eight years old

Dahlia is now a big eight year old! Where has the time gone.  Sometimes it can be easy to begin to think that she is like an other eight year old, because she is doing so well health wise. Looking at her one would never know that she has a heart transplant.  Her doctor said that if she gains 5 more pounds she can finally get her g-tube taken out! I can hardly wait for the day.  It has been so long since she has any long hospital stays or major medical issues; we really have been lucky.  Hopefully it stays that way for a long time!

three!

Evelyn turned three years old on Labor Day. She has the best birthday, because it usually falls on Labor Day or Labor Day weekend.  It's hard to believe she is already three, it seems like just the other day she was born! She is a little ray of sunshine; always so happy and cheerful.  We are so blessed to have her in our family.

first day of school photos

 

Sherry's wedding

This past weekend we traveled to Austin for Brian's cousin Sherry's wedding.  On Friday night we spent the night in a hotel, thanks to a free gift certificate Brian got from his work.  Evelyn was so excited about her first time in a hotel and was running all around the room; jumping on the bed.  Unfortunately, we were on the third floor and received  2 calls and one knock on the door to keep the noise down. That little stinker! During the day, on Saturday, we had some time to kill before the wedding, so we went to a local swimming hole. The water was crystal clear and so refreshing.  After we went swimming we headed over to the wedding venue, which was a beautiful ranch.  All the decorations were lovely and the food was delicious. The owner is a friend of the brides family and let us stay over night in their bed and breakfast.  It was such a relaxing treat!

      The only picture I got of the bride and groom. Lol! The groom is originally from Brazil.

fourth grade awards

Laila had a great year in fourth grade.  She received the Pirate Pride award, had perfect attendance for the second semester and made all A's and B's all year.  I can't believe this is her last year of elementary school and that she will be in middle school next year!

Laila on her last day of Kindergarten, time sure does fly bye!

kindergarten graduation!

I am so proud of Dahlia, she has graduated from Kindergarten! She had a great year, that flew by way too fast!  I was really torn about sending her to public school, but she loved it! She actually had less absences than her other siblings! I am so glad she was mostly able to remain healthy, despite the germs that can be in a school environment.  We were lucky that she had a great teacher that looked out for her and made sure she washed her hands regularly.  She has a bit of a learning disability, which is often common in kids with heart defects who have had multiple surgeries or transplants.  She had a difficult time with being able to write her numbers and letters, and is not reading yet, but the most important thing is that she is making progress!  Here's to a great year in first grade!

end of school awards

This school year really flew by! Ava had her end of the year award ceremony this week.  She worked hard this year and received three awards.  I can't believe she'll be in junior high next year!

easter

We had a great Easter weekend.  All the kids were really excited to spend the weekend at my parents house with lots of cousins.  We had our annual egg hunt on Saturday. Then, on Sunday, we all went to church together, followed by a delicious Easter dinner.  It was a wonderful holiday and we were sad when the weekend came to an end.

the fair!

Spring time around here means the fair comes to town.  We went on Tuesday and enjoyed the beautiful spring weather, fun rides and yummy food. I love spring in Texas before the weather turns hot and humid.

awards day

Dahlia and Laila both received some awards from their school. They both are working hard and doing great in school!

7th heart anniversary

Today is the 7th anniversary of Dahlia's heart transplant.  We were blessed with another great, healthy year for Dahlia. She hadn't missed any days of school yet until recently. She caught a stomach virus and missed about a week of school.  We are so grateful for the gift of life Dahlia was given seven years ago.

evelyn

Evelyn is almost 2 and a half years old.  She is such a sweet little girl. She is so observant and always trying to copy what the older kids are doing. She loves playing with Dahlia, although Dahlia sometimes bosses her around. Some of Evelyn's favorite things are bananas, baby dolls, milk bottles, going shopping with us, and trying to sneak my iPad to watch youtube videos.

12 years old!

Today Ava turned 12 years old!  I can't believe my first baby girl in now twelve!  Ava is such a sweet girl and such a big help with the little girls, especially Evelyn.  To celebrate Ava's birthday we took her out to eat at the restaurant of her choice, seafood! She also requested a cookie cake, yum! It was a fun day for a great girl!