Merry Christmas 2011!

Merry Christmas! I can't believe I have not sent out an update since Thanksgiving of 2010. It is not for lack of interest or encouragement to do so on any of your parts. I thought I would start with showing you a couple of pictures. The first is when Carissa was 2 weeks old and she has on a size 12 month shirt that was the first article of clothing she ever wore. Most of you who know me well enough would be surprised to learn that it was her nurse who picked out this particular shirt and not me. As you see, she almost disappears in the shirt.

The second picture is from tonight when Carissa put on the same shirt only in a size 2T.

For many of you that have followed Carissa's story from the beginning or near the beginning, you understand what a miracle you are witnessing when you see the second picture. In getting ready to write this update I looked back at many of the early updates that were sent out.

I was again awestruck as I was reminded of God's amazing healing power and His complete sovereignty as evidenced through Carissa's progress.

We are so thankful for your prayers for Carissa and our family. It has been humbling and inspiring to see first-hand so many prayers being answered in Carissa's life. God's grace is evident when we look back and consider everything he has brought Carissa through. We are gratefully reminded of His grace in our lives as well when we think how He has walked with us and provided peace for us with the challenges that He has brought us through. We are thankful for Him just getting us through many days that followed nights with little rest.

As much as Carissa has improved she still has a very sensitive stomach and is still susceptible to upper respiratory bugs. She is very tough and is often able to function pretty normally through the day when her stomach is hurting or she has sinus or respiratory issues, but the discomfort is often too hard for her to block when she tries to sleep at night. Complete nights of sleep are much more frequent now but it is still not uncommon for her to be up one or more times a night.

The first part of this year had many trips to Texas Children's for tests for genetic abnormalities, different syndromes, and still searching for an answer for what has caused her challenges. All the tests for syndromes and genetic problems came back negative, many of them for a second time. Carissa got to where when I was present she didn't even cry when blood was drawn...not with a finger prick, but with the complete full blood draw. I told you she was tough.

We thank God for leading us to The Therapy Village of Cypress in August of 2010. At that time, I honestly did not realize how far behind developmentally that Carissa was. She could not sit up on her own and was not anywhere close to being able to crawl. This was when she was 16 months old. We started seeing progress immediately from her multiple physical, occupational, and speech therapy sessions each week. Within a few weeks she was able to crawl. Carissa started standing and taking steps assisted early this year and started walking the week of her second birthday in April. She is now officially impossible to keep up with and gives 4 year old Luke a run for his money. My Mom, Memaw, at our Christmas celebration with the Shufflers said that we needed to play a game called "Guess where Carissa found that " because she is that hard to keep an eye on. Colt just turned 16 and with the hope of driving soon should be able to stay ahead of Carissa for a while. Colt and Luke are both great brothers to Carissa and she is no doubt tougher as a result of interacting with them every day.

Carissa will continue to go to occupational and speech therapy sessions in 2012. As another show of Carissa's amazing progress Ms. Mary, the world's most incredible physical therapist, released Carissa from physical therapy early this month. Ms. Mary said that Carissa can do every thing she needs to do and that she is great at pushing herself to do more and take on new things. You would probably push yourself to if you were trying to keep up with big brother Luke who is always trying to do everything that biggest brother Colt is doing. Carissa is the only toddler I know that has had formal training in correct tackling techniques as well as avoiding a pass rush while still getting the pass off.

I will close with one more picture that will show you that Carissa does all of this while she is tiny. She weighs in at around 24 pounds and I am not sure of her exact height. This is Carissa and Luke at Halloween. She was the hit of trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.

Thanks again so much for your prayers. I hope we are able to express in person how much we appreciate those and we would love for you to be able to meet or see again living proof of God's mercy and power.

• Please thank God for all the amazing steps he has brought Carissa through.



• Please pray that Carissa will continue to grow and progess, that He will continue to get the glory for her progress, and that there will be opportunities to encourage others through her progress. (please direct anyone who needs to hear of God's provision in Carissa's life to http://www.theshufflersstory.blogspot.com/ or give them our email address or contact information)



• We pray for each of you to be reminded of God's love, grace, power, and mercy that is evidenced in life itself. Please pray that each of us recognizes and acknowledges our first-hand evidence of God's presence in our lives

It is an incredible time of the year for us to all be reminded of God's perfect love for us through the incredible gift of Jesus Christ who didn't just stay as that baby in the manger. Paul told us in Romans that "God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us."

Yours and His,

Terry