Celebrating Logan's 4th!!

I can hardly believe it, but Logan just turned 4!!  I am trying not to blink because I'll miss something.  This little guy is such a joy!  He likes things done a certain way, doesn't like to be messy and always chooses kindness.  He is a friend to everyone and just wants the other kids to play nice.  If he sees another kiddo not playing nice or disobeying rules, he will call them on it.  He is fueled by chocolate, all kinds, and it has to be COLD or he won't eat it.  His favorite person is Kam and the rest of us come in a close second.  He wakes up happy each morning and can't wait to go to bed "it's getting dark!"  He loves to go for long walks and discover new parks.  I love this little buddy of mine and am so LUCKY to be his mom! 

 He woke up early to open his Birthday gifts!  I dusted off Kam's old Casio keyboard from years ago that I held onto for who knows why.. but it sure came in handy!  Logan LOVES it and keeps calling himself the "DJ" and discovers a new jam everyday. 

 Our little Birthday tradition is to hit up all the local eateries that offer FREE food if it's your Birthday!  We got milkshakes and corn dog bites at Joe's Farm Grill.  Then headed to SomeBurros later for bean burritos and rice.  He was so HAPPY! 

 Carson bought tickets for IlluminationsAZ in Tempe to drive through and see all the Christmas lights (this picture isn't the best).  It was pretty awesome and he kept saying "this is such a great Birthday!"

 His only request was hotdogs for dinner so we headed over to Portillo's.  If you haven't been... it's so delicious!!!

 Green frosted chocolate cake and mint ice cream was on his list and he blew out the candles before we even started singing.  Happy Birthday little buddy, I can't wait to watch your grow another year older!!

Christmas 2018

Christmas was wonderful and magical!  December is my favorite month of the year and this year was right there with one of the best!  The weather was chilly in the desert, we attended a few incredible parties and we stayed healthy.  Every morning I wake up grateful for all I have and feel so much happiness I could burst at times. 

 

This year, I tried to keep things simple for the kids and focus on making memories instead of buying a bunch of gifts.  I failed and spoiled them with everything on their lists, but they didn't ask for much.  Kam and Owen got new Fitbit Versas and all Logi wanted was a Megazord.  Owen was already doing push ups this morning counting his calorie burn one calorie at a time. 

 The best part of December is all of the parties we get invited to which gives me a chance to reconnect with all my friends.  The Mended Little Hearts Christmas party is one of my favorites and the Atherton's were gracious hosts again this year.  Their sweet Becca ended her fight with CHD this year at Stanford and our entire heart community was impacted by this incredible woman's life!  The Atherton's have been incredible to me and Owen at Stanford and they will always be family.  The party was incredible with the most compassionate Santa ever!

 Owen had his monthly cardiology visit this month at the hospital and everything looks great!  We found the Donate Life AZ tree in the lobby with Owen's photo and story represented on the tree.  We had plans to write the donor families this Christmas season but I have been at a loss for words.  I am still working on finding the right way to say "THANK YOU" for giving my son the gift of life. 

 Make A Wish invited us to Christmas on Comstock party to make cookies, hot cocoa and snow.  We love Comstock and drive through there several times during the Christmas season.  The entire street is lit up and coordinated to music.. it's pretty fun!

 Our Phoenix Children's transplant team has a huge party for the transplant patients each year.  This year had face painting, a delicious taco bar, Star Wars friends and Roy was on DJ duty.  We danced with Kylo Ren, caught up with all our transplant friends, doctors and nurses.  Santa gave out some pretty awesome presents (Owen got a drone) and we had the best time!!  We are so lucky to know so many wonderful heart families all over the world, but Arizona has some of the best!!

 Every year we find Santa's mailbox at Macy's and send off our letters to Santa.  They give a $1 back to Make A Wish for every letter sent!!!  How can we not get behind that?

 Christmas Eve was low key this year.  Kam made cheesecake, the boys sprinkled reindeer food all over the front walkway and Santa got chocolate crinkle cookies this year.  We usually go out to a prime rib dinner but nixed it this year in lieu of cereal.  Not kidding. :)  The kids opened their Christmas Eve pajamas and we had a quiet evening at home. 

 Owen woke up at 4am and quietly laid in my bed until the rest of the crew woke up.  They all loved their gifts but were more excited to give the gifts they picked out for Daddy.  Kam and the boys surprised me with a new wallet (mine is 8 yrs old) and Kam bought herself a surprise I'll post about tomorrow.  She deserves her own post.

 Logan only eats COLD chocolate, so I laughed when I opened my fridge to find his chocolates taking up an entire door. This boy is a gem.

 We went to my parent's house for Christmas dinner with my Sister and her family.  It was the perfect end to our holiday and we had the best time playing all of Gigi's crazy games.  Never Have I Ever is a super crazy game (take out all the inappropriate cards) and we laughed pretty hard!

 

Look at these pictures... how can I not feel incredibly blessed??  Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!! I hope your Christmas season was beautiful! 

