The Six Pack

Happy belated Thanksgiving to you all! I had hoped to write a thought-provoking, inspirational reflection on the holiday, but time got away... We are thankful that this year, we were with our family, our children, and our baby Zachary, at home, healthy, and engaged in such normalcy that we didn't find time to write! We are thankful for our faith, for our gracious God, who gives us everything we have. He sends the trials that help us grow stronger, and He lends His graces to help us through them. We are thankful for our Five Little Blessings, for all the funny things they say, for their sweet faces, their sense of humor, their love... We are thankful for our parents, our brothers, sisters, and family who helped form our character, who support us in all we do, who always step in to lend a hand. We are thankful that Steve's parents drove fourteen hours to be with us this holiday, to see their grandchildren, and to help us organize the house. We are thankful for our friends who...

Zachary has recovered from his cold and respiratory problems of the last couple weeks. Yesterday he received his first Synagis vaccine of the season, but since he is bigger, he needed two shots instead of one! (This is his $3,000 monthly injection to protect against RSV.) Poor baby... tomorrow we take him for his second flu shot, and he will soon be due for his second H1N1 vaccination. Still, he is happy and busy as he approaches his first birthday! We look forward to seeing everyone at his party on December 6. Click this link for your very special invitation! If you don't know my Davey, you can get a sense for his personality from David Shannon's books: Like the character, our David is simply energetic, curious, and hands-on. He has his own unique way of doing... just about everything. He loves dinosaurs, animals, building things, swimming, and riding his bike. Lately, he has found a new interest. Last week, he started talking affectionately about a little girl at ...

Here are some new pictures of a couple of my handsome little heartthrobs: Alex is such a stud! Click here for more. How my little Joseph is growing up! Find more pictures of him here . David, too, is due for pictures, but ugh, two at a time is hard enough! Family pictures are next week, and I'm dreading the thought of coordinating that! Don't forget to mark your calendars for Zachary's 1st birthday party on December 6. Click this link for more information.

Zachary has been doing better. He is still trying to clear his congested lungs, but is no longer fighting a fever and his mood and appetite have improved. He needs to get and stay well, because on December 2 Zachy turns 1! ...and we need everybody's help to celebrate! We generally do not throw big parties for our kids' first birthdays, but this is a big deal for Zachary. A year ago we were uncertain if he would ever see this day. He is here, he is happy, and healthy. His journey brought together so many in prayer, in faith, and good works. Zachy was able to bring much good out of a very bad situation. So to all of you who ever took an interest in our miracle baby, who bowed their heads in prayer on his behalf, who over the months learned of CHD's and how we can make a difference, to you we extend A Very Special Invitation Zachary's 1st Birthday When: Sunday, December 6 Come and Go 1-4 p.m. Where: Zachary's House (contact Mom for directions) Please, no gi...

Zachy made a trip to the E.R. at 5 a.m. this morning. Last night he kept waking up and was extremely cranky. I feared a new ear infection, so we gave him some ibuprofen and ear-numbing drops at 11 p.m. But at 4 a.m. I woke to hear him breathing hard and fast. He didn't register a fever and was holding his O2 sats, but his heart rate was slightly elevated, in the 150's, up from his usual 120's. So we woke his doctor, who advised us to go to the hospital E.R. for a prompt evaluation. We feared he was brewing a pneumonia, given his recent cold and breathing symptoms. The E.R. staff whisked him back to a room immediately (it's always a little amusing to see the look on their faces when they see a child satting in the 70's.) By now Zachy had developed a fever and was obviously working to breathe. Still, he was holding his sats and didn't require additional oxygen. The doctors took a complete history and made a thorough examination, including a chest x-ray. ...

We are absolutely out of groceries, so after I picked Joseph up from kindergarten we went out for lunch. I wouldn't miss these moments for anything in the world. Joseph was relating to me the wonderful things he had learned in school today, was singing "Alleluia!" from his morning mass celebration, and describing the police officer who came to visit his class. Then, after contemplating only those mysteries known to the mind of a five year-old, he asked me, "Mommy, how do they plant those power plants? They're so big!" Later, after Zachary had taken hold of my five dollar sandwich and flipped it onto the floor of Schlotsky's Deli, Joseph was looking forward to the approaching holiday. "And today you're wearing your TURKEY shirt!" he exclaimed with great excitement. "What?" I asked, looking down on myself, and remembering how in an attempt to feel youthful, I was sporting a tie-dyed "Peace" t-shirt. "I'm no...

We are back from our LONG weekend of way too much driving. We did have some fun, but all the travel was very hard on the kids, which means it was also very hard on us. Over the weekend Sammy started with a cough, and passed it on, as usual, to his little brother. Zachy has been sleeping well, but upon rising he starts up with some pretty nasty coughing spells. This morning he was wheezing as well, so after administering a breathing treatment, I whisked him off to the doctor. Asthma. How can this be? Zachy already suffers from a severe heart condition. Do his lungs have to get involved, too? Of course, the diagnosis is made solely on the frequency and severity of observed symptoms, and there are varying degrees of the disease. We had been through this once before when Joseph was about 15 months old. He started seeing a pediatric pulmonologist after several bouts of pneumonia, bronchiolitis, and even pertussis. She diagnosed him with reactive airway disease, a somewhat "tran...

Well, we are heading out on another road trip. The kids are in the back of the van, snacking on Chicken McNuggets, playing the GameCube, quiet and composed (for the moment.) We’re traveling to Dallas, and for me, it’s a trip down Memory Lane. As we pass by the newly planted fields of winter wheat and herds of cattle, I reflect on a time several years ago when we did not have our Five Little Blessings. It was a time when we were more carefree (but did not realize it,) a time when Steve had more hair and I had fewer pounds, a time when coffee was more about socializing and less about survival, a time we were planting the roots of what our family is today. Steve grew up on a farm in North Dakota and earned his degree in Aerospace Engineering from KU. After graduation he took a job with Wichita-based Beechcraft. I was born and raised in Wichita, graduated from WSU with a degree in International Business, and went to work for a local company. It was the summer of 1996 when we first ...

I have exciting news to share today! During our stay last fall in Ann Arbor, we befriended (and even shared a bathroom with) two very special heart parents. Their baby Connor was very sick with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS,) and passed away shortly after Thanksgiving. (Some of Zachy's supporters followed Connor's story as well.) Yesterday Connor's parents welcomed a healthy baby girl! Abigail Haelee greeted the world at 10 lb. 14.7 oz. and 22 inches long! She is beautiful! Please join me in welcoming the newest member of our heart family, remembering Baby Connor , and thanking God for all His beautiful blessings!

Today is the Feast of All Saints--that special day when we remember and honor all holy men and women who are now in heaven. I can't help but reflect in particular on the precious little babies and other children who lost their battle this past year with congenital heart disease. These are children whose parents we knew, whose stories we followed, whose hearts are now with Jesus. We wanted them to stay with us, but God needed them with Him. We prayed for them in their battle; now they pray for us. They are in paradise, and their hearts are whole! For whatever reason, God chose to let Zachary stay. Yet I think back to the uncertainty we felt a year ago as our departure for Michigan approached. It seemed appropriate today for me to look back on some of our first posts to Zachary's Care Page . All the excitement for the arrival of our fifth blessing, all the preparation for our time away, all the fear, all the sadness in leaving our oldest blessings back home... But today ...