California...here we come again!

Can't believe it's been since Thanksgiving since I updated the blog. We had a great Christmas. Reagan did run into some problems between Christmas and New Year's with nosebleeds. This time of year seems to be hard on her nose with the dry winter weather. We were referred to an ENT but he did not want to cauterize her nose vessel because it would mean sending her to the OR under anesthesia. We are now treating her nose daily with saline and bacitracin and so far have been doing good with no nosebleeds! The first week of January was a hard one for us. Rod left to go to his next duty station- Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. The kids & I miss him dearly but it is great to be able to call him everyday & talk- quite unlike Afghanistan :-) I am writing to let you all know that in the morning Reagan, my mom and I fly out to California. Reagan has her next heart cath on Friday. Because of the arteries they had to balloon back in the summer during her last cath we had to follow up in six months and it is now that time. She has a pre-cath appt in the clinic Th & then her heart cath is scheduled for 8am Friday. We are praying her arteries have grown and not narrowed and this will be an uneventful trip. If all goes as planned, she will spend Friday night in the hospital, discharge Saturday and fly back Sunday. Thank you so much to Aunt Kay who'll be manning Nolan while we're gone and for my mom going with me to help out since Rod cannot make it. Also, thanks to my friend Lori for taking Nolan part of the time as well. I am currently not feeling well so about to hit the bed & pray for a good nights sleep & better health tomorrow. Thanks to all of you for your support during this time & always!

Truly Thankful....

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Hope everyone is enjoying time with their family this Thanksgiving.  We are having a houseful starting later today.  It is so great to be able to be home and healthy with our family rather than in the hospital.  I know, however, that as I type this, there are those families that are spending this Thanksgiving in the hospital.  We have some great friends, the Nelson family, whom we met in California, that are giving back this year and delivering meals to families whose kids are in the hospital this year at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital where we go for Reagan's heart surgeries. If  you feel like contributing to this great cause, simply click on the Nelson family above and it will lead you to their blog where you can find out more.
We are also thankful Rod is home this year for Thanksgiving.  However, know there are soldiers separated from their families this year.  Please remember to be in prayer for these soldiers and their families as well as the families spending Thanksgiving in the hospital.
As far as Reagan goes, we had a little setback in early October.  She was jumping on the trampoline with her brother one afternoon when she fractured her tibia.

Fractured tibia
She had to wear a full leg cast for the next 5 weeks until it healed.  

Thankfully, she is now out of her cast, and back to trying to keep up with her brother.  We are thankful this was a "normal" medical issue to deal with for a change.  How awesome that Reagan has been out of the hospital since May of this year.  Other than her night's stay after her heart cath in July, we have remained hospital-free to which we offer many thanks for!!
After Reagan's hospital stay back in May for a respiratory illness, we received the home vest machine to do at home with her breathing treatments.  We are praying this will be helpful in keeping her from being hospitalized this winter with any respiratory infections.  Winter always seems to be a "booger"! (pun intended :)
As we approach this Thanksgiving, we are thankful for our little miracle God gave us.  She is such an inspiration to us daily....always happy, always trying, never gives up!!  We are also thankful that we were able to be home in Temple, Tx the first five years of her life around family and friends that have supported us unconditionally along this journey.  We are saddened as we host Thanksgiving that this will be our last year to do so for awhile.  Rod will be leaving in early January to head up to Virginia and report for duty at Ft. Belvoir.  The kids and I will follow in June upon completion of the school year.  It will be a huge change for us but know God will be with us all the way.  Please pray for Rod as he will be away from his family once more until we come later in the year.  Also, for Reagan & I as we leave for Reagan's next heart cath in California on Jan 20.  We pray her arteries, especially her coronary arteries, have grown and not narrowed so that this cath will be uneventful.
I know I have used the word "thankful" many times in this post, but as it says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "In EVERYTHING give thanks".  I am just saddened that I am using Thanksgiving as my outlet to do so, as I should do it daily!
Blessings to you & yours this Thanksgiving!!  Thanks for stopping in.

Lots of News.......

Just checking in to let everyone know how well Reagan is doing.  Haven't updated in awhile but we have been busy enjoying having Daddy back home from Afghanistan and kicking off the new school year with all of the activities that go along with a new year.  Nolan (2nd grade) & Reagan (Pre-K) both started back to school in late Aug.  They are both enjoying school and doing so well.  

