An Unexpected Journey but a Beautiful Blessing

Aleah's Mended Heart

2011-08-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

I was a young first time mother to be, very naive about things that could go wrong with my developing baby. All I knew is how badly I wanted a baby girl. Five out of the six grand kids were boys, so I was convinced I was having a boy. I wanted a girl even more knowing this. I did everything right, took prenatal vitamins, avoided caffeine, exercised and would have never have done anything that may have harmed my baby girl. At about 13 weeks I felt her first movements and from then on I thought as along as she was moving and kicking she was ok. I was so wrong. I was 22 weeks along when my doctor scheduled my 20 week ultra sound. I thought we were going to find out the gender not knowing that this ultra sound was to diagnose possible heart defects and other anomalies that were detectable by ultrasound by the 20th week of pregnancy. We went in for the ultrasound and I asked the tech to please tell me if she could see the gender of our baby. She looked for a few minutes and then said you see those three lines there, those are girl parts. I was elated; I was having my baby girl!!! I couldn’t wait to dress her up in all the bows and frills that baby girl’s wear, but my joy would soon end. The tech looked for a few minutes more, and had me move from side to side. She said she could not get the views she needed to see the babies heart and that she was going to get the doctor to come look, being the naive person I was I didn’t even catch that hint that something terrible was wrong, but Aleah's dad did. The doctor came in and looked for a few minutes and then he said words that will haunt me for the rest of my life. Your baby has birth defects, she has “The baby has water on the brain and her heart has not developed normally”. My heart was instantly crushed and I began sobbing. My dreams of having a healthy baby girl had been shattered into pieces. How could this have happened to me, I did everything I thought I could do, I thought I had done everything right, never taken drugs or alcohol, I did everything I was supposed to do. I didn’t even have time to take in the awful news we had just received before the doctors was asking if I would consent to an amniocentesis to check for the possible cause of her defects and I agreed. I squeezed her dad’s hand and sobbed tears of sorrow as they performed this procedure. Instead of walking out with pictures of our baby girl and making happy phone calls with the happy news, we walked out with our hearts crushed and tears streaming down our faces. I will never forget the phone calls I had to make on the car ride home. Telling my family the awful news about our baby girl was almost as heart breaking as hearing it for the first time. In the weeks and months ahead were a whirlwind of doctors appointments, and fetal echo’s to access her heart. We had many meetings with doctors to develop the best plan of care for her. We were told she would die before she was born, or she would most likely die after she was born, we were told she would be a vegetable and that termination was an option we should look into. My heart was broken, I didn’t know what to expect for my baby girl. I had ultrasounds every month to see if her heart was failing and every time I tried to prepare myself for them to tell me her heart had stopped and she was gone. I was so scared as the date for my C-section approached; I had tried in every way to prepare myself to never see my baby girl alive. We didn’t even prepare a nursery it would have been too painful to have it all ready and never bring her home with us. September 10th 2007 was the day I had tried so hard to prepare myself for but just never could. My baby girl Aleah Nicole came into the world at 4:09pm. I heard no sweet first cry, and didn’t even get to see her, I heard the nurse call out it’s a girl and the time she was born and that was it. They took her away, I didnt even get to see her. The plan was to put her in the NICU in the hospital where she was born to keep her close to me, but 30 minutes after she was born the nurse came in and told me that she has stopped breathing several times and they were going to take her to the nearest children’s hospital. I never got even hold her in my arms, they brought her in the room in her little clear incubator and I got to touch her little hand for a few minutes and then they rushed her quickly out the doors. A few days later I was released so I could go be with her before she was transferred to another hospital to prepare for her first heart surgery. I will never forget the first time I got to see her. She was all covered in wires and tubes, but I thought she was so beautiful, she was my baby girl and I loved her so much. It was so bittersweet, I was so happy to see her but so heartbroken seeing my baby girl with lines going in and out of her little body and machine breathing for her. No parent should have to see their tiny newborn child like this. I didn’t get to wrap her up in a little pink blanket all warm and safe and put her in the precious little pink new born clothes, I had to see her laying there covered in wires and tubes and watch as a machine breathed for her. My heart ached for her and I wanted to just heal her little body. At three days old she was transferred to another hospital and which was two hours away from our home. We drove back and forth for a few days but then we had to find a place to stay that was close by and prepare for our baby girl to have her first open heart surgery. Over the next few days we were overwhelmed with information about our baby girls heart defects and what could be done to try and fix her little broken heart. I would sit and just cry watching my tiny new baby girl fight so hard for life. She was on a ventilator to help her breathe and had many lines and wires coming from her tiny little arms and legs. She was four days old before I was able to hold her, and I was in tears when they handed her to me for the very first time.

