warning: long blog!!!!

we had an amazing time this easter weekend. fun, fun, fun! it began with grammie and poppy comin' in for a visit! with the exception of grammie being sick friday, they both enjoyed playing with the kiddos all weekend long!! allie began the easter festivities by decorating eggs for the first time. she loved dropping them in the dye... i think only one of them did not crack... HA!

just after lunch the kids went hunting eggs in the front yard. lance, his parents, and i were cracking up at the kids.... they didn't want to put eggs in their baskets... they would just grab an egg, open it, eat everything in it, and then go to the next one. and i can't even tell you how disappointing the hard boiled ones were!

later on saturday we went to the zoo... (check back later for a zoo blog)!
Sunday morning we all went to church together and of course there had to be a photo moment. we were just grateful that it wasn't 40 degrees like they projected.

we did all the typical traditions... egg decorating, egg hunting, easter baskets, new sunday attire... but none of those things come close to the true purpose of this holiday. we hope that even in all the easter fluff you were able to reflect on Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. without that... we would have no hope!

moment to brag

if you'll all just spare me one minute... i need to brag on my amazing husband. he truly pulled all the stops for my thirtieth and made me feel soo special.

he started with watching the kids all weekend so that i could hang out with my girlfriends. then, on monday morning, he had flowers on the breakfast table and a full blown breakfast. we're talking bacon, eggs, hash browns, and biscuits! that night he came home with a date night bucket filled with candy, popcorn, cokes, and a movie. so after the kids went to bed, we snuggled on the couch and enjoyed a good movie. that was followed by a massage. the next night we went to the taste of tyler and enjoyed a sampling of foods from several restaurants in tyler. it was fun to break away from the typical date night and do something different. after leaving there, he gave me some cash and said he'd like to go shopping with me! WOW! i had fun looking for good deals to make my money go far and he kept me laughing the whole night.

it really was a special birthday and he truly is the BEST man ever! i'm just so proud to be his wife and needed to share that this morning....

thanks for letting me brag!

thirty and loving it!

well, today is the day... yep, i turned thirty! i have to say that it has had a great start! many people have told me that my thirties will be my best years... so far, so good!

this past weekend i had a chance to escape to pine cove's crier creek in columbus, texas. my friend, steph, and i decided that we would celebrate turning thirty in style. and with that, girl's weekend was born. the two of us, along with jenny, darcie, and kristen drove from tyler together. meeting us there were more friends... carrie, julie, ashley, brooke, and lisa.

i've included some pics for everyone to enjoy, but just incase it isn't obvious... yes, the entire weekend revolved around food! HA!

i do want to say thank you to the friends that came to help me celebrate! i had the best time staying up late, sleeping in, soakin' in the sun, and talking till we just couldn't any more. God has blessed me with some tremendous friends, old and new... i'm grateful for each of you!

happy hearts...literally

all of our prayers are being answered thanks to the great grace of God. my friend, jodie, is now home with her whole family. baby tommy is doing wonderful. And my brother updated me last night that baby jackie is in a regular hospital room with nothing but a little oxygen being administered. she just needs to learn to eat well again and they will be home soon! thanks for the continued prayers... you are all so good to go before the Father for these little ones!

spiked hair and basketball

we have a boy in the house...

enough said!

b'ville

last weekend we escaped to bartlesville for a visit with grammie and poppy. the kids had a blast and, of course, grammie and poppy loved every minute. some highlights include:

1. allie tasting tobasco sauce during lunch one day
2. caleb hiding one of grammie's puzzle pieces that would later be found in our luggage after returning home
3. a visit with some great friends, the hays and robbins.
4. taking the kids to the park

a visit with adam

ole uncle adam visited us two weeks ago. the kids enjoyed crawling all over him and he might of thought it was ok. david penuel and his family came on sat as well, but the camera was missing in action then... sorry. we had fun playing at the park and eating at mercados with everyone.

recovering

my heart has gone through many emotions in the last month and it can be said without a doubt that i am in a season of learning. it began with the bible study that started about six weeks ago. Keeping the Secrets of Jesus has been more than enlightening. i am just beginning to understand that there are certain practices/disciplines that will continually bring me to the feet of Jesus. And you can imagine that spending time at the feet of Jesus will, for anyone, magnify areas of sin. God has been helping me work through some junk in my life that has gone easily unnoticed.

