1st Day of Pre-School

Camping Trip

T-Ball

Pictures

This has been such a week. We went camping on Nolin Lake for the weekend and had a blast with Eric's brother and sister in law. We came home Sun. and got things ready for Evan's first day of pre-school. Evan told me his belly hurt before bedtime and woke up about 10:30 and started vomiting and continued every hour for the rest of the night and started with the poo's Mon. morning so he missed his first day of school. I did about 10 loads of laundry Mon. and took Evan to the Dr. to confirm he had a 24 hr. virus. We rested most of Tue. and Evan's yuckiness stopped but he started running a 101.6 fever which also went away later on Tue. Evan's Dr. said as long as his yuckiness stopped and his fever was gone that he wasn't contagious so Evan got to start school on Wed. but, I'm not sure that was the best idea. They said he had lots of fun, was well behaved and a good helper but that at naptime he said his belly hurt and that he needed his Mommy to tell her he loved her, awwwhhhh. My Mom picked him up from school and they said he had been crying - she said he was pitiful. We had bank night for the heart walk on Sat. last night and last I heard we were less than $2000.00 away from out $20,000.00 goal - GO TEAM BRAVE HEARTS!!! We woke up this morning to hear there was a horrible accident on I-65 and that we would need to take alternate routes into town - turned our usual 1/2 hr. drive to 1 1/2 hrs. and then about a mile from my Mom's Evan said he needed to go to the potty and didn't make it. I walk into my Mom's and she is on the couch sick - ARGH - I can't handle much more of this. I'm at work just to catch up for an hour or two and then going to get him to go back home. Enjoy our summer and school pic's.

Brave Hearts Golf Scramble 2007

All I can say about Team Brave Hearts Golf Scramble 2007 for AHA is - WOW. We had a wonderful turnout of 80+ golfers despite the heat and raised over $5000.00 for the American Heart Association. It was a lot of work but so rewarding and our team is growing by leaps and bounds - we are a force to be reckoned with here in Kentuckiana. I'm amazed and blessed by the support we have received from our families, friends and our community. The walk is in two weeks. We also have a movie that was played during the scramble inside the clubhouse that got a lot of recognition from our local AHA president and I'll be posting it soon so, come back and prepared to be touched.

August = Busy

We have been having lots of fun and staying insanely busy. Evan started Wee T-Ball back in June with 3 of his best friends. They are so cute and it's been wonderful spending time with our friends every Saturday watching our boy's act crazy together on the field. This has really thrown me for a loop however since I work full-time and Saturday was my cleaning day and then Sunday was family/church day - now we are gone most of the day Saturday b/c after the game of course everyone has to go have lunch and then it's nap time. My house show's that we have been busy this summer - it makes Sunday such a busy day but, I wouldn't trade this time for anything - not even a clean house. Work has been busy as well - 2nd Qtr. presentations and meetings - it's our 100 year anniversary and we have been doing lots of fun stuff to celebrate. Eric has been working 70 hour weeks on top of all of this, making me feel sometimes like a single mom. I hate it for him, feel like he is missing so much and feeling a little overwhelmed myself but, this should pass soon - he is in heating/air and this is their busiest season. August does not slow down for us - AHA Dance Benefit, AHA Golf Scramble, AHA Heart Walk, camping trip, Evan starts pre-school & ending with a much needed Myrtle Beach vacation. Blogger is being mean and won't let me download my slide show so I'll leave you with a few pic's and try again later.

Some New Pic's

Nothing much going on here. We are have had our first meeting and kickoff party for the 2007 Kentuckiana Heart Walk. I'm so excited and need to get to work - the walk is going to be a whole month sooner than it usually is - so I have less time than I think. Here are some pictures from our meeting and unsuccessful group picture - boy, were the kids not having it that day. Also some pic's from the AHA kickoff at the Louisville Zoo.

Team Brave Hearts 2007

Lucas, Evan, Caleb,

Benjamin, Alyssa and Logan

Look at Evan, Caleb and Logan - they are fed up.

So we tried the cute sliding board group picture

this group picture was just not happening -

you can tell from a previous post that our golf scramble flyer ended up being done with a collage of individual pictures - LOL.

Friends for Life!!! Guests of Honor at the AHA 2007 Kentuckiana Heart Walk Zoo kickoff party.

Having lots of fun at the zoo.

More Pic's

Daddy and Evan feeding the Lorikeet's at the zoo.

Evan saying ahh sweetie to the Lorikeet.

Our ending ride on the zoo train. AHA had their kickoff party at the zoo b/c that is the winning prize this year - family season passes!

Prayers today for baby Elijah

Baby Elijah is having open heart surgery today - send up some prayers for him and his family - most of us unfortunately know how hard it is to hand over your little one.
http://www.babyporta.blogspot.com/

Cute little sayings

Eric and I had a very relaxing and pampering weekend in Brown Co. and I highly recommened The Manor at Tabor Hill to anyone that would be there visiting. It was beautiful weather, we could not have picked a better weekend. I did okay during the day but, once Eric went to sleep I really started missing Evan and other than enjoying alone time with Eric this weekend taught me that I'm a very lucky person to have been chosen to be Evan's Mommy and that although he is a rowdy and loud 3 year old that I need to treasure all of this and slow down a bit and remember these moments with him. I called and checked on him Sat. night and my Mom asked if he wanted to talk to me, he said no but that it was getting dark and that he was ready to go home, kept telling my Mom that it's dark out and I'm supposed to be home when it's dark in my bed. He started to cry and that made me sad... Mom said that when they went to bed she told him that we let him come stay with her because my Dad was out of town and that she would have been lonely and Evan said, "Awwhhh... Mamaw, that's what friends are for." She said he snuggled in and went to sleep after that, isn't that sweet...

