I've Got A Blank Space Baby......

We all do.  A friend of mine posted something interesting on New Years Eve.  After her post, I saw it literally everywhere so apparently people liked it!!

"Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book.  Write a good one." 

 How simple is that?  As with most things, it's easier said than done.  However, it is nice to think that at the end of every year, my "book" ends and a new one begins.  Some years are Best Sellers and some need to be in the bargain bin.  No matter what was written on those pages in the past, it's comforting to know that I am forgiven and I am loved, thank you God!!!

Where does 2014 fit in for me?  Amongst all the bad there was a lot of good so I think somewhere in middle fits just fine. I'm not sure if it's possible to do a recap but I will try (with the help of my trusty Facebook timeline!!):

Our year started out with a trip to the Humane Society.  Our first.  The kids and I delivered some blankets that were donated through the SGA at Heard.  That place hurts my heart so badly.  I have to keep a total blackout in my brain when it comes to thinking about the amount of neglected and abused animals in this world.  Kudos to Ian Somerhalder for all of his work with ISF.  I wish there was enough money in this world to take care of them all.

In February, Ethan FINALLY got contacts!  He's been wearing glasses since he was 2 years old.  OMGoodness did he bloom after he got them!  He went from having a shaved head to a head FULL of hair.  He's a totally different kid.

In March, Ethan and Emily performed in a Talent Show at Heard with their friends, Devin & Tonantzin.  They did an awesome dance to Jailhouse Rock and ended up in 3rd place!  Also in March, we took our first camping trip to Cape San Blas/Indian Pass, Florida.  The beach was literally right outside of our camper AND it was completely empty.  We were able to take Triggy with us and we even were able to take him with us into town at Appalachicola to eat dinner!  We really had a great vacation together.
April brought a birthday for the E's.  It was our first double digit birthday!!  Mom was well enough at the time to go to church so we visited Southside with them.  We followed that with our annual family birthday dinner at Outback.

In May, Ethan's Cub Scout den was promoted to Boy Scouts at the Arrow of Light ceremony.  Webelos is supposed to take two years to complete but their den leader had them complete it in only a year.  Ethan really enjoyed the aspect of Cub Scouts, and even Boy Scouts, but his interest diminished quickly and he withdrew from Scouts.

May also brought another school year to a close.  Ethan was in his last year at Heard (a 5th grader) and earned Student of the Year, Valedictorian, straight A's for 5 years and winner of the Academic Bowl.  He really is amazing to watch.  For his accomplishments, his dad got him his own rifle.  It turns out, hunting isn't really his thing but he enjoys shooting so at least he will be able to use it on clays.

In June, we returned to our home church of Ridgecrest Baptist Church.  This was NOT an easy decision for us to make.  We had made some wonderful friendships at Redeemer but ultimately we made the decision we thought would be best for our family.  The kids also attended their first week-long camp at Camp Victory.  They absolutely loved it and didn't want to leave when we picked them up!!  Josh and I went to New Orleans for a couple of days while they were at camp.  I can safely say that was probably our last trip to New Orleans for a while.
In July, we took a road trip vacation!  Our first stop was to Akron, Ohio to visit my side of the family.  We had Strickland's custard.  This has been a family tradition for as long as I can remember!!!

We visited the Amish stores & restaurants and we attended the annual Powell family picnic!! From there we went to Monroe, Michigan to visit Josh's side of the family.  We met them in Sandusky, Ohio and hit up Cedar Point Amusement Park.  AWESOMMMMMME!!!!!!

On the way home, we stopped in Gatlinburg for a few days.  Hiking is one of our most favorite things to do as a family. We collect medallions from each trail that we complete!

 Josh always leads, followed by Emily, Ethan and then me.  As Josh was walking around a small curve, I saw the bushes on his left move a little bit.  I held the kids back because they moved a bit more.  Out walked a bear not even 5 feet from Josh!!!  The bear casually walked up the path a bit and then headed up into the mountain.  Talk about an adrenaline rush!!!!
July was a big birthday for me as I finally joined the "40" club.  It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I was bothered because I had not lost the weight I wanted to before I hit the age but at least I hit it!!  I started writing this blog in the summer of 2014 as well.  I would have NEVER believed it would become what it has.  I wish I had taken the time to stretch out the stories instead of posting every day.  I knew I would run out of things to say.  Nevertheless, the words of encouragement have been amazing and I thank each of you that have expressed them to me!!!  I haven't totally dismissed the book idea.....  If you're wondering what Im talking about, feel free to start the "series" from the beginning here: The Introduction
August 2014 was a month I will never forget.  After years of talks and questions, the kids finally sat down with Brother Lloyd and had the talk.  Talk they did....for several hours!  Ultimately, they both came to the conclusion to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and to follow it with baptism.  SO proud of them for making that decision!

School started back in August.  This year began a little different than others though.  I started homeschooling Ethan when Emily went back to school for 5th grade.  I had no idea what to expect and was scared to death I would fail at educating my child.  It was a little rocky to start with but we found our groove quickly and we were zooming through the curriculum.  Until......
I am definitely not going to go into detail on the whys of it all, but Josh and I decided to pull Emily from school so she could be homeschooled as well.  I pulled Ethan back a bit and sped Emily up so we could all be on the same page.  It took a couple of weeks but we finally got there!  

