Her name

We decided on her name a few months ago.  My goal was to know her name by the time I went to First Monday at the beginning of November.  Sounds dumb, I know, but I wanted to buy a few things especially for her!  It took us awhile for us {Aaron & I} to agree on a name.  We had plenty of boys names, of course, but finding the perfect name for our daughter was tough!  When all was said and done we agreed on a name that had come up when I was pregnant with Cohen.  It was Cohen's girl's name, I guess you could say.  We have loved it for almost 3 years, so we are bound to love it forever!  So, our precious baby girl's name is...

We definitely can't wait to meet our little Harper!  Or "Hawper" as Cohen says. :)

Psalm 139

1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me! 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. 5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. 6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. 7Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night," 12even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. 13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. 19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! 20 They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain!21Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? 22 I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies. 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Updates

We wanted to pass on some great news, thank you for your prayers and ask for you to continue to pray. We saw Dr. Laird, the pedo cardiologist again today and he called the check-up "very encouraging"! The fluid around the heart is now gone and it appears to be pumping "better". Also, the VSD (the large hole) appears to be "smaller" than it was and in his words "could possibly be trying to close up". The right ventricle was still slightly smaller than the left and the tricuspid valve still has a "moderate" leak. He said the words "very encouraging" several times, which made us smile...a lot. The structural defects are still there, but the heart overall seems to be functioning better.

We're in no way out of the woods yet, but he's stretched out our visits to every two weeks for now and things seem to be headed in a good direction. Thank you so much for your prayers. We ask that you continue to pray for her (and us).

Here are some pictures as of recent.  I feel very behind on updating, but this is the best I can do right now!

Noah turned 5 on the 21st and had a pirate party!

We had our Thanksgiving Feast and program at preschool.  Cohen was a turkey and wasn't really into singing in front of a large crowd!

Noah was a pilgrim and did a great job singing his song, saying his poem and playing instruments.  Still can't believe he is 5 and that this is his last year of preschool!

Our family of 4!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Christmas will be here before we know it!  Yikes!

Update on our baby girl...

We had a follow-up visit with Dr. Laird, the pediatric cardiologist and the report was not good on our baby girl's heart. The three structural issues that were identified last visit appear now to have been the result of a larger problem with the heart. In the last 5 weeks, her heart has grown "larger than it should be" and is now struggling to "squeeze" or pump normally. Some fluid has started to gather around the heart as a result of it being over-worked and in general he said "the heart looks worn out". The cause of these issues has yet to be identified. She could simply have a defective, weak heart. It could also be as simple as an infection in the heart or in her blood and the heart has been working extra hard to compensate. At this point they don't know anything and he wouldn't speculate given the wide range of possibilities. He did give me some medication that will hopefully help strengthen the baby's heart and pump more efficiently. We're meeting (hopefully tomorrow) with the same doctor who performed the level 2 sonogram to get another overall picture of the baby and her general health. This could help to pinpoint a cause of the symptoms or rule out others. We're also scheduled to meet with Dr. Laird again next Monday to check the progress on the heart.

Your continued prayers are appreciated!

From Captain Hook & Peter Pan:

A little Halloween preview....

Please pray for our baby girl...

On Tuesday, I had an appointment with a Dr. in Dallas for a level 2 sonogram at the recommendation of my OBGYN.  At my previous appointment with her, she noticed an abnormal heartbeat while listening to the baby.  So, she thought, just to be on the safe side, I get a more in depth sonogram done.  She assured me that she didn't think it was anything serious but wanted to be cautious.  So, we went to our appointment, thinking that they are just going to confirm what the OBGYN heard, and that it wouldn't be a big deal.  Well, it turns out the heartbeat sounded normal, but when looking at the heart he noticed what he thought was a heart defect.  He couldn't give us a ton of information since that isn't his expertise, so he referred us to a pediatric cardiologist at Medical City and made us an appointment for today.
   
So today, I had a fetal echo done on the baby (a very fancy sonogram). The doctor found 3 areas of concern on the baby's heart. The first is a "moderate to large" hole on the inner wall that separates the left and right ventricles. (Called a ventricular septal defect or VSD). The other concerns are that the right ventricle looks to be “slightly smaller” than the left and a valve on the same side has a “moderate” leak. I won’t spell out all the potential ramifications, concerns, etc. but the bottom line (with all 3 concerns) is that they each have about a 50/50 chance of improving/worsening. The good news is that none of these issues are having an affect on the baby’s development in the womb. So praise God for that.

We go back to the same doctor to check the progress in one month. The hope is that all three areas have improved. If they are the same and/or worse, the baby will probably need serious care and or surgery after birth. We ask that you pray that the strength of her heart will improve, that hole will close up and the leak will stop.

Thanks for your prayers and I will keep you updated!