tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23730707684472231662024-03-13T02:48:04.780-05:00Beautiful BlessingsSearching for the hidden blessings in everyday life. Sometimes you have to dig through piles of dirt to find one small blessing, but that small blessing is so precious that it is worth the effort.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-90650699396399303652013-04-10T10:56:00.001-05:002013-04-10T10:56:36.906-05:00April is AUTISM Awareness Month<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFV_OXLHTH55mqED3bEcuPkzQAZYnua6A7WI5ux_Z3eIVlH5ax0SQFiDRt_4m1mb9RJoMIefT26kE0uV8GSBdNEKrBbFFuNRPlG5mByeXszLVl4N2sepWyQ0pH2MsxhhNsvDpihnsmfg/s1600/Autism+awareness.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bua="true" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFV_OXLHTH55mqED3bEcuPkzQAZYnua6A7WI5ux_Z3eIVlH5ax0SQFiDRt_4m1mb9RJoMIefT26kE0uV8GSBdNEKrBbFFuNRPlG5mByeXszLVl4N2sepWyQ0pH2MsxhhNsvDpihnsmfg/s320/Autism+awareness.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ixOWIv9ABzvYUsW32FgMU4TlXW82E9_UtC-906tjxMk7U20lFyjMLeUhQv7sB6CbMP9IxiXDyiQZE7SVwITvm0cDgUjScOs019p0jjhrTNsx6RcG-dI4FtG89L000bxHONzAelzIuQ/s1600/aprilisautismawarenessmonth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bua="true" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ixOWIv9ABzvYUsW32FgMU4TlXW82E9_UtC-906tjxMk7U20lFyjMLeUhQv7sB6CbMP9IxiXDyiQZE7SVwITvm0cDgUjScOs019p0jjhrTNsx6RcG-dI4FtG89L000bxHONzAelzIuQ/s320/aprilisautismawarenessmonth.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-64663107218486694982013-03-14T17:41:00.000-05:002013-03-15T14:15:59.450-05:00SicknessAre there hidden blessings in sickness - YES! The laundry may not get folded & the dishes won't get washed, but there is plenty of extra cuddle time!<br />
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Poor Carrie has been battling bugs all winter: colds, ear infection, sinus infection, thrush, yeast infection, and croup. Please let spring come soon!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIbTEqn10QjpcuTNBO9jHK2SLscJdrkb6yTZ-iToxjgQgficjK-fbrqWr_BZqWoOOXwmQRr2Qt1XPdyz0oPSrWx-JAAB48I8EZZ5ki6Zs_2D5stUoBQxCDf0q9JYR9yWFwo6oamtqcA/s1600/IMG_0638.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" psa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIbTEqn10QjpcuTNBO9jHK2SLscJdrkb6yTZ-iToxjgQgficjK-fbrqWr_BZqWoOOXwmQRr2Qt1XPdyz0oPSrWx-JAAB48I8EZZ5ki6Zs_2D5stUoBQxCDf0q9JYR9yWFwo6oamtqcA/s320/IMG_0638.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Here is Carrie-anne and her new friend Macie!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-34525649884996269062013-02-25T22:33:00.000-06:002013-02-25T22:33:00.801-06:00Reviving this blog!It is time to bring this blog back to life. I started this blog a few years ago as a way to journal our family and I have seriously been neglecting it. I would like to change direction a little, I still want to journal our family but I would like to focus on the small things that many people don't see as blessings, but actually are. Sometimes you need to search hard for these hidden blessings because God doesn't always put them in pain sight. <br />
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Todays hidden blessing: Scraps of paper. The day before Valentines day I walked into our kitchen to find our Buyers Guide all cut up, with little scraps of paper everywhere. My first though was "who's going to clean this up?" But before I could say anything Tristyn handed me a sheet of paper. It said "Happy Valentines Day, Mom I love you" and she had all these cute little scraps pasted on the card, pictures of puppies, hearts, colorful fish, etc. I am so blessed!<br />
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Now for the journal part: Carrie-anne is doing great, she's 7 1/2 months now, I can't believe it. She's just getting over a nasty ear/sinus infection, thrush & a bad yeast diaper rash! She's rolling from back to front now, and she's almost figured out how to get back to her back. She as finally started to put some weight on her legs & likes playing in her jumper. 7 1/2 months may sound late for these milestones, but that's because of her muscle Hypotonia, since all 3 of my kids have had this I have learned not to panic! We may get her enrolled in the Birth-3 program, we'll see at her next doctors appt. Tristyn still has some minor trouble with Hypotonia such as poor balance and slow reflexes, but it does't affect her too much, and Maddy has pretty much out grown it totally. <br />
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As for Maddy & Tristyn, Maddy is in 4K, and she loves it! She is so out going and makes friends easily. Tristyn is in 2nd grade and has a small group of friends that are very sweet, amazingly most of them are in 4th grade!<br />
