Today Paige is 10 months old.  She has endured so many hard things and we are so grateful she is here with us!  We are thankful she didn't have to be admitted to the hospital today.  She is having a hard time breathing due to fluid.  She is home on oxygen and we are changing medicines to help her so she can continue to stay home.

I am grateful school was out today!  Sometimes we all just need a day off to just relax!  I am thankful we have this holiday to remember all the Veteran's and current military who sacrifice there lives to serve our country.

Princess Paige...

A week after Paige got out of the hospital from her Glen Surgery back in August the Congenital Heart Center where Paige goes to her doctor appointments puts together a very amazing heart calendar.  Paige was able to make it for her Photo Shoot and this is just one of the pictures they took of her.  We had these hanging in her room at the hospital to remind us what a miracle she truly is!

The calendar's should be coming soon.  They are $12.95 a calendar and the funds are donated to the Congenital Heart Center to help families out.  Paige has her own page for February and Beth wrote her story.  I can't wait to see and read it!

GRIEF...

Today's lesson in Relief Society was on GRIEF.  It was amazing!  It was exactly what I needed to hear!  I hope that I can be more sensitive to those around me!  Everyone has been so kind and nice through this "grieving" time in my life and I am so thankful I have a loving Heavenly Father who knows what I or others might be going through.  He loves us so much!  I am so thankful I can turn to him especially in times like this.  I am so thankful my whole family was at church today.  That brought me much happiness today!  Life is slowly getting back to where I think I might have a little control of things again.  I also bore my testimony today in Relief Society.  I wish so bad I could stand and have everything flow like others but I just can't!  My heart beats so hard and then when I finally get up I am scared to death and then I just ramble and ramble.  I am thankful for the testimonies that were shared in sacrament meeting today.  They touched my heart and made me want to be a better person!

A day at Freestone Park...

Keith took Rylan and Amberly to Freestone Park to have some fun!  They went fishing, rode the merry go round and the train.  The kids had a blast!  The two of them went on the train all by themselves.  They thought they were so big even though dad was close by the whole time taking pictures.  They love this beautiful weather!

So good to be home...

Paige has been home for 4 days and we are ALL smiles around here.  It is so fun!  I am the happiest mother in the whole world!  I feel like I am getting LIFE under control again.  Each day gets better and better!

Paige's graduation...

This morning Paige graduated from the CHIEF PROGRAM at St. Joseph's Hospital.  It was absolutely wonderful and I tried really hard to hold back the tears but of course I couldn't.  I have so many things to be grateful for and Paige's life the last 9 months is one of them.  She received a t-shirt, hat with a tassel, and her diploma.  I think my favorite part of the whole thing was sitting and looking around to see all the wonderful people who have blessed my life.  I again became very emotional.  These people love my baby as much as I do and have done so much for our family but most of all for Paige.  They have cried with us, laughed with us, they have even been frustrated and confused at times not knowing what to do with certain situations but overall I love them and will always hold them dear to my heart forever!  After the wonderful program was over we headed back up to Paige's room to get her settled back in and give her a chance to rest.  Amberly wanted to come so bad to pull Paige outside in the wagon so I brought her with me.  Molly took her to Preschool for me so it worked out just perfect.  

Paige was one happy little girl to be outside.  She loves little Mark Wright who is a heart baby and is doing incredible!  I stand all amazed at the parents and children who have to endure harder situations than Paige.  I am grateful we got to this point to celebrate her successes! 

Beth...where do I begin.  She has been with us since I was 5 months pregnant when we found out that Paige had a heart defect.  She is so dear to my heart words cannot describe!  I love her and I am so thankful she has been a huge part of our life and will continue for the rest of our lives!

 BIG SMILES cause we just got the news we are GOING HOME!

