WOW!

So, I realized it's been quite awhile since I last posted! But We've been quite busy so I hope you all can understand :-)  Since Miles was born, we bought a house and moved again!  The Lord provided so faithfully for us and we are so grateful!  By now, most of the boxes are unpacked and we're getting settled in more and more.

The holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) were awesome times spent with family and friends.  Lyla was able to enjoy her 1st Thanksgiving feast since the year before she wasn't eating solid food yet :-) She loved the turkey and everything that was put on her plate!  For Christmas, we were able to have our 1st family only present opening time as well.  It was nice to sit as a family of 4, read the Christmas story
from Lyla's Jesus storybook Bible and open her presents.  We then joined my family for the rest of the morning and lunch.  Lyla dug into opening the presents and cleaned up after herself as well :-)  Miles just enjoyed the ride along the way.

The 1st few months were really tough (and still are in some ways) for Miles.  He seems to have some belly upsets and in turn is extremely fussy and cries a lot.  Thankfully in the past month it is getting less due to him being able to sit up and interact more.  He loves to watch Lyla run around and get her kisses and hugs.  It is so precious to see them interact!  What joys we have ahead!

In December, Lyla went through a sedated echo at CHOP because during the regular one, they were unable to get all the pictures they needed since she was acting like a typical 18 month old :-)  As always, it was difficult to watch her get put under and come out of the anesthetic.  Since she's a bit older now, she can start to see what they're going to do and she freaks out, making it harder on us as we then have to hold her down :-(  However, the results of that echo were encouraging in that nothing has changed.  The arteries are still narrowed, the right side of the heart is thickened because it's pumping harder to get blood through the small arteries, and the valve is leaking.  These are all things we've known and been keeping an eye on.  The good thing is that they are no worse than they had been all along.  After consulting with the cardiac team, they decided they are scheduling another MRI this summer directly followed at the same time with a cardiac catheterization.  That is the only way to accurately measure the pressure in her narrowed pulmonary arteries.  At the point, they will do a balloon or stint if they feel it's necessary.  It literally makes me sick to think about her having to go through this.  We will need a lot of prayers as the time approaches for this procedure.

Overall, the past few months have been pretty good!  I'm starting to get a bit more sleep at night on the occasions when Miles decides he can sleep through the night.  My blood levels are back to normal which is an added blessing!  We have just been enjoying these kids and loving being able to watch them grow!  We will keep you posted as Lyla's procedure approaches and will be seeking your prayers!