Beach Trip!

We have had a great but busy summer and know that it is coming to an end really soon! I can't believe that the twins will start preschool this fall, it is so exciting! We took our family vacation at my grandparents beach house in Blue Mountain Beach, FL. We stayed 5 nights and had a great time. We encountered all kinds of wild life while we were there, and even road a pirate ship. We made some great memories and can't wait until our next vacation. Here are some pictures from our trip, I hope you enjoy!

Summer Time!

Well we have three accomplished swimmers on our hands! I taught the twins first and it wasn't a week and Laeton followed! It is a great way to start our summer!

One year ago today...

One year ago today we faced our fears and put our trust in the hands of some incredible Surgeons, cardiologists, anesthesiologist, and pulmonologist. It took them an expected 9 hours to complete his heart surgery and the outcome couldn't have been better. So many tears were cried and prayers were said from all over the world. So many memories flood my mind when I go back to that day but the one that really holds me and lets me know that God was holding our hands the whole time was about 6:00 a.m. and we were already in the holding room that you are in before you child is wheeled away to surgery. I can remember standing there shaking with nerves wondering how I was gonna let these people take my child from me, granted I knew it was for his best but so so hard to do. Any mom or parent who has gone through a similar experience can understand. But we were standing by his side and we had just spoken to Dylon's anesthesiologist and the surgeon had just walked up and was asking some other questions about Dylon b/c we had to move his surgery up a few weeks b/c things had gotten worse for him. The door flew open and it was our Pastor Amy from our church in our hometown, remember this hospital is huge with several different elevators and 21 floors and she miraculously found us. How she found us on that floor I will never know but she walked up and without and hesitation I asked Dr.Fraser if she could pray over the situation and we all bowed our heads, Dr.Frasier, anesthesiologist and a few nurses and prayed! That was a moment that will forever be untouchable! They then gave him something in his I.V. that made him sleepy and they wheeled him back. The surgery was a very long 9 hours but all went extremely well. We saw him like the photo below for the first time after surgery. (TCH did an awesome job controlling his pain)

Now Dylon is such a healthy, nonfearing, baseball loving, handsome little guy. He has just really blossomed this past year and we couldn't be more excited for him. God really showed up and showed out.

I often wonder why we didn't know about Dylon's condition until he was 2 1/2 but I know it was in good timing. But to all expecting moms please insist that your newborn gets a simple heart screening test, it could save thousands of lives.

Thank you to all who kept up with my blog or facebook updates and prayed for our little guy. We love you all so much!

God Bless!

Shelli

ps check out Mandi's blog, she too blogged about this day, just click here

Whats been keeping me busy?

I know it has been a few months since I posted, I do appologize for that. My time has been consumed with a booth my friend and I have opened up in a local emporium. We named our little booth Polkadots and lollipops, you can find it on facebook. We do all kinds of stuff but mainly children's clothes(see above photos). We try and sew twice a week together and we let our kids play while we sew. We have been very impressed with how well they play together. I am hopeing that we will open up an etsy store soon.

So the time that I would usually blog, I have been sewing. I learned to sew from my grandmother Cotton. I made my first quilt with her and I still have that quilt. I learned to sew on a singer sewing machine that wasn't all digital like the one I use now. It has been quit a few years since she taught me how, I was probably in elementary school or early middle school when I learned. I never really thought I would ever really get into sewing, but I have really enjoyed it and any questions I have, I usually call her but thankfully I haven't had to many problems!

On another note, can you believe it has already been a year since Dylon's surgery? I think this time last year we were either on a plane headed out to Houston,Tx or we were already there. It is so amazing to watch him and know just how big of a miracle he is. God really held our family during this time and we are forever thankful of the outcome we received from the surgery. I will probably blog on the 4th (actually anniversary). We are taking full advantage of this warm weather, hope you are too!

Love y'all!

Shelli

Father Lead Me!

I look around and see my wonderful life

Almost perfect from the outside

In picture frames I see my beautiful wife(husband)

Always smiling

But on the inside, I can hear her saying"

Lead me with strong hands

Stand up when I can't

Don't leave me hungry for love

Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight

That I'm still the love of your life

I know we call this our home

But I still feel alone."

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes

They're just children from the outside

I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine

They're independent

But on the inside, I can hear them saying"

Lead me with strong hands

Stand up when I can't

Don't leave me hungry for love

Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight

That I'm still the love of your life

I know we call this our home

But I still feel alone."

So Father, give me the strength

To be everything I am called to be

Oh, Father, show me the way

To lead them

Won't you lead me?

