Update on Kelsey...Christmas morning they woke her up to the news that she has Histoplasmosis in her lungs. She started on an anti fungal in addition to her other massive doses of medications. She looks better to me, but she still feels junked up from all the medications. She made it through about 1 hour of family time Christmas morning before she headed back to her room for a nap. She takes frequent naps to deal with her fatigue.

Karly has not been well at all this week. Her fevers are getting up to 105, nausea is frequent, headaches are horrid. She sleeps most of the day. She sat slightly up for Christmas morning for about 1 1/2 hours. She took a break about noon before we descended upon her in the afternoon. The smiles are less frequent but we pull a few out of her now and again. The little food that I've managed to get down her has been vomited. She is losing a lot of weight. It is worrisome to watch her wither like this, but still I trust in our doctors and God's ultimate plan through this.

The kids woke up with stockings outside their door on Christmas morning. Santa found them at the Inn. Both the younger girls had a VERY Merry CHRISTmas. Santa had left huge bags of gifts for the Koch's at the big fireplace in the Inn. Santa even knew that Alex, Kelsey's fiance, was at the Inn. Boy, the guy is smart. We shared this time with one of the founders of the Inn, Lori and her two kids, and some other Inn families. It was a happy time. Santa left a huge bag for Karly and Kelsey in their hospital rooms as well. I was amazed that he even left a gift for Debbie and Ridge, and Karly's boyfriend, Zach, who is flying in tonight to spend the next week here. Debbie and Ridge brought their clan out to the Inn on Christmas afternoon for an early meal and gifts. We Skyped Grandpa and Grandma. It was a pretty big deal because one of Debbie and Ridge's triplets,Reid, is severely handicapped. Traveling with him is hard, and he usually pays for it later. He gave me a lot of kisses...he particularly likes blonds. He seemed to have a lot of fun, and we enjoyed seeing him. BUT, what was special was that Grandma and Grandpa haven't been able to see him for a long time. Neither Grandpa or Reid can travel, so being able to see each other on the computer was AWESOME. Grandma played peek-a-boo and Grandpa waved...Reid just laughed and called Grandpa his special name "Unga". It was a touching moment. Grandpa, my dad, is declining rapidly. We hope that adding a drug will help him. He cannot get enough oxygen which makes him weak, he cannot eat much, and he feels sick to his stomach. All the kids and grandkids have seen him via Skype or made a trip to Muncie.

Tracy is trying to get the boys, especially Alex, to DC today. They have been sleepy and lazy, but Alex leaves tomorrow so this is his last chance. I hope they can get out of here for a few hours.

I hope that I will be able to get some photos to add to the blog. Stay tuned to see if my lack of computer savvy increases. Thanks and God Bless to all!

Love,
Mom