At Thanksgiving this year, the kids and I made a "tree of Thankfulness" of things they were grateful for.
(yes, this was seriously the best pic we could get with Bodie and the tree in it. What can I say? The kid hates clothes.)
For posterity, here was their list:
Sierra:
Jesus, My Heart, This little light of mine, Cousin Hannah, Cousin Amelia, My Mommy, My New School, Dada, My Family, Candles (because God is in my heart), and Gigi & Popo.
Bodie:
Gigi, Jesus, Cookie Monster, Mommy & Daddy, Daddy & Mommy (& puppets), Daddy, Mommy, Mommy, Gigi, Mommy, Sissy, Popo, Mommy, Mommy, Green Beans and Ketchup. (I was relieved that I was able to get him to branch out beyond "mommy"!)
And as for mommy and daddy, well, we made our own list of what we're grateful for...
Our family
(maybe not so grateful that our family pictures resulted almost entirely in variations on this theme - but hey, it makes for good memories!)
Slip and sliding on Thanksgiving Day
(you mean everyone didn't have weather this warm?!?)
Having friends and family (and a medical team) who fully supports letting our medically fragile child live as normal a life as possible...
(and grandparents who aren't afraid to take chances!)...and be as much like his healthy sister as possible...
Having grandparents in our kids' lives who love our children and want to know them and be involved as they grow up
And...minivans...
wait, back the bus up, did I just say "minivan?!?" Yep. That was Amy's early Christmas present. C'mon peeps - don't judge till you've tried one. They are, in a word, AMAZING. (Stylish? Perhaps not. But amazing, nonetheless? Yup.). I'm not gonna lie - I'm a teensy bit in love. I'm almost there to my official "soccer mom" status. And totally digging it. :-)
Oh, and we have lots o' appointments coming up over the next couple of weeks (Electrophysiology, Pulmonology and Cardiology (Mommy's quarterly freak-out has already started for that one) for Bodie as well as starting the 2nd opinion process for both Bodie and Dusk (to discuss/plan surgical options for his hip replacement)). We covet your prayers for all of these appointments, particularly for clarity in the second opinion processes.
And Bodie is definitely starting to show more signs of being Fontan-ready. He's getting winded much more easily, and, for the first time ever, is starting to just slow down all the way around. There's not many pictures of him slip 'n' sliding, because, honestly, he could only do it 1 or 2 times by himself - after that, he wanted me to hold him (which, to be honest, was a whole 'nother experience for me - I seriously deserve extra kudos for slip 'n' sliding with a kiddo on my hip! haha!). He just didn't have the stamina to keep up. We knew this was coming. We knew when he got to the point that his heart started to slow him down and affect his ability to keep up, that it would be Fontan time. We're finally getting there. He's starting to show us that he's ready. Knowing that makes all of these appointments a little more scary, a little more real. We're going into this next Cardiology appointment fully expecting to have the Fontan discussion. So, please, keep us in your prayers in the weeks and months ahead.
Thanks and hope your Holidays are off to a great start!
Keeping you guys in my thoughts as you begin to talk more and more about the scary F word. No not THAT one,the other one. The F word that involves another potentially lengthy hospital stay. Love to you 4.
ReplyDeleteALWAYS praying for you sis. Love that privilege. Keep your head up, and your eyes focused on Jesus and remember that the "F" word is exactly what you your family needs. F.A.I.T.H. I love you.
ReplyDeleteYou all are always in my prayers.
ReplyDeleteKeeping you all close in my prayers for all of the upcoming appointments. Love the family photo and congrats on the minivan!
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