute and gorgeous as ever

The diflucan is working! If you havent been through this you wouldnt believe what havoc candida can cause in a tiny little body - one that cant explain why he is frustrated - that he was probably so sore and uncomfortable that the only way to show something was worrying him was to throw and hit and chew on every possible thing in sight and throw tantrums .

And we have more words this week -

MAZDA

KIA

VOLVO

ROVER

TOOTHBRUSH - VERY CHUFFED WITH HIMSELF AS WE WENT INTO SPAR AND SAW A TOOTHBRUSH DISPLAY

SPAR - EACH TIME WE DRIVE PAST THE SPAR SHOP HE LOVINGLY SAYS SPAR!

RICE CAKE

AMAZING

DRAW - DEQLAN LOVES TO DRAW ON HIS MAGIC BOARD , AND HE LOVES TO TELL US WHAT HE IS DOING ' DDRRAAWWW!"

MILO - DEQLAN HOLDS UP THE CEREAL BOX AND SAYS MILO

SEE SEE - FOR SEA SAW - HIS NEW FAVORITE GAME, HE REQUESTS 20 TIMES A DAY - FOR US TO PICK HIM UP ARMS AND LEGS AND SWING SINGING SEA SAW, KNOCK AT THE DOOR. DEQLAN LIES ON THE FLOOR , SAYING 'SEE SEE' - TO CUTE FOR WORDS

Deqlan also loves playing fright games, he will come to us and say something that sounds like good night, and then he makes a snoring noise cause he wants us to pretend we are sleeping , then runs away, comes back and say WA! to wake us up

Deqlan continues to learn so many new songs/tunes - he loves humming to egoli, the wheels on the bus , Thomas the tank engine and a few other songs he is trying to learn

Tomorow is Dales 30th Halloween party which will be fun, we will have to see if Deqlan feels up to it tommorow and see if we can get him to go and have a great time as he did last time!

Promise to past some gorgeous pics and stories from Debs trip as soon as I get a chance, but for tonight, this is the weather signing out , wishing you clear skies and warm happy days with your loved ones

PLEASE CONTINUE THE PRAYERS FOR CHRISTOPHER AND KATE AND ALL THE WARRIORS, ANGELS AND SURVIVORS AROUND THE WORLD

God Bless, all our love

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD

prayers for kate

HELLO DEQLANS PRAYER ARMY

I NEED TO ASK YOU FOR YOUR URGENT PRAYERS FOR OUR LITTLE FRIEND KATE – SHE IS BUSY HAVING HER 2 YEAR OFF TREATMENT FOR NEUROBLASTOMA CHECK UP – THIS INVOLVES SCANS AND BLOOD AND URINE WORK – ALL IS LOOKING GREAT SO FAR, BUT THE MIBG SCAN REPORT REMARKS ABOUT SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS NEAR HER LIVER – ALOT MORE DOCTORS ARE GOING TO HAVE A LOOK AT THE REPORT AND GIVE THEIR OPINIONS, WHICH MIGHT LEAD TO A MRI SCAN – PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PRAY AND CONTINUE TO STAND FIRM IN FAITH WITH KATE AND THE JACOBS FAMILY THAT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING SUSPICOUS THERE, THAT THE REST OF HER TESTS WILL REVEAL SHE CONTINUES TO REMAIN NED .

I ASK YOU TO PRAY FOR KAREN AND MATTHEW AND RYAN AND THE REST OF THE FAMILY THAT THEIR NERVES ARE CALMED, THAT THE WORRY IS TAKEN AWAY AND THAT THEY ARE COMFORTED IN KNOWING THE LORD HAS PERFECT PLANS FOR THEM, PLANS TO PROSPER THEM, NOT TO HARM THEN, PLANS TO GIVE THEM HOPE AND A FUTURE

GOD BLESS AND THANK YOU AND I KNOW SOME WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT WILL REALLY BE APPRECIATED IF YOU WISH TO VISIT KATES SITE:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katejacobs

Love Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

Debs is going home

We have just had a very unwanted surprise call after hearing that Debbies Hubby Jeff, has just called to ask if we realised that Debbie is not leaving on Thursday night as we all thought, but tommorow night at 0045 - we all, and i mean ALL of us for some reason thought it was Thursday night/Friday morning not Wednesday night/Thursday morning...so we are so sad and heartsore to hear that the 2 more full days we thought we had has now been cut down to one...so much to do, to say, to share, to laugh about and such little time...

Debs, its been so amazing and wonderful having you here.I am so thankful for the amazing memories which i will treasure always, for getting to you know and your lovely family through all the photos and video clips and stories you so proudly shared with us.

Debs, you are more then a step sister to me, you are a sister and i cant tell you how much we are going to miss you, i already miss you and we still have tommorow together....

I cant thank you enough for all the beautiful gifts and for helping me with so many of my requests for Canada, thanks for all the very special gifts which will remind us of you every single day

Thank you for getting to know us and Deqlan and Logan and Keaton especially and for putting so much love and effort in the time you where around them - they all love you and are going to miss you to

I hope you enjoyed every moment of your stay, that the memories you have off our family, the kids, the times in the jacuzzi, the poo poo net, the farm, the elephants and monkeys, the giraffes and rhino and even the bee's, the braais, the drosty hof, the potjie, bennie and otto, the whales and even our chats will go with you and stay with you always

Have a safe trip back Debs and Aunty Elaine - it was so lovely to meet you to Aunty Elaine, thank you for being so kind and caring and loving and sweet! I cant thank you enough for your love, prayers, support and for just being there for us. Please give Jeff, Darren, Jared, Daniel, Jessie,Lindsey and Lana, Andrew, Tracey, Damian and Chenya and the dogs to , all our love and very best wishes. I really , really hope that we can come and visit you one day very very soon and i really pray that we can all be reunited again in Canada or in South Africa.