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Have a great day & look for the hidden blessings!!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-55103302419612220282010-08-25T15:27:00.008-05:002010-09-03T14:56:01.311-05:00Madilyn's Heart Journey<div align="center">I am re-publishing this post to be a part of the Every Heart has a Story blog event.<br /><br />Click the picture below to read more heart stories.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://whenlifehandsyouabrokenheart.blogspot.com/"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512375479183385826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 190px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk8wG2PwXxtWnv2uZrXoslKK3GZflpJRsmJHZKQ39Ir6PRnlRUPPh9apbQSES0tNgoI9H0nitzkdBlWyB9C0MiX11I9JBg-Z8jmwkerzwg4ABe40Rwna1ZhSxJkrPql5dyfhIj85XwLg/s400/1.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><strong>Madilyn's Heart Journey<br /></div></strong><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeL-hee_oE7SgydzPy4EdcaF8C5jy5HN0afyhTWwHAKqgc9D2NqJzdaI1nmucWFjQqHeDqofMCn5CuzIdRwfvsNs1Rq3W57_YBuJlU1idUViJfdQQG26UfgWmpS-JLVwAThkk8Jh9H8A/s1600/P1070821.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509818781792082002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeL-hee_oE7SgydzPy4EdcaF8C5jy5HN0afyhTWwHAKqgc9D2NqJzdaI1nmucWFjQqHeDqofMCn5CuzIdRwfvsNs1Rq3W57_YBuJlU1idUViJfdQQG26UfgWmpS-JLVwAThkk8Jh9H8A/s400/P1070821.JPG" border="0" /></a> <em>Maddy's 1st baby picture. </em><br /><br /><br />Madilyn Ann was born at 10:40pm on Thursday, May 1st, 2008. Within a few minutes we knew something was wrong. She was very blue and her breathing & cries were very shallow. I remember the nurse asking my husband to stop taking pictures. I watched the nurses working on her, and over heard one say “Come on baby, stay with us”, it was like watching a bad movie. She was taken to the nursery to have a bunch of tests and we were given the preliminary diagnosis of a congenital heart defect. She would need further tests to find out the extent of her heart defect. At this point we were very scared and all we could do was pray. I had an ultrasound around the 20th week of pregnancy and was told everything looked fine, so all of this came as a sudden shock to us.<br /><br /><br /><br />Maddy was taken by the Spirit of Marshfield ambulance to St. Joseph’s in Marshfield, she arrived here around 4:00am. Tony left and met Maddy in Marshfield, I wasn’t able to leave the hospital yet, so I had wait. Before she left, the nurses gave us some Polaroid pictures they had taken. I later learned that these are called “just in-case pictures”. In Marshfield she saw Dr. Dyke, he did several tests, ultrasound, echo, etc. and she was officially diagnosed with <a href="http://www.mhs.net/healthlibrary/content.aspx?pageid=P01823">Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA). </a><br /><br /><br />In a normal <a title="Heart" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart">heart</a>, <a title="Oxygen" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen">oxygen</a>-depleted "blue" blood is pumped from the <a title="Right heart" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_heart">right side of the heart</a>, through the pulmonary artery, to the <a title="Lung" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lung">lungs</a> where it is oxygenated. The oxygen-rich "red" blood then returns to the <a title="Left heart" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_heart">left heart</a>, via the <a title="Pulmonary veins" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulmonary_veins">pulmonary veins</a>, and is pumped through the aorta to the rest of the body. With TGA, blue blood from the right heart is pumped immediately through the aorta and circulated to the body and the heart itself, bypassing the lungs altogether, while the left heart pumps red blood continuously back into the lungs through the pulmonary artery. In effect, two separate circulatory systems are created. Maddy was born with "Simple" TGA, meaning TGA was the only heart defect. Although it may seem illogical, babies born with "Complex" TGA have a better chance of survival. This is because with they have other defects such as a ASD, VSD (holes in the heart) which allow for mixing of the blood. Maddy did not have this advantage, she had no mixing of the blood and her PDA was very small. Therefore she needed an emergency stent (hole) put in her heart, just to survive long enough to have the surgery to correct her TGA.<br /><br /><br /><br />A few hours later she was then taken to Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee. The doctors really wanted to air lift her there, but the weather was just too foggy. She arrived in Milwaukee around 9:30am on May 2nd. She immediately had a Balloon Atrial Septostomy, and Dr. Berger put a stent in her heart, she was about 11 hours old at this point. A stent is a man-made hole between the chambers, this allowed her blood to mix. This stabilized her and we were able to wait a few days and let her gain some strength before surgery. This is where I was finally able to catch up with her again. I was discharged from the hospital and we made the 3.5 hr. drive to Milwaukee, not very comfortable only 10 hrs after giving birth! We arrived shortly after her stent was put in. We were later told that the ambulance ride was very tough on her, she coded twice and the attendants were afraid she wasn’t going to make it. The stent made a world of difference, the next time we saw her she was nice and pink. The day after the stent was put in she had an episode of apnea, where she stopped breathing. I have never heard so many alarms and seen so many nurses come running. They determined that this was a side effect of one of the drugs she was on. To keep this from happening again she needed to be put on a CPAP machine. This stands for continuous positive airway pressure. This is a small device that fits over her nose & was held in place by a fabric, helmet like, harness.