.

Beach Trip!

2010-07-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-06-14T10:56:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-06-04T18:49:00.001-07:00

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?

2010-06-02T08:43:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-04-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

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??

2010-03-22T07:50:00.000-07:00

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!!

2010-03-21T08:35:00.000-07:00

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!!

2010-03-15T20:24:00.000-07:00

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??

2010-03-10T12:13:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-02-22T21:12:00.000-08:00

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!!

2010-02-09T08:58:00.000-08:00

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!!

2010-02-05T20:58:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-04T08:56:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-08T21:24:00.000-08:00

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

Amazing Christmas memories!!

2009-12-28T13:34:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas was filled with all things wonderful. We have a large family to share all of our Christmas's with and we are very thankful for that. We do a traditional Christmas at our house. We allow our kids to "believe" in Santa Claus but we show more emphasis on Jesus and his miraculous birthday. We went to 6 different Christmas get together's. One included a wagon ride behind a tractor that took them to a house where the kids could see Santa sleeping through a window of the house. This same Christmas get together also hangs stockings for every family member on their mantel I think there is somewere around 30 stockings hung.

See I told you!

My family on Christmas Eve the excitement with all three boys was unbareable at times but somehow we managed to survive. This picture was taken at one of the many family houses we visited. At this particular Christmas get together, Matt's cousin and his girlfriend surprised us all. They have been traveling the Carribean by boat for the last 5 months. We had no idea they were coming. It was truly the highlight of our Christmas. We are so glad that they are back in the states and we hope to make many more memories with them. Welcome Home John and Aly!!

Matt and I, I mean Santa Claus stayed up until 2 a.m. putting all the toys together. I think that just because the box reads "easy assembly" doesn't mean that it really is. It took us forever to get everything put together and the night wasn't complete until we made a run to the store for AAA batteries. The joy on there faces Christmas day is worth every ounce. I almost forgot to introduce our new member, Max. Max was a gift to the boys and he has been so much fun! I hope every one had a wonderful Christmas!

Love y'all!

Shelli

2009-12-24T13:07:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-28T18:27:00.000-08:00

These are the things I am most thankful for! I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and you too reflected on the many things that God has blessed you with! This Holiday season has been very emotional for me, just knowing there are so many other kids and families who didn't have the same outcome with their CHD child as we did with Dylon. I am so thankful that God had mercy on us!
Love y'all!
Shelli

Froggy Doodles!!

2009-11-14T18:47:00.000-08:00

Froggy Doodles is my etsy store, I guess in all my spare time *L* I thought I needed to do something else! The store is actually my mom and I who love to be creative together. We are together almost every day anyways, so why not try and do something time worthy. I hope you guys like what we are putting up, if you have any suggestions about my etsy page please pass it on b/c this is the first time ive done this. I have already sold a stocking and that is really exciting!! I plan on creating some more girly items, however don't be offended, I just have three boys so all I know is boys, boys, boys!!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/froggydoodles just click!!

Enjoy!
Love y'all!
Shelli

Mayonaise, Mustard.....Catch Up!

2009-11-08T21:22:00.000-08:00

I would really like to be one of those bloggers who can blog everyday, but honestly that is just not me. However, I really enjoy reading those blogs, actually I envy them a little, I wish I could blog almost everyday and it always be interesting. Instead I just want blog for 2 months and then try and catch you all up on one blog. Ha!Ha!

Maybe when the holidays start and I will have a break from school, then I will blog in shorter intervals.

For starters:

We took a trip to the Georgia/North Carolina mountains with my family, My mom and her husband "B", and my brothers family. Combined there were 5 boys 4 and under. The cousins love to spend time with each other. However sometimes they get a little ruff and accidently hurt the other one. Example: pool table with pool balls and a tooth getting cracked, this happened in the first hour we arrived at the cabin. The tooth is ok and the dentist took care of his toothe.

While we were there, we decided to hike what was suppose to be a 1.2 mile hike to a waterfall, but it was more like a 4 mile hike one way and doing that with the boys was quit adventerous. We were all exhausted by the time we finally made it to the waterfall and back to the car. The waterfall was worth it, it was breath taking to say the least. One of God's many beautiful creations. Not only was the waterfall gorgeous, but also the fall leaves, golds and reds and yellows and orange leaves falling down. I hope to make this a tradition and do this every year.

Even though the foliage was so pretty, the best part of it was spending time with my family. In my opinion there is nothing better than spending time with people you love. God has truly blessed our family.

(creek that runs behind the cabin we were in)

(driving to the top of the mountain, took this from the car)

Don't you just love those pink cheeks? Dylon is doing great as you can see. Matt and I believe he is really starting to feel good. This is another one of God's miracle's.

Houston (hou baby) is one tough dude! I just love his wit and his sense of humor. He loved the mountains and he too can't wait to go back .

Laeton Reid turned two in October but he acts more like a three year old. He is my baby and he always will be.

I love this fall weather, but I am about to go and get our hurricane supplies ready, I mean considering Hurrican Ida will hit sometime tonight. So Go Away Ida, its November so go rest up for next hurricane season.

I have so much more to blog about and I will do my best to get everyone updated!

Love y'all!

Shelli

~Prayer request for a Sweet baby Girl~

2009-09-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

This sweet baby girl was born on Tuesday and has been life flighted to Children's Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama she will undergo surgery sometime tomorrow. Please say a prayer for this family, you can check out there blogspot by clicking HERE!
We all know the power of prayer, so please join with us in prayer for strength for Parrish and Katie and for a succesful surgery and a quick recovery for Sylvie!
Thanks!
Love y'all!
Shelli

Houston, we DO NOT have a problem!!

2009-09-15T21:00:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the delayed update, but with me sometimes no news is good news! Houston's echo looked great, the cardiologist said he could hear the murmur but couldn't see anything major! I know when we found out about Dylon's CHD it was obvious from the first echo. I am sure that Houston will still see Dr.S in February when Dylon is due back just b/c that is who we trust and are confident in!

I have came across an intersting blog for families who are affected by CHD's if you or someone you know is affected by CHD's send them this link! They have some great information on there, I have learned so much through this blog!

Well this is pretty much all I have to update, I have my first Biology test tomorrow, so I am studying up! Wish me luck!!

Love y'all!
Shelli

Dylon and Houston's 4th B-day!!

2009-09-13T12:56:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that the twins are already four! Every year lived is something to celebrate, but this year was really special to us. It was 16 months ago that Dylon was diagnosed with his CHD and 3 months have gone by since his open heart surgery. He is so tough! Houston is the sweetest little boy who loves his Dylon so much. Life with twins is such an experience and we are so grateful that God chose us to have them! So four years ago on this day I was released from the hospital after being in there for premature labor for 5 weeks. The doc released me just to have me come back in the next morning (september 14) and actually have the twins. I had a normal delivery and they were both so healthy. Dylon weighing 4pnd15 and Houston weighing exactly 5pnds. Dylon was called the "miracle" baby by our Ob Doc b/c he was barely attatched to the placenta, the Doc said that he was surprised that he even survived. Little did we know that the term "miracle" baby would come back to us three years later when we found out his heart condition. Houston was always our "chunkier" baby, always weighing a few pounds more than Dylon and always, always wanting to rock and cuddle.

We celebrated these wonderful 4 years with a monster truck/race car birthday party. It was complete with hotdog, hamburgers and sweet tea! Oh and not to mention all the kiddos that were running around having a good ole time! Here's a peak at the party....

BIrthday Boys! Dylon(L) Houston(R)

Blowing out their candles!

Monster truck and race car cookies, they were even better to eat, Delicious!

Monster Truck/Racecar cake that a friend did, it is so cute and it tasted to good. It had layers of chocolate and vanilla!

This is our driveway, Smith's Mudd Pitt!
We all had a wonderful time!

It is back to the busy week Monday, Houston has an echo appnt in Montgomery. Please pray that it is nothing. I've asked a few Doctors what there thought on Houston is and they think that he could possibly have a mirrored image of what Dylon has. They are mirror image identical twins! I have a Biology quiz Monday night and a Biology Test on Wednesday!

I will update tomorrow sometime and let you guys know about Houston!

Love y'all!

Shelli

How we celebrated our 5th year of marriage!!

2009-09-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

September 4, was our anniversary. It is so hard to believe that it has been 5 years! These have been the best and most exciting 5 years of my life. This past year has deffinantly been a trying time for us but I think that it brought us closer not just to each other, but made us totally rely on God! And we all know a chord made of three strans is stronger than that made of two!

I hadn't expected anything special on our anniversary. About a year ago we had planned on going to the caribbean but due to all of our medical bills and things we decided not to. But I woke up Friday with a dozen of red roses delivered to me, and I had called to thank Matt for them when I realized he was pulling up in the drive way. He had planned a whole night, just us two to the beach. The beach is my all time favorite place to go. There is something about the sand between my toes and the roar of the ocean that brings sanity to my soul. We had a room that was beach front. We spent hours on the beach, played a round of goofy golf, and had a fabulous dinner at Carrabba's! We woke up Saturday to a thunderstorm and some SEC football on tv. It was a perfect 5 year Anniversary. I am so thankful to have a love like ours!

Love y'all!
Shelli
ps Fall time is near, and I am so excited. I have already started decorating it looks like halloween threwup all over my house *L* Ill share some pictures later!

Houston has a heart murmur, just pray that's all it is!

2009-09-03T15:50:00.000-07:00

The title says it all, Houston went to the doc today for a tummy ache and the doc told us that he heard a heart murmur on Houston. Houston is the "healthy" twin, but he is Dylon's identical twin brother. We are really hopeing that it is nothing, that it is just b/c he was feeling bad so therefore his heart was working faster so he had an innocent heart murmur. I called Dylon's cardiologist Dr.S to inform him but he didn't seem to worried b/c he had listened to Houston's heart on Dylon's last appnt at TCH. He says that it is common for kids to have heart murmurs while they are sick, but usually when they get better, the heart murmurs go away. Dr.S agreed to see Houston and do a complete evaluation of his heart, on the next appointment for Dylon which is in February But just to ease mine and Matts mind, the doctor that heard the heart murmur made us an appt in Montgomery for an echo. The echo is scheduled for September 14, depending on what they say, if it turns out to be something then we will do the rest at TCH! Please pray for Houston that he will have a "normal" heart, I can't even begin to imagine having to go through this journey again!
Love y'all!
Shelli

Out of surgery

2009-08-28T09:48:00.000-07:00

Dylon is out of surgery, doing good. We haven't go to see him yet, but we just spoke to the surgeon who said everything did great. Dylon does have some narrowing in his trachea, but it shouldn't pose as a problem. He also said that Dylons tonsils were abnormally big but not to worry he took care of those. Thank you for the prayers!
Love
Shelli

2009-08-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

Dylon before we left for the "big buildings"

Well,

we are here waiting on Dylon to be called back. We were told that they had two more kiddos before him and then it is his turn! Im not sure how long the surgery will be...but I do know that we will be staying the night in the hospital.

