Happy Birthday to ME!

Today is my birthday so...Happy Birthday to me! I wanted to blog and tell the whole world just how much God has amazed me this year. The picture posted is my favorite, by far, of the girls. It reminds me how much God has done in my 26th year. This picture was taken late one night when Addison was still in the ICU. We sneaked Ava J in for a visit. I still remember that night because two of our cardiologists were trying to hold back tears as Ava J held Addison for the first time. Addison was almost three months old before she was held by her big sissy. Wow!

I drove home the other night from work thinking about the many changes in life that have come along with having Addison. I realized that I wouldn't trade a minute of it because it has made me who I am-a stronger Christian woman.

Here is the chorus to a song that explains me through and through:

Be strong in the LORD and,

Never give up hope.

You're going to do great things,

I already know.

God's got his hand on you so,

Don't live life in fear,

Forgive and forget,

But don't forget why your here,

Take time to pray,

These are the words I would say.

Sidewalk Prophets-These are the words I would say

I am so thankful that God chose me to be me and gave me a testimony that is so easy to share with others. Man, He must love me!

No Rain, No Rainbows

No rain, no rainbows.

It rained in October when we received a cerified letter explaining that Addison had almost maxed out her insurance of $2M. We prayed and packed and moved across the state line to South Carolina. Our whole family had to 'give up' to start again. Since the move in November God has blessed us. Adam and I have both started new jobs. We have new insurance. Ava started at a new school. Addison lost her therapies but hopefully by the end of the month she will be back to receiving therapies. We had to lose it all to gain it all. Praise God, our ship came in.

Our rainbow arrived!!! Addison has been approved for SC Medicaid/Tefra. This means that we don't have to worry about getting the healthcare we need. We don't have to worry about being 'approved' to go to MUSC for care! GoD Is Great and continues to perform MIRACLES!!!

***No rain, No rainbows***

Happy New Year

Happy New Year, bloggers. We hope everyone is ready to see what God plans to accomplish in 2010.

We had a great Christmas at home. We enjoyed watching the girls open their Christmas presents. Ava was awesome as an angel in the Christmas play at church. Addison continues to progress in sitting up and attempting to crawl.

New Years was great. I worked New Years Eve night. We are truly blessed to both have new jobs during the economic slump. We had a big treat on New Years Day. Sarah and Mike Leech came for a visit. As you know, Sarah is a part of our family. She was with us every step of the way while in the hospital. I fell in love with her within the first week or so of Addison's hospitalization. Sarah is the PCICU Nurse of the Year. I am so proud of her. She is a great asset to MUSC. Ava even named her kitty after her! (Of course, we love everyone at MUSC!)

All of Addison's therapies should be in full swing soon. It takes a while to transfer everything from state to state. We go back to the dietician, cardiologist, and pediatrician late in the month. Ava J is still enjoying school. She enjoys going to the movie theather. She has already seen Alvin and the Chipmucks-the Squeakal, twice.

As a couple, Adam and I, enjoyed our time together over the Christmas season. I am truly thankful for my husband. He is the greatest.

I received a silver necklace last night from a great friend. It is silver and has a boxing glove charm on it to remind me of my MIRACLE, Rocky. I love it!!!

We are living life and loving it. We are debt free due to circumstances that we could not avoid, a baby in the hospital for over 5 months. Adam and I sat down on Jan. 1st and finalized our budget. We are following Dave Ramsey's plan on building wealth, how amazing that Stan preached on Malachi Sunday. We believe that God has blessed us because of our willingness to submit to him and give our tithes. Our prayer is that others will submit to God, especially in the money department. The Lord Almighty is amazing! A friend said I should become a financial advisor-sounds interesting. I can tell you what NOT to do and how to prepare a budget-then I will show you a cheat sheet from Dave Ramsey, haha.

Please continue to pray for Josiah, Jonathan, Becca, Aaron, Carys, Lawson and Tagg.

Please pray for my bestest, Deana, who is a missionary in Russia. She fell and broke her leg in two places yesterday. She is waiting on the MDs to decide if she has to have surgery to repair the break.

As always, God is good!