We miss you so very much Debs, things are not going to be the same without you here....i am so sad and heartsore to have to say good bye so i wont, but will rather say, see you later, and as Deqlan would say SEE SEE

God Bless, all our love and all our thanks for the amazing time together, miss you so much
Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

p.s- cant wait to do another post with pics and stories on your time here with us! Everyone keep checking in for some stunning photos that Debs took - the new photo on our blog is thanks to Debs, i will treasure it always

PRAYER FOR CHRISTOPHER

Please see following urgent prayer request from Gill:

www.carepages.com/carepages/christopherslighthouse

Hi Everyone
I have an urgent prayer request - for Christopher Beets from Nelspruit. Chris has the same tumour Dec had. Rhabdo Myosarcoma. I remember that when Chris had his first surgery, he gave us so much hope, as his tumour “fell out” according to the doctors and so when Dec went in to have his tumour removed, we had hoped for the same thing. Chris’s’ tumour is also growing in the eye area so there were many similarities between the boys. I spoke to his mom Lauren, when Dec was still here and she is so very strong and positive and optimistic.
Chris has been doing really well. He had radiation recently and we were all so hopeful that a last little bit more of chemo would do the trick and then he would be all better. His mom posted a message on his site on Saturday that I saw today. Chris went for a check up and there is a new tumour that pushed through the skull and into the brain. Tomorrow at 8am, they are doing a big fat operation to cut it out. They will have to cut some skull and it seems that at some stage in the future he will lose his eye as well. Lauren and Lee, Chris’s parents are so hoping and praying he doesn’t have to lose his eye and maybe they will get that miracle. Right now, tomorrow is all important and what we must focus on. The op must go well – they must get all of that horrible ugly mean monster out and Chris must recover and we must soon see a note on his site NED – NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE. This little boy has his whole life ahead of him. He is so brave and courageous and wise and his parents are so very proud of him and his attitude to his fight. Unlike Dec, Chris is old enough to know what is happening to him and how dangerous his illness is and yet he still puts a smile on his dial. Lets all think of Chris and say a prayer for him, his family and the surgeons at 8 tomorrow morning.
www.carepages.com/carepages/christopherslighthouse (this is Chris’s site)
I will update still on Busy Box packing day but right now doesn’t seem right. Claire, what an incredible person you are to have signed up to donate platelets for Reef. What a world we would live in if it was filled with people like you.
Love us

LATEST UPDATE ; CHRIS IS HOME RECOVERING , ENJOYING THE DISNEY CHANNEL!

Prayers for you Chris to have a speedy recovery after your surgery , for you to feel lots better soon and for Our Lord to keep you cancer free forever and always!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANNY RENE

Dear Granny Rene



Wishing you a very very Happy Birthday for today and many many more!



Thank you for being a wonderful mom & granny to us.

We hope that the year ahead is full of everything you wish yourself, including lots of love and laughter , happiness and good health!

May Our Lord continue to keep you safe is His arms and continue to guide and lead you.

We hope your day is not to busy at work and hope that you are feeling much better!

Thank you for all you do for Logan, for going out of your way to fetch her and make sure she is happy and loved ! Thank you for being so understanding with Deqlan and trying so hard with him.

Hope you are spoilt rotten, have a wonderful day and a fantastic year ahead!

God Bless, lots of love
Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

2 YEARS OFF TREATMENT!!

Hello Deqlans Prayer army

Today 25 oct 09 Mark two years since Deqlans last chemotherapy treatment! Praise Our Lord! We continue to ask you for your continued prayers for Deqlan to remain NED always and forever. We are so very blessed that Deqlan continues to thrive and remain happy and healthy and well!

Our next 3 monthly check up happens middle of next month, we will do ultrasound, blood and urine and get results beginning Dec, and we continue to trust and already Thank Our Lord that they will remain perfectly normal !

We also ask for your prayer for Deqlan as we are going through another candida roller coaster. For the last week our little guy has not been himself and the red flags for candida started showing their ugly face- not only is Deqlan lining his toys up, but everything, and not one line, but several, his play room looks like a map book with all the lines. There is more toe walking, less language. More frustrations, more throwing of everything , more tantrums. Less eye contact, more wanting to stand on his head and be upside down. More chewing of everything Deqlan can get in his mouth to take his frustration out on. More hitting out of frustration. We eventually got Dr Lindenberg to prescribe diflucan again, but this time, its a 200mg dose per day- thats four times the previous doses Deqlan has had - with diflucan, we should see a die off reaction as the candida explodes and spills its toxins out, Deqlan could/should become more irritable, shocking nappies, less sleep to name a few , and this is a good sign its working - but we have never had it - so the strength was probably not strong enough for Deqlans 10 to the power of 8 candida - so the big guns are going in now, and we pray that its not to tough on Deqlan and that we can get rid of this dam candida for good - please pray hard that Deqlan has minimal side effects but that the medication does its job for once and for all.

You know Candida is a problem, when your daughter, thinks thats the country where Debbie comes from....


Deqlan still continues to be the joy and light of our lives and has learnt to count to 20! In two days! He has also seemed to get back to himself since writing the beginning of the blog and is also saying choir and sore tonight. He is so much calmer tonight then when i started this post this morning so you must have know we needed the prayers!

Debbie, Aunty Elaine, Dee and Mom are back tomorrow after spending 5 days in stunning cape town - they had an awesome time and got to experience, what i think is the most beautiful part of our country- which included many whale sightings - cant wait to take Deqlan , hopefully next year!! We have lots of photos which i would love to share with you during the course of the week when i am able to!

Please pray for our little friend Kate Jacobs as she goes for her 2 years off treatment scans this week, please pray she continues to remain NED forever and always!! All our love and prayers and support to you Karen and family, and to you precious Kate especially!