The first time holding her was one of the happiest moments of my life. She was so sweet and tiny and all I wanted for her was to be healthy. We relied heavily on prayer to get us through each day and prayed to God that he would keep her with us. We had an overwhelming out pour of support from our families, church families and friends. It was overwhelming to see how one baby girl could make so many get on their knees; I joked and called her a prayer celebrity. We were devastated to find out that she would have to have surgery to survive in just a few short days following her birth. She would have to have a temporary surgery to sustain her life until she was big and strong enough to undergo a full repair of her heart defects. Aleah was born with two heart defects ventricular septal defect and pulmonary atresia. Pulmonary atresia is a form of congenital heart disease in which the pulmonary valve does not form properly. The pulmonary valve is an opening on the right side of the heart that regulates blood flow from the right ventricle (right side pumping chamber) to the lungs. In pulmonary atresia, a solid sheet of tissue forms where the valve opening should be, and the valve remains closed. Because of this defect, blood from the right side of the heart cannot go to the lungs to pick up oxygen. She was also born with ventricular septal defect which is a hole in between the two ventricles of the heart. At just nine days old Aleah had her very first heart surgery; I remember waking up early that day to go spend time with her before she has to go to the OR. I knew with each hour we were getting closer to handing our tiny fragile baby girl over to those surgeons and maybe never seeing her alive again. I wanted to hold her there in that rocking chair and stare at her precious little face and never let her go, the dreaded awful time came and we followed the surgical nurses to the OR to give what could be our last hugs and kisses to our precious Aleah. It seems like hours go by when you know your child is having major surgery. You jump every time someone comes through the door to give you an update not knowing if they are coming to tell you your child is gone. It agonizing to wait like that, but finally we got word she was finished and that we would be able to see her in an hour or so. Nothing I mean nothing can prepare you to see your child after having a major heart surgery. When we first walked in I was shocked at how bad she looked, it graphic terms she looked dead, lifeless, with a tons of machines pushing all types of medications into the many lines that were coming and going from her little arms, legs, feet and hands. The nurse started from her head and worked all the way down to her toes explaining all the lines and tubes she was covered in. The surgeon spoke with us and explained the surgery went well but that some babies will pass the first 72 hours after major heart operation and so we prayed this is all we could do after all our Aleah had been in God’s hand from the very start of all of this. It was very hard leaving her every night, and waiting to get that phone call that no parent wants to get, every time the phone rang my heart sank thinking this is the phone call telling us she’s gone. Our baby girl fought so hard and was so strong she overcame the odds and she made it through those first three days. Each day she continued to improve until she was able to come back to our local children’s hospital where she stayed in the NICU for another four weeks. When she came home after spending six weeks in the hospital and having a major heart operation at nine days old we were so thankful and happy to finally having her sleeping under the same roof that we were. Wow did we have a hard time adjusting to having a baby girl with so many medical needs. She had at least three doctor appointments every week and because she was so week and fragile she struggled to eat and gain weight. When she had her first heart operation we were told that she would need another heart operation between the ages of 9 months to a 1 year old to do her full repair of her heart. The day loomed in my mind, the thought of having to hand her over again not knowing if she would make it through, it weighed so heavy on my shoulders. The days and weeks passed by and when she was just seven months old it was decided that her health was deteriorating too quickly and she needed her second operation sooner than we had expected. Now I knew of some what to expect with the second surgery but that did make it any easier handing her over once again. I knew what she had been through before with her first heart operation and my heart ached at the thought of her having to recover from a second more severe heart surgery. The day came and I had to carry her to the OR doors, I wanted to turn and run away with her and keep her safe but I knew that this had to be done. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Hand over my baby girl to the surgical nurses once again and pray the surgeons would save her life. I handed her and her little frog pacifier over, gave her hugs and kisses and said goodbye. I just about collapsed there in the hallway; it was heart breaking thinking maybe she wouldn’t make it through. After several hours in surgery and the final word things went well we were able to see her. We walked in and it was the same picture, our little girl being sustained but so many machines and so many lines coming to and from her little body. We were in there about 10 minutes when alarms starting going off and the nurse went over and starting bagging her, she told the other nurse to get the doctor; my little girl was turning blue. My heart sank as I stood by her bed and just watched in horror. I prayed to God please don’t take her. They were able to get her stable and the alarms stopped and her color came back. I thought right then and there I had lost my baby girl. Once again she fought so hard and God intervened. Aleah had a much rougher time this time around. The kept her intubated for longer than normal waiting for a surgery date for her feeding tube. Many children born with congenital heart defects cannot sustain themselves by just bottle feeding because of their heart defects. Most kids have nasal gastric tubes but my Aleah could not tolerate them so they decided to put in a feeding tube in her tummy called a G-tube. She fought the vent so they had to keep her sedated with morphine until her g-tube surgery. She had her g-tube surgery four days after her heart surgery. She had been on the morphine for so long that when they tried getting her off of it she was having withdrawals; this was awful she would just scream and cry no matter what we did for her. Finally she overcame yet another of so many obstacles placed before her and with each day she became stronger. After two months in the hospital we were finally able to bring her home once again. We have been on this roller coaster ride for almost four years now, as Aleah will turn 4 years old on September 10th 2011. This life is one we would never want other parents to have to live but we are so thankful to have our little girl here with us. Aleah has taught us all to never give up hope, hope in God and hope in our prayers. Prayers of loved ones and the mercy of God is what got our little girl through all she has been through and us for that matter. God got us through the darkest of times, even when things looked hopeless. She has taught us what is most important in life and to cherish the little moments in life, appreciate each day you’re given and to never take for granted the ones you love. She makes all of us smile each day and we thank God and appreciate the simple things in life. Each day is a blessing to us and having her here is nothing short of a miracle.