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509818967097570626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 291px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8D1SCQ9EJ5fjaRo3JeQarAY3Z_q9KrwSLOmsGvn3U05ajdH77CjPqb0FQA6mmQbc01E2tNTm3yhwvI4FFN9umddYbmu2Us3zhfKRJQyRfD6U1LosckrbgoJl-KIlqbZPef1vpsUgaYg/s400/cpap.jpg" border="0" /><em>Maddy with the CPAP on, after the balloon aterial septostomy, her color is much better.</em><br /><br /><br />On Monday May 5th Dr. Tweddell preformed the Arterial Switch Surgery (Jatene procedure) and put the arteries back where they should be, she was 4 days old. It was a long surgery, almost 7 hours, but she came through with flying colors. She recovered very quickly and on May 13, at 12 days old, Maddy was able to come home.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509819221040577858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 291px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKHtfKkXFqbcjRQwmcDgfJMHBHEUamOYCR3wgrQts2JfRLlL5uHoYFDmdMbtwGiZgL5cYK0e6Jg8ae_gFzx22sUNf5H8OVetl0tc0LfMyHFpJDiJuicdxCoSM-3YZpJkztGpcpT2YTFg/s400/surgery.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><em>A few hours after surgery </em></p><p align="center">Maddy is now a happy and healthy 2 year old. She has so much energy that she is hard to keep up with, and loves learning new things. She will need life long cardiac care to watch for leaky valves, narrowing arteries at the re-connection sites, and irregular heart beats, but her outlook is great thanks to the wonderful care she received. Tristyn is 6 years old & loves her little sister, the first thing she said was “Mad-o-lin is shiny and new”. Poor Tristyn was a trooper during all of this. She had no idea why she was suddenly abandoned at her grandparents house for almost 2 weeks. She was able to come & visit us once and that was wonderful, because I really missed her. Maddy and her sister Tristyn are both precious blessings from our Lord Jesus. Our family has been blessed with two beautiful daughters and we treasure each day.</p><div align="center"><br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /><br /></div><div align="center">.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-55664709734123334792010-08-11T18:40:00.000-05:002010-08-12T12:54:38.492-05:00Family Pictures<div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGNapk3qP2QzYMTu5DVbM-ym2m_pCl3t5PcDSy6wg8XdqTz-veH5ANmHnblmPH-WcW0Z_HWNDZNC7aWIKlu8hw11nHAtU0BJisFwWXJE_9WgjzcnedGkV85EL2WXX2V7P4q3DnCX8CDg/s1600/family.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504582592616117202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 312px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGNapk3qP2QzYMTu5DVbM-ym2m_pCl3t5PcDSy6wg8XdqTz-veH5ANmHnblmPH-WcW0Z_HWNDZNC7aWIKlu8hw11nHAtU0BJisFwWXJE_9WgjzcnedGkV85EL2WXX2V7P4q3DnCX8CDg/s400/family.bmp" border="0" /></a> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504582716767069986" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 312px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 250px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSNgrkmt2OIe0MVTyowFK08lxfWGhyphenhyphennU6ukBQ6nJvpCK_e_IQ0ks00JLcsNGbi2VkqgQW-76PsMyRDAa-ebxKMN8FpgakctKXUqPnVmZIfMiKbd2K_DGjRhfNeIHWF1cPkjXSXsZUc6g/s400/Tris+%26+Mad.bmp" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504582866331230594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 312px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 250px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptOHe8CORuBw7KghujtlUAF8rlZhFKwXOWUkuTGPTOXzbl4v70zDuq1YRGNaKvEZ4ZLEsaEtE1iRuMGo0ar9t7YH05B8K8RPFqDJAb4cOEudl5fpm6CjbmeAcgpsiEZq3TbZr2RVcxw/s400/Tristyn1.bmp" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504582996998676626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 312px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxUPCs4dQO8-GzxjxaD2uuC3rPHcoHOJA4HcmllQjEbhVZ21Zfa_Wb6UlHIOyNijHrP8gTXLha0_Pc2_3tsShWT52gU7VecthKYiI5d8aiyFJkfxlvUZYx_sWS9M7fTob4-xq51PlbJA/s400/Maddy1.bmp" border="0" /><br /></div><div> </div><div>.<br /><div></div></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-9479727258320609502010-07-22T00:00:00.001-05:002010-07-22T00:00:01.424-05:00Happy Birthday Tristyn!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-AGIHWJbRmf58D1M-gHt3cnLChJOe11eD8-sadMYMfB3Q_djQ1GfCfsS5erJTXg-juk7I4Rgc4NvCZIq9_hLxXbGWLiqp1uOeSaxAWnhYvpDsr91Fly3g_2Mx-3Br07CsHCoxZ_m0w/s1600/Tris.