A Glimpse of the Lyle Life

Our sweet treasure...PLEASE PRAY ... ~

2012-01-19T15:01:00.000-08:00

If you're my friend on facebook you know my grandma is very sick and in the hospital in ICU with a broken hip (now repaired), a possible mild stroke, sepsis, and pnuemonia and low blood pressure. It has been a tough 2 days. She is 89 years old and she is one of my most treasured blessings. I was born on her birthday and I am her baby girl. (yes even at my age) I ask for you to pray for her and for our family. We know that God is in control and she is being cared for by him, and only him. Her life is in his hands. Just wanted to share a letter with you my daughter Preslee wrote to her. She is actually her name sake... Sarah-Alice Preslee Lyle. Most children don't get the opportunity to know and love their great-grandmothers but my children have and we are so thankful. It is a gift. She is fighting and hanging on, so we keep praying and believing. We have a hope... that our Wildcat will come back. She is so strong.

She is a fireball and my favorite Comedian...

Dear Granny,

I love you and hope that you get better as soon as possible and that someday soon we can be together again in your bed reading Billy Graham books with each other and telling each other stories about our days. I am so glad to have you as my grandmother and to have you love me as myself. You are a wonderful person and a great granny. You are my world and I love you for having the heart to love me. God has a plan for me and you and loves us no matter what. He will prosper us and make us new in him. You are so funny and make me smile when I am with you. I will come to see you soon and I will write you another letter soon too. I'll try to stay away from the "meanies" and come see you soon because "saying I love you makes a person's day whole".

Your Dancing Doll,

Preslee

* This letter is worth more than any amount of money in the world..I consider it PRICELESS and the meaning behind it even more valuable. God has surely BLESSED our lives with my Grandmother, Sara Elizabeth Giles. I pray he isn't needing a perfect angel right now... Pray with us.

God Bless you All,

Rhonda

This was yesterday.. 1-18-12... My sweet heart ..I love you so !

Tuesday's Gone Pics......

2012-01-10T14:28:00.000-08:00

Just sharing some oldies but goodies.....I found... I don't know if they were taken on a Tuesday but anyways..... haha

4, 9wks, and 6 yrs... Where has the time gone??

Can't believe this lil man is almost 5!!

love this one..

Gonna start blogging again ...at least once a week...

Rhonda ~

Target Practice

2012-01-06T14:16:00.000-08:00

Its been a couple of days since Zeb's 6 month cardiology appointment and I have finally come to terms with it. YES, all in all we got a great report, and I cannot say how THANKFUL we are. I will admit that even in this thankfulness, I have been sad. Actually 2 days of complete sadness accompanied with nausea, and down right depression. His gradient went up significantly since his last 2 appointments. This is a red flag, a sounded alarm. I am upset. I am scared. There I said it.

Dr. L seems completely confident that Zeb is not in any danger now. I trust him with Zeb's life. After all he did save his life. God used this man to save my child's life. He was very positive that we don't need to stress or rush him back in earlier than 6 months, but he did stress that he couldn't go past 6 months. I was so frozen in the shock of the moment, I didn't dare ask him what happens if it goes up more. I know what happens, I know the reality. I know what we have been told time and time again. I don't ever again for as long as I live want to hear those words. I will not even say it on this blog or anywhere out loud, but I know my heart mom friends know the answer. It is always in the back of my mind but sometimes for a minute you forget.

For now , we wait and we believe and we hope in God and trust him for the miracle we know Zeb already is and we continue to be thankful every day. This is what we do.

In reflection of the last visit, I couldn't help to think that somehow every time we go for the heart check, its like walking into a target range or target practice. You are going in not knowing if today is the day we are going to just be a target or if today is the day we are going to be hit with the bullet. Frankly I don't like being in the line of fire or my son being the bullseye. It is not a good feeling. It SUCKS!!! I can say this I would stand in front of any firing range for him any day to keep him from having to face another $#@*(!#* .

God in his unconditional love and grace gave me some assurance that day as well, even as we got into the car to drive home, smiling on the outside but riddle with hurt and fear on the inside, through song... These are the 2 songs that came on the radio: "While I am Waiting" ( I will Trust You) - John Waller and then immediately after, " My hope is in You Lord" - Aaron Shust. I am still amazed every time he speaks to me so boldy. I am thankful...and I am clinging to these words and to HIM. He is GOOD.

Rhonda ~

Thursday Morning Car Ride .... and SITE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION>>>

2012-01-05T05:31:00.000-08:00

The Things going on in my car this Thursday Morning:

"Would you rather eat buggers on a sandwich or roaches? Remember Buggers aren't alive!"

"She's touching Me, and breathing on me!! "

Kerrigan reading to Zeb a Halloween book... in January.

Preslee telling me about this boy at school who pretends to hug hisself while making smoochie faces...He thinks he is funny... Really?? Then she says.."You know mom like he is making out?"" .... WHAT!!!! She is 11....I spun my head around like the exorcist lady on that one......

Radio Blaring Justin Beiber or Jason Aldean or whoever my daughter's have hijacked my radio with that given morning....and the sing along which with all the other chatter, I don't see how they do it... and then someone starts singing "All the single ladies".... That would be Z...he is so funny sometime....

"Mom...she wont read to me anymore!! "

" Mom ....YOU JUST PASSED THE SCHOOL!!".....

It is a wonder if I ever make it there...LOL...

Rhonda ~

*** FYI I am working on my blog...trying to update it some.. so if you see something wierd on it..I am trying.. or maybe I just forgot..LOL...

My Blessings

Wordless Wednesday.... Counting Blessings...

2012-01-04T11:34:00.000-08:00

Haven't blogged in forever, but I always read your blogs my friends.....I am going to try to start blogging more...

Rhonda ~

Our special heart..... "Zeb"

2011-08-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

My friend and fellow heart mom - Stefenie is once again sharing "Every heart has a story ... " on her blog, http://www.whenlifehandsyouabrokenheart.blogspot.com/ linking and connecting heart families across the world to help connect and support each other but also the main purpose is to spread awareness of CHD ( Congenital Heart Defects). Stop by her blog and read these stories, you will be very BLESSED . 1 in 100 CHILDREN WILL BE BORN WITH A CHD.... What if 1 of them was yours?? I never even knew about it until it happened to us... Spread Awareness and Create Hope ~!

SAWYER "ZEB" LYLE

If you were to see our family walking in the mall you would never imagine that we have been touched by Congenital Heart Disease. You would see a mom, dad , 2 daughters, and a pretty healthy looking 4 year old. Just looking at the picture above you see a 4 year old little boy full of life on the beach. You could never even guess, he had been in heart failure two times, had 2 lifesaving closed heart surgeries, one 1 open heart surgery only a year and a few months ago. You could observe him playing and see me ( his mom) close by watching every move he makes and think - "Wow!, She is very overprotecting of him. Just let him be a boy! " or you can see us around town and say to me "Hey, Is he playing Soccer this year? " and tears spring to my eyes, as I say "No,he's not playing." It is not something you can always view from the outside, in fact CHD's can hide in some cases and you don't find out until you are sitting in and emergency room with your 4 week old baby boy and they are not sure if he is going to make it. At this point he is in full blown heart failure. He has to be flown to a hospital 4 hours away (if he makes it) to attempt to save his life. This is our story, this is our life........

Our sweet baby boy, Sawyer “Zeb” Lyle was born on March 2, 2007. He was diagnosed as a healthy baby boy weighing 9lbs, 9oz. The doctor did detect a slight heart murmur but told us that because he was 3 wks early that it was perfectly normal and would go away in a week or two. During our hospital stay I noticed that his nail beds of his hands and feet were blue. I mentioned this on two occasions to the nurses and was told that it was perfectly normal. Even with this concern, we were sent home without a pulse ox test. It was never even mentioned to us as an option.

At 4 wks old, I noticed that Zeb was unusually fussy before bedtime, not his normal cheerful self. He would not eat, he was sweating and I thought he was breathing funny, more through his stomach than through his chest. Of course I called the doctor’s office after hours and was forwarded to an ER Triage Nurse and had spoken with her two times during the night. She basically suggested I was being overly concerned and that he must just have a tummy ache, and suggested pedialyte and following up with the pediatrician. Finally I had enough, I knew something was seriously wrong, It was almost morning. I called the Doctors office again and basically demanded that they see Zeb. I got in the car and my husband met us at the Doctors office at 7am before they were even open. As soon as his pediatrician saw him, he also knew something was wrong. He called 911 and had an ambulance come to his office and he was taken directly to ICU at our local Children’s Hospital. After several tests a Pediatric Cardiologist came in and and told us that our baby was in critical heart failure and that he was born with a Congenital Heart Defect, aka CHD. A WHAT?? CHD??? We were so clueless. We had never heard of such a thing. WHY ?? Why is it that we had never heard of the #1 Birth Defect in the United States?? He was diagnosed with Severe Aortic Stenosis and a bicuspid Aortic Valve. The gratient pressure in his little heart was well over 100, his left ventricle was enlarged and overworked due to an undiagnosed CHD. How could this have happened? We were told that we made it to the hospital just in time, another hour or two without help and he would have died. We would have lost our precious son. The nightmare continued as our baby was put into a helicopter and flown to Charleston, SC to MUSC the only hospital in our area to perform the life saving procedure he needed. I pray that no other parents should ever have to see their baby flown away in a helicopter and especially not knowing if you would see them alive again. This was a horrible nightmare. It didn’t have to happen this way.

We finally 4 hours later reached our baby boy as we had to drive to Charleston. After his procedure were taken into a small room and told that they were able to open his valve to relieve the pressure but because he was so small it had torn and a caused a leak or insufficiency in the valve. I can today, still hear that Dr. Say...”Your son will have to have multiple surgeries throughout his life”. This was not a dream, this was our new reality. After 6 days, we were sent home and monitored weekly by the Cardiologist as to the next step to help our son’s heart. Exactly 4 wks later, he was 8 wks old he began to show signs of rapid breathing, sweating again and he was sent again to Charleston via ambulance as all the flights were grounded due to the weather and we could not wait and extra day. They were able to do the aortic vulvoplasty ( a closed heart surgery) again to open up the valve. He was sent home again 7 days later with the knowledge that he would be closely monitored because he would have to have another procedure and/or surgery again. This is the hardest thing I have ever had to face. Watching my child grow, play, laugh and live and waiting for the ball to drop, the ax to fall or whatever term you want to use. Cardilogist visit after visit we held our breath, waiting.

It happened when we least expected it. At our routine 3 month cardiologist appointment in February 2, 2010 the cardiologist gave us the news. Zeb’s heart has taken a turn for the worse and he will need Open Heart Surgery to survive. This was a hard day. I cannot explain this, there are no words.

Zeb’s Open Heart Surgery was scheduled for February 26, 2010 in Charleston. We planned and prayed and readied ourselves as much as one could possible do. How do you ready yourself for your toddler to have open heart surgery? The day before we were scheduled to leave we were called from MUSC to tell us that they had two emergency newborn cases and Zeb’s surgery would have to be bumped back a little. As distraught as I was to be moved after all the anticipation and planning, etc. I wondered if those parents knew about CHD before it came in like a flood into their lives. The new date was given to me over the phone via the nurse and I think that in my world time stopped for a moment. The new date was 3-2-10. This date is our son’s 3rd birthday. I was so upset and speechless, I had to tell the lady I would call her back. My husband then had to take over, It was more than I could take. He called her back and confirmed the date. It was so heartbreaking. What child deserves to have open heart surgery on their birthday? However as parents, we have seen heart failure and we don’t ever want to go there again. So we agreed. Of course this birthday would be very different, no birthday party, no celebration, but much needed open heart surgery to save our son’s life.

This was our son's 3rd birthday

Zeb had his open heart surgery on his birthday 3-2-10. They were able to do a valve repair instead of the Ross Procedure which was the planned surgery. Seven days later were sent home with the news that this is only temporary. CHD never goes away. THERE IS NO CURE.

Alot of people, (meaning well) will ask me " So is everything ok now? He's fixed right? " . It is a hard question to hear and your momma bear comes out but you just smile and say ...He is doing well now. There is no fix, no miracle cure. CHD never goes away. Zeb goes to his cardiologist every 6 months and everytime we go we sit and hold our breath waiting. The Dr. tells us every time, that eventually Zeb will have to have more surgery. For now his pressure is stable even though his valve is repaired, it is stenosed. Also they are always monitoring his mitral valve which has a slight leak and is deformed but it is good now as well. He can be a typical little boy and yes, we do let him do that to some point. However , you will notice me being very overprotecting as the average person may call it . Yes I am a pulse ox, germ gel toting Mommy and Yes I watch every move he makes and make sure he doesn't play to hard , but this is my NORMAL. (Smile)

I have shared two videos that I made for Zeb, aka Zbug with parts of his heart journey on two previous posts....See them here:

http://lylefamily5.blogspot.com/2011/08/our-hero-at-onetruemediacom_15.html

and

http://lylefamily5.blogspot.com/2011/08/zeb-heart-journey-i-at-onetruemediacom.html

Also don't forget to stop by Stef's blog http://www.whenlifehandsyouabrokenheart.blogspot.com/ and be introduced to amazing heart families and brave kiddos...You will be inspired and BLESSED!

Zeb starts 4K tommorow and like the typical mom I will shed some tears. However my tears will have a little different meaning then most. Yes I am sad that "my baby" is growing up., YET I REJOICE as I see him with his little backpack on all ready for school tommorow and I think of how far he has come as I see him embracing life. He is so BRAVE and He is our HERO 'aka' as our superman.... SO YES I AM THANKFUL he is going to 4K... he's come a long way baby!! PRAISE GOD!!!

We are so Blessed to be able to participate in this blog event and we look forward to meeting new friends. Thank you for taking the time to stop by our blog. God Bless you All!! :)

ALSO; PLEASE CHECK OUT A WONDERFUL WAY TO SPREAD CHD AWARENESS ON PINTEREST...HERE'S THE LINK!! EVERYBODY GET TO SHARING!! :)

http://pinterest.com/ruth_h/the-faces-of-chd-congenital-heart-awareness-week-f/)

Rhonda ~

OUR HERO at OneTrueMedia.com

2011-08-15T10:10:00.001-07:00

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

ZEB'S HEART JOURNEY I at OneTrueMedia.com

2011-08-15T10:09:00.001-07:00

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

We've been BUSY......

2011-06-09T12:43:00.000-07:00

Miss you guys!! I will be back soon...

Love ya
Rhonda ~

OUR HERO - Zeb's Heart Journey VIdeo II

2011-03-22T17:13:00.001-07:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Finally was able to bring myself to compile and share all these pictures from Zeb's surgery a year ago. I think of how far he has come and how strong he is and I am so thankful. I was inspired to post these by a very special heart mom friend... Jen and she doesn't even know it. She posted right away all the pictures of her son Andrew during his recent OHS and time in the hospital and I was so BLESSED to see such a strong fighter and encouraged and I realized that I didn't post Zeb's because it was hard for me but how many others could it possibly Bless?? To see these children and how much they have endured and to see how AMAZING they all are, gives me HOPE to face another day and STRENGTH to know that we can ENDURE this journey together. I love you my heart friends, thank you for sharing your children's journey with all of us.
Stop by Jen's Blog and see how Andrew is doing. Also, if you missed Zeb's Heart Journey Part 1 it is at the bottom of my Blog.

Love ya
Rhonda

WORDLESSS WEDNESDAY ....

2011-03-16T10:18:00.000-07:00

DID SOMEONE CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT???

JUST LIKE DADDY

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!!

LOVE,

RHONDA

Sometimes you just got to chill .....

2011-03-05T16:09:00.000-08:00

We got a tired little boy..We have been doing so much celebrating his 4th birthday and we haven't had his party yet.....

sleepy little boy....love how his hat is down...chillin out..

HE REALLY WAS SOUND ASLEEP!!

Been catchin up with all my blogs since I haven't been on blogger this week ...love reading all of your blogs...LOVE YOU ALL!! I am behind.... I got lots to share including Zeb's birthday festivities....his party is this weekend the 12th so I will share a big post after that... We are so BLESSED and so Thankful!

Many Blessings and Lots of Love to you ALL,

Rhonda

Reasons to smile...

2011-02-21T18:15:00.000-08:00

I don't have to look for reasons to smile...
I just look around and see what God has done in my life....

I have an amazing Savior - Jesus who loves me unconditionally.....

I have 3 beautiful children when Drs. said I couldn't have any...
I have an wonderful husband and father to our children.......
I have a miracle living in my home and everyday when I see him I am reminded of God's Awesome Grace...

- Lately he has decided that he is no longer Zeb, he is now Shark Boy from the movie Shark Boy and Lava Girl
and he is always doing something fun and silly to make me laugh...

He has a SMOOTH style...He did on his own!! HAHA

It is so hard to believe that he will be 4 years old next week, and that it will also be his 1 year anniversary of his open heart surgery. He is amazing and stronger than I have ever been in my life. We didn't get to Celebrate his "Birth" day last year, their were no presents, no balloons, or even a Happy Birthday on his birthday.... My son had open heart surgery on his day, only by chance, since we got bumped but I will never forget the birthday that I could not even tell my sweet son as I held him before surgery, Happy Birthday. I cannot explain that pain.

This year we are going to CELEBRATE BIG , the miracle we have and his life and the joy he brings. It will be all about him!! I will share all of it in future posts...but I can tell you ..IT IS GOING TO BE AMAZING!!! We have been so BLESSED and I am so thankful beyond any words!!

Much Love ~

Rhonda

Go ahead call me Crazy....

2011-02-16T17:54:00.000-08:00

My Friend Stef at http://www.whenlifehandsyouabrokenheart.blogspot.com/ is having a blog event and we always love to participate. If you already are a reader of my blog, you know me well, if you are new to my blog, I am so excited to have you and I hope you stop by back anytime.
************************************************************************************

I don't know if it is really possible to express how different and how much our relationships with just about everyone has changed since almost 4 years ago the CHD monster came into our life . I could say it was like a storm, but with storms you usually have lighting and thunder first, we had no warning.

Zeb being taken to lifeflight at 4 wks old

You think that your life is pretty much set and mapped out for you and you know who your family really is, your close friends are and you either have an established faith in God or you don't , and you know the man you are married to, until something happens and everything you have known to be true is sort of hazy. You really don't know anymore, and you have to search your soul and find it again. I can say this is what happened to us.

