Easter Fun

 Hello Ava followers! HAPPY EASTER! Wow what a difference two years can make! Ava got discharged two years ago today on Easter Sunday. Her central line was removed due to a very high fever. She was so happy to be going home. We celebrated with an Easter egg hunt at my parents, then took her home for rest and relaxation. The surgeries were not over, nor was she fixed. She would have a lot more to go but WOW… She’s come SO far! We are thanking God today for His love and understanding and for Ava’s continued health.

Here she is two year ago.

I am copying this from one of my previous posts from two years ago. As you know when you are amidst a “storm” your Faith grows and grows. How GREAT is our God? To me is is EVERYTHING. Today is such a great day as I remember how Jesus died on the Cross for me. He was crucified so that I may live for eternity with Him. What an AWESOME gift. I’m so thankful for Him and His Miracles!

I have learned by this very rocky road that none of us are ever in control of the circumstance. We may think we are but ultimately God knows what is to come. It is a choice we must make to give up the earthly control and hand God all the broken pieces and say, “Here you are God I can’t fix this and I give it to you…do not my will by Yours.” My friends if you have ever done this in your life and truly meant it, I suspect there may be tears in your eyes right now. Oh is it ever hard to do. To give it to Jesus. But I am telling you he knows, He cares and He will bless you for it. Ava is one amazing little girl.

What a great Easter morning it is here in Iowa. Ava was SO excited about Easter. We visited the Easter bunny at the mall this week. She was a little nervous but as we rounded the corner she took off as soon as he was in view! She opened the small gate and climbed up on his lap with no hesitation whatsoever. She proudly sat on his lap. In fact we could barely get her to leave him… As were going to leave she says, “Mommy I miss the Easter bunny already.” I’m telling you this little one has a heart of gold.

 

We colored Eggs a few days ago. The girls were so excited to create their own styles. Ava was just happy to add color to them!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

 

We also for the VERY first year let Ava go to a public Easter egg hunt. I know I heard the gasp through the computer screen. :) They were both outdoor and it was a gorgeous day here in Iowa. She was VERY nervous. (Remember Ava has never been around that many children.) We explained that she needed to pick up the eggs herself. What does Ava do? She cries! So Emeline helped her get some eggs. The tears were gone when she saw Buzz the Bee our local baseball mascot. There was 15,000 eggs! I think she got about 20 eggs.

Emeline took this picture right before the hunt. You can see the fear in her eyes, through that smile.

BUZZ and Ava.

Not so sure about this…

Here is my precious babies this morning. Yes they will always be my babies. :)

 

AND the HUNT in our backyard.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Ava loved opening her eggs and discovering the candy inside. As a Mother this is one of my favorite days. How grateful I am feeling today!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

AND my favorite one is THIS next one!

I did give the website a “mini” make over. It is a little easier to find things now as they are identified at the top. Feel free to check it out. You can click on the “Home”, “What is CDH?”, “Ava’s Story”, “Hope”, “Statistics”, “Ava’s Walk”, “Contact me” and “More”. If you are a carepage follower and have never been to Ava’s blog site please drop by sometime. (http://avaslifewithcdh.blogspot.com)

Also remember I LOVE hearing from my readers. We love the comments so keep the comments and prayers coming!

Have a HAPPY Easter everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful day with family and friends. God Bless!

~Terri (Brian, Lexis, Emeline and Ava)

Ava tells All!

Hello Ava fans. Had to show you all this. She is getting so much better at talking. I could barely keep her attention for the short time the video lasted! She's always busy with something!




And she tells MORE...

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I also wanted to let you know that Isaiah the little guy that has cdh like Ava was repaired last Friday and was extubated today. He is sailing through all of this at a very rapid pace. He is the first cdh baby I've known to do SO well. Here is some pictures I took of him on Friday. To read more about Isaiah you can visit, http://isaiahsfight.blogspot.com .

 Hope you all are happy and healthy. I am lovin' all this Spring weather. Here are a few pictures of my Mother's garden this last Sunday. I just love spring flowers!

And the girls loved seeing the Horses. They can't get enough of them. We were all out of carrots so they tried to fed them celery. Huh the horses didn't care for celery.

Thanks for stopping by and for the continued prayers. God is GOOD!

~Terri

Beautiful Day and Prayers for Isaiah.

Hello Ava followers Ava is doing SUPER. She is over her cold and finally has no more coughing. We enjoyed the day outside all day today.

I just love this little girl!

AND this was a site that we came accross today. Ava calls them "Snacks" These were all over my parents yard. I spent a few hours removing large roaks from their stream. It was clogging it up and the water wasn't able to run freely. It felt awesome outside and it was great to feel the warm sunshine. Is Spring really here?

I often get emails and messages from the blog. A few months back I got an email from a woman that just found out her baby had Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. (Same defect as Ava.) She was distraught and I told her to keep the faith and hold on to hope. Well surprisingly within a few emails we discovered we both lived in Iowa. I offered to be there at the delivery. She doesn't have much family. She was thrilled. Yesterday she went into labor and at 6:14 pm I saw this little man be born. I was also taking some pictures for her. There is a story being told in these pictures.

Then two hours later we saw him in the NICU. He was actually doing very well. Which typically these babies will have what they call a "honey-moon" stage. This can last about 24-48 hours. Then the pulminary hypertention shows it's ugly head. The baby has a hard time controling it's blood pressure due to the heart pumping rapidly and not alowing the proper blood flow to the lungs. This is why so babies die from the CDH. So here he is with his Mommy seeing him for the very first time.

Please say a prayer for Baby Isaiah and his Mother Angel. They both have very tough days ahead of them. I started a blog for her as well. Isaiah's Fight Pray! Pray! Pray! Thanks again for all your love and support!

~Terri