Sarah Gets the Royal Treatment!

Two weeks ago, before we left for Houston for Sarah's surgery (which we didn't get yet)....we did a little "pampering" for Sarah!

Our friends, Jeff & Kim Whitfield invited us over for dinner. It was so great! Kim made an awesome lasagna and we sat and visited and enjoyed dinner and then delicious brownies ala mode! We were so thankful for such a great night with friends before leaving for Houston. After dinner, the men settled into the sofas and chairs and began watching some sort of boxing match on tv. Kim and I looked at each other after about 20 minutes and said "We could be getting our nails done right now!" LOL Her daughter, Jacquelyn was like "YES! Let's GO! PLEEEEAAASSSEEEEE!!!!"

We said...okay......let's do it! All the girls....let's go! So, me, Sarah, Kim & Jacquelyn headed off in a MAD dash to the mall to the only nail salon in town was still open at 8:05 pm! They were less than thrilled to see us come in the door, but we still got our nails done! Sarah LOVED it and so did Jacquelyn. They were so cute!

The day after we got her manicure, we had a hair appointment with Miss Kelly....who Sarah lovingly calls "the girl with bling in her eye". She is one of our fabulous hairstylists! We use her and Miss Wendy at Paradise Salon! They ROCK! In case you're wondering, the number is 632-DICE. Before heading to our hair appointment, we stopped by Starbucks. Mommy had to have some caffeine as our appointment was pretty early! Sarah got a nice hot cocoa! (that she enjoyed immensely!)

Kelly gave Sarah the royal treatment massaging her head, her own little tiny bottled water, etc. Sarah felt like a queen on her throne! It was great. Mommy was next! It was a great morning.

After her salon appointment, we went to Century 21 to see our good friends who always treat Sarah like a princess! She is like their little "mascott". She loves those ladies! They always give her little goodies and surprises, but on this day, they REALLY surprised her! Sandy (Dee-Dee), Charlene (Cha-Cha) (she picked these names for them when she started talking) and several others there had gathered things for her and gave her the MOST adorable cheerleader teddy bear to match the cheer uniform they bought her for her birthday and a load of cash!!! She was pretty excited!

Dee Dee & Cha-Cha are like Sarah's crazy aunts! They always come to her birthday parties and in costume if necessary! They are always there for her and rallying behind her like her own personal cheer section. Someday, I imagine them both at her high school graduation with a banner or something cheering "GO, SARAH!!!!" They will be a big part of her life always. Since birth, they have loved her and gone all out for her. They will be sitting in the "reserved" section at her wedding, too, I'm sure! :)

Sarah with her crazy Aunts! LOL Dee-Dee, Cha-Cha and Miss Jennifer!

This week, my heart is sad for Cha-Cha. Her 26 year old daughter has been diagnosed with Lymphoma and it is very aggressive. She has had a few surgeries this week and we are all praying for her to fight and win this battle with cancer. Her name is Amanda and if you read this, please pray for her to get well.

We all know that through Christ, all things are possible and we should have faith. Sometimes, in life's biggest storms, it is hard to remember that, but we must. We still have no news on when Sarah's surgery will be. I am just having faith that it will be God's perfect time and not mine. I have our bags packed and by the door and we are ready to go at any moment. Please pray for me to continue to have patience and just enjoy every moment I can with Sarah and Jason and being home as a family and not stuck in the hospital. We have been doing a lot of family bonding this past week and it's been great! If nothing else, God just was clearing our schedule for a few weeks so we can enjoy each other!

The Waiting Game

Well, we came home from Houston on Friday when we were supposed to have surgery. An emergency case came in Thursday night for the operating room and our surgeon and we got bumped/cancelled until further notice. We were sad and disappointed, but it's okay.

When thinking about it on the way home, I told Todd, "Some parents are sitting in that waiting room right now and their infant is in critical condition and having EMERGENCY heart surgery and ours is in the back seat coloring and singing. I can live with that." We know that God has perfect timing and even though we can't always see them, there are reasons we do not know!

