Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Today was...

A day I always dread.

Spencer had a checkup with his surgeon today. I pretty much make myself sick with worry in the few days leading to the appointment. I'm happy to say that his checkup went really well today-in fact, unless we notice something (we're watching a condition unrelated to surgery right now that he was born with-in addition to everything else and his heart murmur, ugh), we don't have to see Dr. Smith again! This is good news for us. To be honest, Artie and I (and Avery, for that matter) have really been struggling with severe grief from Spencer's "ordeal". It has been very rough on our family and though we are more than blessed to have Spencer with us, we are having a hard time coming out of the darkness that was our lives for 6 long weeks. We are constantly reminded just by changing his diaper and seeing the huge scar across his belly-all the memories flood back multiple times a day. As we have learned more details about the situation and the reason why Spencer went through what he did, we are haunted. I'm not really ready to be open about the exact situation, but I hope one day I can be.

Though we aren't ever really going to be out of the woods, I have my baby here, to see him smile and grow. I'm thankful for that every second of every single day. I love you Spencer and Avery, I will do my best for you-always.

On a cheerier note, Artie and I were lucky enough to enjoy the ND season opener from our field- level seats in the stadium! What a beautiful day for a football game. It was so great to actually see them win, convincingly! Thank you, mom, for watching our darling children all day so that we could go. We had a great time and you have no idea how much we needed that!!

Here are some pics from game day!!

This is a picture of Spencer today I thought I would put up since he's changing SO much. I put him in his 'Tough Cookie' shirt (Thanks, Nickey!) for the occasion of his doctor's appointment. He's also really starting to grab things-he loves his blanket bear (Thanks, Janelle!). I still can't get over where all his dark hair went:(!! Just for the record, Avery never lost her hair as a baby, so this is new to me (though she was born as a blond and is still blond).

You SMCers and Domers know this shot-the Dome and Basilica from the lake...taking a picture of that golden dome NEVER gets old!

Artie proudly standing outside Stanford Hall-his home for 3 of his 4 years (and 2 summers) at Notre Dame.

I just had to take a picture of these snazzy garbage bins around campus. Being the recycling advocate that I am, I would have loved to have these when I was a student-better late than never, I suppose (notice it even has a place for smokers to put their cigarette out!).

A little pic at half time while the band performed...Artie said I must wear these beads now every game, they may be good luck!

Here Come the IRISH!!

Ah, butt pic...yeah, I took this one:) We were pretty close to the action.

Huddle time!

Wait, Jimmy, get in here, you need to tell us the play!

1st touchdown of the 2009 season-awesome!

Student section...how I miss that-though I do enjoy being able to sit a bit while watching a game now. However, I still find it very hard to keep myself from doing the cheers along with the student section-people around you don't appreciate it as much now and I never get to do the jig anymore:(

5 comments:

Nicole said...

Im glad to hear that Spencer's appt went well. He is one tough little guy. I hope that things get easier for you and Artie.

Yay for game day! I love college football season. Glad you guys had a good time and got to witness a win.

Hope you guys have a great week.

Love, Nickey

PS. My Dad lived in Stanford when he went to ND too!

Megs said...

How fun for you all to be at the football game:) I remember visiting Artie at Stanford- sometimes it feels like yesterday, other times it feels like a lot longer....
I understand the anxiety of the doctor- it is very hard as a mom to go through that. prayers and thoughts your way.... my trick is just to continue to focus on the positive, and it seems like you all are doing a great job of that!

Elizabeth said...

I'm so happy for you that Spencer's appointment went well!! We're still praying for you guys. I'm bummed we missed you in Fort Wayne...we'll be home for Thanksgiving for sure.

Go Irish!!! Looks like you and Artie had a BLAST at the game. I love to reminisce about the "good ole days". Time goes by so quickly!

Love,
Beth

Adrienne and Domenico said...

I'm so glad Spencer's appointment went well!! We will pray that the rest will follow the same trend!

I'm also glad that you got to get out for a bit--and there's no better place to get away to than the Bend! Although, when you watch the next home game on TV, you will notice that the color of "the shirt" is ugly this year, and the whole student section looks naked. It's kind of amusing ;)

Katie said...

yeah for the good appointment! I am so sorry for all your family had to go through and is still dealing with- but you are right- focusing on having Spencer's smiles and him growing is the best thing you can do!

What a fun game to be at- and the weather looked like it was SOOO nice too- you really lucked out!