Birthday Girl!

We are delighted to celebrate our little girl's 2nd Birthday!

Sara you are so wonderful, we love you so much! You are such a

blessing in our lives! Happy 2nd Birthday Sara!

Last weekend...

Sara doing well

We spent the night, and got a great sleep here at the Stollery. Sara has been feeling well, and eating & drinking well. The Cardiologists are not going to decide to do a surgery just yet, they want a chance to reassess her on Jan. 31st when we see Dr. Rutledge and have another Echo on her heart. We are being discharged this afternoon because she has been keeping her oxygen Sats above 80% on room air most of the night and all of today so far! (If this changes, and she is desatting again we'll stay another night.) But we are looking forward to being home, Sara will be so excited to be walking around again, and playing with Hailey. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers, we're so thankful for all your love and support.

We are also looking forward to seeing Hannah, her & her family are in for more tests on her heart tomorrow. Please keep praying for her, we are very concerned for her. We are very happy to be able to see her today!

Stay at the Stollery

Sara wil be staying tonight as well. She needs to be on oxygen, and monitored. Last night was ok, she was pretty restless. Today she is acting more like herself, hopefully we can keep up with the required fluid intake. If she doesn't get enough fluids, she'll get an NG feeding tube in because her IV came out, and it's hard to find good veins. Sara's been happy and even content to get an echo done on her heart this morning. We'll wait to her later today or maybe tomorrow the results of the echo. More updates to come... love from Sara & Karey

Sara in the hospital overnight...

Sara has a cold & cough is most likely a virus, hopefully we'll find out tomorrow if there's anything we can do for her. So far we know it's not pneumonia, by the results of a chest x-ray she had today. We are spending the night at the Stollery Children's Hospital for observation. Sara's very tired, and has been settling quickly for the most part this evening. It's hard to keep the blow by oxygen on her face, the mask irritates her. Her oxygen, heart rate, and respiratory rate have been ringing the alarms, even after resetting the parameters to allow more leeway. We're are just hoping for a goodnight sleep and we'll see what the Cardiologists thinks tomorrow. Please keep us in your prayers, especially that Sara will drink & eat well and that her HR, O2 Sats & RR will level out where they need to be. We're really thankful to have the Stollery so close, and the familiar faces are so good to see. After over a year without being in the hospital with Sara we feel like 2010 was a blessed year for Sara. Praise the Lord!

Fun Times!

Friends came to visit, what a blast it was to see them! Thanks so much for coming. It was a joy to see you all. Hannah, who has appointments at Stollery Children's tomorrow. Please continue to pray for her, she has Primary Pulmonary Hypertension. Love you guys!

Sara's eye appointment went really well last Monday. We saw Dr. Drummond, he says her eyes are looking really good, and wants to see her again on March 7th. Praise God! Thanks for praying! Her next appointment with the Cardiologist in Edmonton on January 31st.

Before & After

Here is Sara before the surgery, and after. The redness in her eyes should go away within 2 weeks. Her next doctor's appointment is on Dec. 6th in Edmonton, a follow up for her surgery with Dr. Drummond.

Sara's eye surgery & Our trip to Alberta!

Our trip began Sunday afternoon, Sara & I left after I finished cleaning & packing up the car, and going to Church. We met up with Ashley & Natalie in Nanaimo, it was so fun! We went to Victoria and had a wonderful evening with my friend Kim -thanks for having us! On Monday Sara & I went for her surgery. It was scheduled for 8:30am, so we had to be there at 7:20am. Sara got through the weighing and getting changed into the hospital clothes fine, only a few meltdowns. Then we waited, and she played. We got into the OR at 10:50 and she went to recovery until 12:15. Sara's surgery went really well, the surgeon, Dr. Pegado, was great. They let us leave knowing we'd have a long trip ahead. We left at 2:45, and met up with Taryn! We were at the ferry terminal at 3:45 and waited for the 5pm ferry to Tsawassen. Joel & Hailey packed up the U-Haul with friends on Quadra, they also caught the 5pm ferry, but from Nanaimo to Vancouver. We made our way in the rain meeting up with Hailey & Joel in Chilliwack. Travelling together was really nice, the roads we bare most of the Coquahalla. We stayed in Barriere, and left early in the morning to continue on. Driving to Valemont was the most slippery & snowy, but it cleared up, and bare roads again through the park, and all the way to Entwistle. The gravel roads were slippery, and I didn't make it up the hill into Brightwood with the car & trailer. Joel & a few guys came to help push! We were at our new place at 3:30pm, and unloaded the 14' U-haul with the help of the Cox family. Thank you so much Greg, Kathie, Sara-Jane, & David.
It was a crazy trip, and I'm really happy to be here, Hailey and Sara are loving the new house! Sara's back to her old self, getting into everything and unpacking for me! Sara's eyes are sensitive to the light, and her balance is a little off, but she's happy as always. Hailey is really enjoying the snow, she goes out to play all the time. Joel's busy getting to know how things run around here, and getting to know the staff. I'm busy unpacking and organizing, fun times!

Thank you all who prayed for us. The timing of this surgery was awful, but we made it work anyway. We're so thankful for amazing friends, family and we're praising the Lord – He is so good! Pictures to come...

Sara's eye surgery

Our Zebra & little Giraffe...

I was in Victoria yesterday with Sara. She had an appointment to see the optimologist and the surgeon. They measured her eyes for surgery, her eyes have been turning in or cross-eyed since July. It's mostly her left eye that turns in, so she's been using her right eye to see. She may have already lost some vision in her left because she hasn't been using it. Because she's going to have the surgery before she's 2 years old her 3D vision may develop still. Please pray that any vision lost in her left eye will be restored and that the surgery and recovery goes well. The surgery is a day surgery in Victoria on November 29th.

Sara's heart is doing ok, no change. We are happy to have a growing little girl doing well right now! We're having fun seeing her walking and talking a little more everyday.

Please continue to pray for Hannah. The new drug therapies have had positive effects, Praise the Lord! They have been in and out of the hospital because Hannah has suffered a few cardiac arrests at night with no explanations. Please pray for the doctors, that they would continue to try and figure this out. Also pray for Hannah's family, and that Hannah will be in good spirits as they do more tests.

"For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations." Psalm 100:5 (ESV)

Please pray for Hannah

Right now we have a prayer request...

Our friends have a girl named Hannah, she is not doing well. She has Primary Pulmonary Hypertension and it is an extremely rare condition in children, and is life threatening. They are waiting to hear from the doctors, as the last check up releaved her heart had enlarged considerably since April, and the pressure in her heart was very high. The options the doctors have given them have huge risks, and have no guarantee that it will help. They'll be heading to Vancouver or Edmonton when they hear from the doctors.

She is a sweetheart, and a good friend of Hailey's. We miss spending time with Hannah and hope to see her soon.

We love you Hannah, and we're praying for you and your family. You all have been a blessing in our lives, and we thank the Lord for you.

"Be Joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."

Romans 12:12 (NIV)

The greatest part of August was having Hailey & Sara's cousins visit! My sisters came for a visit and it was and awesome time! We had a horseback ride, we explored the ocean shore, we played all day together and loved every minute of it! Thanks for coming! We love you all!

Also, Sara started walking and she's getting better and better at it! It's very exciting for us to see her doing so well. Thanks for praying.