Holiday fun!

I guess there's no time like the holidays to pick back up with blogging, huh? There will be plenty to write about, that's for sure!

We certainly have started off our break from school with a bang! Rebecca planned and hosted a Christmas Sleepover for 8 of her friends. (yes, I am crazy!) They played games, ate, listened to music, ate, played hide and seek in the dark, ate, and finally went to sleep about halfway through the night (after a game of hide-and-seek at 2am!). They were up by 8:30am and ready to go again! Zach was the smart one and found refuge at Nana's house. Here are some pictures from the party...

Of course there was volleyball!

Rebecca found these cute snowman cupcakes to make (not as easy as you might think!)

These Christmas Tree Treats are made like Rice Crispy Treats

Pizza makes everyone happy!

They played Christmas Pictionary - can you guess this one?

This game is called Hedbandz and you ask yes/no questions to try to guess what your card is. Lots of fun!

Since we have some time off, we scheduled some doctor's appointments. Zach had a cleaning at the dentist. He did great except for the xrays --- those awful bitewings kept making him gag! He has always been very "gaggy" anyway. They tried putting a pinch of salt on his tongue to keep him from gagging (I've never heard of that!) and they were able to get one side done but not the other.

Rebecca had to have some cavities filled :(  They used nitrous oxide on here and she was sooooo goofy! At one point, she said in a very nasally voice (because she had the "clown nose" thing on) "I can't find my hands!". Apparently, she couldn't feel her hands - she asked her daddy if he had them! She was so funny!

Then, today, Zach had his cardiology checkup with Dr. R. It's been 6 months since he's been seen and honestly, I was very anxious. You just never know when you are going to have a curve ball thrown your way when you are dealing with CHD. We weren't really seeing anything of concern with Zach except that he has seemed more tired lately - he has been falling asleep in the car after school a lot and that is not like him. He fights sleep. Anyway, we are praising the Lord because his checkup went wonderfully!!! He weighs 39.4 lbs, he is 41 inches tall, his bp and EKG were good, his pulse ox was 98 (yay!!!) and Dr. R. said his echo looks great. He didn't even have any leakage today! His meds are all staying the same (1 baby aspirin and 4 ml Enalipril 2xday) and we go back in 6 months.

So, for the rest of the week, we are spending time with friends and family and looking forward to Christmas day. Zach's nightly devotions started in on the Christmas story tonight. It is amazing to think about all that was happening at this time of year for Mary and Joseph. I'm sure Mary was miserable, being that she was 5 days away from giving birth. I'm sure she was excited, too. What do you suppose she was thinking? I bet she was scared to death! Being a first-time mother is nerve-wracking enough but to be the mother of the Son of God? Whoa! I wonder if the angel had to keep reminding her not to be afraid? I wonder if she questioned God about whether she was ready for this or not. I just pray that I can be a faithful servant like she was, that I can find favor with God and fulfill his will.

May you find joy and peace as you worship the Baby in the manger this Christmas.

The Quarterly Blogger

"Mama, you REALLY need to do a new blog post."

"Mama, why don't you do a new blog post about __________."

"Mama, WHEN are you going to do a new blog post????"


My sweet daughter has been giving not-so-subtle hints about how SLACK I have been this summer with the blog. We were very busy and out of town a lot the first part of the summer and I was just plain lazy and uninspired the last part of the summer. I have still been keeping up with our heart buddies, though.

As all you heart families know, in the CHD world that we live in, no news to blog about is good news. Zach is doing very well in terms of his heart. His last echo showed only a trace leak in his mitral valve and excellent function otherwise. He is running circles around all of us and growing like a champ. There has been nothing much to report.

Nonetheless, I have been a slack mommy --- not taking pictures much and not recording the precious memories of the summer of 2011. There are no good excuses, really. Now that school is back in session, I have even less time to spend at my computer, so I guess I will just rename myself "The Quarterly Blogger."

Rebecca helped me by uploading some pictures to document our latest big milestone... Back to school!



School supplies are packed in the...



...bookbags, and...



...the lunch boxes are packed, too.

 

She is ready for 8th Grade, and...



...he is ready for Kindergarten!
He couldn't hold his bookbag up!:)



My two students!




It is so hard to believe that our firstborn is starting her last year of middle school! It is even harder to believe that our baby is starting 5K! Where does the time go??? We are so thankful for God's many blessings thus far and thank Him for what He is going to do during this school year!

We hope you are having a wonderful start to the school year too!

Vacation, vacation, vacation!

So far this summer, our family has been all about vacationing! To start with, we went to Nags Head, NC with my family for half a week. The weather was incredible and we had a blast!

A mean game of Jenga between my brother, Phil and me. I won!

My mom and Aunt Mable

Monkey!

Rebecca and her best friend, Sarah

You think they are a little tired???

Next, the kids went with Nana and Papa to Myrtle Beach. They had a great time too! Unfortunately, I haven't gotten any pictures from their trip yet. I will have to post them later (maybe I'll get that done before the end of summer!).
While the kiddos were at the beach, Bill and I took off in the opposite direction to Gatlinburg, TN. We rented a nice little mountain cabin and just hung out! It was a great chance to relax and eat some good food. We went out to eat a couple of times (you have to go to the Apple Barn if you are anywhere near Pigeon Forge!!) but also took some good food to cook. We ate every meal out on the deck overlooking the mountains. Check out this view!

We actually needed this little fireplace burning a couple of the mornings while we drank our morning coffee!

