The Eyrings

Congenital Heart Awareness Week

2012-02-09T11:46:00.000-08:00

This week is Congenital Heart Awareness Week - Feb. 7-14. Three years ago I knew nothing of heart defects, CHD's, open heart surgery, feeding tubes, pulse oxidation, caring for a special needs medical fragile child. 3 years ago, I was 7 1/2 months pregnant with my second child, all ultrasounds came back fine, I was having a healthy baby boy.

That changed when Colin was 3 days old and diagnosed with an undetected congenital heart defect know as Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). HLHS basically means the left side of his heart does not work and he needs at least 3 surgeries to help him survive, not fix his heart, he will always just function on half a heart.

Life changed for us then. At first we were in a scary place, it was overwhelming and sad. But I push to focus on the word HOPE. We have so much HOPE for the future. Medical technology has come so far in the last 30 years and who knows where it will take us in the next 30 years. If I was born with HLHS in 1979, the doctors would have sent me home to die as there was nothing really for them to do. BUT now, look at my child thriving, look at him and his love of life. His smile, his sense of humor, his mischievousness. There is so much HOPE in his life.

A heart defect does not just affect the child, but the whole family. I would love to say the last 3 years have been a breeze, but that's not reality. We have been through some tough times. I even have the white hairs to prove it. Stress was never really a factor in my life before, but you learn to roll with the punches, you have to in order to make it. Katherine has and will always be affected by her brothers heart. At 5 she asks a lot of questions about Colin's heart, she worries about him, she even worries about him dying. Yes, a 5 year has taken on that stress of what happens to my brother & his heart.

Our parents, brothers, aunts, uncles have stepped in helped us so much through this. In a way it has made us stronger as a family. It has made us appreciate life and love a whole lot more.

I HOPE for Colin to have a long, healthy life. I HOPE for all kids that are born with broken hearts to have the chance the thrive and succeed. I HOPE for a cure one day. I HOPE for medical advancements that make HLHS no big deal. I HOPE for my child to always be here with me.
With Colin's smile and kisses, he gives me that HOPE! He keeps the HOPE burning in me.

The randomness that is our house

2012-01-31T06:10:00.001-08:00

The last two weekends we have been laying a little low key. This past weekend Colin was sick with a fever and cold, and Matt had to work, so we just hung around. But I have some funny pictures from our everyday lives. The flower above is from our front yard, we have had such a mild winter, the flowers think it's spring time already. And that is fine by me, this southern girl does not like the cold!The coolest straw ever.. eyeglass straw. Colin got this for Christmas, we are just now testing it out. Now I have to find another one, so the kids can stop fighting over it and sharing germs through it.
Matt got a nerf gun for Christmas. The kids love taking turn shooting at the door making the darts stick to the door. They do follow the rule so far of NOT shooting each other.. but does not stop Matt and I from shooting the kids with it.
See kitties have rough days too and need some Prosecco (sparkling wine). Seager thought he would like to share my glass the other night. Silly kitty.
Saturday we went to Chuck-E-Cheese for a little while. Must have tired Katherine out that night. She fell asleep, well more like passed out, on the ottoman in our bedroom. Doesn't look too comfortable, but she has always fallen asleep in weird places and positions.
For Christmas and Matt's birthday, I got the pictures he took at the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco put onto canvas. They came out beautifully and this weekend we hung them over the fireplace. We have been in the house 3 years and could not find anything to put in the two story art niche above the fireplace. I think these fit well, plus they are stunning pictures from a great trip we had.

Colin anxiously waiting for Katherine to finish the brownie mix so he can lick the bowl. Katherine did a great job of putting in all the ingredients and mixing the batter all by herself. She loves to bake and of course eat it too!

Now it's bowl licking time! The best thing about baking!

Katherine's school is having a 100 day of school celebration this week. We had to make a shirt with 100 things on them. So we went to the store and she got to pick out 100 stickers. She stuck with hearts, flowers, stars, and jewels. We had to count out 100 and I hot glued them on the shirt. Katherine lost interest halfway through the project :)

The Real Importance of Team Colin - It's My Heart CHD Heart Walk

2012-01-19T12:12:00.000-08:00

Date: Saturday Feb. 18
Location: Downtown Houston - Sam Houston Park
Time: 9:00am
Activities: 5K walk and family fun festival afterwards (live music, face painting, raffles, bounce castles, rock walls, gyro rides, and food vendors)
Cost: Free to walk, any donations welcomed
http://www.ktbwalks.org/team/teamcolin

Team Colin is participating for the 3rd time in the It's My Heart CHD (Congenital Heart Defect) Walk. This walk means so much to us and the group it supports. I hope all that can come and walk with us (WE WANT TO HAVE LOTS OF WALKERS) and help spread awareness and raise money for congenital heart defects. I could go on and tell you all the facts about CHD's like they are the # 1 birth defect and # 1 cause of birth defect related deaths. 1 in 100 babies are born with a heart defect.

BUT I am going to share more of the personal side of why Team Colin is so important. I am going to open up more about CHD's today than I probably ever have. Colin's heart will never be fixed, he will always have half a heart. After his next surgery he might be fine and live a long healthy life (and that's what we pray for everyday). He might need additional surgeries, he might need a heart transplant (then you have to worry about rejection) or sadly enough, one day his heart might just give up on him. It's hard to type those words as hard as it is to read them. I know one day Colin might not be here with us… that thought crosses my mind but I pray for hope and strength. I have a good friend I was telling that Colin qualifies for Make A Wish, she was surprised that he qualified as she thought it was for kids who are dying, it was then it made me realized that a lot of people don't know how serious Colin's condition is because he looks and act so healthy but in reality he has a life threatening condition, that can claim his life. Colin has at least one more surgery, and I am scared to death.. I start to tear up just thinking about it. I look at his sweet face and realize that they will have to stop his heart once again and perform another miracle.

The heart walk gives us hope in getting to meet kids just like Colin, some the same age, some older. It's a great network of families and support. Anybody with a child with special needs or a life threaten illness needs that support. In the beginning when I was so lost and confused, It's My Heart connected me with families with HLHS children. I can go to these families with questions and fears. As a parent with a child with half a heart, I have shed many tears, many sleepless nights, I have even started to grind my teeth in my sleep due to stress and have to wear a mouth guard. I have started getting more white hairs at the young age of 32. I am glad I have an amazing network of families to live this with.

The heart walk raises awareness and money to help support outreach programs. Colin was not diagnosed until he was 3 days old. When we were transferred to Texas Children's, It's My heart, gave us a goodie bag with supplies for our long stay in the hospital and information on how to get the support systems in place that we will need to take this journey. Team Colin's donations help with the hospital supply bags and awareness literature. Support systems are key, it is a very long and hard journey to take. Even almost three years into it, I have my moments when I breakdown. The other night I was very discouraged about Colin's growth, he has grown what he was suppose to this past year, but he is still far behind. I stayed up thinking too much that night about him getting teased or bullied because of his size and his self confidence being a smaller person.

80% of kids with HLHS survive and make it to the 2nd surgery at about 6 months of age. That number sounds good until you realize there are 20% that don't make it. I have known too many moms that lost their sweet angles to this defect. I think of their children often as I know it could have just as easily been Colin. My heart has been broken watching these babies fall victim to HLHS and become the statistic of the number # 1 cause of birth related defects. The money Team Colin raises also helps provide grief support to families in a very hard time!

I am going to steal the line from the St. Jude's.. But it fits and I love it.. Give thanks for the healthy kids in your life and give to those who are not. Come walk with Team Colin and support fighting against Congenital heart defects and help raise awareness. Help support It's My Heart that supports so many families that are fighting for their child's life. Every child deserves a long healthy life.

http://www.ktbwalks.org/team/teamcolin

3 day weekend - WHOOO HOOO

2012-01-18T10:34:00.001-08:00

This weekend was none other than full of fun and kept us busy.. A normal weekend in our house.. Except it was a 3 day weekend! Matt had off of work and Katherine was off of school for Martin Luther King day, so I took off of work to have a family fun day.

Saturday Katherine and I had a girls morning with one of her friends. We took the girls to see Beauty and the Beast 3D. Katherine enjoyed the movie and of course had a blast with the 3D special effects. When they had snow, rain, or bubbles on the screen, you could see Katherine reach out to touch them. I think her favorite part was the 3D Tangled short before the movie. After the movie, we met up with all the boys for lunch. The kids had fun going to a restaurant with their friends. Colin, I think has a little crush on Katherine's friend, and at lunch her sat next to her for a little while, and to show his affection.. He licked her face :) That's my boy!
After lunch we went home for 15 whole minutes, got ready, and went to Matt's parents house for the afternoon and evening of football. Matt's mom, me, and the kids took a little break from football to go play at the park for a little while. We got home that night at 9:00pm. I left the house at 8:45am for the movies and got home at 9:00pm.. A long day.

Sunday we went to a friend's house to watch the Texans game, let all the kids run wild, and eat some yummy food. We had a fun day, just wish we would have won the game. But hey they made it to the playoffs for the first time ever AND even won their first playoff game.
Monday was a beautiful warm day (72 degrees) so we took the kids down to Galveston Island for the day. We ate lunch by the water and went shopping on the strand. The kids love the Strand.. They like playing on the big chess board, getting ice cream, looking at the tourist shops, and getting to buy things. It was a nice day to see the ocean. That's why I don't think I could ever move from Texas… the cold is not my friend!
Katherine for SOME reason.. wanted to buy this shirt.. she was begging to have it.. of course I said no, but not before I snapped a picture with her in it.

Happy Birthday Matt & Texans in the Playoffs

2012-01-09T18:26:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was Matt's birthday.. Happy Birthday MATT! Saturday we had a birthday party/Texans football watching party. We got up on Saturday and got the house ready for our guest and enjoyed the nice spring.. Oppss I mean winter day (Sunny and high of 80 degrees..) It was so nice that while playing out in the back yard, we heard the ice cream truck and went running. The kids sat on the back porch with their ice cream and shorts enjoying the afternoon. And as traditional as Texas winter goes, I was wearing shorts on Saturday, and now a sweater today.
For the party we had Matt's parents, my brother and sister in law, and 3 other families joined us. We had lots of food and fun. The kids had a blast playing with all their friends in the playroom and outside. 11 kids and minimal fights about toys.. The evening was a success! The game was also great, it was the first times the Texans have made the playoffs and they won their first playoff game.. Yeah. As soon as the last guest left, the kids were passed out in our bed.

Sunday was a lazy day after Saturday's excitement. Katherine and I worked on her school project. We had to make a snow person and write sentences about what we used. "Olivia" snow baby turned out great! Katherine decorated her, I was just in charge of the hot glue gun.. Katherine tried to convince me that she could use the hot glue gun, but she did not win that argument!
Also Colin got a much needed haircut! They cut about 2 inches off.. I love his white hair and have kept it longer, like the little surfer boy he is, but it just got TOO LONG and hard to manage. I am really happy with his new do, plus it makes him look older!

Yesterday was Matt's real birthday… it flooded in Houston and we had tornadoes.. So we had a low key dinner at home followed by some cake and watch the National Championship game. Matt is truly my best friend and I am so grateful to share this life with him. He's a wonderful husband, a great father, and an amazing person. I look forward to many many more birthdays with him.. Okay enough of the sappiness.

Christmas, New Years, Spreading Cheer at Texas Children's, Gators, and Family Fun Days

2012-01-04T06:34:00.001-08:00

Just as the title says.. we had a fun filled Christmas break! I was lucky to be able to take off 2 weeks and Matt only had to work a few days over the break, so we were able to spend a lot of quality time as a family. It was hard to go back to work, I have so much fun when I get to be home with the kids!

Christmas Cookies & Spreading cheer at Texas Children's Hospital

3 days before Christmas, my mom, me & the kids, and my sister in law, and nephew made about 8 dozen Christmas cookies. It was a great day baking in the kitchen and spending family time together. Of course we were making cookies for Santa (and a little for ourselves), but the majority of cookies we took to Texas Children's Hospital to help spread some Christmas cheer. It is very hard living in a hospital, and I can't imagine spending the holidays there, so I asked the Ronald McDonald House if we could drop off cookies. We also took some to the 15th Floor step down rooms, this is where heart families like ours spend months waiting to go home after surgery. I am very thankful we were not spending Christmas there, but know that might not always be the case, so I wanted to teach the kids about the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

We had three wonderful days of Christmas celebrations with family. 2 days before Christmas we went to my cousins house for white elephant gift exchange. Matt and I got the gifts of a fuzzy vibrating pillow and a body art tattoo set.. Both really for Katherine. The kids got lots of fun gifts that night from my aunts & uncles, and cousins. We had a very nice Christmas Eve over at Matt's parents house, where we all got plenty of great gifts and great food. But we had to get home so Santa could come and deliver presents.

For the first time ever, Christmas morning, Matt and I were the first ones awake.. We had to wait on the kids. They loved all the toys Santa brought them and what Matt and I gave them. We are still waiting for one more box for their BIG present, a wooden playset/swingset for the backyard. Wal-Mart lost one of the boxes. After we opened all of our presents, we headed to my brothers for Christmas with my family.. More presents and more food. We are truly blessed to have spent 3 days with family celebrating. Colin was telling everyone it was Jesus Birthday!
Fun Family Days

After all the Christmas festivities calmed down, we were able to enjoy some quality family time. We took the kids bowling for the first time, they LOVED it for about 5 frames, then were not that excited about it. Matt and Katherine had a game of Glow In The Dark putt putt golf, which she loved.. Colin was a little afraid of it. We went to the park one day to feed the ducks and play on the playground. For Christmas we got a Zoo Membership, so one day when it was nice and 70 degrees, we took the kids to the zoo for a few hours.

Gators, Hiking, and Picnic at Brazos Bend State Park

Matt to work a few days, so one day, me & the kids, my parents, sister in law & nephew (my brother also had to work), went to Brazos Bend State park to hike & look for alligators, we spotted about 15 of them. We also grilled hamburgers and had a picnic there. That night all the grandkids spent the night with my parents and Matt and I, my brother and sister in law went out for drinks and appetizers.. Kids free :)
HAPPY NEW YEAR
For New Years Eve was a little low key since we have small children. We had my family over and had lots of food, some drinks, and sparkerlers bigger than the kids, which they loved! The kids ALMOST made it to midnight, they fell asleep at 11:30. So Matt and I rang in the New Year just the two of us. The next morning we got up and met Matt's parents to go to the Houston Texans Football game. We had lots of fun at the game even though they lost.. But they are going to the playoffs for the 1st time.

Christmas parties, Nutcracker Ballet, Visit to Santa, Gingerbread House, and more

2011-12-21T15:00:00.000-08:00

Yet another catch up from the first part of December. We have had so much fun so far this month and can't wait 4 more days until Christmas. The kids are so excited! And I am too. I have almost 2 weeks off work to hang out with the kids and my family. A much needed time off.

Company Adult Christmas Party

December kicked off with my work's company Christmas party in downtown Houston. We had a lot of fun (and drinks, well I had a lot of drinks). The food was great and they had a photo booth and person rolling cigars. I won a door prize for the first time, tickets to the New Years Houston Texans game. We were lucky Matt's parents let the kids spend the night, so we had no curfew!

Company Kid's Christmas party

The next weekend, my work had a Christmas party for the kids and families. It was at a fun place that had moonwalks, big play set, indoor train/car ride, and an inflatable floor. Even a visit from Santa. The kids had a blast.

Nutcracker Ballet

That Sunday, my mom got her, Katherine, and I tickets to the Houston Nutcracker Ballet performing at the historic 1894 Opera House in Galveston. I love the history venue as it is small, intimate, and so full of history. This was Katherine's first time to the ballet. She really enjoyed it, except for the fight between the toy so and the mice. But she really like the story and all the dancing. Afterwards we went and had dinner, we had a very nice girls day out.

Visit to Santa

Making Gingerbread House

Festival of Lights

Kindergarten Christmas Party

November 2011 - A long catch up.. haven't posted in awhile

2011-12-13T18:13:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted... Time and life have just flown by lately. I will catch up some things on November, then next posting I will get into December. Guess we are having o much fun, just haven't had time to sit down and write about it.

Texas Renaissance Festival

Matt, the kids, me, my parents, and brother and family traveled back in time. The kids loved watching the jousting, jugglers, magicians, riding the animals and rides, eating turkey legs and so much more. It was a super fun day, the ride home was quite with tired children and adults.

