Letter B

1) Beth and Brad-Grace's Aunt Beth and Uncle Brad have been there for us in more ways than we can say thank you for, through all of Grace's heart surgeries and just everyday life. From decorating our hotel room so it would fee like Christmas, to organizing prayer chains that reached farther than we probably will ever know, to loving on Grace and I in so many ways last year while Ryan was gone. We love you both so much and couldn't begin to list all the ways here that you have loved on our family and touched us.
2) Birthdays-they have so much more meaning to me since I have had Grace :)
3) Bunny Rabbit-Grace received the bunny rabbit below from her grandparents for Easter last year. To this day, she carries it around with her all over the house. The poor bunnie's arms are falling off. Whatever room Grace is in, you can pretty much guarantee the bunny will be there too. I can't say she has anywhere near the same feelings for the human Easter Bunny though. Needless to say Mommy won't be putting her through that again this year-broke my heart.


4)Babies-Grace loves her baby dolls and is such a sweet little mommy to them.

5)Bananas-Grace use to LOVE bananas, or so we thought. Come to find out, her body was craving the potassium from them. Her medication (Lasix) was robbing her body of potassium. She stopped wanting them immediately after she was taken off of this medication. We learn so much looking back, but I guess that truly applies to all aspects of life.
6)Boooookoooodles-Grace and I are sending bookoodles of LOVE to you Ryan :)

A to Z

I saw this idea on several other blogs and thought it would be fun to give it a try here. You start with the letter A and create a separate post using each of the letters of the alphabet. I thought it would be a fun way to bring back old pictures and also maybe, give everyone tidbits of information about us that you may not have known.

A
1) Aspirin-Grace has been on baby aspirin since she was born and will remain on this for the rest of her life.
2) Alivia- This is Grace's first name. We chose the A because both Ryan and I's mother's middle names begin with A.
3)Atlanta, GA-Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston-this is where Grace had her 3rd open heart surgery (Fontan). We couldn't have been happier with the staff and our experience there.
4)A-a good friend of ours that is now stationed in Texas :( We met while we were both stationed in Virginia. She was there for Grace's birth and I had the opportunity to be there for her sons birth as well.
5)Airplanes- we are so very thankful for the critical care flights that have been available to transport Grace. This girl has flown just about as many times as her mommy has and she is only 2.

6)Alabama- I am a southern girl :) The picture below was taken in Washington D.C. back in 2005.


Okay, so I think that wraps up the letter A :) Keep checking back as the alphabet lists may grow as I think of things. I also want to add a few more pictures but I seem to have misplaced the power cord to our hard-drive :(

My First Pigtails

Grace and I were playing dress up and I decided to see if maybe, just maybe, she had enough hair for pigtails. I didn't have any small ponytail holders, so I had to use mine :) Grace loved them and wanted to leave them in to show her speech therapist. I think they are so adorable, I just had to share :)

Our Little Valentine's Weekend

February 14th means Valentine's Day for most of the world, but this day will always have an added meaning for our family. It is also known as A Day for Hearts-Congenital Heart Defects Awareness Day. We took advantage of the long weekend and went to visit with Grams and Pops. We had a wonderful weekend and as always, Grace was spoiled :) Grace received her very first pet, a goldfish from Grams and Pops. We are proud to say "Jaws" made the trip home and even found himself a new "home". Ryan felt like the fish needed more room to swim around (he is always so thoughtful :) and so we took Grace to the pet store to pick out a new "home". Grace has received her first official "chore" and that is to feed her fish. She loves doing so, and will go check on him various times throughout the day. Thank you Grams and Pops for a wonderful weekend, Grace's new clothes/shoes, and countless memories I know we are going to have with "Jaws" and probably Jaws 2, 3, etc.

P.S. Ryan if you are reading this, we love you dearly, miss you already and hope you are able to stay warm (the military sent him to Massachusetts for a few days)


Grace Feeding The Ducks


Grace Lovin On Pops


Grace and Grams


Grace and her 1st pet

Thank You's

We received the piggy bank below from some sweet friends when Grace was born. Grace LOVES getting to put money in her piggy bank. Ken and Kari, thank you so much! You have no idea the amount of enjoyment she has gotten out of this. She and her daddy love to put his "mosey" also known as money/pennies :) in her piggy bank.


We received the plaque below from a dear "heart" mom Amanda. I was given the opportunity to meet her while we lived in Birmingham and her daughter has the same heart condition as Grace (HLHS). Amanda, thank you so much for your continued thoughtfulness. You could not have picked a more perfect plaque. The scripture, monkey and colors are soooo fitting.


We received the monkey nightlight below from Grace's Aunt Beth, Uncle Brad, and cousins Sara Beth, Payton and Grant. Grace LOVES it. I have no idea where you found it, but it couldn't be more fitting. As you can probably tell by now, Grace loves monkeys :)