Brown County IN. and Golf Scramble planning

Well, for the first time since Evan's birth, Eric and I are going away for the weekend just the two of us celebrating our 7th anniversary. We have chosen Manor at Tabor Hill Bed & Breakfast in Brown Co. Indiana - http://www.manorattaborhill.com/guestrooms.shtml - the master suite with in room massages for both of us and champagne before bed and a 4 course breakfast the next morning. I'm looking forward to some alone time and just slowing down a bit. There is lots of shopping to be done in Brown County and outlet malls on the way home so, I'll have to be careful to not go overboard. My parents will be entertaining Evan for the weekend and he will probably not even notice Mommy and Daddy are gone - I for one will definately miss him - hence the reason Mommy and Daddy have never left him overnight before now. I hoping although I will miss him that I will be able to enjoy this weekend away and also hope this is just what Eric and I need to re-connect.

Tomorrow AHA is hosting a kick-off party at the Louisville Zoo for top-walkers from 2006 and our 'Team Brave Hearts' will be in attendance. Evan is so looking forward to seeing the animals and playing in their new water park with his heart buddies. We are just starting to get things moving for our 2nd annual 'Team Brave Hearts' Golf Scramble which will be held at Glenmary Country Club on Aug. 12th. I have attached the flyer we are putting up for that. I'm so excited about our team this year and how many CHD families have joined us - this is such an amazing group to be a part of.

Cath. Results

I'm going to try to explain Monday's cath. results in the best way I know how - I'm still a little unsure myself and have a meeting with Evan's cardio today to get a better understanding. Evan was a real trooper even though he realized the minute we pulled into the parking garage where we were and was a very brave little boy the whole day. Once sedated the cardio came out and told us that today could be just exploratory, that even though the Vent. Perfusion Scan showed that the pressures were off between the left and right lung that they wouldn't know until they got in there what was really going on. They came out about 2 hours later and called us in the discussion room - aka the room that makes me feel like I could run screaming - and said that there were no benefits to doing another stent right now - that the pressures were really the same as they were post-stent last April and that the right pulmonary artery was narrowed now as well but that was actually helping push blood flow through the very narrowed left pulmonary artery. Then the blow - Evan will require another open heart surgery to place a conduit. I was totally stunned and have lived in a nice little world of cath. procedures only since he was 9 months old. I said I understood what he was saying but really I'm not sure - I believe that his valve is leaking more and both right and left pulmonary arteries are narrowed which makes the conduit necessary to replace them and the valve. His cardio did say that Evan is in excellent shape right now and they hope to put this off for as long as they can - even mentioning 10 yrs. If they could wait this long it is possible that only 1 surgery would be needed and they could place an adult size conduit and valve in - all in Evan's timing I suppose. They did start him back on Digoxin. He urged me to treat Evan as a normal child. We will continue our appt.'s with the cardio and then once a year do a Vent. Perfusion Scan and a cath. to see how things are going. Evan woke up from the cath. in recovery and the nurses came out and said he woke up and said, "My name is Evan, I'm 3 and I want my Mommy and Daddy" and continued to try to get up and walk out. They said they had to keep the popsicles coming to keep him still. He's not said a word about it since we left the hospital and is already back to his normal self. Me - I'm struggling with the thought of having to go through this again but am wondering if I'm ever going to learn the lesson of "Cast all your cares upon him, lay all of your burdens down at his feet and anytime I don't know what to do, cast all my cares upon him."

Date for the cath

We just got the call from Evan's Dr. and the cath. will be on May 25th. That is the day Eric and I would have left on our cruise had I not cancelled it - weird huh - instead of the Bahamas we'll be in Kosair's ICU.

ARGH.... the Dr. just called and b/c of scheduling the cath. has been changed to Monday, April 30th.

Rough Draft of AHA Poster

They sent us a copy of the rough draft of the poster they are going to use from the photo shoot last week. Evan is second from left and I couldn't help but laugh when I opened up the attachment - it's hard to take a good picture of one 3 yr. old, besides four. They did good.
We are getting ready for the 2nd Annual AHA Team Brave Hearts Golf Scramble and the planning is just beginning. The scramble will be on August 12th and the walk is on August 25th. The next few months will be very busy but, I find great fulfillment in being a part of this wonderful team and for the lifelong friendships we have made. More to come on that.
No word from Dr. McOmber as to when Dr. Recto's team will be available for the cath. - I'm sure we will hear soon. Sometimes the waiting is hard but sometimes getting a date is hard too - if that makes sense. The unknown is stressful but, when there is a date there is always worry to fill the spot. I've always been an extremely anxious person (probably an understatement) and for the 1st time in my life I'm seeking help to get ahold of that. I'm trying really hard.... I do NOT want to waste life away worrying. It's really hard for me. Maybe I'll go into more details at a later date but, just say a prayer for me.

Update from Dr. McOmber

We heard from Dr. McOmber on Monday and unfortunately he believes it is time to do another balloon angioplasty to expand the stent. He is contacting Dr. Recto, who did the stent implementation last April to see when he has an opening - this took over 2 months last time so, probably sometime this summer. Although this is not the news we were hoping for we are grateful that this can be done and Dr. McOmber said that he doesn't see any reason that they won't be able to fix this in the cath. lab the same as last time. I'll update when we have a date. I think most of you heart parents know that although I'm grateful and know that things could be worse, my heart is still breaking at what our Little Braveheart has to endure.

Also, American Heart Association called yesterday and they want our heartwalk "Team Brave Hearts" to be in a photo shoot next Thursday for their banners, posters and website! I'm so excited - I'll post the pic's when I get them!

