Angel Ethan

A sweet and courageous little guy Ethan has returned home to his Heavenly Father. We just met this family last night and they had just lost their sweet one the night before. They are truly an amazing family and such an inspiration to us. I'm sure they can use all of our prayers during this difficult time.

You can read about courageous Ethan and his incredible family at www.crazyskids.blogspot.com

What a difference two years makes...

This blog post is DEDICATED to Caden, Melissa and David Smith and their families, the Smiths and the Monroes.

Caden and Brynlyn share something very special and unique in common: They share the same date (May 29th) as their second heart surgery date.

May 29th, 2009: Caden's 2nd heart surgery

May 29th, 2007: Brynlyn's 2nd heart surgery

We checked Brynlyn into St. Joseph's Hospital so she could undergo her 2nd open heart surgery. This was full reconstruction and a doozy of a surgery. She came through it with just some minor bumps along the way, but she was a trooper and fought it all the way home. We brought her home 7 days later and we haven't looked back since. Now, Brynlyn is an almost 3-yr-old darling, spunky, and full of life baby girl. She has this dark brown hair that has tight curls all over her head that look like Annie. She's as smart as a whip and spunky as all get out. She can be a girl with a 'tude whenever she wants to be, but most of all, she's cuddly, cute, and sweet as can be. We cannot possibly imagine our life without our little DiGeorge baby and I can honestly say that we are so GRATEFUL for all of the challenges that come with Brynlyn, including tough days, great days, sick days, healthy days, happy days, sad days, upbeat days, bummer days...but mostly ANY DAYS that Heavenly Father lets us have with our sweet fourth daughter! Brynlyn has taught us the sacred nature and precious nature of life and how we truly must enjoy each day, each moment that we have with one another. And for these lessons and more, we are truly grateful.

So to the Smiths and the Monroes, you will look back on this very pivotal day in Caden's life and remember all of the things (good and bad) that you have learned from this experience and you will be grateful for them all, for these experiences are shaping you into the person that God wants you to be.

In a few years from now, Caden will be jumping and hopping around as a happy toddler and you will be so grateful for everytime you have to pull him down from climbing on the table and furniture, and you'll remember a day a few years before, when he was having his heart worked on...........


Brynlyn in recovery, fresh from surgery. And to answer your question, NO, you never, ever get used to seeing your child like this.

All of her medications, tubes, monitors, keeping her in check. Thank heavens for modern technology. I'm afraid to say that Brynlyn would never have survived crossing the plains with the pioneers.

Me and Brynlyn in pre-op just moments before surgery. I was wearing my little Gap T-shirt with a heart on it that said "Sweet Heart" and this darling necklace that my dear friend (and heart mommy April Layton) gave to me that is in the shape of a heart and says CHD (congenital heart defect). The look on my face says, "And you think you're taking my daughter WHERE to do WHAT? I don't think so!!!!!" ha ha

Just a few minutes after this, after they took Brynlyn to pre-surgery prep, I spent the next 20 minutes in the bathroom crying my eyes out. Yep, just another day, just another heart surgery.......

Brynlyn with Daddy right before surgery. She was a chunky monkey, and technically in congestive heart failure. Yep, she needed this surgery. Thank heavens for a wonderful team of doctors and nurses and hospital and staff that took such great care of us. But quite honestly, I don't care to see them for a while. I think I'll keep my baby at home with me and enjoy her for a little longer before I have to take her back to them. =)

So Caden and Family, Hang in there! Fight the tough fight, and never give up. You have people all over the world praying for you and for Caden's recovery. Try to stay optimistic at all times and always know that God is holding Caden's hand through this. Faith and Hope (and lots of chocolate) will get you through many, many tough days.

We love your family and we are always thinking of you. Please let us know if there's ever anything we can do!

love,

The Jensen Family

Caden Smith

Hi there,

Our dear little friend Caden Smith just underwent his 2nd surgery to repair his Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. He and his parents had a rough day (and for you heart mommies and daddies out there, you know exactly what that means.)