The picture above is Dylon and Dr.Dog this dog has been a life saver with all his medical trips and surgeries. Dr.Dog was with him during his heart operation too. I will update as soon as I know something else!

Please pray for a seccessful surgery and speedy recovery!

Love y'all!

Shelli

We have arrived in Houston...again!

2009-08-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

Well we drove the long 9 hours today with Dylon. My mom decided not to come so she is staying home with Laeton Reid and Houston. We decided not to bring them for sake of keeping them healthy. The swine flu has been spreading like crazy, so I don't want to chance it! But all in all we had a safe trip, Matt drove the whole way. Dylons surgery is scheduled for 10:45 a.m. we will arrive at 8:45..I will do my best to post updates on his surgery.
We are tired so I am off to bed!
Good Night
Love y'all!
Shelli

Rain, Rain finally went Away!!

2009-08-23T10:11:00.000-07:00

The rain has finally gone away, and the mud is here and the boys are loving it. As you can see in the picture above, it has rained, and rained. We had a tropical storm that came and brought us a couple of inches and then we've had Cool front that also brought a few inches too. The picture above is our front yard and No! we don't usually have a pond in our front yard, but we had a storm that brought like 3 inches in 3o minutes so this is what we were left with. Even though all those rainy days were so long and boring, this cool front is so nice. We have been out in it all day yesterday and today.

This is a mud puddle that the boys played in yesterday at Vick Vick and Papa Johns. It was so nice to get out and get some sun on our faces. While the boys played I studied, studied and studied some more. My classes are very challenging, but I am enjoying them. The first night was very discouraging, but it seems to be getting better with time. The boys will be playing outside (weather permits) most of the week to try and burn some of that energy off before we ALL head back to Texas Children's. Dylon's surgery is still sceduled for this Friday, I have to call sometime this week to work out all the details. Im pretty sure that we will be leaving Thursday, surgery will be Friday Morning, he will stay the night at TCH and hopefully be released the next day. We will come back to Alabama sometime Sunday. I am not prepared for this surgery, as a matter of fact I don't think i've completely recovered from his last surgery. I realize that this surgery isn't as complicated as the last, but it is still surgery and I am still nervous about it. We plan on bringing the whole clan to TCH along with my mom. This is the plan right now, but it can always change. Just please pray for our family as we travel to TCH and for Dylon's surgery.

We also found some tadpoles yesterday and put them in a jar so the boys can watch them grow! Ya know this is what us rednecks like to do for fun;)

Cooler weather brings football, and we LOVE some SEC football. WAR EAGLE! We are gearing up for that. This picture is of Houston, he too is an Auburn fan. Actually my whole family is except Dylon. It broke our hearts this week when we were buying new jerseys for this year and Dylon proclaimed that he "is for Alabama" and "war eagle...stinks"! In the state of Alabama you are one or the other...Auburn University or University of Alabama. We have no idea why he has turned on us, who knows maybe during his 9 hr operation one of the nurses was giving him subliminal messages...one of his nurses during that was a graduate of the University of Alabama. ;) So this year will be a different football season for us, not everyone will be saying War Eagle..there will also be some (gritting my teeth when I say this) Roll Tide.

God Bless! and War Eagle!

Shelli

Tuesday night on the River

2009-08-13T18:28:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was a long day for us, so coming home to a home cooked meal was fantastic. My mom lives on the "river", but its actually a lake. Crazy I know, but we have called it "going to the river" my whole life. My boys love going up there, because there is so much that they can do! Before dinner Tuesday Dylon caught a fish! I tried to convince him that it was a nice size fish and he replied "it's a baby fish"! Oh well!

While Dylon was fishing, Houston helped my mom and I cook. Maybe he did more tasting than cooking, but he loves to help in the kitchen.

Here is the fried chicken, it was so good! Thanks Mom!

This is a sweet picture of my baby, even though he is not so baby anymore, he will always be my baby!

Post Op follow up!

2009-08-11T18:39:00.000-07:00

It was a busy Sunday, Monday week for us. Me, Matt, Dylon and Houston drove 9 hours Sunday to our hotel in Houston,TX! The drive was very long, but those boys love to travel, so that made it easier. Dylon was so excited to have his bestfriend/bubba to come along for his check up. We arrived in Houston around 2:30 and waited for our room to get cleaned and then we all got ready for supper. We took the hotel bus to Pappadeaux and had a fantastic dinner, complete with Alligator and all things spicy. It was a great dinner. We had a great nights rest and headed to TCH for Dylons appointments. He had an echo first which by the way went 100 times better than the last attempt in Pensecola(sacred heart). Houston and "DaDa" waited out in the waiting room while Dylon and I did the echo. Dylon even got a surprise at the end since he cooperated.

After the echo, All four of us went to the next appt to hear the results of the echo. Dr.S (Dyon's cardiologist) gave us the great news that what Sacred heart thought was coarctation was actually the repair that was made on his aorta. I was so relieved to hear this. All in All Dylons heart looks great!

(Dr.S and Dylon, Dr.S and his staff is one of the MANY reasons TCH cardiology is ranked #3 in the nation)

After that appnt we had an Ear, nose and throat appointment to try and pinpoint where the gagging and coughing is coming from. This time Matt took Dylon back and Houston and I waited in the waiting room to see what the ENT had to say. The ENT looked at Dylon throat and tonsils and decided that Dylon will need his tonsils and abnoids taken out. He also said that they would also get a better look at his esophagus and trachea by doing a scope(he gave me the name but I forgot what it is called). The ENT wants to get a better look at where the vascular ring was. Dylon's surgery is scheduled for Aug 28th at TCH. We will go up on a Thursday he will have surgery on Friday, stay the night in the hospital and hopefully go home that weekend. I know that it is such a long ride for a not so big surgery, but it is what we believe to be best for Dylon. I'm not ready for another surgery, but I know that God will carry us through this just like he always has.

(The TRAINS)

(Looking at the trains again, Houston loved them too!)

(Dylon and Houston at our lunch break at TCH!)

We are exhausted from the ride, we drove half way late yesterday, stayed in a hotel last night and drove the rest of the way today. We got in to Home Sweet Andalusia around 2:00 this afternoon. We went to my moms to get Laeton Reid. She had cooked us, and my brothers family some southern fried chicken, peas, cornbread and all sorts of good stuff. I will try and post some pics tomorrow! Gotta go to bed, Thank you for praying us there and back!

Love y'all!

Shelli

Heading to Houston in Two days!

2009-08-06T18:17:00.000-07:00

Just to do a little update on everyone. We are still planning our trip TCH. I have already made the hotel reservations and we plan on driving there all day Sunday, we will wake up Monday and have an Echo done at 9:00 to make sure that there is no coarctation and then we will meet with Dr.S around 11:00. We will then get lunch and then go see an E.N.T @ 3:00 who will determine what is going on with Dylons gagging, coughing and drooling. Depending on how we are feeling, we will either leave right after that or we might stay the night and leave in the morning. We are taking Houston with us to Houston,TX..he calls it "his" Texas! He wants to see the BIG buildings and a few other things that Dylon has told him about. We are driving, so please pray us there and back! It will be a 9 hour drive and we don't have a DVD player in our car right now, so it will be a loooooong 9 hour drive.

Laeton Reid will be staying with some familywhile we are away. He has inflamation in his left hip and we have spent 4 days this week at the doctors office. Every morning he wakes up and he can't walk on his left leg, we are treating it with Motrin. Usually 45 min after he has his Motrin he is able to walk on it again. It is so sad to see him like this every morning, he gets really aggravated about it. He will have another appointment on Monday and it is suppose to be better by then. Of course we will be in Houston at that time, so my mom will be taking him. Please be praying that this will go away!

I am really anxious and emotional about going back to TCH. I have been doing some scrapbooking lately and it just puts a knot in my stomache looking at photos and thinking about what all my little man has been through, and what WE have all been through with his surgery.

Oh I start school next monday on the 17th! I can't wait!

I hope everyone has a blessed school year!

Love y'all!

Shelli

B & P photography!

2009-08-02T16:43:00.000-07:00

B & P photography is a local couple who takes incredible photos! They are very special to me and my family. The photography is owned by Billy and Pam Dolster. They have been such an encouragement to me and my family through this whole ordeal. Before Dylon's surgery they wanted to do a special session with just him. Back in May We met them at the park one sunny, HOT afternoon and they took some of the most precious pictures of Dylon. Mr.Billy climbed up on the slide, just whatever he needed to do to get that special picture. After they did this for Dylon they decided to start a "special friends" photo session. This session is complementary of B & P, they will do any child in our local area who has a life threatening disease or sickness. Thank You B & P We Love you guys and Pray that God blesses you one hundred fold!

A couple of weeks ago, my sister in law and I decided to get B & P to do some photos of our precious boys, They also met with my family again to do some shots of my boys, some of me and Matt and some of just me. Let me tell you it was so hard to be the one infront of the camera, usually i'm the one either taking the photo, or the one who is jumping up an down, or whatever behind the cameraman to get a smile from everyone. The pictures turned out better than we could possibly imagine. We got all 5 boys to smile, I can't believe it. It wasn't because I was doing jumping jacks behind the cameraman, I promise ;)

Aren't they awesome, if you want to see the photo's in a larger version, I think you can just click on the photo!

While we were at the second photo shoot, I wanted my boys to take there shirts off and get some pictures on the Antique Ford tractors, which by the way Ford Tractors is what my Dad and Brother sale! We love some blue tractors!! Except in these photo's there red, which is what color Ford was back then. But back to the photo, I got an option put in front of me on Dylon's scar...Do I want to keep the scar or take it off the photo? As I appreciated the option, I couldn't dare to take that life changing, beautiful scar off of my miracle boy! His scar looks amazing I can't believe it is as small as it is, I mean considering surgery wasn't but 7 weeks ago! Im so proud of Dylon and how strong he is! Thank You God for this miracle boy, I can assure you he will bring much glory to your name!

Oh, we are still planning on a 9 hour drive to TCH this weekend(8th or 9th). I was told that they would confirm all appts, I still havent heard anything..but no news is good news. So we are gonna make hotel reservations and start preparing ourselves to go. Im sure that it will be a emotional return for us, im just so thankful that TCH is where we went for Dylon's surgery, we couldn't be happier with the staff, nurses, Doctors, and of course the surgeon!