Houston Downtown Aquarium
One day we took the kids to the Aquairum, we lucked out and got a great deal on an all day pass. So we got to go to the Aquarium, see all the fish and pet stingrays, see the white tigers, ride the carosel, and ride the train through the shark tank. It was a great family outing.
Houston Zoo
The kids, me, my mom, sister-in-law, newphew, and a few friends met up and went to the zoo. The kids always love a trip to the zoo, as do I. Colin had a great time being a good big cousin and pulling Kannon around in the wagon. Colin might be small but he is strong. Katherine loved having Kannon and her friends there all together.

Thanksgiving
We hosted Thanksgiving for my family at our house then that night we went to Matt's family. We have a lot to be thankful for this year. I am thankful for all my friends and family for making 2011 a great year. I am thankful for my kids health, as well as my own, and the rest of my family. I am thankful to have a 5 year old that asks to do homework and enjoys it. I am thankful Katherine has a huge heart made of gold and Colin loves to cuddle. I am thankful for my husband who I love very much and brings so much laughter and fun into our house. I am thankful that our families are close and we get to enjoy so much time with them. I am thankful for the chance for Colin to live on half a heart and still has the energy to wear me out.. really can't we take naps sometimes. :)

Halloween 2011

2011-11-09T10:44:00.000-08:00

A little late, but things have been busy since getting back from San Francisco. The kids of course enjoyed Halloween last week. Colin was none other than... (drum roll)... Buzz Lightyear. Katherine at first wanted to be Jesse from Toy Story UNTIL we got to the store and she saw a "purple" witch. The girl is mesmorized by anything purple, last year was had to a be a "purple" ballerina.

We had plans to go Trick or Treating with Katherine & Colin's friends, but I was not sure if Colin was going to be up for Trick-or-Treating since we just got out of the ER with croup at 5:00am that morning.. so who knows what kind of mood he was going to be in by 6:00pm. But as soon as I got Katherine in her costume, Colin was ready to go, pretty much throwing his costume at me ready to get some CANDY :)

The kids had lots of fun, Colin really enjoyed and got into Halloween this year. One time Katherine started running to a house with no light on and Colin was yelling "Sissy, no light, Sissy, no light". Both of them were good about saying Trick or Treat, and Thank you. Niether one of them seemed scared by any of the "spooky" houses.

Katherine the "Good" purple witch Buzz Lightyear still sporting his black eye from bouncing off the bed onto the end table

Not looking at the camera.. I was so excited that the 2T costume fit my little man
In motion running to get more candy

San Francisco - Amazing Trip

2011-11-03T11:06:00.000-07:00

Last week I had an wonderful opportunity to go to San Francisco for a 3 day training seminar. Matt was luckily able to join me and we make an extended trip out of it to get some sightseeing in and some quality adult time. I have never been to San Francisco but it has always been on my top "MUST SEE" list. I am so glad we were able to go, the city and scenery is amazing! It was very hard to leave the kids for 6 days. We flew out early Sunday morning and got back Friday afternoon. I talked with the kids everyday and even got to Skype with them on the computer. My parents stayed with them at our house while we were gone. I know Grandma and Grandpa were ready for a break when we came back.. My house is hectic during the week, but I love it and wouldn’t trade it for anything.

The night before we left Colin decided to get his first black eye, by launching over Katherine on our bed and hitting the end table. Good thing it happened on our watch. It was super hard to leave Colin, I have never left him more than 2 days. But it is good for us to have some separation, though he has been SUPER clingy since we have been back.. Of course he has been sick. We got back Friday and Sunday night Colin and I spent the night in the ER with a really bad case of croup. I think the black eye and croup is Colin's way of telling me never to leave again! Monday when getting ready for school, Colin started crying, I asked why and he said "Don't leave me again".. Heartbreaking!

Back to San Francisco…Sunday Matt and I had an amazing time sightseeing. We went to Lands End, a beautiful park with walking trails right on the coast and is home to several ship wrecks. That night we went on a sunset catamaran sail around Alcatraz and Golden Gate bridge (thanks Syl for the suggestion)! The sunset was amazing and it was great to have Matt there to share it with me! While I was in class Mon- Wed, Matt went to Golden Gate park, potential gardens, Japanese gardens, Haight-Ashbury, tour of Anchor Brewery, and some other places. In the evenings we went and ate & shopped in Chinatown, ate at Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, but our favorite place was North Beach also known as Little Italy. We found two great places to eat there and the Italian bakeries.. Yummy! The food there was amazing. Good thing we walked so much up all those hills, so I didn’t feel so bad about all that we were eating. One evening we also went to go see Lombard Street.
Thursday we had all day to sight see. We did the early morning tour of Alcatraz.. What a beautiful island so rich in history. I really enjoyed the tour and walking around the island. After that we went and saw amazing views from Coit Tower, then we headed to Presidio Park (an old military base that sits at the bottom of Golden Gate Bridge.) The park has biking and hiking trails that give you amazing views of the bay, Golden Gate, and the rocky shoreline.
As much fun and amazing sights we got to experience, Friday I was super ready to get back to our kids. Friday night everyone started off in their own bed, but by Saturday morning, everyone was snuggled in our bed with us, the best feeling to wake up Saturday morning with everyone all cozy in bed!

PS- We have 250 pictures from the trip, so this is just a small small sample of pictures we took.

1st visit from Tooth Fairy, Fall Festival, Pumpkin Patch & Pumkun Chunkin

2011-10-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, Colin and Katherine were playing in our room "watching" cartoons while we fixed dinner. We heard Katherine crying, when she came in the kitchen, she had a bloody mouth and shirt. Colin bumped into her mouth and knocked her two bottom front teeth loose. In the morning, I scheduled Katherine a dentist appointment to get it checked out. Before she even got to the dentist, she pulled on of them out at school. The dentist said that the teeth were already loose, just not enough of her to notice yet. Everything looked good on the x-ray, Colin just sped up the process by a few weeks. That night the tooth fairy made her first visit to our house, last night she made her second visit. That should be enough for awhile.
Over the weekend we had beautiful weather, so we decided to take full advantage of it. Saturday we had Katherine's soccer game early in the morning, then we got the family packed up for a nice day trip. We loaded up the kids and my parents in the SUV (Good thing for 3rd row seats) and headed to Fayetteville, TX ..a small town that my aunt and uncle live in halfway between Austin and Houston. They were having their annual fall festival, Lick Skillet Days. It was a nice day for a drive through the country and a nice little town fair. The fair wasn't very large, but the whole point was to get out of the house, enjoy the weather, and spend time as family.. Mission accomplished. Was a little disappointed that they were selling beer, but not till the dance at 6:00pm. I don't drink beer, but others were looking forward to that. They had some nice vendors where Katherine and Colin stocked up on toys, cookies, chocolate covered raisins, ice cream, snow cones, and other goodies. They both loved playing in the historic courthouse and jail. The kids had a great time running around, thought they would take a nap on the 1 1/2 hour drive home… no way.. But Paw Paw sure did fall asleep.

Sunday we hung around the house most of the day. We met up with friends and their kids and took the kids to a really cool pumpkin patch right by the house. They had tons of pumpkins to choose from and a nice little train ride, which Colin LOVED of course. All the kids got their face painted with pumpkins and they even had a catapult to do "pumpkin chunkin". Matt did the pumpkin chunkin, his pumpkin launched 450 feet. The kids had so much fun there, that we had a slight little breakdown when it was time to go. Last thing- A nice/slight mean moment by Katherine that I just wanted to get into the blog. Yesterday morning Katherine asked if she had surgeries on her heart when she was young like Colin. I explained that God make her a healthy heart and gave Colin a special heart that the doctors had to help out.

Then she hugged Colin and then... Stuck her tongue out and said "Ha Ha".

She loves him so so much, but he did knock her teeth loose :)

MATT"S VIDEO OF HIS PUMPKIN CHUKIN

Coiln's 6 month Cardiology Check- Up

2011-10-13T11:09:00.000-07:00

Before I get to Colin's 6 month cardiology check up - a real quick review of our weekend. Katherine did a great job at her soccer game. Saturday afternoon we packed up the kids and dropped them off at my parents for swimming and to spend the night. Matt and I went and met Matt's mom at the Houston Art Festival downtown to look at beautiful art, have some drinks, and listen to some live music. After the art festival, Matt and I headed to a new sports bar by the house to watch A&M beat Texas Tech. The sports bar was nice, we sat in a booth and had our own private TV to watch the game on. Sunday we picked up the kids and it rained ALL day, but we needed it really bad. So we watched movies, colored, kids tore up the upstairs play room.
Tuesday Colin had his 6 month cardolilogy check up at Texas Children's. We always get nervous about upcoming appointments, the fear of the unknown. Would it be time for his next surgery, is his heart function good, is his leaky value leaking worse where it will need intervention, are there any new problems we are not aware of : All those questions build up in your mind, and the nerves kick it!

Colin was having a sedation echo (ultra sound of his heart) so he could not eat after 8:30am (his appointment was at 12:30). I worked from home that morning to make sure we followed the eating/drinking instructions. We took Katherine to school and had breakfast with her and Colin got to meet her Kindergarten teacher and class. About 11:00am, Colin asked to eat, so for a distraction, we took the dog for a walk. Matt got home from work, and we headed out to our appointment.
We were called back to the room for the sedation medicine. They took Colin's vitals - O2 levels around 85-88% (which is good for half a heart). Colin was pretending his blood pressure cuff was his Buzz Lightyear Laser Ray(Oh how I love him!). Colin took his sleepy medicine and was out within 5 minutes. As I rocked him to sleep, it came to my mind that there is something so unnatural about having to do this with your child. I think for the most part I cope well with it all, but it breaks my heart for him. That he has to go through all this. He should be at school playing like every other 2 year old.
They called us back for the test. It took about 30 minutes for the echo techs to get all the pictures they wanted while he laid there very peacefully asleep (and snoring). As a parent, it's a very long 30 minutes. The techs are busy doing their job, so there is not much talk. Just Matt and I looking at the screen. I am hoping for a great report, but fearful of the screen I am looking at might give us bad news. It's his heart, not a broken arm or something that is easily fixed.
After the test, Colin has a very hard and grumpy time coming out of sedation. That was no fun at all. Daddy seemed to calm him down the most. We finally got to see the doctor AND…. Echo looked great, heart function looked great, don't have to come back for 6 more months!!!! YEAH, what a huge relief! She was very happy with his progress. We talked about weight (she had him in the 9th percentile) and she said was not concerned, yes he is small, but he has always been small, our daughter was small, and he is gaining on his growth curve. That also was a huge relief, I know I probably stress too much about calories, but I am his mom, that's my job! Next time he won't have to get an echo, but he will go home with a halter monitor to record his heart for 24 hours just to make sure. Medicine stayed the same, so GREAT check - up! Rough appointment, but great news. That night Colin was very woosy and "drunk" from the medicine. He was falling over himself and walking into walls. Funny yet not funny. Then BAM, a switched turned on right at "bedtime" and Colin was wired, hyper for hours. Could not get him to stop moving or go to sleep. He finally crashed at 10:45pm (2.5 hrs PAST his bedtime!)

All about Katherine

2011-10-06T09:26:00.001-07:00

This past weekend was all about Katherine. Above is her school pictures from Kindergarten.

Friday night Katherine had her first sleepover at out house, she has been to a slumber party before, but this was the first time for her to have a friend stay at our house. Her friend has a brother the exact same age as Colin, so for a few hours all four of them played upstairs. After her friend's mom and brother left, the girls and Colin watched a movie with popcorn and played and played some more. At 10:00pm, all three were playing in Katherine's room, when I went and got Colin for bed.. He cried saying.. "But Sissy no night night, but Sissy no night night..", he was upset to be leaving the slumber party :). After getting Colin to bed, we got the girls to get settled down. A few times we had to go put them back to bed because we could here them running around. Finally, there was silence and everyone was asleep. Colin woke up early the next morning at 6:15am, Matt went upstairs to get him and the girls were already wide awake, so no telling how much they slept.

We got ready for soccer and off to the game. We ended up playing the team with Katherine's other girlfriends and her others friends came to watch the game too. So it was more of social hour for Katherine than a soccer game. She still did pretty well kicking the ball hard and following through with it. No goals this time, but she was a little distracted and a little tired. After the game, all the kids went to the playground for about an hour to burn off even more energy. That afternoon I took Katherine to go see her friend perform at her cheer camp, since she came to see her soccer game. Katherine thought the cheer was fun to watch but was more interested in the in ground trampoline used for the tumbling class. That evening Katherine's friends and families came over for play date (kids)/watch football games (adults). The first one to get there was at 5:00pm, the last to leave was at 10:00pm. Needless to say at 10:15, Katherine was passed out in our bed asleep with cartoons on in the background. It was a fun but long day for her.

Sunday we went out to eat for lunch, then I took Katherine to a birthday party for another one of her friends. Then the weekend was quickly over.. But Katherine (and Colin) has a blast, so that's all that matters.

Month in Review - September: Trip to A&M, 3 soccer goals, lots of birthdays, and big 2 year milestone!

2011-09-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it has been awhile since my last update. Things have been pretty busy. I usually update on a week basis, sorry this is for the whole month of September.

So far this September:
- My parents are home from traveling for a little while. They were gone 5 straight months on their tour of the west coast and Colorado.. Oh the ways of retired lives. We are all very excited to have them home for awhile before they go on their next adventures.

- My nephew Kannon turned 1 years old! He is getting so big. They threw a nice party where they turned the whole back yard into a splash area. Of course my kids LOVED it and had some much fun. Katherine was "flirting" with the older boys, chasing them around. Kannon got LOTS of fun things for his birthday, and of course really LOVED his cake.

- The next weekend Katherine had her very first soccer game of this season. She has really improved this year. Came close to scoring a goal. That day (Sept. 17) also marked my dad's birthday, so we had a bbq for him AND it marked two years since Colin's last open heart surgery, even more reason to celebrate. We have gone two years without any intervention to his heart. AMAZING!

- This past weekend we had tickets to the A&M vs Oklahoma State football game. Me, Matt, my dad, my brother (which it was his birthday), his wife, her dad, Matt's best friend, and his two friends all went up to Texas A&M to enjoy in some college football, and of course a little bit of drinking. Hanging out in a shot bar before sitting out in the hot sun for football… that's what it is all about :)

- Katherine stayed with my mom and went to her soccer game.. CAN you believe the game we missed, she SCORED THREE GOALS! Yeah. They spent the rest of the day swimming and hanging out. Colin was at Matt's parents and went to visit the cows at the AG barn. Colin was asking where sissy was while they spent the day apart, no for me :). September has been a busy and very fun month. Ready for some cooler weather as we are still in a drought and breaking record temps. We have been swimming a few times this month trying to cool off. October and cooler weather is hopefully right around the corner. We already have lots of fun things in store for October!

ME & MATT BEFORE THE A&M GAME (Fitzwilly's Bar)

ME & MY DAD, Getting ready for the A&M game (shot bar)

Goodbye Summer - a quick recap

2011-09-09T09:26:00.000-07:00

Summer has come and gone, school has started, and fall is here. Memorial Day weekend begins the summer season and it's always sad to see it go with the end of Labor Day weekend. Though it's still warm here, Katherine is now is Kindergarten, fall soccer season is one week away, and the careless days of summer has passed by once again.

We had a great summer this year, even though the summer heat wave, drought, and work things prevented some of our summer plans, we still got to do a good amount.

Here is a just a quick recap of highlights from fun filled summer:
- 8 trips to the beach.. Yes we love the beach..
- 4 trip to the splash pad/pool - notice a trend with the water activites.. Heat wave!
- 3 weekend trips (1 to New Braunfuls and 2 to Corpus Christi)
- 3 birthday parties (including Katherine's 5th birthday)
- 2 train rides
- 2 trips to the zoo
- 1 cave exploring adventure
- 1 trip to a Aquarium
- 1 trip to the Children's Museum
- 1 ferry ride
- 1 movie in the park
- 1 slumber party
- 1 paddle boat ride

Also countless ice cream cones, playing in the sprinkler, water balloon and water gun fights, family movie nights, Katherine's field trips with her summer camp, play dates with friends, time spent with family, coloring, summer craft projects, and complaining about the heat and no rain.

