Time flies

Wow, where has this month gone?  It doesn't seem like it is September.  I close my eyes and see the summer flash before my eyes.  August was such a busy month for our family.  We have had two weeks of Camp Meeting, 3 birthdays, Pediatrician appointments, Cardiology appointment, Immunizations appointment, dental appointment, and to top it off..........school.  At the beginning of summer, I had wondered how I was going to make it at home with the 5 of them.  Now that school has started back, I find myself wondering how I make it without having all 5 of them here.  I really miss my girls and I know Lily and Charlotte miss them.  Every morning Lily comes straight to me asking, "where's Emma, where's Maggie and Anna, I go to school today mama?"  I think Charlotte likes them being gone, she has the house and all the toys to herself.  Poor Charlotte, when Anna is home, Anna is constantly trying to hold her and carry her around the house.  Charlotte has learned the words no-no and shakes her hands like she is shewing her away trying to get the point across that she doesn't want Anna to hold or carry her.  Charlotte misses Emma..... Emma is the only one that just plays with her, and not aggravate her and Charlotte misses that.  As soon as Emma walks in the house, Charlotte follows Emma around til she sits in the floor and Charlotte hugs on her and pats her back.  It is the sweetest to watch.  Then there is Maggie.... she tries to play little mama to Charlotte.  When Charlotte gets enough of Maggie, Charlotte shews her away and it makes Maggie so mad:)  As far as birthdays, Maggie celebrated her 10th on the 7th, Emma celebrated her 5th on the 16th, and Brian celebrated on the 17th.

Cardiology appointment went well, Thank you Lord!!!  Dr. Horne said that he could hear the shunt, that it was getting louder due the shunt getting smaller and that we would go for a heat cath sometime in the spring or summer.  I was about to scream out loud because I get it in my head before the appointment that we're gonna get bad news.  I always get stressed out and worry so much just before the appointment and then we get there and nothing really to talk about because nothing has changed.....  Vicious cycle, vicious cycle. 

15 month check up and Charlotte is in the 75th percentile of weight and height and 95 percentile for head size.  I wasn't to happy about her O2 level,....... 70's.  Just last week it was 86 and today it took forever to get it out of the 60's.  I think my stomach is still queezie from reading the monitor.  I just knew that Dr. Donna would say something, but she didn't.  Never really batted an eye, so I think that maybe the monitor just wasn't working well.  I tried to get a reading with the machine I have at home, but it never reads what the office gets, so I just left it alone.  I can look at Charlotte and tell that she looks good and her color looks good, so I'm gonna try not to worry and just let her be.  Maggie and Emma had check ups and got good reports.  They both were so worried about getting shots, but VERY happy when they found out no shots til age 11.  Then Maggie realized that will be next year for her :(

Camp meeting this year was great..... Anna got saved this year and I am so happy and thankful to the Lord for answering prayers!  It is truly amazing to see your child change right in front of your eyes.  Anna has always been so sweet and loving, but the night she was saved, she hugged just about every person she new and just cried and smiled and laughed all at the same time.  It was truly beautiful, and such a blessing. 

Palmetto Hearts 5K Run & Walk

 

The event is scheduled as follows:

Palmetto Hearts 5K Run &Walk

presented by

Spartanburg Running Club

9:00 AM

Duncan Park, Spartanburg

Registration will be $25 per person. Children 13 and younger are free. All proceeds go directly to Palmetto Hearts and will benefit the families of children with CHD's. The registration fee is tax deductible.

Every paid registration will include:

Entry into the 5K Run & Walk

Event T-shirt

Entry into a raffle

Prizes will be given to the top three finishers in each age group, with divisions every five years.

This event is to raise money as well as awareness for Congenital Heart Defects, so I hope that you will register and participate!!!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Laughter

laughter fills my house and it is so wonderful.  Last night the girls and I had been swimming and having a wonderful time til the Bats decided to nose dive at us.  We quickly decided that swimming was no longer fun, but scary so we decided to get out.  But before the bats came out, we were having a pretty good time playing in the pool.  Charlotte likes the pool, but she would rather just walk around the deck naked and walk up to the edge of the pool like she wants in then runs away.  She is so funny, her little personality is really coming out.  "No-No" is her new word and that is all we hear.  No matter if she wants it or not, "No-No" and shakes her head no.  Charlotte likes to play boo and we walk around the cabinet that separates the kitchen from the living room.  I let her see me walking around it a few times and she begins to follow, then I get a little ahead of her and scare her:)  Then she turns around and chases me around the cabinet and you can hear her saying "BOO".  Charlotte is such a sweet and loving child.  She loves her sisters and she loves Daddy and me:)  Brian walks in from work and Charlotte gets a grin on her face that covers her whole face and squeals and squirms til Brian picks her up:)  If any one lays in the floor, well you may as well be ready for a wallering.  Charlotte will sit on top of you and try to tickle your neck and bounce on your tummy and just waller you to death.  It is so funny to watch her do this to her sisters.