Promised Pic's - Evan's 3rd B-Day

Some of my favorites

Evan's Beloved Juice Bottle

UofL Dancethon to Benefit Kosair Childrens Hospital

Vent. Scan Results

Evan's Vent. Scan went better than it ever has last Thursday. He knew the minute we pulled into the parking garage where we were and began asking the questions, "Am I'm going to get a shot", "Will they squirt stuff in my nose?" The older he gets the more my heart aches at his little questions and eyes, he asked me, "Mommy, why do you and Daddy bring me here?" Oh little braveheart, if I could keep from bringing you here I would but how do you explain??? I just told him that to keep well sometimes you have to have tests and see doctors to stay well. He perked up once we got inside and sang all sorts of songs for the nurses - he LOVES to sing - don't know where he got that from *wink*. He use to love Bear and the Big Blue house when he was little and we found a dvd of it that has all to do with doctors, appointments, shots and hospitals way back. Weird but Evan found that dvd and asked to watch it on Wed. night and he learned a song, "just say ouch, say it now, just say ouch and it's over" he sang that through tears during his IV, which by the way amazingly the nurse got with one stick! I could have kissed her! When the nurses came in to give him the Versed up the nose he said, "Stop right there, I do not like doctors, I do NOT like doctors, I DO NOT LIKE DOCTORS!" Poor thing - he just wanted to make sure they knew. The actual test only takes about 15-20 min. and about 10 min. into it Evan's blood pressure dropped to 104/33 - they believe he just had a reaction to the meds so they turned it off and it came back up. They used Dex. to sedate him they gave him Versed up the nose and a shot of it before they started the Dex. and I remember him having a blood pressure drop after his surgery when they used Versed, so I'm going to say something to the pc. Since they turned the sedation off before the test was over Evan woke up almost as soon as the test was over and we went home within the half hour. Usually Evan is pretty "drunk" and sleepy for the rest of the day, I'm not sure if they used less meds or if turning it off early made a difference but Evan acted like nothing had happened. He begged to ride his bike when we got home - they told us he would sleep for 3-8 hours. I kept trying to keep him quiet and watch tv but it was obvious that he was fine - running, jumping and so we just quit trying - I was calling giving grandparents the news of the day and they were like, "what's Evan doing?" - "oh just riding his bike" I could not believe it!
Evan's pc in on vacation but another pc in his office called and said that the pressure have dropped 5% since the stent - after the stent the right side was taking 71% of the pressure and the right side 29% and now it is 76% to the right and 24% to the left. The pc that called said that he is not concerned with these results and that he would turn them over to Dr. McOmber when he returns and that Dr. McOmber will be calling to let us know. I'm not sure when it will be time for the cath. again as the left side before the stent was only taking 15% of the pressure - so it has been worse - how far does it drop before the stent needs to be expanded? I'm not sure. My anxiety and worry tends to get the best of me and I hate that I let my worries steal my joy and I'm trying really hard to live for today - it's so hard. After the results came in I called and cancelled a cruise that my husband and I had scheduled for our anniversary - I just can't - I dont' know who we were kidding that we could leave him for a week when we have never even left him overnight. I hope that I didn't disappoint Eric too much, I just couldn't go through with it.

Bye Bye Juice

I can't believe I'm sharing this BUT... here goes. Evan is very attached to his "juice" (4 oz. Avent Bottle with water in it) he asks for it every nap time and bedtime also if he is scared or upset. He gave up the milk bottle pretty easily and on time but loved I mean LOVED his "juice." I talked to his pedi. about it and his pc - and everytime they would say that we needed to get him off of it he would have a procedure coming up and they would say to keep letting him have it. Like last April we were going to take it away and then the pc said to keep letting him have it as he knew that is the ONLY thing that calms him down and wanted something to calm him after his cath. So.... it's almost one year later and yeah, he still loves his "juice." I had decided that we would throw away all extra's so we wouldn't be tempted and just let the current "juice" wear out. Last Thursday I went to pick Evan up after work and my mom just stood there - looking very tired holding the "juice" with the nipple hanging by a thread and Evan crying at her feet pitifully. He said so sadly, "Mommy look, look at what happened to my juice." I felt so sad for him, Mom later told me she thought of going to get a new one but knew I would be able to tell. He has gotten much enjoyment from that little bottle - I'm putting a slide show together to prove that he was in LOVE with it. Anyway, no turning back huh? That night at bedtime I got out all his usual sippy cups and reminded him that "juice" was broke and that he needed to pick something else out to drink "juice" aka water in (we had tried this before but, he did not see the evidence and did not go for it). He picked out a Nuby cup from Wal-mart and although he has talked about his broke "juice" he has not asked for it since! I'm amazed and cannot believe that we are actually through with "juice!"
Evan's Vent. Perf. Scan is next Thur., the 22nd. Pray for a good outcome and some more time before another procedure needs to be done. Mostly for wisdom of the Dr.'s, whom we love, and their finding the right time that's needed for Evan to expand the stent and repair the leaky valve. Pray for us too - as this will be the first procedure without "juice" LOL.

Updates on Yesterday

Well, our big day is over and I'm thankful that for the most part everything is well. My 2nd cousin's baby - Evelynn had her cath. and did well - they are scheduling her surgery within the next 2 weeks and we should know the exact date by Monday. My cousin, Eric, had his surgery and they removed a 2 lb. cancerous tumor that was contained in his right kidney - the doctor said the cancer had not spread and that he believes he will NOT require chemo or radiation but will know for sure next week when the results come back from pathology.

Evan's appointment went well. Dr. McOmber said that if someone handed him the EKG he would not think it was for a person with a CHD that had repair OHS for TOF - perfectly normal! He said that Evan looks and sounds amazing BUT that although he can see the blood flow in the left pulmonary artery that the only way to be sure the pressure's are still acceptable since the stent implementation last April is to do another Ventilation Perfusion Scan - ARGH! He said that they have to keep an eye on this in order to keep Evan well that, this is not looking for somthing wrong but to just to maintain they will have to check the pressures every so often. He said that if this Vent. Perf. Scan shows the same results as last time (I'll have to go back and look but I think it was 71% to the right, 29% to the left after the stent, pre-stent 85%-r and 15%-l) than maybe we can just check it once a year. If the results are not as good as the scan they did last July than that would mean back to the cath. lab to widen the stent some more. So, all in all it is really good news I just hate that they will have to put him to sleep for this test and I can only imagine knowing how last time went how upset Evan was, that when he realizes where we are and what is happening he will lose it. He is older and he asks lots of questions to which we will have to be truthful with him about - he will be so upset about getting an IV and it's so hard to watch how he fights the sedation. After such a long day yesterday and my emotions being on edge I sat down to watch my favorite show, Grey's Anatomy, and man did I let loose - I cried and cried and cried. The Vent. Perf. Scan will be scheduled on Mon. so hopefully we can do this soon and go on the once a year scan.