I will say that I have been very BLESSED to have many friends. I cannot count on my hands and feet the number of friends that I actually have.    I am very thankful. However we all know that there are friends and then there true friends, these I can count on one hand. The kind that if you were jumping off a bridge, they would jump with you to make sure you didn't get hurt as you fell. In a world when bad things happen and people don't know how to react you find out who your real true friends are. My true friends never left my side, they were in the PICU with me when the Dr. gave us the devastating diagnosis, taking control of my girls, getting them food, taking over when I could not stand. They traveled hours at the drop of the hat to meet us and wait with us and pray for our son, every time. Every single Dr. Appt for 3 1/2 years they have text me waiting to find out what the report is, ready to run to my rescue if I needed them. When my son was taken back for open heart surgery, they all surrounded me in the waiting room praying. This I can say is a true friend and these relationships did not change, in fact I think that they all grew closer. They view my children like there own. I can say that I felt love that could only come from God. These relationships help to make me a stronger person. I am strong because I know that when I am not they will hold me up. This is an amazing gift, and I know it is from God.

Now of course, It is not always sunshine and roses when it comes to other friends. You have people who don't understand you anymore and think you overreact to everything. They see my very active almost 4 year old and he looks perfectly healthy and they think, she is just crazy. I have been called that many many times. People do not understand why my husband posts a big sign on our door warning you that if you are sick, you can't come in to our house. They don't understand why I have germ gel in every room, my car, my purse. They don't understand that if my son is having an off day or he just doesn't act right I think it is his heart.  I sometimes stay home from events, church, etc. if I know the flu or some other illness has been going around. If he runs a fever, I don't wait it out, I go to the doctor right away. They think that I am crazy, but they have never lived the nightmare of heart failure and not know if your child will live or die. Its also hard for them to understand why you are so protective and want let him stay with just anyone. I am not a mother who just leaves my children anyways but now I am worse. I will admit that CHD rocked my world and yes I am changed completely but everything I do is for my son and my girls. I will protect them. God gave them to me as a gift and I will sacrifice for them whatever the cost.   So go ahead call me crazy...I CAN TAKE IT!! I have lived through worse. It is hard to admit and sad but I have had some of these attitudes from family too.

Let me begin with saying that I do have an amazing supporting family but we all know that family is not perfect either and neither am I.   Our family has embraced us and stood by our side, caring for my children, helping out any way that they can and I am BLESSED by this. However, some relationships have changed some for the good and some not. But I take this atttitude, I will choose to LOVE. If they choose to not understand me or think I am crazy, then so be it. I have been extremely loved and I have been hurt by family during this 4 years but CHD changes you and some things just don't matter anymore. I will not argue over the little things or waste time that I have with my children worrying about something that I cannot change.    I will be who I am suspose to be in Christ and this is why I will not elaborate on the hurts because in the grand scheme of things, its ok. God will work it out.

As I said GOD will work it out. The relationship that has really changed is my relationship with God. I have always been a christian and I have always loved God. Until CHD I actually thought I knew what it meant to "Walk In Faith" . I have lived with almost 9 years of infertility and prayed for God to give us children, right? WRONG!!! You do not know what it means to Trust in God until you see your child lying on a hospital bed and there is nothing you can do. I have never felt so helpless in my life and I knew that nothing I said or did could change that. It was totally up to God. You learn a whole new Faith. I knew that I had to trust God or go completely mad. I am not saying that I am super human and don't worry because I do, I worry way to much. I am just saying that I now have a complete understanding of trusting God. When you have nothing there is still hope in God. My prayer is that people will see God in me and that I am on this journey to help others and that his Glory will shine through. Then of course you have the people who don't understand this and think that you are again CRAZY....Look at all you have gone through and you still Praise Him.. Well YES I DO!! I hold a miracle in my arms today because of his Grace. (Really I have had this said to me.)

I guess the relationships that have changed the most would be my immediate family relationships, my husband and my children. I have seen a man that I have been married to for 20 years, yet I have never met until now. I have seen 2 of the bravest and strongest big sisters in my sweet girls. Its hard to say when it our family changed but it has. My husband and I have always been close, but CHD has brought us closer. We are united together in that whatever we have to do to take care of our son and our family we will do it. Together.   I told you before that I am a worrier. Some days I just can't seem to get it all together, and he will just know that I need him to say its ok. He will just take over.  I have seen strength in him and love in him that I have never seen before and I have seen him broken. We have leaned on each other in that if one of us moves we both will fall. There are days that we have arguements because I overreact but he keeps me grounded. We know that we are on the same team at the end of the day and that we don't ever quit the team. CHD has made us strong and has given us a renewed commitment. We might not always say it but it is there stronger than ever.

Me and My husband Sonny of 20 years

Our daughters, they were so young when CHD happened to our lives. Preslee was only 6 and Kerrigan was only 4. They have seen more in their young lives than most. They have seen things, ugly scary things that young children shouldn't have to see or endure. They have experienced trauma. There was no preparing them and sitting down and having a talk with them. They lived it right along with us. Preslee at 6 years old had to be her brother's hero in a panicked ride to the Dr. and monitor her brother's breathing. I will say they are way beyond their years, I regret this. I wish I could have sheltered them but it was not to be. We did not choose this, it just was the plan that was laid before us. However today, they know that life is precious, they know that life can change at any minute, they are not afraid to ask the hard questions about their brother's health. They are fighters right along with us and they know that it is not in our hands but God's hands. They have had to miss alot of things, (the first time Zeb was sick we completely missed Easter with them) and have been shuffled around alot because of their brother's health but they are such troopers, they take it and they keep smiling and they are not jealous, they love Zeb as much as we do. I always say he has 3 Mommies. We try to make special time with them so they feel special also. It has been very hard to be away from them when Zeb has been hospitalized. We don't want them to ever feel that they are not as important to us. Having one child with a chronic illness is hard on the other children, bottom line, but our sweet girls, they make it look easy. So yes our relationship has really changed we are more united as a family unit and these girls know every day how special they are to us and they are their brother's biggest cheerleaders. We are very PROUD of them.

Kerrigan & Preslee - Our sweet daughters

This has been a really difficult subject to talk about and I think I have covered most of the relationships that have changed and been affected. I can say that even though some are good and some are bad, every thing has a purpose and even though somethings I will never understand I just keep going forward and hope that someone will be BLESSED by our journey and love their children more, and treasure their family more, and see God for who he really is They can call me CRAZY if they want..I really don't care! If only for HIS Glory I will go!!

Many Blessings,

Rhonda ~

REALITY OF CHD

2011-02-10T14:07:00.000-08:00

CHD AWARENESS WEEK FEBRUARY 7-14TH

WE ARE 1 OF 100.

WE WERE NOT AWARE OF CHD UNTIL IT HAPPENED TO US.
I'VE NEVER POSTED THESE PICTURES UNTIL TODAY. ITS A HARD THING FOR ME EVEN NOW, BUT IT IS THE REALITY OF CHD.

SO A FEW PICTURES OF MY HERO....THIS IS WHY WE NEED MORE RESEARCH AND MORE AWARENESS.......

This is Zeb right after surgery, the first time I saw him.

Our lil Braveheart

WE NEED MORE RESEARCH, CHD RESEARCH IS VERY UNDERFUNDED. YET IT IS THE #1 KILLER OF CHILDREN.
SUPPORT RESEARCH, SPREAD AWARENESS
ENCOURAGE HOPE

COME SUPPORT RESEARCH THIS VALENTINE'S WEEKEND..

HOPE FOR BRAVEHEART'S PANCAKE BREAKFAST
FATZ IN EASLEY, SC
7:30 AM - 10:00 AM
ALL MONIES RAISED GOES DIRECTLY TO RESEARCH
TICKETS ARE $7.00

http://www.hopeforbravehearts.org/

FOR MORE INFORMATION, YOU CAN EMAIL ME AT WEBE4JESUS@ATT.NET
TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR, JUST LET ME KNOW YOUR COMING.. WE HOPE YOU CAN MAKE IT!!

RHONDA ~

AWARE

2011-02-08T19:24:00.000-08:00

It is CHD AWARENESS WEEK... and I have yet to post a blog about awareness. This is not because I am slack or I am lazy or that CHD Awareness is not one of the most important causes in my life.  It is because this week our family has been hit by great loss. To say I we are heartbroken would greatly under estimate our feelings but it is the only words I can find.

This week, I have seen a beautiful life leave this world for heaven. I have seen a mother tell her baby goodbye for the final time. I have seen a beautiful 6 month baby boy laid to rest. I have cried out to God, Why? I have felt hurt, anger and sorrow but yet I know that I have not felt one ounce what my sweet cousin, Amy has felt in saying goodbye to her child, Baby Jayden. Today was his funeral and it was a precious service and so fitting for him and his life. He was a light to this dark world but God had bigger plans for him. I know he rests at the feet of our Savior. In this I have complete Faith. I will see him again in Glory. My life is forever touched because of him. I love this child like my own and he carried a piece of my heart with him to heaven.

However, today I can say that somehow as our family's world has been turned upside down, off set into a time warp so to speak. I have become more AWARE. Aware of how life is so fragile and that it is fleeting. Aware that all around us there are things happening beyond our control.   To me it is not fair for this to happen. It is somehow wrong, yet it happens every day. Somewhere, a mom is saying goodbye to her child, every day.   Oh God, I cannot imagine.

As a mother of a child with CHD. I am AWARE of the risk, I am AWARE of what could happen. This is why I care so much about CHD AWARENESS. Our message needs to be heard. I never knew what a CHD was until it happened to our son. Until we almost lost him. I can say during those hours of uncertainty I could barely breath, much less stand. Yet everyday mothers are losing their children to a monster called CHD and many of them have never even heard of it until it happens to them. We are 1 of 100 and we had to ask.."What is a CHD?" This should not happen.

Our sweet Jayden was not a Chd baby, he had a brain injury and nothing I could have said or done would have changed that.    I know that I cannot control CHD either, but I can be a voice and tell everyone about CHD and the signs and the simple test that can be done in a hospital that can save another family from the heart ache of losing a child because of an undiagnosed CHD. I can do something, I hope you will too.

Spread Awareness...Spread Hope...Support Research.... Make a difference!

Rhonda ~

RaRa Loves You Jayden....One day I will hold you again

SNOW YOU LOVE THESE.....HAHA!!

2011-01-11T12:52:00.000-08:00

Zeb really really LOVES Snow!! Ya think???

Preslee- Don't let her fool ya..She has a snowball ready to hit me!!

Kerrigan- Nope...She is not innocent Either!!

And as cute as he is....Nope Neither is he~!!

Enjoying our "SC" Blizzard - 1/10/11 ( Daddy was taking Pic)

Many Blessings,

Rhonda ~

Merry Christmas from Our Heart to Yours.....

2010-12-23T08:02:00.000-08:00

Zeb wishes you a Merry Christmas!!!

Z--- I mean Rudolph wishes you a Merry Christmas!!!

The Whole Lyle Crew...Wishes You a Merry Christmas!!!

Our Family wishes you a wonderful Christmas filled with Love, Hope, and Miracles!! God Bless You all this Beautiful Season and May we all remember the reason.... JESUS...The Newborn KING!!!

Many Blessings,

Rhonda :)

Tuesday Funnies....

2010-12-07T05:39:00.000-08:00

As you guys know there is never a dull moment at the Lyle house but a couple things happened last night that just had us in stitches and if you are like most of us on Tuesday morning after the Crazy Mondays we have you need a good laugh, so I thought I would share...

The first thing involves of course our lil heart...Zman...You know our innocent lil sickly child...YEAH RIGHT!!! He is always an adventure. A lot of people who don't know us will say " Now this is not the heart child is it?? " Well YES!! Yes it is!! Praise God !! It is!!! He does have bad days but let me tell you he is a normal rowdy 3 year old boy and he trys to run with the best of them.....Anyways..getting on my soapbox here.... so he was very quiet and quiet is not a good thing when it comes to Z...

Well I go into his room where he is suspose to be playing and what do I find??? WELL he is cooking... he has the tea bags/ box and all and he has opened them all of them into his toy box, his clothes bin, his mega block firetruck and he says...." Look Mommy...I am mixing up the sugar!" Oh MY GOODNESS!!! And with the sweetest little grin.... I have never seen such a mess... I was just shocked. I had to walk away...... Well lets just say..I still don't know if I got all of the tea grains out of his room/clothes/toy box, firetruck... but I tried.... ( of course Daddy was not home to see this one...Thank Goodness) :) Life with Zeb..count on an adventure...sometimes a mess...Forever a BLESSING!!

Well the 2nd Funny includes me.... and You can laugh because I still am.. Finally Hubby comes home from work, then Fire Department meeting and whatever else his Monday holds...blah blah blah...uggh..I hate Mondays..usually and kiddies are in bed fast alseep and I am lying on the couch trying to relax a min before bed. I here a noise from under the TV Stand..I keep thinking that a mouse or some creature..GOD FORBID is trying to come into our house through our cable cord area because it is crazy cold outside. It is FREAKING me out! So I yell for my husband to come in there and he gets on the couch with me and we turn the TV down and he puts his feet up and we mute the TV and we keep hearing the sound..and I say see you hear it...he says "ssssh...be quiet.." Then all of the sudden....The TV stand door opens and I scream...."AAAAH" Really Loud!! .... So much for the mouse or the creature of the night.....It was the dvd player the door was hung up and it was trying to open and it was hitting the door of the TV stand....My husband is still making fun of me. It is a wonder I didn't wake up all the kids... OH well..Like I said...It is never a dull Moment!!!!

See You in The Funny Papers,

Rhonda :)

Decoration Problems???? Anyone????

2010-12-03T15:46:00.000-08:00

LOL.....
MANY BLESSINGS,

Rhonda

Little Goblins

2010-11-01T18:11:00.000-07:00

It's not Halloween without Trick O Treat, a Bonfire, Marshmallows, Roasted weiners, Candy apples, and
TONS of candy, aka sugar in a wrapper and of course the cute costumes. I love it! It is one of my favorite times of the year. I can't wait to see all the kids costumes and the pictures and it is so much fun and then I have to get creative and find ways to hide the candy when it is all over, but the memories are unforgettable! Here are a few pics of the costumes of my little goblins:

Happy Halloween 2010 !!

Our Beautiful Bumble Bee

Our Cute Guitar Diva

It's Superman!

Let's Party!!!!

Many Blessings,

Rhonda

ZEBOLOGY

2010-10-26T07:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder how the world really looks from a 3 year olds perspective and then Zeb will give me just little glimpse of his perspective and it makes my day. I thought I would share. Last night we were waiting in the car for Daddy while he was in the phone store ( it takes FOREVER) and Zeb said out of the blue:

" Mommy when you are sick, you don't drive a car." Me: " Really?" ( I know immediately he is thinking about my Grandma whom we help to take care of , she is 88, and has never driven yet he does not know this. ) Zeb: " Actually (his new big word) when you are sick you can't jump on the trampoline." ( This of course breaks my heart, because I know immediately what he means) Me: " Well, You can jump on the trampoline now buddy! " He then grabs me in the biggest hug around my neck you can imagine and with the biggest grin ever looks me eye to eye and says: " I CAN DRIVE A CAR TOO!! "

SO that folks is Zebology!! He can do anything!! Yes ...I want him to know that he can do ANYTHING and YES he can drive a car...just not at 3 years old, I am still laughing about that face and that comment. It was one of those you had to be there to get the full effect but it was GREAT!!

Much Love and Many Blessings,

Rhonda ~

SEE ~ A Tribute to the Angels

2010-10-22T13:15:00.000-07:00

*** note you will have to mute my music player at page bottom to hear video ***

This past month has been just heart wrenching in the CHD world all the precious angels that have flown into the the arms of Jesus. As a mom of a child with CHD it was just too much to bear, however it wasn't even a small amount of what the mothers and fathers have had to bear in their loss. I cannot imagine. I cannot see. Today, one of my dear friends, who lost their precious son Isaac asked had I heard this song. This song was written by Steven Curtis Chapman for his beautiful daughter Maria that he lost in a tragic accident. It captures something, I cannot explain. It is truly of God, it is amazing. I do not know what it is like to lose a child, I pray that I never do, but I pray that one day we will See what God has for us. I dedicated this song to Isaac, to Annabelle, to Cora, to Joshua, to Ewan, to Emma, and to all the many other beautiful angels that have flown into the arms of Jesus. I know one day we will all SEE.

From one mother's heart to another, I love you and I love your babies too. God Bless you and Keep you until we all SEE...I pray for you daily.

Many Blessings,
Rhonda :)

Sometimes 9 is a Big Number..... :(

2010-10-07T14:01:00.000-07:00

If you have 9 dollars you don't have much...

If you have 9 cookies you still don't have a dozen..

If you have 9 days off a year, you don't have much time off...

but when you have 9 children die of Congenital Heart Defects in a week just in the circle of CHD Mom's you know about it is 9 too many, 9 families planning funerals, 9 families hearts breaking.. Even 1 is too many!

I have not been able to get this off my mind this week, I have cried and cried, it has taken my breath, I have prayed and cried out for these mothers. I will admit I have been angry, I have questioned God, I do not understand. It is not fair. This beast called CHD continues to rage, and still there is not enough research, there is not enough funding, there is not enough awareness and for some there is not enough time. Do all you can ...help spread awareness, help fund research; http://www.hopeforbravehearts.org/

Please continue to pray for all of these families each one of them need your prayers, http://www.team-ewan.com/ and http://www.fierceandfiesty.blogspot.com/, these are just two, sweet Ewan and Sweet Joshua.
We love you Sweet Angels and we will meet you all again one day.

If anything Lord, Please help us not to take one day for Granted, to try not to complain, to remember that each day is a gift and that we are Blessed.

Much Love,

Rhonda

A CELEBRATION OF THE HEART........

2010-09-29T20:50:00.000-07:00

This past weekend our family headed down to Charleston, South Carolina for the Little Hearts LowCountry Heart Walk sponsored by MUSC and for the Heart Kids are Superheros Pediatric Cardiology Reunion at the Children's Museum. We went to CELEBRATE our son ZEB and his courage, strength and the absolute Miracle that he is in our lives. ALSO to join with many of our precious "heart" friends as they Celebrate their Little Heart. Here are a few pics; I have many more and I will try to post more later:

Our Sweet Kiddos..Ready for the Walk

TEAM Z .