It was a great summer and I am very excited to see what fall brings us.

Labor Day Weekend (Pool, Zoo, Nature Hike, and College Football)

2011-09-07T12:46:00.000-07:00

We had a nice, relaxing, yet fun filled weekend. You know us, we never sit still too long. Tropical Storm Lee missed the Texas coast and went east to Louisiana.. Giving us some cooler weather, but left us out of the much needed rain. But we took advantage of the cooler (90 degree heat verves 107 degrees) weather. Saturday we went to our neighborhood pool & splash pad since it was the last weekend of the season to be open. Uncle Russell, Aunt Lara, and Kannon joined us for some swimming and lunch afterwards. After lunch we watched college football.. One of my favorite times of year!
Sunday we got up and it was overcast and only 82 degrees, so we headed to the zoo. Perfect weather to walk around and see the animals. Katherine's favorite was the jaguar while Colin's favorite was the monkeys! The kids love the zoo! That evening we all got our maroon on ready to cheer on Texas A&M in their season opener. Gig'EM Aggies.. WHOOP! I made nachos, perfect for watching A&M win their first game of the season. A tradition is to kiss after each time we score, there was lots of kissing in our house that night as we won 46 to 14. Monday it was still pretty cool outside, so we took an early morning hike to the Houston Arboretum through the nature trails. It has been so long since we have been able to do out activites beside the beach and pool due to our heat wave and extreme drought. After our nature walk, we went and ate lunch outside on a restaurant patio to enjoy the beautiful day. Then home to relax before starting the work week.
I had posted on facebook when we were at the zoo, and a friend replied that she likes that we are always on the move… my response was.. You only get to live life once and that is a lesson that life has taught us. With Colin's special heart, I have learned not to take it all for granted. We are blessed to live in the here and now, so enjoy it while you can. Colin is doing great now, but that may not always be the case. We have another open heart surgery to face in the next 2 years, I want to make sure every minute counts. It's not that I fear death, I just want to celebrate and rejoice in life.

A Week of Firsts (Kindergarten & Slumber Party)

2011-08-30T09:11:00.000-07:00

Last week was Katherine's first week at Kindergarten. She was very excited to start school with her new teacher and friends. Matt and I took her to her first day of school. We went into the classroom and hung out a little bit until she got settled in. She was a little disappointed that her and her friend Rylie were not sitting together, but that probably is a good thing for those two "chatty" girls to sit apart for a little while :) She sat down at her desk and started to color waiting for her day to start. Matt and I told her goodbye and we went to a breakfast that the PTO was hosting of kindergarten parents called the "Boo Hoo breakfast". I know all the questions are if I cried dropping her off at her 1st day.. No I did not. She was so excited and we were so excited for her, no tears, just smiles.
After we left the breakfast, Matt and I took the rest of the day of to celebrate our first child going off to "real" school. We headed down to Galveston and went shopping, ate lunch on the seawall and of course has a few tasty beverages at The Rum Shack. It was a hot, but pretty day. We came back and even got in a nap before picking up the kids. Katherine had a great first week at school, she came home very tired each day, all that learning. She has a daily behavior folder she brings home and she got excellent marks each day. She is enjoying Kindergarten so far, hope she keeps it up.

This weekend Matt went out of town to help trim trees at his grandma's house in Corpus in the 100+ degree heat. So it was just me and the kids. Friday night, we had a great dinner over at my brother's house. Yummy Lasagna and chocolate chip cookies. The kids had so much fun and so much to eat, they were both passed out on the way home.
Saturday we had a very eventful day. We had a birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese (which now Colin can say and chant very well). Then that evening Katherine had her very first slumber party. She was so excited with her sleeping bag, suitcase, and pillow pet all packed up and ready to go. She has spent many nights at family's house, but this was her first time at a friends house. It make it easy that it was a family we have known for years and they live in our neighborhood. We went over there that evening and Colin and I joined all the girls and moms for a movie in the park.. Tangled. All the girls were well behaved, but Colin was the best behaved, he LOVES that movie and was very much into it. It was a little hot but not too bad. After the movie, we told Katherine good night. She was fine with us leaving, but Colin wanted to stay.. He was not sure why HE wasn't invited to the slumber party. But on the whole 3 minute car ride home, he was passed out asleep from all the day's excitement. Sunday was a record high of 109 here, so we just played inside, took naps, and waited for Matt to come home.

Meet the Teacher Night - Kindergarten

2011-08-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

Last night was parent orientation and meet the teacher night for Kindergarten.. Yes, I wrote that correctly, my little girl starts Kindergarten next week. How fast 5 years has flown by. I can remember everything about being pregnant with Katherine, her birth and hospital stay, sleepless nights as a baby, all her first milestones (crawling, walking, talking). And in a flash, she went from a little toddler hugging onto my leg to an independent little girl who can write all her ABC's, her numbers, who can add and subtract, and who has the most beautiful imagination I have ever met. She is an amazing little girl and me & her daddy love her so much! I know in another flash she will be in Jr High, High School, then off to college (Texas A&M of course.. She is even wearing her Aggie Princess shirt today).
Katherine's teacher is so cute and peppy, just what you would imagine for a Kindergarten teacher. Katherine has two friends in her class, one of her best friends Rylie and our next door neighbor. I did put in a special request with the school for her and Rylie to be in the same class. With Colin and his Fontan surgery timeframe pending (could be anytime from now until 5 - the goal is 4 or 5 but he might need it sooner), I wanted to know a family in Katherine's class that we could count on if we happen to end up un the hospital for any reason. Knowing that Rylie is in Katherine's class eases my mind just in case. Plus it will help Katherine's transition from daycare to "real" school.
We are ready, we have done all school supply and school clothes shopping! Katherine is excited yet a little nervous. She did warm up to her teacher last night and when we were leaving, she went and hugged her and said "See you on Monday". Matt and I will be taking her in on her first day, another milestone of many more to come.

I know she will do great (if she can keep her talking to a minimum, she has a tendency to be a class clown). She loves to learn. The other night we sat down to do a few pages in a kindergarten workbook she got for her birthday. It has 40 pages, she completed 24 of them with hardly any mistakes at all. Then she wanted to write out all her letters and practice writing numbers, now if I can just keep up that enthusiasm and concentration for the next 16 years! We are already so proud of Katherine and the little girl she has become. No matter how old she gets, she will always be my little princess.

Where Else Would We Be????

2011-08-10T06:22:00.000-07:00

It's August, it's Texas... record temps dating back to 1980, record drought dating back 100 years, where else would we be? Good thing we only live about 45 from the beach! The kids love the beach and so do I. I find it so relaxing to spend time in the sun, sand, and waves. We went to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday, what a venue!

Katherine and cousin Kannon playing in the water

Colin loves buckets and watering cans. He can spend hours filling up one in the other, dumping it out and starting all over again.

Kannon playing in the sand, trying to be good and not eat it

Daddy swimming with his two fishes!Cool kids with their sunglasses!

Katherine the sand mermaid! Colin is trying to cover her up with MORE sand. He did not like getting in and getting buried!

The person behind the camera and blog, you rarely see me, because I am the one with the camera glued to my hands.It was a great day at the beach.

Our trips to Corpus Christi

2011-08-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

We have spent the last two weekends in Corpus Christi for very sad matters. The first weekend we went down to see Matt's grandpa, who's health had been declining rapidly over the last few weeks. We made it there in time for Matt to spend a few hours with his grandpa before he passed away. It was very sad to see how rapidly his health declined. I am very glad that Matt got to spend sometime with him in the end.

We went back to Corpus early Thursday morning for the funeral. We dropped Matt off at his parents hotel to get ready and I took the kids to the Texas State Aquarium. I would have liked to attend the service, but our kids are just too young to be at a funeral. Plus it gave Matt sometime with his family. The kids and I met up with a college friend of Matt and I, actually one of the girls who set us up, and her 2.5 yr old daughter. The Aquarium was real nice with a dolphin show (the kids LOVED), sea otter, jelly fish, sea turtles, AND a really nice splash pad area. I am so glad I got to spend time with our friend, I wish we could see her more often. After the Aquarium, we went to Matt's aunt's house for the family reception. Matt's grandpa was loved by many, there were a lot of people there to celebrate his life.

The next day we went to the beach with a good amount of Matt's family. We got lucky that the tropical storm hit south of where we were and we got no rain or bad weather. The tide was high at the beach and the currents strong due to the storm at sea. The current was so strong it concave some of the sand and made a "natural water slide" that Katherine enjoyed floating down. Colin of course loved playing in the sand and taking a nap on the beach.

The next day we went crabbing with Matt's parents and out to eat for lunch. I think it was a good break for Matt's dad who had been down there for weeks helping out. And we got ice cream :). Then we went to Matt's grandma's house to visit before heading home. Our hotel was nice that we stayed at. It faced the bay and marina. The kids loved standing on the balcony and looking at all the boats. I wish we were there on better circumstances but at least Matt's whole family got to spend a lot of time with us and the kids.

Crabbing, we got a few, just couldn't get them through the seaweed to shore

View from our hotel balcony, the kids loved it! Katherine wanted to stay there "forever"!

Shark Attack - The entrance into a gift shop

Oh no, it got Matt and Katherine :)

2011-07-20T10:39:00.000-07:00

This weekend my sister-in-law's family rented a beach house on Crystal Beach (a ferry ride over from Galveston Island). Friday night as I was packing for the beach, I did not say anything to the kids about the beach, I didn't even mention the word beach. Colin came up to me when I was packing the floaties and said VERY clearly " The Beach, I WANNA GO!" He went over to the TV and said "Turn off, Go BEACH!". Gotta love his enthusiasm for the beach!

Saturday morning we woke up and it was raining, we have been in a drought for months and of course we get a big storm the morning we are heading down to the beach. It rained the whole way down there. It sprinkled our entire ferry ride, but the kids still had a blast on the ferry looking out at the water and chasing seagulls and rained for about 15 minutes when we got to the beach house, then it cleared up and became a BEAUTIFUL day.

The kids and Matt & I had a blast with the rest of the family. We were at the beach house from 10:00am to 8:30pm. The kids got to take a break and go up to the house and eat lunch, cool off, and watch cartoons. They swam, fished with Uncle Russell, played in the sand with Aunt Lara and Kannon, looked for seashells with daddy, and hung out. About 4:30 Colin was tired, he was getting fussy, so we went for a swim… he was so tired he fell asleep in my arms in the ocean. He then slept for about an hour in the tent on the beach.After dinner, we headed back home. We got on the ferry right at sunset, it was a beautiful ending to a perfect day. It was great to spend the day with our family and have a full day on the beach. Sunday we were so exhausted, we just hung around the house.

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-13T07:56:00.000-07:00

Real men drive pink vehicles

Dog days of summer - It's so hot, even the dog needs to cool off
Concentrating very hard
Yum.. fresh pool water
It got so hot Saturday, we did arts & crafts inside.
Who doesn't love ice cream on a hot summer day!
Ready to play ball or just beat someone with the bat.. you decide
My sous chef - Katherine helping me make fajita enchiladas
Being a great big sis giving Colin a ride.

Matt and Jennifer's Beach Day & Rum Shack

2011-07-08T08:15:00.000-07:00

Tuesday Matt and I took the kids to school and had a day just for the two of us.. Matt & Jennifer's Day of Fun. We got an early start and went down to the beach for a few hours. As much as I love taking the kids, it was nice to go and lay out and just relax. We swam a bit, walked the shoreline, engaged in adult conversations, and most importantly spent time just the two of us.

After the beach we went to our favorite place on the beach for burgers and drinks. Next to the restaurant, they built a new tiki bar called The Rum Shack. We went over there just to check it out and have a drink, one drink turned into a few. It was such a nice view, gorgeous day, and great company, it was very easy to sit there and have strawberry piña coladas, frozen mojitios, and Mi Tai's. After a few rounds, we walked across the street and laid out on the beach for a bit more. Then we headed down to the Strand (the historical shopping district) and bought more stuff for Colin's upcoming surfer room and had a few more drinks. Before we knew it, it was almost 4pm, time to head back to get the kids.
It was a very nice relaxing day, just what we needed. It has been very important to us to have Matt & Jennifer time. We feel to build a strong foundation for our family, our relationship must stay strong also. A co-worker told me last year after being married almost 30 years, they were getting a divorce. That once the kids moved out, they didn't know each other any longer. Their whole lives revolved around the kids, they became parents but were no longer friends. They never did things together anymore. I never want that to happen to Matt & I. He truly is my best friend and I want to make sure throughout the years that we still dedicate time to each other and our relationship. Life gets crazy between kids, work, activities, and of course the added stress over Colin's health issues. I want to make sure I dedicate time to my kids AND my husband to keep our family strong.

4th of July Weekend - Happy Birthday America!

2011-07-06T18:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday we got up early and headed down to the beach, what's 4th of July weekend without the beach. We found a nice quite spot on the beach and played and swam for almost 5 hours. We built sandcastles, dug in the sand for mussels, looked for seashells, and played in the big waves. Katherine had so much fun getting clobber by the waves.. Colin, not so much.. He doesn't like the saltwater in his eyes. After the beach, we got in the car, Colin fell asleep immediately, but not too much asleep where he couldn't eat a cheeseburger.. You must watch the video.. It's too funny, he eats the entire hamburger without opening his eyes.

Colin's MUST WATCH cheeseburger video: http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=10150687487710032

Sunday we went over to Matt's parents for his dad's birthday. Katherine was disappointed that there were no invitations sent for the party and that is was "just" family and no friends of hers were invited. The kids had a great time playing in the pool and Aunt Robin and Uncle Brian brought over the Sno-Cone machine. The kids and everybody else loved that. Matt made me a margarita sno-cone. We had yummy fajitas and a brownie cake. July 4th we played on the slip-n-slide, bbq'ed hamburgers and hot dogs, my brother and sister-in-law came over. Then we went and saw the fireworks. Katherine and Colin were so excited for fireworks, they enjoyed the show, pointing out which ones were their favorite ones. It was my nephew Kannon's first firework show, he seemed to be amazed by them.

Happy 5th Birthday Dear Sweet Girl

2011-06-30T05:50:00.000-07:00

Happy 5th Birthday Katherine! We love you so very much. You are such an amazing person. You are so caring, smart, silly, imaginative, creative, sassy, loving, sensitive, cuddly, beautiful, an amazing big sister, and so many other things.

We were so blessed when God brought you to us. I count those blessings every day still. You are the light of our eyes, you are our princess, our tom boy, our artist, our fancy girl, our wiggle butt, our ice cream buddy, our story teller, you are the world to us. I am remember and cherish every moment we have spent together from the time when you in my belly to now, getting ready for Kindergarten.

I love our times snuggling together, swimming, making sand castles, practicing our letters & numbers, bike and wagon rides, vacations, and seeing your smile as I pick you up from school. I love watching you be a great big sister, giving Colin lots of kisses, holding his hand in the parking lot, snuggling with him during movie time and sharing your popcorn, and protecting him.

Happy 5th Birthday, my dear sweet girl. We love you so much!

Katherine had her birthday party this weekend. She had friends over from school and we had a water activity party. We had a slip-n-slide, pool, water balloons, water guns, and fun sprinkler. Of course the them was a Princess Party. The kids had a great time playing in the water, eating pizza, ice cream, cake, opening presents, and playing in the playroom. Friday night, I spent an hour filling up 150 water balloons, the kids went through them in 8 minutes.

Usually on Katherine's birthday, I take the day off work and we have a special day. But this year, her summer camp is having a field trip today to the movies to see Cars 2. We were going to have a beach day, but she said we go to the beach all the time, she wanted to go to the movies with her friends. It hurt just a little to know that I have been replaced on our special day, but it's her birthday and I want her to have fun. THEN this morning while we were getting ready to go to school, she started crying saying that she wanted to have our beach day instead of going to the movies and that she doesn't want me to leave her on her birthday. Unfortunately I have meetings today that I can't cancel, but I told her she can pick whatever she wants to do on Saturday, that will be her special day. It was nice to hear this morning that I have NOT been replaced.

Water guns, Katherine's orders to get the "younger" kids

Water Balloons, what every Texas summer birthday needs.

Look at Katherine trying to grab all the water balloons at once.