We off to sleep now, with our calm, beautiful , gorgeous blessing, Deqlan
God Bless, thank you for all the prayers
Love Mark Samm Deqlan Logan
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS

Dear Diane

Wishing you a very Happy and wonderful Birthday for today! Hope its extra special and that you are spoilt in everyway! Have a great and superb year ahead!

Dear Nina

Happy Birthday to a very special lady in Cape Town! Have a wonderful day with all your family and friends! Thanke you for doing so much for kids fighting cancer, you are truly a saint on earth, thank you! Have a wonderful day and many more!

God Bless, love

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

ANGEL - MADRI

Little Madri, went home to be with Jesus yesterday afternoon. She fought a brave courageous battle against cancer of the eye.

Your smiling face shall remain with us always Madri. We know that today, you are with Jesus.

We pray for you and your heartbroken family

God Bless and prayers

Deqlan meets Debbie

Keaton and Debbie playing with the ball
Deqlan showing Debs how he does his puzzle
This is your ear, this is your eye, this is your noise game with Mark!

Benny enjoying some attention from Debs

Debs and her Dad

Keaton washing the dogs bowls

Grandpa and his boys - they both gave him a huge hug at the same time, and i had my camera, how lucky was i!

Debbie watching Deqlan in the jacuzzi

Peek a boo!!

Keaton and Deqlan playing peek a boo with Debbie

This was at Irene farm - Deqlan wasnt happy at all - he wanted to jump in the fountain and swim - i let him put his legs in , but had to stop him jumping in cause i dont think the owners woudl be to happy, and their were some little creatures swimming in the water! We were about to take Deqlan home as he could just not settle and then these twins came along, and calmed him- he was so taken with the little boy and was touching him and stroking his face and laughing with him!

Beautiful Deqlan, we are so blessed!

The boys trying to make a plan to get it!

Debs and Deqlan share a lovely moment

Some Christmas goodies from Canada! The Christmas baubles have our names on - we already had these, but Deqlan pulled our tree over last year and they all broke! thanks so much Debs for bringing these for us they such a special part of Christmas for me!

The stunning frog pendant and necklace Debs brought for me, knowing how important and signifcant frogs are to us - thank you Debs, i will treasure this always, its so beautiful and will always remind me of you!

Deqlans guardian angel - painted by Anne, the most lovely lady from our church - can you believe, she chose green to paint the background without knowing how much this colour means to us - the pose the little boy is making, is how Deqlan often stands holding his arm,she didnt know that either! needless to say i was amazed - so beautiful, thanks so much Anne we shall treasure this always

Thomas books for Deqlan from Debbie!

All of the lovely goodies , we were spoilt rotten, thanks so so so much Debbie!

Meeting Debbie for the first time! Debs bought the most gorgeous Thomas which lights up, makes sounds and moves - its so lovely and Deqlan LOVES him! Thank you Debbie for everything, but the greatest gift is having you here!

its really wonderful to have Debbie here! We have loved catching up with Debbie and hearing how everyone is, how they have grown, how different things are in Canada! I thoroughly enjoyed some photos Debs showed me of the snow in Canada and how the have to shovel the driveways and streets just to get their cars on the road! Its fall in Canada now, and Debs showed us some magnificent images of the red and orange leaves on the tree's so beautiful!! We also loved seeing how big the kids have gotten, and so so tall! Debbies stepson has Aspergers, also on the autism spectrum, so you can imagine we have lots to talk about and share!

Deqlan has taken to Debs very well and smiled at first meeting her and even offered her a kiss in his hand and our now good jacuzzi partners to!

Debs spoilt us rotten with stunning gifts from Canada - see the photos!

But the favorite by far was a stunning Thomas that lights up and makes train sounds ! Deqlan LOVES his new Thomas, thanks so much Debs, and we will be reminded of you each time he plays with him! Thank you so so so much for the beautiful Thomas books to, the beautiful dream catcher, the dream jar, the beautiful inspirational pen and books, the Cedarmont Christmas dvds, the Christmas balls, the book on toilet training i have been wanting to get my hands on for ages and for the most beautiful necklace with a frog on, which i shall treasure always and forever! As you know FROGS are very dear and near to our heart! This one is made of Hermatite, also known as Alaska black diamond- its to beautiful! Thanks Debs for all the beautiful gifts, but the greatest gift of all is having you hear!!!

On Tuesday we took Debbie to have lunch at Irene dairy farm, its so beautiful and we really love it there - Deqlan actually did say moo when he saw the cows ,which i was so excited about! keaton couldnt stop saying moo and pointing and even told us that the cow had a poo poo!!!

New words for the week

wowwee - when deqlan finishes his puzzle, he looks at me and says wow wee!! to adorable for words

ba - for bus

oh dear

oh no

meggie

JACUZZI BOY - thats Deqlans new nick name - even with Nanna and Grandpa being away this week, i have still brought Deqlan for his daily jacuzzi. On Wednesday he was in for 2 hours, a new record, previously around 1 and a half hours. Yesterday he was in for 3 hours, couldnt believe it! Today, we have been in for an hour so far and going strong! He just loves loves loves the water, the bubbles and jets definitely have a calming effect on him, he is alot calmer in the afternoons and sleeping a lot better - although much later then normal- he is in such a routine with Nanna , that when she is not here, the mice come out to play, and Deqlan doesnt want to sleep until he is so tired, he eventually cant keep his eyes open anymore!

I hear that the trip to the game farm Grandpa, Nanna and Debs had was excellent and Debbie got some amazing photos cant wait to see!

