Happy Birthday Don!

Dearest Don

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

We hope that this year opens up a lot of doors for you and Sam and the kids and that all your dreams come true!

We miss you all and hope that we get to have you back home some day soon!

I am sure you are being spoilt today and we are with you in spirit to celebrate

Thanks for being an amazing friend and all your love and support, we miss you all

God Bless lots of love

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

HAPPY 56TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Darling Grandpa and Nan

Congratulations on your 56th wedding anniversary!

We ask Our Lord to continue keeping you both happy and healthy and as in love as you were 56 years ago.

I am honored to call you Grandpa and Nan and Deqlan to call you great grandpa and Nan!

Many will not see this occasion in their life times, its extraordinary, a shining example of unconditional love and something we all hope we are blessed with!

We love you so very much, God Bless and keep you safe always

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

I DRAW WITH A CRAYON!

Deqlan loves this photo - its of Mark and Me and Don and Sam ( our best friends in the UK), taken the morning after we got married. Deqlan is carrying it around, and here you can see he is using Dada's finger to point everyone out , then we tell him who he is looking at , and guess what, he can say Don!!! ( hope that made you guys smile Sam!)

We got my old work pc and loaded it with a whole lot of power point presentations we have created for Deqlan - cars, alphabet, numbers, colours and family - Deqlan loves looking through the slideshows and saying the names of the cars, colours and family members - i think this is also an excellent learning tool for our guy and we plan to make many more presentations on specific subjects. Deqlan is becoming a pro at using the mouse and arrows on the keyboard

Waiting for the computer to start up , and still admiring the photo of Sam and Don!

A lovely game Deqlan plays - he takes the photos, i created for our family Christmas tree, and lays them out across the floor. Deqlan loves counting them and pointing to each photo saying each family members name...but he isnt saying his name....last night we started to teach him to say MY NAME IS DEQLAN and he is trying very hard to say it, to precious!

Our gorgeous, blessing, Deqlan Ross

"1, 2, 3, Cheese" Deqlan says these words when i ask him to smile for the camera!

and again ' 1, 2, 3, CHEESE!"

How gorgeous are these two in their striped shirts, i was so glad i had my camera ready for these pics, very rare indeed, sitting together, sitting still, happy and smiling!

These pose, they actually both said 'CHEESE' and laughed!

ha ha ha, look at Keatons face!

Birthday boy Caden enjoying his sandpit

Keatie enjoying the jungle gym

Mr Malakai loved throwing the sand around

Me and my gorgeous Deqlan taking a breather from all the running around!

The birthday boy showing me his 'crocodile teeth'! You very cute Caden!

Deqlan admiring the aeorplane cake - there where little aeroplanes stuck down with icing on the tray, so cute, Deqlan did sneak a taste of the icing in, when he thought i wasnt looking!

Keaton and Deqlan!

Sorry been so quite, been a very busy week, havent managed to sit down and do this post all in one go!

Deqlans tummy is on the mend from the parasite , although his appetite is not the greatest. On Thursday last week, after we started the medication, he came to me and said ' EAT' he couldnt get the rice down quick enough! I was delighted! but over the past few days, Deqlans taste has only really been for 'CHIPPIES' Lays gluten free chips, popcorn or 'DONALDS' fries...Deqlan will cry and perform when we try and give normal meals that he normally enjoyes, somes times i do get him to eat it, others , not a chance!

Deqlan is on Diflucan now , because the flagyl he was on for the parasite had yeast in , which did cause his candida to flare...Deqlan started hitting himself in the face, scratching our arms, sometimes biting my arm, increased kicking of doors and cupboards to...after one dose of diflucan, that has decreased, thank goodness, its awful to watch Deqlan hit himself...and no matter how loud you shout and say no, he will continue doing it. You have to , in a firm voice, say NO - and just carry on doing that , hoping Deqlan will know its not the right thing to do. Because Deqlan cant voice if his head is feeling funny or if his frustrated, it will come out in these behaviours - but a change in behaviour in Deqlan almost always will signal bloody candida!!!!

What i am very happy about is that i found organic carrot juice at woolies, which i now mix just a little in to his pear juice...so its a different tast to just pear which is the only juice Deqlan can have, plus i am getting a vegie in to his diet, a good one!!!!

We were all so impressed with Deqlan when arriving at Cadens party, he ran to the cake and excitedely exclaimed 'CAKE, CAKE!' wow, how far we have come...he also treated Elriza to his display of the alphabet

Saturday night, we were treated to Deqlan singing a brand new song ' HELLO CODY, HELLO CODY, HELLO CODY...LA LA LA LA LA LA' When i asked Candice at Little Leaps if they were singing someting along these lines, she explained this was the greeting song for the boys in the morning, they sing each boys name and then end with 'ITS GOOD TO HAVE YOU HEAR' Apparently Deqlan sometimes sings louder then anybody else!! I wish i could be a fly on the wall to see this and so many other things the teachers tell us about....