On the hunt to throw them at Daddy.

The girls chit chatting in the pool

Katherine and Colin racing down the slip-n-slide

The birthday girl in her princess hat.

She blew them all out!

Opening presents.. what parties are made for!

Katherine in her Rapunzel hair with Aunt Lara and Kannon

Lunch the next day in Galveston, being a cheese ball..

Happy 5th Birthday

Day at Grandma & Grandpa's & Father's Day

2011-06-21T11:13:00.000-07:00

Saturday we got up early and went to Matt's parents' house. Matt helped his dad clean out his garage while Matt's mom, me, and the kids went to the park and played in the pool. The kids loved playing in the pool for an hour, go inside and play for an hour and have snacks, then back into the pool, then back inside for snacks and some air conditioning. They played and played for hours on end, while we watched daddy have fun cleaning out grandpa's garage.
Uncle Brian, Aunt Robin, and Morgan came over and Matt's parents grilled chicken and steaks.. Yummy! After we ate, the kids played even more. Morgan started reading stories and out went Colin. He was so tired for all the sun, water, and toys.. He couldn't make it past story time. Then very soon to follow was Katherine and Uncle Brian. Guess everyone had a fun day.
Sunday we gave Matt his Father's Day cards and present. I was very proud of Katherine, she learned how to spell and write out Dad all on her own! Katherine wanted us all to go grocery shopping together as a family. So we all loaded up and went to the store. After lunch, we went to our neighborhood water park/splash pad. It's such a great place to spend a hot day.. It's only two streets over from our house and it's free (well not really, we pay our neighborhood association fees each year). The kids had fun in the splash pad, swimming, going down the waterslides, and playing with some of their classmates that were also there. When we got there, I let Katherine know that this year she is tall enough for the big slides IF she wanted to ride them.. She quickly said "No, I don't want to mom, don't make me". But Colin on the other hand cried when I told him no because he is not tall enough and he is not allowed to ride with someone on those. My heart child is going to be my dare devil.. He is going to give me so many heart attacks in life. But Colin had plenty of fun in the splash area and the toddler slides! After the splash pad & pool, we went home and had ice cream sandwiches and a movie.

New Braunfels Trip - Part 2 - Gruene & Natural Bridge Caverns

2011-06-16T16:52:00.000-07:00

So after a beautiful day swimming, riding boats & choo choo trains, going down the watersides, and playing on the playground, we went to the hotel and cleaned up and headed to the historic town of Gruene (pronounced Green). The town was founded in the 1840's on the river and is home to one of the oldest dance halls in Texas (Gruene Hall), the Gristmill River Restaurant (an old cotton gin founded in 1878 that sits no the river), historic shops, bed & breakfasts, and a few bars.

We ate dinner on one of the many big patios of the Gristmill. The food was great and the company even better, the margaritas weren't too bad either. Uncle Russell even spoiled the kids with a hot fudge sundae at the end of dinner. After dinner, we looked around some of the historic shops, then had a nice time at The Grapevine. It was a nice wine "bar", I use the term "bar" lightly because it's a wine tasting room, but the outside is picnic tables under the trees. Matt, Russell, an Lara got wine while I got a wine-a-rita (margarita made with wine instead of tequila.) Katherine even made a friend and play with her in the wine garden.

Here are some pics from that night.. keep reading below to find out about us exploring the cave!

Cousins

Yummy

Colin dancing outside of Gruene Hall to the live music

Uncle Russell, Kannon, and Katherine at the Wine Garden

Kids love hotel beds WAY more than their own.

Sunday morning we got up and had breakfast, the went to Natural Bridge Caverns. We played outside on the dinosaur exhibit, then did the Illuminations Tour. The tour went 1/3 mile down into the cavern going through two very large underground chambers. When you first get in, they turn off all the lights in the cave so you can experience the total darkness. They then bring up certain lights at a time, highlighting rare formations and showing the dramatic setting of a cave. At the end of the tour, we sat in one of the caverns and they did total darkness again, for about 5-8 minutes. Katherine did a great job, Colin got anxious halfway through, he kept turning to me saying "lights on, lights on!". Kannon stole the show from the tour guide, while she was explaining about the different formation, he was blowing bubbles loudly with his mouth, the rest of the tour thought it was too cute. At the end, we got to take a group photo of all of us in the cave.

After the tour, it was time to get back on the road and head for home. It was a great trip even though it was short, we got to do a lot in a day & half. I am so glad everyone else got to go with us this year. As soon as we got back Katherine & Colin asked when are we going back.. A sign of a great trip!. Katherine said her favorite part was swimming with Turner, Colin said his was the boat and choo-choo. Everyday this week Colin has told me…" Mamma, I go boat, choo-choo again, I go boat choo-choo again"! I told him soon, maybe we can go back before the summer is over.

Colin kicked Kannon out of his carrier.. silly Colin!

New Braunfels Trip - Part 1 - Landa Park

2011-06-15T06:31:00.000-07:00

We had such a great trip to New Braunfels this weekend, so great that I am splitting it into 2 post. We had such a fun filled two days, everyone really enjoyed themselves. It was a much needed trip. We had good luck with the weather, it was a little hot, but not as hot as it has been. I have so many pictures, will not be able to post all 112 of them :) What can I say, I like taking pictures, so here are just SOME highlights!

Saturday morning we left the house at 6:30am with the kids in tow and the car packed for Landa Park. It is a beautiful city park on the river with spring fed swimming pools, water slides, picnic areas, playgrounds, train ride, and paddle boats. My brother and his family were able to join us and so was Matt's friend and his son who is close to Katherine's age. It was great to spend quality time all together.

Katherine loved swimming in both pools and going down the smallest slide, she had no desire to go down the bigger blue slide. On the other hand, Colin loved the blue slide, the two of us went down it about 12 times. Each time we got off, he would look at me with a big grin and say "AGAIN"! Colin liked the choo-choo and both kids loved the paddle boat.

On the beginning of the road trip, Buc-ees is a large gas station\store, Katherine just had to have her picture with Buc-ee!Wee.. down the water slide we go!Matt and Colin ready to go swimming!Katherine playing in the pool fed with water from the Comal River, which stays a constant 72 degrees.Uncle Russell and Colin having their picnic lunch by the water. Colin is saying "CHEEESSEEEAnother slide, smaller, but just as fun!Ready for the choo-choo ride. The train goes all through the park and along the river Kannon's first train ride!Katherine HAD to sit next to Turner!

What a beautiful day, beautiful park, and wonderful family time!Colin is oh so ready for his boat ride!Colin decided he needed to be the captain, not just a passenger!Katherine enjoying her ride while daddy and Tim paddled them around.View from the paddle boats

Next post will cover our evening in historic Gruene, TX and our trip to Natural Bridge Caverns.

Kemah and Family Visit

2011-06-07T19:01:00.000-07:00

The picture above was from Chuck-E-Cheese last weekend, isn't so cute!

This weekend my aunt came in from Phoenix for short but very nice visit. We had fixed a nice dinner Friday night and had my brother over. Saturday we got up and took her to the Kemah Boardwalk where they have shops, carnival rides & games, restaurants, and there was a Camero car show going on. We had fun walking into the shops and of course the kids had to play the carnival games, which we came home with two new family members. After a few hours it was getting pretty hot, so we went back home and played in the sprinkler. Then it was time to take my aunt back to the airport. It was very nice to get to spend sometime with her even if it was just a day and half.
Sunday we hung around the house and steam cleaned the carpets.. I know you are envious of that! But it had to be done, between two kids and a dog & cat, the carpets needed a little refreshing. Plus Houston was at over 100 degrees, so we needed to stay inside for the day anyways…yep the summer heat came early this year, aren't we all so excited about that. We had movie night a few nights with popcorn and our new guests, the kids LOVE it, and fight over it!
This week Katherine started the summer camp at school. Since she graduated from pre-school, she is in the "big kid after-schooler" room. They have activites everyday and go on fieldtrips every Thursday. This month they are going to a gymnastics place, Kemah, Wildlife Nature Preserve, and the movies. Colin's class has activites too, today was waterslide day for the whole school, so they had to bring their bathing suits and towels. I know my kids had a blast at that, yesterday was pizza day from Little Ceasers… yummy.
This weekend we are going with my brother and his family to New Braunfuls to swim on the river and cool off from the Texas Heat. You know I am going to have LOTA of pictures for you next week! Summer has officially started and with as hot as it has got already, we are breaking record temps right and left, I imagine you will find us at the pool or beach on the weekends. But looking forward to it, as hot as it is, I am a southern girl and I like it, no thanks to cold places that snow.

Having fun with the remote control boats even though the boats are missing :)In "Jail" on the boardwalk
Snuggled up on movie night

Katherine's Pre-K Graduation, Cat Springs, and Beach Day

2011-06-01T18:28:00.000-07:00

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. This post has LOTS of pictures, we did so many fun things, had to include them all. I was off for 4 whole days :) Friday I took off for Katherine's Pre-K graduation. That morning, I took Mocha to the vet and then went and got a massage (my Valentine's present from Matt). Then off to graduation. They put on such a cute show. Katherine had a speaking part where she had to recite a bible verse. She did so good, all that practicing at home paid off. They sang songs they learned in school and got diplomas. I am so proud of her, I even felt myself getting a little sappy realizing my baby girl is growing up so fast. Now it's off to Kindergarten, I know she will do great. After the ceremony, I gave her the choice of the Ice Cream Shop or Barnes & Nobles, she choose the bookstore. So we went and got a new Barbie book and brownies from the Starbucks. Where did the years go? Saturday morning we got up and went to an early birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese. The kids of course had a blast. I even hit the jackpot on one of the games and won 250 tickets. Katherine was very kind in sharing her tokens with her friends. They were both a little upset when it was time to go. But we had another party to get to. We then packed up the car and drove about an hour away to Cat Springs, TX. Matt's family was having a family reunion at a relative's property out there. It is such a pretty place. They have a nice size pond on the property to go swimming, fishing, or canoeing on. Colin loved riding on the big tractor with Uncle Brian, or having his cousins drive him around on the golf cart, and having Katherine drive him around on the toy tractor. Katherine loved playing with all the toys, driving the tractor around, fishing & passing out the worms, and playing with a new friend she made. The kids played and played for 6 hours, they had such a great time. They had so much good food. At about 7:30 that night we put the kids in the car for our hour drive home, they were both passed out the entire way, they were both exhausted from such a fun filled day.
Sunday morning we got up and decided to head down to the beach for a few hours. It's not Memorial Day weekend without the beach. We got down there early, about 9:30am before it got crowded. The kids ALWAYS love to go to the beach. They had a great time playing in the water, sand, and having a picnic on the beach. We left about 1:30pm, it was getting crowded by then. It was a nice and relaxing time to soak up some sun (a little too much on my back) and play with the kids. That afternoon we just relaxed around the house and watched a movie. Monday we took the kids over to Matt's parents while we went to see Hangover 2 and go out to lunch for our wedding anniversary. I kind of felt the whole weekend was such a great time, Monday we just wanted it to be low key and the two of us. It was a funny movie, definitely not one to watch with kids :0. We had a fun FILLED Memorial Day weekend.. I didn't want to go back to work. I really enjoyed being with my family and enjoying time away going on our little day trips.

Eight Years Ago....

2011-05-31T10:55:00.000-07:00

Eight years ago, I married my best friend.
Eight years ago, we vowed to love each other always.

It has been an amazing eight years, with good times, hard times, and times that that I never want to let go of.
We have been many places, been on many trips, seen spectacular sights.

In eight years, we have accomplished so much as a couple, we have stood by each other's side no matter the situation.
Our greatest accomplishments.. Katherine and Colin. These two are a perfect reflection of our love. Our strength is the home, love, and support we give our children. Our marriage and our love has given them to best foundation in life.

In eight years, we have lived in several places, but you are my home, you are where my heart is and will always be.
Eight years ago, we stood before God, our family, and friends and vowed to love each other no matter what life brings us.

You are my rock when I need someone to give me strength, you are a funny joke when I need a laugh, you are a warm hug when I need to feel safe. You are everything I need in a friend, a husband, a father, and a partner. I will love you forever and always.

Happy 8th Anniversary Matt, and here's to many many many more!

I will post on Memorial Day Weekend & Katherine's Pre-K graduation later this week.

Relaxing Weekend - For Once

2011-05-23T18:12:00.000-07:00

The other week a photographer came into the school for pictures, they turned out really cute this time. Sorry for the poor quality, they were scanned at work and didn't turn out so well. These pictures is what prompted us to get Colin's haircut, didn't realize how "Out of Control" it had got until these pictures came back. Katherine is getting so big and growing into a little lady. I love the picture of just her, she is so beautiful on the outside and inside.

This weekend we took it easy, which I loved. We have been so busy lately. Friday night while the kids watched a movie, I cleared out two trash bags of old, broken, or toys with missing pieces out of the game room.. Sshhhh.. Don't tell the kids! I made chocolate chip cookies to distract them from wanting to come upstairs to see what I was doing.

This was our first weekend without soccer, it was nice but strange not to be at the soccer fields on Saturday morning. Saturday we cleaned house and ran errands. Then we decided to be brave and go to the movies for the first time as a family. Colin has never been to the movies before and he did a great job. We went to go see Rio, which was cute and had a lot of upbeat songs, which helped Colin so much. He sat in my lap and bounced and danced around with the music. The few times he got antsy, we had plenty of snacks to "entertain" him. I am very please that he is now able to go to the movies, so we can all go together instead of Matt and I switching off who will take Katherine. We can now go as a family, as it should be!

Sunday we just hung around the house. After lunch we turned on the sprinklers, put on our bathing suits, and played in the backyard for over two hours. The kids love being outside, playing in the water, making mud puddles, playing chase.. I enjoy sitting in the sun after spending all week indoors at my cubicle. Matt had them watering plants and trying to help our poor grass since we are in the worst drought since the 1930's.. BOOOO, we need rain so bad!

When we took the kids to Phoenix last November to say our good-byes to my grandma, Katherine took this colored pebble out of her yard to remember her by. My grandma had a gravel yard being in the desert, but to make it pretty she put colored pebbles all through her yard to add color and flare. Lately at night when Katherine goes to bed, she takes the pebble and sits by the window and prays that God is taking care of Granny and getting her anything she wants, and asks God to watch over her. Katherine is so sweet, I know my grandma is watching from heaven with a huge smile and a happy heart. My grandma adored Katherine so much, Katherine will grow up knowing that!

Water balloon standoff.. who will win?
Playing chase, she is fast!
Colin's NEW favorite pass time.. HE LOVES to get me keys at stand at the door and put the keys in and lock it, unlock it, take the keys out, and do it all over again. He will do this for 30 minutes and be happy and content. I love how his mind works, always trying to figure it all out!
Mom, it's lock, it's stuck.. I had to go help him get it out that time. He was not happy and yanked the keys back from me to do it again.
Katherine's new game she likes to play.. Librarian. You check out books from her and she will stamp them and put the piece of paper "Library Card" in in and tell you to return in two weeks. She has an amazing imagination that keeps us guessing all the time.

Campfire, Last Soccer Game, Roadtrip, and Reliving First Kiss

2011-05-16T17:15:00.000-07:00

The Eyrings live for weekends, work hard, pay hard - right! This past weekend was of course fun-filled and exhausting, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. So much time passes in our daily routine, so we try to take advantages of the weekends as much as we can, especially since it's not 100 degrees yet!