I have been so excited this week ready the new Jenny Mccarthy Book - HEALING AND PREVENTING AUTISM - She has written it together with her son, Evans doctor, Dr Jerry and its just amazing - i am loving every word , every sentence - we are doing a lot of the things they suggest already - but now i have a greater understanding of when to take that vitamin and why, causes for the digestive issues, understanding that the gut is actually 80% of our immune system - why proteins cause havoc and why the gluten free casein free diet can be so succesful in kids with autism! I am loving it!!! I cant wait to get onto the book Debbie brought either - Toilet training for kids om the spectrum - kids on the spectrum ae known to be extra extra difficult to potty train for a lot of reasons, including how terrifying the sound of the toilet flushing can be, it could be sensory reasons, that the lid is painful for them, and the list goes on....Deqlan is showing us signs that he may be ready, so we are going to give it a bash and let Deqlan lead us and we will know when he is ready and we shall be extra patient with him on this big step!

Nanna is reading another very medical biomedical book which she is also enjoying and learning from and sharing with me - so much is falling into place now, so much is making sense!

Speaking of big steps - wow, Deqlan continues to make them. Yesterday, Gaynor popped in to say hi as she was seeing a client in the estate we live in. I was busy bathing Deqlan at the time, so we stood and chatted for a bit watching Deqlan enjoying his bath. When Gaynor was ready to leave, she said bye bye to Deqlan and then, Deqlan smiled at her and said Bye Bye , see see! Well, that was my in laughter of joy and Gaynor in tears of joy - she was so happy that Deqlan has finally given her a response back, and an appropriate one at the right time! Wow, we are so proud of you Deqlan.

Its when people havent seen Deqlan in a while that you really notice the massive changes happening in him every single week - its wonderful to hear people telling us how much eye contact Deqlan has, how happy he looks, how much more interaction he is giving, words ...wow, we are so blessed, thank You Lord! and thank you for your continued prayers for our beautiful boy!

last night, Meggie and I went to our weekly adult instruction class and we did Stations of the cross - it was beautiful. There are 14 stations, displayed in pictures around our church. Each station stands for a very significant piece of the passion. Jesus picking up his cross, Jesus falling with the cross, Jesus wiping away tears, Jesus falling with the cross again, the soldiers stripping him of his clothes and dignity, being nailed onto the cross, and finally dying to save us from our sins etc. Each station also showed us how this applies in our lives and how we carry our crosses everyday - and to follow the example of Jesus, to continue getting up - to see Jesus in everyone and to help everyone as he did...it was truly moving and beautiful..

P.S TODAY MARKS DEQLAN BEING NED FOR 21 MONTHS! PRAISE OUR HEALING LORDF AND WE ASK YOU TO PLEASE CONTINUE PRAYING THAT DEQLAN REMAINS NED FOREVER AND ALWAYS

Hope you all have a great weekend , we have lots planned and i think the next few days must be the busiest birthday time in the year, so i am going to wish you all now just in case i cant get to the pc over the weekend and on Monday, so here we go:

Happy Birthday to Heidi for tommorow 17 october! I hope you have the most wonderful day full of everything you wish yourself and that you feel all the love poured onto you from your beautiful kids! thanks for all your love and support and prayers Heidi, i am so glad our friendship has grown!

Happy Birthday to Bronwyn for Sunday, hope its an extra special day! Thank you for all you are doing to help us!

Happy Birthday Stef also for Sunday! Hope you have an awesome day and fantastic year ahead! Thanks to you to for all your support and help with all our projects, may you be blessed!

Happy Birthday Sands for Monday, we hope you have a lovely birthday and many many more. Even though you are so many thousands of miles from us, you are still thought of today and every day, sending you all our love and prayers , have a lovely day Sands

Happy Birthday Louise! Have a lovely lovely day and may Our Lord continue to rain His blessings down on your and your beautiful family!

Happy Birthday Christelle for Monday! We wish you a very Happy Birthday and many many more, may all your dreams come true in the year to come!

Happy Birthday Tania also for Monday, hope you have a wonderful day and blessed year ahead!

God Bless, lots and lots of love

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH CHIRST WHO STRENGTHENS ME

MY SISTERS

MY SISTERS - TAKEN FROM 5 MINUTES FOR SPECIAL NEEDS, 15 OCT 09


I didn’t belong to a sorority when I was in college, but I feel like I belong to one now.
I ran into one of my sorority sisters in the parking lot at Target yesterday. She, like I, was struggling to get a wheelchair out of the back of a vehicle. The slight smile on her face told me that it was just as difficult for her as it was for me.
Another sister and I connected at the restaurant where I was picking up dinner on Saturday night. Her son with Down Syndrome was very loudly telling everyone at the bar why they shouldn’t be drinking. His mom looked into my eyes, then noticed my daughter shredding all the napkins while waiting for our pickup, and a look of absolute understanding passed between us.
My sisters are everywhere – in the hair salon holding their daughters in death grips and hoping for a passable haircut – at the grocery store putting as many items back on the shelf as they take off the shelf – in the waiting room at our children’s hospital tube feeding their teenagers – and standing outside the women’s restroom trying to decide how they will help their almost-adult son with his toileting needs.
No matter what town I visit, my sisters and I recognize each other. We don’t have special handshakes or secret words or sappy songs we sing. We have our children and the unshakeable knowledge that we are not alone.
Deborah can be found writing here at 5MFSN every Wednesday, and can also be found at Pipecleaner Dreams.

CHOC CHRISTMAS PRESENT DRIVE

Hello Friends

Hope you are all very well! The year certainly has flown by and its that time again to start our annual Choc Pretoria Christmas present drive.

We will be recieving a list of name of kids in the Pretoria area who are fighting cancer , and will allocate a name to anybody who would be interested in contributing a gift to them. They request we work on R100 per gift so that each child gets something of similar value.

We have had fantastic success and assistance with our Christmas drives the last 2 years and we would love to be able to assist making Christmas extra special for the kids again this, and every year.