But before Amberly left we had just gotten back into the room when all of a sudden Laura (Paige's nurse) said YOU ARE GOING HOME TODAY!  I couldn't believe what I had just heard.  I was so excited but SO NERVOUS at the same time.  I thought we were looking at Thanksgiving to get her home but no it was TODAY!  I began to ask so many questions about the fluid possibly coming back, eating and on and on.  I started to feel overwhelmed at the thought of her coming home and her not feeling at her best.  I was ready though and I started packing up...didn't realize we took the whole house!  They took the broviac line out and we waited for 3 hours to make sure no bleeding occurred and we left at 4:00 pm.  I didn't tell a single soul not even Keith.  I knew Amberly was at Carol's and Rylan was at a friends and Shaylee was at the Shepherds.  My mom called and her and my dad were the only one's who new so I shared my excitement with her.  When I turned off the freeway at the exit Keith had called asking me if we needed any thing else at the grocery store.  He was at Safeway and I just told him what we needed.  I stopped by Carol's to get Amberly and I let myself in the front door went to her kitchen and grabbed her by the hand and said I have something to show you in the car.  She ran passed me and opened the door and couldn't believe what she was seeing.  DJ and Alison came out too!  It was so great!  When I was leaving the culdesac Keith was pulling in to go pick up Amberly.  I rolled down my window as well as the back window so he could see his sweet baby.  He couldn't believe it and was overwhelmed with JOY!  We drove home and both of us stood in the driveway starring at her and started crying a lot!  Shaylee came home and Julie, Meagan and Emily came to welcome her home.  They couldn't believe it...they were in shock!  Then the Hughes came and they were in shock!  We are so happy to have her home.  I don't even think happy is the word!  My feelings are so tender I don't know how to express them except cry!  My sweet precious baby is HOME!

Keith stayed at the hospital the entire weekend with Paige.  Me and the kids took Halloween down and put Fall up.  It felt good to get all those spider webs with those creepy spiders back in the attic where they belong.  Ha!  Ha!  I love decorating for Fall because it really sets the mood for Thanksgiving and reminds me of all I am grateful for in my life.  Sunday was amazing!  All the talks in sacrament meeting and sunday school were so good and I felt the spirit many times.  I am really excited about the new Missionary Ward Plan that was presented to our ward on Sunday.  I have always been scared to share the gospel with others but I have actually been able to "Act" upon it many times being the hospital for 5 weeks.  I pray each day that I might have the opportunity to share something I believe in and the spirit has prompted me and helped me many times.  I had a great night with the kids.  We stayed home and watched Love's Abiding Joy (Hallmark movie) and opened the doors and windows and snuggled under blankets.  It was very relaxing and something I need to do more often!!!

On Monday Keith called to tell me Paige got her RA (Right Atrium) Line and pacemaker wires pulled out of her chest and that the chest tube would be pulled out later that day also.  She hadn't been on oxygen for a couple days now and she pulled the NG tube out while having an itching attach on her nose for about an hour.  They had given her Morphine and it triggered something.  They gave her Benadryle to help relieve some of the itching but it didn't work so they gave her some other drug and it made her sleep.  She enjoyed having her daddy hold her and take her on a wagon ride.  He sure loves her and is the most gentle dad.  Around 6:00 pm Keith left after Molly Wright showed up to stay the night with Paige so we could be together as a family for family home evening and have some time together.  We had a good lesson on "Feed My Sheep" and went out for ice cream at Sonic.  It was good to be together!!!  These are the cute pictures of Paige that Molly took while she was with her.

While Keith was having a great day with Paige I was having some good laughs with Amberly.  She decided she wanted to give me a makeover before we left to run some errands.  I only let her put eye shadow out knowing I would be scene in public (mean mom).  She did a fabulous job doing my makeup and I just looked beautiful.  She decided she wanted to give herself a makeover too!  Now that she is 5 years old she thinks she is big and big girls get to wear makeup everyday????  She washed her face and then started to put her purple eye shadow on her eyes.  After she finished she went to put on some bright pink lip stick.  In the process she stopped and got really close to the mirror and said, "I have a mustache like Grandma above my top lip!"  I died laughing...tears were rolling down my cheeks.  She then said, "I like being like Grandma cause I love her!"  I called my mom immediately and told her what she had said and we both laughed so hard!  It was so funny!  I love how kids are so honest!  I had to take pictures of this!