Friday night we went over my brothers for dinner. We got to spend a nice evening together with him, his wife, and my nephew who is 8 months old. We even got to roast marshmallows and make smores in the backyard. It was a nice evening with great company.
Saturday was Katherine's last soccer game of the season. It was the most evenly matched game we had all season, most of our games we had two players really dominate. Katherine was close to scoring but the ball got a little ahead of her, but her friend Jacob was able to help out and make a goal out of it! After the game, Matt made a little speech about each game and gave them their trophy. Matt did a great job of coaching the team, it's not easy to deal with six 4&5 year olds! It was a fun season, but it will be nice to have our Saturday mornings back until it starts back up in the fall. After the game, Colin got a MUCH needed haircut, he looks so much older. Not sure why it took me so long to cut his hair, I want it long, but his hair is thin like mine, it needs to be a little shorter.. Not too short though! Saturday afternoon Matt had to go into work and I took the kids to a birthday party..yes another birthday party.. The kids have much more of a social calendar than Matt & I combined. They had a moonwalk with a slide, which was of course a big hit with the kids, including mine. They also had a piñata, Colin & Katherine did great taking swings at it, Katherine even knocked out a few pieces of candy from it. Sunday we got up early and dropped the kids off at Matt's parents so we could have a "Jennifer and Matt's Day O Fun"..(thank you --- we really appreciated and needed that!) We drove up to College Station, where Texas A&M is (the college Matt & I met at). We took the back roads for a nice Sunday drive. We got up there and ate at one our favorite restaurants there. They built a nice patio and we sat outside and had amazing hamburgers (they are just as good as I remember). The weather was perfect.. 78 degrees and sunny, not a cloud in the sky. We then went to one of the little shops to buy Katherine and Colin some new Aggie shirts. Then we went to a few bars and had some drinks. Sat outside on the patios enjoyed drinks and each other.. No kids to chase down, yell at, or play 100 questions with. It was nice to just have "us" time.We even stopped and relived our first kiss (that in August will be 12 years ago). It's in Bottlecap Alley, which is an alley between two bars, full of bottlecaps.. Maybe not the most romantic place for first kiss, but hey I was 20.. It was romantic enough :). After having a few drinks and reliving when we met, we went to the Aggie Baseball game to watch them BEAT Nebraska. It was a beautiful day for a baseball game, can't wait until the kids are a little older to enjoy watching the Aggies play baseball. It was a very nice short roadtrip. It was very enjoyable to have Matt all to myself for a whole day. This morning I put the kids in their Aggie shirts for school. Getting a picture of these two is so hard, but they crack me up!

Kentucky Derby & Mother's Day at the Zoo

2011-05-09T17:17:00.000-07:00

Before I get into how our weekend went, I have to say how proud and sentimental I was last week when we took Katherine to sign up for Kindergarten. Even though all we did was fill out the paperwork, she was so excited to see her new school and even didn't want to leave. She was sad when it was time to go, now if we can keep up that attitude for the next 13 years. Also that day we got the invite to her pre-school graduation, my baby is growing up so fast. She is an amazing person. Saturday we had a soccer game, Katherine wasn't much into it this week. Matt's parents came, then after the game we took his mom & dad out to eat for Mother's Day. Both the kids did great at the restaurant. After lunch, Katherine and I fixed our hats for the hat contest for the Kentucky Derby party we were going to. We won for the most "creative". At the party, they had lots of great food, drinks, and the kids got to play in the kiddie pool and swing set. Katherine was proud of our hats, even though we were the only ones that made silly ones, the other ladies had on real derby type hats.. I don't own anything like that, and it was more fun to make one with Katherine anyways. We had a nice time at the party mingling with friends, the kids were sad when it was time to leave, but it was almost their bedtime.. AND MINE!Sunday I awoke to nice cards and gifts from the children and Matt. Katherine really wanted to "take me" somewhere for Mother's Day, so went to the zoo. It was a nice time looking at all the fish, birds, giraffes, monkeys, lions, but the highlight for both children was watching the elephants take a bath. The kids of course love the children's area with a playground and petting zoo. Colin did have a break down when we had to get off the carrousel, he loves those so much! We had to pass by it a second time and he was MAD we were not getting back on it. After about 4 hours, it was getting pretty hot, and everybody was getting hungry, so we left the zoo and ate lunch. After lunch, we turned on the sprinkler in the backyard and lets the kids play in the swimsuits, while I attempted to work on a tan. Matt made chicken fajitas for dinner, yummy. It was a great Mother's Day spent with my wonderful kids and amazing husband. I am so lucky to have them. The only thing missing was getting to see my mom, they are still off traveling, not sure when we will get to see them next.

Happenings around our house

2011-05-03T17:26:00.000-07:00

We like to read bedtime stories. Sometimes we like to pretend we are a big boy and can read all myself. And we have lots of "stuff" in our bed. We like to go to Star Wars parties. Look at this amazing cake and it was yummy!
We pass out watching cartoons with our light saber. This will protect us while we are dreaming of more cake and ice cream. Oh the saber fights they have had this week.
We got a new basketball goal. They have been great at taking turns becoming NBA players.
He shoots, he scores. Look at the determination on his face! We are a "green" family, we believe in recycling.
We like to cuddle and watch movies in mom & dad's bed. Katherine didn't make it all the way through the movie, but Colin did. And while she was snoring, he was still snuggled with up big sis.
We like to lick the bowl when making cupcakes, who doesn't.
We are determined to get every drop of batter out of this bowl, even if that means crawling into it, which both of them ending up sticking their heads in there.

Happy Easter

2011-04-27T17:22:00.000-07:00

Easter has taken on a more special meaning for me in the last few years. There for awhile, I lost some of my faith. Through college, I had the carefree days and looking at other philosophies than Christianity. Though I always believed in God and Heaven, I doubted other aspects of religion. As I got older and became a mother, I felt something was missing, I realized I lost the faith that helped guide me. After Colin was born, I found my faith again, God was there to help shine the way through a very dark time.
I like the fact that Katherine and Colin go to a Christian based learning center. Katherine has come home telling us her bible stories. A few days before Easter, she told me Jesus was a jeb.. I asked you "You mean a Jew", she said "Yes that's what I said.. A jeb". Katherine told Matt and I the story of Holy Thursday, the Last Super, Good Friday, and Easter..for the most part she got the story right. I am very proud that she has taken an interest in learning about God and leading a better life. I am proud of the fact that she knows the real reason behind why we celebrate Easter. She also told me we must pray for all those who have less things than us. Her heart is really pure and I love that about her. The kids had so much fun dying eggs, hunting eggs (twice), and opening their Easter baskets. Colin really got into finding the eggs. Katherine was great at helping him find some and leaving the ones that were in plain sight for him. The Easter Bunny brought so much fun stuff like a bowling set and a ZuZu pet, and of course candy… which Colin has been obsessing about.. He even sneaked the stool over to the Easter Candy last night and was stuffing his face when I caught him. Colin looking guility after eating a marshmellow peep for breakfastAs much fun as Easter was this year, it was a tough one, the first one without my Grandma. Grandma loved Easter, she was a person of strong faith. I miss her very much. I was very close to my Grandma, talked with her almost every week. She was one of my biggest readers of my blog. As soon as I would post something, she always would send me an email about how much she enjoyed it. It was hard to call my grandpa's house on Easter knowing we were missing a very important person. I know he misses her so much, as we all do. I got the best present for Easter from my Aunt Marie. In the hospital, my Grandma had a blanket that stayed with her the whole time, every transfer, test, appointment she went to, the blanket went with her. My aunt took that blanket that kept Grandma warm and safe and turned it into pillows for all of us. I will ALWAYS treasure this special gift, a reminder of a beautiful soul.

Beach, Submarine, and Katherine scores

2011-04-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter weekend, we are very blessed. I will post Easter on it's own blog entry later this week. Friday we were off and took the kids down to Galveston with my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew.

We went to Seawolf Park which houses the USS CAVALLA (WWII Submarine) and the USS STEWART (destroyer escort - one of only 3 in the world). We were able to go through the submarine and go on the top decks of the destroyer escort. The kids had fun exploring on the ships, lots of things to touch, climb on, and play with. They also had a playground that is right on the water, so the kids also enjoyed that. After the ships, we went and ate at our favorite burger place on the seawall. Then it was off the beach. The water was a little too cold, but it was a perfect day to sit on the beach and play in the sand. The kids did play on the shoreline for a little while, but Colin was getting a little cold, so we pulled them out of the water. The kids made sand castles, looked for shells, and even discovered jellyfish in the seaweed. It was a nice day to enjoy the sand & sun. The kids weren't ready to go when we left, but Colin was passed out in his seat after being in the car 5 minutes. Saturday Katherine scored a goal at her soccer game, in the RIGHT GOAL. She did really good, was even getting aggressive. She took the ball down from the middle of the field and scored all by herself, beating out two other girls from the other team. If we could just get her to concentrate like that all the time. She was so happy when she scored it!

She got a goal & annual company picnic

2011-04-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

Katherine scored a goal this weekend in soccer.. It was in her own goal.. But hey that counts! She was "embarrassed" when she realized she scored in the wrong goal.. Silly girl. Katherine still isn't completely focused in the games, but still seems to be having fun.

Saturday afternoon, we went to my annual company family picnic. The kids had a blast with the petting zoo, moonwalk, picnic games, and of course the sno-cones. Katherine was upset when we left because she had made a new best friend (she makes one wherever we go). That night they were nice and wore out that Matt & I were able to rent a movie and watch the entire thing.

Katherine's new "thing" this week is that she wants to open a restaurant… an AGGIE restaurant. According to our head chef Katherine, it will serve mac & cheese, spaghetti, chicken on the bone (drumsticks), cheeseburgers, pecan and pumpkin pies, and a few other items. But no pizza.. Why I am not sure :)

Colin's Norwood-versary

2011-04-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday two years ago, we put our faith and trust in God and an amazing medical team. We handed our 10 day old son over to an unknown faith and sat in a waiting room for 12 hours praying that we will receive good news at the end. Two years ago yesterday, Colin had his first open heart surgery, the Norwood. This is the first and the hardest surgery in the HLHS series. The survival rate is 80%, which may seem high, until you realize those 20% that don't make it are somebody's babies, they are sons and daughters to loving families. Since Colin was not diagnosed in utero, I was not prepared (though I don't think anyone really ever is) for the surgery or the aftermath of it all. When we finally got to see him that night, I could barley stand there and look at him. I just wanted to throw up in all honesty. It took time for me to adjust to the ICU life. Matt was much much stronger than me, I allowed him to be my rock because I needed him to be the glue that held us all together.

As much as that memory is etched in my mind, and as hard as it is to realize all we have been through… I actually forgot it was Colin's Norwood Anniversary until late last night. I thought I would always celebrate in our own way the milestones of surgeries, I was actually caught off guard last night when I remembered it was the 13th. How could I have not realized all day what day it was.

Then it hit me last night as I was laying in bed, a wonderful conclusion to why I was not focused on it. Colin is doing great, we are living in the now, he is happy & healthy. Don't get me wrong his Norwood Anniversary is a VERY VERY important date, but I think it's just a time to reflect on how well Colin is doing and how far he has come over the last two years. Sometimes I look at him and it doesn't seem real all the things he went through, as if it was a dream, or another lifetime. The Norwood seemed so long ago, I know we spent 6 weeks in the hospital, but now it's just a blur. I much rather focus on how much he loves Buzz Lightyear, pony rides, going outside, swinging, white powdered donuts, cuddles, playing hide-n-seek, cotton candy, and playing in the sprinkler. I much rather replace all the beginning memories with the ones we are making right now.

April 13th will always have a special place in my heart and as Colin grows up we will make sure he knows how hard he fought to come home from the hospital. But I am not going to focus on past surgeries, going to keep looking forward into the future. The pages are blank unless we write all over them. I think that's why I fill up our weekends sometimes, I feel like if we just hang out we are wasting a miracle that was given to us, the miracle of all 4 of us together, living and enjoying life as a family. We were given a "second" chance with Colin's surgeries, I plan to make the best out of it! So Happy Norwoodversary Colin.. You are my hero!

Bluebonnet Festival - Chapel Hill, TX

2011-04-11T17:19:00.000-07:00

I love springtime in Texas with the bluebonnets, Indian Paintbrushes, warm weather (not too hot yet), and it's a great time for family outings! Saturday after Katherine's soccer game, we picked up one of my friends and drove to Chapel Hill for their annual Bluebonnet Festival. Chapel Hill is a small historic town about 1 1/2 hours from where we live. The festival was held in it's historic cute little downtown with the vedors lined up and down the streets.

On the way to the Bluebonnet Festival, we stopped in a field to take pictures in the bluebonnets, a great spring time Texas tradition. This year was hard to find bluebonnets due to the drought we are in. We found a small patch, but the grass and the bluebonnets were pretty dry. But we got some good pictures even though they weren't out in full force.

At the Festival, there was so many vendors! It was fun walking around and looking at all the neat stuff, it got a little hot (we all got a little sunburned). I bought a shirt, the kids got some toys, and I bought some "diet" margarita mix made with real fruit juices instead of all the sugar of the sweet & sour mix. The kids got to do a petty zoo and pony ride. Katherine was rode the pony but was a little hesitate about it, Colin was loving it, trying to make him go faster. Katherine enjoyed feeding the animals at the petty zoo while Colin loved chasing them down. And of course we participated in festival/fair food.. Sausage on a stick, sno-cones, funnel cake, Kettle Corn, hot dogs, and of course beer and margaritas. After all that walking, food, playing with the animals, and the sunburns, the kids were passed out snoring on the way home once we dropped off my friend.

Sunday we had a nice relaxing day around the house. We went to the park and I turned the sprinkler on for the kids to play in the backyard. When I turned the sprinkler on, it was nice and sunny, after about 30 minutes, it clouded up and got windy. I had to bring the kids inside as Colin's lips and feet were blue and Katherine legs were cold. So we put on a movie instead and I got a nap.. I think that worked out great.

Colin's Developmental Assessment

2011-04-07T11:20:00.000-07:00

After Colin's first surgery, Texas Children's Center for Developmental Pediatrics asked us if we would mind participating in their study. They wanted to follow Colin throughout the first few years and track his development. Each time after he had a surgery, we had to fill out questionnaires about his development and the things he was doing. At his first birthday, we had a 200 question booklet to complete on all the things he was able to do.

This week, Colin had his 2 year old development assessment with the center. I am very proud to say that he is completely on track and even ahead in some areas. They had him complete tasks such as :
• puzzles (matching corresponding shapes)
• stacking blocks (asked him to stack 3 high, he was able to stack 6)
• looking at a picture book he had to point out or name objects
• problem solving - given a task, could he use reasoning to do it
• motor skills (jumping, running, kicking ball, going up stairs)
• Testing his speech

We will get the full report in the mail in a couple of weeks. They do not feel Colin needs any therapy and were happy with his progress. The night before Colin's assessment, we made a list of all the words Colin can say, he is able to say 70 different words! For his age, he should be able to say 50 -70 words… we are so proud of him. He is putting 3-4 word sentences together. Some of his most common ones are:
- Look mamma, a tree
- Mamma, I done (when he is done eating, ready to get out of his chair)
- Dadda, I bath, go bath (when I am in the bath and he wants to get in)
- Outside, go, shoes (as he hands you his shoes to go outside)

So two great appointments in a row.. Keep it up Colin!

Happy 2nd Birthday Colin!

2011-04-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

This weekend was full of birthday celebrations for a very special boy… Colin turned 2 on Sunday. Where did the time go, didn't we just celebrate him being one?

Of course with Colin, his birthday is more than just turning a year older, it signifies so much more than that. It's a day that we celebrated a year of great health, a year of no heart surgeries, a year of blessings made through God and his medical staff. A year that we didn't take for granted, a year that we know we are more fortunate than other families.

Looking back at his birth, even two years ago to this day (a day after he was born) we knew nothing of HLHS, nothing of CHD's, nothing of the journey we were about to begin. I am still so very very thankful to this day for the doctor in the NICU to do an echo on Colin just to make sure since things weren't adding up. I am so very thankful for delivering two blocks ago from a top rated heart center that knew what to do, and I am so very thankful that Colin's heart was strong enough to go undiagnosed for 3 days. Colin's birthday will always be a reminder about how blessed we truly are to have him here with us.

A little update on Colin:

- 23 pounds (3rd percentile) but is growing according to his growth curve

- 32 inches (5th percentile)

- Speech - is saying 4 word sentences… "Look momma, a tree" , "I wanna go outside", "I wanna snack, eat"

- Comprehension - understands very well, yesterday Katherine said "lets go to the zoo", Colin's reply "Yes, I go Zoo, yes I wanna go.. Zoo Zoo.." then he turned off the tv and picked up his shoes and brought them to me :P Sadely, we did not go to the zoo.