We know its been a really tough year on everyone, so we know its not always possible , but if you would like to assist, you welcome to contact me or Megs

God Bless, thank you , love
Megs and Samm

welcome to the world Peyton Keil

Dear Rob, T and Reece

Congratulations on the birth of your second baby girl, this morning, 12 october, Peyton Keil 2,54kg!

We wish you all the love and happiness and joy in the world! treasure every moment as a new family of 4!

Cant wait to meet you Peyton, may Our Lord always protect you and keep you safe ion His loving arms

God Bless and lots of love

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

Happy Birthday Tucker

Dear Tucker!

Wishing a very special person a very special birthday wish for today and many many more ahead!

We hope you have an awesome day planned and lots of fun and family and friends and laughter!

You continue to be a huge inspirtaion to me, your attitude towards life is how we all should be , to live it to the fullest, every day!

Have an awesome day and year ahead!

God Bless and love

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

Happy Birthday Alicia

Dear Alicia!

Wishing you a very Happy Birthday for today and all the very best for the year to come!

Its wonderful to have gotten to know you a little better this year and amazing how little Dec continues to bring people together from every area of our country and our world!

Thank you for joining forces with All Hands On Dec Friends, for being the creative mind and amazing designer behind all the projects, you are making a huge difference to all the kids fighting cancer!

Have a wonderful day and many more, God Bless, Love

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTY JENNI

Dear Aunty Jen

Happy Happy Birthday for today and many many more!

Hope you have a lovely relaxing day, and that you are spoilt rotten as you deserve to be!

Hope to catch up with you and Uncle Ken and Jeran and the world traveller Keje very soon!

Sending you lots of love and only the best for the year to come!

God Bless, lots of love

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

ANGEL - PIERCE PHILLIPS

With loving prayers for Pierce and the Phillips family, from his caring bridge site:

Pierce Alexander Phillips
Born July 30, 2007 at 1:00pm
earned his Angel Wings todayOctober 9, 2009 at 4:50pm
Our hearts are broken, but we know his pain is gone. Pierce had been non-responsive since this morning, but resting comfortably. He died in his mommy's arms just the way we wanted. It was quick and it was peaceful. Services will be held at the Kirk of the Hills followed by a burial at Floral Haven both here in Tulsa. When we have the date/time we will update.Thank you to all of Pierce's Posse for your love and support throughout this journey. We will continue to honor Pierce and do everything we can to make sure more children don't have to suffer this way. Please pray for grace and comfort for us and our family.With Love and Hope,The proudest parents

CORN , OATS, RICE, WHEAT

Deqlan is fascinated by our pizza boxes - shame poor thing love to carry it around and say PIBA, for Pizza, but cant have a crumb! I have gluten free flour though, so maybe i should give pizza making a go?
Went i wanted to leave for Nanna yesterday morning, i couldnt see Deqlan so went looking for him - guess where i found him? In the bath, with his clothes on, taps on to...its was a lovely luke warm temperature, but we got to watch him now that he can open taps!!

keaton jumping on the trampoline ! We went to visit Rob, Theresa and Reece just before their new little arrival is due on Monday - they have the hugest garden with a trampoline and jungle gym and tons of space and lots of hills to run and roll down from - the boys had a ball!

Deqlan in action on the trampoline

Corn, Oats, Rice and Wheat!!!

One of Deqlans favorite things to do at the moment is to build towers - blocks, toys, cars, this one is off the teddies and other little toys in his room. Shame he got so upset if one of them rolled off..he took our hand to help him balance the toy to make his perfect tower of teddies!

Deqlan has such a great time playing soccer with the boys - his laughter was a delilght to hear and his face a treasured memory - we are so proud of you Deqlan Ross!

Throw the ball Dada!!!

Checking out Bretts Moves!

All is very well on our side of the world!

Deqlan continues to thrive and do so very well, learning new things every day.

New words Deqlan has said the past few days

CORN

OATS

RICE

WHEAT - from a cheerios box Deqlan fell in love with when we went shopping over the weekend. He immediately pointed at the words on the box, we told him what they said, and he immdiatley said COR, O, RYE, WHEE - FOR CORN , OATS , RICE AND WHEAT - he loves looking at the box and carrying it around, showing us the words and saying them so proudly!MOOO - the sound a cow makes, it used to be mmm but now its clear as day

BAAAHH- the sound a sheep makes, even with vibrations, to cute

ANK YOU - for thank you

Incy - for incy winsy spider

BANG - for the nursery ryhme 2 little bangers , one went bang!

TA - so beautiful said, when giving something to us

VOVO -for Volvo the car

VALPRE - a make of water here in South Africa, Deqlan loves throwing these bottles around

BOING BOING - like the sound of something bouncing! I showed him once with a ball with strings on on the weekend and made the sound of boing boing - which he immediately started saying to! This is a massive deal At our very first speech therapy sessions, the girls wanted us to attach sounds to everything, pushing a car, a helicopter, you name it , in the hope Deqlan would repeat them and Whola, he is doing it now!! We are so so proud of you my boy!

PIBI - pizza!

Nanna and I are going to a conference this Saturday on the bio medical treaments for Autism , by a great doctor, who is going to go into very detailed explanations of even the cells of the body...so we are looking very forward to it. The course runs for the next 7 months, 1 saturday a month - so we are hoping to learn lots and lots! We have been told that there is a lady with aspergers who had chemotherapy when she was younger, and she thinks the chemo triggered the aspergers - so i would LOVE to chat to her! There is also going to be a horse riding therapist there - i have heard so many wonderful things, so look forward to chatting to her to!