We are home again and waiting for a phone call this week to reschedule again. We will see what happens. I will let you all know as soon as we know something. For now, we will wait.

We are so thankful to be blessed with such an awesome support group in our friends, family and church. We cannot begin to express enough thanks for all that everyone has done for us!

On again, Off again, On again, Off again....

Okay, they told me first thing this morning that we were looking at November for Sarah's surgery. I started unpacking and then within 2 hours, they called and said to come tonight and have her at the hospital by 6:00 a.m. for surgery tomorrow.

Sooooooooooo, we re-packed, re-loaded and re-drove to Houston and got all unloaded, unpacked, you get the picture...............and they called and cancelled AGAIN! Another emergency came up. I totally KNOW that GOD has some real reason for this. He is holding Sarah back for whatever reason and I'm okay with that.

They are supposed to call us in the morning with some kind of news or plan. Who knows!?

Will post more when I know more.

Sarah keeps singing "Every little thing is gonna be allright"....an old Bob Marley Song! LOL

Back Home Again....

Well, for those of you who don't follow on Facebook.....Sarah's surgery got cancelled for today. Another patient needed a double lung transplant and our surgeon was the man for the job so we gave up our spot happily and are rescheduling later this week. Yes, I was sad. It was very emotional. To have everything ready and make alllllll the arrangements and get there and be mentally, physically and emotionally prepared for it and then pack up and come home WAS hard but nothing compared to having an 8 year old little boy who had his life saved by a new pair of lungs! I immediately started praying for his surgery to go well as soon as I heard that was why we were cancelled and from what I hear, he is stable and in recovery! I am so thankful!

Sarah was kind of glad to skip surgery and head home! LOL Jason was kinda bummed because I called and said "Well, you need to go on to school on Tuesday instead of missing" and he was like "mannnnn.....". Oh, well! LOL He got over it pretty quick!

We made it home safely this afternoon and our neighbor who Sarah LOVES was heading up her driveway towards our house as we pulled in. Sarah got right out of the car and headed to Miss Susan with her arms open. Then, Susan took her home for a few hours so mommy could have a big nap! I feel so much better now!

Mimi is on her way home with Jason and all of his clothing now! I can't wait to see him and it's only been 2 days! I miss my boy! Sarah actually cried for bubba last night! Funny how when they are together, they can't stand each other but as soon as you pull them apart, they are the only people in the world who will do!

I will post more as soon as we find out more! Sarah is doing great and we are thankful to be resting at home! Thank you all so much for such awesome support and prayers! We can literally FEEL the love around us! We are so blessed!

Heart Surgery.....Coming Up!

Today, we are in Houston for Sarah's pre-op appointment for her open heart surgery that is scheduled for tomorrow. I am hoping that all goes smoothly today and praying for her to be in as little discomfort as possible. She is so precious to us and we are so thankful for her.

I know God will continue to hold her in his arms as we go through this journey together. She is so strong!

Please pray for a smooth day today. There is a lot of "not so fun" stuff to do today. Bloodwork, sinus cleansing, etc. Just pray for her to tolerate it as well as possible and for me and Todd to be able to comfort her and support her.

Pray for Jason as we had to leave him in Lufkin. The hospital is not letting ANY children under 12 in the hospital at all. He will not be able to visit Sarah in the hospital the entire time of her stay which is VERY hard for him and us. (AND Sarah!) They may fight like cats and dogs, but they still can't stand to be apart. My sweet sister and family went to get them a web-cam set so they can talk via internet! HOW sweet! They will LOVE that!

For those of you interested in doing something to brighten Sarah's stay....I am (as requested) putting the address of the hospital for you. We do not have a "room number" yet and won't for several days. It may be best to wait until then to mail any cards or anything.

Texas Children's Hospital
West Tower
Patient Sarah Swan
6621 Fannin Street
Houston, TX 77030

Also, the hospital has a service that allows you to make a "card" online for free and have it delivered to Sarah via volunteer staff! They print them out and they are really nice. Sarah got several as a baby, but this time, she would REALLY enjoy getting some notes from friends and family. Kids enjoy doing this online and it helps to feel involved for those closest to her! The website is http://www.texaschildrenshospital.org/ and click on the "For parents" tab and click on "Patient Greetings". You can compose a message. For the first few days put "CV-ICU" for the "room number" and I will post as soon as she gets to a normal room!

