Papa

Happy

Birthday

Papa!

Andrew always loves to help me in the kitchen.  But his absolute favorite thing is when we make a cake.

He loves to sneak a bite

When he thinks I'm not looking

He is very serious about his job

as official cake batter tester!

He loves birthdays!

When my dad passed away six years ago, I pretty much thought the world had ended.  My dad was my world.  He meant everything to me, and I loved him more than words can say.  He was the person I loved to call and tell stories to, because he would listen to every word and at least act interested!  Ha!  I miss so many things about my dad.  Mostly, I miss that he never got to meet his grandson.

I never could have imagined our world without my dad in it.  He was such a major part of our lives, and we were so close.  You might think it would have been difficult for me to accept another man into my mom's life.

But when there are moments like this... how can it be?

I could never have imagined anyone coming close to the grandfather that my dad would have been.

But I am so grateful

My mom couldn't have picked a more wonderful man to come into our lives

Someone to call "Papa."

Papa loves Andrew like he is his own grandson

And we are just so blessed to have him in our lives.

Before my mom and Jim got together, holidays were so lonely and empty.  That first year of "firsts" without my dad would be a year I'd like to forget.  My mom tried so hard to make everything special, but there was just always this emptiness.  This hole where my dad should have been.

While I still miss my dad every day...the hole is a little smaller now

Because Papa is here and that makes it a whole lot more fun!

Jim, thank you for coming into our lives and blessing our family.

And thank you for being Andrew's Papa.

We love you!

Perfect Day

Last Friday was one of the most special days I've had in a long time.  My mom and I took the day off to attend a Mother's Day brunch at Andrew's school.  I couldn't think of a better way to spend the day than with my mom and my son.  We had a blast!

Andrew was so funny.  I knew he wasn't going to get that mom and I were actually staying and not dropping him off.  He had quite a grip on Ga Ga and wouldn't let her go!  When we got there and walked over to the tables they had set up, we tried to explain that we were staying but he was having none of it.

He is sure not used to Mama and Ga Ga bringing him to school!  Once he figured out we were all going to sit down together and eat rolls and fruit, he came around!

This is really far away, but I love how it shows the pretty flowers and how the tables were set up so nice.  Every year they do this, and they always plan for about 200 moms, grandmas and aunts!  It is such a nice thing for them to do.

Nothing could have made me happier than to spend that time with my little buddy.  He was pretty excited to have us sit down with him and eat, too.  Since usually we are either in a hurry to drop off or pick up!  It was so enjoyable.

Next we went downtown to a little jewelry shop to have our "Andrew" bracelets restrung.  We had never been able to find the time to do this, and this was the perfect day for it. 

I gave this bracelet to my mom on her first Mother's Day as a grandma.  Of course, I got one for myself too!

So downtown there is this adorable little bake shoppe called Nan's Nummies.  Do you all know the word "Nummy?"  My mom and Craig didn't know what it meant!  Ha!  Nummies is another way of saying yummy!  Anyway, it has the most delicious treats you could imagine.

Andrew got a very special Elmo cookie, loaded with frosting!

 I know it seems like all we did was eat!  Ha!  But this was after we went back to pick up our bracelets.  It had been a few hours since the brunch!  In between we went to the Scholastic Book Fair (one of our favorite places!) because all the books were 1/2 off.  I got some great deals for my classroom and I had some money to spend from the school budget.  

This was just the most special way to spend the Friday before Mother's Day.  Very rarely do mom or I get time off anymore- especially for fun things!

Andrew made me this adorable little flower pot at school and planted the flower for me.  It is just precious.  He glued the tissue paper on all by himself and picked out the colors.  I think he did a pretty good job!

After lunch we headed back home because we were going to Minneapolis for the weekend.  Craig's oldest brother was turning 40, and his wife planned an awesome surprise party for him!  Of course I have lots to share about our weekend, but I wanted to keep this post about Mother's Day, so I am going to jump ahead to Sunday afternoon.

On our way back from Minneapolis we stopped over at my grandma's house to celebrate Mother's Day.  I love this picture because my grandma is laughing.  She gets such a kick out of Andrew- he is so funny!

Here he is jumping off my grandma's ottoman.  He thought this was a great game!  Even though he was making us all nervous!  This boy has no fear!

Andrew is the only great grandchild on my side, so he is pretty special to my grandma.  My grandpa passed away when Andrew was only 8 months old, and we are so grateful he got to meet his great grandson.

Andrew helped Ga Ga open her Mother's Day gifts.  I got my mom this awesome canvas print of Andrew in his Easter outfit.  It turned out just beautifully.

Here they are looking at it.  Andrew thought it was pretty neat to see a life size picture of himself!  Ha!

My uncle is an awesome landscaper and he landscaped my grandma's whole yard.  She has this neat little pond with fish and frogs, etc.  He was ready to feed the fish so he had Andrew come out and watch.

Then he had to show him this little canadian goose that he found.  Andrew wanted it "out!" Ha!

I think Andrew's favorite part was taking a bath in my grandma's giant tub with jets!  At first he wasn't too sure, but then he realized it was like a hot tub and he went crazy!

He was just kicking back and relaxing in all the bubbles!

I am sure he wishes his tub was like this at home!  Ha!

We just had the best Mother's Day weekend together.  I was so fortunate to get to spend time with my family and Craig with his family, too.  We all had a great time.  I'll update separately about our trip!  I have tons more pictures to share!  I am going a little camera crazy with my new camera!  