Deqlans tummy SEEMS to have finally come right , touch wood, after 2 weeks of diarreah- he is still eating and drinking and happy - so its not a tummy bug. We think its par for the course with all the intestinal issues Deqlan has, and kids on the autism spectrum, famously have issues with their tummies! We changed pro biotics to now inclulde a digestive enzyme and mucosal protector, pro and prebiotic - so maybe that did the trick?

Deqlan is as cute and adorable as ever, so loving and willing to give lots of hugs and kisses and smiles and jumps for us. He is however getting very frustrated when he cant voice something - for example - he will be wathcing a dvd, and it skips or jumps because it has a scratch - he will then pull me to sit down and tap me on the cheeck - because he cant say, fix it mama! Its his way of getting my attention to it. We say very sternly no smacking when these happen, and try to show Deqlan we understand why he is upset and we will try and fix it.

He is also loving to throw things at the moment, most things, just to watch what they do when they hit the ground - either bounce like a ball or splinter into a few pieces like the remote! This Liezl reckons is a form of stimming - self soothing or it could be a sensory issue - so - i have got tennis balls to try and tell Deqlan to throw when he feels the need instead of the tv remotes, which amazingly still work....??? Liezl has given us a few ideas which we are going to try out and let you know how they go!

Speaking of throwing and tantrums - the two were most certainly put together this week when we had to visit Woolworths to sort some FICA stuff out ( thats a whole nother long story, complaint letter and lots of tears and waisted hours of a story). We had to go to the accounts office in very furthest corner of the shop, and of course Deqlan didnt want to wait and stand in the line doing nothing, who would ...so he decided it would be fun to run as fast as he can to the front of the store, which is hundreds of meters away...one of us had to stay to keep our place in the que, after all it was the 8th time we were back to the store for the FICA regulations...so off Mark ran after Deqlan , about 6 or 7 times , and then it was eventually our turn to get to the front of the till. Then Mark had to stand at the till while i ran after Deqlan - i think i must have sprinted after him ten times , right to the front of the store - i ran so fast i had a stitch and just couldnt run anymore.But of course Deqlan doesnt understand how unfit Mama is so cried and screamed and then cried and screamed and hit and threw his car across the floor. of course we got glares and stares and of course the on lookers didnt understand and looked at us as if to say , give your child a hiding, he is being naughty ! If only they knew, that this was all a communication and not a behaviour - our boy just wanted to run.....Deqlan eventually calmed down after i happened to walk into a dvd shop on the way to the car, and the music just seemed to calm him....

I found such great finds at Dischem ( our local chemist0 the pastfew days - among them being marshmallows...ones that Deqlan can eat!!! Free from everything that is dangerous to him! and best of all, Deqlan loves them!! I also found some suckers , but Deqlans not to fond of those...we will try them again, and i found some gluten free musli, but Deqlan just spat everything out, i thought he wouldve enjoyed the crunchy pieces? Oh well we will give it another go in a few days!

We went to Lisa , Dale and Cole last weekend to welcome them into their new home ...and i was a little worried about how Deqlan would be, in a new environment, at night time, with quite a few people he doesnt know to well yet...well he surprised us all, he had a fantastic time. He made friends with Josh a little 6 year old, who Deqlan tried to hug and follow around. He also played soccer with the boys, and by the boys i mean, the dads and he had an absolute ball , watching the ball bounce up and down and running after it to catch it. Our friends were so impressed at the amazing progress has made since they last saw him. Coreen even said, ' were is Deqlan and who is this?' We were so so proud of Deqlan , we are every moment of every day, but to watch him enjoying himself and laughing and interacting with other people, is a joy that is priceless and treasured.

Tommorow is packing day for Busy Boxes! We wish you all the very best ALL HANDS ON DEC FRIENDS and hope its a fabulous day, i know its going to be another massive success, please send lots of photos - how little Dec continues to inspire so many people around the world....

I personally wanted to say thank you to my Mom, Meggie , Kathy & Vicky , Sophie and friends for the beautiful, colourful, creative, useful, awesome things you all contributed! I had to make two trips to Claire who know has a very full boot and back seat , thanks to all of you - Thank you so much, you have brought plenty of smiles to some amazing kids , who are going to be kept busy while they heal and have their treatment. I know if they could, they would thank you to!

A very special arrival was welcomed at OR Tambo airport last night! Mom and Dee met Aunty Elaine and Debbie as they landed from their flight from Canada after nearly 24 hours of travelling! Its wonderful to welcome you back "home " Debbie and Aunty Elaine, we cant wait to see you and cant wait for you to meet the boys! We hpe you have a stunning time here- i cant thank you enough Debbie for making your Dads dream come true of having you here to love and spoil !! He is smiling from ear to ear and we are so happy to have you both here!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend, Nanna and I will be hitting the books tomorow, thank goodness Nanna will be able to explain all the medical stuff to me! praying we learn lots and continue to be able to put it into practise as we are watching Deqlan climb through the window , more and more each day!

God Bless and lots of love

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

'FOR I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU', DECLARES THE LORD.'PLANS TO PROSPER YOU NOT TO HARM YOU, PLANS TO GIVE YOU HOPE AND A FUTURE'

JEREMIAH 29;11

ANGEL, BRANDON KOONTZ

I was so sad to read about another angel this morning, Brandon. He fought stage 4 relapsed neuroblastoma, and went home to be with Jesus on 4 Oct 09. Our prayers are with you Koontz family and we ask for Gods guidance and strength always.

http://www.caringbridge.org/nc/brandonk/

WAITING FOR DEBBIE.....

Tommorow is going to mark a day we have waited for , for so long...especially Dee! His daughter Debbie and her Mom Elaine are travelling all the way from Canada to come and visit!!! Dee has been counting the days down, and i wish i could see his face as Debs walks through international arrivals! It has been many years since Dee and Mom went to visit them and many many years since they have been back to their old home!

