Finally an update!

Well, it's definitely been a little while since I updated the blog. Sorry! I'm just really bad about it. Anyways, I thought I would catch you all up on some stuff that has been going on.

The biggest news right now is that Benny's 2nd heart surgery is scheduled for Friday, February 5th. He will be admitted the day before and will spend the night there getting prepped for surgery. Darin and I are feeling a lot better about this surgery than his first one. After speaking with the surgeons, we know now that this surgery is not as intricate because it's not focusing on all the "rewiring" like it was last time. This time around is primarily just for replacement of his valve. The surgery time is also about 1/2 of what it was the first time around! What a blessing this was for us to learn. So while we dread the idea of surgery in general, we know that Benjamin is a tough kiddo, who is in great hands (the surgeons' and God's) and he will be back to himself in no time! He's only expected to be in the hospital for about 3-5 days, which is amazing to us. We were expecting it to be longer considering that his first time around he was in the hospital for 24 days, but that was also primarily due to his feeding. We are hoping that he doesn't regress in the progress he's made but we are prepared for anything. He has been working with a physical therapist and an education specialist and they both feel he is doing fantastic! The P/T really only comes once a month just to follow him, but she feels he would fine without her too. It'll be nice to have her around post-surgery though, just in case he does regress in certain areas.

Benjamin is doing great, as I mentioned before. At his last appointment (as of Monday) he is 16lbs, 15oz, so he's just about to hit 17 lbs! It's a milestone for him! He's been at 16 lbs for so long! He's obviously nowhere on the growth chart but he's creating his own line below the growth chart! He's always been unique. He is walking along everything and anything that will support him, and has even taken a couple steps without holding onto anything. He's definitely trying! He is just a happy little boy who just loves to smile and play. He's also very attached to Daddy, but I'm working on adjusting that a bit! Tonight, he actually wanted me for bedtime and not Daddy. Highly unusual but it made my night nonetheless!

The girls are also doing well. Abi is involved in Girl Scouts and is about halfway through her first cookie sale! She's loved the idea of selling things and collecting money (too bad she doesn't get to keep the money!). She is excited though that the money they earn is going towards a trip to the zoo! She's earning all kinds of patches! Emily is jealous that she doesn't get to be a part of Girl Scouts yet, but is looking forward to the day when she can (which is still 2 years away). The girls want to get involved in Soccer this spring so hopefully we will find a league. Abi wants to play with one of the girls from her troop so we're going to try and work that out! Abi also took her first trip away from home, without her parents! She went with her friend Brianna (from Girl Scouts) and her family to an indoor waterpark in Grapevine, TX, which is about 4-5 hours from here. It was called Great Wolf Lodge, and the website looked fantastic! She had so much fun and I was happy to hear that she did a great job being on her own! My baby is growing up!!

Darin and I are busy as usual. Darin is doing well at work. It's hard to believe he's coming up on his 1 year anniversary in April! We can't believe we've been here that long. Back in November, when hours were down at work, Darin picked up a second job at a brake shop, working on Saturdays. It was great as it helped out tremendously with Christmas, and now it's helping us in other areas! Poor guy is exhausted, and we are blessed by his commitment to his family. He's hoping he can take the summer off from his job though, as we are expecting a new baby in August!

It was a big shock to us, as we definitely weren't planning on having another, but the Lord has his own plans! We are still very excited about our new arrival and look forward to making our family a little bigger! I had an ultrasound done last week with a perinatal specialist, to check for any problems with this baby, due to our history with Benjamin. Obviously, this early on, they can't see major organ development but they check other things, such as the fat on the back of the baby's neck. I guess if there's too much there, it can indicate that there is a problem. But that looked normal. I also had blood work done to check for any indicators that there is a problem, and received a phone call a few days ago that everything came back great! So, praise God, it looks like this baby will be healthy and have no major complications. I'm following up with the specialist at the beginning of March, since they'll be able to see things (like the heart and the sex) a lot better to determine if this are developing normally. But as of now, things appear to be great!

Well, for now I guess that's it! We will keep you posted with Benny's surgery, and I'll be sure to post picture of his progress as well as the pregnancy! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers! We love all of you!