To lead them with strong hands

To stand up when they can't

Don't want to leave them hungry for love

Chasing dreams that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight

And give them the best of my life

So we can call this our home

Lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone

Father, lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone

Lead Me by Sanctus

I heard this song on the Message XM this morning, and I couldn't help but know how this song reflects in my life, Father Lead me, show me how to raise these precious boys to be wonderful men of God someday. This is my goal, my job..God you gave them to us so we can raise them so that they will bring glory to you! Thank You God for such beautiful, sweet, handsome boys!

my twins..the next #1 doubles team??

Did anyone see the interview on 60 minutes about the Bryan twins?? Mike and Bob Bryan are identical twin boys who are ranked #1 in men's doubles. Its so funny to watch another set of identical twins. They showed were they move at the same time on the court or when they sit down between games they drink at the same time. It almost seems that it could be staged, but seeing how my Identical twins are with each other, I know that it is not staged. The story goes on to tell about how they started playing tennis when they were 2 and won their first tournament when they were 6 yrs old. They also talked about how there was no t.v. in there house growing up, and they had to play tennis so many hours a day and they also had to practice music so many hours a day as well. The relationship between twins is something that is so neat to witness, I can't wait to see how my twins relationship with each other matures and to see if what they become in life. Will they be the next tennis stars? or the first twins to walk on the moon? or will they be totally different, one a farmer the other a doctor? Whatever they choose, Mommy and Daddy will always be proud.

Well its off to train for tennis, i'm gonna make me some pro's! ha ha!

OH wait, we can't train yet! I forgot to tell you that Houston broke his foot Tuesday afternoon and he now has a cast on his foot. He broke his first metacarpal on his left foot. How? He and Dylon were wrestling and Dylon landed on the top of Houston's foot. I didn't see it happen, this is what they told me had happened. It sounds a little "fishy" to me but Whatever!

As you can see he was really excited to get a cast and he chose for it to be red! He will need to wear it for 3 weeks!

I hope everyone has a blessed Monday, we are suppose to get our SUV back today! =)

Love y'all!

Shelli

Very Exciting news!!

We took our trip to Houston, Tx on Wednesday which was also my birthday. We only took Dylon and Houston because our loaner car is well a car and we couldn't fit all of us in there. Laeton Reid stayed behind and stayed with my S.I.L and her 10 month old baby girl Kyleigh Waynn. LR had a blast, but we couldn't wait to get back to his little silly giggle and sweet kisses. The trip took the expected 9 hours and of course the hotel that we always stay at greeted me with "Hey Mrs.Smith, glad you made it safely. How is Dylon?" I enjoy that b/c they became our home away from home on all the trips to TCH that we have taken. Dylon and Houston both had "A-plus" check ups. We couldn't be happier with the results of Dylon's surgery. We are not due back to TCH for another year, which also excites us. Well today is my hubbies birthday, our family is full of March birthdays. I hope everyone has a great day. I'm feeling a little under the weather today, hopefully I'm just tired from all the going we have done lately.

I couldn't leave without some pictures for you all. Here are our 2010 Easter pictures. Don't worry the chicks did survive as well as the bunny!

Love y'all!

Shelli

Not me Monday!!

I hardly ever participate with the "Not me Monday" from Mckmamma's blog but I think I will try my hand at it considering how eventful my Monday was.

Did I mention we go back to TCH on Wednesday?? So I am not stressed out at all, Not me! Not to mention I stayed on the phone with a GM corp trying to figure out what to do about my Chevy Traverse that is having MAJOR issues at OH, lets say 19K miles. We(me and GM) stayed on the phone for an hour with 3 kids crying in the background and me I just let them whine and cry b/c it seemed to make the GM people hurry up with what they were doing, I would NEVER use my kids like that, NEVER! ;)

I am also NOT potty training my two year old who did not poop on the floor. Why on earth would a child do that. So how did that happen you ask?? Well I also do NOT let my kids go free aka Naked while potty training, NOT ME!

My birthday is Not Wednesday and the only thing I wanted was a hand held vaccum so my children can learn to clean up after themselves, Not me! Because I'm young and hip so of course I didn't really want that, Not me!

