Monday, January 12, 2009

Madison's 3 months pics and health update.

**Madison had her 2 month post surgery checkup today. She had an echo and everything looked great! There were 3 things that were of concern 6 weeks ago, 1-her valve was leaking, 2-her pulmonary artery was too small, 3-the hole (ASD) was still open. They found that 1-her valve stopped leaking so we get to take her off her meds, 2- the artery is still small but it is growing, 3- the hole is barely open and it should close they say by 18 months. Her doctor was SO impressed with how well she is doing. We don't have to go back for 6 months!!! She weighed 13 lbs. 4 oz. and 25 inches long...when the doctor saw that the nurse wrote 25 inches she said "no, that can't be right, that's so long!" We have such a tall baby! Madison is doing so many things now...holds her head up, almost rolls over, pushes off with her feet (she will crawl early i think!), tries to stand, laughs, coos, smiles, she discovered her hands and feet and is starting to grab at things! She is SO much fun! I love being a Mom!


Here are some of her 3 month pictures that Chris's mom took today...didn't she do a great job!























Monday, January 5, 2009


So Small-Carrie Underwood

[Verse 1]
What you got if you ain't got love, the kind that you just want to give away
It's okay to open up, go ahead and let the light shine through
I know it's hard on a rainy day, you want to shut the world out
and just be left alone, but don't run out on your faith

[Chorus]
'Cause sometimes that mountain you've been climbing is just a grain of sand
What you've been up there searching for forever is in your hands
When you figure out love is all that matters after all
It sure makes everything else seem so small

[Verse 2]
It's so easy to get lost inside a problem that seems so big at the time
it's like a river thats so wide, it swallows you whole
While you sit around thinking about what you can't change
and worrying about all the wrong things, time's flying by,
moving so fast, you better make it count 'cause you can't get it back

*I heard this song today while I was driving to my doctors appointment and it really touched me. The lyrics make so much sense. Whenever I am crabby or complaining about life I am going to listen to this song. What it's saying is...don't sweat the small stuff, live everyday to the fullest and appreciate what you have. I have learned this year that life is so short. I lost my best friend, Nicole and had a baby with a heart condition. We spent 2 weeks at U of M hospital and during those two weeks I met so many families. Most of these families had been there for several weeks to months. Their children had more severe conditions then Madison had. I felt guilty complaining or telling them how well my daughter was doing when their daughter or son was waiting for a transplant. I just found out that Madisons roomate in the ICU , 1-month old Shanariyah, passed away over Christmas. I can't even imagine what her family is going through. I am not one that believes that everything happens for a reason. I believe that there is free will on earth and life is sometimes not fair. What reason is there to take a 1-month old who never had a chance at life or a Mother-to-be who never had a chance to hold her baby? I know now that I cannot take ANYTHING for granted. I do not want to let life pass me by. I have so much to appreciate... a healthy baby girl, a wonderful marriage and amazing family and friends.