God Bless,

Shelli

ps: if you read the blog prior to this one, you will see that Dylon has been gagging and burping some which could be a result of his softened esophagus from the vascular ring. He has only gagged twice since last Thursday, thanks for the prayers!

Earlier return to TCH than expected!

2009-07-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

So I haven't updated in a while, sorry!
We have had a great summer so far and have enjoyed the warm sun on our faces and cooling off in the pool or beach. Dylon has been doing really good considering he had open heart surgery 7 weeks ago. I had the mind set that we would have our big follow up 6 months post surgery but Dylon has started to gag randomly and burping too. I know it sounds so weird, but he's not trying to vomite, he's just gagging. I have been noticing it for the past 2 weeks and so he had another gagging episode at my Aunts house when he had spent the night with her and I decided we needed to get some further evaluation. We saw Dr.K (family doc) yesterday and he talked to Dr.S who decided that Dylon may have Tracheomalacia. Tracheomalacia is where there is softening of your esophagus, Dylon's softening comes from the vascular ring which has put pressure on his esophagus and this was caused by his circumflex aorta. The vascular ring was released during surgery, and he is just now beginning to show the effects of tracheomalacia. Why is he showing effects now, 7 weeks after surgery, we don't know.
I just got off the phone with Dr.S (Dylons cardiologist) and he wants us to come up in two weeks to have an echo to rule out the possibility of a coarcted aorta, which Sacred heart thought they saw at our last appointment. So we have to rule that out. please pray they rule that out;)We will then see Dr.S and also an ENT that will give us an approximation on how long Dylon will have tracheomalacia.
I was really hopeing that Dylon's heart journey was kind of over, but I am realizing that it will Never be over. I'm a little discouraged this morning but i'll get over it! *S*
If MckMama can be so strong during Stellans heart journey, so can I! Please pray for Stellan and the whole Mck clan!
God Bless!
Shelli

Day trip to Ft.Walton Beach and Eglin AFB Aviation Museum

2009-07-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

Tuesday my mom and I drove the boys down to Ft.Walton to spend the day on the beach. This was Dylon's first time post op and he spent 99% of the time in the water. He would just lay in the water were the waves crashed. Houston spent most of his time splashing mommy with water and building sand castles. Laeton Reid mainly played in the sand and on the bank were the waves would crash on him. My boys are part fish, I swear! After three hours of the beach, we headed back home. We stopped for some lunch and then some icecream. By this time we were all so exhausted but we wanted to stop at an aviation museum on the way home. Im so glad we stopped, the boys just loved. While we were outside looking at all the airplanes and such, a fighter jet kept flying over us. It was really awesome! We then saw the B-52 which is a plane my husband worked on for a couple of years, it was nice to see a familiar plane and I could tell the boys a little bit about it. We had a great time and look forward to doing this again!

this is the b-52, the boys are standing underneath it.

Houston playing!

Part fish +Part Boy=Dylon

Laeton Reid loving the beach!

Just a short update!

2009-07-18T16:02:00.000-07:00

We are really enjoying our summer and are taking full advantage of our precious little boys!

We did have to take Dylon to the our family doctor Thursday because a cyst looking thing came up on his neck where he had one of his main lines from surgery. I didn't take any chances with it so I took him straight in. The result was just some scar tissue that is forming from where the line was. That was a big relief to us. We were told it would eventually go away. I also talked with Dr.K (family doc) about Dylon's echo from Sacred Heart a couple of weeks ago and he said that there was deffinantly some coarctation in the pictures. However Dr.K believes this is from Dylon not cooperating and a shadow was probably formed which is why it looks coarcted or narrowed. But we want know the true answer for this until we go back to TCH in December. I haven't made the date yet, but plan to go in Nov/Dec which will be 6 months after Dylon's surgery. Please be praying that it was just a shadow and he doesn't have a coarctation. Dylon was weighed at Dr.K's and he gained another pound, so this is almost 4 pounds since surgery, he looks so good. We also got the ok to take Dylon swimming so we joined Matt's work on their family day out at a water park, Big Kahuna's. My boys just love the water and I believe they were the only 1 and 3 year olds that didn't wear a life jacket. They do such an incredible job swimming. They went down every slide that was age appropriate atleast 5o times. We stayed in the kiddie pools which was perfect they had like 3 different ones. We had such a good time and even met a guy with family member with a CHD. Dylon's scar or Boo-Boo as we call it looks so good, but still left a few people asking questions. I might as well get used to it, im sure we will hear this most of his life. Most people try to cover up scars, but this scar we are very proud of and will always feel this way about it.

On another note, I registered for classes and will be taking Biology 103 and Medical Terminology in the Fall. Im really excited about starting school again. I will be taking my prereq.'s for a year and then start on the actual sonography part of it in the Spring of next year.

Im sorry I don't have any picture's to post from our adventure to Big Kahuna's, but I forgot the camera! Oops! But I did remember 4 bottles of sunscreen, 5 towells, 5 swimsuits, swim diapers, reg. diapers, hats, sunglasses, 5 sets of clothes to change into afterwards, Laeton's blankie, paci, and sippy cups. So what was I thinking??? I can't believe I forgot something! Ha!

Love Y'all!
Shelli

Some News about Me!

2009-07-13T19:41:00.000-07:00

So I have become totally and completely addicted to Crystal Light. You know the little packets you add to a bottle of water. I have been trying to cut some calories, so I figured this would be a good way, they are only like 5 calories compared to 160 calories in a can of Soda. Im cutting back on the soda and adding up on the water.

There's more news about me, I didn't just write a blog about my addiction to Crystal Light.
I have been a stay at home mom for 4 years now, and it has been such a blessing to me. I love to know that I was there for every milestone my boys made as a baby and I loved that.

Here's something you may not know about me...I have an associates degree in Arts and got the degree at Central Alabama Community College also known as CACC. I received a tennis scholarship there and played for two years and was ranked as high as 12 nationally. I had chances to go to a private university to further my education and play tennis, but came home for the summer to teach tennis and fell madly in love with my now hubby who just happened to be home from Tech school. We had dated prior to that summer, but how does the saying go, "If it comes back it's meant to be"...well we were married 5 months later.

At the time my hubby was in the Air Force, we were stationed at Barksdale Airforce Base, Louisiana. I had planned on finishing up my degree in elementary education at LSUS, but got pregnant 4 months after we got married and so my thoughts of school were kinda tossed to the side and I became a stay at home mom(the hardest yet most rewarding job). And so here I am today getting everything ready to .... start school...thats right!! I have changed what I want my degree in and I have decided to go for Sonography, but mainly Echocardiograph Technician. After going through this with Dylon, I have become so very familiar with Echo Tech's and find this job to be so interesting and rewarding. Rewarding??? an Echo Tech was the one who saw Dylon's special heart and had it been misread then where would we be now? I feel like I can relate to these parents and kiddos.

I will start school around the first week of August...I haven't registered for classes yet. They open up registration this week, I hope to get everything on one day and if not in one day then hopefully at night. Even though I have Associates Degree, I still have more basics to do before I get to really start on Sonography part of it all. I was told that since it's been 4 years since my last Biology class, I will probably have to retake that. I will be taking classes locally at a junior college. I am really driven and ready to start learning..I am nervous about doing this, but I know that it will be great and the reward will be in the end.

What will my boys be doing? D and H will be attending their usual preschool and L, well I haven't really decided on him yet. I think that my mom will watch him or he might attend school with D and H. D and H's school age starts at 2 and L want be 2 until October, but I've talked to the teacher and she said we'll try him out and see how he deals with it.

So keep us in your prayers as we balance this out with our already busy, busy, happy, fun lives!
Love Ya'll!
Shelli

Insurance!

2009-07-08T12:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon, I recieved a voicemail from Dylon's cardiologist (Dr.S) asking to call him back today because he had a few questions and just wanted to check on Dylon. So I called him this morning and he just wanted me to be aware of our insurance company and the fact that they are trying to deny any claims at Texas Children's. He said due to us coming and staying two nights before the surgery, because Dylon had been so sick that they were claiming that we had no reason to have been there those two nights so they are trying to not pay their BIG part. Dr.S assured me that he had written them a letter and had gotten a few others involved with the process and said that they will have to pay for it. He also adviced me not to pay any bills that came in from them and to call them if I recieve any bills from Blue Cross or Texas Children's in the mail. Its so crazy, we pay a good bit every month just so we can have excellent insurance and then when we really need them...this is what we get. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama you are not on my good list right now!!!! However, I am glad that Dr.S decided to call me and give me a heads up because had I had recieved a BIG bill from one of them, I would've stroked out.

On another note, Dr.S said that we will have a followup with him in six months (from surgery) so five months from now we will be going back to TCH!

Just thought I'd give you guys an update!
Love Ya'll!
Shelli

Favorite pic...Linky's

2009-07-06T22:16:00.000-07:00

I decided to join in on the fun...here is one of my favorites

Smith Family Fourth of July!!

2009-07-06T21:09:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time on the 4th. We had some fabulous ribs and chicken by my mother-n-law and all of us older kids made a slipping slide...thats right I said made. My body is still aching from doing that. We had a great time doing it though! Oh check out the cookies me and Dylon and Houston made, aren't they cute?? They tasted better than they looked too!

On another note, have you heard that the Daniel family is getting to transfer baby Gaine's to Alabama? This is such a relief for them and a HUGE answered prayer.

Love,

Shelli

Wonderful Report

2009-07-03T08:21:00.000-07:00

(Dylon before getting mad at the echo guy)

The follow up appointment at Sacred Heart went really good, Dylon no longer has any fluid around his heart. That was something that I was worried about, but it is no longer there, Thank God. The Dr. did say that she could see a little bit of narrowing in his aorta still, but she hoped that it would just grow with him. We will go back in two months and hopefully start coming off some of his Blood Pressure Med. Dylon did not want any part in them doing the echo or his blood pressures...He was scared, but who could blame the little fella? He is just so tough. Houston was there for moral support and he sat on the bed with him while we attemted at the echo and other various things.

(Dylon and Houston in the waiting room)

(Dylon) (Laeton Reid)

(Houston)

Once we got home from Sacred Heart, we decided to celebrate and take the kids to eat at their favorite place, Pizza Hut. This was the first time that Dylon has got to eat out in 7 weeks. We had such a great time. We will also go see Dr.K (family doc) today he will go over everything that the Dr. from Sacred Heart said to us.