Big Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow is a big day for my family. First of all Evan has a cardio checkup tomorrow afternoon - we are expecting good news as things have been going well but, you know how that goes. Secondly my 2nd cousin's baby - Evelynn - was born with a CHD and is having a cath. done tomorrow - she is not thriving - weighs 9 lbs. and is 5 months old and they are expecting her surgery to be very soon. Lastly another cousin of mine - Eric - is the same age as me and is having his kidney removed tomorrow after a growth has been found but is contained in his kidney - we will not know more until the kidney is removed. We are in the process of getting our pictures off the old computer and purchasing a new one but are doing without in the meantime in hopes to find a good deal (except for limited computer use at work). I promise to post some pic's as soon as I can.

Beautiful CHD Awareness Week Poem

Somewhere...someplace... today...
A family is waiting to hear...
Is something wrong with their baby?
The answers aren't quite clear...
This family has entered an unwanted world...
And they just don't know what to expect...
Somewhere...someplace... today
They first heard the words: heart defect.
And how they hoped this was not true...
And thought... this cannot be...
I too... know just how this feels...
For one day...this was me.

Somewhere...someplace...today...
A man and a woman embrace...
Their baby is in surgery...
They long to see her face...
They haven't got to hold her yet...
Without...a cord or line...
They pace the room awaiting news...
And hope she'll be just fine.
Prayers fill this busy waiting room...
And mom and dad are scared...
Somewhere...someplace..today...
The tiniest hearts are repaired.

Somewhere...someplace...today...
A child's growing fast...
Smiling,laughing,thriving...
His mom thinks...can this last?
It's almost easy...to forget...
That anything is wrong...
Somewhere...someplace..today...
Her child seems so strong.

Somewhere...someplace... today...
A little boy fights...just to live
A father holds his tiny hand...
His love...all he can give...
The doctor's are all baffled...
They fear that he might die...
Somewhere...someplace...today...
A family says goodbye...

Somewhere...someplace...each year..
More than 40,000 families will see...
What it means...when something's wrong...
They'll face a CHD.
Today...for just a moment...
Stop...remember...reflect...
Make time to tell someone you know...
"I've been changed by a heart defect".

Author - Stephanie Husted

Happy Birthday Evan!

Three years ago today we were oblivious, oblivious to parenthood, to CHD's, to raising a boy, to the Love we would could only imagine this miracle would bring us. I've told his birth story before so I won't get into that but, I could have never imagined the Love I would feel for my son - I knew I would Love him but it's so much deeper than I can explain. What did we do before we had him??? What in the world would we do without him??? He fills our days with smiles and sighs (what in the world will this boy do next!) Tomorrow Evan will be 3 yrs. old - my time flies - it doesn't seem possible that he could already be 3 and starting preschool in the Fall, sniff sniff. He's been asking me to make up stories to tell him at night and they usually involve Kings, Knights and Dragons that learn to share (he's a bit selfish) but a few nights ago I told him the story of how God gave me and Daddy a miracle and we named him Evan. Last night he asked me to tell him the "Miracle Story" so I did and after story time we said our prayers and Evan prayed, "Dear God thank for the bestest party ever and for the miracle named Evan" LOL. I just said, "Yes, thank you God for the miracle named Evan." I'm still without a computer the "investigator" hasn't come out to take a look yet. I will be posting lots and lots of pictures when I am finally up and running again. Evan's b-day party was a huge success. Despite the snow we had a good turn-out of 9 kids and they all played until they could play no longer - it was so much fun, "the bestest party ever." I wish I could make this time go a little slower - I'm sure that next year I'll be saying again how time flies!

Investigation

On Thur. night I signed on to my computer while Evan was taking a bath and went through our digital pic's since Christmas and picked a few to post. I didn't get to finish so, I decided on Fri. night I would make time to post some new pic's. Back to Thur. - when we got home there was a notice from our electric company that there would be electrical work done in our neighborhood on Fri. and that they were sorry for the inconvienance - no big deal - we would be at work anyway. Eric and I trade off responsibilities of bath and bed so technically it was my night for bath on Fri. but, I explained to him about the lack on pic's on the blog and he happily swapped me nights so, off to the office I went to post some pic's. I hit the button and nothing - just blinking - immediately my mind thought back to the electrical work notice and called my sister-in-law/computer repair woman and she gave me some tips to try but after telling her about the electrical work she said that it sounded like my power supply and board were blown by a power surge (computer was on a power surge protector) and to contact the electrical company. I called this morning and they said that there was a problem when trying to turn the electrical back on on Friday and that they were going to send an "investigator" to take a look at the computer. Let's keep our fingers crossed that they replace it and also that our harddrive is saved as the pictures we've taken since Christmas are not backed up on CD! Until then I'm restricted to checking on blog's and email during break and lunch at work.

Train Wreck Causes Evacuation

Things have been crazy around here - there was a huge train wreck in Shepherdsville KY which is only about 5 miles from my work - less than 3 miles from my parents home - very close. It happened Tue. morning after I had dropped Evan off and gotten to work. The area had to be evacuated - because of winds sending the toxic fumes the opposite direction we were all able to stay put. However, I was unable to get home as the main interstate had to be shut down for 12 hours and all traffic coming in and out of Louisville was forced to take 2 roads and there was a 4 hour delay - so my usual 1/2 hr. commute would have been 4 1/2 hrs. long so we camped out at my parents and watched the TV for possible evacuation orders. The train wreckage is still burning this morning at what they call a controlled burn, as it is a gas and they are unable to just put it out, it has to burn out. There are a lot of efforts going on to speed up the process and they are saying that sometime today it should be through burning. It was unbelievable to see - the plume of smoke is still billowing into the air and everyone is staying indoors as much as possible as the fumes are toxic and burn your eyes. On Tuesday night the people who had exposure and needed hospital treatment were being undressed in a tent outside of the hospital and then hosed down and put into paper gowns before being allowed into the hospital - just unbelievable! Things seem to be better today - so maybe the people who are in shelters will be allowed to go home - although they say some people might actually lose their homes because of the toxins their homes were exposed to. On a brighter note - the weather is doing what it is supposed to here in the Bluegrass the last few days - it has turned cold! They are forcasting snow for the weekend and I for one am looking forward to it!
http://www.whas11.com/topstories/stories/011607whasbhTopTrainCrash.4658e9f1.html
http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=5944082

