Gabriella's Sparkly Heart

I wanted to take a moment to post that today is Gabriella's one year Heart birthday!! A year ago Chris and I were getting our things together to drive down to Loma Linda and wait with Paul and Kristi during Gabriella's heart transplant. We made it just and time and were so blessed to be a part of such an amazing experience!! We rejoice for the continued health and healing for Gabriella!

Here is a link to Kristi's blog entry for today!

Gabriella's Heart

Saving Lives

Please take the time to jump over to my best friend Kristi's blog Gabriella's Heart to read this awesome post about Children and Organ Donation. As you know her 5 year old Daughter Gabriella is waiting for a heart transplant. This is something that is so so important to really think about if you are a parent! April was National Donate Life month and its NEVER too late to register!!!

Making the organ donation decision for a child

Whoa... Spring!? Already!?

Geeeeez!!! Is it Spring already!?!? Where is 2010 going? Cydney tracked off in March for the last time of year round school. Her school will be switching to traditional for the 2010/2011 school year so that will be an interesting transition as Lilly starts kindergarten. We have been super busy as usual! Here are some recent pics of the kids riding their bikes

We took advantage of Cydney being off track and headed down to So.CA to get one more use out of our annual passes at Disneyland before they expire on 4/1. Bella didn't get to make this journey with us as she is at a very "trying" age lol! Missa and Nic tagged along for a few days and little did she know but Nic (with a little help from the Crain clan) was able to pop the big question literally while riding Tower of Terror!! We are all SOO excited for them and can't wait for their big day probably in the fall of 2010! We also hit up Universal Studio's as something different and the girls really enjoyed that! Kristi and Gabriella were also able to meet up with us for a couple days as they are staying in Anaheim for a few days while their transport jet is down in case they get "the call". That was great to catch up even though it wasn't nearly enough time!! The girls (big and small!) had a great time catching up!!

Click on the Box below to View the Pictures from our Trip!

Disneyland3/10

Update on Gabriella

Its been a while since I've posted an update on Gabriella and I apologize for that!!! I hope that you have been keeping up with Kristi's blog at Gabriellasheart.com! Gabriella got a cold and was diagnosed with Pneumonia today! She needs some special prayers!! Please continue to remember her daily and read the latest here:

Gabriellas Heart

More that we take for granted....

Something was brought to my attention today that I wanted to clear up. In my previous entry I stated "Bestie and family have just moved out of their house and for lack of a better word are "homeless". They are basically living out of the hospital and Ronald McDonald House right now." I wanted to make sure that I didn't give anyone the wrong impression. Kristi and family DO have a place to stay. If you have been keeping up with their story and Kristi's blog.. you know that a plan has been in place for a little while now for them to move in with her mom while they wait to get "The" call from Loma Linda that they have received a heart for PrincessG. So YES They do have a place to live.

I was going to go back into my blog and change the way I wrote it... but I thought it was a good opportunity for me to write about more that we take for granted as my title states. The reason that I wrote "for lack of a better word are "homeless" is because.... essentially... That IS true. This is something that I have been watching my Bestie struggle with for the past few weeks. Quite suddenly her and her husband were faced with a decision on what was best to do for their family. What was Healthiest for BOTH of their Children. Not only for Gabriella but for PJ. Whether it was better to pack up and drag their entire family to Southern CA ... to a place where they know NO one so they can be REALLY close to the hospital.... Or STAY where they are comfortable... familiar and with their family. Stay where it is the healthiest for their children emotionally and contract out a medical transport for when they get the call.

They chose the later.. but that involved some heavy preparation as well. Very quickly they basically sold their entire "Home". They had to decide what was REALLY important in their life and what was REALLY a "necessity" and SELL the rest. Get rid of it! Couches.. Tv's... STUFF. Material things... How many of us would be willing to do that? How many of us would be willing to give up our STUFF?? Now I have had to live with "Parents" before. We lived with Chris' parents for almost 2 years when his dad was ill. While we were there we brought alot of our own stuff... But alot of it went into storage. Even when you have your own stuff it still isn't YOUR "home"! I remember what it was like to MISS MY stuff!!! I couldn't WAIT to get it out of storage. Paul and Kristi didn't just do that.... they purged. I cannot tell you how PROUD I am of them that they have made these sacrifices for their daughter. I KNOW it could not have been easy. Now by no means am I saying that it is "stuff" that makes a house a home.... but it is still HARD to have to make that sacrifice!

So Like I said before.... How much do we take for granted?!

Do we take our children for granted? Do we take their amazing little voices for granted?? Do we take our houses for granted?? I KNOW That I do!! I complain ALLL the time about where I live! JUST today I spent plenty of time complaining. We live on a BUSY BUSY road that they are widening to 4 lanes- CURRENTLY. Today the entire house was shaking.... and they have made it where we can't turn left out of our drive way... we have to go down to the next light and make a u-turn... incredibly annoying. It is an old house and things are constantly falling apart. The widows are single pane... the insulation sucks.... I could go on... But I won't... because you know what?? It is a place to live... and it is cozy and we have made it a HOME. We have made it ours with our Red Paint and our Vintage Mickey Posters!! It is a HOME with our Pencil Marks on the door frame of the office where our daughters have grown the past 3 years that we have lived here. It is a HOME where there are holes in the carpet from where Callie chewed when she was a puppy. For all those things I have learned to be GRATEFUL for. And I have also learned that there is so much that we hold onto that we don't NEED. I was also inspired to PURGE! I'm having a Garage sale on the 10th and getting rid of stuff that we don't need!!