When we came back from Pizza Hut, I needed to water my flowers and so I let the boys play in the sprinkler while I watered the flowers. While we were out there a little bird fell out of its nest. Im not sure the kind of bird, but we watched it for a while, and didn't let the kids touch the bird for sake of it finding its mother. The boys where outside calling the mommy bird like one would call a lost dog. We never saw her. When we woke up this morning the baby bird was gone..so hopefully it survived.

Hope you all have a safe 4th!

God Bless the USA!

Love,

Shelli

It's been a While!

2009-07-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to say that we are doing good. Dylon has a follow up appointment today in Pensacola,FL @ Sacred Heart. They will be doing an echo and checking all his blood pressures. Houston insisted that he go with us, so he will be joining us and Laeton Reid will be with my mom, because the appointment is during his naptime. I will try and update tonight or in the morning to let you all know how his appointment went. Here's some recent pictures of Dinner one night, my grandmother and granddaddy Cotton brought us Pizza Hut and homemade banana pudding, and Aunt Angie brought us capri suns and icecream and popcicles, Thank You, this was so thoughtful of you guys!

The Boys loving their pizza!

Laeton Reid drinking his capri sun

Homemade banana pudding after Laeton Reid secretly ate/destroyed it...I wish I had a before picture of the banana pudding, Grandmother had it so perfectly done, with some cookies on top. But while we were outside talking to grandmother and granddaddy, I had just put all the food on the table, Laeton Reid came back inside and destroyed it, he ate almost a full bowl..when I caught him doing this all he would say was mmmmm....and lick his lips. There is truly never a dull moment in our house.

How has everyone's summer been so far?

Im sorry that I have been slacking on the blogging.....Hope you have a blessed weekend and fourth of July!

Love,

Shelli

Balloons, Balloons!!

2009-06-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry that it has been a few days since I blogged, but no news is good news right?? We have had a very blessed week. On Tuesday we went to see our favorite doctor and crew, they did an x-ray on Dylon and checked his blood pressure on legs and arms. The x-ray showed that Dylon's heart looked average in size. They also weighed him and he has already gained 2 1/2 pnds since pre-op!! His b.p. is 112/62 which is a little high for someone his age. Dr.K(family doc) said that he didn't see the need to up his medicine just yet. He wants to monitor his b.p., so we will go back in three weeks. The reason his B.P. is up is b/c his heart is used to having to pump so hard, and now that it is fixed, it doesn't have to pump as fast but his heart is still pumping fast right now, so he will take this b.p. medicine until his heart balances out. We are also scheduled to have an echo done at Sacred Heart(pensacola,Fl) in two weeks, just to get a better pic of his heart and the fluid. However the doc was amazed at how strong Dylon's pulse is in all his extremities. However he can still hear a heart murmur, but he said that it is small but its nothing to worry about at all. He also informed us that Dylon has some softening of his trachea, this was caused by the vascular ring rubbing against the trachea, was told that this should strengthen as time goes by. So because he still has softening, he still caughs, but it is nothing like it was, and rarely happens. While we were at Dr.K's, they presented me and Matt with a certificate for Best parent award, and Dylon for best patient award. Dylon was so excited, he loves his Dr.K!

(Dylon with his certificate)

We are just so blessed to be a part of such a great community and church family. Every night this week, our church Mt.Zion UMC has cooked us meals, its like Thanksgiving dinner at our house every night. These ladies really know how to cook and we are so thankful that they have done this for us. On top of all the food, we have also been recieving balloons from family and friends. Our boys love to play with them, and it has really helped to keep them entertained since we have to stay indoors. Thank You for the balloons!! It seems that every where we go, someone stops to ask about Dylon and tell us that he has been on their hearts and in their prayers. I feel that it is just a reminder of how God works through the midst of it all. We know that it is rare for a child to be sent home so early after such a major operation, and we give God all the glory for that. There's a song that I heard at a church in Louisiana, and the lady who sang it had been healed of Multiple Sclerosis. The song has been in my heart every since I heard it and the lyrics are so meaningful to me....

In the Midst of It All

by Yolanda Adams

I've come through many hard trials Through temptations on every hand

Though Satan's tried to stop me

And to place my feet on sinking sand

Through the pain and all of my sorrows

Through the tears and all of my fears The Lord was there to keep me

For He's kept me in the midst of it all

Not because I've been so faithful

Not Because I've always obeyed

Noo, It's not because I trust him To be with me all of the way

But it's because He loves me so dearly

He was there to answer my call

He was there always to protect me

For He's kept me in the midst of it all

Choir:I've come through many hard trialsThrough temptations on every hand

Though Satan's tried to stop me

And to place my feet on sinking sand

Because Jesus loves me dearly He was there to answer my call

There always to protect me For He's kept me in the midst of it all

Chorus:No He's never left me And He' never let me fall Oh yes He will protect you For He's kept me in the midst of it all

Vamp:Yes, He kept meYes, Jesus kept meJesus kept me (3x), in the midst of it allFor He's kept me in the midst of it all

So I just pray that whatever you may be going through, just remember that God loves you and he is holding you up and he will NEVER, ever let you fall.

Love,

Shelli

Laeton Reid sneaking some of that homecooked food!!

Not me Monday!

2009-06-15T11:22:00.001-07:00

I haven't done a not me Monday in a while, and I figured it was about that time!

I'm sure that most of you know about our journey out in Texas and we were so glad to get home. But it has really been hard to get into the swing of things again, i'm so used to haveing just Dylon. So to keep my kids entertained, I did not fill a bubble maker up with some bubble bath because we ran out of the "real" stuff and let it run for hours at the time, at least it made my house smell like blueberries! I also did not attempt to "fix" our lawnmowers by kicking them, I would never do that, I mean besides we live on a busy road there is no telling who would see me do such a childish thing. I also did not call my dad to see if he had a mower I could borrow from his shop, and I also did not borrow it only to make one of the tires go flat. My family is a "tractor" family, I would never have such bad tractor luck! I also did not bribe my kids with icecream sandwiches just so they would eat their lunch, my kids are such healthy eathers! I also didn't convince Laeton Reid who at the time had a stinky diaper to go find his daddy and tell him "I Stink", only so I wouldn't have to change him. I also did not hide behind the door, while I watched Laeton Reid tell his daddy he stinks and start lauging so hard I had to go to another room. What kind of mom tells her one year old to do that, Not I!!

I hope you enjoyed My Not Me Monday, i'm sure I could do one every day~!

Home Sweet Home!

2009-06-13T20:14:00.000-07:00

Our pilots Mr.Paul Armstrong(L) & Mr.Lee Reeves(R)

Dylon during takeoff, he LOVES to fly!

We are finally nesting down for the night. We had a great flight and are so thankful for and grateful to Mr.Pate, Mr.Armstrong and Mr.Lee. Thank You guys for getting us here quickly and safely. We were welcomed back by about 15 family members who were as excited to get us home as we were to get home.

You can see some really cute pictures of our arrival at the airport on Mandi's blog, just click on her name. Every time I see these picture's I cry...today has deffinantly been one of the most emotional days for me. I am so happy to have all of my family together again. The boys have been so sweet to each other and I can tell they have really missed each other. I am so glad to be back in Andalusia.

I had to run to town today and get Dylon's medicine so I went to Wal-mart, duh! I ran into a few people out there, that had been keeping up with Dylon through WAAO, a local radio station. I just want to thank you Blaine and Andrea for keeping everyone updated on Dylon. We couldn't have made it through this so easily had people not have been praying for us and I know that alot of prayers came via WAAO. So thank you again WAAO crew, we love ya'll!

I really have a bunch more to say, but I am really exhausted and am fading slowly. So I will do a better blog maybe tomorrow! Just know that we will be forever grateful for the prayers and all the help we have received to get out there. I wish I could go and tell each of you personally, but I don't think that's possible...so just know that We love ya'll and Thank You for joining us and helping us get through this journey. The power of prayer is what got us through this. Thank You Jesus for hearing all of our prayers!

Love ya'll

Shelli

Dylon during our flight, I was trying to get he to chew on some candy~

Great Report Today!!

2009-06-12T12:31:00.000-07:00

We went to TCH this morning and talked with Dylon's cardiologist Dr.S. Dr.S said that he doesn't expect Dylon to ever need surgery again. This is such great news. We also got to see some pictures of Dylon's "new" heart. I am just blown away at how different it looks from before surgery. He basically has a normal looking heart. We still have to monitor the fluid around his heart, but we will do it locally. We will come back to TCH in about a year and then as long as everything still looks good, then we will only need to come every two or three years. We are coming home tomorrow around 9:30, and we cannot wait to get back to Andalusia.
This is the old Aorta with all the twists and turns...

This is the newly improved, looks like a normal aorta!

Results of Sedated CT scan!

2009-06-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

We just got back from TCH and are very excited about the results. The testing went good, they decided to do an I.V. in his foot instead of his hand, and it made for a horrible 5 minutes of poking to get the I.V. started. I hope that this is the last of I.V.'s that we have for a really,really, really, really long time.

After the testing, Dr.S came out to the waiting room and spoke to me and Matt for little bit. He said that all the repairs are looking really strong and good. Just what we wanted to hear! He does still have some fluid around his heart, but doesn't look like the fluid has progressed. We will meet with Dr.S tomorrow morning and discuss more of the fluid. Dr.S also said that we might do a possible Echo tomorrow just to double check the fluid. Some tests show a better view of the fluids than other tests. Along with seeing Dr.S we will also have an X-ray and of course blood pressures on all legs and arms. Blood pressure should be the same on all four, or atleast close. Before the surgery, his upper body had high blood pressure and his lower body had really low blood pressure. But we are believing that our Great Physician has taken care of this...Great Physician meaning God.

We can't wait to get back to Home sweet Home, but we also know that this road is not over. We will never get back to life as we knew it, but we gladly welcome this new life with the acknowledgement of Dylon's "newer" heart. When we were released from TCH Tuesday, they sent a list of things we cannot do for atleast 4 weeks. I will try and list most of them just for your knowledge and for our close family and friends.
~no picking him up from underneath his arms, one must hold him like a baby to pick him up. The reason for this is to not put any pressure on his sternom.
~he is not allowed at grocery stores, church, school, family reunions for 2-4 weeks. This is b/c he was put on the heart lung bypass machine during surgery, and doing that results in really low immune system. This helps prevent infection.
~he cannot pick anything up over 5 pnds. He also cannot play on swingsets, jungle gyms, or anything he could fall from and hit his chest.
~he cannot go swimming for 2 months.
~ he cannot get a bath for 4 weeks.
~he cannot ride anything such as a bycicle or any ride on toys.