Catch Up

Sorry I haven't posted in while - I've kept up with everyone else but when I logged in a few times to post I stared at the screen and logged out - why post when nothing comes to mind??? My brother and I agree that we have the New Years blah's. You know - Christmas is over, the running has ended, now what? Believe me I have plenty to do, spring cleaning, etc. etc. but, I've just been in a rut.
One thing I am excited about is Evan's Birthday party that is coming up. We are having it at The Playground http://www.theplaygroundlouisville.com/ . I think he will be surprised and I'm in love with the, they clean up the mess part! I found this cute t-shirt at Target that is a black short sleeve with attached white long sleeve underneath that has a stick man on it that says, "I Do All My Own Stunts" LOL. You usually dress your little one up for their birthday but for The Playground I think this is more fitting and definately more "Evan".
Not sure if you all have heard about us losing our football coach - UofL. This song, "Bad Day Bobby" was on the radio today regarding that and it is hilarious : P .
http://www.themaxfm.com/Article.asp?PT=Lambert+and+Lindsey+Blog&id=330770

Tagged by Krystal

A-Available or single? Married
B- Best Friend? Kelley (since, well forever)
C- Cake or pie? Cake (with coffee)
D- Drink of choice? Coffee or Diet Coke
E- Essential item I use every day? My Cell Phone
F- Favorite color: Purple/Blue/Green
G- Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms? Neither really but I use to like Gummy Worms
H- Hometown? Louisville, KY
I- Indulgence: This week it's peanut butter fudge - Christmas candies are killing my diet
J- January or February? February (Evan's birthday is February 6th)
K- Kids and names: Evan Thomas
L- Life is incomplete without? Family
M-Marriage date: May 20th 2000
N- Number of siblings: Legit or not? 1 Brother, legit.
O- Oranges or apples? Apples - when I was pregnant I ate an apple every night
P- Phobias or fears? Being alone all night in a house - I'm serious
Q- Favorite quote? "Lupe, leave the sheep alone, NOWAH!" from Tuna Christmas
R- Reasons to smile: My miracle from God, Evan
S- Season: Fall in Kentucky with all the beautiful leaves
T- Tag 3 or 4 people. Not sure how many bloggers read this still but, Michael, Erika and Becky (family you can send this in email!)
U- Unknown fact about me: I sang for President Bush at the 2001 Inauguration
V- Vegetable you don’t like: I love veggies but I do NOT like creamed corn - YUCK!
X- X-Rays: I'm assuming this means that you have had taken - my teeth before a cleaning??? If it's our opinion about them - some of my worst memories of Evan's hospital stay has to do with the x-ray lab
Y- Your favorite food? Mexican
Z- Zodiac: Sagittarius

I'll post some Christmas pic's and stories tomorrow.

Feeling Better

Thanks to everyone that left a Get Well message and prayed for Evan this past week. He is FINALLY starting to feel better. He ran a fever for about 4 days and had this horrible cough, I mean horrible can't believe that's coming from him cough. I had to take him back to the pedi. on Thur. and they gave him a stronger cough medicine w/ codeine. That at least helped him sleep through the night. They say Evan has a strong gag reflex and that is why he vomits so much, I have heard this is common with heart kids. He can vomit after every cough, he coughs and gags and then vomits. It's pretty bad when your 2 year old carries a cup around to drink after every cough and runs to the bathroom if he feels like he's going to puke! He did keep up his imagination though - around Wed. he started having diarrhea from not eating and only drinking and all that flem. This is the first time since being potty trained that he has had that so when he went to the bathroom he was a little startled - he hollared for me and when I got in the bathroom I told him it was okay that it was happening b/c he was sick and he said, "No Mommy, I just had a river come out of my butt" I cracked up at his explanation of it and then he topped it off by saying, "waterfalls too, I can't wait to go to Mamaw's tomorrow and tell her I had 3 waterfalls come out of my butt." He's a hoot. Hope everyone is ready for Christmas - 6 day's left!!!

Christmas Portraits

Finally got Evan's Christmas pic's back. The 3 yr. old fake smile was in almost every picture but the two above were more "Evan" than the fake smile ones. Evan has been sick since Mon. with what started as a cough and now is accompanied with a fever. He went to the doctor yesterday and they said he had an upper respiratory infection and put him on an antibiotic and cough medicine. It was wierd last night he went into a coughing fit after I gave him the cough medicine - Argh! He was up and down most of the night coughing and wanting to be held. Say a prayer that he feels better by the weekend so he doesn't miss out on some Christmas parties!

Thoughts for today

Several of the kiddos on my TOF Yahoo support group have had their surgery this week and my prayers and thoughts have been with them and their families.
It snowed here this morning - just a dusting but none the less it was snow. Evan was so excited, he asked me if that meant Santa was coming! I can't wait for Christmas this year. It was fun last year but, he is so so excited this year. I'm wondering how in the world we will get his train table set up and not wake him up.
I felt like crying today - I called and enrolled Evan in preschool. He doesn't start until the next school year - Aug. 2007 so, it's a ways off. It is a Christian preschool that is very close to our church and my parents home so they can pick him up. This school has come highly recommended from a few of our friends who already have or have had kids there. I'm so sad just thinking of him growing up, but also excited that Evan will get to be around other kid's more. The school is 4 days a week but you can send them as little or as much as you like so I believe we will start with just 2 days. My mom will enjoy the break but I know will miss him like crazy.
My baby is growing up!!!

New Pic's

See below pictures of Evan's little Sunday School class singing "This Little Light of Mine." What sweethearts! Evan did sing but, only when they placed the microphone in front of him and the rest of the time he stuck his tongue out!









We decorated our house on Sunday and Evan loved helping ; ) he hang all of the ornaments that he got out of the box on the same limb ; 0 I tried moving them when he wasn't looking but he knew and he would say, "Mommy that one was mine and I want it here!"