Saturday we had Katherine's soccer game, then we came home and got the house ready for his party. The theme of the party was of course, BUZZ LIGHTYEAR.. Colin's favorite right now. We had 12 kids running around. They bounced on the moonwalk, played in the backyard, and went wild in the upstairs playroom. Colin had such a great time with his friends. Katherine had a good amount of friends there too since her classmates also have siblings in Colin's class. Colin got lots of great new toys, including a John Deere Tractor, a pretend weed eater, "leaf blower" that blows bubbles, and of course Buzz Lightyear toys. He had lots of fun opening his presents this year… I even heard him say "Whoa" when opening them. The moonwalk was at our house for 4.5 hours, I think Colin jumped in it for about 3 of those hours…. He loved it so much! After all the guest left, Colin passed out. It was a very tiring day, but well worth it to see both Colin and Katherine have so much fun with their friends.

Sunday we went down to Galveston to eat at The Spot, our favorite hamburger place on the beach. Then we went down to the strand for shopping and the candy store, where we got a caramel dipped apple covered in M&M's, chocolate covered cherries, and more goodies. Colin even had fun hanging out at the "bar" with Matt, it's a shop on the strand that sells beach apparel and has a bar :) What a great weekend to celebrate a very special birthday boy!

Cardiology Update

2011-03-30T14:04:00.000-07:00

Today Colin had his 6 month cardiology appointment at Texas Children's Hospital. I'm excited to report that there has been no changes in his heart function, so he does not have to go back for 6 more months! Matt and I get so nervous before these appointments. We know that sometime between now and 5 years old, there will be a point where the cardiologist comes and tells us it's time. Colin also has a leaky value that if stays the same they are happy with, but if it's gets worse, they will have to operate on it BEFORE his next planned surgery. That always sits in the back of my mind.

BUT today, Colin's cardiologist said he looked and sounded great, that he was very pleased with how well Colin is doing. Colin is still on the small side, but is growing well, he just started off small. Colin has no restrictions on physical activity and his medicines stayed the same (1\2 tablet of aspirin and Enapril for blood pressure).

The plan is still the same concerning the 3rd and hopefully final surgery, they would like to wait until Colin is 4 0r even possibly 5 years old. As long as Colin's heart function stays strong, we will keep going back every 6 months for a check-up.

Colin loved playing in the waiting room, but once we got back for testing, he changed his tune! Colin would NOT let him get his blood pressure or do the EKG. The doctor was fine with it since he sounded so good. When we go back in 6 months, Colin will get a sedated echo (ultrasound).

This great news today makes it even better that we are celebrating Colin's 2nd birthday this weekend. What an amazing life this two year old has had!

Whew... What a Weekend.

2011-03-29T03:56:00.000-07:00

Once Monday comes, I wonder "What happened to our weekend, where did it go?". We seem to keep so busy it just flies by! Saturday morning, Katherine had her first soccer game of the spring season. Even though we don't keep score, Matt did and we won by a large amount. The team did great their first season back, all BUT Katherine were really into the game. Katherine was more interested in the lady bugs and flowers on the field. Her attention span for the actual game was non-existent. So interesting start to the season, hopefully she gets more interested in the actual game then spinning circles on the field. After the game, my parents watched the kids while Matt and I went to the Bayou City Arts Festival. It was a beautiful day to walk around and look interesting painting, glass and wood works, jewelry , and photography. I bought some pretty hand blown glass magnets, but we didn't buy any art pieces this time. But it was nice to get out and enjoy sometime with just Matt and I. Sunday we had a picnic at the park/playground with my family. The kids had fun running around and burning off all their energy, and boy they do have a lot! After a few hours at the park, we went home and rested for a FULL HOUR :), before heading off to a birthday party. Colin's friend Liam had his 2nd birthday party at in an indoor moonwalk place, the kids had so much fun running and bouncing around with their friends. Colin loved the big slide, but was unable to climb up it himself, so I got to carry him up each time. We would fly down the slide, then he would scream "AGAIN". Man I got a work out doing that. Katherine had a lot of fun, since a lot of her friends have brothers in Colin's class, they were all there too. After the party, we came home and grilled fajitas and the kids played in the backyard. It was my parents last night in town before heading off to start their life of traveling nomads. The kids are going to really miss them while they are gone. Katherine got used to having Grandma put her to bed, read her stories, and sleep with her.

St. Patrick's Day, Parents in Town, Elle Turns 2

2011-03-22T16:15:00.000-07:00

What an eventful week. First of all Aly Jean's surgery was postponed to Monday March 28, she had to be pushed back for an emergency heart transplant for a newborn. I pray that all is well with that baby and of course continued prayers for Aly Jean's surgery this coming Monday! She is going to rock it like a superstar!

Thursday was St. Patrick's Day and I did not start off with the luck of the Irish! Coming out of the driveway, I heard.. Thump, thump, thump. So I got out and looked to see not just a flat tire, but one that had NO AIR and I was riding on the metal rim. I turned around and called Triple A (Thank you Dad for getting me the membership!) Katherine was all worried that she was going to miss her St. Patty's Day party and pizza delivery at school. I assured her that it was only 7am and I would get her there in time. Triple A took about an hour to come and put my spare on, thank God I was at home and not stranded on the streets somewhere with the kids! Here's a picture of us waiting on Triple A, all decked out in our green!
I took them to school, then spent the next 3 hours at the tire shop getting 3 new tires, I had two others that looked really bad. My wonderful, amazing husband knew I was having such a hard day, took off half a day and convinced me to do the same. We went out to Rice Village where there's lots of shopping, restaurants, and bars and celebrated St. Patrick's Day there with green beers and green margaritas! It was a nice day to sit out on the patio of a few places and have some drinks and go shopping. Matt always turns my bad days around for me! Seems like most our days off together, we end up drinking :) I was surprised to see so many people out celebrating St. Patty's day in the mid afternoon.. and some of the costumes.. Wow!
Friday at work, I got a surprising phone call from my parents that they were just a few hours away. They have been in Phoenix since New Year's Eve taking care of my grandma. So Friday night we told the kids that we were having dinner at Uncle's Russell's house but did not mention the special guest that were going to be there. Russell sat them on the couch and did a "magic trick" and had grandma and grandpa appear. The kids loved their surprise! They brought some gifts from their travels, but most important, my mom brought me some of my grandma's possessions to keep. I will treasure them always!

Saturday we went to a VERY special little girl's birthday party, Elle was turning 2! We met Elle and her parents during our first stay at Texas Children's. We were in the same pod area of the NICU, I ran into Elle's mom a lot of the milk bank, Elle and Colin had their first surgeries on the same day, they were roommates in ICU for a couple days, and we overlapped stays for Colin & Elle second surgeries! We became friends in the hospital, it is great to find a friend in the same tough situation as you, one that really understands what being a heart parent is all about. I am so proud of Elle and how well she is going. It is just a joy to see her grow up. Please also keep her in your thoughts and prayers as she is facing her 3rd heart surgery sometime this summer. She has an amazing family and support system and I am so excited to see many many more birthdays to come!
After the party we went to Matt's parents house to see how his mom was doing. That day while setting out a pot of flowers on the patio, she tripped and broke her wrist. She is having surgery on it tomorrow. We have such exciting families! Hoping for a quick and easy recovery, and of course it was her right hand!

Sunday afternoon my parents came over and have been staying with us since. The kids have really enjoyed them being home and I know they will be very sad when it is time for them to leave. We are gearing of for Katherine's first soccer game of the spring season. Matt and I are coaching again, we had equipment pick up and coaches camp this past Sunday. We have the full team returning from the fall season and the first game is this Saturday.

Here are also some random pics from around the house. Last week, Colin took a big likely to Katherine's barbies, snuggling them in bed and hiding behind the toy box. Colin and Uncle Russell racing down the slide, technically Uncle Russell got a head start, and Katherine riding her bike. She is doing so well at it, glad we have nice weather again!

Prayers for Aly Jean - Fontan

2011-03-16T07:54:00.000-07:00

Please pray for Aly Jean, she is having her Fontan today! This is the 3rd and final stage of the "planned" surgeries for HLHS. None of us know what the future holds for our HLHS heroes, but at birth we are told they will have a series of three surgeries. It is a great accomplishment to make it this far in the fight, while others are not as lucky.

Please pray that this will be her last medical intervention on her heart, and she is will grow strong and healthy, and live a very long long time with her mended heart. I pray for her parents that are about to hand her over to their trusted surgeons and God to help perform this miracle of making half a heart function as a whole heart.

Please give them strength as they have to wait patiently in the waiting room, which is a long and grueling day. I hope that her recovery goes smooth and she is home real soon. I have watched Aly grow over the year, she is an amazing, cute, spunky, adorable fighter! Her mom, Jenny, is a dear friend who is so strong and brave. Go Aly, you are going to do awesome! http://www.alyjeansspecialheart.com

Aly in her cute "zipper club" shirt!

Houston Rodeo 2011

2011-03-14T18:46:00.001-07:00

Saturday we got up early and headed out to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. It was a beautiful day, even got some sun. We started out visiting all the livestock, the kids loved seeing the horses, cows, pigs, chickens & baby chicks, bunnies, goats, and even a bee and worm exhibit. Colin went on a pony ride, which he loved. They played on the tractors and even bought candy at the candy booth.
Then we went outside to the carnival. First we went through a Farmers market, where the kids had to collect (fake) eggs, milk, corn, fruit to then sell at the farmers market. With the "money" they earned, they were able to buy a treat (crackers and rice krispie treat). Then it was off to the carnival rides and games. Katherine really enjoyed the carnival games this year, winning more stuffed animals (as if we don't have enough of them). Colin was more into the rides, but he is too small for a lot of them, but luckily we found a few that he could ride. He reminded me of the movie Big, in the beginning where he is in line but he is "too small" to ride with his friends, making him wish to be big. Colin would run and point to a ride but the height requirement was 36 inches and he is 32… hopefully next year. But we did go one the carrousel, a carnival ride that spun us around( which he loved) and a two story slide (which I am not sure how he felt about it, but he didn't cry). On the other hand, Katherine the fearless has now discovered FEAR. Rides that she has done the last two years in a row, she was scared of. She loved the big slide last year, this year when she got to the top, she started crying and would not get on it. So I took Colin down, then had to go up and get her and bring her back down. She also cried on another ride, which she did the previous year. This year was NOT her year for rides :) But she had a great time otherwise!

We also visited a new exhibit this year , which was by far the highlight of our day, the Butterfly Tent. They enclosed you this large tent, where hundreds of butterflies were flying around. If you stayed still long enough, several would land on you, we were even amble to stick our hands out for them to land on us. The kids loved getting to be so close to the butterflies. It was amazing to get so close to them. They are beautiful creatures!
Of course we pigged out on carnival food! For lunch, we got a LOAF of fries, it was huge! We also had pretzels, funnel cake, and of course the kids chowed down on some cotton candy. Colin was shoveling it his mouth so fast as if someone was trying to take it away! Katherine got a cowgirl hat and lasso, which has become her new favorite toys this week along with all the stuffed animals she won.
We were at the rodeo for 5 1/2 hours, the kids slept ONLY 15 minutes on the ride home, then were wired for the rest of the day. I was exhausted, why don't they take naps! I like naps.. They should too! My mother-in-law said it was all the cotton candy :)

Phoenix Part 2

2011-03-03T19:08:00.001-08:00

More on my trip to Phoenix last week. After my grandma's service, we had a nice reception at the church with lots of food, fond memories, grandma's favorite deserts including a lemon cake that she loved, and of course time for family. Afterwards we went over to my grandpa's house, where we ate more food and had time to catch up with one another. I sat on the floor and looked through my grandma's photo albums. She was so organized with her photos, it has inspired me to get better about not just keeping online albums, but real photos albums you can touch and flip through.

The next day, we got up and went on a 4 mile hike through the Sonoran Desert Trail, the same one my parents did for Colin's heart walk. We even got to see the flag they planted, it was still there. The hike took us a little over two hours. At some points, I realized how out of shape I really am. Yes I am active with the kids, we go for walks, we do chase around the house and backyard, and wagon rides.. BUT I don't climb mountains on a regular basis. I have a new found respect for how much hiking and exercise my parents do with their "retired" life. No wonder why my mom is so tone and fit, my legs were sore for TWO days after the hike.
But the hike was more than just a hike, it was very cleansing to the soul. After such a hard day at the memorial service, it was very therapeutic to get out into nature, to breathe fresh, clean mountain air, to not hear city noises, and to spend time with my parents and brother in such a unique setting. It was physically challenging at times, which was great to burn off some of the emotional stress, the sadness and anger of losing my grandma to cancer. Cancer robbed her of her youth, I say youth because even at 83, she was strong before the cancer took over. When we went a year ago, my grandma went hiking with us, went to the zoo, went shopping, she was youthful. It was great to get out and feel the sunshine and know that in spirit she was walking right along with us. It was nice to hear silence and have time for my mind, heart, and soul to so some "thinking".
That afternoon we went back to my grandpa's house with my extended family, grilled hamburgers, went to the pool and hot tub and even had some good laughs. Then next morning, it was off to the airport and home to my family which I missed a great deal. This was the longest I have been away from Colin. He sure was clingy when I got back :). I missed my family a lot while I was gone but so glad I made the trip.

Heaven Gained a Beautiful Angel

2011-03-03T18:45:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, Heaven gained a very special angel, my grandma. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in June, at the time she was given 3-6 months, but being the strong person she is, she stayed with us for 8 months. Even though we knew what the end result was, it was devastating when I got the call on Friday that she took her place in Heaven. My brother and I flew out to Phoenix on Sunday night for the memorial service on Monday.

It was a beautiful service for a beautiful person. It was so hard to see my grandpa, they had been married for 63 years, she is the love of his life and vice versa. At the ceremony, I prepared a speech, but got too choked up to really say all the things I wanted to say, so I am going to give my speech here, since it's easier to type than say.

I grew up knowing and loving an amazing grandma. As a child they lived on a ranch in Colorado which was always so much fun to visit with all the animals. But the best part was that grandma worked at the Russell Stover's candy factory and her house was always filled with it. In the evenings, she would make us homemade ice cream. My grandma loved sweets, I often that is why she was so sweet, because sugar is what she pretty much lived off of.

We always had so much fun with my grandparents. They loved to travel. We took trips to Disney World, Mexico, California. My grandma loved the beach. She loved to sit on the shoreline and dip her feet in the water. She could sit there all day with a cold beer. Her laughter was memorizing and contagious. Her smile always made you want to smile.

I am very blessed to have spent 31 years with my grandma. She has been there for all my major moments in life, high school and college graduation, wedding, and Katherine's birth she stayed a month just to soak up as much as she could of her. Katherine and my grandma have a very special bond. I have not told Katherine yet, as it is going to break my heart to do so. My grandma was a rock for me while Colin was in the hospital.

As I became older, I realized she was just not my grandma, but my friend. I could always go to her with exciting and sad news. She was always there to listen. I often called her on my way home from work just to chat, catch up on the kids, and to get the family gossip.My grandma loved sending panties for Christmas, as I kid I thought it was strange, but now I am going to miss that.

I am going to miss her so much. But we are going to keep her spirit alive by leading the life she set for us as an example. She was a kind, caring, loving, patient, strong, silly, active, amazing person. She taught us all so much about love. Life, and family.

That's what I had planned to say at her service, I think I only got 4 sentences out before I broke down in sobbing tears. It's hard to say goodbye to someone you love so much. My cousin sang such a beautiful rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow and she also did a great job of making a slideshow of my grandma's life. It was hard to see the last pictures while she was sick, but I am so glad we got to spend time with her this past year. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Last night during story time, Katherine asked Matt when are we going to Phoenix again to see Granny. I am going to tell her this weekend that she has an amazing guardian angel watching over her and Colin. I know that my kids will be safe, with grandma watching over them. We will keep her memory alive.

I have more to tell about my trip, but will save that for another post. I just wanted to use this one to tell everyone how much I love my grandma and always will.

Katherine and my grandparents at 7 months old

Katherine and my grandparents 2 years oldThe beautiful blanket my cousin made for my grandma. It has all the great grandkids. They used this to comfort my grandma while she was sick. They protected her even in her last couple of days.

The whole family Feb. 2010Grandma and Colin

Katherine loves Granny so much.

Slideshow from service - What a blessed life

2011 Heart Walk - Team Colin

2011-02-20T17:07:00.000-08:00

Team Colin raised $6,620 this year and had 35 amazing walkers to raise awareness on the 3 mile walk. Thank you all to those who supported and walked with us. We are very lucky and grateful to have such wonderful family, friends, and supporters. I want to really thank my company for matching our $3,000 goal and for raising $345 at our Team Colin bake sale.