They could use all of our faith and prayers to help them through this difficult recovery process. I know they would appreciate it.

You can read more about sweet little Caden at:

www.thesmithsbaby.blogspot.com

We wish you all happiness and good health!

Heart Poem

Heart Poem...

anonymous author

It's a beautiful day up in heaven. Jesus is rounding up his tiniest angels, to go live on earth, and be born. One of the sweetest angels says to Jesus "I don't want to leave, I like it here, and I will miss you". He reassures the scared little angel that everything will be okay, and that she is just going for a visit. She is still not swayed on this idea.

So Jesus kneels down, and says, "How about if you leave half of your heart here with me and take the other half with you, will that be okay?" The angel smiles and says, "I guess that will work". But the little angel is still a little scared.

She asks,"Will I be okay with only half of my heart?" Jesus replies,"Of course you will, I have other angels there that will help out, and you will be fine." Then Jesus gives the angel more details about his plan. He says "When you are born, your mommy and daddy will be scared, so you have to be strong, and when you feel weak just remember that I have the other half of your heart".

"Enjoy your time with your family, play and laugh everyday." "And when its time to come back to heaven, whenever that may be, I will make your heart whole again. Always remember that you are not broken, just torn between two loves."

Jersey Anderson

Little sweet baby Jersey Anderson earned her angel wings on Monday, January 5th, 2009, as she left this world and now lives in heaven with our Heavenly Father. Our thoughts and prayers go to her oh-so-sweet family, the Anderson family, as we all mourn the loss of their sweet baby.

You can read about Jersey girl on their wonderful blog at http://www.andersonsavenue.blogspot.com

We send much love to the Andersons at this difficult time. Jersey has had such an amazing impact on so many lives and her ripple effect of love will be felt throughout my life and so many other lives forever. Thank you for sharing your baby's courageous journey and tough fight with us. Your entire family's strength, courage, hope, love and faith has been a testimony to me and to my family. We will continue to pray for you all for peace and comfort and love and for Heavenly Father to hold you in the palm of His loving hands during this very difficult time.

Love,
The Jensen Family

New Family Blog

Hi guys

So we now have a new family blogspot I would like for you to check out. I will still be posting on Brynlyn's with her developments, health issues, etc. But the new family blog will be where I'll be posting most of the posts that have to do with the kids, us, life in general.

The blog is: MSJensenFamily.blogspot.com

I consider this a big step in the right direction for the Jensen family.

Thanks for your love and support and for checking out the blog. It's therapy for me and I'm grateful to have people reading it. It helps me to feel as if I'm sharing this experience with others.

I can sit myself up

This is HUGE news!!! Thursday we had a fantastic physical therapy session with Monica. Brynlyn was just rockin' and rollin' and really showing off for her. So it completely wiped her out for the rest of the day. BUT...she was super close to being able to pull herself up from the lying down position. Her left arm is stronger than her right so far and so if she's on that side, she just needs a little nudge and up she goes.

What's so great about Brynlyn is that she's so smart and it only takes one time to show her something and then she's trying to do it. It may take a little while for her to get it, but she knows just what to do.

So tonight, she was playing on the bed with Daddy. This is a nightly ritual that Brynlyn just loves. And she was kind of leaning on Mike and up she went. She just pushed off of her arm and sat herself up.

And then this morning, I woke up and looked over to Brynlyn's crib and she was already awake and sitting up and waiting for me to wake up and come and get her. It was sooo sweet!

This is so huge for developmentally and we're thrilled. Now, we're working on her on hands and knees (doesn't care for this too much.) But we're working every day and building her endurance. She's army crawling right now, but crawling on her knees is the next big step for her.

I'll keep you posted. But Hooray for Brynlyn!

Diagram Links

Here are the links to the heart diagrams that I posted below. These pictures helped me to see the important and distinct differences between a healthy heart and a Truncus Arteriosus heart defect.