Sarah is Five!

It has taken me a few weeks to finally post pics of Sarah's 5th birthday! (We've been very busy getting ready for her heart surgery!)



She had a wonderful time! Her friends were all so cute and she loved the Barbie Fashion Show! We are so thankful for all of her big girl friends who offered to be barbies for the show! They did a GREAT job! I think it will be a day that is forever etched in these little girls' memories! My best memory of the party is that every time a barbie walked out onto the runway, there was a large amount of squealing from all the little girls. It was SO cute!



Sarah had a great day and it is so hard to believe she is five years old. It's hard to believe that five years ago, we were at Texas Children's just like we are now and getting heart surgery just like now. She has grown so much and her little light in her eye is the light of our lives! We are so blessed to have her in our life and get to spend every day with her. I know we appreciate her and what her life symbolizes.


Looking at her, you cannot deny God's miraculous wonders! She is alive because He has taken care of her and kept her safe and I know He will continue to do the same. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for her life. She is everything I ever dreamed of in a little girl and more. She loves the same things I love and still wants to look at hot-rod cars and trains with her daddy and brother. She is dainty and tough all in one tiny little package with blonde hair!



On her birthday, we like to look back at her life and think of how far we've come! This year, more than ever, I am so thankful for all that God has done for her and for us! We are so blessed! And we are SO thankful!

My Little Girly Girl!

These are my new FAVES of Sarah! She and I had fun taking these because we were just bored! She came out in her tutu and said "Can you take my pictures, mommy?" Well, OF COURSE! How can I turn THAT down!? Love it! She is my sweet little dressy uppy lovey bear! I just love playing with her! I truly have the best of both worlds! I get to do all the boy stuff that Jason enjoys and all the girly stuff with Sarah! I am so blessed!

New Pics of the kids (and me)

A few weeks ago, me and the kiddos took a few pics together! We never get pics together but thanks to Angie, my friend, who was over for her own pics of her little one and took a few shots of us, too! :) I love my babies!

Sailing....

On Friday, July 17th, we got to go SAILING! It was the most awesome experience! Sarah LOVED it! Dave McCabe with "The Heart of Sailing" took us out on his sailboat with some friends of his and we had a wonderful day. Sarah and Jason will ALWAYS remember this special day. It was the most relaxing thing I've ever done, as well. None of us had ever been on a sailboat and now we want to buy one and LIVE on the water! LOL It was great! Photos are worth a million words....so here you go! The million words will follow the pics!

This was the absolute happiest I have EVER seen Sarah. Jason loved it, too, but I could tell he was a "little" nervous. Sarah acted as though she'd been raised on the open sea! The first thing she did was put her chin up slightly, close her eyes and let the wind blow through her hair! Captain Dave and his crew were wonderful! They even let them drive the sailboat! They each got to raise a sail, too! HARD work but very exciting. Sarah loved steering the boat! They would tell her the direction and she would go that way. (with the occassional redirection!) I sat and watched her and thought about how she was handling this. Here she is, a tiny little 4 year old girl, steering all of us in whatever direction the wind takes her. Sometimes, fighting the wind to go the way she wants to go. How close is that to OUR life!? Since her arrival 4 years ago, we've been on her boat. There have been rough waters and smooth sailing and raising the sails to go with the wind and putting the anchors out to stay still. There have been times of waves and times of stillness. Times of health and times of illness. All of these things in the sailing trip reminded me of her life and made me reflect on how amazing our journey has been so far. I know there are choppy seas ahead and we will be doing all we can to steer the vessel in the right direction to keep our family afloat, but I know who will be at the Captain's Wheel during those times. Not one of us, but God. God will help us get through whatever may come. What an awesome insight that is!!!! How blessed are we!?

I hope you all have a blessed and wonderful week!!!!!

Sharon