The Final Butterfly Garden Walk

Preschool graduation fell on a Thursday, and so Moriah was able to do her final butterfly garden walk on that last day of school. This is the walk that she practically begs Nurse Sharon to do everyday at preschool.

This girl is on a mission...and adventure...and so determined to make it to that butterfly garden!

Go, girl, go!

The paparazzi...I mean Nano...was also there to film, while Jadon had fun riding the wheelchair. 

In the garden, Moriah and Nurse Sharon shared some really sweet moments that I was happy to catch on camera.

We are so lucky to have wonderful Nurses who care so well for our daughter.

And we are blessed to have Nurses who Moriah adores as well. 

This is an answer to prayer for us. 

Such happy moments

And such a blessed Mama

We love you Chandler Tripp

We thank you for all the happy memories

And most of all, for making this girl smile as brightly as she did when she was there. 

Moriah's Preschool Graduation!!

Back in May, Moriah had the huge accomplishment of graduating Preschool!!

It seemed like it was only yesterday that she attended her first day, and Justin and I left the classroom weeping...for many reasons. 

But preschool graduation...this brought on tears of joy and pride as we watched how far our daughter has come - medically, emotionally, physically, etc. 

Moriah's extremely proud Papa and Nano also came up to celebrate the occasion. 

Moriah felt so loved having them there. 

                         

The only sad part was knowing that M wouldn't have her wonderful Miss Sarah

or Miss Liz anymore. 

They have been such a big part of her life for the past two years, and have helped her blossom.

Including all the hard work that Nurse Sharon does to help make it possible for Moriah to even attend preschool.

When it came time to accept her Preschool Diploma, Moriah walked up to the front in her walker. Needless to say, we took up the first row of seats to watch her do so. 

And in classic Moriah fashion, she gives her "stinky cheese face" to Miss Sarah when she is presented with the paper (she does this face when she doesn't want to touch something or doesn't know what it is).

Did I mention that we were all so proud?? 

Even Jadon gave a congratulatory hug to his sister.

Maybe Jadon will learn to give hugs that don't resemble headlocks once he attends preschool =)

And one thing to always remember, Moriah and Jadon, no matter how many grades you graduate, what college you go to...you both will always be mine and Daddies' babies...and we will always be proud of you no matter what.

Moriah...Walking!!!

Over Moriah's school break, we took her to our local track, and had her practice walking with her walker! Despite having a fever, she did a great job, and we are so proud of her!

Luckily, Nano and Maji were here so that Moriah could show off her new skills

I love that face

When she finally got tired, we put her back in her wheelchair, and then I went running around the track with her. I didn't get very far. Her wheelchair is a beast, and I was huffing and puffing by the end of the lap. I don't know how Justin runs with her. 

Anyone heard of a wheelchair jogger that would be able to hold all her equipment? 

Last year, we had started taking her with us to the track and saw she liked it. 

However, Moriah and Co. are a bit much to run with. 

You know what...scratch that question. 

I know she will be walking soon, and then running faster than us =)

We are so proud of you and all your hard work, Moriah!
Thank you to Nurse Sharon and Moriah's teachers and therapists at preschool for working with her to reach this goal.
It is beyond amazing to see...

Schooool's Out For...

Ski Week? President's Week? Whatever the reason, Moriah had a week off from school.
I might add that I never got as many days off from school as the kids have nowadays. It's extremely upsetting...not because they should be in school, but because I didn't get to have all these awesome breaks like they do. Sucks.

Well, we for sure didn't waste anytime having fun.

Sunday:
Auntie Nina and Cousin Summer came

 Monday:
Chill Play Day

Tuesday:
Ikea with Sharon! (Oh man. This is where the exclamation marks begin!)

 Wednesday:
Happy Hollow!
We went with Sharon, Shannon, and Baby Savanah

Sharon feeding the goats with my children since I was too freaked out to get too close to them. Sharon, I'm not a total city girl! =) In my defense, I was traumatized as a little girl when I went to a goat farm in Malaysia, and the goats rammed my brother and I, and tore my clothes. No joke. Goats can be vicious.

 The kids together!

 And the best part of my week:
Moriah got to go on her first Carousel ride!!!!!!!

The only thing is, I felt like throwing up (I've become such a wimp in my old age), so...

 Shannon got to take Moriah on round two!! Woohoo!!!!

Thursday:
Recover
Friday:
The Chez Family came to visit!
Hands down, this was also a favorite part of the week. This was a very special visit from some incredible friends...

 Love. Moriah, Luke, Jadon, and Abbey.

 Moriah was smitten by Adam, and pretty much wouldn't leave his side.

 I was smitten by Terra =) This woman pretty much lifted me up the whole time M was in the ICU. I am forever grateful for her friendship, love, and support, and I am honored to be with her and her beautiful children.

Please go to hopeful-hearts.org to read more about this amazing family, and visit their Facebook page

And to end, the newest video from Hopeful Hearts. February is the month for creating Awareness about Congenital Heart Defects. Please spread the love...

Tears, Tears, and More Tears

But these are tears of joy!

There are 3 components to our excitement:

1. Moriah did her first 24 hours off the vent last night, and did really well!! We had to pick our jaws up from the floor =)

It's looking like this happy girl might forego the vent altogether pretty soon... I mean we were once told that she might never come off the ventilator...amazing.


2. She is now using a passy muir valve during the day and so now we can hear her voice again. The other plus side with having the passy muir valve is that it is sort of acting like a "plug" for the trach, and forcing Moriah to breath through her upper airway (nose and mouth). This will essentially help make her stronger. Also, with the PMV, M is requiring about 75 % less oxygen than she is used to!

Everyone was gathered around to hear her talk for the first time, and celebrate the milestone of being able to use her voice

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

3. While our friends, Pastor Chris and his lovely wife Cassie, were visiting us at CRC the other day, Moriah starts a backwards crawl on the floor. She fell over soon after, but still!

Cassie, who taught music class for preschoolers, said she will take over doing music therapy with Moriah when she comes home - woohoo! Of course I didn't get a picture of Moriah "crawling" that night because it all happened so fast =)


But here she is with CNA Janet practicing her new moves


The Nelson Family is totally doing their celebration dance right now.
And Cassie, can we play this song when we do music? =)

Love you guys!!

On Our Knees...

Giving thanks to God.

Crying tears of joy with the incredible, miraculous news that Moriah's heart filling pressures went from 16 (really bad) to 8 - half as much as last year (they are supposed to be between 6-8)!!!!

Rejoicing over how big He is.

Marveling over the news that we can "gently put her heart on the backburner because all looks stable."

Hope. Love. Trust. Faith. Courage. Perseverance. Endurance. Patience. Humility.

We are taking it all in...

Thank you Jesus. Thank you.

Second Time

We haven't hung out at the park with Moriah since September 21, 2008, when we took Moriah for her very first time (we walked to it when we took her home on the 4 hour pass, but she was too tired to actually get out of her stroller).

Yesterday afternoon, after Justin got home from his business trip, we took a spur-of-the-moment walk....to the neighborhood park. This now makes it our second time in almost two years.

I can't tell you how much we are enjoying this independence with our daughter...and the fact that she is strong enough to have several hours off the vent.

A time will come when we won't even be able to count how many times we have been to the park =)