Anniversary wishes

Happy 44th anniversary,

Dad & Mom McKee.

We love you!

Life according to a five year old

David has been full of interesting viewpoints lately...the other day he asked me (very seriously) if Superman wears underwear. Yesterday he was telling me about someday when he would have a baby growing in his belly (pregnancy is a captivating subject for him lately, I think because two of his friends' moms are pregnant). I listened for a minute and then gently interjected that babies only grow in mommies' bellies, not guys' bellies. He gave me a look like he was the superior being of knowledge and I was just a know-nothing , and then indignantly informed me that SOMEDAY he would grow a baby in his belly, because he knew about it and he could. I decided not to pursue the subject, because it wouldn't take much to dig us much deeper than I want to go with him quite yet!!!

The game plan for Bruce

There is so much information from today's cardiology visit that it's hard to sum it up succinctly, but I'll try... On July 18th, Bruce is going to have an Amplatzer device installed via heart catheterization. The hole between his atria is just under an inch long (!) but in a good place for device closure. The potential complication for him is after the device placement -- after the hole is closed and the right ventricle (RV) is once again required to pump sufficiently -- since that side of his heart is enlarged and weakened, the RV may have some difficulty. The doctor feels that this is a significant risk, so they will be watching him very closely in case they need to assist his heart a bit. The doctor confirmed that the ventricular enlargement will likely resolve after the device correction; however, it is not very likely that the right atrium will reduce in size, which will mean that Bruce will still be at risk for AF, etc. Right now, though, we are excited to have a game plan and a surgery date! Bruce continues to battle severe fatigue (though we found out today that the fatigue is due in large part to the medication he's on, and there's nothing they can do to relieve that...). Thank you for continuing to pray for him/us!

Our ninth anniversary

Today is our ninth anniversary.

In some ways, it seems like the time has flown by...

and in other ways, it seems like nine years

could not possibly encompass everything

that has transpired in our lives!

We are so blessed and I am so grateful

for this wonderful man

that God delivered to my doorstep...

I truly could not imagine a man

more perfectly suited to be my other half.

~

Thank you, Hon,

for being my wonderful husband...

for sharing all of the joys and sorrows

that have come to us...

and for all of the laughter

that you bring into my life.

I love you.

I've been tagged...

...by Liz! This is the first time I have been tagged in the blogging world, so I guess it is a momentous occasion. Either that, or it just means that I am FINALLY starting to get some more people I know who are blogging as well. :-) To those of you my friends who read my blog but do not yet have one of your own -- I am very glad you visit me! -- but get started, especially if you have little ones that we'd all like to see! But I digress from the main point of this blog, which is to respond to my "tag", which is as follows: I am supposed to name my five favorite local restaurants here in metro-Atlanta, Georgia, and then tag five more people to name theirs. However, due to how little we eat out and the limited number of blogging friends I have, I am going to name/tag two! #1 - Rainwater Restaurant is my hands-down favorite. The atmosphere is great and the food is exquisite. I consider it a 'fancy' restaurant (i.e. it is rather expensive but well worth what you pay, and you get to use real table etiquette), so we don't go often -- usually just for our anniversary and on our planning weekend. I love their house salad, really like their roast duck, their macaroni and bleu cheese is amazing, and their breads are great, too. And for dessert, their fresh fruit and lemon curd tart is so good... #2 - Bobby G's is the only authentic Chicago-style food that we have tasted outside of Chicago. Bruce always has the Italian Beef with Hot Giardiniera Peppers and I always have the Vienna Beef hotdog with mayo and a dill pickle in the bun, just like we always did on Friday nights in Chicago. The food is authentic enough to make us really miss Chicago and everyone there whenever we eat here! I tag Deb and, in an effort to coerce her into blogging again, Jessica!

David and his garden

The garden is flourishing -- David is standing in front of the tomatoes to show how tall they are. We are starting to harvest cucumbers, and the beans' first harvest wil be ready sometime in this next week. The kids love to "hide" in between the corn rows -- it reminds me of my brothers and me hiding the in corn when we were growing up, except that we had acres' worth to truly hide in, not just a few rows...but our kids don't know what they're missing and they're thrilled with our few rows! We all enjoy our garden...

"She's beautiful!"

Last night we gave Abigail a special new doll that has hearing aids and glasses just like Abigail. The look of wonder on Abigail's face, when she saw a doll just like her, was incredible. After staring in awe for a minute,

Abigail declared,"She's beautiful!"

Yes, daughter, she is so very beautiful...!

Great-granddaughter of the ice cream queen...

This one's for you, Grandma O'Gorman!

MIA friend!

Liz V. -- if you read this,

would you please email me at bruceandmarsel@alltel.net ?

