This is a NOT a holiday tree

(I received this today in the email)




This is a Christmas tree.

It is not a Hanukkah bush,

It is not an Allah plant,

It is not a Holiday hedge.

It is a Christmas tree.

Say it... CHRISTmas , CHRISTmas , CHRISTmas

Yes. CHRISTmas - celebrating the Birth of Jesus Christ!!!

Gabriel update

Here is an email that I received yesterday from my friend Dawn.... Praise God for His mighty works!

Dear loved ones,

We are home and Gabriel is doing great. I am sorry for not e-mailing sooner. Since we came home we needed to just focus on him and his continued recovery and for our recovery as well. The children are home with us again and we are all very happy to be together. The Doctors are very pleased with Gabriel's recovery and he has adjusted to being home quite nicely. I was worried that he would have a difficult time getting back into routine, but he is so happy to be home he has just picked up right where he left off. He is sleeping very good, napping good, and in good humor most of the time. He has become a little shy and wants only Mama but that’s a normal thing anyway.

I want to take this opportunity to give God the Glory for all He has done for us. We have had a very difficult year. The knowledge of Gabriel's heart defect was the beginning of this long and trying journey. On January 20th, 2006 we were told by my Doctor that most parents would just let their baby die. We were given no hope from her and we were devastated. I remember leaving the clinic in shock and fear. I also remember that we had a girl's name picked out but not a boy's name. That afternoon, the name Gabriel Michael came to mind and Brian confirmed that was the name for our son. I believe that was his God given name. We determined that we would face this challenge together and do whatever we could to help our son live and be thankful for time we did get to have him. He will soon be 6 months old. He has had 2 open heart bypass surgeries and is doing fantastic. (He will have another surgery in a few years. )

We are not guaranteed a perfect and happy life. We are not guaranteed anything in life. One guarantee that I hold to is that God loves his own. He did not spare us this trial, but He was with us through this trial. My prayer for my family and friends who do not have a relationship with God our Maker, is that each and every one of you will seek Him. This life is very short and we don’t know what tomorrow holds for us. God sent his son Jesus Christ to die for our sins so we could have peace and comfort in knowing our eternity will be with Him.

We have 4 beautiful children and our deepest desire and prayer is not that they are spared difficulties in life, not that they will have a happy and carefree life, it is that they will have a personal relationship with our Father in Heaven. That they will know Him and love Him. We pray for wisdom in the training of our children and we pray for guidance when we are facing trials.

I feel like we are at the end of a chapter in our life. Thank you all for your prayers and support this year. Your love and encouragement has been a blessing to me. I pray God will bless you for your faithfulness in prayer.

Love to you all,

Dawn

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

THANKSGIVING

TWAS THE NIGHT OF THANKSGIVING, BUT I JUST COULDN'T SLEEP

I TRIED COUNTING BACKWARDS, I TRIED COUNTING SHEEP.

THE LEFTOVERS BECKONED - THE DARK MEAT AND WHITE

BUT I FOUGHT THE TEMPTATION WITH ALL OF MY MIGHT

TOSSING AND TURNING WITH ANTICIPATION

THE THOUGHT OF A SNACK BECAME INFATUATION.

SO, I RACED TO THE KITCHEN, FLUNG OPEN THE DOOR
>
> AND GAZED AT THE FRIDGE, FULL OF GOODIES GALORE.

I GOBBLED UP TURKEY AND BUTTERED POTATOES,

PICKLES AND CARROTS, BEANS AND TOMATOES.

I FELT MYSELF SWELLING SO PLUMP AND SO ROUND,

'TIL ALL OF A SUDDEN, I ROSE OFF THE GROUND.

I CRASHED THROUGH THE CEILING, FLOATING INTO THE SKY

WITH A MOUTHFUL OF PUDDING AND A HANDFUL OF PIE.

BUT, I MANAGED TO YELL AS I SOARED PAST THE TREES....

HAPPY EATING TO ALL; PASS THE CRANBERRIES, PLEASE.

MAY YOUR STUFFING BE TASTY, MAY YOUR TURKEY BE PLUMP.

MAY YOUR POTATOES 'N GRAVY HAVE NARY A LUMP,

MAY YOUR YAMS BE DELICIOUS, MAY YOUR PIES TAKE THE PRIZE,

MAY YOUR THANKSGIVING DINNER STAY OFF OF YOUR THIGHS.

