Feeling so encouraged and blessed we are!

Our schedules are still crazy and the first part of the trip is still coming up next week, but today we are simply floored by God's amazing grace and ability to reach us whenever and wherever we are.  Friends and family have really been stepping up to help us out; also, we received notice today that Grampi's church will be doing a prayer vigil for Scarlett on the day of her surgery.  Deacons are setting aside their time to open up the church for folks to come in and pray!  If you are within driving distance of Goshen, IN, and would like to participate, email us for specific
details.  More details below:

"Our congregation is making plans to support Scarlett's Family and especially little Scarlett Rose on the day of her surgery. Please join us for a PRAYER VIGIL here in the sanctuary of our church from 7a-7p that day. The Deacons will be on call here at the church, and we are asking for members and friends of our congregation to sign-up for a time to come to church that day and honor God with your prayer requests for Scarlett and her family. Sign-up sheets are available in the West Wing today and next Sunday, and you may choose a time to stop by. We will be suggesting various ways to pray, and also various scriptures you can meditate on during this time of intercession. If you cannot physically come to church that day, please prayerfully consider setting aside a time during the day to pray, no matter where you might be. We thank you for your support, and we know that God hears the prayers of His people!"

Other than that, I wanted to share my favorite verse, Isaiah 40:31: "but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint."

Thanks so much for all the love and support!

Lots of stuff going on...

Here we are about a week from the initial stage of this third surgery journey (more on this later), and we are feeling a bit overwhelmed.  We are preparing for the trip and trying to make sure all bases are covered/appropriate preparations are completed.  Within the past day or two we gave away our youngest dog, Layla, because we decided we couldn't meet her needs; luckily Scarlett is too young to be affected but Mommy and Daddy are devastated by this loss.  Also on the not-so-fun front is that Daddy's pay will be cut 20% for the next 3 months in the midst of all this.  Bottom line: please continue to pray for us.  I hope to be able to add more soon.

SCARLETT FUNDRAISER UPDATE

Please note that a generous offer has been made to provide all donations over $199 with a wordtrait!  This art form, sometimes known as textual pointillism, can be very powerful and meaningful as a gift to loved ones.  The entire picture consists of words that describe the subject.  Below is an example that was given to us with Scarlett as the subject (next to the photo it was based on).  The same artist will be working on the bonus wordtraits; check out the quality!!  The process is simple: donate over $199 and at the conclusion of the fundraiser you'll submit a subject photo with some description words for the basis of the art work.  Please help us make the fundraiser a success in any way you can!

Also, thanks for continued prayers, we are working very hard to keep up with everything..

We wanted to send out a quick thank you to everyone that has contacted us to offer a kind word or prayer. Your support and love is so greatly appreciated as we near Scarlett's third heart surgery.  We are doing our best to prepare for next months trip to Philadelphia.  While most of the time we are doing okay, that overwhelming fear creeps in and gets the best of us (at least of me, mommy).   I find that different things will set me off throughout the day and before I know it I am swallowed by fear and anxiety, fighting back tears....  Luckily we have a wonderful, gracious God that lets me know Scarlett is in HIS hands and he LOVES her!  How amazing it is when that peace rushes over me!

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Pet 5.6-7)

As always please feel free to contact us via e-mail at; 

scarlett.chd.fund.2013@gmail.com

Mommy and Daddy LOVE YOU Scarlett!

-Mommy

*** SURGERY #3 SUMMER 2013 ***

Dear family, friends, readers:

We thought we had another year, but symptoms/doctors have dictated that the time for Scarlett's third open heart surgery (OHS) is upon us; it will happen the second week of July 2013 at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).  For those of you not familiar with her background, you may read previous blog posts, but the summary is: she was born 27 July 2011 with a congenital heart defect (CHD) called Double Inlet Left Ventricle (DILV), has been through 2 OHSs, and is now due for the third and final stage (Fontan procedure).  While this is a highly stressful time for Mommy and Daddy, we are striving to release all our fears, anxieties, and stress to the Lord because we know He is in control.  We love Scarlett more than words can describe and we will place Scarlett in His hands the day of her surgery as we do each and every day.  PLEASE pray for our family regarding this upcoming surgery, surrounding events, and the trip from Indiana to Philly. 