I will elaborate on my vehicle problem. We bought a Chevy Traverse back like 6 months ago. We got it for the traveling that we do with Dylon. The Traverse that has 19K miles on it is now needing new timing chains. If you don't know much about timing chains, they should last usually the life of the car or either 80-100,000 miles. However due to the "faulty" engine that GM has so graciously sold to thousands of other Traverse owners, the timing chains will have to be changed every 20,000 miles. Crazy right?? Well not only do we get to take a "loaner" to TCH, but can you imagine riding in a 4 door sadan with a family of 5?? "don't touch me", "I don't have any room", "he's pinching me", "he took my toy", "he's eating my snack", "he took my drink" ..this is what we will be hearing for oh 9 plus hours on I-10! I can not tell you how thankful I am to GM for selling such horribly made vehicles. I did call today and spoke with someone at GM and I had to file a case number. It's crazy that so many good Americans are being treated this way and the car industries aren't really the ones who are suffering, we are. I mean look at Toyota, wow! I will deffinantly keep my eyes peeled for one of those things on the road and I will get out of its way! I guess there is a reason for everything that happens!

Please pray for traveling mercy's for my family, I always get so nervous about going that far with my babies in tow. I know you understand! Also if you have any traveling tips for two four year olds and a two year old please share them with me!
Thanks!
God Bless!


Shelli

Salt and Light of the world..You and I??

Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus tells his disciples, "You are the salt of the earth" and "You are the light of the world."

What exaclty does this mean??

We (christians) are salt and light of the world meaning that we are/have been giving life through Jesus Christ. We are needed to live as a light for this world. The world rots away with sin and I mean just look around at all the things that are happening. Think of the world and our sins as rotting meat. Back in the day the way to have clean meat was to use salt as an antiseptic. As salt, you can't just be beside the meat to clarify it, you(salt) have to be rubbed deep into the meat! We are in this world as christians for the benefit of Christ and having our ways and our morals different from others.

It seems that evil is good and good is evil. We are so mixed up in what is okay as a christian..is it okay to do this or do that?? It gets so confusing, but if we as christians keep our eyes on Jesus just as Peter did on the water then think about how much salt and light we can be. So how much salt are you? Maybe showing your light is by a simple smile to someone at Walmart or letting someone go ahead of you in line that only has one or two things compared to your buggy full. There are so many ways to show your light, lets see how bright we can get it to shine!!

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

I haven't posted pictures of my cuties in a while so I will share our Easter pictures that we had taken last weekend with B&P Photography. They are a local business that does an awesome job at photography.

THe things!

OH what an adventerous weekend and Monday we have had!
Over the course of the weekend, all three kids ran a fever.
Me..I gave them cold med's(over the counter kind)
Kids..didn't get better =(
Monday..three doctor appointments to find out that:
Laeton Reid has upper respiratory infection +bronchitis.
Dylon has upper respiratory infection+ear infection
Houston has upper repiratory infection+soon to be ear infection(eardrum was retracted).
Me...spent 2 hours in Wal-mart waiting on prescriptions to be filled.
Kids...were happy to see me come home with med's and of course something for them:
Pajama's! We love pajama's

Mom's of heart kid's here is something I learned today. Umm..kinda embarressed BUT..Dylon can only have certain types of over the counter cold med.'s! Make sure you check with he/she's doc before giving them anything! UGh...Made me sick to my stomach, I hate doing stuff wrong!

On another note, My hubby who just got back from a week long school to get his A and P license! Congrats hubby!! A stands for airframe, not airplane like I posted on facebook for all of covington county to read, who now thinks my hubby is a pilot.Ha! P stands for power plant. He now calls our so adorable family Team Smith! It really seems to help with the competitive side of everyone! Did I mention I almost went crazy for that week he got his A and P license?? Well I almost did but a dear friend from Patrick AFB saved my and stayed with me for a few nights. Thank God for wonderful, loving friends!

I hope everyone has had a marvelous Monday!

Love y'all!

Shelli

Spreading awareness about CHD's and a link to a FREE GIVEAWAY!!

Last year I don't think I participated in spreading awareness for Congenital Heart Defects(CHD's) but this year I will do anything I can to help spread the awareness. So many kids go undiagnosed and never know they had a CHD until it is to late. Every 15 minutes a Child is born with a CHD and there are more than 35 types of CHD's to date.

After going through Dylon's journey, I realize just how crucial a rutine screening could be at birth. We didn't find out Dylon had a "special heart" until he was 3 yrs old. What if that would've been three years to long?? Thankfully he was able to have a great outcome due to awesome cardiologists, surgeon and nurses and a wonderful GOD! We report back to our heart hospital, Texas Children's Hospital every six months, we will return in March. The returns are always bittersweet.

During Dylon's journing I met some other mom's with children that have a CHD and meeting them and experiencing there journey's has helped us so much. One of the mom's is very dear to me, her daughter Bentley has a CHD and they are doing a giveaway to help with spreading the awareness, all you have to do is click HERE!! There are some awesome things to win and you'll be helping us spread the word about the affects of CHD's on families!

