Erin's Heart Check-Up

Today Erin had her two month post-op heart check-up. They look and listen very closely at this visit to make sure the healing has gone well. The cardiologist listened to her heart and lungs for murmurs and fluid. Then the tech did an echocardiogram to make sure all the blood was going where it was suppose to be going, and that the patch holding the hole together still looked fine. They took all of her vital signs, which were excellent. Although she's still small, she is moving up on the growth charts for all three measurements: weight, height and noggin. In fact, she's grown 1 1/2 inches since her surgery. She's at a perfect 50% for the Down syndrome growth charts, and she's getting nearer to the 5% for the regular growth charts. (If she keeps going in this direction, she may even be on the typical kid growth chart by her birthday). After all this, the cardiologist walked into the room and said, "Well, I'm not sure how to tell you this, but Erin's echo revealed just what I was suspecting." My heart sank. I thought...what could be wrong? Then she finished up her sentence..."Just as I suspected, we don't need to see her for six months!" Music to our ears and hearts!!! Nothing but great news. Thanks be to God!

And to see a visual difference heart surgery made for little one, check out these before and after photos.  Notice how much her face has filled out.  And her coloring is SO much better (although it is hard to tell from the photos)...

Just before surgery

Two months after surgery

Sweet Potatoes...

...are good for the complexion! Now, if only she could get some in her mouth.



Just now, Aidan was looking over my shoulder as I was uploading this picture. His comment was...."Oh, cute. I love it when babies are slobs".  Haha.

Noah, the Ark, and the Beavers

I love teaching kindergarten. It's one of my favorite grades because you can almost see the light bulbs going off, daily.  I also love that kids are still excited about school, and they are beginning to read, which is fun. However, my favorite reason for teaching kindergarten would have to be that it is highly entertaining!

Aidan is regularly listening to the Old Testament stories this year, starting with creation. We read a story one day, the next day he retells it back to me, while I write it down, and then he illustrates his story on the third day. At the end of the year he'll have a nice book, all his own, of the Old Testament. Not long ago we were reading about Noah and the Ark. Somehow he had it in his mind that Noah must have needed some help building that ark. When he retold his story, this is what he said:

God told Noah to build the Ark. The people were being bad. Noah was good and listened to God. Beavers have good teeth. They could bite your finger off! They helped Noah build the ark because they're good animals.

So here is Aidan's illustration. Notice there are several beavers, even babies. There's a river surrounding the hard-at-work beavers, and very tall grass. If you think he forgot all about the Ark, you're mistaken. Look at that teeny tiny yellow thing at the bottom of the page - that's the Ark. LOL! OK, so it's not all in proportion, but it's all there, and he's got the basic idea. Very funny.

Our Little Flower

Teresa has always been drawn to flowers, like a magnet. She is the first to get so excited to see the flowers coming up in the spring. And when she was younger it took all her might to not pick a flower when she saw one growing in our (or the neighbors') yard. Last week I was reading a story to her about St. Anne. We read that the name Anne means "grace". She interrupted and said, "I wonder what my name means? Oh, I know, it must mean some kind of flower, probably a rose." In fact, she is named, partly, after St. Therese, The Little Flower.  Her name fits her perfectly.

As you can imagine, this art project of making paper flowers was a real treat for Teresa. Here she is showing off her pretty flower arrangement.

Erin is Eight Months

What was life like before Erin was here?? I can't remember. She turned eight months on the 1st of November. She continues to do so well. She is coming up on her two month heart check-up next week, and we're hoping that may be our last cardiac visit!

Erin fills our lives with love and laughter. Her latest crowd-pleaser is waving "bye-bye". Even though she hasn't quite figured out what it means, it's still very cute to see her little hand waving, at random, many times throughout the day. She has learned quickly that she gets a big response when she does it!

Here's a recent photo. Although you can't see it, her t-shirt says "I make chunky thighs look good" (thanks Fecks!) :)

They Were Suppose to be Raking...

...but Moira caught them on camera.

A Walk in the Park

I think this must have been peak day for fall color. We took the kids to the park on this beautiful day, but of course the pictures don't do justice, as usual. I think you have to have a fancy camera to capture the color as it really is.

Margaret's in Denial

No really, Margaret, Halloween is OVER.  It only lasts one day!  I know it's hard to accept, but don't worry, Molly Grace will support you through the tough times.

Feasts of All Saints and All Souls

We ask all the holy men and women to pray for us. We remember those who have died, especially this year.



Here's a sampling of some of our favorite saints.

St. Gemma Galgani.......


Saint Patrick....


Saint Helen, with her son, Constantine, looking for Jesus' cross...


Our Lady, Queen of all Saints....



Saint Agnes...




Saint Francis of Assisi, shown with the five wounds of Jesus on his body. I think he's near a river here??...



Saint Bridget of Sweden...



Saint Claire, who started the Poor Claires. The drawing on the right is portraying her as a princess, and the drawing on the left shows her as a nun...

Happy Halloween!

Of course the planning for this evening had been done months in advance. Of course.

In reality, I think I said something to the effect of "If you don't yet have a costume, go pick something out of the dress-up bin in the basement. You've got about 15 minutes to be ready!"

We did put in our time with the pumpkins.  The kids drew up their pumpkin plans and Mike carved and carved and carved....poor guy. Next year I think he'll get smart and pull out the electric drill.

Here's the way the pumpkins looked before the dog got a hold of them:

Teresa's...




Aidan's and Molly Grace's (Erin's is uncarved in the back. It was last on the list and Mike ran out of steam)...




Poor Moira. She had a beautifully detailed Celtic design for her pumpkin that she had started on, but the whole thing collapsed. She was intent to throw it in the woods, but then she got sick, so I took the liberty to put it on the blog anyway...



Bridget's...



Hmmm...I'm not sure what happened to Eileen's pumpkin. I'll blame it on the dog :)


And now for the costumes:

The cute trio of Raggedy Ann dolls (Bridget, Colleen and Eileen)...




Aidan the Good Packer Vampire. He wanted everybody to know that he was good. I told him to say, "May I pleeeease suck your blood?" (A week or so ago Aidan announced he was going to be a mini wheat! Where this came from, I have no idea. Then Grandma sent this costume in the mail, which she made. Nice save, Grandma!)




Emmett. Hmmmm...I'm just not sure. A plumber? I do know, however, that the plunger is an integral part of this costume. And I believe that is toilet paper hanging from his back pocket. Yup, he must be a plumber!




Even more interesting. I think I'll let Owen explain this one...



Conal-boy as Jack Sparrow...




Teresa with a last minute costume pick. A cheerleader. But hey, where's the green and gold? What town do you live in anyway!?




Molly Grace (princess) and Margaret (Snow white) were too busy to get a picture. And Moira volunteered to pass out candy, but ended up getting sick.



And last but not least, the little pumpkin herself...