Team Colin was awarded an It's My Heart award for being one of this year's top fundraisers. We could not have done this alone. So thank you all again. It felt really good to walk up there and get the award knowing that the money will be used to support families of children with a CHD.

It was great to see two families we met in the hospital when Colin was first born, Elle and Abigail. It was so great to see these two girls so happy and healthy! We also were lucky to meet a 16 year old boy with HLHS, his family was so nice. We also got to see Colin's occupational therapist who helped us learn how to eat, oh how I love her :) It was a beautiful day and after the walk we enjoyed the family fun fest with moonwalks, snow-cones, snacks, entertainment, and time to spend with those who walked with us.

My parents were not able to join us as they are taking care of my grandma in Arizona. But they did their own walk and even planted a flag for Colin on their 4.8 mile hike. To read more of their story, go here http://sunshinenomads.blogspot.com/2011/02/heart-walk-colin-phoenix-connection.html

We had a great time at the walk and can't wait to do it next year and every year!

Party on a Ranch, Valentines Day, Team Colin

2011-02-16T17:24:00.000-08:00

First an update on Team Colin, thank you all so much for your support. We raised a little over $3,000 and my company just matched us, so that brings our total to $6,000! This money will help support families who's child has been diagnosed with a CHD, what a wonderful cause! There is still time to come walk with us, Saturday is going to be a beautiful day and it's free! http://imhwalkforchd.kintera.org/keepthebeat/teamcolin.

Saturday we went to a birthday party for Katherine's friend Anna Grace. It was at our daycare director's ranch. The kids had a BLAST! They were able to pet and feed ponies, pet the bunnies, pigs, goats, cow, and horse. They were even able to go horseback riding. Katherine wanted to really bad, but once she got up to the horse, she got scared and chickened out. But Colin got right on and LOVED it! No fear what so ever! They also had a lawnmower set up as a train, Katherine really liked riding it around the yard. We lucked out with the weather, after having all the freezing cold rain, it was a nice sunny, 65 degrees! They were both upset when the party was over and it was time to go home. Sunday we ran some errands and did the kids' Valentines day cards for their parties on Monday. We also made chocolate cupcakes for their class, which I think they came out great looking. Both kids loved liking the beaters and the bowl!
For Valentines day, Matt was sweet and got me a charm for my Pandora bracelet that had two adults and two kids and it says Family. He also got me a massage, can't wait to use that. The kids of course got way too much candy, which I am rationing a piece a day for them, but will soon have to throw out the rest. Katherine got a new Tinkerbell doll and Colin got a toy boat, he is fascinated with boats.

It was a great weekend. I am looking forward to this weekend to get to see family, friends, and our heart friends at the walk. I wish my parents were able to make it, but they are taking care of grandma still in Phoenix. They are greatly missed by us but they are where they need to be. They are going to go do a strenuous hike on Saturday with their Team Colin shirts to spread awareness.

CHD Awareness Week

2011-02-07T17:10:00.000-08:00

This week is Congenital Heart Defect Awareness (CHD) Week. I never heard of CHD until Colin was 3 days old, when he was diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). Colin's left side of his heart developed too small and was not functional. He has had 2 out of the 3 series of operations to reroute his blood flow.

Colin's heart will never be fixed, he will always live with a CHD and will never have a fully functional heart. After surgery number 3, Colin may not have any more, he might require more surgeries, he might need a transplant, and even his heart might just give up. This is the future we are faced with but we are fighting and fighting hard! Many children do not get to fight this long, so we know we are blessed.

We have the privilege of our story being featured on another blog today to raise awareness. Please visit http://www.alyjeansspecialheart.com/ this whole week to read many stories just like ours.

To raise awareness, I though the best way is to give you a real peek into what having a child with a CHD is like.

I rely on God, doctors, medicine, hospitals, technology, and nurses to stay alive. My family has spent many days/nights by my bedside crying, praying, laughing, and hoping for the best. I have had two open heart surgeries and awaiting one more. I can not live without medical intervention. My mommy fears when it is time for the next surgery because I will be more aware and she is afraid that I will be scared.

I have spent more time in a hospital in the first year of my life, than most adults will ever spend. I now have a fear of anybody in a white coat. I have seen my pedritican more than my 4 year old sister ever has. I hate scales, I used to have to be weighed everyday and now cry when I see a scale. I am happy even in the toughest of situations. I know I am a miracle and the chance of life is an opportunity not all get to have. Some might feel sorry for me, but my family and I are proud of me!I am fascinated with BOATS, Love Boats, Boats is one of my favorite words to say. I will own a boat one day :)Like every 2 year old, I love to swing. I love to play at parks. People are often amazed at how well I talk and move about, because they think I am a lot younger than what I am because I am small for my age.

I love powdered donuts, who doesn't. I used to hate to eat. I would cry because it hurt too much. I would gag on solid foods and throw them up. I had to go to therapy to "learn how to eat" a simple basic function of life was not very easy for me.

I love to climb, I get onto the chair all by myself. I like to say "Cheese" when mommy pulls out the camera which is like 500 times a day. She thinks she might miss something if we don't take lots of pictures. I think she fears of what happens if I am not around to take pictures of.

I love pushing my trucks around the house, scuffing up the walls. It took me longer to walk than most babies, but at 15 months I finally did it. I am a true boy at heart. I am rough and tough, sometimes too rough and tough. I get to go to time out just like other kids because of me being too rough!
I do get tired of all the pictures. This is juice in my cup. I still won't drink much milk from a cup, call it a comfort thing. Mommy has let me still have a nigh time bottle because of all I have been through, she likes that I love the bottle now instead of hate it. But I am getting too old for it and it needs to go bye-bye.
I love chocolate cupcakes.. what 2 year old doesn't?? I look just like every other kid my age, I don't look or act sick.

I wake up with horrible bed head! When my mommy puts me to bed, she thanks God for each day I have spent with them and she prays for even more days.

I throw tantrums just like very toddler my age! Though this one is a great relief to my family, as I am begging for food. Feeding used to be such a struggle and I have always been underweight for my age. I have given my mom a few white hairs at her "young" age due to the stress of feeding time.

I love playing hide-n-seek with my sister. I love my sister. I follow her around like her shadow. I want to do everything she is. My parents treat us the same even with my special heart. I know one day I will have limitations and may not be able to do all that she does. But we will deal with that as it comes. For now, I will chase her around and pester her as a little brother should!

Team Colin Bake Sale,Rolling Blackouts, Ice Day, and Alligator Hunting

2011-02-06T16:01:00.000-08:00

As you can tell from the title of this entry, last week was a busy and bizarre week.

First of all, we had a bake sale at work to benefit Team Colin in the It's My Heart Annual CHD Heart Walk. I have such wonderful co-workers that volunteered their time to bake and spend their money for a great cause. The Bake Sale brought in $340, which brings Team Colin to $2,000. My company is matching me up to my goal of $3,000.. So that REALLY brings us to $4,000! It's not too late to sign up to walk, they have waived the registration fee. To sign up please click here, http://imhwalkforchd.kintera.org/keepthebeat/teamcolin.

Wednesday the State of Texas had rolling blackouts due to the snow, ice, and freezing temps. After 3 blackouts at work, they sent us home. . I had a meeting in the semi-dark, we rolled up the window blinds to see. Not very productive that day. They were afraid of the servers crashing for good if they kept bringing them back up. So I worked half a day from home, which was nice. Katherine was all excited when I picked her up to tell me about "flashlight time" when the power would go off at school. Each blackout lasted anywhere from 15 mintues to an hour. It was an interesting day.

Thursday afternoon Houston was suppose to get a snow storm, so I had to get off work early to pick up the kids. Friday morning to our disappointment, we did not have snow, but we have a city covered in ice. I was able to work from home, but Matt had to go in for a little while. His normal drive of 20 minutes, took him 1 hr & 20 minutes. There were 750 car wrecks that morning in Houston, thank God Matt made it to work and home safely. I worked from home again.. I could get used to this :) Except for the kids interuppting me.. Colin got to talk on his first conference call.. Good thing my team thought it was cute.

Saturday once the ice melted and the temps warmed up, we were able to get out and get some errands done. Matt's parents came over and we went to a famers market to buy some fruits & veggies. Katherine pciked out broccolli because it's green and healthy for you ;) It was nice to get out of the house and have warmer weather (60 compared to the high of 32 we had for a few days).

Sunday was a beautiful day, high of 73 and sunny. We went with my brother and his family to Brazos Bend State Park, they are known for their alliagtors. We got to see three of them on our hike around the lake. We watched one gator eyeing some birds, we were hoping to see him wat them, but no luck. The sunshine felt so good. The kids had a great time running around since they have been couped up all week. We are southern people, we don't like winters of 32 degrees and ice. I live in the South for a reason, I actually like heat and hummity.. I am not one for cold. So spring hurry up and get here.. My kids NEED to be running around OUTSIDE and NOT destroying my house.

Looking for Gators

Katherine leading the way.. Run.. get that energy out!

Matt showing off his tree climbing skills

The kids following in daddy's footsteps

Gator sunbathing with some turtles

Look Blue Skies!

Russell, Kannon, and Colin watching the ducks

Colin throwing rocks.. Had to really watch him.. he is perfect size for Gator bait :0

Everyday should be a Picnic in the Park

2011-01-31T17:52:00.000-08:00

Saturday we met up with Uncle Russell, Lara, and Kannon for a nice picnic at the park. The kids (and adults) got to play on the playground, take a walk out by the water, and have a nice picnic lunch that Russell made. Katherine and Colin had slide races, Katherine learned how to do the balance beam, and played on the swings.

We went to feed the ducks, but all we could find was geese, and they really didn't want the bread, but the catfish in the pond did and the seagulls. After a nice time at the park, we went and had ICE CREAM! Yummy. Katherine had to taste test everyone's ice cream to see what she liked the best. On the way home, Colin was found licking something other than ice cream.. HIS FEET.. EWWW (picture below).

Sunday Matt had to do a little work from home and it was raining, so I took the kids to Chuck-E-Cheese. They of course had fun as always. For some reason it tires me out more than them! Later when the rain stopped we did some sidewalk chalk, and took Katherine to the mall for a little while.

It was a nice weekend with my family. I live for our weekends. :)

Ready, set, slide

Colin taking a "thinking" break

Katherine reflecting on her week at school :)

Look.. NO HANDS

Katherine the awesome big sis

Colin, Katherine, and Kannon

Russell, Kannon, and Lara

She is just way too cool!

Katherine and I quote "Someone get this baby off me, he's heavy"!

So not sure what this was ALL about.. maybe some ice cream dripped there???

Through the Eyes of a 4 Year Old

2011-01-26T10:37:00.000-08:00

This has been a hard, stressful week so far. I thought everyone needed a little bit of brightness today. These are pictures that Katherine took on my phone this weekend on an outing we went on. She amazes me the beauty she can see in everyday objects, this was just a potted plant at an outdoor mall. I walked past and didn't notice it, but she got all excited and asked for my camera.

Kids have that ability to stop and smell the roses (or take the pictures) that us adults get so busy and forget all about. I love my daughter for showing me the beauty in life. I think she is going to a photographer, look at these, and she is only 4!

Wyatt Greeno HLHS 7/13/10 - 1/24/11

2011-01-25T09:38:00.000-08:00

It's a beautiful day up in heaven. Jesus is rounding up his tiniest angels, to go live on earth, and be born.

One of the sweetest angels says to Jesus "I don't want to leave, I like it here, and I will miss you".

He reassures the scared little angel that everything will be okay, and that she is just going for a visit. She is still not swayed on this idea. So Jesus kneels down, and says, "How about if you leave half of your heart here with me and take the other half with you, will that be okay?"

The angel smiles and says, "I guess that will work". But the little angel is still a little scared. She asks, "Will I be okay with only half of my heart?" Jesus replies, "Of course you will, I have other angels there that will help out, and you will be fine."

Then Jesus gives the angel more details about his plan. He says, "When you are born, your mommy will be scared, so you have to be strong, and when you feel weak just remember that I have the other half of your heart. Enjoy your time with your family, play and laugh everyday. And when its time to come back to heaven, I will make your heart whole again. Always remember that you are not broken, just torn between two loves."

Today is a very sad day. Wyatt Greeno lost his battle with HLHS last night, he was just 6 months old. My heart is broken, Wyatt IS a very special little guy to me. I "met" his mom Jillian online when she was pregnant with Wyatt. I assured her it was all going to be okay, I encouraged her to look at Colin and know Wyatt will be just like him. We religiously read each others blogs, commented on Facebook updates, we became friends who never met.

I had the PRIVILEGE to watch Wyatt grow up for 6 months and I am truly going to miss him. I will miss seeing Jillian's silly postings on facebook about his squishy cheeks and his love of Green Bay football. I will miss watching him grow.

My heart is broken for Jillian and her husband Lucas, who are wonderful parents having to go through the most horrible thing a parents can dream of. They love their son very much. They do not deserve this, no one does.

This morning I didn't want to take Colin to school, I wanted to just hold him, cuddle him all day, keep him close to me. It’s so hard to see a child pass away, but especially one that you feel a bond with. I am angry that we have to deal with CHD's, how unfair it is to our children who have to face this. I am scared today, I am scared about my son's and other HLHS children's future. I am so sad for my friend who is on the toughest journey of her life right now.

Some people have questioned why I get so involved with people I don't know. That I have enough on my plate without added stress. But I don't see it that way. I have friends who have kids with HLHS. I have friends to talk to about feeding issues, cardiology appointments, echos, chest x-rays, drainage tubes, level of activity for Colin that other people just can't understand.

My university I graduated from (Texas A&M) has a great quote that I thinks fit's a heart parents perspective to a tee.."From the outside looking in, you can't understand it. And from the inside looking out, you can't explain it." Texas A&M is known for it's traditions and often is described this way when people don't understand them. This is how I feel about being a heart mom. Most people can not understand the journey we take, and it's too hard to really explain what goes on to those to who do not live it themselves.

Rest in peace dear sweet Wyatt. You are loved by so many. May you now be a guardian angel to all the HLHS warriors you have left behind. Jesus has now made your heart whole again.

Prayers needed!

2011-01-24T07:26:00.000-08:00

Many prayers are needed in the heart community right now. I share this with all of you since you have prayed for Colin, now some of his friends need help. Also I write this to show you how hard HLHS can be. We so far (and I mean so far because things can always change), but so far, Colin has had it pretty easy. I know this will NOT always be the case, and we too will have more challenging times ahead. But right now mothers I have become friends with through blogs and facebook groups need extra prayers sent their way.

We will start with dear sweet Wyatt. He is 6 months old with HLHS and just had his Stage 2 (Glenn) surgery. He had his Stage 1 in July and had some complications due to a gene mutation called MTHFR, which cause him to have lots of blood clots. But he got better after his Stage 1 and was able to go home in August. He has spent many months at home being a very happy healthy baby. His parents love him so much and are so proud of him. Then came time for Stage 2 and he has had more complications. This weekend he was not getting blood flow to his left lung, so they had to reopen him and put in a stent to open it back up. Then yesterday his oxygen and blood pressures were too low, then he coded..his heart stopped. They were able to do compressions and get it beating on it's own again. He is currently on a heart and lung bypass machine giving his body sometime to rest and rebuild strength. I "met" Wyatt's mom when she was 30 weeks pregnant with him. I have followed him for 8 months and have a great opportunity to make friends with his mom and watch him grow into a happy 6 month old that loves his Green Bay football. I love his squishy cheeks and his smiles. It is so hard to see this family going through this right now, it breaks my heart. I know Wyatt is strong and will pull through this. You can following more on his story through his caringbride page… http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/wyattgreeno. Just after typing all this, I checked his carepage again and found.. "I will say that things are really bad right now and Wyatt probably will not make it through this. He fought very hard but there aren't many more options." Please pray for a miracle for this family!

