And the beat goes on...

The night before last I went to sleep early and then awoke suddenly and couldn't go back to sleep. I decided since I was up I might as well be useful and not just lay there. I had been up for a while doing some housework (keep in mind this was around 2am) and all of a sudden I hear "Mommy! Mommy! I trying to find you." So I went to find Pierson climbing out of bed, favorite stuffed animal securely tucked under his arm. I picked him up and put him back in bed and took full advantage of the opportunity to cuddle with my baby. As we lay there I thought he was almost asleep. Then that tiny little arm came straight up in the air and tightly wrapped itself around my head and pulled it to his chest. I heard the most beautiful sound. Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.... what an especially beautiful sound that was. I just left my head there for a long time, listening intently to that beautiful blessed sound. Thud, thud, thud, thud. It was so strong. I just prayed over my boy and his heartbeat. I praised God for his heart beat. It sounds so strong. It was then I remembered what I had prayed for when I was pregnant with Pierson. I would place my hand on my belly and ask God that this baby would have a heart that beats to praise You. I got that line from a song by Christian artist Big Daddy Weave "Audience of One".  That line of the song resinated strongly with me. I remember talking to Jeff about that while I was pregnant. Talking about how I just wanted this baby to fall madly and deeply in love with Jesus and have a heart that beated to praise Him. Never ever ever did I dream that my prayer would revealed in such a literal way. That sweet little thud, thud, thud, thud is a living breathing testament to God. It always has been, from conception. I think most people take a beating heart for granted unless it's in a person who has had heart trouble. Each little beat of that heart is a praise to our Lord. What a beautiful song it is. Others who know Pierson's story or the story of any heart kiddo for that matter don't take his beating heart for granted either.
As believers, and parents who want to raise our kids in Christ, we pray that God will use our children in mighty ways. That's actually a really scary thing to pray. Use my child, Lord. Let him do great things for your kingdom. That's just horrifying! We don't have a say in how God uses our children. You're holding this gift out in your hands and offering it up to the Lord. Relinquishing control. While we never would have chosen this way for Pierson or for our family it has been beautiful to see how God has used him and in turn, us. If even one person's heart is softened for the Lord, if one person can point to Pierson's healing and say "that's God" then He has been glorified. We praise Him for that.
For those of you who have been asking how Pierson is doing, there is one word: Fantastic! You would never know there was anything ever wrong with this kid. He started preschool 3 days a week Monday. It's the same school he's been at for early childhood now he is moved up to the big kid building that houses preschool-kindergarten. Yep, we're in the big leagues now! They're pretty hardcore at this school and P is already thriving in it. They started learning to write their names this week. Can you believe that? He's 3!!!! Bring it. I think he can handle the challenge. Along the same lines of school, this meant a change in our routine. I had to be at work before 8 for a meeting this morning so we left our house earlier than normal. I got him to school with plenty of time to spare, he went right in and started playing and off to work I went. I got to the building next to ours and all of a sudden it hit me: I DIDN'T GIVE P HIS BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICINE! I popped the quickest u-turn safely possible and headed back to the house. I called my administrator on the way back home and told her what I had done. She was dropping her daughter off at school and was so gracious. I think I must have told her "I can't believe I did this! I feel like such a bad mom!" about 3 times. So I ran in to my house and then back up P's school medicine in hand. I was drawing up his dose as I was walking down the hallway to his classroom. It was only 15 minutes past his regular dose at this point (not even close to the danger zone) but I was still beside myself. P's class was getting seated for breakfast when I snuck in. Pierson spotted me and said in a quasi indignant voice "Mommy. What are you doing here?" Apparently I had invaded his school world. I gave him his medicine really quickly and then left. He went back to his activity like nothing had ever happened. Yeeesh. Later that day one of the nurses I work with said "heard you forgot to give Pierson his heart medicine this morning." I bemoaned this and said how bad I felt. She said my administrator had said how I had said I felt like a bad mom. My nurse friend said "You're not a bad mom. You would have been a bad mom if you hadn't gone back and given him his medicine." Can I tell you how much better I felt when she said that? I had been kicking myself that entire morning about my mistake. I needed those words. Oh yeah, I never made it to that meeting.
In Other News:
- It's almost time for us to go to Disney World! Yae! We are all beyond excited to get there and have some
   celebrate and relax time. Wooohoo! We have something very special for Pierson the night we eat at
   Chef Mickey's.
- Pierson and I have been running races around the house a lot lately. A couple weeks ago when we were  
   running something in the back of my knee popped. Finally got that checked out by an ortho doc and it
   seems I have torn my meniscus. Praying that we can avoid surgery. Our insurance company loves us right
   now I'm sure.
- Pierson has been swimming a lot lately and almost has his strength back in the pool. We're putting him back
   in lessons soon
- He has been growing like a weed! He is moving in to 5T clothes and is officially a size 11 shoe! We're not
   sure if we just happened upon a growth spirt or if this whole having a fully functioning heart thing is finally
   allowing his body to grow to its full potential or what. We saw Dr. Adams the other day and she
   remarked his growth spirt. She said he's always been a bigger kid and it's kinda scary to think that was
   him not growing to his full potential. Very thankful that I could have a 6'3" heart baby some day.
- I'm praying about a way to help contribute to 3 congenital heart charities that have touched my heart. God
   has placed that way on my heart. Pray for his hands over mine as I embark on that adventure.
- Please keep praying for P's heart that the heart muscle will not be thick on our next cardiology visit in  
   October. We are getting closer to weaning him from his bp meds. Pray that goes smoothly.
- And in other news we literally just had a very special visitor come to our house! At 6:30 in the morning!
  We have developed a very special relationship with our recycling truck man, Mr. Art. He has let Pierson
  look inside of his truck before, always says "hi". We have baked him cookies. He just came by -- not
  even on a trash day -- and brought Pierson his very own model recycling truck! I tore Pierson out of bed
  and brought him to the door! He went from comatose to beside himself with joy in a matter of 30 seconds!
  We do so love Mr. Art our recycling man! It's the little things that you do for someone that make a huge
  impact on others life. Thank you God for Mr. Art!
God continues to bless us. He is good. May our hearts always beat to praise You.