There are so many things about my little angel that I just love and then there is one thing that I hate.  I love every thing about her, I love to hear her laugh and cry and scream and grunt for me to hold her.  I hate that we live from Cardiology appointment to Cardiology appointment wondering when we have to go back to Charleston for what ever has to be done.  I hope that by her second birthday we know what we have to do.  Last cardiology appointment, Dr. Horne told us that a heart cath will determine if surgery is required or not, so we wait for the day for the dreaded heart cath.  Remember last heart cath, 2 days post cath Charlotte ended up in the hospital for a week with a partial bowel obstruction:(  So I am not looking forward to a heart cath for many reasons.  We have a cardiology appointment August 18th so hopefully we have a little more info then.

Anyway, back to the good things in life...... I am just so thankful that we have Charlotte.  I am thankful that we get to hear her laugh and see her play and pretty much act like a normal little girl.  Life has been so much better having her in it!  Thank you Lord for all that you have done for us!

Vacation

Ok, so the school girls are out of school and I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to "try" and get our family on vacation as soon as possible.  I found a nice place at Ocean Lakes and off to the beach we went.  The first week out of school and at the beach, what a way to start summer vacation.  I had some reservations about going to the beach with Charlotte, Dr. Horne gave me a 30 minute sun exposure limit and I thought what would be the use in going.  Well it turns out that those 30 minutes was the best 30 minutes of every day.  Charlotte absolutely LOVED the beach, the feel of the sand on her feet and hands and the waves rolling in over her legs.

 Every time Charlotte looked out into the ocean and saw her sisters playing, she would wave and squeal and scream like she wanted on her boogie board.  A friend of mine was also down with her two children and her son had dug a hole for Charlotte to play in.  Charlotte realized while playing in the hole that there was stuff in the sand......needless to say, as close as I was sitting to her, I didn't get to her in time to stop her from eating a fist full of sand!  I panicked, but it only took her a minute to realize it wasn't something that she wanted to do again!  When we were at the pool, she liked playing with the balls that sprayed water. Charlotte could spray herself  and love it, but if another child came running up splashing her in the face, she didn't like that.

 Playing outside at the beach and pool definitely took its toll on her.  Charlotte would usually be asleep on the ride back to the house, but one afternoon, she feel asleep at the pool and napped on a table for a while.  Now you know that was good sleep.... nice breeze blowing and snoozing by the pool.

 Usually the heat bothers Charlotte, but it didn't matter how hot she was, she begged to go outside and play.  So, usually in the late afternoon, I would take her out and let her roam and search and discover new things in life.  The pond beside the house usually had 2 geese and 5 gosling's, and Charlotte would just talk away like they knew exactly what she was saying.  Seeing Charlotte around animals, I can see she has a love for them.  Every day we usually went for a ride on the golf cart, Charlotte wanted to drive and would get extremely mad when we wouldn't let her.  One night, we drove to Barefoot's landing and walked around.  The girls had their faces painted and we rode the Merry Go Round.

I must say that this vacation turned out to be GREAT!  I think it was something our family definitely needed.  Seems like it's hard to keep a good thing going though.  On Friday evening Charlotte woke from her nap burning hot!  I panicked of course and straight to the drug store for some Tylenol.  With a fever of 102.4 I began wishing we were home so that I could call the Dr.  Saturday, I medicated Charlotte and we made it back to the beach house around 8p.m.  I called the phone nurse and she referred me to the Evening Clinic.  Let me just say that the Evening Clinic was not a good experience.  Seems Charlotte had an ear infection, or so the Dr. thought.  Tuesday I took Charlotte to see Dr. Donna because she still didn't seem to be herself.  Seems somehow Charlotte and Emma and Lily have the hand, foot, and mouth virus which causes very painful blisters and high fevers.  So, with nothing to treat this virus with, its just a wait it out and tend to 3 little girls who are VERY whinny! 

                                    

One Year Appointments

     We have been busy with Dr. appointments this month.  Looking at the calendar, we have had at least one appointment a week..  A trip to Charleston for growth and development; Charlotte got a great report!  An appointment with the Pediatrician, Charlotte is the 70th percentile for her heighth and weight, and 93rd percentile for her head size.  I say she is the most "normal" heart baby I know!!!  The only thing we found at this check up is she has a UTI:( after enduring two urine caths, a week of antibiotics, and 2 shots of Rocefin, it's gone.  The only thing that lingers is an appointment at Greenville Hospital to test Charlotte for kidney reflux.
     We had an appointment with Dr. Horne (Cardiologist), and got a good report!!!  I always have a knot in my stomach going to the Cardiologist because you never know for sure what the news is going to be.  This appointment seemed crucial to me because it has been a year since surgery and I just figured we would be headed to Charleston.  Charlotte's sats were 85% and her blood pressure was 83/54.  The Echo showed little regurgitation from the right ventrical to the right atrium, the wall thickening that was present at birth was barely visable, and the 3.5mm shunt seems to still be functioning to some degree.  Looks like as long as things go good over the next year, we head to Charleston next summer for a heart cath.  The Cath will look closely at the function of Charlotte's heart, temporaraly closing off the shunt and the ASD (atrial septum defect).  If Charlotte does well during the cath, then possible no more surgery.  If Charlotte tanks during the heart cath, then that means surgery:(  All I can do is pray, pray that the Lord is merciful and continues to take care of my sweet daughter.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLOTTE

     It amazes me just how fast time flies.  I sit here thinking of all that has happened over the last year and WOW!  It is amazing that we have made it through this year and I know that it is only by the Grace of God that we have made it.  I recall packing and wondering exactly how our lives were going to be with a baby with a heart defect, wondering if my family would survive.  When Brian and I had gone to Charleston for Dr. visits and meeting the staff in PCICU, we were told to pack socks and receiving blankets.  Those would be things that the staff would use to make her crib more personal.  I think that I packed 8 blankets, and maybe 6 pair of socks.  Really, just how much is enough when you don't know how long you're going to be at the hospital?  Let's just say that after the surgery, Brian and I went out and bought as many blankets that we could find. I still have those blankets, tucked away so if we ever have to go back we can take them with us.  The Lord has been good to us, He has passed by our way on more than one occasion, and I am sooo Thankful for His Grace and Mercy. 
     After Charlotte had her open heart surgery, we were under the impression that we would be back for more open heart surgery some time around 6 months.  We had surgery scheduled for January, but when we went to Dr. Horne (Charlotte's Cardiologist) in December, he felt that Charlotte was doing well and that surgery wasn't needed right now.  Now you tell me that wasn't an answered prayer!!!  I sit and stare at Charlotte, not only admiring how beautiful she is, but realizing what a miracle she is.  I pray every night that the Lord continues to bless her, and watch over her.

     A year has passed and let me say that things have been nothing like I thought.  Charlotte just celebrated her first birthday!  We celebrated with family and friends at church with a birthday party and then we as a family celebrated on her offical birthday.  I found myself singing Happy Birthday to Charlotte all day.  Every time I held her I would sing and we would dance and she would just smile and laugh out loud and squeal.  I must say, we had some beautiful moments:) 

    

Spring Break

This week has been a little out of the ordinary for our family.  The girls have been on spring break and we have kept the road hot the whole week.  Originally, we had planned to go to the beach, but after looking at the weather for the week....... well, we decided to bail out on the beach.  Try staying couped up in a house with 5 girls wanting to play in the sand and water and with the temperature being in the 50's and raining, not a pretty picture.  I would have been committed to the insane asylum.  We ended up in Columbia on Tuesday at the Riverbank Zoo.  The weather ended up being great for the zoo and the girls LOOOVVVEEDD all the animals.  Could you guess which animal Charlotte liked the best....... the monkeys!  The monkeys were swinging around and they caught her eyes.  It was sweet watching her, she would sway back and forth and squeal and point at them.  Other than the monkeys, she just sat back and took it easy.  On the other hand, the rest of the crowd never slowed down til we were back in the van.  I thought we were headed home til Brian mentioned staying in a hotel and then the girls went wild.   I don't know what it is about a hotel, but give my girls a hotel with an indoor pool and you would think they had won the lottery.  We stayed in Columbia because we wanted to hit the Ed Venture museum on Wednesday and didn't want that 1.5 hr drive to travel again.  Being in Columbia made it easy getting up and to breakfast, then to the museum.  Ed Venture is awesome, and definitely keeps your children busy.  If you have never been, I suggest you visit.  Thursday, Brian tried to get the girls to go to Charlotte for Discovery Place, but can you believe they wanted to go to Hearts of Clay instead???  Let's just say that was an experience all of  it's own:)  That place was a mad house to begin with, then add our crowd to it and it just was CRAZY.  After about two hours and four beautiful creations later, we headed to Chuckie Cheese:\.  Brian said that Emma's little sea horse looked like a shark had drooled all over it.  I will post a pic of the art work when we get it all back and you be the judge.  Friday ended up being a day at home, THANK GOD!  I was exhausted from being in the car so much, and Charlotte gets so whinny being strapped in so much.  Charlotte likes being home, where she can rome and be nosy and just do what ever she pleases.  Brian had all the girls outside on Friday and Charlotte started CRAWLING!!!!  Charlotte has been doing "something" to get around, but she actually figured out the one knee in front of the other!!!!!  I am so happy, but o my goodness am I in trouble.  I had a great time with Brian and the girls this week.  It makes me look forward to summer when we all are together.  The only thing about the summer I hate is Brian having to work and not be with us, it stinks:(  Brian always says, "somebody has to finance this trip".  Well, maybe so, but I still don't like the fact that he misses out on so much.  Here are some pictures from our week, I hope you enjoy them.

Here are the girls at the Zoo

This is Emma at Ed Venture

This is Lily, Maggie and Anna in Ed's Chair!

Anna has a Parrot on her arm:)

Lily, my little Cow Girl.

This is Hollywood.....need I say more:)