 
In September, we traveled to Children's Hospital for Emmy's annual heart check up.  Everything looked good but most importantly, her doctor cleared her to FINALLY start taking gymnastics!  She isn't allowed to be in competitive gymnastics though.

Ethan decided to start taking art lessons.  I definitely think he found his hobby because he is fantastic!!!  I'm proud for them to be able to do the things they love!

Drawing at 1st lesson

The rest of these are after 1 month of lessons

I started Advocare in October, thanks to Amanda and her sister-in-law, Haley.  It's a last ditch effort since I seem to fail at everything else and the possibility of being on The Biggest Loser is non-existent!!  At this point (January 2015), I've lost 16 pounds so apparently we're doing something right!  I have 84 more to go but at least its a start!
At the end of October, I got braces.  Yes, a 40 year old woman with braces.  I don't know what I was thinking.  I have to wear these for a year.  Next Christmas I will have orthognathic surgery followed by another year of braces.  Aside from the pain in getting used to them for the first few weeks, I can say that the worst part of braces for me is eating.  Eating is absolutely disgusting now.  Food gets stuck in cracks and crevices.  I have to be conscious about every bite so I can make sure there's nothing left when I'm finished.  Swishing food out afterwards is just gross.  Bleh.
November & December brought the normal holiday fare.  Josh is still flying back and forth from California and it really is going well.  We were able to provide the kids with a nice Christmas without going overboard AND sticking to our rule on paying cash for everything.  It's a pain some times but it's also very gratifying to be able to pay for something without the strings of debt attached.
We welcomed a new family member this year, Lincoln Godwin (our nephew by way of Whitney & Ryan).  We celebrated birthdays and milestones together.  Mom's health is declining but she's still with us and she still has that sassy streak in her.
My time with the PTO at Heard is also coming to an end as I pass on my treasurer duties.  At first I was a little upset about not being in the day-to-day craziness but time has shown me that I made the right decision.  It has been an eye opener to say the least.  I don't know if teachers don't realize it or if they do it intentionally but things that are said in front of students are heard, and repeated.  It stings a bit.
We've made a lot of new friends and built stronger relationships with those we already knew.  We also lost several friendships but, it happens.  Some are just seasonal I suppose!

So, what about your blank space, baby???? 

If It Weren't For Bad Luck, She Wouldn't Have Any At All

I'm a 40 year old woman that has had roughly 15 surgeries/procedures/hospitalizations.  My daughter is 10 and she's already had half that.  I can understand why Chuck Norris is one of her heroes!!!  A friend of ours that recently passed bought Emily a wall poster of Chuck Norris and she LOVED it.  With her unusual language, it was always funny to hear her say "Walkuh Texas Ranguh". 

I've already written about Emily's broken leg at 6 months, heart surgery at 3 years old and frenulectomy in Preschool.  That's more than some people go through in a lifetime.  Of course not MY little girl! 

I first need to let you know a bit about our neighborhood.  It's filled with boys.  There are just a couple of girls Emmy gets to play with occasionally but for the most part, she's surrounded by stinky, sweaty, gross boys (that I absolutely love and adore by the way!).  To say that she's tough is an understatement.  She really didn't have a choice, she had to be.

John Thomas, Emily, Tyson, Harrison, Joshua, Ethan

Tyson, Harrison, Joshua, Ethan & Emily (she can't really go topless like the boys!!!)

I can't remember what grade it was, maybe Kindergarten.  She tried to catch our neighbor John Thomas when he jumped off the ladder of the pool.  She ended up with a scar under her eye and a puffed up cheek.

In 2nd grade, she was jumping on the trampoline with the boys and she fell out of the enclosure.  Broken arm. I think she was more upset about the doctors cutting off her favorite shirt than anything else.  (She still hasn't let that one die.)

Flowers from her special friend, Tyson

Then there was the time Ethan accidentally hit her in the head with a bat.....

Since Emily's surgery in 2007, we have traveled back to her pediatric cardiologist every year to have a check up.  Our wonderful friends, Tommy & Linda Cherry, were kind enough to let us stay in their gorgeous home so we wouldn't have to stay in a hotel.  (Thanks, you guys!!!)
For the last few years, we noticed the pressure gradient in her heart continue to rise.  It was in the 30s then the 40s.  We were told that if it reached the 50s, we would have to consider doing something, we just weren't sure what at the time.  At her 2012 checkup, her doctor expressed a concern about the continuous rise so he suggested we try a heart catheterization.  We scheduled it during Spring Break of 2013.  Lordy, she was a TRIP!  Versed, again.

