Hope for Baby Bennett: A heart weekend

Sunday, September 23, 2012

A heart weekend

Whew! What a weekend! This was the busiest weekend I can remember in a long time, and it was all about heart activities!

On Friday, the kids and I headed up to the Central Coast (about a 3 hour drive) to celebrate a very special little girl's first birthday! We ended up staying at her house for Bodie's first ever "heart slumber party". Bodie has always had a thing for Ella, and as you can see, that "thing" is still going strong. Enjoying our sleepover...

What's a heart kid slumber party without meds?!?

Then, on Saturday, we got to go to her birthday party to celebrate in style. It is always such a miracle to see any medically fragile child hit a birthday, but it's even more special when it's a family you've come to know and love, which we definitely have. It absolutely brought tears to my eyes to see Miss Ella May have her birthday cake!

We also had the joy of meeting up with another heart family at the party (Jayden has Shone's Complex and has also had multiple open-heart surgeries). The heart warriors:

Not to be outdone, Sierra had a BLAST with the little girls around her age! They ran around and had so much fun together!

Saturday, after the party, we headed back home for a special event on Sunday. About a year ago, we formed LA Heart Moms, a group of women I'd met during our various hospital stays, all of whom had kiddos with CHDs. It's a great group of women who have really been a wonderful support for me. There's nothing quite like meeting someone in person who has walked in your shoes and just "gets it."

Today, we had our first ever LA Heart Moms pool party - and everyone brought their kids. Oh.My.Goodness. AMAZING and so good for the heart to see all of these kids running around, swimming and just living their lives. You know, all the things you never dreamed you'd get to see your child do when your received your diagnosis?

Check.It.Out. 9 heart kids (two little dudes were seriously having NONE of the group pic). 19 Open-heart surgeries. The bravest kids I know.

And the most amazing (and exhausted) moms I know. Man, I love these moms!

We tried to get a pic of all the heart kiddos and their siblings, but it just wasn't happening. But, you get an idea of how many kiddos there were - lots of fun to be had!

And at last, after 2 1/2 years of trying, I finally got a picture of Bodie and Townes where they're both smiling (you know, instead of Townes smiling and Bodie (aka "the angry blue version of Townes") screaming)! So excited. Love these boys. :-)

3 comments:

JessicaSeptember 23, 2012 at 9:45 PM
you have beautiful kids and I really enjoying reading your blog!
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Momma JackSeptember 23, 2012 at 9:57 PM
LOVE this post Amy!!! What an awesome weekend you had and the pics, oh my goodness...adorable!!! Love that you guys had a sleepover at the Becksteads- too cute! xoxo
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StefenieSeptember 24, 2012 at 1:43 PM
How fun!!!!
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The Chosen Mothers by Erma Bombeck

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures, and a couple by habit. Did you ever wonder how mothers of children with life threatening illnesses are chosen?

Somehow, I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting His instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As He observes, He instructs His angels to make notes in a giant ledger. "Armstrong, Beth, son, patron saint Matthew. Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, patron saint Cecilia. Rutledge, Carrie, twins, patron saint Gerard."

Finally, He passes a name to an angel and says, "Give her a child with cancer." The angel is curious. "Why this one God? She's so happy." "Exactly" smiles God, "Could I give a child with cancer a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."

"But, does she have patience?" asks the angel. "I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she will handle it." "I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has it's own world. She has to make it live in her world and that's not going to be easy."

"But, Lord, I don't think she believes in you." No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness." The angel gasps -"Selfishness? is that a virtue?"

God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take anything her child does for granted. She will never consider a single step ordinary. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see...ignorance, cruelty, prejudice...and allow her to rise above them." She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life, because she is doing My work as surely as if she is here by My side." "And what about her patron Saint?" asks the angel. His pen poised in mid-air. God smiles, "A mirror will suffice."