So as you can see we are going to have our hands full with trying to prevent any injury to his sternom. Just knowing my boys, they love to play hard and this will be an adjustment. I have also been told that my two boys at home: Houston and Laeton Reid are extremely spoiled, so if anyone will volunteer to do like baby boot camp with them before we get back, it would greatly help our homecoming ;)
Thanks again for everything!
Love,
Shelli

Hotel Atlast!

2009-06-09T20:13:00.000-07:00

We have made it to our hotel room and are trying to settle down for the night! Dylon is doing really good with his pain management. He is just so tough. We will have a CT scan done on Thursday and then Friday we will see the cardiologist. As long as those clear we will be flying back, thats right I said flying. Another Andalusian donated his private plane to come and get us. We can never thank you enough. We will be flying out on Sunday.

I have such mixed emotions about going home and not being around TCH, but it's still knowing that God is in control of Dylon.

Thanks for all the prayers and phonecalls and messages, they have been what has gotten us through this. I love ya'll so much!

Oh I must send a special thank you to Crystal who's daughter had open heart surgery two weeks ago at TCH by the same Doctor. Crystal thank you so much for that sweet card, Dylon loved it and kept saying Bentley's mom, we prayed over Bentley's surgery together, and he looked at all her pics. It really helped prepare him for his surgery.

Also thank you to Aunt Tricia and Uncle Keith for their sweet card and uplifting note!

And Straughn Elementary School who sent Dylon a Care Bear card, he loved it!

Dylon and his cards and a drawing by Houston, his twin.

I also have to respond to a comment on the last post. Aunt Marilyn, Dylon has come up with a name for your baby mule.....Diego! Diego is his favorite cartoon character, but also has a great meaning, Diego in English means one who supplants, but if you trace it back to Biblical day, in hebrew it is may he protect.

Released to Houston Area

2009-06-09T07:23:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update to let you know that we are being released today to the Houston area. However, we had an echo yesterday and it showed that there was a little bit of fluid around his heart. I have been told that this is expected from a child with the type of surgery that he has had. The doc's are not worried, but I am. Dylon will just be treated with motrin in the hotel room. We will then come back on Thursday and have a sedated CT scan. As long as this shows normal, then we will be able to come home on the weekend. We will probably be driving b/c the personal plane that flew us out here is out of town. I have looked into a commercial flight, but Dylon can't be around large groups of people like airports, church, school and release papers even said family reunions! I don't think I'll be able to keep my large family from loving on him. So anyway I am trying to find a rental car place locally and hopefully we will be back to a new normal over the weekend. This new normal is going to be so hard for Dylon and Houston. We just can't wait to get back. Well actually Im kind of nervous about being 9 hrs away from this incredibly hospital but they promised me that if anything changed with Dylon they would fly someone out to Alabama to get him. So please pray that the fluid goes away b/c there are so many dangerous things that could happen if the fluid progresses! The doc has told me everything to look out for, so also pray that I would be able to see the signs of infection if the fluid does progress!
THank You!
Love ya'll!
Shelli

quick post

2009-06-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

THis is me (behind the pic) and Dylon on our way down from CVCU! He was excited!

We have had a buisy day...Dylon was finally moved to the 15th floor which is the recovery floor. He is doing really, really good. He has just amazed me with his cooperation with the Doctors and nurses. Imagine a three year old having all these wires and lines and I.V.'s hooked up to them and not complaining about it, Not once. We believe it is just answered prayers that Dylon has been so calm about everything. Thank you for all of your prayers.

Dylon still has his chest tube in right now, but they plan on getting it out tomorrow morning. I have been told that this is really painful for him and will be the most painful thing pre-op. Aside from that he is slowly but surely becoming the spunky little Dylon we all know. I don't have any idea on how long we will be on this floor and before we go home. I can't wait to see my other bambino's, I really miss them.

The day of surgery we had some visitors from Andalusia, my boys just love the Abbie, Ella Grace and Caroline Wood. They drew Dylon some precious pictures and he just smiled really big when I told him who drew these for him. We love you Wood family!

We have really been blessed with such wonderful nurses and Doctors, I highly recomend Texas Children's Hospital. We even had a few nurses from Alabama, which was nice. We could relate and understand each other with our southern accents! Everyone here is very friendly, and have exceeded my expectations. Thanks to everyone who has helped us to get here. You have played a huge part in my beautiful sons life, I will be eternally grateful to for that!

We love ya'll

Shelli

this is the edible arrangement that we received, it's Delicious!

In his banana pj's, they snap all the way up, so he can wear this. He is very sensitive of letting people see his chest from the sternatomy. So we make sure to always have something over it.

Don't you just love that smile?

Elevator's!

2009-06-06T10:36:00.000-07:00

So I am not an elevator fan, at all. And around 10:00 every night at Texas Children's, they practically shut the elevators down except for parents or Docs or nurses. So last night we (me, hubby, my mom) decided we would take shifts on caring for Dylon. Matt was first and @ 12 he would be relieved by my mom and she would stay for 2 hrs and then I would come in and relieve her. Everything had gone as planned, and it was my turn to relieve my mom from the CVCU. They give out these little badges to wear after 10:00 so we can access the elevators, I asked if there was anything else we needed to do to access them and the "kind" lady said "NO!" So I get on the elevator the doors close and press 18, this is where the CVCU is (we are taking breaks on the 17 floor). The number lights up only for a second and doesnt stay lit, the elevator doesn't move an inch. I pressed 17 again, my heart is pounding by this time and I am starting to panic, but the elevator is still not recognizing my punching of the numbers. I pressed open door button, but still nothing. I try to find the call button, but there wasnt one, all there was was a fire bell...didn't like the thought of setting off the fire alarms, so I finally thought that if it would take me anywere possibly the first floor...so I press it and IT stayed lit..and started to move. Thank God as soon as those doors started to open, im running out, wabbly legs, shaking hands and all. I go right to the security desk and a policeman kindly shows me that one must put the badge given by the (17th floor) in front of this little black square with a light, wait for it to turn green and then press the floor that we want to access. I never had anymore problems, looks like the desk clerk on the 17th floor could've told me that...guess she thought I needed some excitement ;)

On another not, Dylon is doing fantastic. Possibly move to the 15th floor tomorrow. He still has three lines (one in each hand and on in his neck)and the one in his neck which is used for taking med's has to come out before we can go to a regular floor. He smiled a really big smile for me last night, which was so comforting and is eating and drinking good.

My mom and I are sitting with him today and Matt is gone to the hotel to take a well deserved nap. You know how I was talking about how we did shifts last night, well Matt slept through his shift that was suppose to let me get some rest, so as soon as my mom came in, I went the 17th floor and woke Matt up and he was really sorry for sleeping through his shift and said something like (that was nice of me to do that) and winked at the same time. Whatever! But that was ok, because I went to our temporary home and took a hot shower and slept for 5 continuous hours. It was marvelous!

Oh we also got a little suprise this morning from B. He sent us an edible arrangement. It looks so delicious and can't wait to dive into it. Thank You B. We love You and Miss You.

If you are wondering what my other babes are doing you can check it out on MiMi's blog or Aunt SuSu's blog! Thank you guys for taking such marvelous care of my little ducklings! I'm sure that they will be completely and totally rotten when I get back, and I'm okay with that. They deserve every little bit of spoiling that they get!

Thanks Again for all the prayers and concerns!
Love,
Shelli

Update

2009-06-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

Dylon is still recovering. He is doing good. Dylon just got his chocolate milk. He ate some Jello and so far so good, he held everything down. His pulse ox. is lower than they want...they thought he had a collapsed lung, but xray showed he didnt, he just has a lot of "junk" in his lungs. So we are doing some lung excercises, like blowing bubbles and blowing pinwheels. They are going to draw some blood and check his blood gases soon. Please pray that his ox. sats go up.

ps the machine that you are seeing is a soothing machine...it has really been great, it plays classical music and projects images like fish and animals onto the wall. We hung Houston and Laeton's photo's on it!

Friday Morning!

2009-06-05T08:28:00.001-07:00

Just letting you know that Dylon has had a great night, he is doing really good. They are talking about extubating him sometime today. Possibly taking out his chest tube tomorrow. He looks really good. They are still monitering his pressures and look about the same. Also monitering pain management and trying to come off of some of his pain medicine. As my husband said "let the games begin"!
There are so many families who's kids are suffering from CHD'(congential heart defects) so please say a pray for these families. Thank you all so much for the prayers and comments, it really lifts our spirits to have so many people praying for our little Dylon!
Love Ya'll!
Shelli

What a mighty God we serve!!

2009-06-04T20:12:00.000-07:00

Today was a very, very long and trying day. But the outcome couldn't have been better. Dylon is doing good. We all are taking a quick nap. So far his blood pressure which was high, has started to balance out, so they are lowering the amount of meds for his blood pressure. He is still asleep, and will be until sometime tomorrow. We got to see him about an hour after surgery, he looked really good. He was hooked up to about 6 different machines. He is still on a breathing machine, and it is doing 50% of the work for him. He is also still recieving blood. He also still has a chest tube. It will be a couple of days before all of this is out. Dylon is just so strong and I couldn't be prouder of him. I am just in awe of his strength.

We thank God for this miracle and know that none of it would even be possible without him. Thank You God for such an amazing little boy.

Thank you all for the prayers, we are just blown away by all of this!

We love ya'll!

Shelli

ps I hope you enjoy the picture of one of God's miracle's!

SURGERY WAS A SUCCESS!!!!!

2009-06-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

SURGERY WAS A SUCCESS!!!! PRAISE GOD!!! The surgeon said that the surgery had the best possible outcome for Dylon!!!!! The aorta was VERY thin, but all has been repaired. Prior to the surgery they did pressure point test on Dylon. His upper body tests were VERY high, and his lower body tests were VERY low. After the surgery they re-did the tests, and they were exactly the same!!!!!!!!!!!! Dylon has just 1 chest tube, and they are hoping to wake him up later tonight to see how he's doing!!! Thank you all so much for your prayers today. God is great, and we are all truly blessed. We love you all!!!

Update @ 3:00

2009-06-04T13:20:00.000-07:00

new update....they have Reconstructed the aorta, and now they are working on attaching the subclavian artery to the aorta. He will then have an echo and depending on how that goes they will take him off bypass. Then its just seeing how he reacts to coming off bypass. After that he will be done with surgery and admitted to the I.C.U.We are in really good spirits right now, that was a really good update from his nurse.

update

2009-06-04T10:22:00.000-07:00

Just got an update. Dylon was just now put on bypass. Getting him on bypass went smoothly. Thank God for that. The surgeon will now study the anatomy of his heart and we will get another update around 2!
Love ya'll!

10:00 update

2009-06-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

This is Dylon talking to Houston right before he went to the O.R.

