Go on out & get your free Slurpee, cuz it’s 7-Eleven, baby!  And while you’re drinking it, wish a happy birthday to my big four-year-old, Brooke!  Four years ago today, at 12:34 pm she rushed in to our lives & hearts & changed us forever.

When you get married you wonder how you’ll ever be able to love that person enough.  Then when you have a child, you have the same fears again.  And as you add more children, you’re given the grace & love you need to pour in to each person God blesses your family with.   We couldn’t have loved Emma more, and then we were blessed with Brooke as well.

She’s our miracle, our fighter, our feisty princess.  She has the most unique voice, imagination, expressions, wardrobe.  She’s been a blessing we never expected & would never change.

Thanks for being you Brookie!  Love Daddy, Mommy, Emma, and Ruby-doobie-do

If you follow me on Facebook – me, not my fan page – you will occasionally see me change my profile picture in memory of children who have lost their battle with CDH – congenital diaphragmatic hernia.  I changed my picture recently in memory of Oz – a little guy who survived about 9 hours after being born with CDH.  Why?  I do it because my daughter, Brooke, was born with this birth defect.  We almost lost her.  But by the grace of God we have been blessed to know her & love her for over three years now. And to raise awareness about this devastating defect fellow photographers & CDH moms across the world are holding photo sessions for children born with CDH, families affected by CDH, and parents who are expecting CDH babies.  The way we do that is with angel wings.

So, in memory of Oz, I decided to take Brooke out this evening for some updated angel photos.  Oz’s parents – you are in our thoughts as you lay your little one to rest tomorrow.  We can’t even begin to imagine the pain of losing him, but hope you can hold on to the joy of knowing him for such a short time.

Want to learn more?  Visit Save the Cherubs or CDH Support.

Today was dubbed “Mommy/Brooke” day because big sister, Emma, got to have a sleepover with her cousin.  So, to make Brooke feel equally special & loved, I took her out for a date, just her & me.  We went where every girl goes when she needs something to do – the Mall!  We had a little dinner at Chick-Fil-A & went off to throw coins in the fountain.  After that we ventured through the entire mall down to Build-a-Bear.  There,  Brooke was overwhelmed with a mountain of furry friends looking for homes!  After picking up about 5 friends & then saying, “I changed my mind,” she finally settled on Frosty the Snowman.  What an economical shopper – he was reduced to $15 instead of the normal $23.  Even his accessories were on sale!

She took Frosty to the stuffing station, put his heart in, watched him get puffed up to life, bathed him, & then got his birth certificate.  We later took him out to a quiet corner in the mall & played with him.  Brooke decided he was too tired to walk so she strapped him in her stroller & took him all the way back down where we began.  Sorry to all you shoppers who had to jump out of our way – rookie driver!

Now we’re home & she’s busy coloring his “house” box & letting him watch himself on the Frosty movie.  The perfect end to a perfect day.  (Now if the Ravens can pull off a win against the Colts, my husband will think it’s the perfect day, too!)

Photos I’ve been looking at:  Arce Photography & Fernanda Arce Design.  Fer is a friend – a Facebook Friend – that I “met” through an organization we’re both members of:  Cherubs.  Both of our children (Brooke & Juan Pablo) were born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) & Cherubs is a support group for parents living with children who both survived & didn’t survive this birth defect.  Fer & I share a passion for photography & she also is a wonderful graphic designer.  She made my logo!  I love looking at her work – it’s just so natural, so organic, so “life unscripted.” (sorry, TLC)

I couldn’t resist posting two blogs in one day…just HAD to!  Because…..drum roll….I got a new logo!  Actually, it’s my first ever logo!  And to commemorate my 2-year-anniversary as a business, I am slapping that logo on four photos from my first ever session with Emerson.  She was 6 months old at the time of these photos (March 31, 2007) and is now a big sister!  I know her mom, Michele, won’t mind me showing off her now big girl again.  And if you LOVE my logo as much as I do, go and visit Fernanda Arce Designs!  She’s is super fabulous!  We met on Facebook because we both have children born with CDH.  Over the course of chatting back and forth, I found out that she was a graphic designer.  So I made the plunge, and Fer has designed some awesome options for my logo.  The ones you see on Emerson’s photos are the black and white versions.  The color version will be on my site shortly.  Thanks Michele & Fer for letting me share your handy-work!

*PS – I know Fer’s site is in Spanish, but she speaks (or types), perfect English…a wonderful friend to work with!

Many of you may have read about my sister, Maggie, in a previous post.  Well, she finally had her baby, Leah Beth, yesterday at 11:16am.  We are glad she’s finally arrived, but she isn’t completely healthy just yet.  Leah was born quite quickly and has some fluid in her lungs that she needs to get rid of in order to breathe completely on her own.  She is currently in the NICU at John’s Hopkins in Baltimore, and is being given oxygen to help her breathe.  This situation is completely dejavu for me and my family because about 16 months ago we were in almost the exact same situation with our youngest daughter, Brooke.  She was born with a birth defect called Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia and was in the NICU for one month and then in another hospital to learn to feed for an additional month.  At the time of her hospitalization I wondered what God had to teach me through all of this.  He taught me a lot, but now, especially that my baby sister is going through a similar situation, I’m glad I am able to offer her support in this unsettling time.  So, if you’ve been trying to get a hold of me, or waiting for me to return your e-mails, I have been slightly preoccupied with my newest niece.  Enjoy a few pictures of Leah…


If you are interested, you can keep up on updates about Leah on my family blog by clicking here.