Today I'm thankful for:

My wonderful husband.

OK, this is our family blog, but I (Laura) write the posts. 

Lately, I've been gone... A LOT.  

This summer we got new license plates for our vehicle:

Travelin' Fam

I didn't know how true that statement would be! One of our nieces thought it stood for Traveling Female...that was true, too.  I feel as though I saw the gas station attendants across the state more than my friends that live here!  When I added it all up, I had been out of town (beyond day trips for work in the panhandle) 17 times in 15 weeks.  

Here is a breakdown:

Denver x 2

Lincoln x 4:

Go Big Red!!

South Sioux City 

Laramie, WY:

Road game

Milford 

North Platte 

Lexington 

New Orleans, LA:

Enjoying a carriage ride

Kearney 

Elsie 

Omaha

Chicago:

I've got some handsome men on my hands!

Ashland 

Yikes!!!!!

Just another day!

Now, I was lucky enough to have Bryan and the boys with me on 9 of the trips, but on the other 8, my WONDERFUL husband stepped it up and was an awesome dad to our lucky sons.  I am pretty sure there were several people who made the conclusion that he was a single dad (and a great one at that!) 

What a great dad!

I think we are going to be home for a little while now. I'm happy to get to be at home for a few days this break.  I know it won't be long before we are stir crazy and on the road again, but for now, I will be enjoying short drives and sleeping in my own bed!

So, as I count my blessings this Thanksgiving, I want express my gratitude to God for blessing me with such a wonderful husband.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I'm thankful for:

Extended maternity leave

Sam was born in February, and I have been fortunate enough to spend most of the last 6 months hanging out with him and Mason during my combined maternity leave and summer break from school.  I will return to work full time (or at least my version of full time) this week.  I wanted to take  some time and reflect on the past 6 months.  It has been a great experience!  Here are some of the highlights:

Me and my boys

Proud papa

Took a few road trips.

Played in the snow 

First big trip as a family of four to Phoenix, AZ

Took Mason to his first concert: Eric Church and Jason Aldean at Country Thunder in Florence, AZ

Saw the Grand Canyon for the first time

Had lazy days at home

Celebrated graduation...

...baptism...

...and birthdays.

Got myself a mom car.

Watched some t-ball

Got to spend some time in the mountains with these guys

Enjoyed outside

Survived surgery

Cooled off at the pool

It has been so much fun making memories with the awesome people in my life.  Now it is time to return to work.  While it will be hard to leave the boys, I am ready to get back to one of my other passions in life, my job working with such awesome people here in the panhandle and throughout the state.  I am happy that I have been able to spend the time at home. I am a lucky person!!

Today I'm thankful for:

Modern medicine.


See this little guy:

Cheese!

In the next couple weeks, he will benefit from modern medicine in a HUGE way.


You see, long before we met our sweet little guy, we had a few lot of ultrasounds.  We found out that he would be born with an Atrioventricular Septal Defect or AVSD, or AV Canal.  All of these are fancy ways to say that he has a hole in his heart that has to be fixed.  Some holes clear up on their own, but this was not an option for him.   My doctor and the pediatric cardiologist monitored his growth throughout the pregnancy and they decided that there wasn't any reason that he couldn't be born in Scottsbluff because they would wait until closer to 6 months until he had surgery.  


So Sam came into the world and has shown that he is a strong little guy. 

He gets lots of hugs and squeezes from his big brother

If you didn't know he had a heart defect, then you wouldn't know anything was wrong.  His cardiologist always comments on how chunky he is and how they aren't used to seeing chunky babies.

Who you calling chunky???

You may be thinking-"Hey, I've talked to them in the past year.  Why I know about this???" Well, we really didn't tell all that many people, unless they asked the right question on a day where we felt like explaining it.  We wanted Sam to make his mark on the world without people worrying about his heart giving out on him at any time. We wanted him to have the same expectations as other kids his age. He has met his age appropriate milestones (the teacher in me has to check it out on a regular basis.) And he wins us over daily with his smiles and giggles.  

Current favorite toy...toes!

Showing off rolling skills at our most recent visit to see the Cardiologist 

So on July 26th, we will be headed to Colorado Children's Hospital to have his heart patched up.  I have had the opportunity to talk with some of the staff at the hospital and they are great. I'm pretty sure they eat rainbows for breakfast and ride on unicorns to work.  They are that cheerful. I guess you have to be when you spend your days talking to moms and dads who are facing heart surgery for their little ones.  

We are anxious for the day to arrive, but know he will be in great hands.  I have some wonderful family members in the medical profession in Colorado that have helped me figure out which surgeon to choose.  We have family members whose daughters have been through heart surgery when they were babies so they have been great resources for us as well.

Here is an (over)simplified drawing of the issue and how it will be fixed: 

So, today I am thankful that we live in an age where medicine can fix a problem that many years ago would have gone untreated. Sam will have the option to be as active as he wants to be without being held back by the capacity of his heart.  The sky is the limit for this guy and I can't wait to see where his life takes him. (and us too!)

Not a care in the world!

Oh yeah, I also want to point out that I am also thankful for prayer.  If you have any extra prayers to throw our way for Sam's surgery, we will take those too!  Thanks.