10th Anniversary Jamaica Vacation

Andy and I celebrated our 10th Anniversary in style at Sandals Whitehouse in Jamaica. We had the best time and highly recommend it to anyone looking to get away for a romantic vacation.

Christmas at Home - 2011

We had a wonderful Christmas at home this year for the first time for our family. Usually we go to visit our family in Texas or Pennsylvania, but this year Nana and Papa came to see us. It was such a fun week with an unexpected snow day to top it off!

Rachel's Heart - Update

Today Rachel had her angiogram to check for the severity of her two heart conditions: bicuspid aortic valve and coarctation of the aorta. She did really well during the procedure. They said they had to give her more sedation than expected because she was so feisty, she kept trying to talk to everyone instead of settle down. As expected, the first condition will not require any action at this time, but she will have to have surgery to correct the coarctation (or narrowing) of the aorta. It is basically a part of her aorta that narrows, which hinders the blood flow from her heart to her lower extremities and puts too much strain on her heart. They will go in through her side between her ribs to remove the section of the aorta that narrows, and then reattach the two ends. Thankfully, they don't have to operate on her heart or go in through her chest. The surgery will be next Thursday, Jan 6th and she'll be in the hospital for 5-7 days. We have family coming in town to help with the other kids that week and for some time after. Thank you so much to all of you who have been praying and offering your help. We are so grateful to be blessed with such wonderful supportive friends and family. We know God is in control of this whole situation and we trust in Him completely to keep His hand on Rachel through it. We'll send another update after her surgery. Please continue to pray for our sweet girl.

Rachel's Heart

We are asking for prayers for our 7 month old baby girl, Rachel. At her 6-month checkup, her doctor heard a heart murmur. The pediatric cardiologist told us that she has two congenital heart defects: a Bicuspid aortic valve and Coarctation of the aorta. The first condition is a mild case and she will not require anything to be done at this time, but she will need to be seen every 6 months for continued monitoring. For the Coarctation of the aorta, she will be having an angiogram done tomorrow (Tuesday) at the children's hospital to see if she needs surgery to correct it. The angiogram will take 2-4 hours followed by 6 hours of bedrest in the hospital. This will most likely be a long stressful day for us all. We have family in town to care for our other children, so we are thankful for that. Please pray that God will surround Rachel with His protection, that she will be as comfortable as possible, and that we will trust in His sovereignty throughout this entire process. Thank you for all your prayers and support. We will keep everyone updated.

Sweet Moments in September

We had a fun-filled September with two trips to visit family in Atlanta, two birthdays (Brooke turned 3 and Joshua turned 6), and our 9th wedding anniversary. Here are some pictures of the highlights.

Visiting our family in Atlanta

Andy and Laura at The World of Coke in Atlanta

Ella's favorite coke bottle

Brooke's favorite bottle

Joshua's favorite bottle (because it's blue)

Rachel had fun at The World of Coke too

The kids got to go to the Air Force Ball (kids watch) as a knight and 2 princesses

 

Happy 3rd Birthday, Brooke! She got a princess cake and decorations.

Happy 6th Birthday, Joshua! He got to celebrate with friends from our church homegroup.

Joshua and his buddy Mason enjoying their cupcakes

Joshua and Brooke having a lightsaber fight (his birthday presents)

Augusta in August

Here are some pictures of our fun times in August. Enjoy!

Joshua driving a go-cart at Adventure Crossing

Kaki's Visit (Laura's cousin Kathryn)

First day of dance class

Our little mischievous one

Everyone wanted to share Rachel's playgym

One of Ella's many goals!

Rachel pondering while sleeping during a soccer game

Ella with her soccer buddy Morgan

First Soccer Practice

Ella and Joshua had their first soccer practice this week. This is Ella's first time playing soccer and she's loving it! It was drizzling the whole time, but the kids didn't care. They were just happy to be outside playing in the not-so-hot weather.