Travel safely Debs and Aunty Elaine, cant wait to see you , cant wait to hear about all the family in Canada, cant wait for you to meet our precious boys & girl, cant wait to show you some awesome sights, your Dad and Bev have especially planned for you!

God Bless and lots of love, see you soon!!!!!!!

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

Happy Happy Birthday Ren

To a very special friend, Ren



Wishing you a very very Happy Birthday for today and many many more!



Hoping today is full of laughter and love and sunshine and that Grant continues to take such good care of you!



I know that the year ahead is going to continue being full of blessings and may all your dreams come true!



We miss you so very much and things just arent the same with your bubbly voice and infectious laughter - so we hope you are planning on coming to visit soon again!



Sending you lots of hugs and love, God Bless

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEJE

To my wonderful jet setter Cousin, Kejenne

Happy Happy Birthday Keje and many many more! Hope you have something extra special planned for today and that the sun is shining in Ibiza!

We miss you and we hope that your dreams are all coming true as you sail the sea's of the world, enjoy eacdh moment and treasure every memory!

God Bless and keep you safe on your journies, cant wait to see you soon!

Lots of love

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

Happy Birthday Darryn

Dear Darryn

Wishing you a very very Happy Birthday for today and many many more!

Hope you have an awesome day today and great celebrations in store!

We promise to take good care of your Mom when she comes to visit us next week!

God Bless, hugs and love

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY HANNAH!!

Dear Gorgeous Hannah

Happy Happy 3rd Birthday beautiful girl! We hope you have a lovely day and that there is lots of celebrating in store! We pray Jesus will continue to keep you safe in His loving arms always. Stay the gorgeous little treasure you are, and Deqlan sends you lots of love , after all, he thinks you are his girlfriend!

Have a lovely day,lots of love and hugs
Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

LIVESTRONG DAY

For those of you who know me and see me often, you will know that these items are part of the "armour" i wear each day, my uniform. I am never ever without my livestrong bracelet - ever- not even to weddings does it come off, not even when i bath or sleep.Conrad gave us the first livestrong bracelet and it is priceless to me. Marks also has never ever come off his arm. I have gone through about 3 already as Mr Deqlan like to play with it! The gold bracelet is for CHOC - the South African Childhood cancer association, and the gold represents the colour that represents childhood cancer. Around my neck i ALWAYS have a cross , that Conrad and Meggie gave me before Deqlan was born, representing Jesus, Our Lord, and my love and adoration for Him, my thanks, my devotion. Then i have a star with Deqlans name and finger print on, from Megs and Conrad from my 30th Birthday, and the star sits on the cross, showing Jesus has got Deqlan in his arms, always and forever.
On my other hand i have a bracelet we got from the National Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation in the USA, personalised with Deqlans birthstone, the saphire, and the other is a bracelet my mom gave me with images of Our Lord and Holy Mother and some saints.

A Global Movement To End Cancer
By 2010, cancer is projected to become the leading cause of death worldwide. It’s a shocking and needless fact - 30 percent of cancers are preventable, and another one-third of cancers are treatable if detected early.
What if there was a global movement to show the huge personal impact of cancer, that pushed governments and other global decision-makers to take urgent action? What if people from around the world joined together to push for better treatment, more cancer funding and access to care for everyone? What might happen if ordinary people had the tools and the power to improve the lives of the 28 million cancer survivors around the world? That's the idea behind LIVESTRONG Action.
Cancer affects all of us. But the global fight against cancer -- the broad commitment to ensure prevention, treatment and care - lacks urgency and focus. When world leaders come together in major global forums like the G8, they make big plans to fight communicable diseases but rarely address cancer; There appears to be a huge funding gap globally between what we need to make a serious dent on cancer deaths and what the world is spending now; Many countries don't even have cancer control plans -- a key tool in the fight against cancer; and for some, the stigma associated with cancer is so great that people are too afraid to get essential screenings and care that they need.
If we're going to reduce the death and suffering caused by cancer -- starting now -- the people of the world have to take this issue into their own hands.
LIVESTRONG Action is a movement to do just that. We'll give you opportunities to take action globally, nationally and in your own neighborhood. We'll provide a platform to reach out to your leaders but also to friends, relatives and colleagues who have been affected by cancer to get them involved in the fight, and alert them to ways they can fight cancer in their own lives.
Together, we can make real progress toward a world without cancer. Please join us.
About the Lance Armstrong Foundation
At the Lance Armstrong Foundation, we fight for the 28 million people around the world living with cancer today. There can be – and should be – life after cancer for more people. That’s why we kick in at the moment of diagnosis, giving people the resources and support they need to fight cancer head-on. We find innovative ways to raise awareness, fund research and end the stigma about cancer that many survivors face. We connect people and communities to drive social change, and we call for state, national and world leaders to help fight this disease. Anyone, anywhere can join our fight against cancer. Join us at LIVESTRONG.org.

ANGEL - CHRISTIAN

I am so heartsore to have to tell you all that Christian earned her angel wings earlier today

Beautiful, sweet Christian, we are glad you are with Jesus now, no more pain. I pray that Our Lord will hold your family in His loving arms and comfort them and give them peace and hope. We will always remember you, every frog i see,or quad bike or even painted toe nails - we will be reminded of you. God Bless sweet girl. Thinking of you all NesSmith family, our deepest condolences . God Bless and prayers Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

URGENT PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN

Hello Friends

I need to ask you for prayers for an extraordinary warrior, Christian NesSmith.