We just got our first update, and Dylon is doing good. Not to much to report...They have completed all of his lines for the surgery, and have already completed his sternotomy. They will now starting him on his bypass machine. We will recieve another update around 12:00 and hopefully they will have started on his repair.
We are in good spirits..Our pastor from our church is here and she even got to pray with the surgeon and the anesthesiologist.
These next 8 hours are so crucial for Dylon! Please Please keep offering prayers up for him!
Thank you all,
We love Ya'll!
The Smith's
ps here are some pictures from our journey so far!

this was a view from our Old room

this is him watching the cars, and trains and cranes from our room!

UPDATE: June 3, 2009

2009-06-03T19:44:00.000-07:00

Hey all its Mel again for Shelli::: WiFi is not working at the hospital...

...Surgery is in the morning around 6:30am and so far we are doing good. Dylon has been doing well today, and we are all in good spirits. We all took shifts the last 2 days so that we could get rest before the big day tomorrow. The hospital staff here is amazing! They are being so nice and accommodating. We really are so lucky to be here at TCMC. Just a reminder I have my cell phone with me if you want to call and check on us. Pastor Amy got here today, and came by to visit. We are thrilled to have her here supporting us. Her prayers are so comforting to Matt and I and we are grateful for her.

The address for the hospital is
Texas Children's Hospital
6621 Fannin Street Houston,
Texas, 77030
Phone number is 832-824-1000

Thank you so much for your support and for your prayers. Please continue to keep Dylon and the surgical staff in your prayers.

Love,
Shelli and Matt

a complicated day!

2009-06-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

Today has been a very long day.
Dylon stopped running a fever as soon as we got to the E.R. (of course). Once we had finished signing papers for admittance for the E.R., we sat down, and the phone rang and it was Dr.S (cardiologist) saying that they finally had a room ready for Dylon on the cardiology regular floor. So Dr.S met us in the E.R. lobby and escorted us to our room. They started an I.V. and he is doing much better. It just doesn't make since how a child can go from a high fever, caughing, and gaging to being his usual self. The cardiologist on the floor thinks that it is all due to the vascular ring, causing an obstruction in his air way. I don't see how a fever links to all this, but they know way more than I could ever know, so I'll go with that. His blood work came back fine, his white blood cell count was up 1/3 of a point, but they said that that is nothing to worry about. Usually when you have an infection the points go way up so. They tested for sinusitus and it was negative, so everything I thought it was, it wasn't. They aren't gonna let Dylon go back to the hotel before his surgery, they want to keep him there until his surgery which is Thursday @ 6:30. These Doc.'s and nurses have to think we are crazy, b/c seeing him now, he is acting like a normal little boy. I have five people who saw the way he was this morning being sick and all and we are all just weirded out by all of this and how quick he got better.
Weirded out, but thankful and counting it a blessing that he is better.
Thank you all for the prayers!
God Bless,
Shelli
ps Dylon did a art project with the lollipop radio girls they made a kite...and he won the contest. They are gonna post a picture of him on the TCMC T.V. channel and then he got to request what song to playwhile they show his picture and he requested
"Sweet Home Alabama"

Fever

2009-06-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

Dylon was up all night with caughing and gagging. He then woke up this morning doing the same thing plus running a fever. We are not sure what is causing this fever....Dr.S wants to admit us into the hospital...we are waiting to hear back from him and then we will head down to TCMC.
Please pray for Dylon's fever to go down, and that there is no infection so surgery can still go on on Thursday.
Thanks!

Sugery rescheduled for Thursday

2009-06-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

Just letting you know that Dylon's surgery is rescheduled for Thursday. We will have all the pre-opt stuff all day Wednesday. Surgery will start around 6:30! We are about to go get some supper. I will try and do a better update later tonight!
God Bless
Shelli

Pray us there and Back

2009-05-31T19:08:00.000-07:00

Just letting you all know that we have arrived safely. We flew out of a local airport around 10:00 and was waved goodbye by some sweet family members. I was told that they would "pray me there and back" and I like the sound of that. So join them in praying us there and back.
The flight was pretty uneventful, which is the way I like it. The pilot was great and his sweet wife had packed us some snacks and drinks. Dylon actually got to fly the plane. It was so awesome. We only flew 10,000 ft above sea level, b/c of Dylon's condition and the affects of the cabin pressure, we didnt know if he would have any, better safe than sorry. He did have a few minor caughing spells, but nothing worse than the usual. But let me tell you something, flying at sea level meant some really awesome views we got to see the gulf and rivers. It was gorgeous. We flew into the Million Air airport, which is the same as Hobby, but has a special place for the smaller planes. We got off the plane and was greated by some friendly Houstonian's and as well as our cab driver. The cab driver was so sweet and so helpful to us. We then arrived at our hotel and checked into our room, and we had trouble with our debit card. We put all of the money that was given for Dylon's trip in a special account and then found out that they had a limit and so anyway just one thing to add to the stress. Ha! I'll call the bank in the morning and get that straightened out. We have really enjoyed the hotel room, and staff, all very friendly, they even took us to the Target. We got us some groceries so we can eat in our room
We did talk to Dr.S (cardiologist) and he was glad that we made it safely without any problems. His nurse will call us in the morning to set up a time when we will see him tomorrow. Dr.S wants to do another Echo and EKG tomorrow. We will also possibly see the Surgeon.
How are we doing?
Amazingly Strong.
I know that things are not going as planned by Me Ha! But I think it is just another reminder that God is the one that has the say so over anything and everything. My hands are up and I surrender it all to him. Thank You Jesus for loving me.
Just know that your prayers for us are being answered. God is so great and is "bigger than the boogie man" (vegi tales)
I will update tomorrow and let you all know what is being said at the appointment!
God Bless!
Shelli

Complications

2009-05-30T11:32:00.000-07:00

Please ignore any typo's, I am very sleep deprived!

Dylon has had some complications with his caughing and gagging and hard time catching his breath. They believe that it is from his vascular ring around his espaphagus. We spent the night at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensecola last night and upon evaluation they (Tcmc's cardiologist Dr.S) have decided to up his surgery for Tuesday instead of June 17.
We will fly out tomorrow, settle in our room and wake up to speak to the surgeon and the Anesthesiologist. So surgery is in 3 days. We are running around trying to get a bunch of stuff done that we thought we had 2 more weeks to get done. But it looks like our BIG GOD has other plans.
Please keep us in your prayers, I will or someone will update my blog as we get closer to Tuesday.
God Bless
Shelli

Grab a button!

2009-05-22T08:01:00.000-07:00

My B.I.L (brother in law) who is a very talented graphic designer...designed Dylon a button...please grab one. Show your support and love for Dylon! Only 26 more days until his surgery
.

A Special Photo Shoot

2009-05-20T21:37:00.000-07:00

As Dylon's heart condition became more known throughout the county, we have just been blown away by all the support and love. We have recieved cards, phonecalls, t-shirts, stuffed animals and a huge prayer chain. But one gift that really meant alot to me was a phone call I recieved from B&P Photography who wanted to do a free photo session of Dylon before his surgery. I couldn't wait. We had the photo's taken last week at a local park. As you can tell they turned out wonderful. I really think alot of B&P Photography, after doing this for Dylon, they have decided to do it for other kids who have a life threatening illness in the Covington County area..what a great idea and a wonderful way to turn their God given talents into a way to help other families.

Only 28 more days until his surgery, I am trying to fit in as much summer time activity as possible. I hope to do a few beach trips and maybe to the Zoo again.

This past weekend, my Brother and his wife Suzanne put on a Heart Mending party for Dylon, it was really sweet the invitation read:

My Mommy and Daddy didn't know from the start, that they were getting a little boy with a very special heart! Now just 3 years later, its time for a repair, but I know i'll be fine with my mom, dad and God there. The doctors will put on their scrubs and gloves, and fix my heart with skill knowledge and lots of love. I've got one thing to ask while I am away... Please get down on your knees and pray,pray,pray! It will take a few weeks for me to recover, but I'll be back in no time playing with my brothers. Now on a different note before I go... Uncle Wade, Aunt Suzanne, Britt and Parker J want to celebrate and pray for my special "Heart Mending Day"! So please join me and my family for an afternoon of fun, that will consist of food, cake and prayer for everyone! I really hope to see you there!!!

we had a great time, Thank You guys! You can check out some pictures from the party on Suzannes blog.

One more thing before I go, I finally made our hotel reservations....it was a big deal to me and took me 4 hours to actually decide on which one. Time is flying by and your prayers are needed more and more the closer we get to June 17.

God Bless!

Prayer's for Bentley!!

2009-05-16T07:41:00.000-07:00

I came across Crystals blog a couple of months ago. She and I have become blogspot friends as well as praying for each others CHD kids. Her daughter Bentley will undergo open heart surgery May 20 at Texas Children's medical Center. It was very ironic finding her blog and then realizing that her daughter is going to have surgery 3 weeks before Dylon at the same hospital by the same surgeon. Bentley is such a beautiful child. You can read more about Bentley's condition by clicking here. They are leaving out today so please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Also if you haven't bought a bow to support Bentley, then you need to by clicking here.
Make sure you go and leave a comment for Crystal and Bentley to show them some support!

Father God,

I just pray that you just hold Bentley and her family in your arms

and comfort them like they've never been comforted. God I just pray that

you will work through the nurses and doctors and surgeons to perform
a great miracle for Little Bentley. Also protect them on their trip to and from Houston, TX and surround them with your never ending love.

Thank you Jesus. We praise your name.

Amen

Not Me Monday!

2009-05-11T17:41:00.001-07:00

This is the first time I have ever done one, so bare with me....

This week I did not get second degree burns on my forearm from cooking supper,

nope NOt Me, I'm like a younger Betty Crocker. I also didn't blame it on my son saying that I was protecting him from the oven, I would never do that ;)

I also didn't bribe Dylon and Houston with candy just so they would clean their rooms up, NOT ME, I don't believe in bribing. Bribing would only result in spoiled kids and my kids are NOT spoiled.

Not to mention the fact that I did not forget about Mother's Day until the day before, Not me I remember everything and everyone. I also did not go fight the Wal-mart crowd Saturday just to buy 94 cent cards for my mom and my MIL, Nope not me. I only buy the top dollar cards, they mean more.

Those tan lines on my kids today, are not because I forgot to put sunscreen on them before we went swimming for 3 hours, Not Me. I am very sun concious and I Always put sunscreen on them before stepping out in the sunlight.

I also am not embarresed by the aroma that is in my car, NOt Me. My car is clean as a whistle, no 3 week old french fries are found in the "Rocket" Van. There is also no sand, or sticky, melted gummy bears either.

