Dr. Mendeloff is a rock star.

He just came out to tell us that surgery went as planned (and a lot faster than we thought). Elijah is headed for recovery now, and we'll get to see him in just over an hour.

The waiting game

Elijah went into surgery just after 7 this morning. He had a good night and actually slept. This morning he was pretty calm, even though he was obviously hungry. The anesthesiologist gave him something that started working immediately, so Jack and I said goodbye to a very sleepy baby.

The nurse has been out once to tell us that things are going well so far. The entire process is expected to take about six hours, so we won't know much until early this afternoon. Even after he comes out of surgery and goes to the CHSU for recovery, they take up to an hour and a half to get him settled and comfortable before we get to go in.

I have loved this song since the kids started learning it in Primary in January. Ellen knows all three verses, Jack Jack can sing the first two without help, and Rose can even sing along on the chorus. It has brought a very peaceful feeling to our home and lives. You can listen to it here.

If I Listen with My Heart

1. If I had been a little child when Jesus lived on earth,

I would have like to walk with him and listen to his words,

But as I search the scriptures I can hear his words of peace,

And if I listen with my heart I hear the Savior's voice.

2. I hear a living prophet speak the words that Christ would say

If he were here upon the earth to talk with me today,

The prophet teaches how to live in righteousness and peace,

And if I listen with my heart I hear the Savior's voice.

3. I feel the Holy Spirit as he teaches truth and right,

He comforts me in times of need, He testifies of Christ,

He speaks to me in quiet ways that fill my soul with peace,

And if I listen with my heart I hear the Savior's voice.

All systems go

Have I said that Dr. Mendeloff is amazing? Because he is. He's Elijah's surgeon, and he came by to explain the cutting and pasting sewing that will take place tomorrow morning, complete with an explanatory drawing, and to say that everything looked great on the heart cath, and that Elijah's fan club (a.k.a. the Congenital Heart Surgery Unit staff) won't even recognize him since he's about doubled in size since we were last here.

I don't blame them. I live with the child, and some mornings after he's slept through the night I take a look at him and think, "who is this boy, and what happened to my baby?" I spent the afternoon loving on him and feeding him as much as he wanted since he gets nothing after midnight and doesn't go to surgery until just before 7 am. He would probably sleep all that time if everyone would just leave him alone.

Here's a link if you're interested in knowing more about the procedures Elijah has had and will have: the Norwood, the Glenn, and the Fontan. Scroll down to "Surgical Repair" to see the explanations.

Sleeping like a baby

We checked in at 9 am, they took chest x-rays and a health history, I signed consent forms, and then handed over my smiling, laughing, happy chubby baby at about 10:45. As they pointed me in the direction of the waiting area, I felt like I had just traded my baby for a bead necklace and a sack of snacks and drinks. Literally.

Fortunately for all involved, just before noon they came to get me, but not before appeasing Elijah with pedialyte and apple juice. He still had room for a couple of ounces of milk, so we know what he really prefers. He recovered for about an hour, protested the blood pressure cuff, played hard-to-get with a decent O2 saturation, and is now peacefully sleeping in his own room in spite of the alarm sounding on the IV pole.

Dr. Laird says his heart looks good for surgery tomorrow, but the surgeon will take a look at the results and have the final say. Since we're all playing for Team Elijah here, we'll be happy to let our extremely capable and experienced surgeon have the final say on that. Thank you for all your prayers, notes, and chocolate. I must say that last one was a happy surprise!

We will let you know more as soon as we know more.

Angels

I loved Elder Kent Richards' talk during the most recent General Conference. I cried through most of it, but then Ellen and I had a conversation about the story he told of a girl in the hospital who told her father, "Daddy, all of the children here in the intensive care unit have angels helping them." Since then, Ellen has sweetly prayed in our family prayers to ask that "the angels will always be with Elijah while he is in the hospital."

I am so grateful for her faith and example in petitioning the Lord, especially today as Elijah begins preparation for open-heart surgery to have the Glenn procedure done on his tiny, imperfect heart. I will be praying for angels, seen and unseen, to attend him and the other babies there as well.

Wildflowers

I saw these wildflowers by the side of the road and decided to pick a few and take them home with me.

These two are especially cute.

As is this little doll.

Whose bright eyes are those?

That's not a wildflower, that's a real boy!

This little boy is 5.5 months old and had his third, and hopefully final, swallow study yesterday. He can swallow like a rock star and had no problems with the thinnest consistency of barium. So I no longer have to thicken his milk. He's not so enthusiastic about the idea of getting milk from anywhere but a bottle, though. He's been working on that bottle for four months, and it's the only thing he knows. We'll keep trying, but early indicators show more pumping for the present, not only because of Elijah's current preference, but also because...

