Taryn's surgical follow-up appointment went great as did her 12 month check-up with the pediatrician, which she had at 13 months old due to surgery. (Unfortunately I can't find the cute photos I took as they are lost in the abyss that is all the stuff from my old PC in a cute icon on my desktop!) You'll have to trust me that she looks and feels great - you would never know she had heart surgery eight weeks ago! She is sleeping less, has lots more energy, and now turns a lovely shade of red (instead of blue) when she is mad. She will see the cardiologist in about 3 more months. We love that she is running all over the place and getting into everything. We are also enjoying attending church as a family again after six months and feel very blessed that we are able to do that again.
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The kids are all enjoying summer break. Parker, Michaela, and Bridget all received special awards to wrap up the school year. We are especially proud of Parker who was recognized for being on the honor roll every quarter this last year! He just returned home from Scout camp where he earned 4 merit badges and is working on earning a few more this summer. Michaela, Bridget, and Ainsley are enjoying swim lessons and will finish up this week.
We have all been busy with projects this last month. I helped Megan (my sister) paint and decorate her bedroom a few weeks ago. I wish I had before & after photos to post because it really turned out great. That got me motivated to finally paint our main bathroom. It looks so much better without the peach/salmon walls. Parker helped me with that project and earned the painting merit badge, making that project a 2-for-1 deal. Our yard has been our biggest project - we had 4 trees and lots of cement removed, top soil brought in and leveled, and Kenny & Parker reworked the sprinkler system to get our backyard ready to be hydro-seeded. We were hoping to have a full lawn by now but we had a lot of rainy days at the beginning of the month, which put the landscaper behind. We are so looking forward to being able to let the kids run wild in the back yard without having to worry about keeping Taryn out of the street. We have also planted 6 new trees, a few flowers and some vegetables and herbs. Whew!
As I reflect on the past year I realize that my testimony of faith has grown so much.
Before Taryn was born I thought faith was a simple concept - if you believe in something enough and add fasting and prayer to that, then you would be granted that blessing you seek. Over the last year I have been privileged to meet families who have also been blessed with children born with heart defects. How difficult and heart breaking it is to see parents with enormous amounts of faith have their children return to Heavenly Father, even after numerous blessings and prayers. I have learned that faith does precede the miracle, but it doesn't guarantee it. I also know that miracles are not granted to those with the most faith or to the most righteous. I don't know why some get to keep their children and raise them here on earth while others yearn for the day when they can hold their angel babies again. (I find myself having "survivors guilt" sometimes.) Faith is more than just believing that your child can be healed, it is accepting the will of the Lord - even though it may be the toughest thing we ever have to do. One thing I do know is that Heavenly Father is mindful of each of His children and He loves us all, even though our trials are not equal...
A few weeks ago, though it was not easy and I tried to resist the urge to go up, I shared these thoughts (and of course my gratitude) when I bore my testimony in sacrament meeting. After the meeting a lady who was visiting our ward came up to me and with tears streaming down her cheeks thanked me for my testimony and said she was certain what I said was meant just for her. She then told me about her son that she lost two years ago who was born with a heart defect. I gave her a big hug and then dug through the diaper bag for more tissues for both of us! What an amazing experience. Since then I have felt the need to share my feelings about faith here as well...
Happy Summer!
Michele