I also am not so desperate for some quite time, that on Mothers Day I laid in bed and I would hide the lap top under the covers as soon as I heard someone coming my way, and pretend to still be asleep, Nope Not me. You see, I slept until 11:00 I would never be so selfish.

NOT ME!!

Pictures from the Spaghetti supper

2009-05-10T18:59:00.000-07:00

This is Dylon eating his delicious Spaghetti!!!

I meant to post them with the blog last night, but my camera was in the car and I was so exhausted from the yard sale, that I didn't want to go and get it.

My cousin Mandi(Mimi) created shirts for the yard sale and spaghetti supper, and Im sure we will wear them day of surgery too. I tried to get some pics of some of the Family wearing the shirts. I don't have any pics of the yard sale yet, but I know someone had a camera there and I will eventually post some.

Here is a few pics from the cooks in the kitchen...Thank You SES!!

Dylon's Yard Sale and Spaghetti dinner was a huge success!!

2009-05-09T16:50:00.000-07:00

Just to do a quick update on the Yard Sale and Spaghetti dinner. We had our Spaghetti dinner Thursday night at SOuthside Baptist Church and sold over 300 plates. The ladies that put this together are teachers at Straughn Elementary School and they did this with the thought of being able to pay for all of our bills for the month of June....and they sold enough to pay for our bills for June and July! What a awesome group of ladies that cooked some really yummy spaghetti and had a blast doing it. WE LOVE YOU SES!!

So as anyone who has ever done a yard sale knows how much work is put into one. We had donations of items from over 50 families. IT was a HUGE yard sale. We started putting things out Friday and ran out of room and so we had to get up bright and early today and put out tables outside to put more things on. As we would take things out of the trailor, people were buying them. It was Awesome. We also did a live auction for a fiddle, and it sold for 400.00. OH and not to mention the awesome cakes and cinnamon roles and candied apples and boiled peanuts that sold before I could get my hands on them. Thank you Harts grocery, Mrs. JoAnn, Mrs. Mary for going through the trouble for baking these items.

If you have never seen the Poweplant Farmers Market, you need to go the next time they have an event there. It is a beautiful and historical building..it is all exposed brick with huge windows, so nice.

So the big question is how much did we make???
Are you ready for this??

over 7,000.00 dollars!!! And don't worry it is in a safe!

The turn out was awesome and the experience was even more humbling than anyone could ever imagine.
I owe you guys BIG time....Mom, "B" Brian, Jennifer, Suzanne, Aunt Jeannie, Steph, Dad, Wade, 22(Justin), PaPa John, Mandi, Dave, Mrs Pam and Mr.Billy, Mrs.JoAnn and Mr. James, Honey, Kat, Grandma(Rodgers), Terri Jewell, Grandmother, Blaine, Melissa, Nicole, Unk(Griff), Mrs.Stuckey, Aunt Elaine, Tonya Hart, and a even bigger thanks to WAAO, for making this Yard Sale bigger and better than I could've ever have dreamed.

I didn't forget, I could not have gotten any of this done without Aunt Vicki watching and loving my kids for me all weekend. Thank You Vick Vick.

Thanks to anyone and everyone who came, who gave and who have been praying for my family. We love ya'll!

The Zoo!!

2009-05-05T18:04:00.000-07:00

A couple blogs ago I promised to post some pictures of the trip to the Montgomery Zoo. I am just now getting around to uploading them to my computer, I hope that you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the Zoo! It was such a beautiful day and we were just amazed by God's beautiful creations.
"Let everything that has breathe, Praise the Lord! Alleluia"

Psalm 105:6

We ate lunch in Africa, near the lions and Houston is showing his "BIG" teeth just like the lions do.

This is Dylon roaring like a lion, all three boys just loved the lions, but Dylon couldn't wait to see some elephants.

This was Laeton Reid's first trip to the Zoo. He had such a great time and his favorite animals were the AH-AH's (monkeys) We couldn't get him to leave their area.

We stayed with the elephants forever. The kiddo's were infactuated by them. We had such a great time and cannot wait to return to the zoo.

Oh one last picture....this picture is for Dave he is one of my kids most favorite people, and he is also a Turkey Fanatic. Houston loves hunting with Dave and so it was important that we took this picture for Dave who at the time hadn't killed a turkey. But don't worry he made up for it last week when he killed three turkeys. We can't wait to eat some fried turkey Dave. We love you and Mandi!

God Bless!

God's Masterpiece

2009-05-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

This morning in church, there was a baby dedication. And seeing this excited and beautiful family dedicate their little girl was such an honor and a joy. It brought back the time when the twin's were dedicated at Central Assembly of God in Haughton,LA.It seems like yesterday. They had on their little smocked blue outfits, my mom and my best friend from college drove nine hours to see their dedication. Making that commitment to God to always honor him and to bring the boys up in a God loving home. Watching them smile and coo at the preacher as he held both babies at the same time(which made me nervous)and remembering the preacher say this was the second set of twins he had dedicated. It was a BIG day. Watchin this beautiful family dedicate their little girl who also smiled at the preacher brought tears to my eyes, tears of joy and tears of sadness. There was also a music special and the song was "You are a Masterpiece" by Sandi Patty

Before you had a name or opened up your eyes

Or anyone could recognize your face.

You were being formed so delicate in size

Secluded in God's safe and hidden place.

With your little tiny hands and little tiny feetAnd little eyes that shimmer like a pearl

He breathed in you a song and to make it all complete

He brought the masterpiece into the world.

You are a masterpiece

A new creation He has formed

And you're as soft and fresh as a snowy winter morn.

And I'm so glad that God has given you to meLittle Lamb of God, you are a masterpiece.

And now you're growing up your life's a miracle

Everytime I look at you I stand in aweBecause I see in you a reflection of me

And you'll always be my little lamb from God

And as your life goes on each day

How I pray that you will see

Just how much your life has meant to me.

And I'm so proud of you

What else is there to say?

Just be the masterpiece He created you to be

Seeing this dedication and hearing this song just reminded me that God formed Dylon and it was no surprise to God when the doctors found his "special" heart. He has Dylon's life in his hands and no matter what God chooses to do, it is his will and his will is whats best for Dylon's life. However, it makes me so sad to think of this, I know this sounds crazy, but in all reality we live life like everyday is promised to us or we have some control of our lives. Or atleast I do, I take the kids to school and am comforted that I will pick them up when it gets time too, or I can get them anytime that I want. The thought that June 17 when he is taken from us for his surgery, may be the last time I ever see his sparkling blue eyes, or that mischevious little grin and I am in no control over what happens during his surgery and this frightens me. But I am reminded that...

"Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.” 1Chronicles 29:11

But it is not until these times, the times were we are heavy burdened and weary and scared do we take into focus what we commited to that day of dedication to God. We have to always know that these babies are a gift from God, and he has a plan for each and every one of us...we are all his children and he loves us and sometimes teaches us important lessons through pain and suffering. We need to constantly remind ourselves that we are NOT in control of this life, but God is and the only way to live is to live through Christ.

God Bless!

Images from Dylon's MRI

2009-04-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

I find these images of Dylon's MRI pretty interesting. We finally recieved the images today and I have been debating on posting them on here or not but I don't see what it could hurt. The images show the significant narrowing in his aorta and the unattached subclavian artery to his left arm. It's just amazing how special this little man's heart is. Today we had an interview with a local newspaper Andalusia Star News and they interviewed me and Dylon at the park. The reporter asked Dylon a few questions and took some photo's and videos of him. At one point she asked him, "so tell me about your heart" and Dylon replied "I have a special heart, God made my heart special." It took all I could not to just start crying. What an Awesome kid and what a MIGHTY GOD.

He will be in the paper tomorrow so check it out.

We are still taking donations and have been recieving some too. Thank you to Mrs. Nesmith who drove 2 hours to meet me and my family to give us a bunch of really nice things for the yard sale. It was so nice to meet you...I took a pic of us and the loaded down van with my phone and have no idea how to upload it onto the computer...sorry.

I am still waiting to get the write up from the Caridologist and hope to get that this week too!

My buisy Week and Plans for the weekend

2009-04-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

This week has been a crazy, successful and relaxing week. I have been really crazely buisy with Dylon's yard sale and gathering up items for it. We almost filled a 10x20 storage unit and hope to fill another one by the time the yard sale(May 9) gets here. Some of my good friends, so good I call them family did most of the filling of that storage unit. Thank you Jen, and Mrs. Susan for donating all of that wonderful stuff. The stuff consisted of 2 airhockey tables, antiques, pots and pans, 2 day beds one with a trundel, bicylcles, strollers, lamps, toys, clothes and a whole bunch more that I am leaving out on purpose to lure people to the yard sale ;)

Tuesday morning I went around town and handed out flyers to some people I had promised to bring one to... and WAAO 103.7 f.m. was one of the locations. They are a local radio station that also broadcasts live on AndyTv cable Channel 12. I was just going in to drop off the flyers. Ok so picture this I had just dropped my 3 1/2 yr old twins off at school...so of course I hadn't brushed my hair and I had barely remembered to brush my teeth, left over makeup from like two days ago and I was feeling pretty tired... when one of the radio spokesman Blaine Wilson waved me to come into the studio (which was live at that time) I tried to convince him differently but you can only do so much with hand gestures. So I joined him and Joann Jones and we talked about Dylon and his yard sale oh Laeton Reid is sitting in my lap too. The reason they had really wanted me on there was to announce that WAAO is going live from the yard sale. I am so excited and so thankful that they are doing this, we (Joann Jones) is also going to be selling her famous pound cake and we are planning on grilling too. The only downfall to going live is that the yard sale will need to be indoors, so we have decided to move the yardsale to The Old Farmers Market which is located by the train station in town. I am so excited about all of this.

Oh I also went down to Destin, FL for the day with my Cousins Mandi , John and his girlfriend Allyson. We stayed on the beach for a couple of hours and then went to the Destin Commons. My only need there was a doctor outfit from build-a bear workshop for Dylon's doggy that he made last year. Not only did we find it, but it also included a little x-ray that had a heart on it, it was perfect. We also got Houston's turtle an Atlanta Braves uniform...I'm one of those moms were if you can't do it for all of your kids, don't do it for one. Laeton Reid doesn't have a build a bear, but Mandi (MiMi to my kids) plans to take him this summer while we are in Texas. I have some pics of the kids with their build a bears that i'll post sometime later.

I am most excited this weekend. My mom (cha-cha to my kids) and I are taking the boys to the Montgomery Zoo tomorrow and then meeting a sweet lady that is coming all the way from Birmingham to meet us with some much needed items for the yard sale. She found out about the yard sale through blogspot...what a sweet heart.