Our precious Aleah now at four years old

A Wonderful Blessing!!!

2010-10-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

I havent posted since Aleah's third birthday but since then I applied for Aleah to get a special wish from the make a wish foundation. I asked that she would get to go to Disney World. I just know she would love all the singing, music, disney characters and colors. I recieved a phone call on monday that Aleah got her wish!!!!! I couldnt believe what I was hearing when they were telling me on the other end.... that I would get to take my little girl to disney world!!!!! I got off the phone and said out loud thank you God!!! She has been through so much in her short three years here and she deserves this wish so much!! We havent decided yet when we will be going for sure, but we are thinking sometime in february so its not so hot in florida. It is still surreal that we get to go to disney and I cant not wait to capture all the wonderful memories we will be making there!! I dont know if I had mentioned in the last update that Aleah was getting fitted for her ankle braces and we did get to pick them up a few weeks ago. Aleah is loving school and making us smile everyday, here are some recent pictures of our little angel......

In her pretty jammies mommy got for her, they even have angel wings on the back!

Smiles for the camera!

Aleah with her new ankle braces!

Her girly ankle braces ;)

Aleah's Third Birthday!

2010-09-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

We had a great time with Aleah on her third birthday on friday. She had a Dora party and her mammy even got her a special dress complete with a custom bow made by mommy. She got lots of toys and pretty clothes, spoiled as usual :) She even got a dog named violet for auntie Amber that talks to her while using her name, spells her name says I love you Aleah, its so neat! Heres the best news of all.....Aleah said her first word the morning of her third birthday!!! At school they were working with her on thursday, teaching her to make the mmmm sound and sign for more. Well all morning she was doing just that, making the mmm sound and signing more, and her nurse and I were sitting with her and we were talking and just like that we heard Aleah, clear as a bell speak the word MORE!!! We were both instantly crying tears of joy because we heard her speak her first word. Aleah is such a miracle and continues to inspire so many people. She loves school and is doing very well, she loves to swing and loves circle time when they sing songs. It is hard to believe she is three and I am sad that I cant technically call her my baby anymore, she is a big girl now. She is so beautiful and we are all so proud of her!!! Here are some pix of her from her birthday, Enjoy!

Her Pretty Birthday Dress!

Mommy and Me, Look how big!!!

Dora Cake

some of her presents

Aleahs cupcake ;)

Aleah and her new pal Violet

Mommy's Card to Aleah

opening the present mommy and auntie amber got her

Looking back.......I thought since Aleah was three now it would be neat to look back on how much she has changed over the last three years, here is a picture of her when she was born and a picture of her now!! Wow how much she has changed in three years!! Aleah we love you so much and you have taught us all the true meaning of love and to cherish every moment!!! Love you forever!! ~your mommy

Our Precious Baby Girl!

