Easter

We have had a wonderful weekend celebrating Easter and our beautiful Spring weather.  The kids were out of school for Good Friday, so we spent most of the day by poolside. 

  Owen tried out some new floaties and wasn't too thrilled.  He yelled "Someone help me.. my Mom is going crazy... she's gone mad!!"  Apparently those floaties were a bust.  He really just likes his floaty boats and dive sticks. My sis brought her clan over to swim and Gigi joined us.  Love the flippers and sunblock cheeks.. this girl is silly.

Easter morning was very sweet.  The Easter Bunny send the kids on a scavenger hunt around the house to find their baskets.  Owen got a new motor boat for the pool and Kam got a 3DS game she's been wanting with nail stuff.  Love these kiddos.. they are my world!

We all went to my parents for Easter lunch after church.  My parents got a new tramp a few weeks ago and the kids love it!! 

Gigi got a Slip N Slide for Easter and it was perfect 90 degree weather today to enjoy it!  Owen was too nervous to run and slide, so he was in charge of the hose.  See Liv using the floaty as a shield?  Owen was in heaven!!

I convinced Kam to get her suit on and come play.. promising her it would be FUN!

Then these two got ahold of the hose.  Liv and Owen.. these two are trouble!

Kam was regretting her decision to come out and play.  Ha.  She only lasted about 15 minutes. 

Owen got a little brave and decided to run across the Slip N Slide.  This is an Owen "run".
Then he wanted to try it on the way back... and then this happened... and he was done trying.  Poor guy.
He decided that sitting on the end and watching Liv do somersaults and Gigi fly down the mat on her knees was more fun!  He was outside for at least 3 hours and laughed the entire time.  It was sweet for this mama's heart to see him having so much fun!

We had a wonderful day!  I didn't get to spend much time indoors with the adults because I was having so much fun with the little ones outdoors.  So grateful for all that we have been given.  Thankful to celebrate this Easter Sunday with my family!!

Heart Talk

I don't have any photos with this post because I can't find a single one of my camera memory cards.. I have a bunch.  They are all probably "lost" together somewhere.  This week marked SEVEN months that Owen has been on the heart transplant list!!  I can't complain.. we are fortunate to still be waiting at home with a stable little boy.

I had the opportunity to meet with Owen's local transplant cardio and NP today for a consultation. Things have just not been going too smoothly and I feel that we have lost a local cardio presence over the past  seven months.  There is no question that his old cardio, Dr S. was phenomenal and really gave 150% to Owen.  We had no choice but to transfer care to the transplant cardio when Owen was listed for transplant and I am feeling the less than stellar effects of that transfer in care.  Anyway.. the meeting didn't go as well as I had hoped.  I did get a few questions answered, things are just the way they are and they aren't going to change.  I walked out of there feeling no better than I did before, other than now I have a good idea of who his new cardiologist is as a person and a cardiologist.  He doesn't give his 100%, in fact Owen may get 30%, the rest is done "behind the scenes."  It's going to take some time for me to get to the point where I can trust him and build a relationship with him.. so baby steps at this point I guess.  I will say that his NP is great and she deserves a big shiny medal for all she does.  She carries a heavy work load.

Thankfully, Owen has a great team at LPCH and I have great confidence in them.  We go back on May 3rd and I have gone back and forth on this whole admittance and Milrinone decision.  It's the cause of many sleepless nights.  I keep hoping that the answer will be clear.. I suppose we have a few more weeks for that to happen. :)

I posted this on FB.. but this was Owen's funny quote of the day yesterday...

Me: Owen are you excited to start Kindergarten next year (sometime).  

 Owen: "I'm a little nervous cause you won't be there. But I"ll make a hundred friends, probably, I hope. I will say.. hi, my name is Owen, I was born with half a heart, but I am getting a new piece to my heart and they will glue it together and put it on ice. Now I have a whole heart."

I love his understanding of the whole process and he's such a trooper. 

HopeKids Event

On Saturday, we had our first Hopekids event in such a long time. Easter at the Ranch was close to our house and outdoors... so I took a chance and signed us up. It was a warm 80some degrees outside, but the breeze made it feel amazing.  We started by visiting with some heart friends, while the kids bounced (or sat) in the bouncy castle.  Then we made our way over to the picnic area for lunch.  Notice my husband being a goofball and crossing his eyes.. photobomb.

Owen was cuddling up to Sis... had to capture the moment.

Then Mr. Owen decided to be crazy and jam out to the DJs tunes.  I love that everyone is oblivious to his silly singing.. we are so used to it!
MVI 0765 from Andrea Simmons on Vimeo. After lunch, we decided to ride the ponies.  Owen would say "this is fun" in the most nervous voice ever.  He's not a fan.  Kam was holding him on and trying to keep her toes from being stomped.  Yes, we are city folk wearing flip flops on a farm.

Who doesn't love a good face painting?  Kam went with the Tyson look.

Owen wanted a skull... which I protested, but didn't really have a say.  Let me just say that washing the black off from around his eye was a chore and he still has a black eye two days later.  He loved it and wouldn't stop looking at himself in the mirror the rest of the day, so it was worth it.

Carson went with the third eye look.  I decided to not hold up the line anymore and saved my face from the awesome artwork. 

We had a great time with HopeKids.  Bridget and the whole organization is phenomenal and we love what they do for these kids.  So proud to be a part of it!  We grabbed an ice cream and a few movies on the way home and settled in for a quiet evening.

Sunday was full of errands, catching up on housework and we took the kids to see the Croods.  Daddy went to play softball in the evening, while I helped Kam with a WWI project..  It's hard to not appreciate the little moments at home, time with family, and productive weekends.