Thankful

We were on the holiday run all last week so this has been my first chance to do a Thankful post. I'm known in my family for being full of drama and a bit of a complainer - hey, I'm being honest here. Although this is probably true, there are many times after the drama ends and the complaints are voiced that I sit back and see how truly blessed I am. Several topics come to mind that I'm thankful for this year. First of all is my faith in Jesus Christ - I know that I would not have made it through the last few years without my faith in him. I have failed him more often than I care to admit here but I'm thankful for his saving grace and like I said when the complaints are voiced I often turn to prayer and am reminded that there is so so much to be thankful for. Evan - I'm so thankful for my beautiful little boy. He smiles, his hugs, his smooches, everything about having him in my life has made me a better person. Just last night I told him this Friday I would take him to see Santa Clause and he started naming off everything he would tell him he wanted and then he turned to me and said, "Mommy, I'll tell him you want that new vacuum cleaner (Dyson)" I was so touched that he remembered me saying something about that. He can certainly be a handful but a sweetie too! Two Sunday's ago his Sunday School class sang "This Little Light of Mine" in the service and tears filled my eyes seeing our little miracle up there singing away with all the other kids - what a gift he is! It has been a hard few years for my husband and I as far as our relationship goes - I'm so thankful that we stuck together and made it through such a hard time in our lives and that we never gave up. We were always the couple everyone envied and when we started our CHD journey with our only child we lost sight of each other and I'm thankful we found it again. I'm thankful for many other things but the last I'll go into detail here is I'm so very thankful for my Mom. My Mom without many complaints, keeps Evan everyday so I can work and help Eric provide a home and insurance for our family. This has been such a blessing to us to know that he is cared for by someone we trust completely just minutes from my work. He loves being with his Mamaw, Thank you Mom.
Hoping all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Blogger is being a pain - so I'll have to post some new pic's later.

P.S. Becky - I'm so sorry we were unable to get together while you were in town - my parents decided to have their Thanksgiving on Fri. so we were there all day and then we had family members that came in from out of town Sat. for a surprise b-day party for an Aunt. I hope you all had a great time visiting with your family and a safe trip home.

Good News

Just got home from our appt. with Evan's cardio, Dr. McOmber. He said that everything looked great on all reports (EKG, echo and listening)! He also told us that because Evan's heart looks so good that we can quit the Digoxin and Aspirin - don't know quite what to think about this yet as we have been on both for so long, especially the Digoxin - since Evan's surgery 2 years ago he has been on the Digoxin all but one month (they quit the Dig. at one year post op and then our very next appt. is when that pesky pulmonary artery showed narrowness so they put him back on it.) I did mention the out of breath and Dr. McOmber said that again, Evan's heart looked wonderful and that he would mention it to the pedi. just in case it had to do with possible allergies/asthma. They did send him home with his yearly holter - fun, fun. He said we had to get at least six hours of recording to not have to do it again so I'm praying that he will leave it alone at least until morning! Enjoy the pic's from our Huber's Orchard trip and some pic's of Evan and his beloved cardio, Dr. McOmber.

Cardio Appt. this Thur.

I've been busy the past few day's with Eric gone, trying to keep Evan entertained when he is bored of me and wants his daddy! I took the day off yesterday and took him to Huber's Orchard and we did all kinds of fun stuff even though it was crazy cold up there. I'll update pic's from that when I get home tonight. It was kinda sad, Evan wanted to throw a penny into the wishing well and wished for his daddy to come home. He is so not use to not seeing both of us everyday and Eric has been gone since last Fri. I'm so thankful my mom has stayed with us and kept us company! I'm sure she's ready to be rid of us!!! A fellow heart friend had his 3rd b-day party last Sun. and Evan had a blast, they had the Tumblebus come and stay for an hour - (Tumblebus is a school bus that has been gutted and has a springy floor, slide, trampoline, monkey bars and just lots of fun stuff inside) - Happy Birthday Lucas!!! Evan has a cardio. appt. this Thur. and I'm anxious to see how things are going - things on the outside appear to be going great other than some out of breath moments when he is really playing hard ~ any other heart parents kids have this symptom - Evan has always gotten out of breath when he is really jumping and running around and they have said before that he might have asthma but I've also heard that is a sign of the pulmonary artery narrowing (which was stented last April) and not enough blood going to the lungs and that this could be serious so I'm definately going to bring it up at his cardio appt. They had said that he might come off of Digioxin and aspirin if things looked good at this appt. so I'm looking at the Dig. bottle this morning and thinking we don't have enough to last until Thur. - might have to buy another bottle even though we might be done with it. It might snow this Thur., I can't believe it! Evan thinks if it snows that it means Santa is coming!!!

Make Believe Friends

Just had to do a quick post and say that Evan came into the office tonight while I was investigating Judge candidates for the election tomorrow and told me that, "OG and OV are in the hall and we need to go talk to them," I asked him who is OG and OV and he said they were his friends and asked if he could call them so I handed him a phone and he said, "Hi OG are you here" then asked me, "Mommy do you see them?" I'm thinking ummmmm..... no and then he asked if he could make a card for them. After coloring a nice card he told me that him and OG were ready for a bath!!! Where is this coming from??? Anyway, just had to make a quick note of this, I've got to go give OG and Evan a bath!!!

Sorry so much silence this past week or so and for no pictures from our celebration for Evan's 2 year post-op. It rained so hard that I thought I was going to have to turn around and go home and ruin my diet by Evan and I eating all those cupcakes myself!!! It was all I could do to grab the container of cupcakes and Evan and run in the doctors office - we still got soaked!! Besides, Evan's beloved cardio - Dr. McOmber was busy with a patient and we weren't even able to see him so we visited with the nurses and then went on to the pedi. to drop their treats off. When I got to the pedi. the nurse said, "Oh, hi I was just getting ready to call you b/c we finally got the flu shot in for Evan's age and weight group - do you want to do it while your here?" I had been waiting for that to arrive and didn't want them to run out and Evan not get it so I agreed. When Evan found out we were staying there for a reason other than delivering treats he was soooo upset. He kept crying and crying and saying, "Mommy you said we were delivering treats - no shots!!!!" I'm sure when all was said and done that everyone at that office was glad to see us go and I was glad to go! It was fun but I could have done without the rain and the flu shot! We have a busy week coming up - Daddy and Papaw leave for their yearly hunting trip this Fri. and will be gone for a week! Mamaw and I will be staying together and enjoying some shopping, Evan willing, and not cooking! I look forward to this time I get to spend with my mom but it always makes me realize how much I depend on Eric, I'm going to miss him. Evan's checkup with the cardio is on the 16th of this month so pray that things are still going well and that he can possibly come off of Aspirin and Digoxin. His little legs are so bruised from jumping around and just playing rough he is all boy, he bruises so easily!

