Annie Update

First of all, thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your prayers. They were definitely answered!

Annie's surgery went great! They took her back around 8:45am this morning and the doctor came out a little before 11am and said they were done. He said he couldn't have asked for a better case! Her little head is all wrapped up (and will be for a while) and she still has several drains and other tubes...but she is doing good and has slept the whole day. She is running a bit of a fever, but apparently that is common. So they will monitor her fever closely to make sure it comes down over time and they have a schedule they stick by to give her the pain medicine to ensure she is not in any pain or discomfort. She will stay in ICU overnight and then hopefully tomorrow she will get moved to her own room. They said the nurses and doctors have just been wonderful.

Kristina sounded good when I talked to her a few hours ago. She said she could already tell a difference in the way Annie's forehead and browbone looked - she said she looked just perfect. The doctor said probably tomorrow she will look like Rocky with bruising and swollen eyes. But hopefully it shouldn't last longer than a couple of days.

Thank you again for remembering our niece in your prayers. Our whole family feels a huge sense of relief that the surgery part is over. Now we will keep praying for a painless and quick recovery! God bless you all!

Prayer Request for Annie

This is a special post - near and dear to both of our hearts. Michael and I both ask for you to remember our niece Annie in your prayers. Annie is almost 9 months old, and this Wednesday she will be having a pretty serious surgery to correct some bones in her skull that grew together too quickly. When Annie was born they realized she had what is called coronal craniosynostosis. So basically one of the openings of her skull closed too early. The openings of the skull normally remain open until about 2 years of age to allow the brain room to grow and expand during that rapid growth time. This condition causes some asymetry in facial features and could restrict the growth of the brain if it isn't corrected.

So, this Wednesday, Annie will be having surgery at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. They will go in and open those bones back up and repair them. She will be in the hospital for probably 5-7 days and will have some pretty severe swelling. She will have to wear a little helmet for many months following the surgery to protect her recovering and precious head.

The surgery is somewhat common (especially at TCH), and we have faith that everything will go just fine. But it doesn't change the fact that little Annie has to go through this and will have a pretty rough road of recovery here over the next few weeks. Our hearts also go out to my sister Kristina and our brother in law Oscar. As worried and anxious as we feel, it is obviously nothing compared to what they must be feeling to have their precious baby go through this.
Please, pray for Annie during her surgery this Wednesday morning. It should last at least 3-4 hours. She will be in the pediatric ICU for the first night and then should get moved to her own room after that. Thank you for keeping her and all of her family in your thoughts and prayers.

Annie is such a sweet and precious child. She has the biggest smile and is so expressive to everything around her. She can't take her eyes off her big brother Gabriel and big sister Grace. And boy do they love her. She has the most contagious laugh and is so much fun to play with.
I will be sure to post an update following the surgery. Thank you all again.

Here are some sweet pics of our little Annie. :) I also included a cute little video of her having some fun when I was there on Friday. I just love those little bouncy chair things. :)

(you can hear some of Annie on this video; the main little voice you hear though is Grace who was "helping" me and was watching through the screen with me.) hehe

Wonderful Weekend in Texas

We got back today from our weekend in TX. Michael headed down Wednesday night and got to fit in an A&M basketball game with his buddy Ryan. And the next night was able to get together with Lauren & Luke for a dinner. He enjoyed his time getting to see friends and family!

I took off on Friday and flew into Houston Thursday night and stayed with my oldest sister Kristina. I got to spend the whole day with her and the kids while Michael was in his continuing education class. The day started nice and early so it gave us the whole day to be together, talk, laugh together, cry together, and play with the kiddos. Gabriel had "Go Texan" day and got to get dressed up in his cowboy outfit...he was so cute and it was really neat getting to take him to school and see his little class. Then me, Kristina, Grace and Annie just had girl time. :) Then went to Casa Ole for the yummiest lunch ever. Mmm! ;) For those that do not know, my niece Annie is having a surgery this coming Wednesday at Texas Children's Hospital (I'll explain more in a special post dedicated to her in the next couple of days). So it meant the world for me to spend the day with her, holding her, and showing her just how much her Aunt Kyla loves her. And I have the sore right arm to prove just how much I held her! :)

After we picked up Gabriel, we took the kids to Build a Bear and Kristina and the kids made a bear for Annie to take to the hospital with her that has a recording of Gabriel and Grace's voices telling her they love her and to get well soon. It took them several takes to get the recording just right in the little sound proof booth, but they finally got it! Since the bear they chose is a "Get Well Soon" bear with patches and bandages, they decided to name her Polly Patches. Such a wonderful day!

Friday night we drove up to Dallas and spent the remainder of the weekend with my sister Katherine and her sweet family! We finally got to meet our new nephew/Godson Luke! He is so teeny tiny, I just couldn't believe it! He is absolutely precious and is the cuddliest little guy ever! I got to feed him several bottles, mastered several burps, and enjoyed lots of sweet cuddle time with my new little guy! Jacob was so entertaining as always and couldn't wait to show "Aunt Lyla" and "Uncle Moo-Moo"all his fun toys. Lunch on Saturday was another super yummy lunch at Chick-fil-a. Oh how I miss that place!

Michael and Jim went out and watched the pitiful A&M basketball game and then came home a bit defeated and bummed out. So we grilled fajitas outside in the BEAUTIFUL and WARM weather!! It was so fun to just spend the day with Katherine and the kiddos and just talk and be together. I've come to really appreciate every second I am able to have my with my family and friends b/c I sure do miss that when I am away.

Here are some pictures from our great weekend:

Annie and Grace having some of their own sister time.

Gabriel dressed up for Go Texan day at his preschool.

Kristina and the kids with Polly Patches

Me and my sweet Annie

Meet Baby Luke! So sleepy...
Enjoying some cuddle time

Uncle Michael with his new Godson

Jim grilling and Jacob helping out on his play grill :)

The new mommy!