Their Biggest Fan

I like to claim that I am my girls' biggest fan, however, I am pretty for sure that I have taken second place now that Vada is in our lives. Jasmine and Kiliegh adore her beyond any possible description and their feelings are undoubtedly reciprocated by Vada.

Today, Vada and I ventured out of the house and even our of our neighborhood and to Jasmines softball game. First, before leaving, I had Jasmine and Vada pose together. It was our first game that Vada and I were able to make this season and I had to "capture the moment".

I figured that the whether was decent enough (not too hot, Vada has a hard time keeping herself cool) that I could wear her and keep our distance from the other people who were there and still enjoy watching my Jazzy play some ball.

It turns out that Mother Nature had something different in mind. It ended up raining practically the whole time. Luckily it was more of a mist than a complete down pour, at least for the majority of the time. I had an umbrella and once the heavier rain let up Vada and I took our place under a nice shading/rain blocking tree and cheered for our girl and her team.

This was a pretty important game. They were playing Seaton Red, one of the hardest to beat and one of the only teams, in the past, who have beat our team.  It was a tough game. Their girls played hard, ours did too and this time around our girls were able to get the win.

I have missed very little when it comes to school functions and extra curricular activities. However, I have missed the majority of all of them over the past two-two and a half years. A couple of weeks ago, just before Vada's heart surgery, I just barely made it to Kiliegh's dance recital and I didn't get to stay for the whole thing. Making this game and watching the whole thing, not just dropping Jasmine off felt so good to be able to do. I love my children and I love watching them do things that they enjoy.

Super Grandparents to the Rescue

Vada is on a list of restrictions for at least three more weeks.Which means no visitors for at least that long. We want them, believe you me, we all want visitors. Heck, I am ready for a party! However, I would rather be a slightly lonely Mommy for a couple of more weeks and have a fully healthy baby verses what could happen if someone were to get her sick!

Since we cant have visitors it comes with out saying, that we cant really take Vada anywhere either. This has made a very long home recovery. Summer is here and it is Hot, Hot, Hot outside, which means that taking Vada outside to play and explore is also limited. Waiting until the sun goes down is fine and dandy but then the bugs are out and they are thick this year and hungry for her sweet baby thighs-which I am not inclined to share!

Anyway, Vada was a bit bummed when she found out that Jasmine and Kiliegh both have a summer long pool pass to a nearby private pool. She wants to go swimming too! So, I got on the phone and checked things out with her doctor and then I called good O' Grandma.

Turns out that while taking baths where Vada's incision would be submerged is not okay, nor is it okay to be around all of those people that are at public like pools, it is okay to be in her very own shallow pool. Good thing Grandma and Grandpa had just what we were looking for!

Really, they saved the day..., maybe even the summer as we know it! They are pretty fantastic! I'm being serious..., just look at the smiles on this little girls face! She is thrilled!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for making Vada's recovery a blast!

Wordless Wednesday

On the Wings of Time

Time flies by.

In the blink of an eye minutes, hours even days seem to dissolve into memories. More than anything I want to make those moments worthwhile. Sometimes however, I struggle. I suppose we all do.

Over the past couple of weeks I fell and it was one HARD landing!
 
I am blessed to have a patient husband, one who has no idea how to "deal" with me, but does. I am also blessed to have a few select friends whom I can turn to, friends that push me towards the Lord and not into more self pity.

With the relief of the surgery behind us and Vada's healing moving along beautifully, I have had moments to actually identify my own feelings. I tend to do pretty well under pressure but when the waves begin to calm I begin to feel more than just the struggles of the day and let me tell you, its been a loooong time since we've had a calm view in front of us. Therefore, I had a lot of feelings to catch up on! Now that I have, I am ready to move on and soar on the wings of time. I cant wait to see what God has planned for my family, for me and especially for Vada now that she is all healthy!

Depression is always a part of me. It is not who I am but what I have and while its slightly embarrassing to share with others, its something that I cant control, at least not fully. I will probably always have depression. For me, it's clinical. I have moments where it comes on stronger than I feel strong enough to bear, yet I do.

This is a journey that I can make and one that will not take me. I will bite down on my lip of "struggles" and charge full speed ahead. Someday, I will get full relief but for now, I am doing what I need to do to keep one ity-bity strong and healthy and a house full of loved one's happy...

Its hard to catch up when so much has happened. Finding the right place to begin and then to end seems like a battle not worth figuring out. Time doesn't care if you fall along the way, it keeps moving on-with or without you and I feel as if I have already wasted enough time as it is! I'm just going to say good bye to the yesterdays and move on with the tomorrows. Summer is here. My girls are home on break and I want to make the most of this time that I have with all of them. I look forward to whats coming, what ever it may be and I look forward to sharing those memories with all of you!

Healing; What It Looks Like

Six days post-op

 Vada's first "bath" was almost a week after we brought her home. Too nervous to lift, adjust or pull in a wrong way we (meaning me) opted to just do wipe downs.

Six days post-op

Vada's first bath was in the kitchen sink, with less that an inch of water.

Eleven days post-op

Eleven days post-op

A real bath is not recommended until four to six weeks after surgery. This way I was able to use the sprayer to hose her off... and she was able to play with the facet.

Eleven days post-op

With in the first few days following surgery this tape started to peel back.We were told to not remove it, but to let it come off on its own and to only trim it as it became necessary.

Eleven days post-op

The thought of scissors even remotely close to her chest made me feel ill, so I held off on trimming it for days.

Thirteen days post-op

 I can not begin to express how amazed I am with Vada's recovery. Everything, I mean everything, was not what I expected. People told me that it would be okay, but I never realized how okay, okay was. We all have a different story to tell. One persons journey and experience of similar situations will always have their own variations, but Vada's heart story, so far has been blessed beyond all expectations!

Thirteen days post-op

The lump on Vada's chest is a normal part of the healing process. It is actually quite small compared to many others. The lump may get larger over time and it will take a few to several months to go away altogether.

Twenty-one days post-op

Twenty-one days post-op