I feel like I am really trying to let Dylon do everything that he would've wanted to do this summer. Not just him but his bubba's too. In my mind I think that once June 17 arrives, summer will no longer exist for us, maybe i'm wrong but I don't know what to really expect.

I called TCMC Tuesday because we had requested a copy of his MRI and never received it and so they are sending one this week. I also talked to Dylon's cardiologists secretary and requested that he write me a very detailed email of Dylon's condition. I have had some CHD moms question the type of CHD he has and I just want some more info on it too. I have googled and yahood his CHD until I was blue in the face and still couldn't find any info. I am almost positive they went into detail about it when we were there last, but my mind kind of fogged over after hearing that surgery was needed. When I told his nurse that I can't find any other info on Dylons CHD she said yes, thats because Dylon's heart is that rare, she said the info that they have on it is from text books that cost about one grand a piece...I can't wait to get the write up and don't worry Ill copy and paste it for ya'll!

Thank you for all of the responses from my above post.....Don't worry Houstonians I will be getting in touch and holding ya'll to the offers!!

Love,

Shelli

HIs tomb wasn't empty, it was full of my sin....

2009-04-12T18:18:00.000-07:00

Easter is such a special day to me and my family. I have always enjoyed this holiday more than almost any other day we celebrate. Not only is it spring and everything is in bloom, but it is also the day that our Lord, Jesus Christ died for our sins. Our family always gets together on this day and just spend the day simply being a family and knowing that there is a God that is bigger than anyone or anything. I hope that everyone had a blessed Easter Day.

Happy Easter!!

Spring Family picture's

2009-04-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

This year we decided to get some photo's of the family. My cousin Mandi does a really good job taking pictures of the boys. One random afternoon she met as at the local train station which is a museum now and we took some pictures. Note to self, taking 3 boys who are obsessed with trains is not where you should go to get them to sit still for some family photo's. We tried to get some sitting still, but it just wasn't going to happen. I am very proud of the pictures that we got and the boys had a great time being able to play on all the trains.

Easter Cookies

2009-04-12T17:39:00.000-07:00

I know that it has been a while since I posted, however nothing to exciting has happened. This Easter we decided to bake some suger cookies with the twins after Laeton Reid went to bed. My boy's love to help Mommy in the kitchen, so they were all about this. I bought some cookie cutters from walmart and some dough and icing and

the rest was history.

After the cookies baked and cooled and the kiddo's were asleep, my husband and I decorated the cookies together.

Spring Flowers

2009-03-26T20:00:00.000-07:00

I decided to plant flowers and seeds with the boys this spring. The boys and I went and picked out seeds, flowers and pots for them to go in. We planted them Tuesday. Dylon and Houston have the responsibility of watering them in the afternoon, and today we found three little sprouts. Only one of the pots had sprouts, the other did not, I believe one of the pots got taken care of to much ;) Here are a few pics from Tuesday.

Thoughts

2009-03-25T21:22:00.001-07:00

I feel like I am in such a panic to get everything ready for Dylon's surgery, we still have 3 months to make plans. I did some googleing today and found some places to stay around TCMC but just couldn't make myself make reservations. I will eventually make myself do it, just not today. It seems like everytime I try to get things in order, my mind starts drifting and thinking of us actually being there, and just the thought of my little man having to go through such a painful surgery just eats at me all day. In a way I wish that we would've caught this sooner, why didn't I notice the coughing earlier, I almost feel like I failed him. Even the surgeon said had his heart condition been found at birth this surgery would not be as complicated. Even though I know I should just be thankful that his irregular heart beat was even heard, and that his heart is mendable, but sometimes my mind gets to thinking negative.
However I do believe that God has a huge plan for Dylon's life and that oneday we can look back on this and be able to testify about how powerful our God's love is.

Dylon's Surgery Sceduled

2009-03-10T14:48:00.000-07:00

We finally got Dylon's surgery scheduled....June 17. Just thought I would let everyone know.

March Birthday dinner

2009-03-10T14:37:00.000-07:00

Every year a group of our friends get together to celebrate all of our March birthdays. We had such a wonderful time! I look forward to it again next year!

Kellye and Kevin's Wedding

2009-03-04T09:21:00.000-08:00

My sister in law Kellye Smith Rodgers got married over the weekend. The wedding and reception were held at Bethany Baptist Church. It was a really sweet wedding and we couldn't be happier for the two of them. Congratulations Kellye and Kevin we wish you the best!!

Pictures are taken by Suzanne Cotton

Dylon's Surgery

2009-03-03T08:08:00.000-08:00

As some of you know over the past ten months, we have been going through some tests with Dylon (oldest twin). We went to Texas Medical Center (houston,Tx) about six months ago and talked to a cardiologist(dr.Slesnick) and the chief surgeon of pediatric cardiology Dr. Charles Fraser and at that time had decided that they wanted Dylon to come back in 6 months and do somemore testing on his heart. It was a big relief at that time to know that he wasn't gonna have to have surgery as long as he didn't have any of the affects of his condition. His condition: Double aorta with an atretic left arch, his right arch having a major narrowing in it, a vascular ring around his esaphogus, and repair of the left subclavian artery that attatches to his left arm.
Over the past couple of months he has been coughing and gagging, so two weeks ago we were scheduled to go to Houston,Tx TCMC and have an sedated MRI and an echo as well as speaking with the cardiologist and the surgeon. The MRI went really smoothly and we had high hopes as to him not having surgery. The next day we went in to speak to Dr.Slesnick and go over Dylon's M.R.I. Once he showed us the picture of Dylon's narrowing in his aorta, I knew that he was gonna have surgery mainly because of the progress in narrowing it had since his last M.R.I. Dr.Slesnick said that surgery would have to be performed in the next 3-6 months, my heart just sank, noone wants there child to have to go through this or any surgery. We also spoke to the surgeon who said that surgery would take six to eight plus hours. It is a type of cardiovascular surgery so they will go in through the sternum. His recovery will take up to three weeks.
We don't have the surgery scheduled yet, I called last week to make to appointment and I should get a call back this week for his scheduled date. Please keep us in your prayers as we face this time.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:13-16).

Dylon's Story

2009-03-01T08:39:00.000-08:00

Dylon's CHD journey began in the summer of 2009, he had been a really healthy baby up until that point in life. He has an identical twin brother and granted they were premies, they were both healthy. Summer 2009 Dylon came down with a stomach bug and was hospitalized for dehydration. At that time, my husband and I were in another hospital with Dylon's twin brother Houston. Houston had gotten the virus too and he was life flighted to a bigger hospital because his body was trying to shut down. Our family was taking turns taking care of Dylon at our local Regional hospital when our family doctor heard a murmur. Our cousin (Mandi) who was taking care Dylon, told us about the doctor hearing the murmur, but we assured her that it was probably nothing. We had been told he had a murmur a year before that when he had gotten sick but when we went back for a check up they had said the murmur was gone. So honestly that is what we had expected to happen again. We made the appointment and went to see a pediatric cardiologist in Pensecola,FL. They did an EKG and then they wanted to do an echo which by the way they said, "it will take about 3o minutes for the echo." Dylon laid calmly for 3o minutes then one hour then two hours. The echo tech, was struggling to find whatever was "missing". She had the pediatric cardiologist come in and she too seemed baffled. I then began to worry, what if there really is something wrong with my babies heart? Finally they told me that they couldn't see part of his aorta, and there needed to be more test done to decide the next step for Dylon. Again we scheduled for a sedated MRI, which was a horrible experience for us at this particular hospital. We would then come back in a week to discuss the MRI. When we came back to review the MRI, we where told that this hospital couldn't do anything else for us that we should go somewhere else. They recommended Atlanta Sibley Heart Center and I agreed to go there and that they wanted to do a heart cath there. It would be months before we were scheduled to go there, so I started researching and researching.I knew nothing about heart defects, I still didn't know Dylon's exact condition but I learned just how common they are. I have an aunt that lived in San Antonio and worked for a dentist office. She had asked that dentist who he would send his kids to had they been diagnosed with a heart defect and he said "Texas Childrens Hospital with Dr.Fraser as a surgeon". Again I researched Dr.Fraser and was blown away by his credentials and I was taken back by the hospital. I called TCH and talked to Dr.Fraser's nurse and asked if I could send Dylon's MRI to them and get a second opinion by Dr.Fraser. It wasn't a few days and Dr.Fraser (the Awesome surgeon) called me to discuss Dylon's MRI. I could not believe he took the time to call me. We talked for a bit and come to find out the dentist that my Aunt worked for, his dad actually taught Dr.Fraser at The University of Texas. Small world right? Upon that conversation we decided to go out to Houston,TX to talk with the cardiologist and meet with our surgeon. We were out there about a week, Dylon had a week of test being run, some of the same ones that were ran in Florida were repeated. After TCH had read Dylon's MRI's and Echo's, they said that they didn't see the need for surgery right now, but come back in 6 months for a reevaluation.His condition is known as cicumflex aorta with a vascular ring and unattatched left subclavian artery. We were relieved, WOW, maybe no surgery after all. Six months flew by and we drove back out to TCH and did another MRI, just to see how things were looking. I can remember it like yesterday, sitting in the Cardiologist office and he started to draw a picture of what Dylon has and explained that surgery would be needed. My life stopped, I wanted to cry, scream, pray, smile but because Dylon was sitting in my lap and I didn't want to upset him, I just stared at my husband and tried to take in the rest of what our cardiologist was telling us. We scheduled the surgery for the end of June 09, but Dylon started having complications and his surgery was moved up to June 4, 2009. His surgery tooked almost 10 hours to complete and I promise it was the longest 10 hours of our lives. Before surgery you are in a "waiting" area where all the other patients are waiting as well. Dylon knew what was going on and insisted on calling his brother before he went back. So of course we called his brother and once they got done with their conversation, he said "i'm ready now". I will never understand the strength of a three year old. When he had gotten off the phone, Dr.Fraser had come up to us and was discussing the surgery with us again and was ready to take Dylon back when The door opened up and it was our preacher from back home, I know that it was God's will for her to find us b/c there are twenty something floors on that hospital and she found us and was able to pray over Dylon, his surgeon and his anesthesiologist. The surgery was complete almost 10 hours later and all was well. We stayed in the hospital for about another week or so and flew back home. We will go back every six months until we are told differently.

I never knew the affects that CHD's have on so many kids. Along this journey I have met some amazing mom's who's kids have CHD's and it has helped so much to have support from someone who understands what you are going through. If your child has a CHD please email me or comment, so we can fight this together. My goal is to help raise awareness for CHD's, in hopes that oneday there will be a cure for this.