Love y'all,

Shelli

Congenital Heart Defect awarness week!!

This week will be (7-14) CHD awarness week, lets spread the word!!

Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week By the Governor of the State of Alabama
A Proclamation January 20, 2010

WHEREAS, Congenital Heart Defects are the most frequently occurring birth defect and the leading cause of birth defect related deaths worldwide; and

WHEREAS, Over a million families across America are facing the challenges and hardships of raising children with Congenital Heart Defects; and

WHEREAS, every year, 40,000 babies are born in the United States with Congenital Heart Defects; and

WHEREAS, some Congenital Heart Defects are not diagnosed until months or years after birth; and

WHEREAS, undiagnosed Congenital Heart conditions cause many cases of sudden cardiac death in young athletes; and

WHEREAS, despite these statistics, newborns and young athletes are not routinely screened for Congenital Heart Defects; and

WHEREAS, A disproportionately small amount of funding is available for Congenital Heart Defect research and support; and

WHEREAS, Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week provides an opportunity for families whose lives have been affected to celebrate life and to remember loved ones lost, to honor dedicated health professionals, and to meet others and know they are not alone:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Bob Riley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim February 7 through February 14, 2010, as
Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week
in the State of Alabama.
Given Under My Hand and the Great Seal of the Office of the Governor at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 20th day of January 2010.
Governor Bob Riley

Urban Dictionary

If any of you are on facebook then you know the "thing" to do this week is look up the deffinition of your name on urbandictionary.com. I have been feeling really guilty for not blogging in forever, so I figured this would a good way to blog and I don't really have to think to do it *L*. Sorry but it is so hard to blog when three kids are pulling me from ever angle. But just so you know we are all doing good, we had a horrible cold last week. Well atleast Matt, Laeton Reid and I did, but we are over it. So here are the deffinitions, they seem pretty on too!

Matthew- 1. sexy guy that liked the women and has a nice tooth brush
2. Of Hebrew origin, meaning "gift of God".

Shelli-The most amazing human being ever. So sweet and kind. There's no way anybody could hate her!

Dylon-The most amazing guy you will ever meet. When he says he loves you, it means that he would pretty much take a bullet for you without thinking twice. Nobody will truly ever understand what goes on in his mind, but you know its a beautiful thing.
Dylon is a mystery.

Houston-First word heard from the moon. The nation's fourth largest city and home to the Texas Medical Center (the world's largest) and NASA's Johnson Space Center

*we had no idea the importants that Houston,Tx would play in our lives when we named our son Houston...kind of ironic...Don't cha think??

Laeton- was undefined but Reid-1.A hot boy who gets all the ladies... yeah dawg.

I am really gonna try and start blogging some more! It has rained in Alabama atleast 3 times a week since winter started! I am ready for some spring time!
Love y'all!
Shelli

Sweet Home Alabama has had a very cold winter. I don't think it has been this cold in like 30 years. We have managed to stay out of the cold and stay semi sane. However on New Years Matt and I took the boys on a date. We ate at a local restraunt C.J.'s and then took them to our old movie theater to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks Squeakquel. It was a cute movie and recommend it, we had a perfect night.

Two days after that my family came down with a virus. Luckily this is the first time any of us have been sick all winter. The virus only lasted about 12 hours but we all managed without an ER visit. Two days after the virus Dylon had a crazy day. One that ended with a ride in an ambulance to Sacred Heart Hospital to be watched over night. Call me crazy but I thought the journey with his heart was somewhat over?? Wednesday morning Dylon who is usually up at the crack of dawn wasn't awake when I woke up. I checked on him and he was fine. However come 11:30 it was time for him to get up. So I tried to get him to wake up but he wouldn't, he didn't want to. I gave him a bath in hopes to help wake him up but that didn't work either. I then put him on the couch and watched him and Needless to say he had episodes of cyanosis and diffuculty breathing.He was awake but he wouldn't talk or move or do anything that he would normally be doing. Matt left work early and Dylon told him that he was having a hard time breathing. This lasted for approximately 3 hours and ended as soon as we got to the Doctors( of course). We spent the night in the hospital but never really got an answer. I'm just not real sure what to think about it. They did an echo and ekg and all checked out fine. I don't know maybe this is normal for a CHD child, but I can say that Momma and Daddy are completely exhausted and will be praying hard for an answer to this.

I just wanted to update everyone, Dylon is doing good right now and we are returning to TCH in March.

Love y'all

Shelli