Deqlan continues to learn SO MUCH from the love and learning dvds. The current one we are one starts with a polar bear - and thats how Deqlan tells us he wants that DVD ' PO-LAR BEAR'. This dvd has stepped it up a notch a little more difficult and longer words, a lot more sentences ,and Deqlan has learnt them all!

' I SEE A POLAR BEAR'

'A COW SAYS MOO'

'I DRAW WITH A CRAYON'

Along with many new words:

POLAR BEAR

ROCKET

BLAST OFF

SWEEP

PENCIL

TRICKS ( WHEN I SAY YOU GETTING UP TO TRICKS DEQLAN!)

LIPS

CALL DADA ( WHEN ITS BED TIME, I TELL DEQLAN TO CALL DADA)

YE - HA ( LIKE THE COWBOYS SAY, A DJ ON 5FM SAID YE HA , AND HE IMMEDIATLEY REPEATED IT. NOW WHEN HE COUNTS INSTEAD OF SAYING HOORAY OR WELL DONE, DEQLAN SAYS 'YE- HA'

WHO PA ( YOU KNOW LIKE THE GREEKS SAY! DEQLAN LOVES SAYING THIS AND WILL OFTEN FALL OVER LAUGHING SAYING IT)

Deqlan has become a pro with his shapes to, thanks to this dvd;

CIRCLE

SQUARE

TRI ANGLE

OVAL

RECTANGLE

A lot of kids on the spectrum to echololia - which is just repeating what you say without always understanding what the words or phrases mean....well...

Deqlan saw a crayon on the kitchen counter, called Dada and said 'I DRAW WITH A CRAYON' then took the crayon and drew on our tv and tiles! I didnt care about the tv or tiles - he was understanding what the object was, what it did - he wasnt just saying the words!!!!! He understood what it ment! wow, we are blessed beyond words to think where we were this time last year and were Deqlan is now, THANK YOU LORD JESUS FOR ANSWERING OUR PRAYERS!

We are hoping to get to a restaurant/ deli in Johannesburg this weekend called O Crumbs to see if we can find some new and exciting and safe things for Deqlan to eat, hold thumbs!

great news for Dee today, his PSA levels are down again! Thank You Lord for this great news!

My Grandad had to have a prostate biopsy on Tuesday as his PSA level ( prostate cancer marker) was 34, should be under 6 for an 80 year old man, so needless to say we are very worried about him. I continue to stand firm and ask God for the results to be clear of cancer, please will you pray so to, we get the results next week Tuesday.

Happy Birthday to Aunty Val for yesterday, hope you had a beautiful day with all your loved ones and only the very best for the year ahead!

Have a great day everyone , God Bless, thanks for all your prayers and love and support

Lots of love

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

SACRED HEART OF JESUS WE PLACE OUR TRUST IN THEE, ALL FOR THEE OH LORD, OH MY JESUS ALL FOR THEE

Happy Birthday Caden

Dear Caden!

Wishing you a very Happy 2nd Birthday for today!!

Thank you for a lovely party , we hope you had lots of fun and enjoyed the lovely party your mom and dad put together for you, lots of aeroplanes!!!!

Hope the year ahead is wonderful in every day especially as you are to become a big brother in 2 weeks!

God Bless, love and hugs

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

An answer

FINALLY, AN ANSWER WITH WHAT IS GOING ON WITH DEQLANS TUMMY.

Last night , Nanna was looking after Deqlan when i went to adult instruction and when i came back he had the most shocking nappies we have ever seen.

So, Nanna suggested we get a sample to a lab asap cause we cant carry on with Deqlan not eating and being so bloated and diarreah which could lead to him becoming dehydrated. Our house doctor who saw Deqlan last week , when we thought it was a tummy bug, was kind enough to give me her cell number. So we arranged with her to get the sample in at Unitas last night which means we could hurry the process up of getting the results

We got a call this morning from our doc saying no bacteria or viruses found, but a parasite called Giardia Lambila - this parasite causes chaos in the small intestine, loss of appetite, lethargy, a very bloated tummy full of gas, nausea, diarreah, nausea, pale colour to stools - and there you go - everything Deqlan has had the past week.