2 year Post-op Anniversary Today!!!

I cannot believe it has already been two years ago today that we handed our little Braveheart over to Dr. Austin for repair for Tetralogy of Fallot. Last night I was thinking back to the night before and how we took pictures of Evan all day long and told him he was going on a mended heart trip. I remember when we left pre-op that day that we let him have ice-cream and took pictures with his pumpkin in his costume since we would be in the hospital for Halloween. I remember rocking him to sleep and singing to him and once he had fallen to sleep rocking him and praying to God to please protect him and to let the surgery be a success and to protect the surgeon and Eric coming in and telling me to lay him down and us both sobbing once leaving his room at what tomorrow would hold. Worrying that he would wake up after midnight and want a bottle and what in the world we would do. Thankfully he slept that night. I remember trying real hard to be strong walking into the hospital that morning and looking around the waiting room and wondering if everyone else was as scared as we were. Things went fast after we went back and they anesthesiologist came and said we'll be ready in just a few minutes and all I wanted to do was run with my baby. They came and I thought I would collapse watching them walk away with him. Heart families also have their own waiting room so we went there where friends and family were waiting for us and we waited. The first update I will never forget, the nurse came in and told us that Dr. Austin had rocked Evan to sleep, that meant so much to us to know he was being cared for in such a compassionate way. We held our breath for the hourly updates from our nurse and when they came with news we prayed and then began the wait again. Seeing him for the first time after surgery was scary. I looked beyond the wires and tubes and saw my little baby and began to sing our song that we always sang to the tune of "Que Sara, Sara", "When I was just a little boy, I asked my mommy what will I be, will I be handsome, will I be bright and here is what she said to me, Hey Evan, Evan, whatever will be will be, the future's not our's to see, Evan, Evan what will be will be." The next few days were rough and I became addicted to the monitors and drove the PICU crazy and then just six days later we were headed home.

Eric and I watched the HBO film, "Something the Lord Made" last night and after the movie was over I just kept thinking, "Wow, we have those two men who innovated heart surgery that our little braveheart is alive today." Great movie and I highly recommend you heart families out there to get it. Tomorrow I have the day off and Evan and I are delivering muffins and cupcakes to the Doctors that are over Evan's care. Evan is excited to see Dr. McOmber, his beloved cardio.

Today is an important day for another reason, It is Eric's 33rd Birthday!!! When they called 2 years ago and told us the date I just looked at Eric like ??? and he instantly said, "This will be the best birthday present ever!" That is him, my unselfish husband that thinks of Evan and I before himself always. So tonight we are celebrating with his favorite dish and cake and then tomorrow night with his extended family. Happy 33rd Birthday Eric, we love you!

Pic's from Boo at the Zoo

Finally uploaded some pictures from our Boo at the Zoo trip last Sunday. We DID NOT go to Waverly after trick or treating!!! Not only am I a chicken but I also see no need to go somewhere where I know all that will happen is that I will scared to death and cause myself to have nightmares. I just decided that there was no point in putting or opening myself to that scariness to just say, "I toured Waverly" and although everyone else still wanted to go their dreams got shattered when they called and they told them they were sold out for tours until next year!!! I've been pretty emotional this past week, no I'm not pregnant, just thinking about what was happening 2 years ago at this time. Evan will be 2 yr. post-op this Thur., Oct. 26th. We carved pumpkins tonight, Evan wanted one big one and one little one and on the way home he told the little one, "Don't be scared, we are going to take good care of you!" He asked if we could keep the little one inside so we just painted it, much fun! We are planning a very special day this Friday to celebrate! Be sure to look for some cute pic's this Friday!

Croup

Evan has not been feeling well. Woke up last Sat. night coughing and couldn't stop. We took him into the bathroom with the shower running on full hot to try to help things, it really sounded like his airway was shutting off and I was debating on a trip to the ER. He could not lay down, even reclined, if he was on his back in any way he was coughing. I ended up sleeping from about 3:00am, holding him in his bed leaned up against the wall, hard to do now that he is 37 lbs. I tried to take him to the recliner but he cried (which made the coughing worse) wanting to stay in his room. We made it to morning like that and I called our emergency # at the pedi. office and they opened to see him. It was croup and they put him on a 3 day steroid and Benedryl. Poor little guy, he really had me worried. Sat. night my mind was spinning thinking about how this is the first year since his birth that we haven't had RSV shots during these months and then the what if's and what should I do's started. I was so thankful for our pedi. office opening up Sun. morning to see him! He is doing better, still a little cough but lots better. We have our local Arts & Crafts fair this weekend so I believe my DH is going to keep Evan and let my mom and I have some fun shopping so I'm really looking forward to that. The zoo here is opening at nights on the weekend for Boo at the Zoo where you can dress up and go trick or treating there. We had planned on doing that this Sun. evening with some friends but we will have to see how Evan is doing. He is going to be a T-Rex for Halloween and is so excited about that. We (Eric and I) have been asked to find a baby sitter after the zoo trick or treating and all us adults go to Waverly Hills Sanatorium for a tour. I'm scared to death but Eric thinks it would be really neat to go tour it. For those that aren't familiar it is an old hospital that was built for the tuberculosis epidemic in Louisville in 1926 you can read some about it here; http://www.prairieghosts.com/waverly_tb.html. I haven't made up my mind as to if I'm going but if I do I'll have lots to write on Monday because I'm already terrified just thinking about it. Have a great weekend!