Zeb and his Heart Friend Luci

We Got to meet Zach...He is one "SWEETHEART"

We got to meet our friend "Funky Heart" !!!

Went to visit our favorite nurse...Caroline!! We love her with all our HEART!

It's hard work being a Heart Warrior...

Our Amazing Surgeon...Dr. Scott Bradley.... WE ARE SO THANKFUL FOR YOU!

Cool Face Paint at the Heart Kids are Superheros!!

We Celebrate every day...Our Gift, Our Little Heart.... Zeb!!

We keep on pressing on toward the goal, more research, more awareness, a cure for all of our children.

Many Blessings,

Rhonda :)

I'M GONNA MISS THIS .......

2010-09-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

GOODBYE SUMMER 2010.......WE HAD A BLAST!! SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!!!

Many Blessings,

Rhonda :)

NOTES TO SELF:

2010-09-11T10:28:00.000-07:00

I find it is always a good thing to make a list either on paper or a file in your brain of things that are good to remember about a 3 year old with a Congenital Heart Defect. You know they have to be kept still and quiet and calm...YEAH RIGHT!! Here are a few of mine for our son, Zeb.

NOTE TO SELF # 1.

** Keep all Makeup/Eyeliner etc., up and out of sight, beyond reach unless ....

You want your 3 yr old to look like Paul Stanley from KISS... Rock on Zeb!!

NOTE TO SELF #2.

You might want to hide the baby oil or gel

NOTE TO SELF # 3.

Sister's Black Nail Polish does not come off the "SHARK BOY" as he said he pretending to be. ...

NOTE TO SELF #4.

The Drs. Office is a Dress Up Factory to them ....

NOTE TO SELF #5.

They love to help with the laundry....let's see 72 loads scoop will work just fine ...

NOTE TO SELF #6.

Sometimes you just got to go ALL NATURAL even if it is in the middle of a campground..

NOTE TO SELF #7.

This 3 yr old knows how to chill out.... So don't worry about him getting tired!

NOTE TO SELF # 7.

He can Party ANYTIME, ANYPLACE....He brings the Party !

NOTE TO SELF # 8.

Never let this ADORABLE INNOCENT face fool you..HE IS UP TO SOMETHING!!!

Does CHD get him down????? NOT A CHANCE!!! He keeps Mommy Hopping, and Laughing and LOVING EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!

Counting my Blessings,

Rhonda ~

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2010-09-08T10:22:00.000-07:00

Much Love,

Rhonda ~

A Stop in your Tracks Moment .........

2010-09-02T07:26:00.000-07:00

Have you ever just been going about your everyday life and then something out of the blue, just makes you stop in your tracks. Well I am sure that most of us have. This is my stop in my tracks moment. We recently got some pretty exciting news that I will share with you at a later date ( yes you will have to wait) but part of it involved a letter I received. This is the one line from the letter.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Lyle,

We have been informed that your son Sawyer Zeb Lyle has a life threatening condition/illness.....

As most of you know Zeb has a Congenital Heart Defect and had open heart surgery 6 months ago today exactly. This is our 3rd year of the knowledge that our son has a CHD, so we are not newbys or anything. However to actually read this on paper, actually made my heart skips a beat. It is one of those surreal moments that you wish you were reading a line out of a fiction novel. You have a quick reaction that you know in your mind is denial. You say to self, well they cannot be possible talking about my child. It is not a fun thing to see it in writing and to have to face the reality, that yes they are talking about your child. My beautiful precious growing 3 yr old son, who looks like any other healthy 3 yr old, but underneath he has a broken heart. Even though, he is doing very well and thriving, CHD will never go away, it is a life long condition. We are very Thankful that Zeb has done so well and for the awesome doctors who monitor him and his progress. However CHD is still part of our everyday lives. It doesn't have to be a death sentence. It is still the #1 birth defect. There is still not enough research. There is still too many children who do not live to see their 1st birthdays. There is still not enough awareness. Most mothers and fathers to be still do not know what a CHD is and that 1 in 100 babies are born with it. Every 13 minutes a baby is born with a CHD and eleven of them to do not make it. It is not enough. This is why that it is so important to spread awareness and to support research. Research is so important and so under funded. TO a mom with a child with CHD, research means everything. I am proud to be a part of a wonderful
non profit organization that does just that, research is a priority......
Introducing..... http://www.hopeforbravehearts.org/

To find out much more about Hope for BraveHearts, please check out my friend Shannon's Blog and meet
her amazing lil miracle, Derrick.

www.carolinacarters.com/2010/07/introducing/html

Get involved...Spread Awareness, Donate to Research.... Make a difference..

and hopefully one day no parent ever has to hear " Your child has something wrong with his/her heart." or
they never have to stop and reread a simple sentence in a letter about your child, because it takes your breath away .

Many Blessings,

Rhonda

Our Little Fighter!!!

A Moment that made my "Heart" Smile

2010-08-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

There is not a day or even a minute that my son's heart defect is far from my mind. I will admit it, I worry alot. However, I pray daily that I inspire Zeb and all my children to be strong, not weak, to be bold, not shy, to know that they can do all things and be anything they want to be in life. This is a great desire for me as a Mom to be their biggest cheerleader. To encourage them, to help them to see life as an opportunity, to embrace it.

However, sometimes it is so hard to not hold on and not let go, especially with Zeb. I can tell you that I am very protective of my children, and even more so of Zeb. I have to watch myself however because it would be so easy to convince him that he has limits on life. Even though, YES he does have some medical/ physical limits, but he has no limits on who he is or who he will become. Will he be a NFL Football Star, most likely not, but can he be the coach..YOU BET!! That is the mindset I have to keep each day.    I pray daily for all my children and I pray that I will encourage them. I pray specifically for Zeb that he will not be defined as my broken heart, but for who he is. Yes we want him to be PROUD of where God has brought him from and the miracle that he is. I teach him not to be afraid of his scar, but to be proud of it. We always tell him he has his heart zipper and he is strong like Superman. (haha) I can say I am not that strong. I have seen him go through more in his short life than I have in my 39 years and he is the strongest person I know.

Sometimes in the quiet I will ask God...Am I doing this parent thing right? I didn't handle this so well today or yesterday, etc. and then out of the blue you get the answer to your question in the least expected way.
Here is a conversation that Zeb and I had one evening this summer at the lake as we were walking on a rocky road. We both had on swim shoes.

Mommy:   "Ouch! Ouch! ...Wait Z let's stop a minute."
Zeb: "Why Mommy?"
Mommy: "Because these rocks are really hurting my feet."
Zeb: "Why Mommy?" *( he says why alot..LOL)
Mommy: " Mommys feet are very sensitive. These rocks are terrible. Are your feet not hurting???"
Zeb: " No Mommy, My feet don't hurt, I am superman"
Mommy: " YES YOU ARE! YOU ARE AMAZING!"

I can say that made my heart smile and my day a little brighter.

Many Blesssings,
Rhonda

Your Always Super to me..Even when your Spider Man...
"Dreamnight at the Zoo"

An unexpected Journey....A Heart that changed us forever

2010-08-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

A fellow heart mom created a special event for all of us - the "Every Heart Has a Story" event. It is a wonderful forum for heart moms to share our stories with each other and meet those with similar challenges, hopes and fears.

Our sweet 4 week old baby ...ZEB

Zeb's 1st helicopter ride....Not what we would have chosen..

This is how we our baby looked the next time we saw him...

This was our baby's 3rd birthday

Getting better...Mickey Mouse always helps...

Currently, Zeb is doing very well, he has recently started preschool and we are fully into the adventure of potty training. We look at him sometimes and we forget only for a moment, but we are reminded forever by a somewhat faded line down his chest of where he has been and what God has brought him through. It still sometimes can take my breath, not because I hate seeing it but because I am amazed once again we would be given such a gift, such a fighter. We go back to cardiologist in September and we will once again, wait to hear the report. It is a hard thing but I know that we can do all things through Christ. His valve repair at his last visit looked fantastic, his gratient was a little higher than I would have hoped it would be, and he does have a mild mitral valve leak, but all in all he is doing great! I appreciate all my wonderful friends and your love, support and prayers. You can’t know how much you mean to me.

Zeb Today... 3 years old...OUR MIRACLE!

We know that each day is a gift. We are thankful for Zeb and the heart that changed our lives forever.

We have learned a lot and we don’t take many things for granted anymore. We are different people.

I don’t know why we were chosen for this journey, but we are Blessed to have Zeb in our lives and Thankful to be his parents. He is Amazing and our Hero. He is our Superman!! :)

OUR SUPERMAN!!!

Much Love and Many Blessings,

Rhonda

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN POTTY ?? ROUND 1

2010-08-22T15:33:00.000-07:00

I tell you I think I need to go into the business of writing a potty training soundtrack.. This week I have done everything I know including some crazy potty songs to encourage the Zman to potty and stay dry!!
The first song we sang was to the tune of NO Parking on the Dance Floor ---Taking it back old school

" NO POTTY ON THE UNDERWEAR BABY" NO POTTY BABY" ...Lol. Zeb loves this one..

Then the next song to the tune of Party all the time.... "POTTY ALL THE TIME" POTTY ALLLL THE TIME" ...

I was really beginning to thing my musical talents or lack of was working because he was doing great and we even through in a dance number. Wonder if we can get on that show ...SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE? I want to be on SO YOU THINK YOU CAN POTTY!!! HAHA

Anyway the Zman, my sweet lil innocent boy has gone to preschool and stayed dry 3 out of 4 days and then he will come home and guess what he does??? Well...HE lets it rip!!!! Everywhere ! And he is not no skimper on the fluid...trust me!! UUGH! WHY ??? I ask him and he says..." I don't want no gum Mommy".... HA~! Well you caught me I was bribeing him too!!

So I guess if we don't get this my sweet, precious, super stubborn, 3 yr old boy will have to go back to the 2K class. He is on a 2-3 wk probation.. OH MY Probation at 3 yrs old.>I REBUKE THAT IN JESUS' NAME!! I know if that happens...those 2 yr olds will be thinking like who it this giant boy in my class because those of you who know Zeb know he is one tall lil guy~~

SO here we go for round #2 ...Potty Training/ Singing / Dancing 101 ....

WISH ME LUCK!! ~

Rhonda :)

He even got the Tattoo to go along with his Potty Probation...LOL!!

Who could resist this face??? LOL! ! I can't be mad!! :)

Need Your Opinions, Your Advice....

2010-08-21T08:22:00.000-07:00

I have really been behind on blogging lately , I have missed it alot really. However today, I have something on my heart that just has to be said. Most of you who are my blog friends are also on my facebook, so you have seen that I have been requesting daily prayer request for my cousin's little boy Jayden. He is 2 weeks old. He was born 8 wks premature and he shortly after birth a tramatic brain injury occurred. It is not clear what happened and the doctors have no explaination. I can tell you later that will be sorted out. Anyway, the doctors say that Jayden has severe brain damage and they give little hope for him. However, they will admit that they really just don't know because he is so young and he will grow and mature. My cousin's family has just endured pure horror from his caregivers. Ok..Now to the point of my blog.

As a heart mom, and all of you fellow heart moms and friends. We have endured long hospital stays, and all kind of health care facilities and employees. I have NEVER been treated the way they have been treated. I am so angered and even shocked at some that has been said to them. First of all they are told daily that they have no idea what they are getting into as for the care that baby J will require...WELL IS THIS THEIR CHILD?? DO THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE AND CARE FOR HIM??? They have even came into to find a DNR on his chart/incubator that they never signed for. Can you believe that?

They are asked daily anytime that they have to do something for him, do they want to continue treatment or just let him go. She has told them many many times to do everything they can do for him. It is almost like they are trying to make her give up. I know that most of you are praying people and believe in the power of our ALMIGHTY GOD!! We are believing in a miracle for Sweet Baby J. We know the reports, but he is such a fighter, he even was off the vent for over 24 hours and doing well. However, they never give her any hope, it is always about his brain injury and how complicated it will be to take care of him etc etc. They encourage her daily to just give up on her baby. Can you believe this? I just wanted to get opinions from my heart friends and what you think? Let me say this, his parents are young and this is their first baby, but they have a huge support system, including my husband and I. However the hospital want even let us take shifts sitting with the baby, they said the family can only see him if he is dying. I know I am all over the place, I am angry. What I am trying to say is that his Mom and Dad have said that if the baby was suffering or they were at a point where they were doing things to him and not for him then they would let him go, but this is not the case. I want to know your opinions, heart community, or mom's in general, and prayers......We are praying, watching and waiting for a miracle...I believe that this lil fighter is going to amaze these negative nellies.... Here is a sweet pic of Jayden..

Sweet Baby Jayden

Thank you guys...I got lots of blogging to catch up on and school stuff and Potty adventures, but right now I am desparate for advice for sweet Jayden..We love him so....Want you please pray with our family for him??

Rhonda :)

CELEBRATE~~

2010-07-05T18:49:00.000-07:00

CELEBRATE THE 4TH OF JULY...AND ALL THINGS FOR GOD IS GOOD ~~

HOPE YOU GUYS HAD A WONDERFUL 4TH OF JULY!!

MANY BLESSINGS,

RHONDA ~

Where in the World is Waldo??

2010-06-27T15:51:00.000-07:00

YA'LL REMEMBER WHERE IN THE WORLD IS WALDO??? I bet some of you are thinking, Where in the world is Rhonda? Or maybe some of you haven't noticed at all. HAHA..That's Ok too.. I really haven't fell off the earth, I just been hit by a bus called SUMMER.......3 kids who always need something fun to do so I been spending my days, swimming, at McDonalds, at the movies, camping, playdates, playing the wii or whatever else I can do to occupy them and having a blast!! BUT the house is a mess, got loads of laundry to do, and I feel like I will never get caught up again, but I don't care... These moments are very fleeting and cannot be replaced, so I am enjoying every minute of them............. My Kids are growing way too fast and I know one day I will miss these days......

We got WILD at Dreamnight at the Zoo!

Zeb had his 1st Boat Drive/Ride!! With his Poppee

Preslee is a pro at JUST DANCE on the Wii

Kerrigan is too!! They got the Beat!

Zeb Really Likes floating on his Lobster Float!

He's Trying to think of What else FUN we can find to do.....

Many Blessings,

Rhonda

Thankful Thursday

2010-06-03T12:09:00.000-07:00

Thankful Thursday ....

I know I haven't blogged lately..but I still love you guys..just trying to get back to some normal and out of crazyville...but
I am Thankful in ALL THINGS...here is a few of them today.

I am Thankful that I now have two 3rd and 4th graders....WOOHOO Way to Go Preslee Bug and Kerr Bear!!

I am Thankful for my AMAZING Husband who works so hard for us and loves us unconditionally especially me and my visits to "Crazyville" ...HAHA

I am Thankful that my Zeb is finally feeling better! We did have to take him out of preschool for the last 2 weeks but they were so kind and he got to be in his program. I will post a few pics later.

I am Thankful for great friends and great family who stick by me through thick and thin. You find out who your friends are....and who really cares. They go to "Crazyville" with you and hang out with you..Haha

I am Thankful for a house full of chaos, crazy mad mornings, dishes in the sink, laundry to be done, but laughter filling the house and happiness in just being. That is all that matters.

Thankful for God and that he loves me no matter what and he is my anchor and my hope and that his Grace and Mercy are new every morning.

Thankful that God chose me. He chose me for my wonderful, crazy, complicated life, but it's my life and I am very BLESSED.

We always have so much to be thankful for, if we will just open our eyes and look around. Yes I have a child with a CHD, and a child with ADHD, I don't have a lot of money, I don' t have alot of stuff, but I have JOY and It is more than silver or gold.

BLESSINGS,

Rhonda ~

Me and My Honey ~~

Wordlesss Wednesday

2010-05-26T13:04:00.001-07:00

Ever have one of those days???? Talk about a Manic Monday ~

2010-05-18T07:26:00.000-07:00

EVER HAVE ONE OF THOSE DAYS??

You know those days when you feel like going back to bed and starting over?? OR

Or Putting a BUCKET over your head ??? .......

It was just one of those Manic Mondays....started out with lost glasses!! Brand New Glasses that belong to

my sweet 8 year old princess....Well she didn't lose them, how about that?? "I DON'T KNOW" did it!! Then of course we are LATE again. I am always peeking out my window to see if the school truancy officer is here with my arrest warrant! Talk about PARANOID!! Then around 1pm after I am sort of settled in from the Monday Morning Drama..the school calls and Kerr has a fever. So I am off to get her from school. I zoom up the road to the Doctor and will you believe this??? She was MIRACULOUSLY HEALED in the car on the way!!! (not that cannot happen) BUT my kids are always making a liar out of me at the doctor! HAHA .. So after all that and getting back home around 6pm...someone..."I DON'T KNOW" or "NOT ME" or "THE BABY" (as the girls blamed) decided they were too hungry to wait on Mommy and decided to forego anykind of dinner ware and have some pizza ..............................................................................

ON THE SOFA!!!!

SERIOUSLY......It's either laugh or cry at this point or maybe SCREAM.....but then Zeb had a great idea..

CHOCOLATE!

On his face, on his shirt, on the floor, on the table and all mushed between his fingers!! But who cares? Chocolate Fixes Everything, RIGHT?? Ha Ha....

SO Thankful for Manic Mondays and every day with my 3 beautiful children and their friends, "I DON"T KNOW", "NOT ME" and whoever else wants to join the daily party at our house!!

Many Blessings,

Rhonda ~

LETTER OF HOPE

2010-05-15T19:05:00.000-07:00

ZEB’S LETTER OF HOPE

Our sweet baby boy, Sawyer “Zeb” Lyle was born on March 2, 2007. He was diagnosed as a healthy baby boy weighing 9lbs, 9oz. The doctor did detect a slight heart murmur but told us that because he was 3 wks early that it was perfectly normal and would go away in a week or two. During our hospital stay I noticed that his nail beds of his hands and feet were blue. I mentioned this on two occasions to the nurses and was told that it was perfectly normal. Even with this concern, we were sent home without a pulse ox test. It was never even mentioned to us as an option.

At 4 wks old, I noticed that Zeb was unusually fussy before bedtime, not his normal cheerful self. He would not eat, he was sweating and I thought he was breathing funny, more through his stomach than through his chest. Of course I called the doctor’s office after hours and was forwarded to an ER Triage Nurse and had spoken with her two times during the night. She basically suggested I was being overly concerned and that he must just have a tummy ache, and suggested pedialyte and following up with the pediatrician. Finally I had enough, I knew something was seriously wrong, It was almost morning. I called the Doctors office again and basically demanded that they see Zeb. I got in the car and my husband met us at the Doctors office at 7am before they were even open. As soon as his pediatrician saw him, he also knew something was wrong. He called 911 and had an ambulance come to his office and he was taken directly to ICU at our local Children’s Hospital. After several tests a Pediatric Cardiologist came in and and told us that our baby was in critical heart failure and that he was born with a Congenital Heart Defect, aka CHD. A WHAT?? CHD??? We were so clueless. We had never heard of such a thing. WHY ?? Why is it that we had never heard of the #1 Birth Defect in the United States?? He was diagnosed with Severe Aortic Stenosis and a bicuspid Aortic Valve. The gratient pressure in his little heart was well over 100, his left ventricle was enlarged and overworked due to an undiagnosed CHD. How could this have happened? We were told that we made it to the hospital just in time, another hour or two without help and he would have died. We would have lost our precious son. The nightmare continued as our baby was put into a helicopter and flown to Charleston, SC to MUSC the only hospital in our area to perform the life saving procedure he needed. I pray that no other parents should ever have to see their baby flown away in a helicopter and especially not knowing if you would see them alive again. This was a horrible nightmare. It didn’t have to happen this way.

We finally 4 hours later reached our baby boy as we had to drive to Charleston. After his procedure were taken into a small room and told that they were able to open his valve to relieve the pressure but because he was so small it had torn and a caused a leak or insufficiency in the valve. I can today, still hear that Dr. Say...”Your son will have to have multiple surgeries throughout his life”. This was not a dream, this was our new reality. After 6 days, we were sent home and monitored weekly by the Cardiologist as to the next step to help our son’s heart. Exactly 4 wks later, he was 8 wks old he began to show signs of rapid breathing, sweating again and he was sent again to Charleston via ambulance as all the flights were grounded due to the weather and we could not wait and extra day. They were able to do the aortic vulvoplasty ( a closed heart surgery) again to open up the valve. He was sent home again 7 days later with the knowledge that he would be closely monitored because he would have to have another procedure and/or surgery again. This is the hardest thing I have ever had to face. Watching my child grow, play, laugh and live and waiting for the ball to drop, the ax to fall or whatever term you want to use. Cardilogist visit after visit we held our breath, waiting.

It happened when we least expected it. At our routine 3 month cardiologist appointment in February 2, 2010 the cardiologist gave us the news. Zeb’s heart has taken a turn for the worse and he will need Open Heart Surgery to survive. This was a hard day.

Zeb’s Open Heart Surgery was scheduled for February 26, 2010 in Charleston. We planned and prayed and readied ourselves as much as one could possible do. How do you ready yourself for your toddler to have open heart surgery? The day before we were scheduled to leave we were called from MUSC to tell us that they had two emergency newborn cases and Zeb’s surgery would have to be bumped back a little. As distraught as I was to be moved after all the anticipation and planning, etc. I wondered if those parents knew about CHD before it came in like a flood into their lives. The new date was given to me over the phone via the nurse and I think that in my world time stopped for a moment. The new date was 3-2-10. This date is our son’s 3rd birthday. I was so upset and speechless, I had to tell the lady I would call her back. My husband then had to take over, It was more than I could take. He called her back and confirmed the date. It was so heartbreaking. What child deserves to have open heart surgery on their birthday? However as parents, we have seen heart failure and we don’t ever want to go there again. So we agreed. Of course this birthday would be very different, no birthday party, no celebration, but much needed open heart surgery to save our son’s life.

Zeb had his open heart surgery on his birthday 3-2-10. They were able to do a valve repair instead of the Ross Procedure which was the planned surgery. Seven days later were sent home with the news that this is only temporary. CHD never goes away, there is no cure. Zeb is still recovering and we are so THANKFUL every day for the blessing our our son.

As a mother of a child with a CHD. I ask for all the children born with a CHD and for all the 1 in 100 children that will be born. Please help us to spread awareness about this disease that is the #1 Birth Defect. Help Parents know and not just fall into this nightmare like we did. Some parents don’t ever know until they lose their precious baby while it sleeps. We are one of the few lucky ones. We need more research, information to be given out to everyone expecting a baby, 2nd/3rd trimester ultrasounds, mandatory pulse ox tests on every newborn baby before the baby leaves the hospital. More money for much needed research to help find answers and a cure. We need your help for our precious children’s voices to be heard. Help us please. What if the next 1 in 100 were your child, grandchild, niece, nephew? What if?

I don’t know why we were chosen for this journey, but we are Blessed to have Zeb in our lives and Thankful to be his parents. He is Amazing and our Hero.

Love Zeb’s Mommy,

Rhonda Lyle

*** Just wanted to share Zeb's Letter of Hope...I will be back to blogging in a day or so..It's been crazy around here..Zeb 1st week back in "Society" so to speak or Preschool..He gets Rotavirus and we almost had another hospital visit..so its been wild..but THank GOd he is much much better!

Love and Blessings !

Rhonda ~

An Oldie for Wordless Wednesday ~

2010-05-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

Many Blessings,

Rhonda ~

Has it really been 8 years???

2010-04-28T06:11:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that my lil black eyed beauty is 8 years old! It seems like it was yesterday they put her in my arms! She was born on her Daddy's Birthday, and she weighed 8lbs and 6 oz. The exact same thing he weighed when he was born. Isn't that ironic? She has the most precious loving heart you will ever meet. She is beautiful inside and out. I am not just saying that because she is mine. She especially is very protective of her baby brother. It is soo funny. She can't stand it if he gets in trouble and she will say.."Mommy he is a baby". It is so sweet! She loves to draw and is quite the artist and she loves to sing. She had a great birthday celebration at Skateland USA this past weekend with her friends and family. The theme was PEACE OUT. Ha Ha. We went from Minnie Mouse (1st birthday) to Peace Out....oh how they grow so fast.

I love you Kerrigan Grace Lyle! You are such a Blessing and I am honored to have you as my daughter. My greatest Joy is when God made me a Mommy. I am very Thankful for you. I have enjoyed every second of the last 8 years watching you grow and become such a little lady. I am so Proud of you and honored to call you my daughter. You will always be my baby girl. Can you please stop growing so fast?? (Smile) ....

Many Blessings,

Rhonda ~

A CELEBRATION TO REMEMBER

2010-04-25T20:06:00.000-07:00

Our son Zeb turned 3 years old on March 2, 2010. Most children spend their "Birth" day having parties and lots of fun. Moms and Dads take many pictures of cake and balloons and presents gallore and have a joyous day. Most parents often take for granted that on their child's birthday they can say "Happy Birthday Baby"....and even sing Happy Birthday to them on that day. We will NEVER take that for granted again! You see we didn't get to wake up and sing Happy Birthday to our son Zeb on his actual birthday, or even hug him and say Happy Birthday Big Boy, not on this birthday. I cannot tell you the hurt in my heart, I cannot even express it in anyway or form.

This is our Baby Boy on his 3rd Birthday.

You probally think, What in the world? .....Why ? On his birthday? .....Well we did not plan it that way, he was suspose to have his surgery on February 26th but because of 2 precious babies in serious emergency situations our surgery date got bumped to March 2nd, which was Zeb's 3rd birthday. We were basically devistated and we had to do some serious praying about it, but we Trust God completely and we knew he had a plan. Yes it was the day God himself had given us this precious little boy, 3 yrs before, so why not Trust him 3 years later to give him to us again. He did and Zeb received an amazing Miracle that day on his actual "Birth" day. A wonderful repaired Aortic Valve. So God gave him a gift we could have never had given him and we are so Thankful. But we did not get to say "Happy Birthday Baby" or sing "Happy Birthday songs" or open presents or take happy pictures...this is one of the many pictures we took. ( I haven't the courage to post the others yet, but I will one day) ... I did not want our son to remember this day or the days to come as his birthday, so we decided he would have HIS DAY on another day and not only would we CELEBRATE the "Birthday" but the Gift we have been given once again, our beautiful son, Sawyer Zeb Lyle, our fighter, Our CHD Survivor!!

So we pulled out all the stops....It was a BIG CELEBRATION for our 3 yr old MIRACLE!

OF COURSE YOU GOTTA HAVE A MICKEY MOUSE CAKE!!!

THANKING GOD FOR A MENDED HEART

OUR LIL FIGHTER!! HE IS OUR HERO!!

BEYOND PRICELESS ~

Zeb had the BEST birthday party ever! It was magical and so much fun! I will never forget this smile on his face. I will TREASURE it as long as I live. He had the Birthday Party he deserved and We got to Celebrate his birthday but oooh so much more, We Celebrate his life, the blessing he is every day, We Celebrate the hope that we have in God and his Amazing Grace and Mercy in our lives, We Celebrate that we don't have to worry about tommorow because GOD has it all in his hands, his plans are for our Good and we shall not be afraid. Isaiah 43:2 .."When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee"; Isaiah 43:7 " Even, Every one that is called by my name; for I have created him "FOR MY GLORY"...... Almighty God we give you ALL THE GLORY and ALL THE PRAISES, we are so THANKFUL! Your Grace Still Amazes Me...

Many Blessings and Much Love to you All ~

Rhonda

Just Evidence of a Miracle

2010-04-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

This is the first time ever I put a pic of Zeb with his incision up, but you know what ...GOD IS SO GOOD and he did an AMAZING MIRACLE in our Son and we are not ashamed of his Superman Zipper, it is just the evidence of OUR MIRACLE!! I LOVE this pic...Couldn't resist!!!

He Loves the Bathtub!!

We got the best report this week too at his Cardiologist appt! Zeb looks Awesome and after next week he can resume being 100% boy. (not that he hasn't already, it has been hard holding him back) ... His new Aortic Repair has absolutely NO LEAKAGE whatsoever , not even a speck...PRAISE GOD!! It is stenosed but mild at this point, his gratient pressures are low, his heart function is great! His Mitral Valve does have a mild leak but the doctors are not even concerned about that at this point and will just monitor it! We know God did an Amazing Work ! We go back in 2 months~! We of course were told that this is only temporary but We don't serve a temporary God!! We know that no matter what God will bring us through~ To him BE THE GLORY~!

( I will be doing his Birthday Party Post soon!) Can't wait~

Many Blessings and Much Love,

Rhonda

**** Say some prayers for Jilly Kimble....Surgery today..Doing well...but needs Prayers..

Moments that make a Momma Proud

2010-04-13T06:23:00.000-07:00

You know that you are always Proud of your children. Everyone's Crow is the Blackest right?? Or at least that is what my Grandma used to say. There are moments in life that you will remember when you are 85 with silver hair and rocking in your chair on your porch. You will recall them and smile. Sunday was one of those days. I had the HONOR of attending the baptism of our first born, Miss Sarah-Alice Preslee Lyle. She is only 9 years old, and she loves the Lord with all her heart. I made God a Promise many years ago. See what many of you may or may not know is that I was infertile. I tried for 8 + years to conceive. I prayed and prayed for a baby. I even begged God. We did finally conceive and we lost our first baby, she is in heaven with Jesus. ( I was almost 4 mths pregnant) ....but God gave me a promise in his word, that if I believe, I would have my hearts desire and my desire was to have a child. Preslee is my answered prayer. She is the child that doctors said I might never have. You see I promised God that if he would just give me a child, just one, of my own, birthed or adopted, that I would raise that child to know him and his works, and his word. Of course God has given me two more answered prayers as well. His Grace and Mercy and Bountiful Blessings are Amazing. So you see this past Sunday was Amazing to me, I stood in our church, the same church where I aked God for this child and watch her profess her love for God. I am so Thankful!! God is so Good! I can never Thank him for all he has done in my life.

This is a Moment that makes a Momma VERY PROUD ~

My Answered Prayer - Sarah-Alice "Preslee" Lyle

I love you Preslee, Mommy is so Proud! You are a Beautiful Blessing ~

Many Blessings,

Rhonda ~

FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET ......

2010-04-10T22:08:00.000-07:00

"Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! " LOOK...UP IN THE SKY! It's a Bird, It's a Plane, No it's SUPERMAN, No better look again, It's SUPER ZEB!

Zbug in his Superman Shirt

We told Zeb he was our "Superman" and that he got his Superman badge, aka Zipper when the God and the Doctor fixed his heart. We looked and looked for a shirt and finally found one on clearance at Old Navy for (check this out) $2.50 ...Woohoo...Our SuperZeb got his Superman shirt! We told him to show us his muscles and to look like he was Superman and this is the pose we got...It is too cute!! He made such a mean face and he is never mean, always smiling and laughing...... Couldn't resist to post it ~

Zeb you will always be our "SUPERMAN" ....You are one Amazing Lil boy and God has truly Blessed us with you! Thanking God for you and the Miracle he continues to work in you! To God be ALL THE GLORY ~ ~ ~

Many Blessings,

Rhonda ~

Semi Wordless Wednesday Easter Pictureshow......

2010-04-07T20:59:00.000-07:00

Our 3 Sweet Children on Easter Sunday

This is Our Beautiful Preslee

This is Our Pretty Kerrigan

This is Our Handsome Zeb

Just had to show you the pic of him with his boots on...His Buzz and Woody Boots..he wears them everywhere....Haha

Wonder, who got all the eggs???

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday.....Celebrating Jesus and All he has done for us and just enjoying our Blessings...

Preslee, Kerrigan and Zeb.... They are growing so fast, and I am trying really hard not to blink...

Many Blessings,

Rhonda ~

No Running, No Climbing, & No Jumping...but LOTS OF FUN .....

2010-04-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

It was such a BEAUTIFUL day . We wanted to get out of the house and enjoy the day together, but No Running, No Climbing, No Jumping...so what in the world can we do????????????? .............

Find some Ducks to feed

Watch out for the Goose behind you Preslee.....

Stop for a minute and Smell the flowers

Check out an old Caboose..

Feed some fish...but don't fall in...

Take Adorable Pictures with your Mommy

Count Your Blessings ....

We decided to spend the day at Clemson University's Botanical Gardens, we had so much fun and we were ALL TOGETHER . It was wonderful to be out together as a family, enjoying this beautiful earth and all the creatures in it that God has given to us to love. We are so Thankful today as we remember the sacrifice God made on this Good Friday so many many years ago, he gave his very best, his son. We love you God and We will forever Praise You ! Happy Easter to my Sweet friends. Celebrate Him!!!

Many Blessings to You ALL,

Rhonda

10 Things that I just absolutely LOVE.........

2010-03-27T14:46:00.000-07:00

1. Watching my children sleep, they are so beautiful and innocent. I sit and think Wow, they are really mine.

2. Hearing Zeb laugh out loud when he is watching Pooh Bear or Mickey, the giggle is so contagious.

3. Walking in on Preslee looking at herself in the mirror, making silly faces, She is such a DIVA!!

4. The hugs that Kerrigan gives me when she has just come in from school or play, she gives very good bear hugs.

5. The sound of Preslee and Kerrigan singing in the car and Zeb joining in too but he don't know the words.

6. Sitting around the table, all five of us together and talking about our day, telling jokes and laughing.

7. When everyone is home from school, work, play and just in the house. I am happiest when my family is together.

8. Walking into church, hand and hand and hearing my girls and my little boy excited about being at God's House.

9. Summer time pinics, park visits, swim time, movies, or whatever just hanging out with my kids and my husband.

10. I love my life, my fun, happy, chaotic, sometimes complicated, crazy, ALWAYS BLESSED Life. I Thank God for it!!

Share with me 10 things you Absolutely Love..........

Many Blessings,

Rhonda

PS.. Here's some Pics from my I absolutely Love Collection .......

My Preslee Bug ....Love Our Little Diva!!

My Kerr Bear .....Love Our lil Sweetheart..

Sweet Zbug...Our Miracle Boy!

My guys.....My Fav pic of Z and Daddy the day we came home...

My Girls....So Beautiful...

There is a little boy....

2010-03-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

There is a little boy ....
WHO GOT A GREAT REPORT AT THE CARDIOLOGIST TODAY!!
Zbug looks great and no Effusion! Woohoo! He also got a ok for some "Out of the House time" within reason, no taking him to major germy places and always be cautious of course! So what did we do??? We took him to his favorite place to eat.. CRACKER BARRELL.... of course at a table in the far corner for lunch with germy gel in hand and He LOVED it!! Well See for yourself.........

He was Cleaning up His Plate Pretty Good!!

YOU WANT A BITE?? I WILL SHARE..............

After 3 wks of going NOWHERE but to Dr. he was happy as can be and didn't even fuss about sitting in the booster seat and we picked him up a fun bubble machine on the way out..( the kind like they have at the Dr. Office) You should get one..It is lots of fun! We ( He and Mommy) are fighting over it!!

Many Blessings!

Rhonda

Showing the Love ~

2010-03-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

Zeb really wanted to help Mommy tell you guys how great we think you all are ....

He really wanted to show you his love ....

He helped Mommy make something extra special just for you guys...

I think this one says it ALL ~

We wanted to say Thank you so much for all your love, especially your continued prayers, your encouragement , and for just being our friends. We Love you and we are so Thankful! We are AMAZED at Zeb's progress just 2 weeks post surgery! God is so GOOD!! We Love you~

Rhonda & Sonny, Preslee, Kerrigan and Zbug ~ ~

What do you do?? ....

2010-03-18T13:21:00.000-07:00

What do you do with a 3 yr old 100 % all boy when you can't Run, Jump, or Climb for a few weeks....

Chill out with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on TV

Sit on the side porch in PJs and blow bubbles in the sun

Lots of Bubbles for him to POP!

This smile is PRICELESS ~

And make lots of Messes with Finger Paint ....

BASICALLY WE DO WHATEVER MAKES HIM HAPPY ~

We loved the Sunshine today but it was a bit cool, so he had on a jacket, We

can't wait until Zbug is All recovered and we can get outside with his sisters and enjoy the Sun~ Fun Times....Happy Spring!

Many Blessings ~

Rhonda

"Here's the shrimps"

2010-03-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

Zeb came up trying to hand me something, he said " Here's the shrimps Mommy". I said What?? I looked down at what he handed me and it was 10 or so steri strips from his incision. I literally was about to panic. Daddy came in to save the day and lifted his shirt to check out the situation. It was steri strips, but not all of them, actually only about one half the incision was uncovered but enough. This you see is the first time I have seen the small line down the middle of our precious boy's chest. It wasn't even the complete line and the glimpse of it just took my breath. I know it sounds bizarre, because I was there, I know he had open heart surgery, I saw him in the PCICU, I saw the vent, the tubes, the lines, the bandages. I was there, but this small little one half of a line, made it real to me. I had to regain my composure because I don't ever want him to be ashamed or worried about this. It was just for a moment as a Mommy, I see the reality. I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream, I wanted to be upset, because I can, because I am his Mommy, because it is unfair he has had to go through this, but I won't. I will Praise God! I will Thank Him for this Precious Line on his Chest and I will get used to seeing it and my finger will one day trace it on his little body, and Praise God even more. I will never forget what God has done for him, and I will be reminded every time I see this line. Our son's chest was opened to save his life and he will forever have this line on his body. This scar?? NO I think not..I think this is a Badge of Courage, His Superman Badge, He is our Hero.

Rhonda ~

I am his Mommy, I can cry if I want to , but Praise God through my Tears ~

BE A PART OF SOMETHING GOOD!!!

2010-03-16T07:29:00.000-07:00

Hello all you Heart Families,

Be a part of something good, but hurry, the clock is ticking.... Get Your Voices Heard and be a part of a PBS Documentary that our special heart friend Logan and his Awesome Mom Stefenie is a part of http://www.whenlifehandsyouabrokenheart.blogspot.com/ . For all the details click on the link below and get started, I am not sure how much more time you have so get started today.

HERE'S THE LINK:
http://whenlifehandsyouabrokenheart.blogspot.com/2010/02/part-of-something-good.html

Many Blessings,

Rhonda :)

Zeb the Shiek! (?spelling)

This is what he does when he is sleepy with his binky (blanket) LOL!

Aren't They All Worth It???

Update ....

2010-03-15T09:31:00.001-07:00

Just got back from the pediatrician. He was so AMAZED at how well Zeb looked. They treated us extra cautious we were brought in the back door and put in an extra clean room and out the same way. He was excited to see us as he and Zeb's cardiologist go to the same church and he said last night he and Dr. Lucas had quite a conversation about how Zeb was doing. He said Dr. Lucas was so thrilled and excited about the repair. They both acknowledge it was the work of God! Isn't that great to be surrounded by Doctors who believe and acknowledge what God has done? Well ..the mystery rash is still a mystery. Dr. Moll is not sure what it is either but it doesn't look crusty or have puss so he is happy with that. He has called in some prescription cream for it and has gave us strict orders to watch it closely to make sure no pimpley puss filled things occur. So we will be watching it very closely! He did remove the bandage from his chest tube incision and put on a different type of clear bandage so we can see it and watch it more. It has a red ring around it which is fine now, he just don't want it to get any bigger or spread, so we will be watching it closely as well. OF course we watch every move he makes right now, noone has to tell us too! HaHa All in All Zeb is doing great and we are so Thankful! We are Thankful for you too and all your prayers and love shown to us! We Thank God for you daily.

Many Blessings,

Rhonda

Check it out!!

2010-03-14T21:58:00.000-07:00

Hey guys...cruise on over to my sweet friend Shannon's blog http://www.carolinacarters.blogspot.com/ she is having a cool giveaway. You can sign up and get to see her adorable lil miracle boy, Derrick, aka Lil D!! He is such a cutie!!

Heading to pediatrician tommorow with Zbug armed with germ gel and germ gel wipes..I wonder if I should bubble wrap him??? I am so worried about going there but Cardiologist wants him to see him in between visits to him. Praying for God to watch over him and keep him germ free!!

Baby got his Boots On ~

Just wanted to share a pic of our Lil Cowboy Zeb ...today playing at home, he was saying YEEHAW, HOWDY PARTNER!!
He is so funny sometimes! We are so Thankful he is doing well. We had a great day at home just being with our sweet girls and precious boy today! God is Good!!

Many Blessings,
Rhonda

Just a thought or two for now....

2010-03-12T16:24:00.000-08:00

A pic a fellow heart mom fixed for me ~ ~ PRECIOUS~

It has been a busy busy week..since we have arrived back at home!!! First, let me just say this...THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME...Dorothy hit the nail on the head when she said that, oh how many times, I looked for my red sequin shoes while we were at MUSC but someone took them, they were no where to be found! I was terrified at first of leaving worrying myself sick with all the this and that and what if and what coulds but once I got home I was fine. It was just nice to be here and to sleep in a real bed for one thing and to see my beautiful princesses! It didn't really feel like home until they got home officially on Wed night. I have missed them so much. It is so hard to have to leave them but I thank God that we had such wonderful family to help us with them. Wed morning, bright and shining early we had to head to Dr. Lucas' office for cardio follow up. I was very nervous to be exact because the last time we were there is when we got "the news". The echo turned out great and Dr. Lucas was "More than Pleased" with the repair that Dr. Bradley had done in Zeb's heart. We Thank God for this repair and consider it a miracle as we were told it would be almost impossible. They did not hear any fluid in his lungs or see any effusion around his heart. Also, his incision looked great. He did have to pull the suture from his chest tube wound and Zeb was not a happy camper but only for a minute. He is not liking Drs., nurses, or anyone at all in scrubs right now , but hey can you blame him. Also Dr. Lucas helped me to feel better about his valve, at MUSC we were told several times the the valve was very tight or stenosed...Well Houston, to me that sounds like a problem? I had been up worrying about this several nights, because this is how our history goes in a short sweet sentence....Severe Stenosed Aortic Valve..Aortic Valvularplasty to open up the valve ....cause a mild leak....2nd Aortic Valvularplasty to open up the valve..worked but cause a moderate leak...then 2/2/10 extreme leaky valve..regurgitation, mitral valve irritated etc., Open Heart Surgery to correct this ...then
they tell me this..so needless to say I WAS FREAKING OUT!! Dr. Lucas helped to ease my fears. He said that yes it is tight but it had to be to stop the leak with is ZERO leaking!! PRaise God, and that the stenosis is mild to moderate and they will just have to monitor it. Of course they have told us that it is only temporary but I have to pray through this and know that God in in control!!!! I will continue to Trust him!!

In the mean time Zbug is doing great!! Can we say....BREAK OUT THE DUCT TAPE???? How in the world am I suspose to keep him from running, climbing, and jumping for 6-8 wks??? How in the world??? I am telling you I am a nervous wreck!! He is a mess!! Also of course we are on lockdown for a while and he don't understand why he can't go to school, etc etc...It is a hard life for a 3 year old 100% boy for a while, but we are trying to make it interesting!! Well..I have lots of pictures to post, and lots of stuff to say but I will share a few now and I will get back with you guys later..

I appreciate all your prayers, all your love, all your kind words for me and our LIl Zbug...we are so Thankful for him and for the Amazing lil man he is ...We call him Superman!! He is our HERO!!

Many Blessings ~

Rhonda

This is my Happy Pic!! All 3 of my Beautiful Babies TOGETHER AGAIN~

This is Z and his heart buddy Lil D (Derrick Carter)

He made Zbug smile....We so appreciate them visiting us at MUSC~

LET''S BLOW THIS JOINT.....

2010-03-09T07:25:00.000-08:00

See ya Charleston!!! We will write, but we sure won't miss you anytime soon! So glad to be going home to my house, my bed and my sweet sissies!! Praise GOD for he is Good. Thank you for your continued prayers. We are so Blessed by your love and friendship. Believe in Miracles!! We do!

Many Blessings,
Rhonda

KNOW WHAT??

2010-03-08T17:56:00.000-08:00

You know what the best thing ever is??

Sleeping in a real comfortable bed and snuggling with my lil man watching Dora/Diego/Mickey etc. for the 1000th time.

Looking out this window overlooking the harbor and the bridge and Lil man in my arms..

Seeing his face light up at the boats and the airplanes flying over once in a while

Watching Sonny and Zeb laughing and playing dinosaurs ...

Eating Zaxbys my husband ventured out to get ...yummo with my husband and sweet lil man and watching him dip dip his chicken into ranch and making a horrible mess he is on the bed....but whoo cares??

Doing all kind of crazy stuff to get Zbug to take his meds...You would laugh if you only knew, but we are just thankful he is here with us and has the strength to be stubborn... If I stand on my head and dance like a monkey will you please please take your Medicine Lil Z??? Please???

Holding my sweet lil boy completely wireless...no strings attached...

Knowing that tommorow, I will be going home to see my two beautiful daughters and that we will be bringing home their brother and our family will be complete again.

Knowing that we prayed for a Miracle and God heard our prayers...I am so Thankful~

*** We were officially discharged from the unit about 5ish and we are at a beautiful hotel with a room overlooking the Charleston Harbor and the beautiful Bridge. The hospital helped us get it all set up. MUSC is awesome, but I don't want to go there ever again, seriously. The doctors recommended us staying in town tonight since it is late and we live so far, about 4 + hours with the detour and the unit is on call to us at anytime and the cardio doctors and we are 2 min from the hospital. We can actually see the hospital also from our view..that makes mommy more peaceful. Today has been a very overwhelming scary day, hearing all the what to dos when you get home and the look for this and if this happens and the what could happens etc. etc. I was in tears all day. However Zbug has some awesome people caring for him and they were just great. I keep reminding myself they are only a phone call away, but now that we are here at the hotel, I am feeling better. Z is a trooper.. alot stronger than I would ever be. He absolutely amazes me. I am looking at God's handiwork and once again I am crying. Overwhelmed by his Mercy and Grace.

Many Blessings~

Rhonda

UPDATE/ WE MAY BE BUSTING OUT...

2010-03-08T07:29:00.001-08:00

It has been a frustrating night, Zbug will not take his meds at all..uggh..his heart rate was increased . Dr. came in to check him out about 12am. Her opinion is that he is masking his pain well and it is causing his heart rate to increase. Echo was ordered for first thing this morning to be sure. Echo tech seemed positive, but waiting on Dr. report.
It does appear according to nurse that we may get to get out of hospital late this afternoon, if all is well. We will most likely stay in Charleston overnight because we are about 4hrs from hospital and with the pain issues we are concerned and nervous. They do agree that it would be a good idea. I don't want to be driving at night with a toddler who just had heart surgery and I am soo nervous and I do not want to have to turn around and come back. So we will see what the day holds..I am scared, nervous, and excited about the possiblity to be at home tommorow to see our beautiful daughters. So I will update when we get the final word, right now we have important things to do...Zeb is ready to go to the playroom in his wheely car, but of course his nurse is here trying to bribe him for meds and its not working...so we will see if that will give him initiative..oh how frustrating.. but we will get there..

BLESSINGS,

RHONDA

UPDATE

2010-03-07T12:21:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the delay in update..been a busy morning. we had a crazy early night, with pain but finally got Zeb to take his meds and he fell asleep around midnight and he slept all night. Thank God. The doctors rounded early this morning and told us that they were gonna leave in Z chest tube for another day. So we went to the atrium to let Z make a craft and then here comes his nurse saying Dr. Bradley ( the surgeon) was here and wanted to go ahead and pull the tube. I of course had a mommy moment and was scared, but I know Dr. Bradley knows what is best. He is the surgeon but he is also a man of God. Because the tube is actually sutured into his chest they had to give Z a shot of morphine in his IV, but he was such a little trooper, I held his hand and he never even flinched. He was waaaay ticked off though. I can tell you that, he gave Dr. Bradley some looks lol. I will post one later of him and Dr. Bradley and the look on Z's face is priceless. So since the tube is out, he had to be still for about an hour and now he has on his Thomas Jammies and is doing good. Dr. Bradley said if his chest xrays continue to look good and he does well overnight, we may can even come home tommorow or tues. We just take it day by day. I am soo ready to come home and see my girls, but we want what is best for our Zbug. Also please pray specifically for this, Zbug is giving us a very hard time, he will not take his meds, he absolutely refuses them and the pain meds are very important and his other meds. We and the nurse thinks he is associating them with pain due to the craziness with pain the other night, because that is when he stopped complying. So please pray..it is so necessary and so worrisome that he want take them. We appreciate your prayers and we are so amazed at the work God has done.. Zeb is a champ...on the other hand Mom and Dad, we are nervous nervous nervous, but I know God will provide GRACE FOR US.
It has been sooo wonderful to finally really get to hold my baby on my lap. The Chest tube really hinders that. He still has his IV and his Heart box/system but those are minor..OH how wonderful to hold my sweet miracle boy.. Love u guys.. May God Bless you all.
Many Blessings,

A GLIMPSE OF ZEB

2010-03-06T18:01:00.000-08:00

Today has been a good day, we got really good report from the Dr. as I mentioned earlier and Zeb is looking great. I am so amazed at the strength in our 3 year old boy. I would probally be whining and showing out. LOL..
Today we got a Glimpse of the Zeb we all know and love....
He was flirting with his nurses, got them all hemmed up..seriously..
He was playing like he was a Pirate all day ...which he loves and does very very often at home,
He was hamming it for the camera while eating his lunch, and talking on the bed remote like a phone,
When Mommy was talking to the nurse he is trying to get my attention, so he is calling me Rhonda..
He has become quite the picasso in Atrium/Playroom and decided today that his Dad would look good
with a green mustache...It was hilarious...No PIcs...Sonny would not let me ...
He thinks he is superman, he said me push you in the wheelchair mommy?? Hello....
He has been on my phone all day talking to his many GRANDMAS ....
He is being very picky and independant...Today he told me that Chick Fil La was disgusting..?? Where did he get that word??
He was giving Dr. high five today...and smiling that big Zbug Smile..
He is being stubborn stubborn stubborn about taking his meds and we are having to bribe him..I bet he is doing it on purpose ?? You Think??
He said his famous line for the first time today again..."What ya doing?" ...( I love it, it's precious)
He made his nurse crack up when she was playing with him and had to go, he said .."No You Get Back Here"....She came back too..(LOL) for a minute or two..
He got to go off the unit/monitor for 30 min today and of couse he talked Daddy and I into going to the gift shop and get a prize and a sucker and then the weather was beautiful so we could take him outside for a min or two and he said .."We are at the Park" ...

It has been a complete Joy today to see a Glimpse of our Lil Zeb today. He is ill tonight and very tired, but hey look what all he has been up to today 4 days post op and still with chest tube...So we are praying and believing for a restful night with nooo pain. Thank you God for Today...I needed it. I was very sad this morning and crying because I miss my princesses and then some craziness going on with Zeb's chest tube and worrying things that Mommas do...so I needed today and God gave me favor. Thank you guys for your prayers, we feel them, and we are so Blessed by them. Please say a few prayers for our lil heart friend Logan tonight http://www.whenlifehandsyouabrokenheart.blogspot.com/ he has had a rough time since his surgery and his mom is a very special lady who is precious to our family. She is an encourager and source of strength to me even when she has none. So remember her and her sweet Logan tonight. Also say a prayers for our girls, I know they miss us, we miss them and I will be happy when our family is complete again. We love you Preslee and Kerrigan, YOU ARE OUR PRINCESSES!!

Many Blessings,

Rhonda

QUICK UPDATE

2010-03-06T10:44:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay...just a quick update..I will post more later tonight..

Zeb is doing good. Chest tube is not ready to come out yet. Dr. Bradley said it could be a day or two more but no worries... The echo was great the valve has no leakage and he is very pleased. Love you guys..I am having a mommy crying day and I don't know why..uugh...I miss my girls, every little thing worries me about Zeb and I guess it is just my day.. Thanks for your prayers..I will try to blog tonight got lots to tell you about what our lil miracle has been up too. U guys are the best!!

Many Blessings,

Rhonda

Looking Up ...He is my strength

2010-03-04T20:16:00.000-08:00

Our day has been good ..Zeb is doing well, he has amazed us today with his lil superman strength. We got to make a sign for his door today, and we put YOU ARE OUR SUPERSTAR. He is it so amazing the strength he has, I know that most adults, including me could not take the things he has had to endure. Dr. Bradley checked up on Z today and said he looks good, still keeping the chest tube due to drainage, but will reacess that tommorow. One day at a time. His nurse has just given him some pain meds because she has orders to go ahead and removed he dressing around his incision, so say a prayer, it scares me for him to hurt, I wish I could do it for him. He had a scary pain episode today, Sonny had went down stairs for a brief minute and Zeb was asleep, I had just stepped away from him not even 3 feet and he jumps up so fast almost standing up in the bed, screaming, hurt mommy hurt and crying...It was all I could do to keep him from falling out of the bed. The nurse came asap and she said probally just from being up and about and she got him settled and got him pain meds and he was fine, but it was very not fun for me, because I felt helpless. I know that most of you know because alot of my bloggie buddies have heart babies/children too but it is not fun to feel helpless and out of control . Your emotions and your nerves are on edge. You can't take anything at all. Seeing your child have to go through this is about all that you can take. I pray that no one ever has to experience this. Without God, I could not make it. He loves me unconditionally, he knows my heart, he knows my intermost being and he carries me when I cannot stand. He has carried me so many days, I can't live without him. I am just emotionally spent right now so please forgive me for being real. I am so Thankful for all of you and your prayers and loving me and my son unconditionally, spreading the word, posting his prayer button, and some of you have never even met me or my son. God has really BLESSED me and I am so humbled. I ask for a special prayer for me tonight, I am strong, I think it is all just catching up to me, I can't stop crying. I will however not stop giving GOD THE GLORY, he has done an AMAZING work in my Zbug. I will not let my emotions or anything take my focus off this Miracle. I am here on this journey for people to see God and who he is and I pray he will be Glorified. One of my blogger friends sent a prayer request out for Z and she put on her blog for all you people saying why is this mom blogging during surgery to GO AWAY..Thanks Gap Girl...(Hugs) ...Just for those that may have said that in their mind, I blogged during this surgery to update only, but also to Glorify God, and to let everyone see What God is up too in Z's life. I am so thankful and I will shout it to the heavens. Plus because it calms me down and everyone was waiting on the updates and how to pray. If I can do anything I will do it for him and his Glory! Zeb looks so great and he has just took this by leaps and bounds! We got to make a sign for his door today in Child Life and it says...Zeb, You are our Superstar. Believe in Miracles..I love it.. I posted a pic on my facebook. I will post it on here later, I have time getting pics on here from the laptop. I I have some sweet pics of Zbug to share, and I have some other pics of Zbug that I am not quite ready to share just yet, it is very hard for a Mommy to see her child on a vent/breathing machine, no parent should have to see that ever, but I know I will post later for CHD Awareness and also to show where God has brought us from. I never forget where I have been...Never ! God is Good no matter the circumstances.
Yah!! Nurse just came in and I had to take a quick break...Bandage is off his incision and it looks great the nurse says, to me it kind of takes my breath because I am his momma and it is the first time I saw his chest with this. I remember the day of surgery, I couldn't take my hand off his chest before they came and got him, it was breaking my heart to think of him having a scar, but God has opened my eyes that this is a scar yes, but it is also his badge of courage, and a reminder of the miracle he has given us. We stand amazed and we know that God has a mighty mighty plan for Zeb's life. We thank those of you who walk with us on this journey ...We love you!!

Many Blessings ~

Rhonda

ps. Sorry for sporatic ramblings...just nerves... I will update tommorow ....
o

MOVING AND SHAKING...AMAZING US

2010-03-04T09:43:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay in updating its been a busy morning. Zeb did well last night and rested great. He has a small pain episode around 3 am but the nurses hurried in and got it under control and he slept well. He is eating solids now and doing well with it, he loves to eat! Today has been a big day, its his first day out of the bed since surgery. He got to go to the Atrium which is a huge playroom and it is so cool, we took him down in a wheelchair but he wanted out he played for about 35 min with different stuff, we were nervous wrecks since he still has his chest tube but he was fine. He is a little tired now, eating lunch and going to wrest for a while and he may get to go back later. The doctors are still monitoring his chest tube, said he may get it out tommorow, we will see how it goes. We see God's strength and greatness in our son, it is amazing and we are so THANKFUL. Thanks so much for your prayers and kind words. We love you! God is Good!

MANY BLESSINGS,

RHONDA

ALSO..thanks for all of you who have posted prayers on your blog, we are so thankful and humbled by the love we feel

2010-03-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

We are officially in the stepdown unit. Praise God! It has been a rough day for Zeb with the move and all, he is wore out. Today he has been saying hurt but not too much and they are taking good care of him. He is a little dehydrated and they are monitoring this, he is not eating or drinking much at all. He is on a liquid diet of course. Hopefully this will improve greatly overnight or maybe he will get fluids. I am just watching him sleep and Thanking God he is okay. We are exhausted so we will be able to get some rest or some form of rest now that we can stay with him 24/7. I will update more tonight if I can or in the morning..Thanks for your prayers..I do have a couple of phone pics, I was able to upload, one was yesterday and one was of the very 1st smile he has given me since surgery and off vent. I hope it will Bless you. It sure did this Momma. Your prayers and encouraging words mean so much to me!! Love and Hugs.

Many Blessings,

Rhonda ~

Afternoon of 3/2/10 after surgery

Sweetest Smile I ever saw...

Praise God ...His Grace still Amazes Me ~

Rhonda

Morning Update...sorry no update last night

2010-03-03T05:02:00.000-08:00

Zeb is doing very well. He is still in the PCICU right now. It has been a long night, but he is good. They were able to get him off the vent. It was very scary because he was fine and when they pulled the tube he was not breathing well and there was talk about re-intubating but the nurses and Sonny and I kept talking to him and patting him and working with him and he started doing better. Praise God! They discovered that it was the Morphine, his body is not reacting well to it, it shuts down, so they are switching it out soon, but giving him very little doses now. I can tell you he was not a happy lil customer when he awoke, he was pulling wires and pulled his oxyegen and tape straight off his face, uggh! They had to restrain him of course to keep him from pulling out his other wires, chest tube, etc. I was not happy about that but once he got more calm, he is okay with it and his sweet nurse got him a Pooh Bear DVD to watch. Of course he is really in and out so he is not watching it much. We just got kicked out for a while for shift change and doctor rounds, but they did tell us that with his progress he very possibly will get to move to the step-down unit today. This is Amazing!! It will also be great too as we can stay with him all day/night and we will have a room, cause we still haven't gotten into RMH they are so slammed. We have been very BLESSED though and were able to stay at the hotel with our friends, OR I should say me anyway, Stubborn Daddy has not slept a wink until now, he is now in the RMH room here sleeping...I slept about 2 hrs. I feel great though, God is giving me supernatural strength. I can tell you though seeing our 3 yr old go through this surgery and seeing his strength has really Blessed me..It is unreal how strong he is. God is Good! Thank you so much for your prayers, we definately without a doubt feel them. You are such a BLESSING to us. We Love you all. We will update when we find out more later today.

Many Blessings,

Rhonda

Sorry no pics..I don't know how to load from here ..I will post some later ..

SURGERY UPDATE 3

2010-03-02T11:09:00.000-08:00

We got to talk to Dr. Bradley, Zeb is in the PCICU and doing well. He said that Zeb did well during the surgery and he was very pleased. We get to see him in about 15 minutes. I will post another update later after we see him and find out how he is doing . He of course is still under now and on the vent, said maybe tommorow can start to wean off the vent. Thank you for your prayers. I am so AMAZED today by God's Constant Grace!

Many Blessings,
Rhonda ~

SURGERY UPDATE #2....WOW!!! BELIEVE IN MIRACLES!!

2010-03-02T09:28:00.000-08:00

We just got a fantastic update, we are so blown away. The Physician Assistant called and said that Zeb is now off by-pass (ALREADY!!) and this is the MIRACLE....he was scheduled for a Ross Procedure today, but Dr. Bradley was able to do a repair!! This is a repair that we were told would be very unlikely..slim to none! GOD IS SOO GOOD! We know that God has his hand on our lil man. WE TRUST HIM! There is no permanent fix, but the repair is much less complicated and so much better for Zeb at his age. We are so Thankful...We feel your prayers..Keep praying...LOVE YOU ALL

They will update us again in about an hour or so.

Many Blessings,
Rhonda

Surgery Update 1

2010-03-02T07:13:00.000-08:00

They called us at 9:15 and had just started, Zeb is stable and fine. They called just now about 10:10 and he is going on heart/lung bypass now. They have told us it could take 5-7 hours. Thank you for your prayers, we feel them. We are trusting God.

Many Blessings,
Rhonda

SURGERY SCHEDULE

2010-03-01T14:55:00.000-08:00

The surgery schedule is for 8:30AM. We have to be at the hospital at 6:30 a.m. and should take him back at 7:30am. The surgeon told us he is not sure what route he will take and will not know until they get in to the surgery if he will be able to do a repair or the Ross as planned. We are praying that he does whatever is BEST for our son. It has been an emotionally exhausting day, we have been at MUSC for 7 hrs for pre-op. We found out some other stuff today, but I am not going to go into that today, God is in control and I Trust him. Please pray for my baby and for us and our girls. I love you dearly all my sweet friends. We will update tommorow during surgery.

Many Blessings,
Rhonda

A Just "Yus" Early Birthday Celebration

2010-02-27T21:47:00.000-08:00

Today for our family, we decided it was Zeb's 3rd birthday. We know that his actual birthday is Tuesday, March 2nd, but he does'nt know that. We don't want our Zbug to associate his birthday with hospitals or monitors, etc. so we planned a small family party or a just "YUS" party as Zeb calls us. We will have an all-out Celebration when Zeb gets home and recovered with the Mickey Mouse theme etc. he wanted, but oh will we have sooo much more to celebrate. SO I wanted to share just a few of the pics I took.

Happy Early 3rd Birthday to Our Precious Miracle, Sawyer Zeb Lyle ~ ~ ~

Daddy got tons of Balloons

Yummy Cupcakes

Make a Wish...

Yummy!

Got to Lick ALL the icing off my mouth....

Zeb loves his new pal "Woody"

Love this Balloon......

We head out tommorow for Charleston. Zeb has to be at MUSC for pre-op Monday at 9am. Surgery will be Tues. We don't have details on the time yet. We will keep everyone updated here and our carepage. (http://www.carepages.com/ and his code is zebsstory) Thanks so much for your prayers and your love. God has really BLESSED us with some awesome friends and prayer warriors.

Blessings~

Rhonda

Sweet Zbug

2010-02-25T22:23:00.000-08:00

My sister is a photographer and since the plan is for Zeb to have a miracle worked in his heart through open heart surgery on his 3rd Birthday, March 2, 2010. She took Zeb's Birthday pics for me a few days earlier to make me smile. She actually came to my house at 11 o'clock at night with the disc in hand to give me the pics. So here are a few of them I love.....

Mommy's Sweetheart

Full of Joy

This makes my heart SMILE ~

You are our Miracle ~

Blessings to All ~

Rhonda

The Gift of Laughter

2010-02-24T20:46:00.000-08:00

Today was special. After the day I had yesterday, anything could have been better, but really today was great. Since the surgery got rescheduled I had already taken off work and Z is out of preschool so we have been just hanging out at home together he and I. The morning started with me doing some clean up and Zeb always says..."Me help u Mommy", so I gave him a job of wiping the TV screen which he did GREAT! Then he helped me unload the dishwasher, put the clothes in the dryer, and holding the dustpan. Well I had some other stuff to do too and he needed another job, so I told him he could water the 2 plants in our family room. He was so excited to get to do that. I told him to put "lots" of water in the big one. Well I am in the kitchen and he is watering the plants, and I walk into the family room and what do I see??? Well he water the big plant alright....LOL...It was not the plant I was talking about; to him the big plant was the Beautiful new BIG Spring Floral arrangement a dear friend sent me yesterday to cheer me up, and it was sitting in the middle of our dining table. Well the table was completely flooded with water, water was dripping between the leaves of the table pooling in the floor on the rug, needless to say it was quite a mess. I just looked at it and looked at that sweet face, and I started to laugh and he started to laugh, and we laughed and laughed and laughed. It was just the best time. I really needed it and who better to laugh with then my little man. SO I said ..Oh my the flower didn't need so much water, lets clean up and off he runs to get a towel......
Well after the clean up, I turn on some Praise Music, One of my very favorite songs is the Revelation Song and I was singing it , Zeb comes over and turns the speakers on full blast and he takes my hands and we start singing together as loud as we could sing and Praising the Lord. It was one of those moments that you keep in your head until you are like 90 years old. I will never forget it, my Lil Z singing his heart out with me, even though you couldn't understand but a word here or there and of course it wasn't the right words. But I Know to God they were the right words, Praise is Praise. It was the absolute BEST. Things settled down a bit after that and we watched Winnie The Pooh, Very Merry New Year for the one hundredth time, ( He love Mickey and He loves Pooh and we watch them constantly) ...and it was just about time to go get the girls from school. Zeb had not had a nap and that is not good, because when he has not had a nap , then he goes into mischevious mode. You mothers of boys especially know what I am talking about. Well I had all my clothes on, and had his shoes in hand and I find him in the kitchen on the stool and he is spraying lysol into the sink. I said Zeb what are you doing?? Don't spray the Lysol and I go to grab it from him and what happens...YES, You guessed it....He had also sprayed the floor....so splat I am flat in the floor on my bottom/back for the 2nd time in about 2 wks. (FYI, he did almost same thing with armorall not too long ago, he really likes to get stuff and spray it) ...I was so stunned, I just layed there and Zeb was laughing, he didn't realize I really was sort of hurt, or pride hurt is more like it. Then he got off the stool and said " Ok Mommy, Me Just Kidding, Get Up Now" ......I am laying out in the middle of the kitchen floor covered in lysol and he is saying Me just kidding, what??....I busted out laughing again and he layed down beside me in the Lysol and started laughing again , and we laughed and laughed. So for a few minutes today, I forgot about all that is up and coming and just laughed and laughed with my almost 3 year old baby boy. Thank you God, it was such a Gift!

Blessings~

Rhonda

Bumped ~~

2010-02-23T19:48:00.000-08:00

This morning I answered my phone, a call from MUSC. I thought that it was a call from them about pre-op but it was a call from them saying that we needed to be moved to another surgery date. Apparently there had been 2 children that were very critical and needed that slot. I completely understand that, our son Zeb was actually one of those critically ill children at 4 wks old who was lifeflighted to MUSC. However, I can say that I felt like the wind had literally been knocked out of my body, or someone had tripped me up and I was flat on my back. I had finally got about everything planned from the job, the preschool, the girls care, the packing, the reservations etc., and someone on the road to mentally preparing myself. Then this. But what came next was the straw that broke the Camel's back or the Mama's heart if you want to say it more literally. She said that his new Surgery date would be 4 days from the original date, which would be March 2, 2010. I thought I misunderstood her and I asked her again and she said March 2nd. At this point, I wanted to throw the phone, I could not talk to this innocent lady on the phone anylonger. I whispered, " I will have to call you back" just before I broke into sobs March 2nd for those that may not know is Zeb's 3rd Birthday. I frantically called my husband and he was so calm and said to give him the number and he would call her. I just sat down on the couch in disbelief.   Finally he called me back and said yes, it was confirmed the surgery date would be March 2nd. I of course argued and cried and then I said ok,and hung up the phone.
Immediately, God reminded me of the 2 critically ill children that needed the Doctor and I started to pray for them and for the Doctors. I know what that is like and no parent should ever have to go through that alone, much less without God.
Then I called my Children's Pastor and talked with her and she said something to me that really made me think. It was simpley this.   " God gave you Zeb on March 2, 2007. How fitting, How awesome will it be for him to Work a Miracle in his heart on March 2, 2010. His Birthday, A Day of Celebrating his life."   It really hit home to me. I know now that it will be ok.
I am still as a Mommy sad that this is the day. But I know that God has a greater purpose and I am determined to see it through.   So now we will be leaving for Charleston on Sunday and his pre-op will be Monday and his surgery will be on Tuesday. We also decided that he never has to know that Tues is his birthday ...Any day is your birthday when you are 3 so we will do a small family celebration this weekend and when he gets home and gets the all clear for contact with others, we will hve to biggest birthday party/life celebration ever!!   I appreciate your prayers and your love. I am TRUSTING GOD
completely as we go forward on this journey. I will admit, I am emotionally exhausted, but I am praying and God will renew my strength.

Blessings~

Rhonda

On with the Journey ....

2010-02-22T16:40:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking alot today about purpose. For example what is the purpose for things in this life. I have been praying alot and trying to prepare myself for the fast upcoming surgery date. I said today, If I were magic, I woud press the fastforward button til somewhere in March once the surgery is over and Zeb is fully recovered and some sense of "normal" is back to my life. However, I know my life is never gonna be the regular normal, just our normal. But of course there are no fastforward buttons, no magic stop button of time, and no specific definitions to normal in this life. I see our lives as a journey. We all have our specific journeys that God has for our lives. You just got to TRUST him on your journey.

We all wonder why we are led on a specific journey don't we? I know I do. I will admit I have asked WHY? too many times. I am sure that most of you have, especially those of my "heart" friends who are on a similar journey or even a more difficult journey. It is never easy whatever journey you are given. I just want to for God to be Glorified in my journey. I been listening to alot of music, it comforts me and I have my favorites that just speak to the core of my soul. One of them is Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns....It reminds me that it all for his Glory. If one life is touched, if one person finds Jesus, If One heart is mended, then Glory be to God. I will contine on this road, I will Praise him in my circumstances, I will Trust him with my Life, with the Life of my Children. I think about all the "Good" that happened the first 2 times Zeb was admitted in the hospital for his heart and the procedures. I think about all the Hope that was around us and the people we have been able to share Zeb's story with and how it is truly a MIRACLE that he lived. Only God, and people's lives are changed because of that. I fully 100% believe that my father-in-law is in heaven today because of our son and how he saw who God is through Zeb and his story. It was for his Glory.

I am praying that this time, this surgery that God will use us to be the light for someone's else path, that they will see his Hope, they will see his Love, and that they will see him in us and that his Glory will shine and that they will be changed forever. That is my prayer. God use us for your Glory. We Trust you completely.

Am I still worried? Am I still crying one minute and smiling the next? Am I still almost crazy right this very minute? Do I want to have to travel this Road? Yes and NO I do not want to travel this road, but I will and I will be holding on to the hem of his garment and Believing in Miracles ...I have seen them . ~~

Thank you for your continued Love and Prayers. You are my Angels, I have called upon the name of God Almighty and he has sent you to me.

Blessings ~

Rhonda

I wouldn't miss one minute of this Journey with Our Miracle....
Thank You God for this Blessing~ ~

I Know He LOVES Me, I Know He Hears Me ~ ~ ~

2010-02-20T19:10:00.000-08:00

This week has really flown by and for the first time ever I have not looked forward to the weekend. I know it is because it is the beginning of the week in my life that I really just wish God could delete and move us ahead about 3 weeks and maybe we could have some normal back to our lives. I have actually had a wonderful weekend so far and I will fill you in on some of that in a minute but tonight ...I just want to cry, or maybe scream, or maybe just run till all the breath is out of my body. I am having a serious meltdown and why on this perfect day? I don't know, but I know that God does and he loves me inspite of my tears and my anger. I know he loves me, I know he hears me, I know he does.

The last few days have actually humbled me to see and be amazed by the love of God that is in people. Real hearts of God. The love that has been shown to me and my family in the last week has utterly brought me to my knees. It is not "BIG" things, it is the simple things, the wordless hugs and I love you and I am praying, instead of trying to say something that wouldn't mean anything. A business associate friend came by my office and handed me a dell laptop just out of the blue, she said I knew that you didn't have one and I wanted you to take mine to the hospital with you so that you can post updates about Zeb. We all will be waiting to hear how he is. I was so blown away that someone would care so much they would bring their laptop to me to use. God must have shown her that my blog and my friends help me so much, I need their strength and their prayers. Then  the simple gift from a lady I met briefly in a little shop when I was trying to find the perfect small gift for my son's 3rd birthday which he will be having after his surgery. It is almost as if God showed her that my heart is breaking that he can't have the traditional big 3rd birthday party that I had pretty much already planned out and had to cancel( since I am a big planner) . She gave me a hug and helped me with his little gift wrapping it beautifully to take with us to the hospital since his bday is Tues 3/2 . Then later that evening she came by my house ( I have never met her but it is a small town so I am easy to find) and she brought me some scriptures and a coffee mug that I had looked at in the shop and just simply said I am praying for you and your little boy. It was God I saw in her, he came to my house and hugged me through a complete stranger. Then I received an email from the blog fairy who wanted to help me make my blog beautiful to cheer me up and it looks so beautiful and reminds me that God is really writing my story and he knows the ending and he is with me and will never leave me. I am so thankful for the little things. The blog fairy has more than they can handle as well, but GOD sent them to my rescue.  Friday , Zeb's little preschool helped me on his last day to give him a little party with his friends, nothing major but a early birthday for him since it was his last day until he is recovered from surgery and those little kids were so precious. They had prayer time and they asked for prayer for Zeb. I know without a doubt those precious babies were reaching heaven with prayers for their little friend. I Thank God for them and the faith of a child. Then one of the parents sent him a very special gift and a card that was so precious. Once again God is surrounding me with his Angels on earth. I see them all around me. On Friday afternoon, I found out that I was being kidnapped by my Coffee Girls (basically my besties..the friends you keep to the end of the earth) and they had arranged with my sweet hubby of course and Kidnapped me for the night to make me laugh and have fun and just showered their love on me. I can say that I really laughed and laughed and for a few minutes, I forgot. Once again God sent the troops to my rescue to put laughter back in my life. I see him everywhere, I feel him everywhere, why am I having such a crazy sad moment right now???? I am human and a mother of a beautiful little boy who is having heart surgery in a few days, that is why.

Today, Saturday I decided that it would be Girls Morning Out since Daddy and Zbug were going to get haircuts and to do some Daddy/Son stuff. So the Lylechickadees and I headed out to my 2nd fav thing ( Thrift Stores) the first is yard sales but it is still too cold out for them just yet... We had such fun just browsing around and looking at stuff, of course the girls found a few treasures they just HAD TO HAVE and I found a few books, and a bag. Nothing major but I love a .25ct deal. It makes me smile. I always say if you need something I can find it at a deal in a thrift shop or yard sale, You wanna Bet?? I always win! :) ... We then went to Target because it is my fav store and just walked around looking at stuff and went to eat lunch at our fav hotdog stand, SKINS and then we even made a fun time at the grocery store, which I despise.. but we had a fun time just being together. I enjoyed my sweet daughters today.   I Thank God for these moments for they grow up so fast, and I cherish them. It is the little things, but it means so much.

Sonny in the mean time had taken Z to get a haircut and took him by the firestation and he got to see " 2 BIG FIRTRUKS MOMMY 2 BIG ONES" He was so excited, and he enjoyed his time with his Daddy so much he fell sound asleep and I just had to join him. I love cuddleing with him. He is such a snugbug. I am not sleeping much at night, so that nap was great.

So as you can see I really have had a Absolutely Wonderful last few days, so tonight when I just felt like crying, screaming, etc, I feel guilty because God has given me such wonderful moments and Blessed me so. I just wish I could turn my mind off and not be so scared, but Frankly I don't know how. So now that I have written this entire entry in the blog, I am all cried out and I feel better. This blog is therapy to me and through this blog, I have met many many prayer warriors and heart mommas who know EXACTLY how I am feeling right this very minute. I am overwhelmed with details of trying to make arrangement for my girls, paying my bills, getting my job in order at work since I will be on leave for a while, cleaning my house continuously why? It doesn't really matter but it is helping me, and trying to not completely lose it in the mean time. Also, still trying to figure out how in the world I am going to explain to my not yet 3 yr old Miracle that he has to go to the hospital in a few days to have his heart fixed???? HOW ON EARTH? and How will I ever be able to hand him over to the nurses to take him to surgery....HOW?? I can't I know that ..God will have to do that for me.

And as I am writing this Zeb and his sister are in the floor playing doctor and Zeb comes up with Elmo Stephoscope in hand and says "Give me your Heart Mommy" I gotta check it......Tears rolling down my face, I grab him and hug him so tight and I say " Lil Man I would give you my heart in a minute if I only could" ...then he checks my heart and said it say chuc chuca chuca ...I laugh and he takes that little hand and wipes my tear and says "It's ok Mommy u heart is ok" ..and runs off back to play with Kerrigan...   My heart will be okay once I know my sweet baby boy's heart is ok.....Jesus Come to Our Rescue...We need you...and We Trust You. I know this is just the pain Before the Morning...nothing can compare to the JOY THAT IS COMING.... (Before The Morning - Josh Wilson)
Thank you my readers for letting me pour out my heart and my tears. I love you and I covet your prayers. I appreciate you so much. I pray for God's Blessings to be more abundant in your life than every before. ~

Rhonda ~

**** My bff sent me this picture a lil while ago on my phone to remind me of JOY and Zeb was having alot of JOY that day and I know that we Zeb, and our wonderul family will have lots more JOY...This picture was from this summer but it has Blessed me so much tonight..I wanted to share it with you ~~

Zeb sitting on the water spout at the Splash Zone....HE LOVES IT!!

TODAY

2010-02-13T19:43:00.000-08:00

Well today has been a great day!! I have enjoyed every minute of the day with my precious family. We finally got some snow, actually about 3-4 inches and it was beautiful. I awoke to find my girls completely dressed and they had every stitch of wintery clothing/apparel they could find on and it was only 8am. I really needed the laugh I got from that. So we hurried up and had breakfast and found Zeb's snow suit and his Woody/Toy Story Boots and his hat and all that jazz and got him dressed and we all just went outside to play in the snow. We built a cool snowman and Zeb named him Frosty. He gave him a big hug then he beheaded him and we had to fix him back up again. The girls they were having one continuous snowball fight and of course Daddy thought it would be so funny to attack Mommy so of course they all joined in on that fun. It was so unfair 4 against one. ( Yes even Zbug turned on me) Then they wanted a sled. Well here we NEVER have snow so of course we do not own a sled. SO my thrifty husband rounded up some items and made a sled. I don't know if he is MacGiver or just a true Redneck but he made a pretty cool sled and the kids had a blast being pulled along on the sled. At one point Zeb got flipped off the sled face first into the snow, he stood up and he put his hands out and said " DADDY THAT WAS NOT FUNNY!" We all laughed so hard we almost cried. I can tell you God gave us a day filled with Joy and Laughter and I (We) all really really needed it. Today I didn't sit and worry about Zeb's upcoming heart surgery. Today I enjoyed the Blessings That God has bestowed upon my life. Today I have hug, kissed and snuggled each one of my children. Today I have kissed my sweet husband and laughed with him and enjoyed the time we had. Today I am very THANKFUL and very BLESSED. ~
I know we have a big journey ahead in the next couple weeks, but I know that I TRUST GOD and for TODAY I am letting him carry me.

Blessings ~
Rhonda

Zeb and his "BIG SNOWBALL"

My sweet Blessings

A Heart for Zeb and "CHD AWARENESS"

I love the Joy in his face in this picture......

THE DATE

2010-02-08T13:18:00.001-08:00

MUSC called me this morning . Zeb's surgery date for the Ross Procedure is going to be Friday, February 26th.
It is a little over 2 weeks ahead. I have lots of things to do and some things I have no idea. So if all you heart mom buddies of mine have any advice, tips, of any kind of things I will need to do, take or anything at all. Please tell me. Right now I am not myself at all.

Thanks for your prayers and love,

Rhonda

No More Darkness.......It's All Light!

2010-02-07T15:51:00.000-08:00

This morning when Zeb was doing his usual routine of waking up Mommy ...he said " Mommy there is no more darkness.." It's all light! ....I know that in his way he was saying it is daylight..get up Mommy. But this just touched my heart strings especially given the current situation. I really felt almost as if God was speaking to me through my child as if to say...Rhonda don't walk in darkness....Walk in the light and Trust Me...I am holding your son, my son in the palm of my hand. I have thought about this all day long and the more I think about it the more peace I find.

I have not had a good last couple of days, I will admit. I have went from shock, gutwrenching sobs, denial, silent tears, physically sick in my body, to anger so strong that during dinner I felt the urge to fling my plat of spaghetti across the room into the wall or actually just fall in the floor and have an all out fit.
It is so not fair....How fair is it for a Mother to have to see there child playing so innocently and so lively and not know what he has to face, what lies ahead???? How fair is it for a Mother and Father to have to see there son have open heart surgery??? IT IS NOT FAIR!! IT ACTUALLY REALLY REALLY SUCKS!
I know that my sweet heart mom friends, most of you, if not all of you have already faced this journey and you survived. I read your blogs, I have cried many of tears for your sweet precious babies and prayed many of prayers, but still today I can't fathom how you survived. I do know that our hope, our help, our peace is in GOD ALMIGHTY. I pray every day for strength for the journey. AND I am so thankful for my sweet friends and loved ones and all your prayers. It means so much, and day by day, I am feeling better, I am grasping it a little as we wait on the call.

We still haven't heard from MUSC, it should be this week. I tell you I want to know so we can get some sort of plan. How in the world do you even begin to make a plan for your baby to have open heart surgery? I don't know that yet, but I will. I wait for the phone to ring and when it does, I feel terror in my heart, but I know the time will come and we will have to go forward on this journey.

I am thankful today for a little more peace given to me, a little more strength from sweet little innocent words from my lil miracle. Thank you God for Zeb and for the mighty work you will do in his life and heal his broken heart.

Thank you all my friends for all your love, kind words, and prayers. I need you so much and I am so Blessed to have you in my life.

Rhonda ~

Lil Z and his Daddy!!

The report and now we wait ........

2010-02-05T05:40:00.000-08:00

I am so sorry to have left you all hanging. The past few days have been unreal to me. My husband and I have been in such a state of shock and confusion. You are never ready to hear that your child has to have heart surgery, but I would have thought I as Zeb's mother would have noticed something different, or some kind of sign. At his last 3 month checkup, Dr. Lucas was amazed at how well his heart was doing and had even talked about putting us on a 6month plan at this check up if everything looked the same. So needless to say we were completely caught off guard, shaken to the core when Dr. Lucas gave us the report.

The visit started out normal like they all do, most of you guys know the routine. Zeb was loving his sucker and watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and laying there like a champ during the echo. I myself didn't notice any change on the echo, but I am not a Dr. or Cardio echo tech. Then we are sent back to the exam room to wait on Dr. Lucas. It was at least 30 minutes in the room and I started having this sinking feeling, and I told Sonny, "Somethings wrong". He immediately got very defensive and said " No, don't be negative, they are just busy". I as his mother and as most mothers do, have that Mother's Intuition. I looked at him again and said "Somethings wrong." ..He just turned away from me. Well about 10 minutes later, Dr. Lucas finally came in with report in hand and said " I am not at all pleased with his echo report today" .

Zeb's original CHD diagnosis is Critical Aortic Stenosis with a biscuspid Aortic Valve for those of you who may not be aware. He has had 2 Aortic Vulvoplasty procedures, 1 at 4 wks and 1 at 8 wks and by God's Grace he has not had to have any more procedures.

The echo showed that the leakage in the valve had greatly increased, his pressure gratient had increased about 30 points which indicates more stenosis and he has regurgitation in his mitral valve and it has caused some thickness along the valve. I don't remember it all word for word, because I was in an emotional breakdown and drowning in tears. Dr. Lucas said that he was amazed that Zeb had not shown any outward signs, as in playing less etc. To prove to Dr. Lucas Zeb was being his regularly rowdy lil boy self in the exam room and he had to get his nurse to take him out to blow bubbles so we could finish our conversation.

He said it was definately time for intervention and he would send the report to MUSC, Dr. Bradley and his surgical team to review. The good news was (according to him) that Zeb's heart look like it would be a perfect candidated for the Ross Procedure. He said that he felt like they would want to get the surgery scheduled as soon as possible in his opinion. He did say that Dr. Bradley may have a different opinion and say let's wait 30 - 90 days but he didn't think so. He said they may call us this week with the plan but most likely it will be next week. So in the mean time we wait. I know this is a brief update, but I will update more later. I just wanted to let you know what the Dr. said. I really appreciate your prayers and love and support.

We are just trying to grasp the things that has been literally thrown at us and the shock we are in. We want everything to remain as normal as possible for our children and try to function normally. It is very hard as I cry at the drop of a hat and I have anger right now, I know you Heart Mom's understand.

Thanks for being here for me. I love you all.

Blessings~
Rhonda

Sometimes we don't get the answer we expect...but WE TRUST GOD

2010-02-02T18:21:00.000-08:00

I am just giving a brief update now. Zeb's heart has gotten considerably worse since his last appointment and his cardiologist is recommending surgery asap. He will be sending his report to Dr. Bradley and his surgical team at MUSC tommorow and we should get a call from them by week end or next week. I appreciate your prayers as right now I am not dealing with this at all...I have no words just tears.
Tommorow I will feel better and can give you more details...

Love you all..Thanks for your prayers.

Rhonda ~

Today is a hard day ...

2010-02-02T05:31:00.000-08:00

Prayers needed today my sweet blogger friends. Last night, my husband lost his mentor and one of his closest friends. Our entire church family and community are deeply saddened. Stan Mclellion and Amazing Man of God lost his battle to cancer last night. We know him as Papa Smurf. We are heartbroken but heaven is shining a lot more brighter today as I know he is walking the streets of GLORY.. Say prayers for his precious wife Shay, and his Daughters Nikki, Adrieanne and his son Justin, they need God's love and comfort and peace. Also pray for my children, as they adored him and we have not told them yet. We will tell them tonight. It will be hard to explain to a 9 yr old and 7 yr old why God sometimes chooses to heal someone by taking them to Heaven. But if we could only see him now. It is a hard day....

Also today is my Zeb's 3 month cardio/echo complete heart checkup and as you know Mommy doesn't handle this well. I am a worry by nature. ( I know I know it's a sin) .. I just worry every time we go that it may be that time. I pray we never make it to that time but I trust God with Zeb's life and I know whatever we have to face, he will be walking right by our sides. I appreciate and covent your prayers. I will post an update later today as our appt is not until late in the day 3:30 and it usually takes about 2 hours.

I appreciate you guys!!

Rhonda ~

Z in his Daddy's Firefighter Hat!!

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS~ NEVER TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED~ LOVE ALWAYS

I could never..........

2010-01-30T14:40:00.000-08:00

I bet you guys thought I forgot all about my sweet bloggy buddies...Well no..I just been a busy girl since Christmas. Haven't we all? I have still checked on you guys about everyday cause I am ADDICTED to your blogs and love you guys. I have been sitting home all day with my husband and my 3 sweet babies...the Weather Man said snow and we got Ice...just a little but enough that I am not driving in it. This will be my 2nd weekend in a row that I have been housebound so this girl is ready to BUST OUT!! Last weekend all my kids had the dreaded stomach bug and now ice...But I am BLESSED to have kids, a house, heat and a great husband here with us! I have started on a new adventure for myself since Christmas and it is
I AM DONE BEING THE FAT GIRL!! Lol....I have joined the Biggest Loser at my church and so far I have lost 11 lbs. I am praying and believing that I will go far on this journey and finally get this weight off. I ask you guys to pray for me. I will update you from time to time about it..I am not on any kind of diet cause diets do not work, I am just eating healthier and I have working out with a trainer through our church, and I have an eliptical which I lovingly call it the EVIL Eliptical....but it is kicking my behind right now, but I will beat it!! SO prayers needed you guys for me and this journey ...

Also .. Our lil heart fellow Zbug ...well his 3 mth Cardio and Echo appt is Tues 2/2 and I would like you guys to say a few prayers. I know that God has Zeb in the palm of his hand and I trust him no matter what. I am just praying that his valve is still open and that the leakage is still stable. I myself have a hard time on these appt. days, why...Cause I am the momma!! So pray for me too.. I will post an update when we get the report, the GOOD REPORT!! ...Also updates on Logan Jacks and Derrick Carter from my earlier posts...they are doing well..Thanks for your prayers!! Keep praying for them and stop by their blogs to say hello..I know they would love it!

Sonny and I are looking forward to this upcoming weekend , we are going to Columbia on Saturday for the CHD Conference . We are ready to get some great information and insight and to also have a few hours of "US" time. Also remember Feb 7-14th is CHD Awareness week...so spread awareness for my Lil man and for all the other precious Miracles affected by CHD...You never know when CHD could hit your family. Believe me it is not picky!!

Well I know this is a short post..but I will be back soon with lots more..I usually have a lot to say!! ;)

Z loves blue trix yogurt!! Can you tell???

Blessings~

Rhonda

It's Not About Me.....

2010-01-13T13:49:00.000-08:00

I really didn't fall of the face of the blogger world, I have just had a crazy, busy, complicated kind of new year. I have a hard time getting back into full swing with school and routines when the Christmas/New Year break is over. I have lots of stories and fun to share with you, and I also have started a new journey ...it is to lose all this weight. I have joined the Biggest Loser at my church and I want to win!! I will share more about this later, but this blog has a major importance to it and it is for 2 of my very precious Blogger friends and their sweet boys. Urgent Prayers needed for Logan Jacks, who will be having open heart surgery tommorow, January 14, 2010. I have just fell in love with him and his sweet family and he and his family need your prayers. Check out his cute button in my side bar. You can also check out their blog at http://www.whenlifehandsyouabrokenheart.blogspot.com/ and let them know you are praying. I am a heart mom too and I know that knowing and feeling your love and encouragement means so much. Also, Urgent Prayers needed for a cute little guy name Derrick, aka Lil D and his faces will make your heart melt. He is having open heart surgery on Monday, January 18, 2010. Check out his cute button in my side bar as well. Also you can stop by their blog and leave a note or prayer as well, http://www.carolinacarters.blogspot.com/.

I have been very very BLESSED to have come to know and love these special Mom's and sweet boys. It has been a comfort to have someone who understands when I worry about little things that may not make any sense to someone else or seem ridiculous or overprotecting. It is also great to know that if I need anything I can call on them and they will pray. So if you will please send up prayers for these sweet guys and check their blogs for updates. I know God is in control and will bring them through, but it makes it so much better when Heart Moms and Dads and Families facing surgery or procedures can feel your prayers. I know 1st hand that they can be felt. God's love envelopes you like a blanket and you have a peace and comfort that cannot be explained. So Thanks for your Prayers!!
As for me and my blog update, I will post later. The most important thing right now is 2 lil guys Logan and Derrick and they are depending on us! Cause it's not about me.............

Blessings ~
Rhonda

Happy New Year and Many Blessings!!!

2009-12-31T15:19:00.000-08:00

From our House to yours, WE WISH YOU A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR.....2010 ...WOW!
May all your dreams come true in this new year that God has given us. Remember to Never forget where you have been and where he has brought you to. God is Good!! I pray for over and abundant Blessings for each and every one of your families this year!!

This year we are having a "Chillin like a Villian" New Year's Eve. We are spending it at home with our kids and just enjoying time together. Preslee and I just made some Yummy Sausage Balls, the Nacho Cheese dip is melting in the crock pot, and the cookies are already baked, oh and let's not forget the hot wings!! We got lots of games to play and we got a great movie to watch also, G FORCE....so I am excited! So we are having a PARTY...a Lyle Party, the kind I really really like. You don't have to dress up, you can wear your PJs, and I get to spend the time with my 4 favorite people in this world!! And of course there is the Midnight Kiss, well I plan on getting 4 of them..How 'bout you?????? HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

LOL!!! but not from this MONKEY!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!!

Blessings ~
Rhonda

Manic Monday Madness!!!

2009-12-28T18:35:00.000-08:00

Since I had to return to work today and it's been a busy Mad Monday, just posting a few more pics from Christmas to share.......

Our display in the Williamston Christmas Park

Preslee in the Church Play....She was a Hula Girl Ornament

Santa has now left the building......WOOHOO!!

"BEWARE...I GOT BIG GLASSES AND A LIGHT SABER!!

Whew!! I am tired watching Mickey Mouse Playhouse DVD!!

BLESSINGS FROM SC.......

Rhonda ~

It wouldn't be Christmas..........

2009-12-25T17:20:00.000-08:00

It wouldn't be Christmas without ................
5 people sleeping in our king size bed, waiting on Santa to come..but no room for sleeping.....
2 yr old who is so excited he awakes at 2am and stays awake until 5:30am asking Mommy and
Daddy when Santa is coming.......
8am, 3 wide awake excited children waiting to see if Santa has come...
Mommy telling the Christmas Story and all singing Happy Birthday to Jesus before we ever leave the
bedroom......
Mad Dash to the living room to see if Santa actually came....
Complete Craziness, Big Eyed Children gleeming and laughing with pure wonder......
Paper and Ribbon everywhere..........
Has anyone seen our floor? I know we had one when we came in here.........
Zeb looking up the chimney to see if Santa is still there or stuck maybe???? ..........
Camera Flashing trying to catch the wonder of every moment.........
Open this Mommy, Open this Daddy and Can you believe the amount of twist ties and plastic snaps etc etc they use to package this stuff..>WHERE ARE THE BIG SCISSORS???..........
A mouth full of candy in 2 seconds flat, Santa NO CANDY ALLOWED!!! ........
Hot Fresh Cinnamon Rolls for Breakfast..........
24 Hours of The Christmas Story watching.....
YES, Preslee your tongue can really freeze to a pole......
When is Nana coming?, Can I have a Cookie??????
Homemade Eggnog making.......
Dunkin Donuts Coffee drinking.......
Grandparents arriving......
more presents........
eating and eating, and eating some more.......
" Mommy!" Zeb has a mouthful of tootsie rolls ( 5 to be exact) chocolate oozing down his face.......
Picking up the oodles and oodles of parts and pieces of Zeb's new tool bench. What was Santa thinking??..
"Mommy!" Zeb has peed in the floor!!" I rush to his room and what do I see he is puddle jumping in pee! ....
Baby Bathing cause he is covered in PEE!.........
"Can we have some chocolate cake now PLEASE?" ........
Chocolate faced kids with Sprinkles everywhere.........
Now which wonderful Grandparent bought the gumball machine??? 35 gumballs under the dining room table and Zeb eating them off the floor............
Daddy sleeping in the recliner while the house is completely chaotic.......
Mommy still smiling because if she doesn't show some kind of emotion she will fall over and go to sleep.....
2 year old still going non stop, 24 pack crayons scattered across the family room, tools, trucks, and whatever else in complete disarray, not an inch of floor untouched.........
"Me gotta potty !! Zeb rushes to Bathroom...only to dump his #2 in the floor.......YOUR TURN DADDY!....
Grandparents are leaving now...hugs and oodles of kissing and Thanks You Galore....
Daddy is STILL SLEEPING...........
Mommy hits the couch with Zeb in tow..Pappy and Binky (Blanket) ready to go..He wants to watch Tigger of course...down for the count 1, 2, 3, HE'S OUT!...........
Mommy turns Tv back to Christmas Story Movie since I LOVE IT and then for a bite or two...
Playing DS with the girls, What the heck?? How do you play this game?? ............
The house is now quiet except for 2 little girls playing quietly........
The family room is filled with toys and clutter, the tree is burning brightly, the kitchen is a mess, but
it is the most BEAUTIFUL sight I see as I remember how it got that way.......
I am so tired I think I will get ready for bed, OH WAIT....I already have on my PJ's for I have had them on all day.............
Blessing are all around, Thank you God...Happy Birthday Jesus!!

Rhonda ~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE KING OF KINGS!!!

2009-12-24T11:12:00.000-08:00

"FOR TODAY IS BORN TO YOU THIS DAY IN THE CITY OF DAVID A SAVIOR WHO IS CHRIST THE LORD." LUKE 2:11

He was wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger...

People came from far and wide to worship the newborn babe ...

A multitude of Angels surround the King, Praising God and Saying

"Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth, Peace, Good Will toward Men."

Celebrate the Greatest Gift of All......JESUS CHRIST!!!!

Our Family is wishing you and your family a Wonderful Christmas filled with much love and Blessings and may God our Heavenly King shine upon you and those you love!!

Blessings from The Lyle House ~ ~ ~
Rhonda

WORDLESS WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY

2009-12-23T07:38:00.000-08:00

TERRIFIC TUESDAY

2009-12-22T18:01:00.000-08:00

It's TERRIFIC TUESDAY because I don't have to work anymore until Monday. So 5 days to spend at home with my wonderful children and my husband. So now for a couple of pics to share, that I think are Terrific!!

My beautiful girls in Williamston Christmas Park

We live in a small town but we have a BIG attraction, people come from miles around to see our Park every year. It is filled with displays and lights and has an old cubscout cabin that has Mr. Clause himself every night until Christmas Eve. I still remember the memories of going there every year when I was a little girl.....

Our Lil Z sitting on Santa's Lap in the Cubscout Cabin at the Park .

Christmas Blessings!!

Rhonda ~

An Official Tag....7 Things that you may not know about me....

2009-12-21T17:05:00.000-08:00

Well thanks to my friend and fellow blogger Stef, from http://www.whenlifehandsyouabrokenheart.blogspot.com/ I have been officially tagged.....SO I will accept the tag with honor and put the 7 things that most people may not know about me and then I will TAG 7 more bloggers that I enjoy reading....so get ready!!
1. I am a yardsale/thrift store junkie...I absolutely love them and if you need it..I can find it!! Try me!!
2. I was born on my grandma's birthday and I and was her very 1st grandchild. Can we say spoiled?
3. I am a certified phlebotomist but I work for an attorney as a legal secretary. Weird huh?
4. I talk way too much, even in my sleep, drives my husband crazy. He says I get it from my grandma!
5. I have a gift and it is singing, I used to sing solos alot at church and duets with my best friend, but since
     the kids came along, I have sang at only 2 weddings. I mostly now sing to my children and my husband's
     favorite song at Christmas - "Winter Wonderland".
6. My husband and I own a small Trophy and Award shop, (Lyle Trophy & Award Shop) it has been open
     now for 2 years.
7. I have 3 sisters and 2 brothers....We have alot of fun at Christmas time..I am the oldest and the
     prettiest...LOL!! SSSSH...Don't tell my sisters I said that!

Well that is 7 things that you may not have known about me...I tell an awful lot in my blog posts so maybe some of you were suprised, and some maybe not, so I will tag a few of you guys and see what interesting things we can find out!! Have fun...>TAG UR IT!!!

http://www.noahsadventure.com/

http://www.thekouvolohouse.blogspot.com/

http://www.parkersprogress.blogspot.com/

http://www.jessjohnandloreleifriedel.blogspot.com/

http://www.scadlock.blogspot.com/

http://www.insallfamily.blogspot.com/

http://www.carolinacarters.blogspot.com/

Blessings from SC,
Rhonda ~

Can we say...Sentimental???

2009-12-15T13:27:00.000-08:00

I am a very sentimental person, and I love to keep things that remind me of happy memories, especially my kids!! So I thought I would share some of my MOST SENTIMENTAL Christmas ornaments since IT TIS THE SEASON......

This is our Noah's Ark, we all know the story, but this ornament specifically reminds me that YES! GOD keeps his PROMISES!! They are YES and AMEN!! His word Promised me oh so many years ago that if I would have Faith even as a Mustard Seed and believe that I could have the desires of my heart! That desire was for a baby, after 8 1/2 years of infertility and heartbreak. So I took him at his word and YES! God keeps his promises!! I have 3 beautiful Promises, Preslee, Kerrigan, and Zeb!!

This BRIGHT ornament though the details are not very clear is a VERY SPECIAL one in deed. This is the ornament to Celebrate the Memory of Our Very 1st Gift from God, Our Daughter Moriah. I lost her at 4months of Pregnancy. We never saw her face, we never held her in our arms, God had a special place in heaven for her to be with him. She was due, Christmas 1996 and she would be 13 years old this year. It has been very hard to understand why we were not given this child on earth, but I know that God has a plan and I know that all that I have lost in this life..God will return to me in my Eternal Life and I will hold this little one in my arms and see her beautiful face and this special ornament reminds me of that. She is forever in my heart, so you see, I have 4 children. 3 Real Angels here on earth and a Heavenly Angel that one day will meet her Mommy and Daddy, Sisters and Brother on the other side of Heaven.

This special ornament is a handmade ornament of my Sweet Preslee. She was such a cute lil baby girl..pappy and all and now she is 9 years old, going on 15! Time flies, this seems so much like yesterday! This is made of paper and glitter, but I wouldn't trade it for silver or gold!!

This is our Sweet Kerrigan, an ornament that she fashioned in her little 3 year old hands. It is a grand ornament you see, showing a precious little baby girl, with very little brown curls. She had such a time growing hair, she was 3 when it finally started coming in. This ornament is can't be found on any store or shelf for as you see it is one of a kind! Very precious in deed!!

This little ornament is the one and only Miss Strawberry Shortcake herself! She is a constant reminder of days past, when Kerrigan Grace was 2 and then 3. She absolutely loved "Strawberry" as she called her. Her 2nd Birthday Party was Strawberry Shortcake and when her 3 year old party time came around, well what did we have to have...well of course Strawberry Shortcake!!! It makes me laugh, because once again when she turned 4, she of course asked again for Strawberry Shortcake Bday Party, but we finally got her to change it up..but this ornament always gives me a chuckle and a smile to my heart and if I close my eyes for a minute..I am back there again!!

This little ornament was the very 1st ornament that Zeb every made, it was last Christmas and he was 22 mths old. Of course he had lots of help, but his little sweet hands added the Christmas Ball Stickers. Oh the things that Little Hands can do!! It is hard for us Mommys not to want to hold those little hands tight and keep them little just a little while longer.....Don't you?? Wonder if we could ask Santa for that?

I love this ornament because it reminds me of my brother who is currently serving in Iraq and for all the other men and women serving our country and sacrificing so much for Our Freedom. I can't help but to be humbled when I look at this ornament. What a Price they pay for us? On Christmas morning, we get to wake up with our husbands or wives and hug our children and see their smile and amazement that Santa has come once more and to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus!! I can't imagine waking up in another country without my family. What a sacrifice they make, for all of us! Remember to never forget the cost of your freedom. Thank God for our service men and women and pray for their families until they are all safely home.

This ornament is one of my most treasured ornaments. I look at this ornament even on a bad day and it brings hope in my heart. I purchased this ornament the Christmas of 2007. I will tell you up front this was a very difficult year, a wonderful year because our son, Zeb was born, but a very difficult year. The year that I realized what Trusting God and Believing in his word was all about. When Zeb was born, I almost died. If not for the Mercy and Grace of God, I would not be hear today. I had 5 deadly Blood Clots and was diagnosed with a Blood Clotiting Disorder the day after Zeb was born. They were not sure that I would live, it was out of their hands. The Doctors were amazed that I didn't die during the C Section. But you see, the morning of the Surgery, I had no idea that I was a ticking time bomb but the holy spirit spoke to me that something was not right and at 5am as I was leaving my house my aunt had came to stay with my girls, I told her. Something is wrong, I need you to pray. I know that because she prayed and I prayed and God's Spirit spoke to me I am here today and for all the other prayer warriors that prayed and prayed and BELIEVED after they all found out the horrible diagnosis ..I am here today!! Thank you God for someone who BELIEVED!! After 31/2 long weeks of recovering and finally feeling like myself, my Faith and every fiber of my being would be tested again. This time it was not me, it was our precious newborn son, only 4 weeks old and in severe heart failure. He had an undiagnosed heart defect. A CHD? A What?? Yes..he was in very critical condition and I felt like I had already been through the pit of hell with my own health but I was shown differently; this is the pit, not knowing if your child is going to live or die! I was given a word from God to Trust him and from that minute on..I decided that I would not be waivered and I would not believe otherwise! I prayed for our son and I believed that he would live and I would see him grow and hundreds of people prayed and stood behind us and simply BELIEVED for his life!! This is why he is here today...Because God heard the prayers of those who BELEIVED!! So you see this ornament holds a special place of honor to me and holds a story of a Mommy and Son who fought the odds and won and will never forget where we were and where God has brought us from!! BELIEVE IN MIRACLES!! I DO!!

This special ornament represents a family, a gift like no other, my family. I look at this and I Thank God for he has Blessed me so. I could never express the gratitude and honor he deserves. It just reminds me every day to Count my BLESSINGS!!

Last but not least.....THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE OF ALL!!!

This ornament reminds me and my family of the best gift of all...JESUS CHRIST!!

Everyday I remind my children, that without him we are nothing and I am forever thankful for this precious baby that was born in a cold, cold stable so many Christmas' ago.

"For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is CHRIST THE LORD. " Luke 2:11

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!"

What are your precious, priceless, most sentimental ornaments???
Share them on your blog and post me the link in my comments.....I would love to see them!!

Blessing to you and yours this Season.....

Rhonda ~

It's Beginning to look alot like Christmas.........

2009-12-12T19:39:00.000-08:00

Presleebug is hanging Favorite Ornaments....

The stockings are hung by the chimney....

Our Tree is finally Finished!!

Our Santa Sign is Out Front!

The Christmas Parade is Today.. Can we say CANDY!!

Zeb really enjoyed our small town Parade...My 2 guys!!

KerrBear being silly under the tree!!

LOOK!! Santa already left me a present....Lil Zbug!!

Yes, it is finally beginning to look and feel alot like Christmas at the Lyle House...especially with the 27degree weather we awoke to on this Saturday Morning, with sleet/rain tonight. We had a great day today, spending time with friends and family and Zeb got to really enjoy our hometown Christmas Parade, last year he was too little to really get into the fun.. The kids got loads of candy, way too much than they will ever need or I will allow them to eat, but the getting is fun!! Of course the highlight of the parade was Santa at the end on the old antique firetruck. This is one of our annual Christmas traditions and I love it every single year and because we live right in town afterward our house is always filled with loads of family and friends, which I LOVE BY THE WAY , but my husband he kinda freaks out..since we don't have a big house. He is really kind of funny and all of our family and close friends know him very well, so no one is suprised by him. (LOL)

Well today was one of those days...we had altogether 5 adults, 9 little kids, and 3 teenagers in the house altogether today. Well you would think that someone could keep an eye on and be in complete control of one little 2 year old fellow that we all know well..SAWYER ZEB LYLE!!! Well that is exactly what I yelled in shock when I saw what he had done as he comes with that sweet innocent smile and mischevious glint in his crystal blue eyes....this is the scene....He is covered...hands, face, hair, shirt, pants, and feet in a blue liquidy substance...I am about the freak out and then my fifteen year old nephew, Ezra, who Zeb calls Bubba, says."Oh Aunt Roni, it's just laundry detergent." Well okay then....but what he didn't say was that Zeb had emptied the entire bottle of 52 loads of my Mountain Spring smelling laundry detergent into my DRYER!!!!!! Heaven help me!!! Then he got my dust mop for my hardwood floor and was swirling it around in there!! I was completely in shock, I know, I know, Perfect Photo Op..Right??? Wrong, I was in shock mode and my husband was in freak out mode...stripping him down and getting the stuff off of him..so No pics...just the mental pic. I will NEVER forget it!!! He did this all in about 5 min. Trust me, He is very fast!! Ain't no Heart defect gonna slow him down, much!! Well needless to say everyone thought it was hilarious, but me of course. I like to never got the mess cleaned up and out of my dryer. Thank God that Zeb and the dryer are still intact and of course smelling very fresh!!! I had planned to bake cookies after the parade, but this little detour knocked that right out the dryer...So maybe tommorow after church!! So we had a fun day ..but I learned one big lesson today...Never Trust a 2 year old in the laundry room even for a second....or 5 min!! But one good thing...maybe by the time he is 3 I can teach him to wash clothes, he does work well with detergent!! Haha!! Be Blessed....Enjoy every minute...!!!

Rhonda ~

Where does time go????? Memories of Christmas Past

2009-12-09T14:45:00.000-08:00

Zeb's 1st Christmas 2007

Precious Children

Love this one!!

So Cute!

Santa's Mini Me!! Love it!!

I stumbled across these today and thought I would share....seems like yesterday!!

Where has the time gone???

Holiday Blessings!!
Rhonda ~