THe things!

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Houston has upper repiratory infection+soon to be ear infection(eardrum was retracted).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

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

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

I hope everyone has had a marvelous Monday!

Love y'all!

Shelli

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

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

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

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

Love y'all,

Shelli

Congenital Heart Defect awarness week!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Urban Dictionary

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Love y'all

Shelli

Amazing Christmas memories!!

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

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