Preschool Graduation

Jerry getting his diploma from his 'big' teachers.

This is also known as my day of crying.  The school where Jerry goes for preschool is amazing.  It is a vocational school and they do such a great job.  He is so ready for Kindergarten and I know that would not be true if he hadn't gone to preschool.  The one reason I love this program is that he gets his very own high school student teacher.  Miss Lisa did more to help my son that any mom could ever ask for.  She taught a little boy that did not know his colors and now he knows that and so much more.  The school is right down the street from our house (of course we live in the middle of nowhere so right down the street is a little different for us) and I can't wait for Paul to start in the fall.  We had to pull Jerry out last year because we didn't want all those nasty little preschool bugs in the house while Hope was between her Norwood and Glenn, but this year...he thrived!

Jerry and Miss Lisa at the graduation ceremony!

OK...onto the crying (also known as watching your oldest in a cap and gown graduating from preschool).  Like I said...the school is amazing.  All of the kids were in caps and gowns and the big teacher (there are 3 teachers in addition to the 25 high school student teachers) gave them a diploma.  First round of tears start...I must say that all us moms were pretty weepy the whole day.  After that they sang.  If you have never heard the words to "This Big I Am" you will not know why I cried so hard.  I can't find the lyrics anywhere, but trust me...they would make you cry!  The end of the ceremony was a video they put together of all the kids.  It was basically the year in pictures and music...the music again was amazing.  The ceremony ended and we all (teary-eyed) went back to the classroom where we had cake and juice with the kids.  We bought Miss Lisa a mug with pictures of her and Jerry and it read "Thank you Miss Lisa...Best Teacher Ever!" which got her crying all over again.  It made me so happy that Jerry touched her life as much as she touched ours.  I don't know if I did this justice, but it was amazing and now I can't wait for Paul and Hope to go to preschool with all these great teachers.  I also realized that every time one of my kids goes to Kindergarten, another one will be starting preschool.  I also realized that Jerry is in the graduating class of 2024...WOW!!! 

Jerry and his 'big teacher', Mrs. Keller.

I will end this post with some pictures of my little ones.  They make my heart so full and I love them more than I could ever write in a post!

Yes, Paul is pushing Hope in a baby stroller...it is for her dolls, but she fits in it just fine.

Jerry was showing Paul all the cool stuff on the playground because Paul will be heading to preschool in the fall...as long as I can get him potty trained!

20 Months and Looking Back

Today Hope turns 20 months old.  What a wonderfully perfect day!  She is amazing and such a sweet wonderful miracle.  2 years ago today I learned that Hope would be born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.  I wrote this post and it was my very first post ever.  I never thought we would be where we are today.  I cannot even begin to describe how I feel about that time.  It was painful and something I would not wish on anyone.  I remember many discussions about terminating my pregnancy, how difficult life would be, how she might not survive, how even if she survived she would have to undergo countless medical procedures and what kind of life would that be for her and our family.  I think back to so many comments that were made and at times I get angry.  I get angry at the people that make the comments and at myself.  Now that we have gone through so much the self-anger is because I just didn't know.  I know ignorance is bliss and not an excuse.  I know that I should have spent a whole lot more time with positive people and not listen to the negative.  I wish I had enjoyed my pregnancy more with Hope.  I do have regrets, but I know that everything we went through was for a reason. 

OK...off of that for a while.  Hope is doing amazing.  She is walking everywhere and I can hardly get her to sit down.  I am hoping she will reach 17 pounds pretty soon because I really need her to be 18 pounds by our appointment on the 1st of August.

My Amazing Mother's Day

Yes...a picture of my with my little Princess.  This doesn't happen often and I can usually delete them, but my hubby said I have to include this one for Mother's Day.

I hope all you moms had a great day yesterday.  My day was amazing.  My husband let me sleep in until 10:30...I didn't sleep the whole time, but watched some TV and just stayed in bed until I got bored out of my mind.  He got me some fabulous cheese danish and even though I really need to get some of this baby weight off, I ate two of them.  Oh well...maybe I will start watching my eating again this week.  After spending the rest of the morning hanging out with my family I got ready to have dinner with my mom and sister and the rest of my family.  We went to this great restaurant that is on a small lake not too far from home.  The food was great, family was perfect, and the view was spectacular.  After dinner we went down to the lake and the kids had a blast.

We lucked out this weekend and had my step-daughter, Destiny.  She is an amazing 13 year-old and we all love her so much.  Hope is so lucky to have a big sister like Destiny.

Jerry loves the water and it was hard to get him out of the lake.

Mom should have thought ahead of time and packed the swimsuits.  We took Paul's droopy pull-up off and he got to run around naked...he was so happy.  Don't worry...by then we were the only ones at the lake!

My mom and Hope just hanging out.  Grandma has tons of bracelets all the time and Hope loves to play with them.  She is definitely a girly-girl.  Thank goodness for Destiny, Grandma, and Amanda because mommy is not a girly-girl.

Jerry and Paul love their cousins...Amanda and Dominic got into the action on Mother's Day.

I Tucked Her Into Bed Tonight...by Stephanie Husted

I tucked her into bed tonight

(And adjusted her pillow and blankie)
It's been a long exhausting day

(And she sure has been cranky)

She threw every toy from her toy box

And she tossed all her lunch on the floor

She begged me to go out to play

(She just wouldn't let go of the door)

Most people cannot comprehend

The things she has been through

They tell me... "I just can't imagine..."
"How you do all the things that you do."

I sigh... just because they don't realize

How could they ever know?
Just what a precious gift it is

To watch my child grow.

I still remember clearly

Our days in ICU

Hoping, praying, wondering

What were you going through?

Stroking your hand...feeling helpless

Whispering words in your ear

"It's alright my baby"

"Mommy is right here".

Helpless...scared...bewildered

Wanting to just see you smile

Thinking..."I"m not strong enough"

To make it through this trial.

Knowing that... not all children

Survive these surgeries

Day by day...with patience

Constantly praying...for peace.

And so...that is the "secret"

To doing the things...I must do

There is no perfect...inner strength

I guess God brought us through.

And so...when I see... footprints

All over my freshly mopped floor

Or gooey dried banana's

Smudged on the living room door

I wipe it off...with just a smile

Just praying for more to appear

These are my reminders

I'm blessed to have her here.

I tucked her into bed tonight

And as I walked away

I looked up for a moment...and said

"Thank you...for "today".

~Stephanie Husted