HAVE A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING!
-Author Unknown

Son on TV

Well, I finally got to see Zach's team on TV today. They showed re-runs of last Saturday's championship game. It was so cool to see our little guys on TV. They were so cute! What will be fun is watching these little boys grow up together as a team, cause they will be together until 7th grade, then it will be fun seeing which ones go on to school ball together.
These little boys, on both teams, wanted to win so bad. You could see it through out the whole game. Neither team gave up! That in itself is a victory, even if Z's team didn't end up winning. They will always be winners to me!
It had been fun to watch them grow as a team... The only boy that Zach knew at the beginning of the season was a boy that he had met at the combine a few weeks earlier. Zach and this little boy almost had gotten into a fight because the boy butted in front of Zach in the line.... both the little boy and Zach were all "brisseled up" ready for a fight until they started the next drill. (I was kind of glad of that, cause this little boy was a head taller than Zach!) I watched from the bleachers during the combine, and watched Zach and this boy exchange looks on the field the rest of the combine. Well, wouldn't you know it, this little boy ended up being on Zach's team.... as a mom, I thought, "uh oh, nothing good is going to come of this." Well, I was wrong, now Zach and this little boy are friends and team mates... I think they have forgotten what happened in August! (it was hard on me to watch what happened at the combine, to let him handle it and not swoop in and "protect" my baby)
As for the rest of the team, only about 1/2 of the boys knew each other, because they had played together as Mighty Mights the last two years. The other half, except for a few "move ins" had never even played football before. You could tell that they were unsure and nervous around each other. Zach was so nervous those first few months. He had never played football before and had no idea what he was doing. I had to give him lots of encouragement during breaks as well as before and after practices. One day, I was giving him some encouragement when one of the other new kids who had just moved here, but had played football before, told him, don't worry, you'll catch on... then he taught him and easier way to get his helmet off... It was one of those feel good moments. It was something that this other little boy didn't have to do, but he did.
There was even a time, at about a month into it, where Zach said "Mom, I don't wanna play anymore." I told him that he signed up to play on this team and that he was going to stick with it this year, and then if he doesn't want to play next year, then that would be okay, but he was not going to quit on his team! A few weeks later, he came up to me and gave me a big hug and said, "Mom, thanks for not letting me quit, I love football now!" That's what it's about, for the love of the game. Although he doesn't get to play very much, he still enjoyed playing. And he played his heart out every time he was given a chance.
It was really fun watching them get to know each other and learn to work together. They really came a long way from late August til now.
I am one proud football mom!

CRAZY SOCK DAY

Yesterday was "Crazy Sock Day" at school.... doesn't she look cute?

Miss Owasso Outstanding Teen Pageant

My little cousin Chelsey, who is 15, was in the Teen Owasso Pageant yesterday evening. She did really well and looked beautiful as always!
(For those of you always asking where Ashleigh gets he blonde hair, just look at Chelsey!)
She did really well in all the aspects of the competition and for her talent, she sang the "Black horse and the Cherry Tree". She sounded awesome!
This was her first year to participate, and she won 1st runner up. She said that she definitly wants to do more pageants.
We are all proud of her!

Saying hello to those who came to support her.

Chelsey with her proud mom and dad.

Chelsey giving her first autograph.

WHAT A GREAT SEASON!

Today was the championship game. It was a total defensive game, with TBC ending up on top @ 6-0. We ended the season at 12-1.
We all are soooo proud of our boys for making it this far! We ended up being 2nd out of 60 other 3rd grade teams, so, they have nothing to hang their heads about!
The boys get to stay together thru 7th grade. I really like that, because they learn to play as a team. As far as I know, all of them will be back next year! Zach has been blessed to play on this team. I am thankful for them picking my son in the draft, even though he had never played before. There were about 5 or 6 that had never played football before and I think they learned alot this year. I am thankful for a caring and supportive coaching staff. Couldn't ask for more than that. Our coaches love these boys as if they were their own sons. It's a awesome thing to watch.
Zach is not playing anything else until baseball season, so we won't start getting really busy again until March or so. He has a tryout for a baseball team next weekend.
GO RAMS! Below are some pics that I took that day.....

THE GIRLS ARE READY FOR THEIR BROTHER'S BIG GAME! GO RAMS!

THE HIGH SCHOOL LET US BORROW THEIR BIG HELMET AGAIN. OUR BOYS LOVE THAT!

"WE ARE A TEAM!" This was taken during the opening coin toss. Our coach always told them no matter what, win or lose, we are a TEAM! He has always told them that when they make a mistake, not to worry cause they have the rest of the team to back them up.


TROPHY TIME! -------------->


Here is a pic of Zach holding the 2nd place team trophy. I am sure that Coach Tucker will display it proudly at his house!

WOOOOOHOOOOO!