Thanksgiving 2018

There is so much to be grateful for!  Thanksgiving 2018 was wonderful and we had the best time surrounded by family and friends.  We are healthy and happy!!   We had two Thanksgiving dinners this year, one with Carson's family and then with mine. I am so grateful my kids have so many cousins to grow up with.  It makes life a little sweeter.

Auntie Janesa came down from San Fran to visit and introduce the family to her new fiancé! 

My parent's invited all of their missionaries over for Thanksgiving dinner and I still left with plates full of leftovers.. my dad likes to prepare a feast!!  The little girls put on a "dance show" which they will regret as teenagers.  We convinced everyone to do the whip cream challenge...  always a good time. My kids were passed out in the car on the way home. 

Owen is a carnivore and this was leftover on his plate after eating all of the legs and wings of the turkey!  He finished it off with a little ham for desert.  Forget about pie or sides, anything with carbs really, my boys are meat eaters. 

It was a perfect day and we are more than ready for Christmas!!

Living Life!!

Get ready for a lot of photos!!  My phone storage was maxing out and I decided that was my queue to do another blog post.  Our little family has been busy with school and staying out of the hospital!  This past year has been a whirlwind for me as I decided to tackle college once again and it has been a challenge!  I decided to switch things up and work towards a bachelor's in nursing.  I have taken chemistry, biology, college algebra, anatomy & physiology (2), microbiology, psychology and a couple ethics classes to get all my co-reqs done for the nursing program.  I've been taking all my classes online (self taught) so that I can be there 100% for my kiddos.  It has been a journey and I am close to done.  Then the 2 year nursing program will begin!!  My end goal is to become a Nurse Practitioner and work in pediatrics.  I'll get there.. I may be really old when it happens, but I will make it happen!  This summer I celebrated my 39th birthday and so far, my 30s have caused a few wrinkles and many gray hairs.  I am looking forward to my 40s!

This little guy may be the culprit of these wrinkles, but every single one of them has been worth it and I would do it all over again in an instant.  Owen started 5th grade!!!!  I cannot say that I wasn't completely terrified about throwing him back into school this fall with his peers.  He has missed 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade and we were just throwing him into 5th.  He has an IEP with plenty of support and a wonderful staff .. but WOW... he has blown us away!!!  He even made the honor roll!!!  He is making friends with his peers and teachers (the same) and loves it.  He is on a modified school day and only goes from 8-noon, but it's working out perfectly and it was absolutely the right decision for him. 

Aside from school, he spends his day playing video games, watching youtube, doing homework, and he is will sit and chat my ear off for hours.  I love our nightly chats and he always has something shocking to say.  I couldn't be more proud of where he is today! (Medical update later..)

 



This little cutie is close to his 4th birthday.  He has almost as much energy as his mama and he loves to constantly be on the go! Now that the weather is amazing in the desert, we go to the park everyday while Owen is at school and he always makes friends.  "Hi, I am Logan.. what's your name?  You want to play with me?"  He is friendly, thoughtful and always up for an adventure.  He is loving video games, playdoh, nerf guns and he loves to clean house!!  Owen likes to antagonize Logan and then they end up in a wrestling match 95% of the time and you can guess what happens next.. (insert tears here).  Brothers will be brothers and they both adore their big Sister the most.

 

 

This cute girl started College in August and is loving it!!  She got a scholarship to ASU so she basically gets paid to go to school.  She switched majors from BioChem to Biomedical and loves it so far.  She has a full class load and finals are in 3 weeks (I cannot believe that).  She loves the Arizona State campus, has made a ton of friends and just got accepted to travel abroad to Trinidad and Tobago!  She is still living at home and commuting to campus and she doesn't regret that decision for a second. Life at 18 looks good on her!

 

 

Owen's health has been so great!!  He is still on steroids and it doesn't seem we will ever wean him off at this point.  Each time we drop the dose, even a little, his body starts rejecting his precious heart. We have been going to Stanford every 3 months still and Owen loves the trips to the cath lab.  His heart pressures are perfect, and he hasn't had rejection the last two visits.. YAY!!  We will go back the end of January for his annual biopsy and cath to check on his coronary arteries.  Until then, we are living life and making memories.  This was a rough year and several of our dear heart friends passed away.  Most recently we lost a few really close friends and it has been so tough.  Life is precious and we are just so grateful for every moment we have and we try to make each day as great as we can. 

At our last visit, a few weeks ago, I wandered the halls of the hospital and kept finding little memories of our time inpatient.  Owen's tiles he made in the playroom one afternoon, artwork he did in Hospital school and photos of my boy are scatted throughout the hospital.  It seems like decades ago that we lived a very different life in the walls of a hospital room praying for the day that we would be free.  Prayers answered and we are living our best lives!!

If you read this far... I love you!!  I know my kids will read this blog one day and I am doing this for them.  We spent a good chunk of time this morning looking back at old photos and posts of when Logi was born as we prepare for his birthday coming up.  I'm back at it!! :)