Im three now, I am living proof of Gods Miracles!!

First Day of Preschool

2010-09-01T18:04:00.000-07:00

Well Aleah's first day went very well! To my surprise I didnt cry, she has a great teacher and her class room was very nice and clean and her nurse will be going to school with her so that gives me piece of mind. I didnt stay long but when I picked her up her teacher and her nurse said she just loved it, and had a ball! They had circle time where they sang songs and she loved hearing everyone sing, they read a book, went to gym glass and got under the big parachute, rolled the ball to eachother. Someone held Aleah while they rolled the ball to her, when they color they will even do hand over hand so that she gets to color too! She went outside and got to swing, and they found her some light up music toys, which we all know how she loves those! She even had a boyfriend already on the first day!! I guess he gave her a kiss on the arm, uh oh we are in trouble, its already starting in preschool! We will have to keep an eye on those little boys. I will be taking her tomorrow and she has no school on monday because of labor day so she will start riding the bus on tuesday. I took a few pix of her before I left so here they are, she was so happy I think she new she was going to school! More pix to come! Enjoy!

Getting ready to go to my first day of preschool!

Me on my first day of preschool! September 1st 2010

The big day is September 1st

2010-08-26T15:39:00.000-07:00

Our little girl will be starting preschool on wednesday september 1st! Mommy is excited to go get her a back pack and school supplies for her first day of school! She will go Monday through Thursday from 9 to 1130 am. I had a meeting today with her teacher and all other therapists and assistants in the classroom that will be involved with her education while at school. I really liked her teacher, she was very nice and has many years of experience working with special needs children. She will get physical, and occupational therapy there at school and also speech therapy. They will tie all of that in to her daily routine at school amoung the many other activities she will get to do. She will also have some kids that are developing at a normal level in the classroom too so that will be good for her to interact with them since she doesnt get that interaction at home. I think it will be really great for her developement to see and play with all the kids and she will be exposed to activities that will help her in so many ways that she doesnt get to do here at home. They will work with her on making choices and how to communicate her needs. She also was casted on tuesday for her ankle braces and should get those in the next couple of weeks. These will give her a little more stability in her ankles to help to her stand for longer periods of time. I will post pictures of her on her first day and send the camera with her nurse on the first day so all of you can feel like your part of this big event! :) Keep praying for our little angel xoxoxoxo from Aleah!

It been a long time!

2010-08-17T06:31:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a long time since my last post. Aleah is doing well. She is improving in therapy and getting better with eating in speech therapy. She is getting so big and tall and will be turning three in a few weeks. It is hard to believe seems like just yesterday we had her swaddled in a tiny pink blanket and now its 4t clothes, where has the time gone?? September tenth is the big day and we are going to have a lady bug or dora party, mommy hasnt decided yet. I will be posting pictures soon and want to try and keep up with this blog better, Aleah just keeps me so busy I have let this go for a while. Her seizures are under control now, we found a rescue med that really works for her so I am so thankful for that. God is so good to us, and even know we have to go through struggles with her he is always on time and brings us through! I am very thankful for my little girl and that she is doing as well as she is doing. Keep her in your prayers, I would love to see her walk and talk someday, and I am still holding out hope that she will.

A much needed update!

2010-04-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

Seems its been over a month since I updated this blog last. Aleah is doing well, but keeping mommy very busy. We are getting ready to start back in feeding therapy to see if we cant get her eating some stuff by mouth, majority of her nurtrition will be through her g-tube for at least another year or so. I would like to get her eating some by mouth so that we can then work on getting her off her tube feedings. She is continuting to make progress in therapy but did regress a little from her surgery which is to be expected. We are still working on standing sitting up and getting her head up while on her tummy, she is getting stronger and smarter everyday!! She has kept mommy very busy with doctors appointments the last couple months seems like she had a couple a week. She saw her peds for her checkup today, he commented that her weight and it has stayed about the same since she turned two so its good that it hasnt dropped but we need to keep and eye and make sure she starts gaining some soon. He commended me for doing such a great job doing all her care and said she always looks very neat an clean and that I have done a great job with her. Being a single mommy to a special needs child is very rough at times and that feels really good hearing that from Dr. Zainey who has seen her since she since she had her very first well check. For those of you who want to see pictures of her I post new pictures of her on my facebook page send me a request because my page is private and I will accept so you can view lots of pictures of her.