Elijah is scheduled for a heart cath this coming Wednesday in preparation for his second open-heart surgery Thursday. Technically, the final decision about the surgery depends on what the heart cath results are, but essentially, the Thursday surgery is scheduled and expected by all parties involved to go forward as planned.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for Ellen, Jack Jack, and Rose, who will be spending individual time with their favorite different cousins instead of banding together.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for Elijah and his strong little body and spirit.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for Elijah's doctors and nurses to be inspired and guided in taking care of him before, during, and after the heart cath and surgery.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for our wonderful family and friends who are helping us with all the details, especially the major undertaking of caring for our other children for a week.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers and love.

Chocolate it is.

As I have contemplated several serious topics I could blog about, such as Elijah's upcoming surgery, some personal goals I'm working on, or how my kids are awesome, I decided to spare you the soul-searching and get right to the important things in life.

I love chocolate.

This comes as somewhat of a revelation to me, since I grew up thinking I did not like chocolate. Turns out I don't really care for milk chocolate, but give me some 60-plus percent cocoa chocolate, and I can't stop myself. Add crispy orange peel and ginger, or dried cherries and chilies, or cayenne pepper and cinnamon, or chipotle pepper, sea salt, and popping candy!!!, and I am a goner.

So, Easter Bunny, pass on the Cadbury cream-filled eggs (yucky) and fill my basket with several bars of Dagoba Xocolatl and Chuao Firecracker (yummy).

Another favorite

Jack taught an awesome Sunday School lesson last week. I really, really loved it, and I'm not just saying that because he's my husband. He taught from the scriptures, involved the class, and shared personal experience and testimony.

Talking with him about his lesson as he was preparing reminded me of this poem, which I love and hope you love, too.

"Morning Manna (Mosiah 7:19)"

Mary Margaret Hawkins, Ensign, Sept. 2001, 29

Early I arise to seek my morning manna
Before the sun outlines the day’s temporal claims and
Melts my intent.

Precious sustenance has rained before my day from
Heaven and lies generously scattered in tissue wafers
Free for the gathering.

Laying open the sacred books, I sift the living words.
Silently I grind and beat and bake them into
Fragrant, warm cakes—

Color of bdellium, tasting of honey and fresh oil.
Gratefully I consume the day’s sweet ration
Offered to preserve

Me in my wilderness wanderings. Why should I weep
For the feasts of Egypt or mourn for the rich meats
Of Babylon?

I desire only this simple morning miracle
Of living bread. It will satisfy until I sit
And sup in Canaan.

Spring break

We had some cousin play time during Spring Break. Read more about it here.

What I love about the above picture:

-only Ellen and I are smiling

-Elijah is screaming

-Rose's flowered dress and striped leggings

-my 2001 t-shirt and holey jeans.

-it's me and all my kids :)

In other news, Elijah has a surgery date! April 14th is his big day. Thank you for thinking of us and especially him.

If you give...

If You Give Rose Sour Cream

by Ellen Starks

If you give Rose sour cream, she's going to want a taco to go with it.

If you give her a taco, she's going to want a lime to go with it.

If you give her a lime, she's going to want a lime squeezer.

If you giver her a lime squeezer, she's going to want a lot of limes.

You will have to go to the store to buy a lot of limes.

If you go to the store to buy limes, everyone will want to go with you.

You won't have room for everyone, so you'll all have to stay home and have a taco.

And if you give Rose a taco, chances are, she's going to want sour cream to go with it.

We've read a lot of giving pigs pancakes, mooses muffins, and mice cookies, in case you didn't recognize the rhythm. Ellen came up with that story about Rose tonight at dinner as Rose was finishing off a dish of sour cream.

That Rose is eating anything is a huge relief since she caught a nasty virus that took away her appetite for anything but water for an entire week. She ran a fever for days and carried around her blanket begging to be put down for a nap. She slept more than anything else. Jack and Ellen were also knocked out for a couple of days, ate little, and voluntarily took naps ("rested" according to Ellen), but nothing like Rose.

Elijah, fed a steady diet of liquid immunity and kept as far from feverish or snot-nosed kids as possible, has stayed completely healthy and weighed in at 13 pounds and 3 ounces at his recent visit to the cardiologist. His O2 levels have been great, his EKG and echo looked great. We love his new pediatrician, who is working on scheduling a follow up swallow study for as soon as possible. Please pray that Elijah will be able to swallow any consistency of liquid so he can have normal (unthickened) breast milk, and so when we start solid foods in a couple of months he'll also be able to start trying water or juice from a cup.