August 29, 2011 - Ellie is laughing

Thank you for all of your prayers.  Sorry it has taken me soo long to post another update and pictures.  So I posted videos instead.  Ellie is doing fabulous.  She is beginning to sit up with little support by her self and she is babbling.  It melts my heart when I hear it.  She smiles when you just look at her now.  There is nooo way you could be in a bad mood when you see her smile no matter how tired you are.  I could not imagine life without her.

When we saw the cardiologist last week I found out that she will have to go to the hospital next summer to have a heart catheter put in so they can take pictures of the inside of her heart and to close up the valve that reopened.  I realize it is a minor procedure and they do not even consider it surgery but she will have to be put to sleep again and she will have to be intabated again and even though she will only have to stay one night at the hospital it still breaks my heart to think this is coming next year.  How ever it seems soo minor compared to what we went though this past summer.  Thank GOD that is over.  For anyone anticipating an upcoming surgery, I know what you are going though but I promise the hardest part is the wait for it.  Pray, pray and pray some more.  God is good all the time.

August 15, 2011 - A realization of my many blessings

I can not believe it is August already.  School is starting and I have to leave my precious Ellie Mae with my best friend.  It is soo nice not to have to worry about Ellie while I am working.  It is a relief to know she is in good hands.  I forgot to post that she has been released from the surgeon and is doing FABULOUS!!

A few things have occurred to me over the last few weeks and I feel the need to share...

One, how awesome our God is.  Looking at Ellie you can see God at work.  It is soo amazing...I love this little girl soo much. 

Two, I need to appreciate her while she is little.  Soon she will be grown up.  Devin is already 16 and doesn't have time for us...Kaylee is turning 7 in 3 days and I can not believe she is so grown up....Before I know it Ellie will be right behind her...I need to quit focusing on the little things and worrying about which milestone she has not met yet and just enjoy her.  She will roll over, she will sit, she will crawl, she will walk, and she will talk...in her own time.  I can not compare her to any other child even her siblings, and even other children with down syndrome.  She is unique, just like every other child.

Three, life is so precious and Ellie Mae is an answer to MANY prayers.  I keep reading everywhere that abortions are on the rise...It kills me to think that a person could do this to a helpless child.  I pray that weight is put on the heart of every pregnant woman contemplating an abortion...and weight is put on the medical teams who perform them...please help them to see adoption is the better choice there are THOUSANDS of families wishing they could have children of their own.  Lord thank you for my children.  They have made me who I am today.

and Four...I AM SOO BLESSED.  There are soo many wonderful things in my life.  My husband and I have a job.  We have 2 vehicles that run every time we need them to...we have a beautiful home, 3 meals a day, clothes on our backs, and health.  Now that Ellie's heart is fixed and she has been released from the surgeon we are all healthy.  Not to mention all the toys we have.  There are soo many people struggling to keep the lights on, food on the table, and their family together.  Lord I thank you for the many blessings you have given me.  Help me to be a blessing to others.

I will post some new pictures of her shortly...May God Bless you all...