The Six Pack

Please keep one of our special heart friends in your prayers over the coming weeks.   Baby Colton is a fellow Wichitan who has been through two open-heart surgeries to repair a defect similar to Zachary's.  He was recently diagnosed with hydrocephalus, one of his many complications resulting from a stroke shortly after his first open-heart surgery.  Colton and his family will be heading back to Ann Arbor on Friday to undergo testing and shunt surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain.  This is an especially risky procedure because of his heart condition. Colton is a happy and adorable  14 month-old boy! We have long known Colton's family, even in the years B.C. (Before Children,) for I used to be roommates with his mom's best friend, and graduated from high school with his aunt.  It's a small world, even among CHD families!  So we are asking all of our blog readers and in particular Zachary's supporters to pray for Colton and his family in a specia...

Some of you may remember Tommy Schomaker , a little boy (Alex's age) that was in the hospital recovering from a recent heart transplant when Zachary was going through his Hemi-Fontan (second surgery.)  Tommy has been doing great, and in fact came to visit Zachary in the hospital last summer: Just two weeks ago, Tommy met the family of his heart donor, and a very emotional and inspiring event it was!  When I saw this segment that the Detroit NBC affiliate aired on the encounter, tears streamed down my face and I just had to share: Click this link to view video Please, please consider organ donation!  One person can save the lives of many... Tommy and Audrey, you are our heroes!

I need your advice! In our twelve years of marriage, Steve and I have owned just about as many cameras as we have children.  And all the while we continued to upgrade our photo-snapping gadgets, we have never made the jump from point-and-shoot.  But with a new baby on the way, and five other good reasons to take the best pictures possible, I have started to consider a digital SLR.  I'm thinking about asking Santa for an upgrade this year, but I'm just not sure it's in the budget. So I come asking you, friends, family, and strangers alike for your expertise.  Now I know that some of you who read our blog are very talented professional  photographers, and I value your opinion greatly.  But I would also like the amateur photo-snapper to grace me with your advice: What type of camera do you own?  Why did you choose this particular model? What features do you consider most important when upgrading from a point-and-shoot?  How much "extra" would you pay...

I hate this.  It is the perfect afternoon for a nap... Samuel and Zachary are sleeping, the house is QUIET, and I so desperately need sleep.  But I can't.  It's the curse of pregnancy.  If I don't get my rest this afternoon, I know it's going to be a terrible evening.  But I simply cannot turn off my mind. My thoughts turn to everything but the housework, fortunately, which is also in desperate need of attention.  I'm thinking back to a conversation Steve and I had at lunch about names for our new baby.  Fortunately we have plenty of time to think about this, because we'll need to get creative to find something original between my family and his.  Steve mentioned a girl name he likes right off the bat, but I told him to get real, because, afterall, this is bound to be another little boy. We love our boys.  We couldn't imagine life without our boys.  But boy, oh boy, did they surprise us.  One after another, they ...