Reflecting

Two years ago at this time, our 2 month old son was in open-heart surgery. Even now, that is hard to believe. I can remember so many details about that day - what I wore, who came to visit, the hospital smells, the list goes on and on....

I've been reflecting a bit lately on the Scripture that says suffering produces endurance. We have experienced this. Since all that happened with Peter, life hasn't been easy. We've faced extremely difficult financial times, big job/ministry decisions and many other things. Much of what we've faced, however, would have caused us to want to give up before Feb. 24, 2009. Our experience with Peter has become a huge marking point, a constant shift of perspective. NOTHNG seems all that bad compared to 2 years ago.

What a gift endurance is! We often don't look at it that way. Endurance is one of those things (like patience) that we know we should be practicing, but we don't really want it. However, endurance is a biblical quality that gives us strength to keep going.

I was reading recently about how God works and allows circumstances for our good and for His glory. We, as humans, see those two things separately, but this author was saying they are not separate, they are harmonious. They work in perfect harmony together.

I am so thankful for all that God has done for us! Most of all, for His Son, Jesus Christ.

Ode to a Guinea Pig

I have quite the little budding writer on my hands. Alana is an avid reader, which appears to be turning her into an avid writer. She loves to write letters, stories and poems. I must confess being very proud since I've always loved writing. Here is Alana's latest work.

Ode to a Guinea Pig

I love your little twitching nose
On which I will not put a rose
Oh how you eat so much every day
You might as well eat in every way
You were the prettiest compared to each store
And to look in them is not a bore
But you stood out between them all
And for that you will not fall
I know you love Timothy hay
But I love you in every way.

When I said this is the most loved guinea pig in the whole world, I wasn't kidding!!

Thomas Train Table

Some sweet friends gave us their Thomas the Train table. Their boys had grown out of it and instead of selling it, they gave it to a little boy that LOVES Thomas! These things are not cheap and we are so grateful. Peter probably wouldn't have had one without their generosity.

Peter hasn't left this table since they brought it over. Eventually, I will put it in his room (to share with his baby brother), but I wanted to leave it downstairs for awhile because he loves it so much.

Thank you so much Tim, Stacey, Seth and Daniel!!!

Scripture Memory - Feb. 15

Alana and I are plugging along in the Proverbs 31 woman:

She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. - Proverbs 31:13 (ESV)

Part of the purpose of this Scripture memory program is not just to memorize, but also to meditate on these verses - to have them in your heart as well as your head. I've found the Proverbs 31 verses EASY to memorize, but hard to obey. Work with willing hands? I work, but do I do it willingly? Out of joy in serving the Lord and my husband?

Two Years

Two years ago, our lives changed forever. It was a day I'll never forget. It began thinking Peter had reflux or maybe a milk allergy and it ended in the hospital with the knowledge that something was wrong with his heart. I won't re-live the whole day, since I did that last year.

Here is Peter today.

And I couldn't resist including Alana snuggling her baby. I think this is the most-loved guinea pig in the entire world!

Fetal Echo Results

Yesterday, I had my fetal echo done. It was with Peter's cardiologist, which was very comforting since he knows Peter's history so well. He saw the four chambers of the heart, the aorta (with appropriate blood flow) and the left and right pulmonary arteries. He said overall the baby's heart looked like a normal, developing heart. He did see a mild VSD (hole in the bottom portion of the heart), but he wasn't concerned about it. You may recall that Peter had a moderate to large VSD, but that was only one of his two heart defects. I'll say more about that in a moment. The Dr. said that he would suggest we bring the baby in at about two weeks old to have another echo just to give us peace of mind. I was so glad he suggested that. One of my concerns with this baby has been that I will be obsessed over him throughout his newborn days because of what we went through with Peter. I want to enjoy those days, not worry through them. Having an echo done so early will definitely bring us peace of mind to hopefully enjoy those early, precious days that pass SO quickly.

Our hope and prayer is that this baby's VSD will close even before birth (which is very possible). VSD's are fairly common in the world of congenital heart defects. Depending on their size and severity, there are a few options. Sometimes they simply close on their own. Sometimes they simply require monitoring (like an annual echo) to make sure they are causing no problems. Also, if they are causing minor issues, they can try to close the VSD with medication or sometimes with a heart cath. The last option is obviously open-heart surgery. This baby's VSD is mild, while Peter's was moderate to severe. I remember on that very first night in the hospital with Peter, we only knew of the VSD. At that point, surgery was only a possibility not a likelihood. I remember talking to many nurses and medical professionals that informed us that there were other options they would probably try first. It wasn't until the next day when we found out about the pulmonary artery issue that the entire scenario changed for Peter. That second defect changed things dramatically because we found out that Peter was in congestive heart failure and that his left lung was not on board.

The cardiologist shed some light on his thoughts of how Peter's heart defect could have occured. He said Peter was probably born with the VSD, but when his PDA closed (that is the blood vessel that bypasses the lungs while the baby is in utero - it usually closes within hours or days after birth), the tissue could have easily cut off the left pulmonary artery as well. He said that tissue is extremely close in that area and they have seen that type of thing happen before. In other words, Peter may have had left lung function for a little while, at least until the left pulmonary artery was cut off. We will never know for sure, but it is a very good theory and I appreciated the possible explanation.

This is probably more information that anyone cares to read, but I wanted to put it all down in writing before I forgot it. All in all, the fetal echo results were very good, but we do pray that even the mild VSD would close and/or cause no serious problems.

Happy 40th!

Today is Tom's 40th birthday!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I love you!

Now, if the Steelers would have the decency to win the Super Bowl it would mean a lot to Tom:)

Craziness

Life with a 2-yr-old is never boring.

Peter has been really into stickers lately.

And this is his newest trick, climbing into the empty bookshelf.

This is what we do with our children when they don't behave:)

Cardiologist Visit

Peter did slightly better this time at the cardiologist. By better, I mean that he didn't scream the ENTIRE time. There were 20 or 30 second periods when we kept giving him M&M's that he was quiet enough to be examined. The Dr. said he looks good and sounds good. He can still hear a slight murmur over the left side of Peter's heart, but that is unchanged from the last visit. He said to come back in 6 months and they will probably try to do another echo in about a year. Hopefully at that point, Peter can be reasoned with enough to have it done without sedation.

I'm so relieved. Another cardiologist visit down with no major road bumps. I have my fetal echo a week from tomorrow with this same Dr. I told him I promise not to cry, even without M&M's:)

Scripture Memory - Feb. 1

Time for a new verse! I love the pace of this Scripture memory plan. Two verses a month is easy to handle. Backing up for context:

An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. (v. 10-11) She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. - Proverbs 31:12 (ESV)

All the days of her life??? That's tough. I can do Tom good and not harm SOMETIMES, but all the days of my life?

On another note, Peter has an appointment with the cardiologist today at 1:30 - just the regular follow-up. I dread those appointments. Peter has severe Dr. anxiety and usually screams (literally screams, not cries) throughout the entire visit. I also go through my own amount of anxiety when we go to see the cardiologist. All the memories of two years ago come back as well as new concerns.

I will update again later today with what the cardiologist says.