Where does it come from? Could be from a swimming pool or day care centre when changing nappies.......mmm... .....one of the cons of being in a school with lots of other kids....so we have decided to take Deqlan out of swimming lessons..even when the pool is treated , a child could be a carrier and re introduce the parasite back into the water, and the cycle starts again. We cant afford for Deqlan to get this again and not eat for a week , so safer then sorry and we will try and do some specific things with Deqlan at home that the swimming teacher would have done. Such a pity as Deqlan LOVES swimming, but poor little guy cant battle like this anymore. We have alerted the school so that they can do something about the water so other kids dont get sick to.

Deqlan is now on anti parasite medication and hopefully has already started kicking in and bringing Deqlans appetite back to. The only thing he has wanted to eat the past few days in popcorn and his beloved 'Donalds" fries.....


Please continue to pray he feels lots better and we can get rid of this parasite for good!

God Bless, enjoy the evening
Love Mark Samm Deqlan Logan
SACRED HEART OF JESUS WE PLACE OUR TRUST IN THEE ALL FOR THEE OH LORD OH MY JESUS ALL FOR THEE

SPREAD THE WORD TO END THE WORD

http://www.examiner.com/x-26516-SF-Autism--Parenting-Examiner~y2010m2d17-Autism-How-do-parents-describe-their-children?cid=examiner-email

Please visit this site and support Spread the word to end the word

I SEE A HORSE!

Did i tell you how AMAZING these LOVE AND LEARNING dvds are or what?

We are also watching part 2 of the series and they start putting sentences together and teaching 50 words. Out of the blue last night Deqlan told Dada and I ' I SEE A HORSE'!!!!!!!!

This is the first sentence of the dvd! Hooray!!! As we go on, each day Deqlan is saying something new

I am thrilled and would highly recommend then to any family wanting to help their child with reading and talking

We got Deqlan to eat a little last night - Macdonalds fries - he LOVED them and this is usually only a treat on Friday nights, but we got to do what we got to do to get him eating

He didnt want breakfast this morning, he had one biscuit eventually. He ate a bit better at school today but not great - when we got home Deqlan enjoyed some popcorn Nanna made, he really enjoyed that

His tummy is bloated....i really hope this tummy bug passes soon, i am really starting to worry about how little Deqlan is eating and i am worried not being on the probiotic is helping yeast to grow again, causing the bloated tummy??


When Deqlan has a nappy he tells us immediately OFF - we think its so acidic its burning his bottom. Going back to drawing board and just trying one thing at a time to see what we can do to help Deqlans appetite come back again!!!

Nanna, Meggie and I went to Mass this morning to celebrate Ash Wednesday the start of lent - 40 days to go to Easter. This also means 40 days to go till Megs and i get confirmed!! We are so excited about this, we have been going to adult instruction since April last year, so lots of time and effort has been put into something we cant wait to do....My Grandad especially, cant wait, its ones of his dreams to see Megs and Me confirmed in a Catholic Church and we are honored to do this for him to. We will get confirmed on Easter Saturday night , there is a group of 6 ladies , so its going to be such a lovely occasion!


Conrad was discharged this morning, but was a little sore, shame, praying for you big brother, hope you feel better soon soon!


Hope you have a great day, God Bless and please, please pray for our Deqlan to feel better and start eating soon soon
Lots of love
Mark Samm Deqlan Logan
'FOR I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU', DECLARES THE LORD.'PLANS TO PROSPER YOU AND NOT TO HARM YOU, PLANS TO GIVE YOU HOPE AND A FUTURE'
JEREMIAH 29;11

soul cake

this is a new spin on deqlans tucking us into bed game. now, he gets Logans pillows out her room, takes photos of Logan, Me and Mark and puts our photos on a pillow and tells us to sleep!
Gorgeous photo of Megs and Conrad at the wedding

Me and Meggie

Gorgeous photo of Erl

Ren, Samm and Megs

Ren and me, so nice to see you Renwa!

Megs and i entertaining Conrad ...

'soul cake, soul cake'????? Where did these new words come from? On Sunday out of the blue, Deqlan started saying these new words? it took me a few minutes to realise they were from my new Sting CD that i play in the car to get Deqlan to sleep , very chilled , laid back kind of music! He actually loves it and is trying to sing this song! When i put the song on now, he has the BIGGEST smile on his face, its so beautiful to see how much he loves music, not to mention, STING, one of my favourite favourites, great taste my boy

Another little tune that can be heard around our house is ' sun is shining shining shining' This one we had no clue of?? But mystery was solved when i asked Ash this morning and she told me they do sing a song in the mornings saying Good morning to the shining sun !!! Wow!!! Deqlan, you blow me away at all the things you are learning each day , i AM SO VERY PROUD OF YOU!!

