Christmas Card Letter 2013

Dearest Friends & Family,

We hope this letter finds you happy and healthy.

In 2013 our sweet Oliver has grown so much. He is taller, stronger and turned into a human jumping bean. His favorite activity is to watch “Cars” and jump on his mini trampoline, which has taken the place of our coffee table. Picture an extra bouncy “Lord of the Dance”, and you get the idea. :-)

We hope you’ll keep praying for him and for us. Sometimes it feels as though we’re running a marathon, with a finish line that keeps moving. Developmentally, Oliver is still around a 2 year old level in language and skills, suffering from daily seizures (2-6). This means we still dress, feed, bathe and diaper him despite his strength and sixty pound body. We long for him to ask us a question (any question!). We long for his brain to have the gift of seizure freedom. We continue to give thanks for the amazing team of nurses, teachers, therapists, and family who help us care for him everyday.

It is an answer to prayer to say that Oliver has been selected for an FDA approved (fully legal) clinical trial of Cannabis, starting in February in Boston. We’ll be required to travel frequently to remain in the trial (likely 14+ trips to Mass General!). If the new medication (the 20th one he’s tried) doesn’t work, we will begin the process of preparing for a 2nd brain surgery in the latter part of 2014. If you haven’t read or seen how effective Cannabis (the CBD part of the plant, not the THC) can be for epilepsy, we’d love for you to google it. The amazing thing about this treatment is (unlike our current meds) it is NOT psychoactive in it’s effects, despite being derived from Cannabis. We can’t tell you how we are counting down the days until we can give Oliver his first dose. You can follow along on our journey with him via our blog: lanierlanding.blogspot.com

You probably noticed our beautiful niece on our card. Haley is attending Cape Fear Community College and living with us. She’s made us a family of four (at least for a while), and we couldn’t be more overjoyed to share in her life. Our house is regularly filled with college students (either her friends or our nurses) that attend UNCW or CFCC. It is truly a fun place around here, and perhaps a tiny taste of what having a daughter would have been like...

It would be hard to talk about 2013 and not mention our thankfulness for the growth of our real estate company, Lanier Property Group. We thank God for this year full of blessings, new team members (6 of us), old & new clients and new opportunities. For those of you who have sent us referrals or chosen us to be your Realtors, we are extremely grateful and honored!

As we approach Christmas, we’ll have moved our advent candle each day towards the last spot. We look forward to celebrating the birth of the Christ child who gives us hope when the future is uncertain. At the end of our Christmas countdown, you’ll find deep faith, eternal hope, and confetti cannons full of love. We wish you the same!

Merry Christmas,
Andrew, Stephanie & Oliver