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496458064756713106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 254px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-AGIHWJbRmf58D1M-gHt3cnLChJOe11eD8-sadMYMfB3Q_djQ1GfCfsS5erJTXg-juk7I4Rgc4NvCZIq9_hLxXbGWLiqp1uOeSaxAWnhYvpDsr91Fly3g_2Mx-3Br07CsHCoxZ_m0w/s400/Tris.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Yep, Tristyn will turn 6 at 3:01pm on July 22. Happy Birthday Tris, we love you!</div><div> </div><div>.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-31330222335637409352010-06-04T17:45:00.001-05:002010-06-10T10:25:17.665-05:00Check UpMaddy had her 2 year old checkup yesterday, everything went great! She is 25 pounds, 33.25 inches tall, which puts her around the 25% percentile. This makes her 5 pounds lighter & 2.5 inches shorter than Tristyn was at age 2. Her doctor is very happy that she has caught up with her gross motor development, and her social development and speech are right on track! Her heart and lungs sound great! Way to go Maddy!!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-89313446790137810482010-06-03T12:59:00.000-05:002010-06-04T13:01:23.362-05:00Happy 10th!!!!!!We Celebrated 10 happy years of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Marriage</span> on June 3rd, and we're still going strong!!!!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-50933542376951856812010-06-02T18:06:00.001-05:002010-06-02T18:06:00.093-05:00Hummers & garages don’t mix!I’m not talking about the Hummer vehicle, I’m talking about humming birds. They are beautiful & fun to watch, but not too smart when they get stuck in the garage. The problem is that when they panic they fly straight up and smack right into the rafters, either hurting themselves, or after 2-3 hours they just become exhausted from not being able to feed. On Monday Tony had to rescue 2 hummger, a male & female Ruby Throated. The male was pretty easy to catch, but the female was a challenge. By the time we caught her she was wrapped up in insulation & exhausted. Tony pick her up and she literally just laid in his hand, so he set her down on the perch of one of our feeders, and she just sat there & drank the nectar for almost 15 minutes, before gaining enough strength to fly away. So, last night we had to rescue another female, this one was easier to catch. We have always had a pretty good hummer population so, I’m not sure why so many are getting stuck in our garage this year, but I guess we’ll be keeping the door closed this summer.<br /><br />Part of the problem is that they are very curious, and don’t have much fear. They quickly become accustomed to people, If I wear anything red (they love this color) it’s not uncommon for them to swoop down and hover just inches from me to check it out. They are also impatient, when I am changing the feeder they usually are perched just a few feet away waiting. I have heard that some hummers will get so used to people that if they pour some nectar in the palm of their hand the birds will sit and drink it off your hand. I haven’t tried that yet, but I might someday, they are a beautiful bird to see up-close.<br /><br />.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-90846411877574295552010-05-23T12:46:00.001-05:002010-05-24T12:47:04.893-05:00ConfusedTwo weeks ago on Saturday May 8th, we woke up to 4-5 inches of snow, now this weekend and the rest of the week will have temperatures in the 90’s! I’m so confused!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-12376641955475746822010-05-05T00:00:00.001-05:002010-05-05T00:00:05.865-05:00Happy Heart Day!<span style="font-size:130%;">Happy heart day Maddy!! Nope, it’s not Valentines Day. 2 years ago today Maddy had open heart surgery to correct her Transposition of the Great Arteries. Basically Dr. Tweddell cut her aorta & pulmonary arteries and re-attached them where they should have been in the first place (almost that is, normally the aorta kind of straddles and weaves around the pulmonary arteries, in Maddy’s heart the pulmonary artery is now straight in front of the aorta). They started prepping her around 10am, and around 11am she officially went on the by-pass machine. Nurse Ann kept giving us updates ever hour or so, and finally around 7pm she came and told us Maddy was off By-pass and the doctor was in the process of closing her chest. So around 8:30pm, after about an 8 hour surgery and several units of blood (Thank you to everyone who donates blood and plasma, and also to all the organ donors!) we were finally allowed into the recovery room to see her. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">We praise the Lord for Maddy’s Life!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-61919650601543056982010-05-01T00:00:00.003-05:002010-05-01T00:00:01.027-05:00Happy Birthday Maddy!!!