Deqlan continues to LOVE watching Love and Learning Dvds and has learnt so much from them - new words for the past few days, most coming from the dvd include;

POT

BUS

FINGERS - ABSOLUTE FAVORITE WORD AT THE MOMENT

JAR

WINDOW

CUPBOARD

VW - NOW INSTEAD OF SAYING MAMA FOR VW CARS, HE CAN SAY VW!!!

BOAT

CODY - his friend that drives home with us

SOPHIE - CONRADS MOM

There are more , but cant think of them at the moment

Deqlan has foam letters he plays with in the bath - he picked up the B and started saying BA BA BA -hooray!!!!!! this will be great in helping him say the words he is trying to read

Deqlans tummy is better ...every day a little better. He did get sick on Sunday night again. But his appetite is coming back slowly- he does seem his happy self again...i have heard of SO MANY people who are down with a tummy bug, apparently its even in the papers of this new strain going around that is affecting so many people!

We also think that the new probiotic we have Deqlan on could not be agreeing with him - he also started so many new supplements, at the same time as doing diflucan for candida, and then the tummy bug - so we will be giving his system a break from everything then introduce one thing back at a time to see if it could be this to?

Off to fetch our gorgeous guy, hope you all have a great day! God Bless, please continue the prayers , lots of love

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD

HAPPY HAPPIES

Dear T

Wishing you a fantastic birthday for yesterday!!! Hope it was extra special and that you were spoilt in every possible way! Praying all your dreams turn into realities in the year to come and praying your health is fantastic to say the least! Thanks for all your love and support and prayers for our big boy and our family!

Dear Gill and Darryl,

I AM ECSTATIC to type this message to you! CONGRATULATIONS on the amazing news that you are going to be having a little brother or sister for your treasured angel Declan. We couldnt be happier for you! We pray for a healthy, happy pregnancy and know that your baba is going to have the most special guardian angel in Dec! Gods richest blessings and lots of love and hugs to you both, we look so forward to travelling on this journey with you!!!!

Dearest Shazzy

Happy Happy Birthday for today my dear friend and 'sister'! I hope you have a fabulous day full of love and laughter and smiles and fun! Wish i was there with you to celebrate!!! Trusting God will lead me to come and visit you guys down under some day soon! Thank you for being such an amazing friend to me, even though we dont see each other , as millions of miles seperate us, i know our bond is forever. I blessed to call you my friend and wish you the best birthday ever! Miss you so much , hugs to you my friend, love to Grant and high fives to Lyal and Cam!

Dear Conrad, my big brother

Wishing you a speedy recovery from your shoulder op, we say thank You Lord that you are safely in the ward now recovering and on your way to feeling better! Hope the happy medicine they are giving you today keeps you happy and comfortable and praying for a great recovery and lots of arm wrestling when you up to it, you know i will win...ha ha ha

God Bless you all, all our love

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

Valentines weekend

I recived my first Valentine from Deqlan with chocolates, how gorgeous is this?


Deqlan is loving tucking us into bed and now arranging the photos of how he tucks us into bed , then tells me LOGAN SLEEP, MAMMA SLEEP, DADA SLEEP

Megs and Conrad and Khloe in tummy at Erl and Alexs wedding yesterday, what a pretty venue!

Alex and Erleen Gray! What a romatinc day to get married on. Congrats guys, it was a beautiful wedding, you both look so happy and in love, wishing you a lifetime of love and happiness, have a stunning honeymoon!

Mel and the gorgeous bridesmaids

Erleen radiating happiness ,just about to walk down the aisle

Alex anxiously waiting Erls arrival, he wore a kilt and looked so smart!

Logan pushing Keaton around in Deqlans car, the poor thing couldnt go fast enough

Deqlans turn, first time he has let Logan push him around in the car, and he loved it!

We really working hard on turning Deqlans play room into a sensory play room - this is Deqlans crash zone, a tent where he can chill out and crash into pillows and roll around in a soft comfy area, he already loves it!

Mark and Keaton enjoying the pool, it was so hot this weekend

Gorgeous Keaton

Keaton and Meggie enjoying spraying Logan wet

Keaton and Logan

Deqlan on one of his new favorite ads- he likes it because he recognises silversand casino from the tv ad, there just happened to be a blond lady in a bikini in the ad.....

Keatie and Ice eating marshmallows

Me? Naughty? Never..

I SAY WHY???

Poor Deqlan. He didnt go to school today. He is not feeling well

He was actually worse last night, with a fever to accompany no appetite . He was also lethargic, just laying on his Dada. When i went to the bathroom and returned , i found our poor little guy throwing up.

