Another surgery

It is time again. We are asking for all we know to pray for Brady, Cody's brother and for Cody's parents as well. Brady's health is really suffering and Mom & Dad Hamer have a way lot on their plate and haven't been well either. Brady was admitted in the hospital over the weekend, is home now but is having surgery tomorrow. Please, please pray for him and their sweet family.




Cody with Brady and their parents at Yellowstone last year.

So busy...Here's what you've missed...

Sorry I never blog anymore, just not enough hours in the day I guess. Here's what's been happenin' 'round here...

Ben's first bite--more out than in but now he loves it. Ben sleeping and Ben's first bottle.





Lots of storytimes and snuggling with Mom.



Ben showing the other side of his personality, just hangin' out and thinkin'..."I'm too cool for my buckles"..."These toys are lame"...and making a punk face, I'd spiked his hair--can you tell?




Jocelyn and Aimee are as busy as usual...at the Beauty and the Beast play with Grandpa and Grandma Hamer and making a routine visit to Mom's Salon (where the service is great but it's getting harder and harder to make an appointment!).





Our frequent visitor on the back porch.


Ben has a secret...I found it in his diaper, but I'll take that to throw-up anyday!


Cute Ben loves Daddy...snuggling.




Thumbsucking...it's all the rage!



Oh and we are in the process of buying another home...details and move-in updates to come! Yeah!

"There were never such devoted sisters"...

Jocelyn is the fairy godmother and Aimee is going to go to the ball.

An hour later we had nap time. Aren't these two the most wonderful girls any mom ever had! Love 'em to pieces!

Latest Pictures

Make a Smilebox photobook

Here is the last two weeks at the hospital and the first two weeks at home!

I needed this today!

I was feeling a little, well, blah, today. I've been so busy I don't think I am really doing much with my talents (in fact I can't remember what they were!) and I was starting to feel like a bit of a failure in just about everything; I have the opposite of Midas' touch! Like maybe my mediocure contribution to this world doesn't really make much of a difference. Well I stumbled upon this link to Mormon Messages which can be found in my blog list and I watched this short video. I now feel inspired and refreshed to jump back into my fabulous life with my sweet family with new determination. And since I still don't have much time for hobbies currently I have decided I can CREATE myself--to be the person I want to be. And I can mean something to the four most important people in my life...and for me that is enough. To quote the famous little engine..."I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhLlnq5yY7k

Yeah, I'm finally home!

Well, after 106 days in the hospital I finally get to come home to my family. I was so excited that I didn't sleep (the whole night before!) but I made up for it on the ride home. Dad and mom were a little nervous I think, but not me. I've already settled in and am pretty comfy and getting used to our house. It sure is fun to spend time with my sisters, Jocelyn and Aimee. They are so busy all the time and I love to watch them. Unfortunately I didn't get to stay away from the hospital for even 24 hours because my feeding tube fell out and we had to drive all the way back to Primary's. I was afraid they would make me stay there again; so I cried the whole way there and back. The procedure was ok, nothing I can't handle, but you won't believe this...right after we had gotten home and we were getting out of the van, the tube fell out AGAIN!!! Mom said a bad word and had to apologize to everyone and dad was pretty frustrated too. He spent a few hours trying to schedule another placement for me, this time at Mckay because I was absolutely not going to ride to Salt Lake again. So we went and the mean nurse strapped my body down way too tight but that's all in the past, because now I have my tube, I get to eat again and have all my meds (my pain ones are my favorite), and mom and dad are watching me like a hawk. Well we have more pictures to post from the last few days, but not tonight; it's storytime with my family and I am not going to miss it. Thanks everyone for praying for me...I love you

Sometimes the only way I can express my feelings is through writing. I'm not very good at it but I thought I'd share two of the poems I've written recently while at the hospital. The first was during a time when Ben was really sick and the second was around midnight last night.

Ben--
I see you lying still
Seeing the world from a distance
People moving by so quickly, it's hard
To understand what it all means,
Who they are,
Why you are here.

The life we'd dreamt of for you
And the reality of this disease are
not the same.
We wondered at first.
Why you?
We didn't understand.

But just like you spend your days watching,
Learning with patience.
Enduring, breathing--
We spend ours watching,
Waiting with anticipation.
Hoping, Praying.

And each day you grow, our hearts
Sing.



To Our Donor Family,

What can I say, the words just won't come,
What you've given our child we could never have done.
We'd worried, we'd hoped, we'd waited. We'd cried.
We'd prayed, but no matter what our hands were tied.
We needed a miracle to save our son's life,
We needed pure love and ultimate sacrifice.

When the call came that morning we felt emotions in wide range.
For here was our hope, his chance finally came.
But also we felt amidst all the joy,
Immense grief and sorrow, someone had lost their little girl or boy.
How could we feel happy, how dare we to hope,
How could this family even begin to cope?

I don't know the answers, I don't know the "why's",
I don't know why some live, and some have to die.

But I do know the gift, the priceless, selfless gift,
I'll spend my whole life trying to live up to it.
For these years with my son I'll do the best that I can
To teach him compassion and to serve his fellow man.
And that way don't feel like your little one's gone
Your child's heart is still beating, it's still going strong!
I'll take care of that heart as long as I live,
And I'll never forget the gift that you've given.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Sorry it was so long, thanks for watching. Ü

A Mended Heart is a Special Heart

So we are all excited about kicking off National Congenital Heart Defects Awareness Week! Here are some fast facts about CHD--

-Congenital Heart Defects are the most common birth defect and the leading cause of death from birth defects during the first year of life.
-About 8 in every 1,000 children are born with at least one heart defect, that's about 40,000 children every year!
-While research is ongoing, there are 35 heart defects that have been identified.
-There are over one million Americans alive with Congenital Heart Defects today.

While these serious heart defects affect the lives of so many each year, there is unfortunately, a lack of funding for research of surgical procedures, treatment options and medications that could save these children's lives.

Here is where YOU can help:

-Increase awareness of CHD and become an advocate in your community
-Donate and encourage others to donate to research hospitals and non-profit organizations that support CHD
-Increase awareness of the miracle of organ donation, become a proud organ donor yourself and encourage others to do so as well (There are more than 40,000 Americans on the Heart Transplant Waiting List every year and only a little more than 2,225 recieve a donor organ. This is largely due to lack of education and awareness.)
-Support your local children's hospital and the families affected by CHD in any way you can!

Count our many blessings!

Ben came out of surgery around midnight last night. It was the longest day in my life. But he is doing really well! The dr said his new heart is pumping "hyperdynamically" so it is practically jumping in his chest. Another surgeon said this heart must have been a "God-send" because when they removed Ben's heart they saw it was in really bad shape. And when they put in the new one, "everything fit together perfectly" like it was always meant to be in him. Having a heart transplant is a really big deal and there will still be struggles down the road, but like Dr. Hawkins said, "he has a normal heart now", there is no disease in it and it is working great. We are exhausted but have to thank all that have been praying for Ben. We know that the Lord has blessed him! The recovery should be much quicker; the docs will try to extubate him this weekend!!!