Oh my HEAVENS!!

I know this picture is very blurry, but I absolutely LOVE it!!

Just look at this boy! Oh, I could eat him up!!

He is now officially what many people call- "a member of the Zipper Club"! And he's sportin' it pretty proudly, don't you think?!

We made the hour+ trip today back down to the hospital for Charlie's post-op visit. Of course, he is doing fantastic! They snipped the few sutures he had at the base of his scar (see the little hole) where the chest tube had once been. He has lost a bit of weight, but that is expected. Hopefully, his weight will be back to normal by next week. We have a tough time getting over the 17lb mark, though. He's been hanging out right around 17 for the past couple months, it seems. The surgeon put him on Lasix to help rid his body of all the extra fluid that heart surgery patients tend to produce for a bit after surgery. When he was discharged from the hospital, he was prescribed to take Lasix 3 times a day. Yuck! Today, after the surgeon witnessed that Lasix is indeed doing it's job very well (all down my leg!:), he decided that Charlie only needs to take it twice a day. Thank you! So, we have a follow up next week with our regular cardiologist and that's it. Hopefully, Charlie won't have the need to see another heart doctor except for the occasional check-up.

He is in a bit of pain now that the anesthesia is almost completely out of his system. Please, pray for all pain and discomfort to be gone!!

There are so many people I want to thank who have lifted us up these past couple of weeks. First, I KNOW that Charlie would not be where he is today if it not for all the prayers lifted to Our Father in his behalf. Charlie is a miracle with a healed heart, and it's all because of our Father's healing hand.

Mom and JJ- thanks for stepping up and taking care of our girls....again.:) Mom, thanks for sitting through the 4 hour gymnastics meet. And JJ, thank you for watching yet another Barbie Princess movie!!

Mom, Linda, Lamar, Laura and Bev- thanks for waking up early and driving over an hour through the rain to hold our hands during one of the most scary mornings of our lives. Your prayers and presence eased our minds just enough to make it through until we saw sweet Charlie's face again.

Auntie M, Uncle Pish and Stella- thank you so much for the groovy shirt (pictured above)!! Charlie is definitely a "Tough Cookie"!

Valerie- thanks for the food! BBQ...yummy!!!

Shelby and Mark- thanks for the glider to help soothe our little one while he hurts. It's helped calm him the past couple of nights when he needed it most.

Tara and your 4th grade class- thank you for the cards!! They were beautiful and will be treasured forever!! (Ya'll I will share a few of the cards written by these sweeties soon. They were awesome!)

All those who emailed, called and texted- thank you for thinking of us, praying for us and remembering us during your weekend.

I have so many emails I still need to respond to. Some are about surgery. Others adoption. And still there are those who just want to chat. Please, know that I am ever so slowly making my way through my inbox. I promise I'll get to you! Anna, I will send you that address tonight!

In Him,

E