We're being tested and we're passing

Hello everyone:

Suzie had some contractions this morning which subsided, but she's experiencing water retention and took the day off to rest and put her feet up.

I spent the day with my friend, Pam, at the Hospice where she has put her mom this week. I can't believe we are going through these events at the same time, but when I tell you all the updates this week, you'll see it's not the only thing going on in our lives. God never gives us more than what we can handle and we just turn it over to him.

Our son, Dan, (Suzie's brother) was in an automobile accident in Jacksonville, FL this week and he was taken by ambulance to the hospital with a concusion. He's now resting back at home in Pensacola and we wish him a speady recovery. "Dan, thanks for wearing your seat belt!" Hopefully he will still be able to join us in Ann Arbor next week.

Also, to top it off, Suzie's Dad, Don has to have back surgery on Monday. The Dr's don't want him to wait even a couple of more days, so we're all going to pick up the slack. What would we do without Aunt Carole, Uncle Robb and great friends like Steve and Tina who said they would drop everything to help out with the kids. We have many backup volunteers, so we should be just fine. I just hope Don can recouperate quickly so that he can be with Suzie and JR later on in the week in Ann Arbor.

All this happening and then yesterday the sun shone through when Suzie received an Annabelle Basket from the Butcher family. For those of you that have been following this blog, you know about Angel Annabelle (Lindsay's personal angel). This is the way God works. Suzie found Annabelle's blog when Lindsay's condition was diagnosed. She was expecially drawn to Annabelle because HLHS is more frequent in boys. Suzie needed Annabelle and was attached to this family who was just months ahead of their own journey. When the Butcher's lost Annabelle, I saw my daughter fall to peices grieving for this little girl that she had never met but felt so close to. I don't know if the Butcher's will ever know how much we care about them and how much of an inspiration they have been for Suzie. But, they sent this basket with cute little things that an HLHS baby can use. See the link to Angel Annabelle from this post to see what the Butcher family is doing with these baskets.

I thank God for all the other "heart" families that are reaching out to us with encouragement during this time. We know you all through your children's hearts and appreciated your contact with us through our journey.

I loved Elaine's post and I will be with laptop in hand to keep you all updated as often as possible. Suzie taught me how to upload the pictures, so you'll have them as fast as downloading will allow.

Once again, we thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, please add Dan and Don to those prayers too.

Heart Hugs,
Linda Lindsay Smith