We are home!

2010-03-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry for such a late update, things have been crazy around trying to get settled back in at home after surgery and now we both sick on top of that. We have been home for a little over a week now. Aleah is on the mend, she is now on two antibiotics one for her ear and one for her respiratory infection. We saw the surgeon today for her post op check up and her tummy is looking good and healing good. She is our strong little girl and we so happy she is recovered from her surgery. We are hoping and praying this is the answer to keep the seizures away!! Keep praying for that! Here are some cute pics of our little girl enjoy and xoxoxoxo!

our little easter bunny!

too funny!

I thank God every time I look at her!! :)

Aleah is feeling so much better!!

2010-03-07T17:16:00.000-08:00

First thank the Lord above for always bringing my little girl through so much, and for always hearing our prayers. Aleah is feeling much better today, she has been awake today without crying in pain and that makes me very happy. We are probably going to get to go home tomorrow. They started her on some clear liquids yesterday and started her back on her pediasure to make sure she could tolerate it, so we are looking forward to getting back home. Thank you for all the love and support from all of our friends and family :)

Post Surgery Update

2010-03-05T16:19:00.000-08:00

Well sorry I havent updated since surgery. The surgery went well praise God. It was a rough the first night out from surgery, Aleah was up every hour on the hour. She is in a lot of pain, this is post op day two, so we are hopeful that with each day her pain will be less and less. Its awful to watch her be in so much pain, my heart aches for her. She is getting morphine, until tomorrow and then they will give her something a little less potent. Keep the prayers coming, its hard for all of us but its the toughest for her shes the one thats hurting. I will update as soon as I can.

Aleah's Surgery

2010-03-02T20:58:00.000-08:00

I don't mean to spring this on everyone but it was pretty much sprung on me too. Aleah had two test done about a week ago because her GI doctor suspected she may be having some refluxing issues. Both tests show is having reflux all the way up into her neck or upper esophagus. I have a theory about this. I believe this is what is causing her seizures. I feel that she refluxes up and it blocks off her airway so she cant breathe and then causes a seizure. All of the seizures but two of them have happened late in the night while she is asleep. The body's muscles relax and so does the muscle at the top of the stomach that keeps the contents from the stomach from coming back up, this is why most all of her seizure have happened late in the night while she is sleeping. So now they want to do what is called a fundoplication. For a full explanation of the surgery and how its done search nissen fundoplication on wikipeida. It is a procedure where they stitch the top of the stomach around the bottom of the esophagus to try and tighten the muscle at the top of the stomach to keep the contents from the stomach from refluxing back up. She will be having this surgery on Thursday March the 4Th at 9:50am. Please say special prayers for her, she will have to have a three inch incision and they may have to move her g-tube to a different place in her stomach, if it gets in the way during surgery. Please pray for no complications, that her g-tube will not have to be moved and that her pain is well managed. I will update I soon as I can and let everyone know how her surgery went, thanks in advance for all the prayers sent up for our little girl. It means so much!!! xoxoxo Here are some cute pics of our precious Aleah from the past few weeks.

Aleah on valentines day 2010

Gosh where has the time gone? Shes getting so big!! March 2010

Look at that face, precious!! Mommy <3s your little girl!! March 2010

Our precious gift

2010-02-11T10:02:00.000-08:00

I have really been down a lot lately with just life, its gets so hard at times but when I look into her little face I am instantly uplifted. I have really just been thinking very hard about life and loving and how our time here is precious and so short. Please tell all those you love and care about how you feel. I do get down at times because of all of Aleahs medical diagnosis but I feel so blessed to say she is my daughter and I will do everything in my power to make sure she has the happiest life possible. I am posting some pictures of her, her eye is healing well and she is doing so great in therapy, she is getting so strong. Yesterday she had a hold of her crib bars and was trying to pull her self up and a couple of days ago she was laying on her side and scooted herself with her head to get to a toy she wanted, I know that may not seem like much to some but this is a great big deal because this means she is motivated to move for something she wants which is the first step to her becoming mobile. I would like to ask for special prayer to be sent up for Aleah. We are trying to get to the bottom of why she has her seizures, we are trying to figure out if she throws up first and then has them or if she has them and then throws up, please pray we can figure out a definite answer so we can figure out how to stop them all together. Aleah has been through so much and she deserves some peace and quiet, time away from childrens hospital, God love her I feel like she lives there sometimes. She got to play in the snow this week since we have had several inches of snow in the last week, she loved it! I will post some pictures of her make sure and check out how good her eye is looking. Have a good weekend!! God Bless!!
xoxoxo

Such a happy girl, her eye is looking good!!

she may not look too happy but she was loving it! Feb 2010

One of her fav toys her farm, it sings and counts and tells number and colors and lights up!