WE WON! We are going to the Championships! Our boys have worked soooo hard this year and still remain undefeated! We won the game 19-13.
We were down 13-12 with less than a minute left .... and we tried a reverse fake and it worked! TOUCHDOWN RAMS! The TD was made with about 20 seconds left in the game.... Sapulpa had possesion with just a little left in the game and went for a long pass, but one of our boys intercepted it! It was AWESOME! (I wasn't aware that I could hold my breath for so long!)
We play Tulsa Boys Club on Saturday the 11th around mid-day at the Broken Arrow HS field. For those of you who can, please come out and support us! And for you guys who are local, and can't make it for the game, it is on Cox Cable - Channel 3. I will post the exact game time as soon as I know!

TONIGHTS GAME!

I found out late yesterday afternoon, that the game time for tonights game has changed. It is now @ 8PM - at Sapulpa HS.

GO RAMS! Beat the Little Chiefs!

Our boys got to run through the helmet that the high school team uses for their games.... just for a few moments, they got to be like the big boys! (Zach is somewhere on the left side of the pic in the "herd" of rams... you can't really see him)
Our next game is in the "final 4" or the tournament...... there are about 50 3rd grade teams in the conference and we are in the "final 4" so I'd say that's pretty awesome.
The game is on Tuesday night @ 7PM @ Sapulpa HS.
GO RAMS!

GO RAMS!

We are in the semi-finals! We beat Jenks 7-0 @ Jenks tonight! We play Sapulpa in Sapulpa possibly on Tuesday night! One more game and we're in the finals!
The boys hung tough and basically shut down their offense.... Jenks defense was very good as well, we just happen to get a break away touchdown.
Zach played very well and made several good tackles.... I'm one proud mama!

Game

We won... 28-13
Next game is on Saturday. We are playing Jenks Maroon @ 5:30PM @ Jenks HS.
GO RAMS!

Our little Cheerleader

On Saturday, FOR (Future Owasso Rams) handed out participation trophies for the flag football players and cheerleaders. Ashleigh is VERY proud of her trophy and it is sitting on our fireplace mantle at home.

GAME DAY!!!!!

Today is game day! WOOOOHOOOOO! They were lookin' really good at practice, but were freezing to death.... but they are so pumped that I don't think that will be a problem tonight... at least I don't think so....
I was freezing at practice too, but you know me, I won't be able to sit still at the game, so I might not notice the cold too much either.
GO OWASSO 3rd Grade Black!!!!!

Update on Gabriel Cross

This is the email that Dawn sent me today....
Dear Friends and Family,

There have been many new developments that I wish to inform you all on. Last week Gabriel went into Arkansas Children's Hospital for a routine Heart Cath test. This test was done so the cardiologist and surgeon could see detailed pictures of his heart, measure pressures, and look for any obstructions. The test was successful and an agioplasty was performed on his aortic arch where there was a gradient (not too bad). This area is where the first surgery was performed on and this was an expected possibility. He was addmitted over night for observation at which time he spiked a 102 fever. This is also a normal reaction to the dye used in the test. He recovered nicely execpt for having lower oxogen saturation. His pulse ox was normally in the mid 80s. It is however now in the upper 60s to lower 70s. This a source of great concern. He did not, however, come home on oxogen even though while in the hospital he did need it.

On Monday, the surgeon and his team did meet and plan Gabriel's next major heart surgery. On November 8th, 8:30am Gabriel will undergo the next stage. This heart surgery will involve the reconstruction of the blood vessels leading directly to the lungs. This will allow all the upper extremeties blood to be directed to the lungs first and then to the heart to be pumped out. He will be on a by-pass machine and this proceedure is expected to take many hours. He will be in CVICU at ACH afterwards for an extended time. We are optimistic that his recovery will take less time than the first surgery.

We will be leaving for Little Rock on Monday, November 6th. Gabriel will be admitted on Tuesday for many pre-operation tests, x-rays, and EKG. This process will take all day in order to prepare for the next day's surgery. The other 3 children will be picked up on Sunday next, to go and stay with my parents in OK. Brian's parents and family will help when they can.

Please pray for all of us as we prepare for this seperation and for Gabriel's healing. We knew that he would need surgery before the end of the year, however, given a weeks notice seems it is coming too quickly. We are all worried and under a great deal of pressure during this preperation time. Brian has informed his work and his boss and co-workers are encourging.

As we find out more about the proceedure ect., we will e-mail everyone and keep you all informed.

I am reminded of all the letters, cards, and e-mails we received during our last stay at Children's Hospital. It was so wonderful to read each of those and remember how much we are loved and are being prayed for. Thank you all for your prayers and encourgement. Our lives have been truly blessed by all of you.



Love and Blessings,

Dawn