So off we went to the doctor and she reckons its a viral tummy bug - there is a tummy bug going around at the moment. The fever tells us that its a seperate thing to the candida die off we experienced in the beginning of the week. Luckily, a bath or laying under a fan , manages to bring it down without us having to give medication for the fever

So Deqlan had his first day off school. I must say it was lovely to have him running around us this morning and tucking us in to bed , making us clap as he jumps up and down on the bed.

Still no appetite this afternoon, although he did eat a few crisps and some popcorn, and he is still enjoying his rice milk and juice today, and all has stayed down. Fever seems to come and go , but not to high.

Please pray for Deqlan to feel better soon and for his tummy to feel better and for it to ask for food soon again!

Deqlans new game , when coming home to Nanna's house after Little leaps, is to "tuck" us into bed. No matter where we are in the house, he comes to fetch Nanna, then Mama, then Grandpa. We all get put in our regular places and then heads gently pushed to sleep. We might get one of his little fingers on our lips, as if to say 'ssshhh'. He will proudly point to us one at a time and say "nanna, mama,grandpa' Yip, Deqlan is saying Grandpa and Dee couldnt be more delighted! Then he will squeeze , in between us and say "good night'! But only for a little while. He then goes to Nanna, to show her how to claps hands for him, then to Mama , then to Grandpa, which follows a beautiful display of jumping on the bed while we all clap and say hooray!!!! Big smiles all around and lots of laughter and fun had by all.

Another new sentence is ' I SAY WHY?' Because Deqlan has watched his favorite dvds over and over and i mean over and over, in some parts of the dvd is a scratch preventing the dvd from playing smoothly. This is MOST upsetting to Deqlan, who will cry and ask ' I SAY WHY?" Its hard not to smile at how cute this is, even though he is so upset! When he was looking for Grandpa earlier today, before he returned home from work, he searched every room of the house and we tried to explain that Grandpa was still at work , coming later. ' I SAY WHY?' Shame, he was so upset - but is so lovely to hear him expressing himself.

At times when Deqlan doesnt know how to express himself, also during a dvd jumping or stopping, you might find yourself dodging a jewellery box, or dvd or frame, whatever is closest for Deqlan to reach and throw . He can get so frustrated and this is how he deals with some situations - throwing to get it all out... of course we will have to work on this and have to find another way for Deqlan to release the frustration.

Its hard to explain to people who dont understand autism or know Deqlan, but he isnt naughty. He doesnt do things or throw things or get upset without having an absolute valid reason. He doesnt do things because he wants to test us ...they all are a result of an action. Like, a page in his magazine tearing, or if we change the channel of mnet, or if he cant find a photo he is looking for. So we have to handle situations differently, go back to the cause of the problem and change things at that level. For example, a torn page in his beloved car magazine, can be solved with a piece of sticky tap or a scratched dvd can sometimes play again after washing it with sunlight liquid!


We hope he feels lots better for the weekend so he can swim and run around and play with Logan and Keaton! Please do pray for this to pass

P.s - those of you following baby Reef , he is in need of platelets again A+. Doctors are concerned he may have a bleed on the brain - please if you can donate platelets please do so for Reef, he is at Unitas hospital in Centurion. When you go and donate please mention you are doing this for Reef Carneson, thanks and God Bless you for helping this little fighter www.savebabyreef.com


Have a great Valentines Day weekend everyone, thank you for all the love you give to Deqlan and to our family! Thank You Lord that You loved us so much You sent Your only son to save us!


God bless, lots of love
Mark Samm Deqlan Logan
DO NOT FEAR, ONLY BELIEVE
MARK 5;36

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAMIAN

Dear Damian

Wishing you a Very Happy Birthday for today!!!

Wishing you a fantastic , adventurous year ahead, continue reaching all the dreams you set your eyes on!

Have an awesome celebration!

God Bless, lots of love

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

wives

Deqlan in his Little leaps shirt - still a little big, but he LOVED it so much we let him wear it to school! Look how grown up he looks in this photo!

Deqlan LOVES playing piano, he is even singing the bars - DO RE ME FAR SO LA TI DO!!

Swimming with Dada

Dont know if i have mentioned before about Deqlans liking for Desperate House Wives?

He loves the DVD cover, he loves the ad on tv, he loves watching the start of the programme, each Thursday night at 2030!

We started watching Kai's dvds from Love and Learning and are currently on the alphabet and the sounds and pictures - when A for Apple comes on, and the little girls start enjoying the apple, Deqlan immediately shouts 'WIVES'! It took me while to figure out, that the Desperate Housewives hold apples !!!