P playing with his new treasure from our recycling man, Mr. Art

He loves it!

Celebrating One Month Later

So here we are, one month later. This time last month we were hovering over P's bed in ICU debating whether or not either of us should sleep that night. We were scared out of our minds. We had nothing to hold on to but our God. Tonight he is asleep on the floor in our living room "camping". God is so good to us. What a month we have had! Never in a million years would anyone guess that this kid just had heart surgery a month ago.

Pierson "camping" in our living room floor 1 month to the day after surgery to repair his Coarction

We did celebrate today. We let him choose where we would go for lunch. We just knew we were in for Chick-Fil-A or Sonic but he chose Blue Goose for their fajitas. Sounded like a celebration to us! I think one of the things we have learned through this journey has been to celebrate more. Every day is a gift and we need to rejoice in what He has given us. We should mark special events and make a point to thank God for them, no matter how small we may think they are. Big or small, every good and perfect gift comes from Him.
James 1:17  Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
Our hearts and lives have changed so much since the day P was diagnosed. We didn't know that there was a world of parents and children with Congenital Heart Defects out there. But there is. A heavy burden on my heart is awareness for CHDs. 1 in 100 kids is born with a congenital heart defect. 1 in 150 has a Coarctation of the Aorta like P. My best friend who is a kindergarten teacher made this analogy: At most public schools that means at least 1 child in each grade level has a CHD. That's more common than Autism. There is no regular screening in place for CHDs. These defects are present at birth yet they aren't screened for at birth. Why? Why isn't every child given an echo cardiogram? Every child gets their foot pricked to check for genetic disorders that are far less common than CHDs. It just seems silly to me. If we had not have had Dr. Adams and her diligence Pierson would have dropped one day and we probably would not have been able to save him. That makes me want to throw up just thinking about it. How many kids could be saved if every newborn was screened for CHDs? How many babies go home and die from "SIDS" who actually have CHDs that could have been corrected with surgery. This just seems like some of the most valuable preventative medicine we could have.
When I took Pierson in for his BP screening at the doctor's office this week we got a minute to talk to Dr. Adams. She said that some parents had heard what had gone on with Pierson and decided not to skip their well child visits. Good! Can we say victory? I hate, hate that we had to go through this but will rejoice in that God is using it for His good and for His plan. If even one more child's life is saved because of this then let's call that a victory. That's one less parent who will have to experience the nightmare of losing a child. He is working our trial for His good. He is good. We are able to both enthusiastically rejoice and take perfect rest in Him for that.
Romans 8:27-28  And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[i] have been called according to his purpose.
So what is next for us? Life! Pierson's recovery is going well. We are slowing down on weaning him from his blood pressure medicine... his heart needs a little more time than the original 6 weeks we were shooting for so he will be on for a little longer than the expected 6 weeks. That's so ok. His incisions have healed nicely and he loves showing them to people when he is asked. P started back to preschool this week. He goes 2 days a week and he was glad to be back, and his teachers and friends were glad to have him back. His teachers can tell a difference in his energy levels. They also said he seems happier. Well I bet, he can finally keep up with the other kids! Last weekend we finally took his 3 year old pictures (hey, we've been a little busy!) and our photographer Sarah Null (who also happens to be our good friend) took pictures and incorporated Pierson's surgical battle wounds. These pictures are so special to us. If you were wondering why Pierson is playing with a trash truck in his pictures it's because he loves trash trucks. It's part of who he is. Wednesdays are trash days at our house and his favorite day of the week. He wakes up on Wednesdays and knows it is trash day! We know our recycling man on a first name basis. Pierson told my mom yesterday that he wanted to be a doctor that heals kids hearts and drives trash trucks to the hospital for kids to see! Sounds like world's best future congenital heart surgeon ever right there!
I am also tackling the joyful task of getting thank you notes out to everyone who has blessed us with sweet encouragement, meals and gifts during this time. Rest assured -- they are on their way folks! The love we have received through all of this has just been unreal. We are beyond blessed and so thankful. There just aren't words.

I wanted to leave you with this verse and some of Pierson's 3 year old pictures. When we were at Dr. Laird's office for P's tests the day he got diagnosed I knew in my heart that something was wrong and was scared. I turned around in the room where we got P's EKG and saw Hebrews 13:5 on the wall. I want to share that verse and the two that come after that with you tonight. Even if Pierson had not had a good outcome, this verse still would have been true. If you're walking through a valley right now, remember this verse. It is His truth and His truth is forever. He loves you so much.
Hebrews 13: 5-7 for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,”  so that we confidently say,  “THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?” Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.