Vacation pre-view

Our view from the condo. Ahhhhhhhhhh. Life is good!

Lindsay LOVED the fish at the aquarium!

The whole family at the Louisville Slugger Museum and factory. So much fun for the boys!

At last............

Chad and Mandy (Evie's mom and dad) Scott and Rebecca (Annabelle's mom and dad) and JR and I. All (except for Luke and Lindsay) the kids were outside playing and would have been impossible to include in the photo.......there were 10 of them y'all!!!!

Through all of the ups and downs in all three of our families lives, we finally unite as one. I am so full of joy to be able to have made this trip to see all of them! We am so blessed that God led us to them. More pictures to come as the Butcher's join us on Thursday here in Charleston for some beach time fun!!!!

Look out SC..........

Future ballerina??




'cuz the princess is WALKIN' into town!!! That's right, Lindsay started to walk! Just before JR and I left on our date Saturday night, Lindsay took 5 steps all by herself! Needless to say, I probably scared her with my squeals of excitement! She has come a long way and this was just another HUGE milestone in her life. She is truly Our Gift from God!
We are busy getting things ready for the very first Dean family vacation! South Carolina, here we come! We can't wait to start creating memories of this trip. It will be exciting and I will be sure to post pics from the events as they occur. We have allot planned y'all! (getting in the southern groove....)
Tonight I took some photos of the kids and as requested, I have added some of the boys, too. ENJOY!!

New Discoveries

Lindsay has been one active and talkative little girl lately. She is so close to walking it is crazy! Although, it doesn't help that her brothers make it a huge deal when she falls on her bum after the attempt to take a few steps. I think she gets confused on what she should be doing! She just starts to clap and then crawls to the couch for another try at the task. So cute! She has also broadened her vocabulary a bit more over the last few months. The lists includes: momma, dadda, coe (Cole), hi, bye bye, ni ni (night night), ball, yep ( we will have to work on "proper" grammar later), and yummmmmmm. ;-) She is also making big strides in really understanding what you say or tell her to do. Sometimes she ends up in tears because we use the awful "no" word. hee hee But, then again, when she cries, who can just let her? In my arms she goes! We will have to work on that one later too ;-) All in all, Lindsay is doing just great! Her g-tube closure surgery is scheduled for April 21st. However, she is getting a cold again and I am fearful that it is pneumonia returning. I am calling in the morning to see if a chest x-ray is necessary because I would like her to be on antibiotics ASAP since we are leaving for vacation soon! I hope that she doesn't have it again though because that would mean pushing her surgery date back again. It is a written rule that she has to be post pneumonia for 3weeks before surgery. Ugh! Oh well. Just have to load up on ilex paste, 1x1 pads, and tape! Darn hole!!!
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that was involved in the Auction concession fundraiser a few weeks ago. It was a huge success once again and we couldn't be more grateful! WE have the best supporters around!!!!
Please enjoy the new pics of the princess!
Love to you all!
Suzie

Reflecting......

I have been overcome with emotion periodically through the day today in thinking that we could have been in their shoes so easily. I am referring to Claire. The heart that she was to receive last night ended up not being the perfect one and so she still has to play the waiting game. I can't even begin to tell you how many times that I thought of this as we made the drive on I-94 June 4, 2009. What if? I know the saying of "good things come to those who wait" but in the "heart" world, that is not always the case. Waiting is the critical part of it! Praying for them and praying that Claire's porcelain heart is replaced with a golden one soon!

Claire's NEW Heart!

Well, I was going to do an update with pictures of the princess tonight but I have bigger news to share with the asking of prayers to go along with. A little girl we know from the UP, Claire, is getting her heart tonight at U of M. Please join us in praying for her and for the donor's family this evening.
www.carepages.com/carepages/ClairesHeart