Aleah with her other beloved toy her happy bear her auntie amber got for her!

Because Valentines Day is coming up I had to do this one, mommy and her pride and joy!! I love you Aleah!! Feb 2010

Aleah is Doing Much Better!

2010-01-25T03:07:00.000-08:00

Aleah has a severe seizure around 12:15am on saturday morning. I called 911 and she was rushed to dayton childrens by squad where she was put on a ventilator and stabilized, and put in the pediatric intensive care unit (picu) She is doing well now she came off the vent around 2:30pm on sunday and she is now smiling and playing with her toys. We are still in intensive care until they decided she is ready to be moved to the regular floor. Thanks so much for all the prayers you sent up, I truly believed the prayers and her strong will has got her over yet another hurdle so thank you so much!!! We are still talking with the doctors and trying to get to the bottom of all of this seizure stuff and what is causing them to happen. I will update again soon, thanks again for all of your love and support! xoxoxo

Aleah's Eye Surgery

2010-01-22T07:53:00.000-08:00

For those you who dont know Aleah had a dermoid cyst removed from beside her left eye. The surgery went very well and she got to come home yesterday. She was a fussy yesterday after we got home but she is doing better today. We will have a follow up with the Dr. Bloom thursday to make sure its healing properly. Keep her in your prayers for quick speedy healing. Here are a few pics of her God love her heart she is our little trooper.

Our little trooper Jan 10

Aleah got a new toy from daddy after surgery

Our Big Strong Girl!!

2010-01-15T08:03:00.000-08:00

First I would like to start out by asking everyone to say special prayers for a little boy named Logan, he had third open heart surgery at just 3 years old yesterday morning. He is doing well, just pray for a speedy recovery so he can get back to playing with his big brother Wyatt.

As for the title of this blog when you see the pictures that I post you will see why I chose the title. Aleah is getting over an illness that started on new years eve, it was a nasty battle with a respiratory infection and we had to visit the doctor on new years eve and take on a host of meds. She is doing better now but ever since then she has come across this amazing strength it seems. She will not stay still in her bed, I do her tube feeds in her bed some of the time. I will look at the monitor and see the back of her head because she has been sitting up and rolling her self to one side of the crib, or the other day I found her turned the other way and off her pillow!! She is getting so much stronger, and she did so good when help me grow visited this week. Help me grow offers theraputic services such as therapy and stimulating play to children from birth to age three. This week a physical therapist and speech therapist came out to play with her. The pt had her standing it was the coolest thing to see, and you should see how tall!! I will get pictures the next time shes standing to show everyone!! Aleah will have her eye surgery on the 21st, which is this coming thursday! We had to reschedule it because of illness so say some extra prayers for her, that everything will go fine! Enjoy the pictures and have a great weekend!!

This is how I found her the other day, a first!

our precious little girl!!

beautiful smiles!! Jan 2010

our little hercules!! that music box is not light, she pulled it on her face by herself!!

A Great Christmas!!

2009-12-30T09:56:00.000-08:00

First I would like to start off by saying what a blessing it is to spend another christmas with your precious Aleah. Every day is a blessing but I always find myself being so thankful to spend another holiday with her. She brings so much joy to us and reminds us not to take one day for granted. She will have her surgery to remove the lump from beside her left eye one week from tom. on Jan. the 7th so please send some prayers up they everything will go well. I will update after she has her surgery to let everyone know how she is doing. I am posting pictures of her from christmas so enjoy!!

opening presents from daddy!

Look at all my presents!!

Teach me daddy!

Shes everyones christmas present!!

no mom no more pictures paleeese!!!