 
Unfortunately, the heart cath didn't provide the results we anticipated.  The very small percentage of possibility that the subaortic tissue would grow back wasn't in our favor.  The tissue was back, along with the other obstruction which meant another open heart surgery.  (My throat just tightened rethinking all of this.)
By this time, Josh had already began working in California. He was about to finish up his 3 month contract.  Finally, our marriage was strong!  It's like we finally gave in to each other and were able to love each other the way we should!  Dare I say.....we were happy!!!
Earlier in the year, we booked our flights to see him in California so we kept that booked and scheduled her surgery for his return in July.  This was the first time the kids had been on an airplane and they were SO excited!  It was an AMAZING time out west.  We spent time in San Jose, San Francisco and Gilroy.  We celebrated Josh's birthday with a day at the theme park, California's Great America.    We hiked through Muir Woods which is full of redwoods.  I wasn't especially excited about visiting Alcatraz.....until I got there.  I absolutely love mobster stories so seeing Al Capone's cell along with many others was awesome!   Pictures could never ever capture the magnificence of the trip. 

While we were on our trip, I got a call that Emily had been chosen for the All-Star softball team!  Luckily the season was scheduled to be over before her surgery date so she was able to come home and jump right into that!

It came time for surgery.   At 3, Emily wasn't really aware of the significance of having open heart surgery.  Age 9 is a different story.  She only expressed a small amount of nervousness, which helped me keep calm too!!  We had a lot of hands to hold us up during surgery.  Dena, Josh's parents, our friends Keith & Hope Sewell not to mention the hundreds of people lifting us up in prayer. Our friend Maggie let Ethan stay with her family the week we were gone.  There are some things that are impossible to repay. 

Brave girl heading into surgery

We arrived at the hospital at 530am.  Full House was on so she zoned out watching that for a while.  By 8:45am she was prepping for the OR.  Surgery started at 9:49am.  At 11:14am she was put on the by-pass machine.  At 12:39pm she was off by-pass and doing well.  At 1:04pm we were called to a conference room to meet with the surgeon.  He finally came in at 1:35pm.  That seemed like the longest wait of my life.  He was pleased with the surgery.  The tissue had definitely grown back so it was removed.  Her aortic valve is deformed and she'll have to have a replacement but that's nothing they want to deal with until she's older.
At 6:30pm, she was settled into ICU.  The ICU rooms at Children's allow for the parents to stay in the room (bed, chair, Xbox etc).  She started vomiting and we couldn't get it to stop. 8:00pm and she was still vomiting.  She was able to stay well long enough to FaceTime with the boys back home (Joshua, Tyson & Harrison) as well as Mrs. Amanda, Trigger & Chipper.  Just a few hours after surgery and she's acting like normal.
11:00am the next day (Wednesday) she was moved to a room.  She got the biggest and most painful chest tube out.  They didn't give her pain meds before taking it out so that one hurt pretty bad.  They took out her art line and catheter.  She talked to some more special people: Cole, Aunt Whitey, Ethan and our neighbor Emily.
On Thursday morning she got 2 more chest tubes out.  Josh and I also gave her a bath, washed her hair and brushed her teeth.  She went on a long walk afterwards!!  Thursday afternoon they removed her final chest tube.  The surgeon spoke to us again about the surgery.  The subaortic ridge removal accomplished what they wanted it to however there's still minimal leakage and moderate blockage.  Definitely something we have to keep our eye on.
By late afternoon on Thursday, she was BORED!  She and Josh walked around all day.  I found them on the 9th floor playroom playing the Wii.  She was discharged Friday afternoon and has been going full blast ever since.  

Immediately after surgery

Some came in to visit with her as soon as she came out of surgery.  Several had to leave.  At this point, all of her pain meds from surgery were gone and she was dealing with full on pain.  It hurt, a lot.  She had an IV in her neck, her arms, a catheter, 4 chest tubes and the incision where they cracked her chest.  Look at Josh and Poppy in this picture.  If it were you or me, we'd be screaming for some pain meds.  They're SMILING at her which they wouldn't be doing if she was screaming about how bad it hurt.  My girl is TOUGH!  I saw her cry twice the whole time, that was it! The day after surgery, she was up walking around to the playroom and also downstairs to a duct tape craft class.  She loved to read to the younger kids on her hall. 

Riding the tricycle......TWO DAYS after surgery.

 On the day she left the hospital, many members of the Alabama football team were volunteering to make bracelets and necklaces for the rollout of the new Bravery Bead program.  Emily and #77 Arie Kouandjio made a bracelet together that I still wear every day.  

With the Bravery Bead program, patients earn a bead for every visit, procedure, surgery, test....whatever they have done they earn a bead.  This is Emily's collection of beads encompassing just 6 years.

At her checkup a couple of weeks after surgery, we were told her pressure gradient was at 35 (it was 30 at the time of surgery).  The ultimate goal is to be at ZERO.   We still have to watch it but he's happy to lay low for a little while.
That brings us up to speed on Emily's broken heart situation.  For now, we will continue to visit her doctor in Birmingham and pray this tissue doesn't grow back AGAIN.  Our next visit is scheduled for September 2014.  Of course, we would love to have a miracle healing so she doesn't have to go through any more surgeries.  We know it's possible but we also know we're ready to fight.


By the way, I've come to the point I was worried I would come to.  I've told the story from beginning to end.  I can go back and elaborate on some stories.  Readership is down a bit so I must have hit my peak.  *lol*  I'll post one blog per week and one recipe per week.