Sweet Josiah

Sweet Josiah went to be with Jesus this afternoon. My family met the Wilson's at MUSC this summer when we went to visit with Dr Bradley. They are a precious family from Taylors, whose little boy was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, basically he has half of a heart. We've journeyed with them through Josiah's life ( through their blog), with all of it's up and downs. Recently Josiah had to have a trach placed because he was unable to breathe without support. They were able to come back to Greenville right after Christmas, after being at MUSC for 7 months! Unfortunately they had to return to MUSC a couple weeks ago. Josiah was such a fighter and his family is an inspiration! Josiah now has a WHOLE heart and our Jesus has a precious new angel! Please pray for The Wilson family.....www.thewilsonheart.com

Fun outside!

Have I told you how much Marlee LOVES her 4-wheeler?!? She rides it everyday and loves to chase Harley! This afternoon it was so nice, that we took it outside and played! She loved riding through the leaves! Such a fun girl!

Spend the night party!

Look at all those teeth! She has about 14 or 15 now!!

Marlee stayed with Gram (" NaNa") and Poopa Sunday night so that Jay and I could have a date night! Marlee had fun and so did mommy and daddy! Marlee has decided to call both of her grandma's NaNa, at least until she learns to say Gram! We wish that Jay's parents lived closer, so that they could see Marlee and we could have more dates! haha! :)

Library!

We took Miss Marlee to the library today! This has to be one of her favorite places! My mom takes her at least 2x a week to pick out new books and movies! She loves to pick out her own movies and books and bring them to us! Of course she picked a Handy Manny and Mickey Mouse DVD to take home! She loves anything Disney! :)

*Also, we are slowly working on taking away the passy! She's just too attached!*

CHD Awareness week: February 7th-14th

What is CHD? A Congenital Heart Defect is a problem with the heart's structure that is present at birth. These defects can involve:
* the interior walls of the heart
*the valves inside the heart
*the arteries and veins that carry blood to and out of the body

CHD Statistics:
* CHD's are America's #1 birth defect. Nearly 1 in every 125 babies is born with a heart defect. (almost 1% of children born each year)

* CHD's are the number #1 cause of birth defect related deaths. 1 in 3 children who die from a birth defect have a CHD.

* This year almost 40,000 babies will be born with a CHD

*In the US, twice as many children die from CHD's each year than all forms of childhood cancer. Yet funding for pediatric cancer is 5x greater!

* From 1993- 2003 deaths from CHD's have decreased by almost 31% due to advances made in research!

* There is not yet a preventive cure for any type of CHD

* Of every dollar the government spends on medical funding, only a fraction of every penny is directed towards CHD research.

I wrote Governor Mark Sanford about a week ago and received a proclamation in the mail today that states that the week of February 7th-14th be declared as Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week! I'm so proud of our state for joining in this amazing journey with us! I have ordered hundreds of stickers and brochures that I will place at Marlee's pediatrican and cardiology offices! Many of us heart moms are pushing for CHD detection at birth! Not screening for CHD's is NOT an option!! Instead, ask for a Pulse Oximeter test at birth! Most birth defects do not show up for more than 72 hours! As a heart mom, I am an advocate for my child and other children, so that our children do not have to go through this!

On another note, my friend Kelly's friend Tina, her little girl just had open heart surgery on Monday. Marlee sent one of her stuffed animals from MUSC to keep Miss Anna Grace company! Please visit their blog and pray for this sweet family. www.baasheepbaa.blogspot.com