Next is Hope, she is 16 months with HLHS. Hope's story is truly one of a miracle, but she needs more prayers for her miracle to keep going. At Hope's last check up, her heart function was great, but she has recently been diagnosed with kidney dsyplasia in both of her kidneys. In kidney dysplasia, the internal structures of one or both of the baby’s kidneys do not develop normally. Fluid-filled sacs called cysts replace normal kidney tissue. Kidney dysplasia usually happens in only one kidney. A baby with one working kidney can grow normally and has few, if any, health problems. Babies with kidney dysplasia affecting both kidneys generally do not survive pregnancy, and those who do survive need dialysis and kidney transplant very early in life. Hope's mom knows that there is now a change of kidney transplant along with Hope still needs the Stage 3 of the HLHS surgeries. Hope is a beautiful little girl who brings the true meaning to her name. I also met her mother through her blog, http://wodzisz.blogspot.com/, and have become friends over the past year. Her mom is an amazing woman and mother. My heart goes out to them and I wish for them that Hope's kidneys will not be much of an issue.

Aly Jean will be 2 on Katherine's birthday (June 30th). They are preparing next month to have her 3rd Stage surgery (Fontan). The hospital Aly goes to prefers for the Fontan to be done around 18-24 months..as ours like to do it around 3-5 years. Neither one is better, just different schools of thought. Aly is an amazing little girl, she reminds me a lot of Colin. She is a fighter, one tough cookie, and I know she will do great with her surgery. I met her mom thought heir blog, http://www.alyjeansspecialheart.com/, over a year ago. She has been there to ask questions to, to share hope and fears over our children, to laugh about silly things we have to go to, and to help pray and reach out to others. Jenny is a great friend and a strong person. I pray that Aly's surgery and recovery go well and she is back home really soon afterwards. I pray for her family of having to hand over your toddler to the surgeons, for that is a very scary thought. I know it will be hard BUT Aly has a GREAT family and they will make it through this.

On some great news, Nadine and her husband gave birth to a beautiful baby girl Leyna on January 18. Leyna's big sister is Hailey, an HLHS angel. Hailey passed away on December 2, 2009 at the age of 4.5 months old. I hold a very special place in my heart for Hailey, I think of her often. She reminds me how precious life is and it can never be taken for granted. I watched Nadine and Josh lose their precious daughter, but they have never stopped fighting for her. They are amazing parents and I am so happy for them and their new addition. Leyna has a great gaurdian angel watching over her.

Please pray for Wyatt, Hope, and Aly! These families mean so much to me.

A wet weekend & reminder on Team Colin!

2011-01-18T13:11:00.000-08:00

Before I get to the weekend recap.. Reminder on Team Colin! We need more walkers! To encourage more walkers, It's My Heart is now not requiring people to pay to walk, they only have to pay if they want a t-shirt. Please come out and support Team Colin on February 19. We will have team shirts with this year's theme "Half a heart, twice the fight." Please go to this link to register to walk, http://imhwalkforchd.kintera.org/keepthebeat/teamcolin or to this one to donate http://imhwalkforchd.kintera.org/keepthebeat/colineyring. Team Colin is so far in 3rd place for fundraising and my company is going to match us up to our goal of $3,000! We would love to have a big team this year to show how much Colin has touched a lot of lives.

This weekend was cold & wet, so we had to find indoor ideas to keep the kids busy. Saturday we went to the Houston Boat Show. The kids had a blast getting on all the boats, pretending to drive them, fish off them, look for buried treasure. They also loved the cotton candy and pretzels we got. We climbed on so many boats.

Colin really loved the party/pontoon boats and Katherine liked the really big boats with the cabins inside. She liked that they were like little houses. It was funny when the sales people would come over to ask about what you are looking for in a boat.. I just wanted to say "It's cold outside and I only came here for my kids to play on your merchandise!" The kids went non-stop for 3 hours, I was so for sure they would take a nap.. But no chance. Saturday night was movie night… a house favorite..Princess and the Frog.

It rained Sunday from 5am until 7pm. Sunday morning I got up to meet my friends for breakfast and some girl time. Later that day we ran errands and took a drive in the rain, and stopped by Matt's parents house for a little while. That night Katherine cleaned the game room spotless, without being asked, so we made cookies. Colin sat by that oven just wanting for them to come out..what can I say.. He loves food. Now to find out where Katherine stashed all her toys :)Monday Matt had a holiday so I took a vacation day. We took the kids to school to have "Matt and Jennifer's Day O Fun". If you’re a Friends fan, you understand the reference. We went shopping, had a nice lunch, where I seemed to get a little drunk on accident. I only had 2 margaritas but I guess they were pretty strong, strong enough for me to giggle all the way home. Then crash for a long nap. But having the wonderful husband I have, while I was passed out, he made the homemade spaghetti sauce I was going to make (it has to simmer for 3 hours) and was on his way to pick up the kids. This is just one of the reasons why I love him so!

Colin & HLHS Update

2011-01-10T09:34:00.000-08:00

This weekend was a quite one, which is a good thing sometimes. Friday we had Matt's family over to celebrate his birthday and watch the Aggies play in the Cotton Bowl.. The game started out great then fizzled…but we had a great season beating Texas Tech, UT, Nebraska, and Oklahoma! The rest of the weekend we just ran errands and rested up. First week back to work after the holidays was rough to get back into schedule, so it was nice to relax.

I haven't done a Colin & HLHS update in awhile, so here it goes:
- First of all, I want to remind everyone to come out and support Team Colin at the It's My Heart Walk on Feb. 19. You can read more about it here.
- Colin is now 21 months old..terrible 2's right around the corner :)
- Colin is now 22 lbs (5%) and 32 inches (10 - 25%).. YEAH.
- We are not as concerned about weight as before. He is gaining and eating well. I want to make sure he is eating healthy and not just a lot of calories to bulk up weight. I am excited about his height actually catching up.
- His next cardiology appointment is March 30 (6 months from his last one). At that appointment he will have a chest x-ray and EKG, does not need an echo this time.
- Last check at oxygen saturations, he was 87%, which is his normal for him. He is anywhere from 85% - 90%.
- His speech is growing more and more each day. He is now putting 4 words together. The other day I was in the bath and he went and got Matt and said "Dada I wanna bath". When he wants something, he says "Please Mama Please" I love that!
- He is a climber.. He can now get onto the kitchen table chairs without any help. Climbs on the stools in the kitchen. We are constantly telling him not to stack his toys to climb up :)
- He is able to recognize pictures out of his books and point to them.. I ask him where is the dog, cat, train, butterfly, apple, orange, bear, frog, pig, goat, and a lot more and he can point them out. - He can throw a mean tantrum and sometimes will cry when told no.. Getting into the terrible two phase.
- He loves to snuggled and cuddle.
- He still gets his monthly RSV shots durning the winter.. he has had three so far.
- Plan at this time is still to have the Fontan at about 4 ish.. But that can always change depending on heart function.
- A lot of people ask, will his heart be fixed after that.. The answer is no.. They can never fix his heart, the surgeries give him a better chance to survive. He will always be on medicine, always go to a cardiologist, there might be more surgeries or even heart transplant. The future is unknown.

I try not to think about the last point too much, though it's hard not to. Colin is special is so many different ways, his heart is just one of them. You would never know by looking at him that he has had 2 open heart surgeries. You would never know by his energy level that his heart doesn't function at 100% and he has less oxygen levels in his blood than most. His color is pink, rarely do we see blue in his face. Heart kids for the most part don't look sick, don't act sick, and we never try to act like he is either. We go on about our "normal" lives because that's the whole point of these surgeries, to give him a "normal" life. One day I will have to explain all this to him, I dread that. As young as Katherine is, we always talk to her about Colin's special heart and his boo-boo's. She kind of understands, but it's a hard concept at 4. It's a hard concept at 31 :)

2011 It's My Heart Annual CHD Walk

2011-01-04T10:30:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again, get your walking shoes and Team Colin shirt…. We are gearing up for the It's My Heart Annual CHD Walk. It is on Saturday February 19th in Downtown Houston. They are not doing the 5K Fun run this year, just the walk.

It will be a great day to come and get some exercise (I know that's everyone's New Year Resolution) and enjoy the family post walk party afterwards. Last year at the post party they had moonwalks, performers, food vendors and, it's a great time to get to know other heart families.

Team Colin's goal this year is to raise $3,000 and have 50 walkers (last year we had 30). Please come out and support a great cause! All proceeds benefit It’s My Heart mission to provide support, spread awareness, educate and advocate those affected by Congenital Heart Defects by creating alliances with fellow families, hospitals, support groups and community.

We will have new Team Colin shirts this year, we are in the process of designing them right now. If you would like a team shirt, we have to have the final order with shirt sizes in by January 31. The cost of the shirt should be about the same as last year.. about $15/shirt.

If you want to participate in the walk, please click here, http://imhwalkforchd.kintera.org/keepthebeat/teamcolin, the fee is $25 to walk and you can donate more on top of that if you choose to.

If you are unable to walk with us, you can still support us, by going to this link, http://imhwalkforchd.kintera.org/keepthebeat/colineyring.

For more information on the walk and event details, please go to the It's My Heart Walk web site at http://imhwalkforchd.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=439392

2010 Heart Walk

Heart Defect Facts:

Congenital Heart Defects are the #1 birth defect.

Congenital Heart Defects are the #1 cause of birth defect related deaths.

About 1 out of every 100 babies are born each year with some type of Congenital Heart Defect. (approx. 40,000/year)

Nearly twice as many children die from Congenital Heart Defects in the United States each year as from all forms of childhood cancers combined, yet funding for pediatric cancer research is five times higher than funding for CHD.

This year approximately 4,000 babies will not live to see their first birthday because of Congenital Heart Defects.

Of every dollar the government spends on medical funding only a fraction of a penny is directed toward Congenital Heart Defect research.

Though research is ongoing, at least 35 defects have now been identified.

4-8% born with CHD have Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome - Which is what Colin has.

Happy New Year

2011-01-02T12:30:00.000-08:00

We had a great end to 2010. I was able to spend two whole weeks with the kids. We went to the zoo, Children's Museum, Chuck-E-Cheese, played at the park while it was still warm, and visited with family over the holidays.

2010 was an year full of fun filled days, several family trips, a lot less hospital time then 2009, the addition of our nephew, lots of laughter, and lots of other exciting times. To hit the highlights:

- Colin's first airplane ride to Phoenix in January, Katherine's 2nd airplane ride. We also went back to Phoenix in November to visit a very special lady.

- Colin started school in February after being confined to the house for the first 8 months

- Participated in our first It's My Heart heart walk-- which were are signed up again for Team Colin. I will do a post just for that.

- Katherine turned 4 and Colin turned 1.

- Matt and went back to Aggieland twice this year to visit friends and relive the "glory days".

- Took a family trip to New Braunfels and had such a great time we are already planning our trip for this year.

- Katherine started soccer and Matt and I were the team coaches.

- Colin got tubes in his ear and was circumcised in May

- Katherine learned how to write her name and can write words if looking at them

- My nephew Kannon was born 5 weeks early after a very long and hard pregnancy. But he is doing great now!

- Colin had some ER trip for croup but has been really healthy otherwise and had two great check-ups from his cardiologist. We went a whole year without heart surgery!

- Katherine has grown up so much this year. Her language, her knowledge, and her imagination have grown so much.

- Matt had back surgery

- Went to the beach several times.. Katherine is already asking to go back soon.

We hope 2011 to be an even better year! I have a few resolutions for myself to work on. First is to loose the Christmas deserts of my belly!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-30T06:27:00.000-08:00

It's been way too long since I had an update. December has come and gone so quickly. Katherine and Colin had three kids Christmas parties this month and Matt and I had on for my work. Plus add in Christmas shopping, wrapping presents, family time, baking, and everything else.. it is all kind of a blur.

I have been lucky and have been off with the kids for almost two weeks. Matt has had to work most of the time but has got to take days off here and there. My parents are in from Arizona for the holidays, then they will go back and spend so more time with grandma before they travel some more. I will do another post soon about all the fun things we did on our time off and to catch up on our lives around here.

Here are some pictures from Christmas Eve and Christmas. Christmas Eve we went to Matt's parents house and had a great time. Christmas morning we opened presents, then my family came over to have Christmas lunch.. we even had a very special visitor stop by.

We had a very nice holiday spending time with our families and getting to slow down a little bit and enjoy each other. We had many blessings to count this year.

Katherine and Matt's annual Gingerbread house.

Making cookies for Santa

Colin really likes the green sprinkles!

Katherine and Rudolph!

Opening presents Christmas Eve

Colin got a K9 unit police car just like his uncle Brian! He loves it!

Opening presents Christmas morning. Santa came with an easy bake oven!

Colin Really enjoyed Christmas this year! Look at that bed head!

Santa brought Colin his favorite.. Blues Clues. Colin sleeps with him now.

Santa and Mrs. Clause came by to spread Christmas cheer. My aunt and uncle made the kid's faces light up!

Katherine telling Santa about ALL the things she wants.

Someone left a present under the tree. My handsome nephew Kannon was tired out and found a great place for a nap.

Thankgiving - A review of pictures

2010-12-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful and busy Thanksgiving break. We hosted a real nice Thanksgiving lunch at our house with my family, then off to Matt's aunt house for the evening where the kids got to play with the cows, then to watch A&M beat t.u... WHOOP.HE LOVES HIS FOOD!
MODEL POSE!COLIN WAS SO EXCITED ABOUT THE COWS!Friday I took Katherine to see Tangled, what a cute movie. We had a nice girls date. Saturday we went to Matt's parents for another "Thanksgiving" meal. Sunday we had my family over to say goodbye to my parents, they left for the next month or so to travel and go to see my grandma in Arizona. They are going to fly back for Christmas, then travel some more after that. Here's Colin cuddleing with his PaPa Wayne (my dad), Katherine feeding her baby cousin Kannon, my mom & Katherine & Kannon, and my brother Russell with his mini-me.

A Time For Thanks

2010-11-23T12:14:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving is just two days away and we have a lot to be thankful for again. This year has been another year full of blessings, lesson learned, happiness, joy, smiles, and laughs. Though our life is far from perfect, it is perfect for us and we are full of thanks. This year we are hosting Thanksgiving over our house for my side of the family, then after that we are heading over to Matt's aunt's house for Thanksgiving, then the big football game where Texas A&M is going to beat t.u.! It will be a maroon out Thanksgiving!

To all that read this, I hope your year was as blessed as ours and that you have much more joy and happiness to follow in the year to come. "A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues." Cicero.

We give thanks this year for so much. Just to name a few:
- My nephew Kannon was born on Sept.12 healthy after being 5 weeks early and a hard pregnancy.
- Colin has gone 14 months without any heart complications or surgeries. He only has to see his cardiologist every 6 months.. at one time it was once a week
- Katherine has a heart of pure gold. She is so caring and affectionate to everyone, especially Colin.
- I love my husband more than the day I married him
- Colin loves to eat and has no more feeding issues
- Katherine can make me laugh all the time, even on my worst days. I cherish the time we spend together.
- We have a great support of family and friends
- I am very thankful I had the opportunity to spend time with my grandparents twice this past year. I know their health is fading, but I am counting my blessings that I have got to spend so far 31 very blessed years with them by my side. They have been a cornerstone in my life.
- We have never had to go without while so many have had to
- We always have food in the refrigerator/pantry, we have a nice house for our kids to grow up in
- Both kids are doing great at school and they have a safe/wonderful environment to learn in
- Wonderful parents and in-laws that support us and are there for us whenever we need them.
- For date nights and margaritas with a very handsome, funny man
- For the heart community I have found. The support from these families are amazing and though I have not met most of them, I consider them very close friends. I want Colin to grow up with knowing kids just like him, I feel that is very important.
- I am thankful for Facebook.. Okay hear me out on this one. First I have been able to connect with friends I have lost over the years, I have found a GREAT support network there of other heart parents, and I can keep in closer contact with family and share pictures of the kids.. Okay so I am a dork.. That's okay.
- Katherine followed in my footsteps and played soccer
- The Aggies have been winning!
- Sunny warm days full of laughter, tickles, playgrounds, dress up, ice cream, and love
- 4 year old art work

This year has come with sadness, which makes me appreciate life's simplicity. This year I have learned I will lose one person I love so much, my grandma. Words can not express how much she means to be, but in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am turning my grief into thanks for God giving me such an AMAZING grandma! I have seen so much sadness in the heart community, I give thanks in every breath Colin breathes. I give thanks in the HOPE for future for these kids, we have come so far in recent years in fighting the battle.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I hope you all get to share with the ones you love AND Gig'Em Aggies!