If anyone reading this post is going through a similar situation and has questions, concerns, or needs someone to talk to, feel free to contact us.  We want others to know that there are great cardiology programs out there, wonderful support infrastructure, and that our daughter Scarlett is a precious gift and the most important thing to us on this earth.

Ways to support us:

    -Share this blog, use it to get the prayer chain going!

    -Financial support:  This year we are running a fundraiser to support travel and medical expenses.  However, note that HALF of all proceeds will be donated to the Children's Heart Foundation for CHD research.  If you have questions, concerns, or wish to specify a donation distribution percentage other than 50/50, email us. 

***REMEMBER: If you want updates on Scarlett and how we're doing, you only have to read the blog!  We will often post multiple times daily beginning early July.  You may also contact us for anything if desired.  We would love hospital visits and any kind of support you'd like to offer; we know we will need it.

Thanks for reading.

-Scarlett's Daddy.

Some pictures of our beautiful girl!

Again, sorry there has not been a post in a while.  I have been thinking about it often, but didn't want to update the blog until I had all the information.  Well, it seems I will be waiting a while longer for everything that I wanted, so I thought I would just give everyone a quick update along with some pictures until I get the rest of the information...  So, in April we saw Scarlett's cardiologist.  Scarlett's echoes have been good, but the last couple months I have noticed Scarlett's O2 saturations dropping and of course wanted to see what the cardiologist thought/ how concerned Aaron and I should be about it.  She informed us that we will need to move Scarlett's surgery up.  Now up until this point we were waiting for Scarlett to gain enough weight, as we were told she needed to weigh at least 30 pounds, to be ready for her third heart surgery (the Fontan).  So of course Aaron and I had put the surgery out of our heads (as much as you can anyway) because we knew our 20 pound child would never reach 30 pounds by the summer (since this surgery isn't as urgent as the past they do it in the summer to avoid the "sick" months/ flu season).  Of course in true Scarlett fashion, she had other plans, and I guess just wants to get it over with!  So we will be traveling to Philly sometime this summer so she can have the surgery.  We have not been given a date yet, but I will update everyone as soon as I can.  Otherwise we would really appreciate any prayers anyone has to offer!

Now for some fun stuff, here are some of Scarlett's pictures!  :o)

Scarlett 20 months/ Easter 2012

Bubbles!!!

Easter bunny Glasses!

Scarlett 21 Months Old

Pretty Girl!

This is Scarlett's "Snorty" face!

Our beautiful little girl is 19 months old now (actually almost 20...)!  Wow how the time does fly.  There is not too much to report.  In the last month she has been sick, but luckily nothing serious or requiring any hospital visits.  Just an ear infection, sinus infection, and a virus.  Hopefully with spring right around the corner there will be no more problems.  Otherwise our little smart girl keeps absorbing information!  Still not much talking, but in addition to knowing her colors, shapes, and letters, she has now surprised us with knowing her numbers.  She only knows single digits, but I am blown away by her amazing little brain!  We have not worked on numbers AT ALL!!!  She has one little game on my phone that goes through them and apparently that is enough for her.  I can't wait for her to talking so she can tell me what she is thinking!!!  Otherwise Scarlett is loving that the weather is getting warmer and she is able to go outside and play!  She would be outside all the time if she had it her way!  Some of her favorite things to do are play with sidewalk chalk (which is great because that's one of Mommy's favorites too!!!) and of course riding her riding toys around.  She also has a little golf set which she enjoys hitting the golf ball around with.  Another favorite (probably THE MOST favorite) of hers is basketball (which thrills Daddy, because he has dreamed of teaching her basketball since FOREVER!).  Any time a basketball game is on she gets very excited and points at the TV.  She also has a "Little Tikes" basketball hoop that she enjoys dunking the basketball into.  Like I said she is so much fun!  Here are some of the most recent pictures!

Our Cutie!

Gotta LOVE that toothy grin!

Reading

I love how she holds her books now, she looks so grown up!

Oh Mr. Brown is such a GREAT book!

Being Silly

Singing "Wheels on the Bus"!
The Babies on the bus go Wah Wah Wah

The Mommies on the bus go Shhh Shhh Shh

What an ADORABLE little face!