Christian has been fighting Neuroblastoma for almost 2 years now. She went into remission and sadly it returned a few months ago. Christian was sent home on hospice and she herself decided that she was done with treatment – and trusted God to take care of her and decided what her path was going to be. Now my friends, brave Christian is really in alot of pain and her family are battling to watch her suffer . They are such a devoted Christian family who continue to believe in the plans Our Lord has for them, even during this time. Please , please pray for Christian not to experience pain and for comfort and strength and guidance for her family. I know the family would love to get a message of support from us all

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/christiannessmith


God Bless, love and prayers please for courageous Christian
Samm

DEQLANS BIRTHDAY PARTY CELEBRATIONS

Dada and Deqlan playing in the bubbles from the bubble machine we hired for Deqlans Birthday - DEQLAN LOVES BUBBLES, and has so many different ones to enjoy, but there were so many that came out this machine he was a little weary to get into them, so Dada was trying to tell him its ok but his feet were glued to the ground, to cute to watch!
Granny, Deqlan and Logan, such a lovely photo, all looking the same way!

one of the stunning gifts Deqlan recieved from Heidi, James, Hannah and Michael - a personalised book of prayers - the story features Deqlan as the main character, and supporting cast Logan and Keaton - it is to beautiful for words and it will be treasured for ever, thank you guys, its priceless

Deqlans own book of prayers

Some of the stunning gifts Deqlan recieved! Thanks so much to everyone for spoiling Deqlan rotten and for giving the best gift of friendship, love and prayers to Deqlan and to our family

A proud Dada and Deqlan

Cole enjoying his nap during all the festivities

Hannah and Deqlan enjoying the bubbles

Deqlan in his Thomas boardshorts sent by Debbie and Connor in Atlanta - thank you so much guys, he looked so handsome and cute

Ethans turn in the bubbles

Deqlan just arriving at his party and checking everything out

the beautiful cupcake trains Zeenat created for us - it was truly stunning, she put so much love and effort and time into making it just perfect, the photos dont do it justice. I cried when Zeenat delivered it - and then i cried some more because Deqlan couldnt eat any of it....but then Mark said would we want Deqlan talking and doing so well or would we want to take that all away for 5 minutes of him enjoying some sweets..i had my answer...and deqlan was actually so good around the cake - he did sneak a few bits of green icing of the cake, but we quickly took it away..and he was ok when we gave him some of his gluten free biscuits

The party table

Gorgeous Thomas and friends train cupcakes

The Thomas Grandpa made was centre stage of the party - holding the balloons that Debbie sent me from the UK - thanks so much Debbie for all the special Thomas decor you sent, i think it looked stunning and have kept so much of it for Deqlans scrap book of his 3rd birthday- i am so blessed that all my friends aroudn the world help make this party so special for Deqlan

Granny giving Deqlan his presents! He loved the truck - it had around 30 wheels - so you can imagine!

Me and my Nan, her first outing after coming home from the frail care centre- she is so much better for being home with Grandpa! What a proud great nan!

Philip, Nats and gorgeous Abigail!

Loren and Cutie Pie Kai!

Elriza and little monkey Caden enjoying the cake!

Heidi, James and baby Michael, to cute!

Peyton and Hannah enjoying Thomas!

Deqlan and his girlfriends, Hannah and Hannah! Deqlan actually chased blonde Hannah around the room trying to touch and hug her , he was so taken with her - poor little Hannah wasnt having it and resorted to eventually hiding under a chair! Poor girl then had to deal with Deqlan and Keaton trying to touch and hug her from under the chair - we laughed and laughed was so cute to see Deqlan interacting with a friend and laughing to!

Hannah and Keaton eagerly awaiting their piece of the cupcake train

Everyone enjoying the cake!

Deqlan loves sparklers so we sang happy birthday with sparklers then candles!

Our Gorgeous 3 year old

Deqlan and Mama - check what he is chewing on - a i am three badge

Keaton LOVES balloons!

Great Nanna, Great Grandpa, Grandpa and Nanna preparing balloons for the kids- i told you Nanna is a real life Mary Poppins!

Coreen, Lisa and Cole and Nats

Happy Great Nan

Deqlan and Nanna - boy did Deqlan keep Nanna busy - including a few kilometer run around our estate ! Deqlan actually coped so well with all the people- Nanna kept him calm and enjoying all the things he loves when he got a bit frustrated

Nanna, Deqlan & Mamma

The kids couldnt wait to get into the pool

Deqlan checking everything out

The cool ball pit castle we got, Logan and Caleigh especially enjoyed!

The party boxes! Thank you my love, meggie and Nanna for helping me create these, i think they looked so lovely!

Nanna helped me create Deqlans name and we even put rail road tracks on each letter - all we were missing from this party with the steam of the trains...

12 Sep was also Childhood cancer awareness day - so we released three gold balloons into the sky in honor of all the survivors, warriors and angels

NED balloons

Opening some presies, thank you all so much again!

Logs and Keaton in Thomas - Caleigh was doing the pushing this round - the three of them played late into the night in Thomas - thank you Dee for bringing so much joy to the kids!

Hello Cole!

Lisa and Coreen

Me and my boy

Gorgeous Reece - she kept us very entertained trying to say all the names of Thomas and his friends - her favorite was Skarloey- to cute!

The birthday boy!

Best friends - Caleigh and Logan - BFF'S !

I have a photo at home of these two when they were three- i cant believe how grown up they are now!

Deqlan, Meggi and Keaton throwing water balloons

Deqlan loves to say '1,2,3, Go!' then he throws the water balloon!

Supermodel in the making Peyton - was so lovely to see you girls!

Nanna entertaining the kids with water balloons - they had a ball- i think we must have gone through easy 100 balloons at this party

Mary Poppins with Keaton, Reece and Deqlan

Ethan enjoying some sand, yum!

Logs and Caleigh and Hannah filling water balloons

Deqlan fishing the balloons out our pool

Pretty girls Hannah and Reece

Meggie and Kai

Balloons Balloons everywhere!

Claire and Gorgeous Ethan