My apologies to all for this corny APB,

but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! :-)

Grandpa's birthday video

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Happy birthday, Dad/Grandpa!

Happy 56th birthday, Dad (Grandpa)!

We love you.

Another long day behind us

We went to Greenville today for Abigail's post-CIMT evaluation, which went well. The difference between her pre-CIMT session and today's session -- that is, the amount of progress she has made -- was astounding. We are utterly tired, as you can imagine -- to Greenville and back between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. -- but glad to have this chapter closed for now. It was sad to say goodbye and walk out of there, though -- saying "thank you" just didn't seem sufficient for the help they gave Abigail. I walked out and felt incredulous that no one in the "outside world" knew what incredible things had transpired there, and felt like I needed to tell everyone! Bruce is battling serious fatigue etc, and his cardio. appt has been moved up to this coming Wednesday (June 27th) as a result. I want them to take care of him right this minute, but they didn't ask me. :-) One of my nephews (Bruce's brother Chris's two year old) broke his foot yesterday (on a side note, his little blue cast looks adorable). As a friend of Chris's family remarked lately, it has not been a very good month to be a McKee!!!

"The LORD's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,

for His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is Your faithfulness."

~Lamentations 3:22, 23

Our baby girl is growing up so fast!

Abigail is going through one of those growth spurts -- both physically and mentally -- where it seems like every day she wakes up having grown up a whole month's worth!

I was planning to start potty-training next week (AFTER our day-trip to Greenville!) but this past Monday, she told me she wanted to wear undies and go on the big girl potty -- and that was that. It seems too simple to be true...but the diapers are all packed away and she has been accident-free ever since. For more than five years now I have always had at least one little one in diapers...but now we are a diaperless household...sigh...how do they grow up so fast?!

Note the left hand reach and grab in these two pictures -- wow!

Happy Father's Day

...a little late!

Here are my two sweeties with their daddy.

Pool pictures

Having fun at the pool

And Bruce's diagnosis is...

ASD -- Atrial Septal Defect -- i.e. a hole between the upper chambers (atria) of the heart. This is the same defect that Abigail had -- at the time hers was diagnosed (and corrected), we were not aware that there was a family history of ASD...but now we know!

This diagnosis is great news in the scheme of things and we are praising the Lord for a problem that can be corrected...and without a heart/lung transplant! We have an appointment on July 3rd to meet with the cardiologist who specializes in this kind of thing -- he will make the determination of whether they can close the hole with a device (via heart catheterization -- the way Abigail had it done) or whether it will require open heart surgery.

An incredible piece of news is that the doctor thinks that once the hole is closed, there is a good possibility that the heart may return – at least somewhat – to its normal size. This was a wonderful surprise to us, since everything we had read indicated that once the enlargement occurred, there was no reversing it. It will take some time, but it is a bonus and we’re thrilled by it and grateful for it!

I am SO GRATEFUL for this diagnosis and, although I know that there are no guarantees of a tomorrow for any of us, I feel as though I've been given back my husband.

Here's to 90 more years together, Hon! I love you!

We're getting there

My crew has arrived home safe and sound -- now to get my mom and Abigail home safely tomorrow after therapy and then I will be grateful to have our nest fully repopulated! Bruce's procedure is tomorrow -- I'll post results as soon as I can.

Daily report 6/14/07

Today is the big switch -- I am feeling torn about leaving Abigail here even though I know she will be in very good hands. :-) However, I am looking forward to seeing my other baby, though he may not be as impressed with having Mommy back after two fun weeks with Grandma all to himself! Abigail continues to thrive and make great progress with this therapy. There is a marked difference in the ease of use and coordination of movement in that left hand. It has not been easy -- for any of us -- for Abigail and me to be away these two weeks, but it has certainly been well worth it!

Interesting info about TEE

For those of you who would like to read more about the procedure Bruce is having done on Friday, click here. If you would rather be blissfully ignorant than to know all of the details, please don't read it! It tells all. :-)

Daily report 6/13/07

Abigail had a great night of sleep last night and is back at it today. She is by herself this morning and will thoroughly enjoy the one-on-one attention. Yesterday she was throwing beanbags into a net and her left-handed release was beautiful!!! She was actually splaying the hand to release the beanbag while her arm was still in the throwing motion. Again, those of you who have not seen her struggle just do not realize what an incredible achievement this is...so just trust me..it's amazing! We got a date for Bruce's TEE -- it will be this Friday at 11 a.m. So my Dad drives back to GA (from FL) today; he, my mom, and David will drive up here tomorrow morning so that I can show the ropes to my mom, then tomorrow night I will ride back with my dad and David so that I can be with Bruce for his procedure, and my mom will stay here with Abigail for the last day of therapy. We always aim to make things as exciting as possible!!!