So now, FCA Camp season has officially started. Bill is directing a couple of camps and helping with some others. Then, at the end of the summer, he will start a new job! We are excited that he will be the Athletic Director at a local high school!

Zach had a cardiology checkup this afternoon and everything looks and sounds good. He also had his first session of speech therapy, which went well. Zach has a very strong lisp and struggles with many blended sounds. The therapist gave us some pointers for things to work on at home. We will go every Thursday afternoon for the rest of the summer.

We hope you are enjoying your summer as well!

Summer... almost!

The kids are out of school now! I am so looking forward to a schedule that is not packed so our family can enjoy spending time together.

I have to work on Tuesday :( and then we head to the beach! My side of the family is going to Nags Head this year --- there will be about 30 people there at various times throughout the week. It's always a blast --- crazy, but a blast!

Last Monday afternoon, Zach started running a fever. Once we got his fever down, he acted fine. Tuesday, he stayed home with Daddy and he ran no fever so we thought he was ok until 5pm when it started again. I took a look at his throat, which looked like he had 2 red-hot fireballs (you know the hot candies?) stuck back there. When I saw that, Zach did tell me that "his tongue hurt". The child hardly ever complains! I declare that he does not feel pain the way other children do, with all that he's been through. Anyway, I took him in on Wed. mornint and the dr. said his throat looked "impressive" but the strep test came back negative. She decided to treat him with an antibiotic anyway because the strep test is only about 90% accurate. He seems to be back to his old self again and was able to finish out the week at school.

So now, as a reward for taking such good care of Zach, I am the one suffering with a sore throat and now a "like-a-faucet-runny-nose" and sneezing. UUUGGGHHH! I woke up at 5:30am and could not go back to sleep. I kept trying to sneeze but could never get it out. My eyes are watering and watering. Please pray with me that everyone else can stay healthy for our beach trip.

Also, I have a couple of other prayer requests... Our neighbors, Jo and Al, have a new grandbaby. They knew something was not right all during the pregnancy but the possible diagnosis changed with each doctor's visit. He was born on Thursday, and they know he will have surgery sometime because his esophagus and stomach do not meet. I do not even know his name yet, but you can pray for Carter and Amy, his mom and dad. Many of you with heart babies know how they are feeling right now.

Also, please pray for Emma and her family, who go to church with my mom. I think Emma has the same heart defect as Zach and she had surgery on Thursday. I do not know any other details yet but will update when I know more.

Hope you have a blessed Memorial Day Weekend! We have so much to be thankful for in our country and we owe so much to those that made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and those who are serving us at this moment. Remember them this weekend!

Graduation Day

Tonight, we attended Zach's pre-school graduation. I still cannot believe that he is 5 and ready to go to 5K! Anyway, he looked so handsome in his cap and gown. (sorry I didn't take the time to edit out the glowing eyes!)

They marched in to Pomp and Circumstance, sang a couple of songs and recited 2 Bible verses, then each of them shared their dream job for when they grow up...

Yes, you heard it right... when he grows up he wants to be a PIRATE! Too funny!

For a graduation gift, we gave Zach tickets to see the Imagination Movers at our local auditorium. He's jacked! They put on a really good show and have some great music.

We are so proud of our BIG boy! Congratulations Zach!

4 in 1

I wish I could blame my absence on the issues that Blogger has been having lately, but no, I have just been very busy and when I have had any time to update, I have been very lazy :)

So, this post is about 4 updates in 1. A lot happened in the month of April... well, let me show you...

Easter Morning

GQ!

 Daddy is so proud of his beautiful girl! So is Mommy!

Zach's 5th Birthday Party

Pigging out with Cousin Eli

Why did we buy him a playground when we could have gotten off cheap with a cardboard box?

Bill took advantage of our party guests... Brother-in-law, David and our neighbor Mr. Joe

Zach is testing out one of the swings to see if Daddy installed it properly. I think it passed inspection!

Mother's Day Tea at Zach's Preschool



This is Zach with his teacher, Mrs. Amy. She is awesome! This was such a special time for us mothers! They had all kinds of surprises for us --- artwork, a special song, and a handmade necklace.

The New Playground

Let me just brag on my husband a minute. He did such an awesome job putting together Zach's playset! It was quite an undertaking! Lots of blood, sweat, and tears!

Putting the last screw in the playground... or so we thought (more on that in a minute...)

Enjoying the slide for the first time

Thanking Daddy for all his hard work

My boys!

OK, so I promised to tell you more about Bill finishing the playground. First, answer one question:

Have you ever seen a playground do a somersault?

Neither have I, but apparently it doesn't go very well.

Unbeknownst to us, last Sunday night during the night there were some pretty strong storms that passed through. When we walked out to get in the car to go to school Monday morning, the playground was laying on its side about 30 feet away!!! I cannot believe that I didn't take a picture of it! I NEVER would have dreamed that the wind could have done that to it! I was so sick and felt so bad for Bill. The funny thing was, Zach did not get upset in the least. I don't think he really understood what had happened. Here are some pictures of the damage...

When Bill got home from taking Rebecca to school, there was a message on the answering machine from our neighbor, Mr. Joe, offering to help. Another neighbor, Mr. Al, also came over. We have some incredible neighbors! They detached the side extension and the slide, stood the house part back up, dug some really deep holes, cemented in some 4x4 posts, which are bolted to the house. Bill says it will still be standing at the Rapture!!!

Today he screwed in the last screw... again!

If we have any more disasters with the playground, I think we will go back to our trusty old cardboard box!