Our version of March madness

Game faces

both girls made the freshman badminton team

they were a little giddy

Well things have picked up quite a bit at our house, at least for us.  We are all homebodies, enjoying our evenings with dinners together and our weekends hanging out by the firepit.  Now I am driving everybody everywhere!  Heidi and Anna both made the freshman badminton team and have had practice just about every day.  They just started matches on Wednesday and will have 4 a week until the end of April!  They end up spending 12 hours away from home each school day.  And Luke starts track on Monday which involves practice everyday and a meet each week until the end of May!  I am so glad they are all finding a place to participate, it's a nice change for us.  Yesterday was the first home match for the girls.  They are spots 4&5 on the team, so they play doubles together and compete against each other at practices to get a higher spot on the team.  They are loving it though and have won everything so far.  They have made several new friends and are growing deeper friendships with several girls.  I am so proud of their ability to befriend girls, not based on their popularity, but by their character.  They are incredibly mature (most of the time) and I am thrilled with the kindness they extend to everyone they meet.  Luke will do track with several friends, so I am excited for him.  It is an answer to constant prayers for him, to find a few close Christian guy friends and find a niche.  None of the kids are very competitive, so team sports haven't been a great fit.  I think Luke will do well running and working on beating his own times.

Emily has several appointments spread out over the next few months, some check ups and a few new doctors.  We followed up with the cardiologist last week.  When we saw him in August the amount of mitral valve regurgitation had increased so he doubled her medicine dose.  The regurgitation seems to be stable, which is good (better would have been better, but stable is ok).  The left side of her heart is fairly enlarged, which could be from the regurgitation and may become a problem.  The muscle in that area can stretch too far and the function of the heart affected.  That is considered heart failure and we would need to intervene surgically.  At this point the function of the heart is strong.  We are due to go to NIH so I am eager to hear their point of view on things and see if they have any recommendations.  Emily had a rough night this last weekend, likely because french fries got stuck in the area of her intestines where the artery is squeezing.  When they did surgery they left that part of the intestine alone and instead made a detour for the food to go.  Ideally the food should go the path of least resistance, but obviously the food can still go the "wrong way" and cause significant pain.  We are a little nervous that it might happen again, which is likely will, but hopefully it doesn't become a normal thing.  She is busy with Pioneer girls, chorus and photography club.  She wasn't happy to learn that there are only 10 more weeks of school left! 

Everything else is pretty steady.  Justin is working hard and staying busy with projects around the house.  My days are still consumed with bows, but I think I am finally getting used to the process and really like being able to contribute to our finances (sports and all their "equipment" is adding up).  The week after next is spring break, then we go for the long haul of no extra days off until Memorial Day!  Well, happy weekend!