March came in like a lion dumping 5 inches of beautiful white snow on our little part of the world. The kids loved it until they found out that they will have to make up the missed school day on Saturday...bummer. When I heard that school had been cancelled (before the first snowflake even fell) I envisioned a day of sleeping in, staying in our pjs until noon and sipping hot chocolate by a roaring fire...nope, that was not to be. The kids were up and ready to hit the great outdoor by eight o'clock! It only took Brea about five minutes to decide she was ready to come back in but the big kids stayed out longer and had a serious snowball fight! Brea and I watched (and laughed) from the safety of the dining room window! This morning the sun was out and the snow began to melt. The kids went back to school and life returned to normal. Gotta love those Carolina winters! Enjoy the photos.
Last Thursday Brea and I spent the day at Duke. She had her quarterly transplant check up. They took eight tubes of blood and did an echocardiogram. She was a trooper! The cardiologist said her echo looked "perfect" and her blood work showed no signs of rejection. I had been worried about her kidney function but that too looked normal. She will be seen again by her transplant team in May and will have another heart biopsy in November. While we were there Dr. Carboni took a look at Bailey's newest photos and said he thinks she looks great...not exactly a scientific evaluation but we'll take it!
Tonight as we sat down for dinner Brea announced that she no longer needed a baby plate. I reluctantly replaced her plate with a glass one and moved the Minnie Mouse, Dora, Elmo and Princess plates to the top shelf of the cabinet. Our baby girl is growing up...fast, way to fast.
Tonight as I tuck my children into bed I will linger a little longer, read them an extra story and give a few extra hugs and kisses. You see in the past week we have watched two special families say goodbye to their beautiful daughters. Lydia was just five years old and was adopted from China. She had been diagnosed with cancer this past summer and her battle had been long and hard. Little Lydia earned her angel wings one week ago today. Little Gracie would have been a year old this month. She was born with a congenital heart defect and recently had a heart transplant. Unlike Brea, Gracie's little body never accepted the new heart and she earned her angel wings yesterday. These girls touched our lives and many others. Their families need our prayers for peace as they learn to live without the girls that they loved so much. May God grant them peace and may they find comfort in their memories. |
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Brea...so excited about the snow!
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