Thank You Children's Wish!

Sara's wish was to go camping with our horses. Children's Wish gave her a horse trailer so we could make it happen! Sara loves our horses, and her trailer is perfect for the four of us to go out riding together. We look forward to using it for years to come!

No news is good news, right?

It has been a while, so we wanted to update you all on the next few weeks, and share some pictures.

Sara's lung scan is set for Tuesday Feb. 18th. For the lung scan she will be injected with a radioisotope/nuclear dye, and this test will show how well the air and blood flow through the lungs. The reason for having this scan is to see if there is any abnormal circulation, and to check out how the pulmonary vessels are doing. She has some narrowing of her pulmonary artery already.

The day will being with an IV start at 8am. The scan itself will start at 10am. The last time Sara had this done it was for her renal kidney scan in December, which was an all day event with a lot of waiting. The results of her renal scan was moderate kidney damage, so hopefully this will improve with a lot of hydration. On Tuesday, we may be able to pop in for a check up to see the eye surgeon who will be doing a strabismus surgery March 3rd. Sara needs her inner eye muscles re-positioned again, the last time she had this done was back in 2010. The hope is that her eyes will align, and remain that way. It is a relatively easy surgery in comparison to what she's gone through, but we hope it's the last! Sara's transplant clinic is on the 25th, and it will be a regular check up with blood work, Echo, ECG, meeting with the Cardiologists, and dietitian. Also on the 25th, pre-admission clinic for her eye surgery on March 3rd.

We are sad that Tammy, one of the nurses on the Cardiac Transplant team, is starting in a new position at the hospital. She will be missed, as she was the one Sara looked forward to seeing the most on clinic days! Hopefully we can stay in touch though.

We have been staying warm in the cold weather and enjoying it outside on warm days. We've been able to go riding a couple times and skiing too! Hailey and I are continuing her grade 3 home schooling. It can be challenging on weeks that are interrupted with appointments. Whether it's the mechanical bull or mulching, Joel is always working hard. We are so glad when he's home, and always look forward to more time together when he's away. Sara has had a couple colds so far this year, along with one day of a stomach flu. Hopefully she will stay healthy for all the up coming appointments.

Please keep us in your prayers, as well as our friends who are out of or in hospital care: Hannah, Joel, Morgan, Precious, Alexis, Cohen, Muskaan, Isabel F, Austin, Makenna, Grayson, Kaiya, Sheldon, Melissa, Jace, Harrison, Hilda, Marwa & Safa. For those little ones who have touched our hearts, and their families, you are loved. Please pray for comfort for the families of Lukas, Hope, Drayton, Isabelle, Jack & Addison. Thank you Lord, for staying by us in the midst of our sorrow and celebrating with us in our joy, please keep us in your care. In Jesus name.




Hailey's ride with her cousin Eliana




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Sledding with friends at Uncle John & Auntie Dawn's!








Family ride!








XC Skiing & sledding



Sara's 5th Birthday! We are thankful for Sara, a blessing to our family. It's amazing how much she's grown in height, while almost staying the same weight! We're looking forward to another year of fun, she's waiting for summer now, so we can go camping with the horses! 

December pictures, oops, I missed posting these!






Christmas in BC with Grandma & Grandpa! (I'm sure I have more pictures, I just haven't come across them)

Happy 8th Birthday Hailey!

Hailey, we love you so much! You bring us so much joy and laughter! We are so thankful for how caring, thoughtful, and helpful you are. I'm so glad you enjoyed your day, we loved spending it with you! Happy Birthday!

This was my project for Hailey, and after sewing the cushion and pillow case, I thought I would set it up and surprise her in the morning! Joel had an even bigger surprise, he came home from work after being away almost 2 weeks to be there when the girls got up!
Auntie Dawn and I planned a trip to the city for the day. Since Joel was also heading into the city, Hailey rode with him. We also had to fit taking Sara into the city for blood work into the schedule, which meant and early morning for us all. After we left the clinic we met Joel for coffee, and said goodbyes before he left to head back to work up north. Then we went to Ikea, (at Hailey's request), her and Sara played in Smalland, and then we ate lunch. We got home and had supper with cupcakes for dessert. It was a great day, thank you Auntie Dawn for making Hailey's day so special.

It's pretty special that we get to be home on Hailey's Birthday, last year we celebrated with friends at the Ronald McDonald house and with Sara at the hospital. Thank you Hailey for being Sara's best friend through it all. :)

Fun in July

We're looking forward to being at Ronald McDonald House again on August 11th. We're bringing our mechanical bull & other inflatables for their block party! The last time we were there was to visit the Baskill family.

Hailey on Misty

Karey & Sara on Annie

 For Sara, leading Annie around is just as exciting as riding!

 Hailey's first Gymkhana with Dad and one of her friends on Canada Day.

 Joel & Hailey with their ribbons

Joel on Annie, getting her to lay down. 

 Hospital check ups also mean a stop at the Beach play area! (this is from mid July.) 

Sara's last check up on July 30th went so well, and she's doing great. We're still having to do blood work once a week, and she's managing ok with that.

 Auntie Patsy stopped by for the day, it was so wonderful to spend time with her! 

We love you Uncle Lawrence & Auntie Patsy!

 The view pulling out of our driveway

 Soaking our feet in the river to cool off.

 Katie & Sara with TJ :)

 Hailey & Sara full of mud after making a river & lake in the garden! Good times! They don't look that dirty, but both of them were sitting in the mud! 

 We had a garage sale on July 27th, and the girls & their friends had a bake sale. 

 Sara was just as good at selling them, as she was eating them!

 We started our trip to Minot, North Dakota early Tuesday morning to buy a different mechanical bull. With a stop at the Stollery for Sara's transplant clinic which included advice from the Dr. Dinos. She had blood work, Echo, ECG, height (she grew another cm!), weight, and then we were off to Lloydminster to sell the mechanical bull. 

Across the border with no issues, even without Joel's passport! (it had expired)

Our drive was very tiring, so Sara had a nap with Dad.  

 We drove by some beautiful places. Many grain fields, wheat, barley, oats, flax, corn, and canola. We saw many pump jacks, flares, old and new grain elevators. The big skies, river valleys and rolling hills were spectacular. "The heavens declare the Glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands." Psalm 19:1

 Welcome to Minot!

 We loved the colours of the fields; the big drag line and the many tractors & farming equipment that we passed along the way.

We had so much fun with our mechanical bull last night with friends. It was great to set it up & try it out. Happy 13th Birthday Hayden, wish I had a picture of you on the bull! 

Here's Bethany on the bull.

Come out and see us at PV Days in Evansburg on August 10th!

Hailey's ride

Summer here is spent outside in the sunshine! 

Hopefully we'll get more time outside if there's less rain in August! 

 A great way to stay hydrated! 

We're having such a great summer, we don't want it to end!