Our trip to NY

We went to NY for the week and Uncle Tommy and Grammie bought Lorelei a water gun. She was having a TON of fun getting everyone else wet but would NOT want anyone to shoot her. It was pretty funny!



























We also visited some playgrounds with our cousins.




























We went to Grampa Don's land and sat on the tractor.


















And rode the golf cart around the land.



























I got to see my Grandma, Lorelei's Great-Grandma Charlotte. She will be 90 at the end of the month! Doesn't she look great!













We also met up with some friends I haven't seen in years and their kids and went to the splash pad. We had lunch and played in the water!
















She wasn't too sure about the water because it would come up at different times but by the end she played a lot!




























Lorelei and Grandpa Don!












She was a little tuckered out after running around with her new friends at the water park. This is how I found her. :o)













We talked seriously with cousin Jack while getting ice cream!













Jack and my sister Jeannette.












We looked at our new cousin, Delaney.






























Grammy made forts with cushions.













We played around Grammy and Papa's pool. It was WAY too cold to go in, I am not sure why John is in there!


















We played with Jack and new friend, DJ. He is my very first friend's child.



















Beth and Jill, yes they are twins, are my very first friends. They are 6 days younger then me and my dad drove their mom to the hospital when they were born.












We ran off all of our ice cream.

Lorelei, Easter and other fun stuff

Happy Easter everyone! We have a tremendous gift given to us today, yes the Lord has Risen, but we have Lorelei! Three years ago today, Dr. Bradley gave Lo a second chance at life. She had her first open heart surgery at just 6 days old! We knew she was a fighter when she was breathing over her breathing tube and ready to go home sooner then later. I am glad to be able to celebrate her today too!

Speaking of the little miss, she has been sick all weekend. We had fun plans for the entire weekend, like dyeing easter eggs, birthday parties, egg hunt and brunch but she has a form a strep and then had a rash over her entire body (might be from antibiotic but more then likely from the virus itself but we changed antibiotics just in case)

She has had a very busy week though. She had her cousins visit last Friday night as they stopped at my mom's on the way to Florida. John's parents also came in that night and stayed the entire week. She loves her Grammy and Papa. Then on Saturday, she had her 3rd birthday party at a Gymnastics Center here in town. She had SO much fun! We also went to the Zoo on Tuesday and she wanted to feed every animal she saw but we did feed the giraffes and goats. She rode the pony and I rode the train with her. Grammy got on the Carousel with her too! She loves to go on the Carousel.

Here are some pics from the week hope you enjoy!

Hope for BraveHEARTS Cookbooks!

Hey everyone, the cookbooks ARE HERE! They are $12 a piece. I will post a pic soon after I get some on Saturday. Please let me know if you want one and how many! It's a really GREAT cookbook. I will also be updating the blog soon because Lo is having her 3rd birthday party this weekend. I cannot believe she will be 3 on Monday! Plus, her Grammy and Papa and her cousin Jack Jack will be in town so I can't wait for the fun that will be had! Keep watching!

A Little Catch Up!

Yesterday we joined some friends at the Zoo! We saw the gorilla who didn't really care that we were there.













The kids were so happy to be there. We were on our way to the carousel. She loved that so much.






























The three muskateers watching the Elephants.











This past weekend we went to the beach to visit John's uncle and aunt. Lo wasn't feeling so well so she napped with Daddy for a bit.













We found a bunch of shells!

















She got her face painted.
























We rode the ponies! She LOVED this, I hope she's not going to want a pony when she gets a little older.














We have been trying to get ready for spring! Lo helped Daddy plant some flowers.


























We do crazy acrobatics on the chair (and scare Mommy half to death).













We went to the zoo back in January and this is Lo and E watching the shark swim around. They did this for EVER! It was so funny!










So we've been pretty busy as you can tell. In a month, my baby girl will be 3! Can you believe it?? I am trying to plan a Tinkerbell party for by birthday girl! It's going to be so much fun! I will be updating later!

Random Thoughts

First off, the Hope for BraveHEARTS cookbooks have been ordered and are being processed as we well, as I write! We are taking pre-orders, the cookbooks are $12 a piece and contain a fun variety of 200 recipes! Leave me a comment if you would like to buy one and I will get in touch with you about how to get them. (We are supposed to have a PayPal button on the Hope for BraveHEARTS website soon!)

Secondly, I have been completely amazed at how God just places Heart Families into my life. During the month of Feburary for CHD Awareness and Heart Month, I received several new friend requests from Heart Moms and CHD survivors. I am so humbled by this. It is so nice to see a community come together like this! Also, Lo and I went to her first ever friend's birthday party for a little girl in her class on Sunday. I was talking to the girl's mom and she asked if Lo had a scar on her chest. I said yes, she has had 2 open heart surgeries and guess what her nephew (who was at the party) was born with TGA! I met his parents and now I have a new heart family friend! It is so funny how I meet Heart Families!

I am so grateful to have all of these wonderful people in my life. I am so glad that I no longer feel alone in the heart community. When we were first diagnosed we didn't know what to do but I think I may have found my calling. :O)

Last thing, I had to go to the dentist today for a toothache and now it hurts like the dickens and ibuprofen and tylenol #3 aren't cutting it, any other suggestions? I get it pulled next week because I AM NOT going through another root canal, after my last one I had lock jaw for a month!
Have a great week!