Wishing Everyone a Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-21T20:50:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to take the time to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and I will try and post some pictures of our girl on here very soon!!!
x0x0x0x0 Ashley and Aleah

We give our Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T23:37:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving, says it all in the name. I am thankful for so many things but above all I am thankful for our God, whom we can go to for anything. I look back on the last three years and I have no idea what I would have done if I didnt have God in my life. I owe him everything he gave me a beautiful daughter and has brought her over hurdles that we thought at times were impossible to overcome. Aleah has us that impossbile does not exist. We are so thankful for her, and the precious privilage of watching her grow bigger and stronger each day. I am thankful for my family with out their love and support I wouldnt have made it through some very tough times and for that I am so greatful. So thankful for all the men and woman that serve our country so we can lay our heads down at night and be free. I am thankful for my health as we all know some are not born with such a gift and we should all cherish it!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and remember stay healthy!!!
xoxoxoxoxoxo

I am sorry I havent posted in a while

2009-11-27T22:59:00.000-08:00

I plan on posting a blog about Thanksgiving but I have so much I want to write and its late, so I will post it very soon!!

Aleahs Eye Appt

2009-11-17T08:10:00.000-08:00

Aleah saw her eye doctor yesterday which happens to also be a surgeon he we decided it was best that she have the lump beside her left eye removed. It keeps getting bigger and I am afraid it will start pushing on her eye. So her surgery will be January 7th so mark your calendars and say some extra prayers for her :) She will also be getting glasses. We have to do some more shopping to find a really cute girly pair!!! It will be fun to keep those on her, but I should be used to it by now, I have to fight her with her hearing aids too! :) Have a good week and stay healthy!!

The Miracle we call Aleah!!

2009-11-13T09:13:00.000-08:00

H1N1

2009-11-06T12:43:00.000-08:00

Well we made the big decision for all of us to get the shot. I was worried about it and we debated about it for a long time but in the end we decided it was best for all of us to get all for different reasons. I am just a little worried about watching her for any reactions, and the fact that she will have to get another shot in 30 days but all I can do is have faith and pray about it because its not in my hands any longer. I am feeling a little better today I saw the doctor on weds. and got an antibiotic and I think its helping I don't have the bad body aches today like I did yesterday, I'm just hoping I didn't pass it on to Aleah. I hope every stays happy and healthy!!!

xoxoxoxo

Sick Germs :(

2009-11-03T16:20:00.000-08:00

Well I am not feeling too well tonight, I think I may be coming down with something and it worries me because when I get something Aleah gets something. I think Chris and I have decided to get Aleah and Cole the h1n1 shot. We plan on trying to make to a flu clinic tmr because her peds informed us that they do not if or when they will be getting it. So pray for her because I know two people that have had the h1n1 and one of them now has pnemonia. If Aleah gets pnemonia she will surely be hosptialized. It really scares me but I was listening to k-love today, a christian music channel and they were talking about how so many people walk around in fear, and they we have to learn to live my faith not by fear. So keep praying for her Please

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

2009-11-02T19:15:00.000-08:00

Well I didn't get a chance to take any pictures but Aleah did very well in therapy today. She is working on getting strength in her legs, standing, and walking in the gate trainer. I cant remember if i posted her pictures of her in the gate trainer on her carepage but I will post them again just in case. I am really tired tonight, hope its not sickness coming on :( so I am gonna try and get some rest. Pray Aleah stays healthy and I will update again tomorrow.

xoxoxoxo

Its a typical monday

2009-11-02T07:22:00.000-08:00

Aleah now has both her OT and PT on mondays now. For the time being because of all the sick germs we are not going for feeding therapy, we are going to just work on that at home, and to avoid having to go to therapy more than once a week we combined both her ot and pt on the same day. We are staying in the house other wise to avoid all these sick germs, its awful I feel like I cant take her any where, I hate that but I have to protect her. I am also cleaning everything down with diluted bleach, a family member shared that with me and she and her husband have been sick free for years, so Im passing that along to all the heart mommies. I actually wiped all door knobs, all light switches, all faucet handles basically anything that anyone touches, I really do feel it helps keep all the germs brought in from outside places down in your home. I will update later with some therapy pix and let everyone know how she does today, until then try and stay healthy everyone!!

This blogging stuff can give you a headache

2009-11-01T11:40:00.000-08:00

Well I am just starting this blot and I already have a headache, you have to take a computer class on java (computer language) to understand this stuff!! jk but I do have a good friend that has a beautiful blog for her son and I plan on getting some help from her!! ;) Bare with me until I learn how to make Aleah's blog pretty!!

A new place to update

2009-11-01T04:49:00.000-08:00

I know this may confuse everyone but since carepages isnt allowing me to post pictures, I have decided to create a new blog. I hope everyone will learn to use this blog so all Aleah's carepage followers can come and read her updates here.