So now Deqlan relates the apples to the wives, ha ha ha ha couldnt help but laugh and smile , how sweet and how clever is he?He LOVES these dvds and is glued to them for the entire 20 minutes or so!Deqlan has also saying the words from the dvd like fingers and hug! They are fantastic thanks so much Loren and Kai!!

Deqlan has also started to count on his fingers!!!!!!! When Deqlan swims in the jacuzzi, Nanna and I stand and count with him, showing him the numbers on our fingers , we have done this for many many months and now Deqlan is doing it to!

He also picked up one of his beloved living and loving magazines and said 'BABY SLEEPING' sure enough, the ad at the back was a little baby lying in a camp cot fast asleep!!!!

The other new two words are MNET SERIES! We have managed to also watch a bit of the MNET SERIES chanel , instead of just MNET ! When changing the channel, Deqlan will stand at the Tv saying 101, MNET - 103 , ETC for each chanel!

We also got Deqlan to eat something new which i am thrilled about - spagetthi bolognaise! This means we can sneak vegies into the sauce we cook the mince in - he really loved it last night and we loved watching him enjoy it so much

The 'cooking task' at school today was spreading butter on bread - so i hunted for an alternative as Deqlan cant have butter or margarine or any of the normal spreads! I came up with Tahini - which is made from sesame seeds. It looks a little like peanut butter, tastes a little bit like it to. Deqlan is not to fond of it, yet..., but at least he could partake in spreading it on his piece of gluten free bread today! Ashley, Deqlans teacher, had a taste of the gluten free bread and told me it would be the last time she tried that...shame...

We had to stop the current round of diflucan Deqlan was on, as he was starting to show different symptoms then what we normally see with his candida die off reaction...we want to see a die off reaction cause that tells us its working. This will happen in the form of tantrums, regression, terrible nappies etc - but this time around, Deqlan was lying on the floor on his tummy, which was so bloated, he had so much gas, the worst nappies he has ever had, kicking everything he could lay his feet on, hitting himself in the face, no appetite - even for the food he loved.

Diflucan can affect the liver, so some of these symptoms also show the liver working a bit to hard - so we stopped the diflucan 3 days ago, and Deqlan is much , much better - eating again, happier , better colour - not so much kicking, no more smacking in the face....

We still have to keep a very very close eye on the candida and i am looking into natural ways of getting it under control, such as grape seed extract, but to give it to Deqlan is going to be another story....

He is also picking up every crumb on the floor, ones we dont even see till they on his finger. He also had prestik in his hair from school, another favorite snack if he could get his hands on, thats loaded for gluten! Another tasty treat is the mold on the wall, that stands inthe shade by the tap, probably the worst thing he could have, candida would love to grow in anything that is mould or ferments. We have asked the girls at school to keep an extra close eye on Deqlan and what he tries to eat - the wrong things could cause his candida to flare up again, or him to even regress from the gluten, his body cant cope with

Deqlan had a lovely day at school , great occupational therapy lesson, great swimming lesson, and was very happy to have his nap this afternoon! I think the art project for this week is painting a big size version of me, so excited to see that, I think Deqlan would love doing it to!

Megs and I got to see Ren this morning, who is visiting from the UK! Was lovely as always to catch up with her - Ren and Grant are here for Erleen and Alex's wedding on Valentines day, which we will also be going to. Deqlan will be home with Dada while i go and say congrats !

Got to run for now, hope you all have a super evening, please continue the prayers for Deqlan to continue to be NED forever and always and forever and always and for him to continue thriving at his school that he loves so much, and that we can help him reach his full potential!

God Bless, lots of love

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD

ANGEL ERIK

To all the amazing members of the Ludwinski family,
we are so very sorry for your loss of your precious Erik.But we rejoice with you in KNOWING that Erik is most certainly with Our Lord this morning, pain free and totally healed. What an EXTRAORDINARY young man Erik was, who touched many many people around the world in so many ways. The faith of your family is an example to the entire world, what amazing trusting servants you are for Our Lord. We ask Him to guide you, comfort you , strengthen you, continue to shine His light for the path He has laid out for you.
With great sadness, God Bless, prayers and never ending support,
Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

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

URGENT PRAYERS NEEDED

Hello Deqlans Prayer army,

We need to ask for your prayers for two very special guys

ERIK - www.caringbridge.org/visit/erikludwinski

JAXSON - www.jaxsonsfight.blogspot.com

Thank you and God Bless
Love Samm

Always in our hearts, Declan Du Toit

We never actually had the chance, the honor, to meet this amazing warrior in person, but got to know him through his Mommy Gillians beautiful writings on http://www.all-hands-on-dec.co.za/



The 8th February 2009 , Jesus called Declan home, after fighting cancer for his entire 8 months on earth.



