One Step At A Time

We had our appointment at Children's this morning and it went well. We were there for almost 4 hours, but at the end of the appointment we have to say that we feel better about the situation.

Basically, Baby Chase has three major heart defects (AV Canal Defect, Transpostion of the Great Vessels, and Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return) as well as an issue with several other organs called Hetrotaxy (the stomach is on the wrong side and can cause issues with the liver, spleen and intestines). As it sounds, it is very serious, but can be repaired with surgery(s). We spent a lot of time talking about these issues and the DR explained what needs to be fixed first, etc.

I will now be delivering at Parkland b/c we need to be as close to Children's as possible. Baby Chase will need immediate surgery once he is born...he must be in surgery within 4 hours of birth. All of the heart issues are critical to fix, but the Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return is the first priority. I don't really understand it all completely, but I have a feeling I will soon! ; )

The DR told us to expect Baby Chase to be in the hospital for about a month. Also, he will likely be fed through a tube in his nose for a while. Once he has recovered from the surgery and is doing well with his feeding tube, we will be able to bring him home. There will obviously be more surgeries down the road (at 6 months and others), but this will be the first hurdle.

Although we are encouraged by our appointment today, we still need LOTS of prayers.

Please pray for Baby Chase's left ventricle to GROW GROW GROW! It is much smaller than his right ventricle and it will be very beneficial if the left side will grow.

Please pray that Baby Chase's vessels into his left atrium will continue to grow and remain strong. We are very blessed that these vessels look good now, but we need this to continue. THIS IS VERY CRITICAL TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL FIRST SURGERY

Please pray that Baby Chase will stay safely inside of me until his due date. None of these issues make me more likely to go into labor early, but it is critical that Chase's lungs are fully developed when he is born. We don't need any added issues!! : )

Please pray for the Drs that will be performing his surgery and deciding the best roads to take. We feel very blessed that God has led us to Children's and feel like we are in great hands.

Baby Chase (and his family) will have a difficult road, but we are ready!! We know that God has given us this challenge for a reason and we plan to use it to it's full potential. We know that God is bigger than this and that he can bring us through this!! Thank you for all your prayers! We will be providing updates on our blog as often as we can.

"Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR YOU."
Jeremiah 32:17

Praying for a Miracle

Just wanted to give you an update on Eli's Baby Brother. We had our level 2 sonogram today and discovered that Baby Brother has a heart defect as well as some other issues with his stomach and other organs. Basically, the stomach is on the wrong side. Regarding the heart, we don't have an official diagnosis, but it is very serious and the dr said that Baby Brother will have some serious challenges. We have an appointment at Children's tomorrow morning.

Although we are very sad, we know that God created Baby Brother exactly as he wanted him and for that we are thankful.

Please, please pray for a miracle.

Love,
Hunter, Laura & Elijah

One of Those Moms : )

I discovered to day that I'm going to be one of those moms...you know, the ones that dress their kids alike on special occasions or any other time that they find bargins on matching clothes. : ) I am so excited about having two boys to dress alike! : ) Today I found these super-cute sweater vests at Gymboree for $4! Who can beat that price!!!????

So here is the first matching outfits....I may save them for Easter!

Hat

I have been trying to get Eli to wear a hat or something when we are outside to keep the sun off his face. He has not been very accommodating! On Friday, when Hunter came home he had a couple of presents for Eli...two hats (toddler sized hats from Lids Kids). Eli was pretty excited about them because Daddy brought them home from "the airplane" (that's another story...basically, Eli thinks Daddy rides in airplanes all week when he's out of town). ANYWAY, today, Eli finally wore one of his hats. I think he looks like such a big boy in a hat!

Enjoying chocolate milk and his new hat while on our daily walk

The Pool!

Every time we pass the pool, Eli yells, "the pool!!!" On Monday, we made our first trip to the pool for the season and Eli loved it. He was a little unsure at first and then all of the sudden, he jumped in. I have a feeling we will be there a lot this summer!!

Baby Jack!

Eli, Jessie and Jack had a great time playing in the back yard. Here are a couple of pictures of Jack.



After playing in the backyard, all three took a bath. It was a VERY busy bathtub! We tried several times to get everyone to look at the camera, but we were not successful AT ALL!!!

Eli's Other Mommy

Jessie likes to pretend that she is Eli's Mommy. Eli usually plays along with her. Here she is trying to put him down for a nap. Actually, this was around 3:30 and Eli had only had about a 10 minute nap on the way home from church. That made this pretending go much better than if Eli had already napped for a couple of hours. I love these pictures...I think they are so sweet!

Fun With Cousins!!

My Sister and her family are visiting from Alaska. They arrived on Saturday and Eli has loved every minute since they got here.

Eli & Jessica
Eli & Jessica enjoying some ice cream.
Eli decides to drink the rest of his melted ice cream....Jessica is wondering what he is doing!!
Eli showing his ice cream mouth!!