Team Bravehearts 2006 #1 Friends and Family Team

What an awesome day we had this past Saturday down on the river for the 2006 Kentuckiana American Heart Association Heart Walk. I would say we had about 50 people wearing our Team Brave Heart's t-shirts, representing 7 different families whose children have been born with a congenital heart defect. The Courier Journal talked to myself, Lucas' mom and Ben's dad and did a little write up in Sundays paper
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061001/NEWS01/310010006&SearchID=73258632327851 although I don't remember saying exactly what she wrote and I'm also not 30 (yet), she asked me how it is having a child with a CHD and I think I said, "You try to live as normal as possible but in the back of your mind their is a constant worry that something might be wrong" and "We are here to raise awareness and funds for congenital heart defects to help other families like ours and hope that they can find out why this happens." It was crazy though and she did a good job. We were also approached by WHAS 11 News and went over what questions were going to be asked and then the reporter said, "Okay, we go live in 15 minutes" and I was like "Ummm, the walk starts in 5 mintues" so she wrote down some stuff, not sure if she talked about it or not but we really wanted to be a part of the team and walk together so we went on. Our team raised over $16,000 and we raised $1825.50 and were awarded the #1 Friends and Family team in Kentuckiana, what an honor! Thanks to everyone that donated! The walk is such a wonderful way for us (Team Bravehearts) to raise awareness and just honor our little ones.

AHA Kentuckiana Heartwalk 2006

All of you that keep up with Evan's blog have been touched by CHD's in some way, either by Evan or your own child so, I wanted to post a link to his donation page for the American Heart Association's Kentuckiana 2006 Heartwalk. This is our 2nd walk and we will be walking again this year with other CHD families under "Team Bravehearts". Our main goal in participating in this walk is to raise awareness of CHD's and funds for much needed research. If anyone would like to donate, his personal donation page link is: http://heartwalk.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=147761&supId=136764053 .

The deadline for donations is September 29th.
Thanks!!!

Swish and Spit

Man have things been crazy around here! For starters Evan has had the Ohio Valley allergy yuckies since the golf scramble. The doctor put him on liquid z-pack (sp?) and when we got home that night I started him on his first dose and I got the medicine dispenser in his mouth and squirted and he turned and ran into the living room and began puking up the pinkish/red med all over the carpets. I was also running a temp. and Eric was still at work so I ran him into the bathroom and washed him off and ran back into the living room scrubbing the carpets (3 or 4 times with resolve and the stain in still there). I called the emergency line at the ped. office and told them what happened and they said, try again. I got him out of the tub and tried to give him the med's again and he instantly began puking and gagging. The next morning I called the ped. office and the doctor called me back and said that he thinks from being on the vent. a few times that Evan possible has a texture adversion because he gets sick so often and so easily so they called him in 10 days worth of amoxicillan. Evan has told everyone of my franticness that night, he says "Mommy ran into the bathroom and put me in the tub and said, oh shit my carpets" nothing like a 2 year old telling everyone about your moment of insanity like I cared more about my carpets than him being sick, or so everyone he has talked to thinks. So, a week ago today we finished the last dose of that. Last Tue. morning Evan woke up saying his teeth hurt and when asking him why he said that, "a snake bit him in the mouth while working on the dryer like Handy Manny." I knew that wasn't case so I dismissed it. Tue. night while brushing his teeth he cried and said his teeth hurt and when pulling out the toothbrush there was blood everywhere. Wed. morning I called the ped. office and they said he probably had thrush/yeast infection from being on amoxicillian so long so they called in another med to swish and spit every 4 hours. Do you hear me, SWISH AND SPIT EVERY 4 Hours for a 2 year old?!?! We started this Thursday and it seems to be getting a little better although he still hasn't gotten the hang of swish and spit, I figured squirting the medicine with dispenser across the gums is kinda like swish, right? He instantly spits it out and cries and gags saying, "Yucky medicine mommy." I'm supposed to call again tomorrow if it is not better, we'll see. All the while my house and my parent's house is a complete wreck because we are both having new kitchen floors put in. I don't think I know the meaning of calm or rest, it's all rush and exhausted. The floors are being finished today so hopefully things will calm down a bit but wait, The heartwalk is this Sat.!!! I'll be busy but that will be fun stuff!

2006 Bravehearts Golf Scramble

The Golf Scramble was a complete success! We had a wonderful turnout of 14 teams and everything went smoothly. Everyone loved the video that played throughout the day and signs around with each child from our team's picture and story, made them feel more connected to our families and more aware at what we have gone through. The speech that was given by the AHA rep. and Benjamin's dad Andy got everyone ready for a great day of golfing for this wonderful cause that we feel so passionate about. Once everything got kicked off my brother and I ran the drink cart around and everyone kept telling us what a wonderful time they were having. It started raining just before everyone got to finish and the pro's said everyone had to come it so the winner's were based off of 12 holes. Everyone came in soaking wet but with huge smiles on their faces. After the ending ceremony we had with prizes and giveaways and people were leaving everyone stated they would be back next year with friends, so this will be an annual event. The pro's at the club said they could not believe this was our first scramble! Our total profit for AHA was about $3000.00. I'm so proud of our little team, our community and the friends we have made. The heartwalk is about 2 weeks away and we personally have about $200.00 left to meet our goal but I believe we can do it. Enjoy the pic's from the scramble. Go Team Braveheart

Ohio Valley

What a week this has been. Besides being stressed to the max that the Golf Scramble is THIS SUNDAY, we are sick. I should have known, it happens every year the week after Labor Day. We spent the whole weekend outside at family events and the weather was just beautiful but when the weather changes from burning hot to cool so quickly it causes a lot of allergy and sinus trouble here in the Ohio Valley. I woke up Tue. morning with a sinus headache and congestion and then Evan woke up Wed. with the same. I feel somewhat better after keeping a dose of Tylenol Allergy Sinus in me every 4 hours but last night Evan seemed to be worse. He woke up this morning at 5:00 and never went back to sleep because of the congestion. I have an appt. for him this afternoon so hopefully it is just allergies. Of course this has been on top of trying to get everything ready for Sunday's Golf Scramble, don't get me wrong it is not all my responsibility, there are 5 families participating but, it has still been a lot of work. Evan also has a "bruiserblister" (feverblister) that he hates and wants to remove, it looks much worse now that he has messed with it! I'll update Monday and let everyone know how the scramble went. Please pray for us!
See link to video that will be played at scramble event below:

Team Brave Hearts 2006