<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464566397002034258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 256px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe5aevDavlfluRYmAVcEhL8a7Lfv8tLiehuZj68d0V-qAtpij9mwZzNDFdcVDAXSnD7soH4MKxnJ1Szs-fSC1OsaYsYaMfuOdOCQipwI1mVZRalI902IqLaRFHStBPTNtv5onzelQ4GQ/s400/Maddy+ad.JPG" border="0" /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Yep! Maddy turns <span style="font-size:180%;color:#ff0000;">2 years old</span> today, at exactly 10:40pm. </span><a href="http://twobeautifulblessings.blogspot.com/2008/10/all-about-madilyn.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">Click here to read her birth story</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">. She is such a sweet girl, and is so precious to us. We thank our Lord Jesus for everyday we have with her (we feel this way about Tristyn too!) She is doing so many new things, and is a little spit-fire who can keep us very busy!! She has learned how to climb up and go down Tristyn’s big slide by herself and she is starting up put together some 2-3 word sentences.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Maddy, your Mommy, Daddy and big sister Tristyn are very proud of you, and we love you very much!!</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">.<br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-73603513846890852862010-04-30T07:10:00.000-05:002010-04-30T12:49:25.101-05:00Happy 95th Grandma!!Today is my Grandma’s 95th Birthday. Yep, she and Maddy almost share a birthday! It amazes how well she is, I swear she is busier than I am. I hope I can be as happy & healthy as she is, if I get to 95. We will be at her party tomorrow, so Madilyn’s party has been planned for next weekend. Happy Birthday Grandma, we love you!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-41852462900948618342010-04-28T18:31:00.001-05:002010-04-29T08:20:39.703-05:00What’s in your DVD Player?Right now it’s Star Trek: Voyager, but on any given day you might find MacGyver, Knight Rider, Chips, or Highway to Heaven. We purchased most of these before TV went digital and we only had 4 channels, now that we have digital TV we have 12 channels, which is slightly better, but we still find our selves popping in DVD’s. We seem to be drawn to the shows we watched as kids growing up in the late 70’s, 80’s, and early 90’s. We also enjoy movies, ranging from comedies, romance, action, and thrillers.<br /><br />I’ve looked into getting cable, but we live in the country, and cable is not available in our area, so we would have to go with a dish network, and that just seems too expensive right now. So we will live with our rabbit ears & dial up internet. We do have cell phones, so we are in the 21st century, but we don’t always have a good signal at our house, we live in a valley! Oh Well! More time to play outside!!!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-28619545281114598422010-04-26T18:05:00.000-05:002010-04-26T18:05:00.885-05:00What’s in your CD player?Right now it’s Journey’s Greatest Hits. On any given day I might have Christian Rock, Oldies, or 70’s & 80’s Rock (this is probably my favorite and the category where Journey falls into).<br /><br />In September 2008 we had the great opportunity to travel to Minneapolis to see them live in concert – what a thrill, what a rockin’ concert!! Steve Perry was a great lead singer, not sure why he’s not with the group anymore, but his replacement Arnel Pineda, is very talented, and I think he is a great match for the band. My favorite songs are: "<a title="Don't Stop Believin'" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Stop_Believin%27">Don't Stop Believin'</a>", "<a title="Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separate_Ways_(Worlds_Apart)">Separate Ways</a>", "<a title="Faithfully (song)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faithfully_(song)">Faithfully</a>", "<a title="Any Way You Want It" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Any_Way_You_Want_It">Any Way You Want It</a>", "<a title="Open Arms (Journey song)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Arms_(Journey_song)">Open Arms</a>", "<a title="Send Her My Love (song)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Send_Her_My_Love_(song)">Send Her My Love</a>", "<a title="Wheel in the Sky" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_in_the_Sky">Wheel in the Sky</a>", "<a title="Who's Crying Now" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who%27s_Crying_Now">Who's Crying Now</a>", "Stone In Love", "Lovin,' Touchin,' Squeezin;'", and "<a title="Lights (Journey Song)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lights_(Journey_Song)">Lights</a>" - So basically I like all their hits!! Right now we are in hot pursuit of Tears for Fears tickets, not sure if it will work out though, the nearest concert this year is in Detroit, MI., but this June will be our 10 year anniversary, so you never know what might happen. <br /><br />Coming up next…. “What’s in your DVD player?”Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-34284793579519363792010-04-12T17:37:00.000-05:002010-04-12T17:37:00.720-05:001 out of 74 in Wisconsin – Why?Nationally, the incidence of Heart Defects is <a href="http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/152308604322899495" target="_blank">1 out of every 125 newborns</a>. But in the state of Wisconsin, the rate is 1 out of every 74 newborns. Why? That’s what everyone wants to know, that’s why the <a href="http://pedcar.mcw.edu/overview.htm" target="_blank">Wisconsin Pediatric Cardiac Registry</a> has been created. Click <a href="https://pedcar.mcw.edu/overview.htm">here</a> to go to their website, and <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1839561/">here</a> to see some preliminary results. Maddy is a part of this registry. While she was still in the hospital I filled out the huge packet of paper work. They asked everything ranging from what type of cleaning products you use to the type of industry you work in or live near. They took blood samples from Maddy (before any transfusions), samples of her meconium, and DNA. Also DNA & blood from, Tony, Tristyn & I. I hope that in some small way the information we gave them will help answer some questions. <br /><br />The national incidence for her particular defect (TGA) is about 2-3 in every 10,000 live births. The most common heart defect is ventricular septal defect (VSD), a hole in the wall dividing the left and right <a title="Ventricle (heart)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ventricle_(heart)">ventricles</a> of the <a title="Heart" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart">heart</a>. I wonder what the statistics are for these in Wisconsin?<br /><br />On a side note, Maddy and Tristyn both got their MedicAlert bracelets about 2 weeks ago. I don’t anticipate anything happening with Madilyn’s heart, but once you’re a heart mom you’re always a heart mom. She does have scar tissue where her aorta and pulmonary arteries were reattached, which could create a weak spot, and in an accident you just never know what could happen. As for Tristyn, she doesn’t have any medical conditions, but in an emergency she may have difficulty communicating.<br /><br />.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-52775186118879887262010-04-01T09:00:00.000-05:002010-04-01T09:34:42.801-05:00April is Autism Awareness Month!Let me start with a little back ground on Tristyn. I had a normal full term pregnancy with Tristyn, I was induced at 42 weeks. Tristyn was a big girl at 9 pounds even and 22 1/4 inches, she had some problems with low blood sugar and needed an IV for about 48 hours, but besides that she was perfectly healthy. She was a wonderful baby, she started smiling at 4 weeks, and sleeping through the night at 8 weeks, she was a very social baby. She was breast fed until almost 6 months old, and never had a problem.<br /><br />We became concerned about her gross motor skills when we noticed she was way behind other babies her age. She didn't roll until 5 months, sit up - 9 months, crawl 13+ months, walk 18+ months, etc. She was enrolled in the birth to 3 program and they helped her out alot. One of the problems they found was that her joints were hyper flexible. At 2 1/2 years old she was still only using simple words - mom, dad, ball. So we also started speech therapy for her. She graduated from the program at age 3 and we started her in a early education program. This was the best thing we could have done.<br /><br />We asked the B-3 therapists & her early ed. teachers if she could have Autism, she had several, what we call "quirks" and we were concerned. But we were always reasured that she just had some delays and would catch up. Well, last year at this time we sat down with her teachers, a school psycholigist, and the principal, and she was finally given the diagnosis of high functioning autism, which opened several educational services for her. So the lesson learned here is, if you think something is wrong, but the professionals tell you your child is fine, push it more, you know your child. I don't want to change Tristyn, or pump her full of meds, or do therapies that she is not comfortable with, I love her the way she is!! I just wanted the peace of mind of knowing what was going on.<br /><br />Now as I mentioned before, she has some "quirks" Just recently she started adding the "zir" sound at the end of some words & sentences, this is very cute, espically when she says "yes" it comes out sounding like "yes sir." She also loves the word actually. Ask her if she likes something and you might get an answer like this "actually, I do "zir." These are some of her harmless quirks, one of the harder ones to deal with stems from her sensory issues, and that is a fear of "loud" public bathrooms - namely bathrooms with automatic toilets & hand dryers at echo. For some reason, this really hurts her ears - it's like torture to her. So if you are ever in a public restroom and hear a child screaming, please be sympathetic, it might be Tristyn.<br /><br />.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-62868307860490938592010-03-03T12:47:00.014-06:002010-03-03T13:33:21.697-06:00Spread the Word to end the Word!!