Baby Update

Here is a belly shot at 23 weeks. I don't have very many pictures of myself when I was pregnant with Eli, but I wish I did so I could compare sizes! : ) We are having another sonogram on Thursday to get a closer look at Baby Brother's heart and stomach. Please pray that all is well with him.

Eli has been so sweet about having a Baby Brother. He loves to hug and kiss my tummy. Everytime he looks at my tummy he tells me it's going to pop! Can you imagine what he is going to think in a couple of months!!??? I have other stories, but will have to wait to share those until we share Baby Brother's name.

More Free Entertainment

Another favorite FREE thing to do....PetSmart/PetCo & Half Price Books! Eli loves going to both!! We watched them groom dogs for at least 30 minutes. Eli thought it was the greatest. He kept saying "hairies everywhere" because they were shaving tons of hair off the dogs and it was falling to the floor.

Big Brother Training

Eli and I got to watch baby Samantha on Thursday afternoon while her Mommy ran a couple of errands. She was so sweet and Eli did so well with her. I was so pleased. He wanted to hold her and play with her. And, when she cried, Eli was not bothered by it at all. That really surprised me! I thought he would get upset. We are so happy that her Mommy let us watch her. We want to do it again soon!!!

Garden Update

Every morning, our pumpkin plant has a beautiful yellow flower on it. It closes by mid-afternoon and then opens again the next morning. I REALLY hope a pumpkin grows on this plant!!!! Eli is REALLY expecting to see a pumpkin beginning to grow soon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. ; )

Wild Flowers

On Sunday afternoon, we went to take some pictures of Eli in the beautiful wild flowers near our house. It didn't really work out as I had hoped, but we were able to get a few pictures. They are not the best, but we tried! : )

Eli took the camera for a while and snapped this picture of Hunter & I

Sunday Afternoon Nap

Childhood Doesn't Wait

I was sitting on a bench
while in a nearby mall,
When I noticed a young mother
with two children who were small.

The youngest one was whining,
"Pick me up," I heard him beg
but the mother's face grew angry
as the child clung to her leg.

"Don't hang on to me," she shouted
as she pushed his hands away,
I wish I'd had the courage
to go up to her and say...

"The time will come too quickly
when those little arms that tug,
Won't ask for you to hold them
or won't freely give a hug.

"The day will sneak up subtly
just as it did with me,
When you can't recall the last time
that your child sat on your knee.

"Like those sacred, pre-dawn feedings
when we cherished time alone
Our babies grow and leave behind
those special times we've known.

"So when your child comes to you
with a book that you can share,
Or asks that you would tuck him in
and help him say his prayer...

"When he comes to sit and chat
or would like to take a walk,
Before you answer that you can't
`cause there's no time to talk

"Remember what all parents learn
so many times too late,
That years go by too quickly
and that childhood doesn't wait.

"Take every opportunity,
if one should slip away
Reach hard to get it back again,
don't wait another day."

I watched that mother walk away
her children followed near,
I hope she'll pick them up
before her chances disappear.

-----Kathie Phillips Davis


A very nice reminder for me!

Pears

Eli and I enjoy eating a pear after our daily walk.

Talking to Daddy

Eli is telling Daddy that he helped me chop some pecans. I LOVE this video...it's short, but sweet.

Taking a Rest

...with bankie, paci, and a ball

Cousin Justin

Just hanging out with Justin

Game Boy

While over at Granny & Ga-Ga's, Eli found one of Cousin John-John's old GameBoys....and the Mickey Mouse ears. : )

Tea Time

I enjoy a cup of hot tea in the morning and Eli has recently discovered that he enjoys tea too.

Free Entertainment

One of Eli's favorite things to do is to go to NorthPark and look at the turtles and the water. I am always up for a trip to NorthPark!! : ) And the big bonus....it's free entertainment for a day...or 1/2 a day!! : )

Eli loves climbing and sliding. I loving watching him do this....partly because I remember doing it when I was a kid!

One sad thing I discovered today at NorthPark....the Origin's Spa is closed! : ( That was my favorite, favorite spa!!! They had the best facials!!!! I will miss them, but will probably save a lot of money! ; )

Playing in the Water....AGAIN!

Eli enjoyed playing in the water again on Saturday.







So....I went inside to get some towels for Hunter and Eli. While I was waiting by the back door for them to come in I heard Hunter say, "you have to see this". I went outside and found Eli playing in a puddle of mud that he made in the flowerbed. What a MESS, but he had a ton of fun with it! : )

Mom2Mom Lunch

On Friday, our Mom2Mom table got together for a lunch and playdate. Mom2Mom is over for the year, but will start again in September. It was such a pleasure to be a part of this group and to meet so many new people. I am looking forward to attending Mom2Mom again in September. Here are a few pictures.....with so many kids, it was hard to get a good picture of everyone!