Lily at 3 months

Grace at 3 months

Lily at 3 months

Grace at 3 months

Today Lily is officially celebrating her third month. As we look back at pictures of Grace we realize how much they do look alike. One thing is for sure Lily lights up whenever her sister is in the room. She even smiles in her sleep when Grace is talking. Grace is an excellent big sister. She helps mommy and daddy. She loves to hug and kiss her sister and has given her several nicknames of which I cannot spell or say correctly - one sounds like giddy girl, this one she repeats over and over until Lily smiles. Lily is doing remarkably well for someone with so many visits to doctors and hospitals. She weighs 11 pounds and 14 ounces and is 21 1/2 inches long. She eats all the time and is spitting up less thanks to the wonders of prevacid and mylecon. I say this even though she vomited all over me and the floor this morning. We will be going to Childrens Hospital at Egleston on Jan. 13th for her heart MRI. The surgery will be scheduled after that. Untl then she is on restricted visitation and doesn't get out much, too many germs. She loves to snuggle and play with her swings and bouncy seat. She is looking forward to her first Christmas and time spent with her family.

Happy 5th Birthday

Last week we celebrated Grace's 5th birthday. She started the week off on Monday being star student. I was able to go watch her present herself on a poster, that we had spent the Thanksgiving holiday working on. She was great. She read the words on the poster she had told me to write. She pointed out the pictures, who was in them and what they were doing. She allowed each of her classmates to ask a question and didn't say anything when they seemed to ask the same questions over and over. I taped the whole thing and kept thinking, she is getting so big. On Tuesday, the actual birthday, we drove her friends to school along with 18 special ordered frosted cookies(mom has too much going on to bake.) She wore her special birthday girl necklace and the crown her teachers made her all day. I snuck out of my own classroom to pass out the cookies and sing happy birthday, where Grace stood on a chair looking proud as could be. After school we went to Ballet where Grace wore the necklace and crown and her friends sang Happy Birthday. When we got home Grandma and Lily were excited to hear all about her day. That evening we had a special dinner of Chicken Nuggets, Fries and lemonade from Chick-fil-a with Grandma Suzanne and Papa. Grace was even lucky to have Grandma spending the night. (This was for a different purpose - Lily and her not procedure - that I will not discuss now.) Wednesday and Thursday she got to ride to and from school on the HUGHES bus - Thank you Mrs. Lara. Grandma also spent Wednesday night to help out. On Thursday Grandma Terry and Popop came into town for the big weekend celebration. Grace got to open presents including the crayola magic light paint set, a cot with sleeping bag, a book called Grace For President where a little girl named Grace Campbell runs for class president, and several other things that are littering the family room. Friday Grace spent the day playing with all her new toys and Lily, Grandma and Popop. Then the big day came, the day of the party. We had her party at Pump it UP. It was fantastic - all inclusive 1 1/2 hours in the jumping room and 1/2 hour in the party room. There were small children bouncing, sliding, climbing and running all around(some adults too). Taylor my nephew would cry whenever he couldn't find "my Gracie". At one point Grace ran up to me, gave me a huge hug and said "I am so glad it is my birthday!" With a kiss she was off again. I can't tell you how much I needed that. All in all I think she had a great birthday week.

I can't help thinking about how 6 years ago, I was praying for God to bless me with a child. It had been a rough 2 years of unsuccessful treatments and heartache. And now my first baby is 5, going to Kindergarten next year and brings me joy everyday. She is so kind, loving and full of God's Grace. Since her birth there have been some dark and sad days and unbeknownst to her she has helped many people to feel better about what is happening. She is the best big sister I know. Lily lights up like the Christmas tree whenever Grace is in the room. Her spirit is infectious and I am so glad that I have the opportunity to raise this wonderful child. She continues to make me proud. The only words that I can use that seem so inadequate are - I love you Gracie Pippers!

continued prayers

Lily did NOT have a heart catherization and valvuloplasty this morning. Before beginning the procedure another echo or heart ultrasound was done where the doctors determined that it was not her aortic valve but the area above the valve. This means that somewhere in the next couple of months she will most likely undergo surgery to open the area to reduce the pressure put on her heart. This is major surgery, but may be a better diagnosis for the long run, only one surgery versus multiple. The surgery is called a patch and we will let you all know more when we do, not until sometime next week. As for now the doctor said to treat her as a normal baby. Thank you for all your prayers. After spending the day at Egleston we feel so lucky to live near a major heart center such as this. The nurses, doctors and technicians were all wonderful. We ask that you continue to pray for Lily and we will keep you updated as best we can.

Tom and Sarah

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving. As we look forward to a busy, hectic, scary week. I am reflecting on all the things we are Thankful for. We are thankful for our almost 5 year old, our wonderful supportive family, our loving friends and neighbors, our beautiful baby girl and the spirit of this holiday season. Hopefully after Lily's procedure on Wednesday we will be able to add to this list. Take care and we will update this soon.