the boy's birthdays

Jace turned 9 in August!

 So our family of 6 went bowling & to the archade which was super fun and for his first time bowling, Jace was pretty darn good!

 Sam enjoying his "ride" at the bowling ally

 His birthday theme was a movie party, watching "The Three Stooges"...which is funny to some, particularly 9 year olds

 He also had a family party this year and added a few buddies to the mix, fun times!

 While the big kids watched the movie, these three little girlie cousins gave each other make-overs!

 Happy 9th Birthday to an awesome, fun-loving boy! Happiness just leaks out of this guy. His smile is surely contagious...We love you Jacers and are very proud of you!

Then we celebrated Daddy's birthday at Grandma & Grandpa Allred's. A few days later, Bryan and I were able to get away for the afternoon and attend the Monday night Seahawks v. Packers game with Mike & Lesa. Bryan's been a Seahawk fan for 35 years. Yes, he's very loyal.

 At the end of September, Cade turned 7. Jace just wants world-peace in every picture!

 Cade posing so sweetly for his birthday photos. He requested a "Power Miner Lego party" which was a challenge but I think I pulled it off and it met his high standards :) Caden is a super smart kiddo who adds a lot of creativity and affection to our family. This little man can build any lego set you put in front of him and creates some pretty cool creations on his own. We love you Caders!

 This was the first year Cade's had friends over for a birthday party and a fun group it was!

 We celebrated that night with a family party...yes, this family knows how to party!

Then Sam turned one in October! He started crashing walking right before he turned 11 months and has had a bruise or two on his forehead since. This boy falls more than any of our other kids, he's surely the quickest little bugger and his bumps prove it! He's independent & keeps busy cruising around and opening cupboards and drawers all. day. long.

I can't believe he's already a year old! Sam is such a sweet, loving baby...he's quiet, mostly layed back and petite, weighing 19 lbs. 11 oz and 29 inches at his 1 year appt. We sure love our little Sammy and feel so blessed to have him as our caboose! Love, love our Sam-Sam!

 We had a fun little monster themed party for him... see, there is our peace sign again!

 He wasn't that into his monster cake...just took little bites, no cake smash for this guy.

 

Flarp from the goodie bags was our entertainment for the night... these little monsters kept us giggling with their sneezes, gross noises and antics!

 

cancelled cath

Maddie's heart cath was scheduled for this Friday but unfortunately, we've had to cancel it due to her having a little head cold. I know...sounds crazy. Our life has become so normal with her but in preparing for her 7th heart cath, we knew keeping her healthy was a priority. Easy to say, hard to do. I teach preschool, I have lectured those mother's enough and they are all very respectful of the "well-child policy" so we tried there. We tried limiting her going into grocery stores, public places, etc. but she still came down with a stinking cold. It's frustrating and times like these remind me that I am raising a child with a chronic illness. Her heart will never be fixed. Catching a simple cold then having a heart cath is not good- her risk for infection increases and the policy is to cancel. I'm grateful they always have Maddie in mind, her medical team is amazing.

As of now, her cath is rescheduled for Dec. 11th. Dr. Johnston is calling it an interventional cath as he's hoping to close her fenestration (hole created in her heart used as a pop-off for blood flow), as well as looking for & taking care of any collateral vessels as well as making sure her pulmonary arteries are wide-opened and growing well. After her Fontan, we knew she'd need to go back to the cath lab...just the timing was the question. After three open-heart surgeries and six heart catheterizations, we should be pros at this but it doesn't get easier. She knows she has to go back and when we've talked about it, she's anxious and tears up. I swear the older she gets, the harder this is.

She needs to have a good 2-3 week window of health- being clear of any illness. It feels impossible. We have four children, two of which attend public school. I teach 11 other children two days of week, preschool in our home. She takes ballet once a week. We spend lots of time with family and cousins. Can we just put her in a bubble and carry on with life? Bryan and I differ on how much we want to expose her...wished this was easier at times. What a balance it is between having her experience a normal life but compromising her health in achieving that goal. Prayers for keeping Miss Maddie healthy are always appreciated. Just want to get this cath over with. 28 days to go.

Remembering Mia...

I ache for my friend...a fellow heart mama, one I've known for the majority of my daughter's life. We share much in common...our 3rd child was our heart kid, our two oldest children are the same ages and we have baby boy's named Sam. Our little girls are very blonde, very blue-eyed and full of joy, life and happiness. My friend has lost her baby girl though.

 

Mia returned to her loving Father in Heaven on Monday, October 8th. I still can't bring myself to believe it. Throughout my days this past week, feelings and emotions that I didn't know I had have come welling up. I've cried many tears for my friend and spent hours praying for her and thinking of her. I know that Mia is in a better place...she's with Jesus. It's Mimi, John, Jensen, Ellie and Sam and their loving families that my heart completely breaks for.

 

The thought of losing a child crosses my mind like any other mother but the thought of losing my daughter, because she was born with a very broken heart, crosses my mind every day, sometimes several times a day.Yes, Maddie is doing well and a pretty typical four year old. But so was Mia. What I will take from her passing is this...Mia lived four wonderful years here. She was blessed beyond measure with a loving family and a beautiful life filled with normal experiences and most of all, lots of love. Her life was full and she exuded JOY! As parents, this is something we all strive for...raising happy kids who love life. If we can help our children achieve this kind of joy and happiness, the kind that is contagious to others, then we've been able to help make this world a little brighter. Mia definitely brightened the lives of all who knew her.

