Rebecca's new car

Well, Rebecca found a car she liked and was in her price range so she now owns her own car. She likes the sound of that I think. It is a pretty gold 2001 Saturn. Should work well getting her to and from Chadron for school. It is a pretty car. Dallin calls it the other Rhonda. (We call our Honda, Rhonda).

We are finished (at least enough to move in)with our new family room

About six months ago Neil and I were talking about needing a family room so we had a place where everyone could sit down together and enjoy time. Neil teasingly mentioned that the garage had a lot of space. His comment really got me thinking and I thought it was a great idea. We talked some more, drew up plans for a family room and storage room, and kept thinking about it. We decided it was a good idea and got started in October 2009. Neil has put in lots of evenings working on the project. He has learned new skills. We have had dust and noise in the house. We have enjoyed working on the project together, and now we will all enjoy our new family room. Picking out paint was interesting. We ended up creating our own color for the trim and doors. Now I really do like the paint color. Thank you, Neil for all your hard work!! It looks beautiful!! We had carpet laid on Friday and enjoyed a movie together on Sunday. We hung pictures today and now it looks like our dream family room.

Drum Roll, please...Rebecca has decided to attend...

Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska. She gave it a lot of prayer and thought and feels good about where she is headed. We are glad she has a decision and can go forward. We are grateful she has this opportunity to further her education. I guess we'll have a reason to learn more about Nebraska. She really thought about going to BYU and was grateful for her scholarship there. She feels this is the best decision for her and we support her. click here to check out Chadron State

A thought about Rebecca leaving for college. The other day I was in the hall by the maps with David. I showed him where Chadron was and told him that Rebecca was thinking about going to college there. He was kind of sad and said, "But I really like this house. I don't really want to move anywhere else." I told him we weren't all going, only Rebecca was. He responded "She can't do that. I'll miss her." I thought that was pretty sweet. We'll miss her!! But we really are grateful she has this opportunity.

We love you, Rebecca!! Go Eagles!!!

She did it!!

Congratulations Rebecca!! Neil and I are so pleased with Rebecca and all her hard work in school. She had her doubts about getting accepted into BYU, but she did it!! She also had her doubts about a good scholarship, but she did that also!! On Monday she received her scholarship letter from Chadron State and it is pretty close to a full ride scholarship. She is still waiting to hear from BYU about scholarships before she makes her final decision. What a grand adventure the next few years will be for her. Just so you know Rebecca, we are both so well pleased with your accomplishments!! You are a wonderful daughter!!! We love you!! Mom and Dad

Three beautiful teenage girls in one house?

I can't believe we are old enough to have three teenagers at our house!! But, it's true. Our sweet Julia has turned 13. Julia is such a sweet girl. She is always asking how she can help or saying thank you!! She really does bring us much joy. I must admit that I enjoy having teenagers.

Julia was very excited about the new digital camera she got for her birthday. I teased her that I would trade her cameras. Hers can do cool things like editing pictures right on the camera. She will enjoy it I am sure.

She made her own cake again this year. Her Death by Chocolate cake was delicious!!

Happy Birthday Julia!!! We love you!!

CHD Awareness Week

This is CHD Awareness week. I didn't used to think about Congenital Heart Defects. I guess we each know that things can go wrong during a pregnancy, but I never really thought about it the way I do now. We have learned so much as a family on this journey through Congenital Heart Defects. We are grateful to those who have spent time and energy studying the heart.

Here are a few facts about CHD.

CHD Statistics-

*Every fifteen minutes a baby is born with a CHD.

*Congenital heart defects are America’s #1 birth defect. Nearly one of every 125 babies is born with a CHD (almost 1% of all children born each year!).

*Congenital heart defects are the #1 cause of birth defect related deaths. 1 in 3 children who die from a birth defect have a congenital heart defect.

*This year almost 40,000 babies will be born with a congenital heart defect.

*In the U.S. twice as many children die from congenital heart defects each year than from all forms of childhood cancer combined. Yet funding for research of pediatric cancer is 5 times greater.

*From 1993 to 2003 death rates for congenital heart defects have declined by 31% due to advances made through research!

*There is not yet a preventative cure for any type of congenital heart defect.

*Of every dollar the government spends on medical funding, only a fraction of a penny is directed toward congenital heart defect research.

I found this poem written by another heart mom. I haven't had to deal with everything this poem mentions, but we have learned about a lot of them. Our lives have been forever changed because of our journey into CHD. Joshua was born with tricuspid atresia(the right side of his heart didn't form correctly), TGA (His great arteries are on opposite sides of where they should be) and a VSD (A whole in the ventricle of his heart).

What is a CHD???

You passed me in the shopping mall
(You read my faded tee).
You tapped me on the shoulder,
Then asked, "What's a CHD?"
I could quote terminology,
There's stats that I could give.
But I would rather share with you
A mother's perspective.

What is it like to have a child with a CHD?
It's Lasix, Aspirin, Captopril
It's wondering...Lord what's your will?
It's monitors and oxygen tanks
It's a constant reminder to always give thanks.
It's feeding tubes, calories, needed weight gain
It's the drama of eating...and yes it's insane!
It's the first time I held him, I'd waited so long,
It's knowing that I need to help him grow strong.
It's making a hospital home for awhile
It's seeing my reward in every smile.
It's checking his sats as the feeding pump's beeping
It's knowing that there is just no time for sleeping.
It's caths, x-rays and boo boos to kiss
It's normalacy I sometimes miss.
It's asking do his nails look blue?
It's cringing inside at what he's been through.
It's dozens of call to his pediatrician
She knows me by name, I'm a mom on a mission.
It's winter's homebound and hand sanitizer
It's knowing this journey has made me much wiser.
It's watching him sleeping his breathing is steady.
It's surgery day and I'll never be ready.
It's handing him over, I'm still not prepared,
It's knowing that his heart must be repaired.
It's waiting for news on that long stressful day,
It's praying...it's hoping...that he'll be okay.
It's the wonderful friends with whom I've connected,
It's the bond that we share, it was so unexpected.
It's that long faded scar down my child's small chest,
It's touching it gently and knowing we're blessed.
It's watching him chasing a small butterfly,
It's the moment I realized I've stopped asking why.
It's the snowflakes that fall on a cold winter's day,
They remind me of those who aren't with us today.
It's a brave little boy who loves Thomas the train,
Or a special heart bear or a frog in the rain.
It's the need to remember we're all in this plight,
It's their lives that remind us we still need to fight!
It's in pushing ahead amidst every sorrow,
It is finding the strength to have hope for tomorrow.
And no, we'll never be the same. It's changed our family,
This is what we face each day. This is...a CHD.

**Written by Stephanie Husted (fellow heart mom)

Dallin's skateboarding tricks

We aren't sure where Dallin learned about skateboarding and the ability to do tricks while skateboarding. (Probably watching the teenagers at the skateboarding park across the road from the baseball fields) He loves to pretend he is skateboarding. He will do tricks over and over. He always wants someone to watch him. He will keep performing tricks until he gets it perfect in his opinion. The other day while he was imagining he was a skateboarder we decided to catch him on camera. It was so cute to watch!! I hope you enjoy seeing his imagination and skill as a skateboarder. He knows all the safety equipment and in the beginning he is putting on his gloves, wheels, and helmet. While I am not sure I like the idea of him liking skateboarding and I'm not sure this looks good for his teenage years at least I can take comfort in the fact that he knows a helmet is important. Hope this video makes you smile.