A few weeks after this began, we stood alongside some friends and family as they each weathered the storms of heart surgery. i've never grieved with anyone before in quite this way. usually when trying to support someone in a difficult time... you pray for them, your heart hurts for them, you try to understand what it must be like, etc. However, for us, this was sooo different. For the first time ever, i linked arms with someone in great distress and did not have to wonder how they were feeling. For my friend, Jodie, my brother's family, and our family "felt the sentence of death," but in that grief we could all recognize that "this happened that we might not rely on ourselves, but on God, who raises the dead!" -2 cor 1;9 i'm grateful for the lessons learned when we endured this with caleb, but who knew that we were just beginning... we've lived through two more!

enjoy psalm 34 with us today! i encourage you to read the whole thing!
"glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together!"

baby business -

more good news for baby j....her blood coagulant levels are finally right after giving her something called "factor 7." As a result, they removed one of the internal heart pressure lines this morning. They've also removed her forehead and lower back oxygen sensors. Her color is great, and when one of the surgeons stopped by this morning, he said he was very impressed with her progress.

Her next big milestone is to wean her off the ventilator. Thanks for your continued prayers.

And yes, i have several things that i want to post about our immediate family... a recent visit with david penuel and adam roberts and our visit to bartlesville last weekend. i promise to get that up soon, but this just took importance right now!

baby jackie

jackie is doing well. her heart is looking great... However, she does have a bleeding problem that is keeping her from progressing to the next level of recovery. As they suction out her breathing tube, they keep getting a small amount of fresh blood. Her blood chemistry shows that she isn't producing enough coagulant, and she isn't responding to medication to fix the issue. The doctors don't want to remove any of the monitoring catheters until her bleeding has completely stopped. They don't seem worried yet, but very confused. Please pray that this issue would be resolved today and that the hematology experts can see her today or else they will have to wait until monday.

thanks for your constant prayers. we are not out of the woods yet!

Last night

I got to see beautiful jackie...

to whisper in her ear...
to stand beside her and thank God for his miraculous hand again...
to tell her that Caleb was anxious to swap stories...

She looks good considering!
Thank you friends and family for being so willing to pray! God is good!
I'm coming home this morning... please pray for a quick recovery so that mom and dad can settle back in at home!

final update of the day

matt and amy got to speak with the surgeon just after they sewed her up. He said that this was a very difficult surgery... saying alot for a man who has done 8,000 surgeries in his career. After everything was completed he said, "he watched her heart become happy!" I watched the relief on their faces and the tears began to fall. Thank you Jesus!

With urgent prayer, comes urgent praise... this is the passage that i used to praise the Lord with caleb and i echo it again with Jackie....

"Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them, he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and power, you have [saved the life of sweet jackie]"

Daniel 2:21-23


mandy

6:30 Update

the surgery is OVER... over 10 hours later! Jacqueline's heart is beating own its own and the doctor said that she is tolerating it well. He also said that it was a very long and difficult procedure. They are going to leave the. insision open for the next two hours to monitor bleeding. We are praying that they get to see Jackie by 8:30 or 9:00.

Mom and dad are getting pretty emotional... they are exhuasted.

4:30 Update

they are half way through the surgical part of the procedure.

2:00 Update

the surgeon is in the middle of it all. he has patched the septal defect and cut the artery that has narrowed. he still needs to reconnect the artery, cut and reconnect the pulmonary and aorta arteries, and patch one other hole in her heart. We are looking at going well into the evening before it is all said and done.

12:30 update

they just got their second update. for the past two hours the surgeon has been checking out the heart and seeing what needs to be done. they are moving slow and cautious... praise God. she has just been put on the bypass machine and they have been told that it will be a very lengthy procedure. if you want to see any pics of this beautiful baby or get more specific details on the surgery go to carepages.com and visit jacquelinescarepage in the search box.

10:00

baby jackie is doing great... they have just opened her up and should be putting her on the bypass machine shortly. matt and amy seem to be doing great. they are sleep deprived, but in good spirits. amy says that jackie is a fighter... she has already shown signs of being feisty.

keep praying!