 

Saturday, the McDonald family will celebrate Mia's life at her service in Utah. She has inspired and blessed so many and her time on earth was cut far too short but her purpose here was so very great. I believe Mia achieved all that the Lord sent her here to do. What an honor it has been to watch her grow and follow her story from the beginning. Her mother is just as amazing as Mia...she has been a wonderful example of grace and strength for me. Miss Mia, you are loved and have left a big footprint here. We love you and will always hold you and your sweet family close to our hearts.

 

  Mia Marie McDonald  July 8, 2008 ~ October 8, 2012

Meeting Mia and Mimi for the first time shortly after her heart transplant at Seattle Childrens...November 2008.

Enjoying a fun heart mom night out with Mimi, Susie & Teagan and Jesse.

Maddie, Teagan & Mia at the McDonald's home in Puyallup

Dinner at the Ram following one of Maddie's caths...

Heart Family Picnic July 2009

August 2009...Mimi & Mia and Maddie & I following dr appts at Children's

If you'd like to help Mia's family and donate to a fund to help defer medical expenses, click here. To read Mia's obituary click here.

pray for Mia!

Remember Mia? She's a dear little friend of ours who's in need of your prayers. Mia and her family left this week for her Make-A-Wish-Trip to Florida...but instead of enjoying DisneyWorld with her family, she wound up in the hospital, only to find out she has pneumonia and is in rejection of her angel heart. Mia had a heart transplant at 4 months old at Seattle Children's. She is a spunky, sweet little four year old who up to this point had been doing great. But during a heart cath/biopsy procedure last night, things turned from bad to worse and she is currently on ECMO (heart-lung machine) to stay alive. Please pray for Mia and her family. They are so far from home, away from family and in a strange hospital. Our hearts are so deeply saddened right now for Mia and the McDonald family...

Firsts...

First Day of School...

Cade is in Mr. Buster's 1st Grade Class (Uncle Mike) and he's super pumped about it! His best friend Bennett is in here too! 

 Jace is in Mrs. Janett's 3rd grade (Aunt Kerry) So fun having family for our kid's teachers!

 Miss Maddie started preschool. I'm teaching one class, a dozen of them and 11 will go to Kindergarten next fall together! They're a great bunch of kiddos, I'm pretty partial to this one :)

 Jace has started Grid Kids Football. He's loving it (this is his mean face) and it's extra special since his dad is one of the coaches!

And let's not forget Sammy! He's been taking his first steps!!! We find him standing alone in the middle of the room often, with nothing to pull-up on or hold onto. He's taken several steps but then chooses to sit carefully down and crawl. He's a very speedy crawler and walking is a bit too slow for the lil' guy still! Can you believe he's already 11 months old?

Mike, Lesa, Bryan and I attended the Seahawk vs. Packers game this week! This was my first Monday night game at the stadium...ear plugs would have been handy! It gets so LOUD, Seahawk fans are awesome, hilarious and entertaining for sure! Whoa refs, but hey, we'll take it! A win is a win :) It was a fun game. Go Hawks!!!

time for another cath...

Maddie had a cardiology check-up on Monday. It was a full work up which was bumped up a couple of months due to her sats declining over the summer. Back in May, she was satting 90-92 and on Monday, her O2 sats read 84%. Though she still has a fenestrated Fontan (hole created to help give blood flow an alternate route due to pressures, which creates some mixing of O2 rich/poor blood) her sats shouldn't be this low now with her physiology. So, Dr. Chun and Dr. Johnston discussed her crummy echo pics and decided she needs to go to the cath lab to figure this one out since nothing could be determined by echo. We have a few hunches: collateral vessels again, her Pulmonary Arteries may be narrowing back down again, or her conduit may have an issue where it's sewed to her own anatomy. To be entirely honest, I hadn't worried much or had that "feeling" going into this appointment. I've noticed her more winded, a tinge bluer and she comments frequently that her breath hurts but being passed the Fontan, I don't worry about it like I used to and overall, she's been about the same energy wise. I'm glad her doctor is pro-active and wants to get a handle on this. We're grateful for their wisdom and how much they care for our daughter and her well-being.

Our plates are very full right now and I wasn't expecting this. Bryan's dad is terminal with cancer, he's declined rapidly the last few weeks and going through this experience has consumed us. It's been a roller coaster and thank God for our family and friends who've helped along the way. Watching someone you love go through this process is agonizing.

But one thing I've learned over these past four years with Maddie is to rely on His strength, His timing and rest in the peace that God has this one covered. When life is heavy and we feel beat down from what we're going through, He is there. Always. What a comfort this brings in times like these.

Covey Run 2012

The Covey Run proved to be a great weekend for our family before getting back into the grind of back to school. Team Maddie Moomer's was the third highest fundraising team for the run, raising $2,075.00 for CHD Research! Thanks to all of you for your generous donations and support towards reaching our goal...which we far exceeded! We love you!

 Our team of 5K runner/walkers & 10K runners

 Catching up with fellow heart friends Jen & Gracie and Jesse (Luke's mom)

My cousin Ashley & Baby Conor joined us too!

Miss Maddie running across the finish line (she rode in the double jogger with Sam until we reached the finish line)

Awesome kiddos who participated too...great job gang!