So after talking to both Kristi and Paul today I know that I did not offend them in any way by how I worded what I did.... because essentially they DO feel "homeless". I pray that they can make a "home" out of wherever they are laying their head at night because they have each other. :) I know these next few weeks are going to be SO SO SO hard on them.... Keep Praying!!!

http://www.gabriellasheart.com/

MORE about Life and how we value it...

I wrote back in May about "Life and how we value it"... and as I sit here in my dark living room at 2:17a.m. suffering from insomnia... I thought it might be a good time to continue my thoughts on this. As I mentioned before my Bestie's little girl, Gabriella had a stroke on Friday. So much has happened to this poor fragile little 4.5 year old little girls body since then. She cannot speak. She cannot move her "lazy" right arm. She went from living with a very scary heart condition that required a heart transplant... which in and of itself was terrifying... to being contained to a hospital bed... her only form of communication with her Mommy and Daddy a nod of the head and a simple expression.

I cannot even begin to explain how this event has affected me. It breaks my heart into a million pieces by all the different "roles" that I play in peoples lives. Friend, Wife, Daughter and most important Mother.

It literally ACHES my heart that I cannot be with my Bestie right now. I myself am recovering from a Tonsillectomy 2 weeks ago yesterday. I literally cannot go. Doctors orders. All I want to do is BE there for her. I want to be the shoulder for her to cry on. I want to be the ear for her to vent to. I want to be the hand for her to hold when she needs one. I have hated the 750 mile difference many other times before... but I would definitely have to say that this put the cherry on top. Besides the fact that I'm still healing, Bestie and family have just moved out of their house and for lack of a better word are "homeless". They are basically living out of the hospital and Ronald McDonald House right now. Even if I were to go, I am left w/ no one to stay with. I cannot afford a hotel. Afford... Oh yeah... then there's that... I can't really afford the plane ticket either! And if those weren't enough reason's I have Bella... I couldn't really take her... and I couldn't really leave her at home either! Chris can't watch her and work... and I can't take her and sit at a hospital. So I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I think the way that this has affected me the most is my role as a mother. I HATE HATE HATE that is took something this AWFUL happening to Gabriella for my eyes to be opened the way they have been.... But I am so thankful for her sacrifice.

How many times have you been tired, or just not wanting to "deal" with your kids or whatever. How many times have you brushed your kids off? "Go play in your room... " "Be quiet already!" "Stop Whining!" Etc etc.. You all know what I'm talking about. Now this isn't exactly a BAD thing. We all get worn out etc. Sometimes we need "ME" time. I get that. But something just HIT me Sunday as Chris and I were laying in bed trying to "rest" for our usual "Sunday afternoon nap". Lilly came in wanting something. I don't even remember what it was anymore. She sounded somewhat whiny and our reaction to her was not that pleasant because we just wanted to rest. We were tired. And something just came over me about how much we as parents take for GRANTED!! What was SOOOO important about our NAP that we couldn't Help Lilly right then? How SELFISH was that?! How many times do we miss out on blessings and opportunities with our children? All I could think about at that moment was how much Paul and Kristi would give ANYTHING to hear Gabriella's voice again..... to hear Gabriella WHINE again.

Since then I have made it my vow to not take my girls for granted anymore. I have 3 beautiful, amazing, HEALTHY girls that I don't deserve. There is nothing that is any different about Chris and I from Paul and Kristi. There is NO reason why we shouldn't be the ones sitting by a hospital bed tonight. There is no reason why a month from now something couldn't happen where we COULD be those people!! We need to take EVERY MOMENT as a GIFT from God and CHERISH it. Every laugh, every Giggle, Every Scream, every Cry, every WHINE! Because we may not always have it! We need to be thankful for it because you know what?? If your child is whining.... It probably means they are healthy enough to whine. Does it mean they should get a free pass for everything? Absolutely not! God has still called us to be PARENTS and raise our children right. But I think that this can be a form of encouragement for those times when things seem to get overwhelming.... Be thankful. Love your babies.... Hug them, Kiss them, ENJOY every second that God has blessed you with. Realize that time is precious! Don't waste the time that you have!! Make Memories!

I'm trying to take into account my own words as it is now 2:56 a.m. and Bella has woken up twice already crying. I'm pretty sure that she is teething again poor baby. :( I have taken 2 breaks from writing this to rock her. I love rocking her. It is probably one of my favorite things to do. :) I think I have helped cure my insomnia for tonight. Take to heart what I have said... Think about it and Pray about it! Don't waste your time here on this earth. Make it count!

Please read the latest on Gabriella's progress at http://www.gabriellasheart.com/. She had a tiring but great day today. Praise God for little improvements! The Power of Prayer is AMAZING!!!!!

Thank you all SO much for your support!

Can you believe it?! I actually used this blog for what its supposed to be FOR.... to BLOG! lol

Goodnight for a few hours at least!

Please PRAY for Gabriella

Today my Bestie's little girl Gabriella had a stroke. As I have mentioned before... she is already in need of a heart transplant. She collapsed this morning and had to be air evac'd to Phoenix Children's Hospital. She has a large blood clot in the left side of her brain is causing her to loose her speech and also unable to move the right side of her body. She is in ICU as they are treating the blood clot to try and get it to break up.... THIS is our special prayer request right now! That is does this QUICKLY!! PLEASE PLEASE pass this on and pray for Princess G and her family.

You can Continue to Follow her story and updates here: http://www.gabriellasheart.com/

PLEASE PRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!