<a href="http://www.r-word.org/"><img alt="r-word.org" src="http://r-word.org/badge_300x250_v1.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Please stop using the "R-Word." The R-Word meaning "retarded." Please read Jennie's blog entry at </span><a href="http://anextra21.blogspot.com/2010/03/spread-word-to-end-word.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">A Little Something Extra For Us</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">. She sums it up better than I ever could. We had the privledge of meeting this family and getting to know them while down in Milwaukee with Maddy. Her son Micah had open heart surgery at the same time as Maddy. Maddy went into surgery around 10:30 and was in the recovery room by around 7:30pm. This family was there before us and was still there when we left, I can only imagine their long day! We were the last two families in the waiting room that evening and so we were able to talk, our pastor was also waiting with us so he said prayers for both Micah and Maddy.<br /><br />Since then I have been following their blog and have learned so much about faith and how to handle challenges. Since Tristyn has been diagnosed with autism I know were she it comming from when she says my son is NOT a "Down Syndrome baby", he is a child first! Tristyn is not an "Autistic girl" she is a child with autism. I want to make sure Tristyn knows that she is God's child and that she deserves to be treated with respect.<br /><br />It makes it very hard to let her know just how special she is when people just keep using the "R-Word" So please think before you speak!!<br /><br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#cc0000;">As a side note: please vote for the "Kids With Heart" Nascar design, sponsored by CHD Awareness. </span><a href="http://www.sponsafier.com/#/gallery/view/111021"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#cc0000;">Click here to vote. </span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#cc0000;">You can vote once everyday!!</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><br />.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-54578553749087313192010-02-26T22:03:00.000-06:002010-02-26T23:13:05.582-06:00Maddy has pneumonia!!It's been a long few days here. It started with her comming home early from daycare on Monday with a 101 fever. Since then her fever has yo-yo'd up and down, on Thursday it was back up to 103, so it was time for a doctor visit, because this is no normal cold. Well after some chest x-rays we found out that she had the start of pneumonia, but we caught it early, she just had a small spot on her right lung. So today she is on antibotics and still has a slight fever. The poor girl just feels miserable, but her cough is improving, so I hope in a few days she'll be back to her chipper self!!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-33985328340861666922009-12-14T11:20:00.002-06:002009-12-14T11:21:19.802-06:00Merry Christmas !!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQFvkXIScGdzOf5cj5uqF62ggumTUSjG-7i1e4dJltkW_CqjHu-vFWUEoEi-zfP2901XJ55i1xAoJPe33iimG3tXFuw-VA2tDrVICswz4LzjtrtqoeapRkUSkHSF2OFDkz6BeGqseDrg/s1600-h/card.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQFvkXIScGdzOf5cj5uqF62ggumTUSjG-7i1e4dJltkW_CqjHu-vFWUEoEi-zfP2901XJ55i1xAoJPe33iimG3tXFuw-VA2tDrVICswz4LzjtrtqoeapRkUSkHSF2OFDkz6BeGqseDrg/s400/card.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415143133486224418" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-15642467599918518712009-11-06T08:06:00.002-06:002009-11-13T08:24:59.354-06:00Sigh of relief !!!Maddy had her 18 month checkup on Friday and I am so glad she was able to get her H1N1 shot! I've been hearing of a lot of cases where children have gotten really sick, espically when they have underlying health conditions. She will need to have her 2nd dose in a few weeks, but at least she is partially protected now. <br /><br />Tristyn will be able to get her shot soon, the school disctrict will be having clinics sometime in the next 2 weeks, as soon as they get their supply. So we will all be able to breath a little easier! <br /><br />When I took Maddy to her appointment it was like walking into a space ship! Every one wearing masks & gloves, parts of the building closed off, it was just really strange! Luckily we had an early morning appointment and we were the only ones in the pediatric waiting area, but we had to walk past the walk in clinc to get there!<br /><br />As for her checkup itself, she is healthy as a horse! 21 pounds, 15 ounces, 31.5" tall. Her doctor is very happy with how her physical therapy is helping, her speach is right where it should be for her age, and her motor skills have caught up. she figures that in 6 months to a year she will be totally caught up! Yay Maddy !!!<br /><br /><br />.