Declan touched many , many hearts around the globe and continues to do so every day. His legacy has inspired, many, many willing people around South Africa to get involved in helping children fighting cancer - All Hands on Dec Friends have done amazing things to help these famillies in all that they are needing. And all because a little boy called Declan fought so bravely , because his smile could light up the darkest night, because his parents continue to feel his spirit alive in them, aiding them to help other warriors fight their monsters.

Declan will never be forgotten, he will continue to inspire and help others fight cancer.

Gill and Darryl, we continue to have you in our prayers each and every day. We continue to ask Our Lord to shine His light on the path He has chosen for you. May He continue to hold you and strengthen you, guide you and comfort you, today and always.

Declan, always in our hearts and minds, God Bless you little fishy!
God Bless, love
Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

ANGEL SANTI

I was really heartsore to just learn that Santi passed away this morning. His parents continue to be such faithful servants and I ask you to pray with me for precious Santi who faught so hard against neuroblastoma, with such a positive spirit and for his parents , for Our Lord to hold them up and guide them.

Santiago went with Jesus at around 3:00 am while sleeping in his mother’s arms. Half an hour earlier I prayed with them and asked Jesus to heal Santi for once and for all, we ordered his cancer to leave and stop making suffering. Santi’s breathing was laborious and we asked him to calm down and relax, he was without fear.
I prayed an entire rosary and almost fell asleep when MJ called me again, Santi was not breathing anymore. He stop doing so in peace without struggle, a few seconds before he complained about pain in his side, neck, etc. he went to fetal position and laid his head in MJ’s chest, very slowly, very slowly he relaxed his breathing. And there he went.
Before dinner, last night, he asked me to hug him, I hugged him.
Two or three days ago he claimed “From Jesus we come, to Jesus we go”. Amen!
The cycle of a wonderful life has been accomplished. We thank the Lord for showing us that love can save lives; we dedicated nine years of our lives to love this child because we believe that only Love makes one completely happy. Santi never stopped being happy, he recently observed that he always has an optimistic heart and he never, never gives up. I am not going to describe all that cancer did to his body, but I assure you that his spirit was never affected.
--Juan Santiago Wall, our beloved son, wait for us; when God calls us, we’ll be there. In the meantime, play, dance, have fun, and rejoice in the presence of Jesus, look him in the eye and tell him we love him and thank him for the uncountable blessings he gives us. Give Ale a hug and another one to Jose Luis.--
We thank you all for your prayers and for being so close, please don’t leave us.
Now, let’s rejoice! Santi has arrived to Heaven, the bells are singing, Halleluiah! This is the day the Lord made! Glory to God, glory to God, glory to God!

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

yes, i hit the dentist

Deqlan playing on Dada's blackberry!
Nanna and Keaton

Peek a book! Deqlan and Keaton playing on the steps!

Swim time with the boys!

Beep beep! Driving in Keatons car

Look Ice! I made this with my mamma!

Gorgeous surfer boys!

Deqlan LOVES the jacuzzi more and more each day

Keaton, what a gorgeous face!

Keaton helping Nanna with her make up

im not kidding - i have told my friends and family about the annoying pain i have been experiencing in a tooth that has been worked on several times...i thought i could live with the pain, but it just was getting out of hand, couldn't even brush that tooth and flossing sent me through the roof.

what did the dentist do? she flossed - i hit on the head ...it wasn't on purpose, it was just so sore , it was a reflex i couldn't control! I apologised a hundred times , i think she was used to this sort of thing happening ...i think she started taking me seriously and decided to give me two injections to numb my mouth, before proceeding to remove the crown on that tooth and remove the nerve , completely. relief....

now i walk around with half a tooth, luckily its at the back of my mouth and the best part is , no more pain!!!! i can eat on that side again, i can actually close my mouth and let my teeth touch again.

i go back for another 1 and a half hour session on 19 Feb and then again to have the permanent crown fitted 1 march...i cant wait......hope my reflexes are a little more in control on these days, or the dentist will know now to duck out the way when working with me as a patient!

our gorgeous Deqlan continues to amaze us each day.... we give a mom and her son a lift home from Little Leaps each day. When we stopped at the complex yesterday, Deqlan took his little finger and started pointing at the letters of the complex, then saying them C-O-C-O D-A-L-E-S - WE ARE THRILLED! Its not just specific words his trying to spell, he is trying to spell all of them! We have noticed that the words are better if they are in black and background is white- they really stand out better to Deqlan this way. He also came to us last night saying F-O-X and when we started looking for where this word came from we discovered it was from is DVD's - Fox the movie company!