Miss Reagan does her work at home with Mrs. Melissa, her homebound teacher, that comes 4 days a week for a 30 min. session.  And let me tell you, the girl learns alot in those 30 min.  Last year, she basically mastered recognition of all her shapes, colors, letters, numbers, etc.  Mrs. Melissa is now moving on to tougher objectives like counting, more/less, reading small sight words, reading comprehension, and doing it all through fun themes.  As mentioned before, I used a program this summer with Reagan called Handwriting without Tears, to help her improve her hand control, hand strength, & writing letters & numbers.  She has done so well as you can see.

Because she liked the idea of "homeschool" so much and requests it daily, I decided I would continue to teach her daily lessons during the school year as well.  I am trying to focus on phonics, sequencing of stories, rebus reading, counting, one-to-one correspondence, more/less, etc.  I do have my degree in early childhood & elementary education so I figure maybe I should put to use the ability God gave me to teach.  After all, parents are their child's first teachers!
On top of school, Reagan still has her "ther-wa-pa-we" (a.k.a. therapy). She goes to a clinic for Speech & Occupational Therapy twice a week and has made huge progress in both.  Thank you Mrs. Liz, Lauren, Emily & Meg for all you do!!  It's definitely paying off.  Reagan also has Physical Therapy once a week with Ms. Donna who has brought Reagan, as a baby, from laying on the ground crying because she didn't know how to set herself up, to now walking, running, & even jumping.  Because we had such a hot summer in Texas this year, we swam alot and Reagan has really gotten used to the water now, including blowing bubbles, going under & jumping off the side.  Due to her acceptance of the water right now, Ms. Donna is taking her swimming for her therapy when her schedule allows & building up those muscles even more.  Ms. Donna, you are the greatest!!
Over the last year Reagan did gymnastics once a week to help improve her strength, endurance & body control.  This year, we decided we'd switched gears and try ballet.  She now takes a Pre-Ballet class once a week with 4 other little girls and loves it!  She is doing great.  I can't wait to see how she's doing come recital time next May.  It ought to be interesting!!

Speaking of next year, I guess there is no better time than now to officially announce that we will be moving next year.  Rod has orders to Ft. Belvoir, VA (Washington, DC area).  He has to report in January but we have decided the kids and I will stay in Texas until summer so both kids can finish their school year.  We are all saddened by the move as we are native Texans and have been blessed to have been here the last 7 yrs.  The positive in this move is that Daddy Rod won't have to deploy for 3 yrs. as Ft. Belvoir is a non-deployable base.  I have known for almost a year about the move but have had to have alot of prayer/quiet times about it as I was not handling it very well.  There are not many bases we can go with Reagan due to all the services/specialists she requires and the Washington, D.C. area not only has everything she will need but also has one of the top ranked school districts in the nation.  God has had to work on my heart in getting me to be o.k. with the move but I know He will not lead us where He has not already prepared a table before us.  Just the thought of starting over with all new therapists, teachers, doctors & hospitals, etc. makes me a little- or should I say alot- nervous.  God is at work though,as I can already see, because the last time we saw Reagan's cardiologist in Austin he informed me that one of the cardiologists from the group in D.C. will be joining the group of drs. in Austin next year and he would talk with him about who would make a great cardiologist for Reagan when we move. Awesome!!  I think that's the "table" I referred to earlier being set before we come.
In closing, I'd like to thank all of you who prayed for our friend, Callie.  She had a successful surgery but did have a very scary complication 4 days later through which she came through beautifully! I know it is your prayers and the prayers of many that got Callie & her parents through that tough time.
Thanks again!

Prayers Please!!

Hey everyone,

I know how much all of you have been a support and prayer team for us with Reagan along her journey so I wanted to let you know about a heart friend of ours who will be having surgery tomorrow.  Callie Carver, pictured here, as she flew out to California last week from her home in Florida, is one of our sweet friends we've met along this journey.  We first met Callie when she was just a baby at the Ronald McDonald House in California.  Reagan & Callie share the same heart surgeon, Dr. Hanley.  Tomorrow, Callie will be having a major heart surgery & I want to ask for your prayers for her, her parents Will & Sarah, as well as the doctors, nurses & everyone caring for her.  Callie has had several surgeries in California but never gone on bypass during any of these because it was too risky for her little body.  In tomorrow's surgery, she will go on bypass for the first time during her surgery to remove 2 shunts and replace with a central shunt.  I know what anxiety her parents are feeling as they approach tomorrow and all the while their daughter not knowing what's about to happen.  It's a scary place, we parents have to go, on surgery days, but know we must go there in order to move on to more happy days at home with our children.  Please pray for Miss Callie, Will & Sarah & all of her care team.  Thank you all!!!