Healthy Heart: www.med.umich.edu/cvc/mchc/normheart.htm

Truncus Heart: www.med.umich.edu/cvc/mchc/partrun.htm

U-M CVC - Truncus Arteriosus

U-M CVC - Truncus Arteriosus

Hey guys,

Check out this webpage if you want any information on Brynlyn's heart condition. It's still fascinating to learn about all of the things that were not formed correctly on her heart and it's amazing to see how they all work together. The body is such an amazing vehicle and every healthy baby is an ABSOLUTE miracle, especially now that I see firsthand all of the things that can go wrong during development, etc.

But of course, there is a PLAN in all things...yet, it's still interesting to learn about all of this.

July 8th: Sleeping in my stroller

July 8th: Brynlyn was hanging out in her stroller and eating her lunch while she was watching me do my hair. And eventually she just fell asleep. Sweet baby! We just love her.

My Aunts Love Me!

These are 2 of my Daddy's sisters: Kristen and Kim. And they love me like crazy! When they were here visiting last weekend, it was great because between these two Aunts, I never had to be put down! They played with me and gave me tickles on my toes with their long, pretty nails. They held me and rocked me and even sang fun songs to me. It was so much fun playing with them. I hope they come back soon!

I love my Aunt Kristen and Aunt Kim!

July 4th: Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Independence Day!!! God Bless America!!!

June 29th: 1st Birthday Party!

Scenes from Brynlyn's 1st Birthday Party. She thought it was great fun and she thinks she needs a party like this every month!

June 29th: Brynlyn and Granda

Brynlyn loves her Granda! These darling pictures were taken at Brynlyn's 1st birthday party on June 29th. We reflected that day in how far we've come in a year and about the many miracles that we witnessed with Brynlyn during this year. It surely has been a year of many blessings in trials. And we are grateful for these experiences because of the many things we have learned and for all of the ways we have grown stronger.

June 23rd: More swimming!

So I love these pictures of Daddy swimming with the girls. And I'll probably end up with one million pictures of the girls in the swimming pool is summer but they're just too cute and it's too much fun to resist taking these pictures. Brynlyn is doing really well and feeling great these days. We are enjoying her health right now and grateful for every healthy day that we get!

Happy Summer Swimming!

June 20th: Jackson Monroe

Brynlyn and cousin Jackson Monroe. To put this into perspective, Jackson is 4 months old. He's in the 90% for weight and 75% for height. Brynlyn is in the 1% for height and weight. Jackson, you cute boy, can Brynlyn borrow a little bit of your chub???

June 17th: Nana Curtis

This is the first time Brynlyn has ever met her Great-Grandma Nana Curtis (Mike's Mom's Mom.) Because of all of her hospitalizations and immune system issues, we've never been able to take Brynlyn over to meet her great-grandparents. And Nana and Bompa are not well enough to come over and visit. So this was a real treat for her to meet them on Father's Day.

June 20th: I can eat!

This is the first time we are every able to start feeding Brynlyn because of her laryngotracheomalacia that she has had since birth. As she grows, her ability to eat correctly improves. So instead of the food going down her trachea and her "aspirating" her food into her lungs, the food can now go down her esophogus and into her stomach. We are starting with thicker stage 2 food, just not lumpy foods. Because of the thicker consistency, the food is able to slide down easier for her. So far she is loving it and things are going well.

Each week Sarah Hales, our speech therapist, comes to work with Brynlyn on eating. She feels that Brynlyn is make tremendous progress with the fact that she even wants to eat and expresses interest in it. So far, it appears that she has no oral aversion. Wahoo!

June 20th: I love swimming!

Swimming with Brynlyn is so much fun, can I even tell you. Her love of the water is already apparent. She isn't able to be out there too long because the heat causes her heart to work extra hard. But the water is great for buoyancy because she isn't supporting her entire body weight so it actually gives her heart a rest. Hmmmm....Catch 22!!! So we'll compromise and take her swimming in the morning before it gets too hot. She loves it!

June 17th: Father's Day

Happy Father's Day 2007!

June 14th: Swimming with Grandma Sugar

All of the grandkids love playing with Grandma Sugar. They loved this day with her by the pool.

So much fun! We love Grandma!