Loren has been so kind as to lend me a fantastic programme that Kai uses, called LOVE AND LEARNING

http://www.loveandlearning.com/

"Our technique and materials (DVDs, audio tapes, books and computer programs) help Infants and Toddlers with Language and Reading development. We originally developed these materials for our daughter with special needs. Maria exceeded our expectations by being able to speak, read and understand 250 words at 3 years of age and over 1,000 words at 5 years of age. We offer an easily do-able, loving manner of teaching that values the individuality of each child and helps nurture self-esteem."

We cant wait to start! They way its presented , shows the alphabet for example, as Deqlan knows it, but also phonetically and also with the correct emphasis in the correct places! Pictures are also shown as well as real life images. We think Deqlan will thoroughly enjoy this and be able to have a great understanding of how to say the words he is spelling! Thanks so much Loren and Kai , we cant wait to get stuck in, we will let you know how it goes!

It was wonderful to see Loren on Friday morning and to get to meet her new little guy, Harlan – he is to beautiful for words , you need to go and check the photos out on Kai’s blogspot, link to the right of our page- Kai was sleeping so didn’t get to see him this time, but i hear he is now settling well into brotherhood! Enjoy Harlan guys, he is gorgeous, look forward to spending more time with him and watching all the boys in action together

Deqlans recognition of colours is also getting stronger each day – this morning Deqlan came to me to show me once of his cedarmont kids dvd covers – on the inside of the cover, it shows the different cds on offer , each with a different colour background . Out came Deqlans little finger as he started to proudly say ‘BLUE, GREEN , YELLOW, PINK, ORANGE,RED, PURPLE’ALL the right colours, ALL in the right order – wow, we are astounded at how much and how quickly Deqlan is learning things every single day

Deqlan continues to do very well at his occupational and speech therapy sessions – both therapists say Deqlan co operates very nicely with most activities , and he loves the books and car exercises in speech therapy, and prefers to sit on Danita’s lap while doing them...told you he was a ladies man! Anneke is working on Deqlan using his own muscles to balance and he is tolerating swinging in the spandex hammock a lot better then what he used to.

Deqlas also had his very first swimming lesson this week! Hooray , the weather held for the day!Apparently he loved every moment! I am hoping to go and try and let the swimming teacher let me sit in on a lesson, somewhere where i cant be seen, but can enjoy Deqlan the dolphin in action!

On Thursday, was the first of the boys Birthdays. Deqlan is the only boy on the gluten casein sugar soya and yeast free diet, so i packed his own little party bag for him, with his allowed , safe foods, hoping he would also feel special and included in the celebrations. When the birthday cake came out , he wanted it ‘CAKE.CAKE’ unfortunately Danita had to take Deqlan for his speech session right there and then to take him out the situation...shame, its times like this that i really feel bad that Deqlan doesnt get to enjoy these treats- but it think back to how he was before the diet, when he was eating these things, and i quickly get back on track-thats just no good for him – i am still searching for the perfect cupcake/cake recipe that Deqlan is allowed and that actually tastes good and looks good to! Any ideas?

We are having a face off with candida again – Deqlans nappies atrocious at times , he is hitting himself in the face at times, and wanting to lye on his back and kick everything from doors to oven doors to glad tables. From morning to night. He is also a lot more frustrated at times. Eating not so great, but we know and trust it will all get better again , we are currently on our second weekend of Diflucan, please do the trick!

Keaton continues to get more gorgeous by the day- he continues to call me “ice’, something i treasure and love to hear and hope will never change, another thing that makes our special bond just ours. He is starting to say 2 and 3 word sentences and his comprehension is fantastic – he understands so many instructions. Everything is MINE at the moment. MY NANNA, MY ICE, MY CAR so sharing items between Deqlan and Keaton can get a little hair raising at times, but all part and parcel of growing up! He has also started pointing to Meggies tummy when we ask where Khloe is – if i didn’t mention it before , this is the gorgeous name Megs and Conrad have chosen for the little girl due 17 May 2010- Megs tummy is growing more beautifully by the day and we are beside ourselves with excitement! Its lovely to walk into a shop and now ooh and aahh at the boys AND girls items

Well, we off to fetch Deqlan, one of my favourite parts of the day. Praying you all have a blessed, safe weekend, please continue the prayers for all the cancer warriors, angels and survivors around the world. Please also pray for all the autism heroes around the world!

God Bless, all our love
Mark Samm Deqlan Logan
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD