We are trying to get back to some degree of normalcy around here. Gus is experiencing some sort of anxiety (as far as we can figure out), so we're just trying to be patient with him and give him some time. He's really clingy to me and is having a hard time sleeping. We've pretty much got naps back in order, so it's just the nights we need to work on now. A couple of nights ago he would only sleep if we were holding him - now he just wants to sleep in our bed. I'm told these are all normal things. He has been through so much, I just need to give him some time.
My sister left this morning. It was so wonderful to have her here!!! We had a great time, and I'm not sure I would have done to well without the help. She helped me get the house all clean so I wouldn't have to worry about it for a few days. Anyway, it's so wonderful to be on our way back to normal life. God has been incredibly good to us.

thankful

I am overwhelmed with thankfulness. We have recieved so much from our friends and church family. We got a huge basket of stuff at church on Sunday, and then a recieved a package from my MOPS group. We got so many things to keep Ella occupied, snacks to keep us going, blankets and sleepers for Gus, magazines and books, gift cards for restaurants, toys and groceries - not to mention enough Starbuck's to keep us awake the entire two weeks! At church on Sunday they prayed for us and wept with us and surrounded us with love. God is so good!!! After a somewhat hard week it was exactly what I needed. Anyway, I am trying to keep everyone updated on a carepage, so you can see what's going on. Thank you again for your prayers.

Life

Well, we've had a busy few weeks. Grandma and Papa came to visit for a couple of days and then Nana and Papa were here for a week. We had a great time with both of them. Ella learned how to ride her trike - and she loves it. I'm pretty excited about that because she isn't a huge lover of the outdoors and that helps her want to get out. Gus got a tooth this weekend so he's been a little crabby - plus that means that he has to go to the dentist before the surgery. Just add it to the list. It's kind of funny that the last two saturday nights before mother's day have been some of the worst sleeping night ever for our kids. I mean really - how do they know???!!! But I got the most thoughtful mother's day present - I'm going to pottery classes. Something I've wanted to do for a really time. I'm super excited. I had a wonderful mother's day in spite of a bad nights sleep.
Hmmm, what else? I'm still running, we're up to 7K with about a month left until the race. Josh is getting a new espresso maker that he's really excited about.
About Gus: He's doing really well. He's happy and learning new things and growing a little bit. He can wave hi and is learning he can get places by rolling. Today I found out that they have a tentative date for surgery - either the 22nd or 23rd!!! That is such a relief. The unknown is the worst part. We'll find out for sure on Thursday. Please pray that he can just stay virus free until then so it doesn't get cancelled.
We'll keep you posted.

Running

So, I'm trying to get into running. I've posted before about how every spring I think I want to train for a marathon, and it lasts for about a week. Well this year I took a different aproach. I decided I would try to train for a 5 K and work up from there. So I ran 2 races last week. Today someone told me that running is addictive. Boy will I be excited when that day comes!! I'm definitely not addicted, I could probably never run again and be totally ok with that. But I will keep going - I am on the 8 week plan for the 10K - we'll see. Anyway, here are some pictures.
This was last Sunday's race with my friend Abbie. She's my running buddy. It was -12C, and really windy. Not exactly a good way to start, but I guess it can only get better.

Attractive
And get better it did. This was my race yesterday with Deb and Joyce. It was beautiful out! Pretty much perfect, and look at that view!
And I did have a lot of time to look at the mountains since they left me in their dust. Speed really isn't my objective yet. This is me crossing the finish line.
Ella and Meadow were playing and eating raisins together. Until we had to take them away because they found a pile of elk poop. Raisins and elk poop look a lot alike.

Photos

So, I have added some pictures here , and two movies, here and here . We're having a busy week - Ella's been sick and that always seems to drain me. I hope I think twice the next time I think it's a good idea to take a two year old with diarrhea to the grocery store. I've done a lot of laundry this week, but at least now everything is clean. Tonight we are doing an Indian theme for small group and I made butter chicken for the first time. It's pretty amazing- not thanks to my cooking skills, but just because that's the nature of butter chicken. Well, hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Josh is off work tomorrow and I'm going to get my teeth cleaned. No end to excitement here.

Prayer

Well, I just want to let everyone know that we are all doing well. We don't have a date for the surgery yet, but they think it will be the first or second week in March. At first I just wanted it over with, but I think it's probably best that I have a little time to prepare myself for all that will happen. He is gaining a little weight each week and his oxygen levels are good, so they aren't too worried about him at this point. However, I would like to have the surgery over with before they start really worrying. We had to go to the hospital last Thursday and again on Monday. They have a little daycare there for siblings and patients, and let me tell you, what a lifesaver. On Monday it took 2 1/2 hours and it was during Ella's naptime - so she would have been a bear for me, but she's always an angel for strangers.
I can't begin to tell you how many people have been praying for us!!! God has sent so many encouragers our way and I am completely overwhelmed. I have to tell you that I have been very convicted to learn that complete strangers are praying more for my son than I am! I am trying to pray more for my family.
I've always told myself that my kids belong to God, but I don't think I really felt that way. Now, I have no choice. There is absolutely nothing I can do to help Gus, and God is totally in control of His life. The day after the diagnoses I was singing Jesus Loves Me to him and when I came to the line "little ones to Him belong" I just started to bawl, and then I began to trust. God is giving me peace.
I'm so thankful God hasn't given up on teaching me things, even though it seems like I have to learn them over and over.
Thanks for your prayers!

Gooey

That happens to be one of Ella's many nicknames for our sweet little boy. It also happens to be Josh's favourite out of all the options, and what he is often called. Poor kid. Anyway, this post is not about his nicknames, but about his heart. He was born with a heart murmur, something quite a few kids are born with, but they are often closed up by the time they are 6 months. Well, at a checkup at around 5 1/2 months his doctor decided to send him to a cardiologist. They made an appointment for May 12. Since then he has not been gaining weight, and even dropped down at one point. So, she requested that his appointment be moved up. So, today we headed down to the Children's Hospital for a echocardiogram. They took pictures of his heart for about three hours due to the fact that I think he had a crush on the ultrasound technician. He just smiled and charmed her, and wouldn't hold still, so they had a hard time getting a good picture. He is such a sweet little boy. He hardly cried at all with all this poking and prodding. Just kept smiling. In the end, they told us that he has something called Tetralogy of Fallot. This is a congenital heart defect that means (in my very medically uneducated terms) that he has a large hole between two of the chambers in his heart, and that his pulmonary valve (which brings blood to his lungs) is too narrow. I think there are 2 other symptoms, but they didn't seem as serious to me. Anyway, the bottom line is that he will need to have open heart surgery probably within the next month to repair the hole and expand the valve. I'm sure you can imagine that this is extremely hard for a mother to hear. I am having a rough time, but I keep reminding myself that God is in control. So we will be heading up to Edmonton for about two weeks while all of this happens. It all seems so overwhelming right now. One good thing about having your appointment at the Children's Hospital is that you get to see that this is really quite a minor thing compared to what some kids go through, but it doesn't feel very minor.. So, please continue to pray for all of us - we really need it! I'll let you all know when we hear more.