Thankful Thursday!

Oh, I have SO many things to be thankful for. I would have to say the biggest blessing in life that I have is my family, and my daughter is the absolute center of my world. And I wouldn't have my daughter without Children's Hospital, so my first Thankful Thursday goes to them!

When Belle was born we found out that she has four heart defects. I had several ultrasounds and apparently none of the techs, docs, or nurses noticed the uniqueness of her heart. So to say that we were shocked would be a HUGE understatement. (Just to clarify, none of my ultrasounds were done at Children's Hospital.)

First picture of Belle. Papa Bear unknowingly snapped a picture of the moment the nurse discovered the uniqueness of Belle's heart.

Immediately after she was born, Belle was transported to the NICU at Childrens Hospital of Minneapolis. The happiest and most exciting day of my life, quickly turned into the hardest, most devastating day of my life. As I was sobbing in my post-partum hospital bed (hearing the cries of newborns and their consoling mothers), I was missing my baby that was in my tummy just minutes ago, and is now across town (which felt like a world away, since I couldn't be there) in the care of someone else, and I don't even know if my child is doing well, struggling, or even alive. However, in the midst of all this, I was thinking about her name. Her name means "heart"!!!! My sweet darling girl was named the night we found out she was a SHE, when I was about halfway through my pregnancy and long before we knew of her heart defects. We had looked at several baby books for months, I had seen that name many times, but I am convinced that God named her. God knew her heart, knew her uniqueness, and KNEW that I would need to know that He was protecting her, especially when I couldn't!

Fast forward 6 weeks: Belle had her first (and only, to date) heart surgery under the wonderful and capable hands of Dr. Charles Baker through The Children's Heart Clinic. He, and the wonderful people of Children's Hospital saved my daughters life, truly. We wouldn't have our energetic, spunky, dimpled-smile, comedian-of-a-toddler, without them. So, since they gave me the most wonderful gift I could ever imagine, I try to give back whenever and however I can. One way our family (with our wonderful extended family, friends, and friends-of-friends on our team) gives back is by participating in Heartbeat 5000,

Reunited with my baby just after surgery.

The Dimple Squad!

 This is a highlight video from the event this year. Yours truly, along with Papa Bear, and Belle make an appearance at the end, right around the 4:25 mark. :) Check it ouuut! *hiiigh five*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZGhea20RYI&feature=player_embedded

I am and will forever be indebted to Children's Hospital for saving Belle! Thank you for being so loving, supportive, understanding, educating, and all-around, top notch! While the circumstances are less than desirable, I am so glad that we are able to discover and enjoy you and your wonderful team of angels in scrubs and coats!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

We're Three!

 Yesterday Papa Bear and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary! It was such a great day. As I was awoken to the sound of Belle on the monitor, I rolled over to find an anniversary card and flower on Papa Bear's pillow. What a great way to start the day feeling so loved!

Belle and I had a fun day at home, she "helped" me "sort" laundry. This means she decided to take my laundry pile and distribute it all over the lower level of our house. Thank.you.very.much. I can't complain though, I still have the same pile of laundry sitting next to me on the couch, begging to be ironed, folded, and put away. 

Anyway, Papa Bear got home around 3pm at which time I started getting ready for our hot date! "Getting ready" means I straightened my hair and changed into a dress. Papa Bear prefers me without make-up and it was our anniversary...so I decided to indulge him (except a little mascara).

Papa Bear picked Redstone Grill, and I couldn't have been happier with his choice. Our waitress came to the table and asked us if the white linen napkins were okay or if we'd prefer black linen napkins instead, that was when I knew we were at a fancy shmancy restaurant. (If you know Papa Bear and I, you know we rarely dine out and when we do it's typically the drive-thru.) We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and our little chaperone, Belle. The food was ahhhh-maze-ing! Papa Bear ordered meatloaf and I have to say, this isn't your grandmother's meatloaf.

Grilled Meatloaf from Redstone Grill

Belle had a lot of fun showing Papa Bear and I every single light in the restaurant while saying "ight" while pointing to it, playing peek-a-boo with the wait staff, and dancing to the music. It was so much fun having her join us on our anniversary dinner, really, even Papa Bear said it was fun to take her there. She is just a blast: without a doubt, the best kid we have ever had!

We savored every bite, but saved half for our lunches the next day, and headed home to put our little lady to bed. Once the little one settled down, Papa Bear and I cuddled up on the couch, drank some sparkling berry juice (we're not wine drinkers) and ate cheesecake swirled brownies (yes, it tastes as good as it sounds). 

Yummy!

We sooooo enjoyed our anniversary and agreed it was perfect anniversary, the best we've had so far. It's actually crazy to think Papa Bear and I have only been married three years, it feel so much longer! It just seems like he's always been a part of my life and I can't imagine what it would be like without him. Our life, marriage, house, finances, etc., aren't perfect, but I feel so blessed with the life God has given me!

Basically the same old, same old.

I'm starting over with my blog.

I haven't written here for almost a year, so it was just the right thing to do. My little lady, Belle is already a year and a half old and time isn't slowing down, so I am going to try to document it so as not forget every.little.awesome thing that she does. By the way, she says awesome...how awesome is that? (I'll try to post a video of that soon)

I'm pretty much going to be using this as a little diary to myself to remember our journey but you are welcome to join me for the ride. I'll likely be melting over the words and cool things she does, complaining about how my lack of energy is directly attributed to her ever-flowing energy, cloth diapering and how addicting it is, and my journey to become a good cook for my family. Basically the same old, same old, stay-at-home-mom schtuff that isn't the least bit boring to me.

Thanks for reading this so far!