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-15751134124585537192009-11-03T13:19:00.001-06:002009-11-03T13:21:25.153-06:00Sorry !!!OK I’ve been slacking these last few months with posting. There has been a lot going on here in our household! Maddy is doing great, she just started walking a few weeks ago, at about 17.5 months old! She’s also saying a few words: dada, momma, up, ball, all gone, and kitty. She is still on the small side at about 20.5 pounds at her 16 month visit, but health wise her doctor is happy. <br /><br />In May Tristyn was diagnosed by her school with Autism. She was diagnosed very late at 4.5 years old, most children are diagnosed between ages 2 & 3, so this leads us and her teachers to believe she has very high functioning Autism. This is just an educational diagnosis, we are in the process of getting a medical diagnosis which will open up more therapy services for her. I am so glad that the school finally tested her, because we were beginning to think we were doing something wrong as parents and this finally answers questions about all of her quirks, which I will talk about in another post. <br /><br />In Sept she started school again, we decided to let her have one more year in pre-K this year, she just turned 5 in July, and she’s just not ready for kindergarten yet. She has speech therapy again this year, and we added Occupational & Physical therapy because she has very low muscle tone (hypotonia) Well, that’s about it for now, I promise to start posting again more regularly!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-36861254210225442872009-03-26T21:25:00.005-05:002009-03-26T22:06:02.470-05:00Physical TherapyMaddy is going to be starting physical therapy. She was evaluated on Monday and they found she has about a 40% delay in her gross motor skills & she has muscle weakness. That means that right now she is at about the level of a 5 month old. It's hard to believe that in just a few days she will be 11 months old, and the BIG ONE is just around the corner. Just in the last 3-4 weeks she has finally mastered sitting. She still falls when she's tired. Her therapist is espically concerned that she is not willing to bear any weight on her legs, and she still has a hard time rolling. <br /><br />On a good note, she is right where she needs to be cognitivly, verbally & socially, her therapist is impressed that Maddy is already trying to feed herself with a spoon, most of the food ends up on the floor, but some makes it to her mouth.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-9291052950428406682009-03-02T15:38:00.006-06:002009-03-02T15:59:58.752-06:00I think we broke a record!I think we have broken the record for the fastest moving virus. Here's the schedule:<br /><br />Tuesday: My Mom & Dad watched Tris & Maddy all day.<br /><br />Wed. night: My Dad calls & tells me he came down with a nasty cold & hopes the girls don't get it (Thanks Grandpa!)<br /><br />Thursday: All is fine.<br /><br />Friday 7:30 am : (here's where I start the stop watch because I don't know when her symptoms actually started) On Friday's Maddy is watched by Tony's Dad, he comes to our house. So, Grandpa comes over & I leave for work, Maddy is just fine at this point. I get home at 5pm, and she is just a mess! Fever, red cheeks, snot everywhere & she is just miserable! (Thanks again Grandpa!) So I give her Tylenol, after about an hour the fever is gone & she is feeling better. She goes to bed early & <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">surprisingly</span> sleeps <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">through</span> the night.<br /><br />Sat. Morning: She's still a little warm so she gets another dose of Tylenol & the fever goes away and doesn't come back. She is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">fairly</span> happy through the day, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">except</span> for the constant runny nose. She goes to bed early again & sleeps through the night.<br /><br />Sun Morning: She is just fine, no fever, no runny nose, perfectly happy all day long!<br /><br />I have never seen a cold virus move so fast! Less than 48 hours from 1st symptom to being symptom free? I just pray that this wasn't just the start & that it comes back with <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">vengeance</span>.<br /><br />By the way, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Tristyn</span> never got the cold at all!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373070768447223166.post-19627829484535453952009-02-23T10:12:00.006-06:002009-02-23T10:27:14.707-06:00Maddy's Heart Journey PhotosI finally updated her photo diary. I have 70+ pictures loaded & this is a work in progress so keeping checking back. I will slowly be working on adding comments to the photos also, so feel free to add your own comments if you wish. I hope to keep this photo diary as current as I can. I have a link to her photo diary in the blog roll to the right, or you can click here. <a href="http://madilynsheartjourney.shutterfly.com/">Maddy's Heart Journey</a><br /><br />Click on the photo to make it larger & see the comments.<br /><br />.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04221381790948169399noreply@blogger.com0