I hope all of you had a perfect Mother's Day too.

Four Generations...

Purpose

Normally I am not a procrastinator.  At least, not about things that matter to me.  I don't wait until the last minute for anything.  I hate change.  I thrive on plans, order and consistency.  I am not exactly spontaneous, and my life has always been planned out well in advance.

You can imagine how this journey as a heart mom has thrown me for a major loop.

Let's just say I've learned a few things the past three years.

One thing I have learned is that I want to make a difference.  Before life with Andrew began, I didn't truly have a purpose.  Sure, I always felt my purpose in life was to be a teacher.  A mother.  Discover my God given talents and run with them... Don't get me wrong.  Those are all still great purposes in my life and I love doing all of those things.  But something was missing.  I had never had a reason to fight for something I believed in.  Heck, I don't know that before Andrew I even had anything I felt that strongly about supporting.  I don't think I knew what it meant to actually support something.  And see it make a change right before my eyes.

The moment my son was wheeled down the hall for his first of many open heart surgeries, my purpose became clear.  And it was to fight for my son.  Fight to find a cure for congenital heart defects and strive to make a difference in the lives of babies born with a CHD every day.

Then the overwhelming feeling set in.  I admit, I still feel it sometimes.  I am only one person.  Sure, there are wonderful support groups and other families fighting.  But it just doesn't feel BIG enough sometimes.  I want the world to know about CHD's and how much they change lives.  How every day innocent babies die from CHD's and how every one out of 100 babies is born with a CHD.  How can people not know about that?  How did I not know about it?

The truth is, people don't typically know about it unless it's happened to them.

I've had to focus on the fact that even though I am only one person, I can still spread awareness.  I can still ask for support.  I can teach others about CHD's and how it has affected my life and our little family.  And maybe, just maybe, one more person will learn that didn't know about it before.  One more person will decide to join the fight.  And eventually we can all make a difference.  Together.

So...will you join me?

Will you do it for him?

Now, let me just briefly explain my reason for procrastinating this.  I'll say it as simply as I can.  The American Heart Association has always been near and dear to my heart.  The past three years, you know, since it became my purpose, I have organized teams of walkers and all of us together have raised over $7,000 total.  All in honor of Andrew.  I am so humbled by that.

In the last couple of years, however, I have learned that only a fraction of every penny raised online actually goes towards congenital heart defects.  That just isn't good enough for me.  I wanted more for our children.  I have been trying to research and come up with a way to support my cause while still honoring Andrew by walking in the Heartwalk.  To me, that day is as important as his birthday.  It is a day we celebrate him.  His accomplishments and milestones, and since his very first walk I have said that we will continue to walk every single year.  Every year I have a little party afterwards for the walkers on our team and we have lunch and cake and celebrate Andrew.

And you know how much I hate change. 

I have looked into another organization called the Children's Heart Foundation.  One hundred percent of the funds raised goes directly to CHD's.  This is a wonderful organization that is currently putting together a documentary and lobbying in Washington D.C., taking all those letters that us heart families wrote originally intended for Oprah.  Well, Oprah didn't want to hear us, but maybe Obama will!

The catch?  The Children's Heart Foundation doesn't have a "walk."  And how can I raise money for one organization and walk for another?  The pieces just weren't fitting together.

Then I discovered something else (with the help of some other heart moms).  The American Heart Association supports something called Legacy of Life.  Legacy of Life is the American Heart Association’s Endowment Fund for congenital heart defect research.   It provides a perpetual funding source for Congenital Heart Defects research. 


The catch? (Because isn't there always a catch??)  The funds you donate online are not able to be applied towards Legacy of Life (LOL- not "Laugh out Loud" this time!).  You can only contribute to LOL by writing a check to the American Heart Association and writing "Legacy of Life" in the subject line in the bottom left corner of your check.  


So this year I am going to propose making somewhat of a change (gasp!  I know!)  But I'll leave it up to you.  Last year, our team, Act for Andrew, raised over $2500.  That is going to be my goal again.  We have about a month to do it (that is about 4 months less than last year!  Yikes!)  But I know it can be done.  I am going to count every donation made into our total towards the goal.

You can choose how you'd like to support us:

1.  Write a check and send it directly to the American Heart Association.  Make sure to print out a donation form online (go under the "tools" tab) and write Legacy of Life in the subject line.  You can also send your check to me (without the donation form).  Please email me at jenandcraig@q.com for my address.


2.  Maybe your donation is in honor of someone else you know and love who has been affected by heart disease or stroke, and you wish for your donation to go towards the AHA, not specifically to CHD's.  Great!  That is wonderful and we still appreciate every donation made in honor of Andrew.  Also, donating online is simple and all you have to do is click here.  Just remember, your online donation doesn't count towards CHD research.


3.  Write a check made out to the Children's Heart Foundation.  (You can also click there to view the documentary pilot that our good friends the Jacks family are a part of!)  Because I still believe it is an amazing organization that is out there to help our kids and fight CHD's.  These checks you'll need to send directly to me.  Please email me at jenandcraig@q.com for my address.


Any way you choose to support us means the world to our family.  Of course, we would love for you to join our team and walk with us on June 19th!  Just go to Andrew's heartwalk website and sign up to join our team!  There is no fee to walk with us but if you choose to, you can also set up your own donation page and ask co-workers and family for support.  Together, we can make a difference!

Act for Andrew- 2009!