There is nothing better...

than getting your hands dirty.

 Today has been in the sixties and 

after this winter, today was much needed.

As you can see, Mittens was 

my sidekick throughout the process.

She always jumps up and walks the edges of my garden boxes.

 I couldn't help myself,

I just had to get into the dirt.

The boys put up the last of the maple taps after 

mass this morning.

 Evelyn was as happy as could be,

making her potions and recipes.

 Zach shoveled the last bit of snow off the deck 

and the kiddos turned it into a game:)

We still had the sleds out, so why not.

 The kids enjoyed the first race of the season down our back 

yard.

 They were so excited to get out their big wheels.

 Evie's bike still fits her and she gets around pretty good.

She's the one I have to keep an extra eye on:)

They parked their bikes against the snowbank.

We had a beautiful day and a great weekend. 

I'm rejoicing...what an amazing life!

We were invited to a...

Frozen Party!!!!

We had a blast and the kids even dressed up for the occasion.

We had Kristoff's ice blocks, Olaf's nose,

Elsa's wands, and troll stones, just to name a few. 

Of course, 

Joey dressed as Elsa.

Oscar was Olaf and Evie was Anna.

That baby is so scrumptious...

We all had a blast!

Thanks to Ashley for all the hard work...

the kiddos will be bragging it up for weeks to come:)  

A wonderful weekend and birthday...

My parents took the kiddos for the weekend(two weekends ago)

and gave Zach and I a chance for some much needed alone time.
Someone asked me recently,
when the last time we had a weekend alone...
I couldn't even think of the last time,
which means it's been too long.
Thanks mom and dad!

My mom has been working hard to clear some clutter at her house
and she came across this picture, which I had to share.
This picture was taken of me 27 years ago...

 And here's Evie at age 4.
There's no doubt I'm her mother:)

 My mother-in-law made a beautiful cake that was extra delicious!
Thanks so much Kay.
It had my favorite butter cream frosting.

 The kiddos surprised me with cards and homemade goodies.

 Including cards, a pot holder,
and a wooden necklace pendant from Oscar that he carved himself.

I feel so blessed to have my whole family surrounding me.
Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes and love.

Best Pressures Yet!!!

Evelyn had her appointment with the cardiologist

today and she had her best numbers yet.

103/58!!!!!!

Oh my goodness,

I'm so excited.

Her new medications are

working great with the only side effects

as sleepiness, which isn't so bad.

We are tweaking her other medications

to hopefully wean her off the one she takes three times a day.

The kiddos are with Nana and Papa this weekend.

Sooo it's just Zach and I....

it hasn't been just us for a long time(I can't even recall)

Make it a great weekend...

I know we are!!!!!



Side Effects...

from the new medications are starting to

have a bit of effect on my little Evie. 

She gave me a bit of a fright the other day

after the second time giving her the medication.

We were heading back home from dropping the other kiddos

off and she started talking kind of drunk and then passed out on me.

So I raced home and took her bp,

which was normal(as normal as we will probably going to get)

 and left a probably frantic sounding message for the nurse.

Thanks to my wonderful sister, Megan,

 who is my medical go-to person or

I'd probably be institutionalized by now:)

The doctor said there may be side effects with this new

medication, one of which is tiredness.

She had a similar effect today so

this means no running in the morning for now.

We have an appointment tomorrow with the cardiologist so

I will find out more then.

I'll keep you posted.



I just talked to the Cardiologist....

 Zach and I are BEYOND HAPPY to hear her recommendation for Evie.

The cardiologist wanted to hold off on the surgery

and start to change up her medication a bit.

Her heart is had left ventricle hypertrophy that

is improving.  This is where her left ventricle is thicker to

be able to pump the blood where it needs to go. 

(She said usually it can take up to a year to start to improve)

Her heart is already mending!

She did say that although she may need the surgery

down the road, she wants to change up

her medications a bit to see if that helps the blood pressure.

It sounds like quite the process and daily monitoring,

but it is great to be able to explore this option and give her some time to heal.

The cardiologist did find that her entire aorta,

not just the site they were thinking of operating on,

is about 2/3 the size of someone her age.

Because of this, combined with her condition,

she will most likely be on blood pressure medication her whole life.

We are very relieved at this outcome.

We recognize that this doesn't mean she won't need the surgery

down the road, but we are comforted in knowing that the

cardiologist is thinking about the future and taking everything into account.

Thanks to all of you who have been supporting us

and praying for our little Evie.    

By God's grace and eternal love,

we know we can get through anything together.

Enjoy the day...I know I will!

No news yet...

Our spirits are high because our

illness (I'm hoping has run it's course).

The kiddos and I got to celebrate

Ash Wednesday together. 

I'm just so proud of the little people they are becoming.

We haven't heard back from the cardiologist yet

about the surgery.

She is very thorough and I'm sure is getting

multiple doctors input on the next course of action

before she talks with us.

I will let you know as soon as we hear anything.

It's going around...

the stomach bug has now hit me.

I'm hoping this will go fast.

We will let you know when we hear

from the cardiologist.

Acceptance....

isn't always an easy thing to do.

I'm speaking for myself when I write this.

Since September our lives got turned upside down,

it was truly a miracle that this condition was found

when the doctors did!

If the hadn't, we probably would be in a much harder position right now.

At first, I was trying to do it all:

making lists, picking up/giving medications, going to

doctors appointments, all while trying to do everything I did before.

After all, I worked taking care of 4 handicap/disabled people at Copper Homes, 

 so this should be easy, right?

Well, I've accepted the fact that no, this isn't the same:

1. This is my baby that I would give my own heart to if I could.

2. I don't get to go home at the end of the day and relax.

3. I'm one of a few making decisions that will effect how her life will be later down the road.

4. Needing to seek help via counseling and medications is not something someone weak does

(Much the opposite-that was a hard one for me to accept)

5. This not only affects me, but how much attention I'm giving to the rest of my family

6. I haven't had time to process the first operation fully before this last procedure came to be

7. I'm a very faith filled person so why is it so hard to just hand my worries over to God?

8. I never thought of myself as an anxious person,

but you learn a lot about yourself when thrust into situation like this.  

9. Keeping myself busy, doesn't allow me to stop and reflect on

what's going on around me. 

10. It's not easy having to put your faith and trust someone with one of the most

precious thing in your life- over and over again.

I'm still in the processing stage

and taking it day by day.

 

I'm working on accepting the fact that even with this

new operation, Evie will still have high blood pressure.

There is no 'fix'.  She will be dealing with this the rest of her life.

It may improve it, but not entirely.

Our cardiologist still needs to review the pictures and

will be getting back to us so that we will have a more definite plan

in the upcoming months.

Thanks for praying and loving us...it means more than I can put into words.

This has been one of my daily prayers:

Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.