First of all, please please pray for Israel! Please! Our hearts are breaking and I’m so upset over what is happening in the Middle East. To all of our Jewish friends, happy Passover! It begins tomorrow . We stand with you and are praying for you! 
I am all kinds of a mess over here!!! Just rembering two years ago. That seems to be the theme as I am reminded of what we went through! AND overcame by the Power of the Holy Spirit!! Today? We are absolutely living it up. Birthday parties, endless hours in our backyard paradise, endless delish food. We are dancing the dance of victory, let me tell you. I will post my post from two years ago at the very bottom. It was wild! Wild! You will see below. But it was the longest I’ve gone in my life without having access to my own purse! And the Lord made a way at every turn. In our desperation. When I didn’t know how I was going to take one more physical step forward due to exhaustion. I’m not even kidding! I just knew I was going to pass out. Yet God!!!! So these days I pray people see that extra gratefulness and excitement. I pray they see such a hope and expectancy in our attitudes. We’ve been through so much, and God has delivered us! Hallelujah! His testimony is still being written, but just like Azariah in the Book of Daniel in the Bible!!! He was thrown in the fiery furnace and came out not even smelling like smoke! This child is right there. Wherever we go, we get to share this incredible testimony. Our baby, born with just half a heart, etc. etc. defying odds and tearing it up. Living and softening hearts all around us. And it’s just the beginning! This August, our Wonder Child turns three!!! Can y’all believe that? I know a lot of y’all reading this have been following our journey from the beginning! 

So I have got to share that on April 16, we celebrated Azariah being off of the feeding tube for six months. We were at a birthday party most of the day! There was endless amazzzzing food!! Homemade pizza, fresh barbecue, endless sweets and delish platters of food. It just kept coming! The kids and I truly TASTED and saw that the Lord is good, as Scripture says. Ha! That Azariah. His weight that night hit an all-time record!!!! He was 15.16th percentile!!! Remember, the doctor wants him at or above the 8th. We just keep praising God. Tonight as I type, he is over the 13th. And he is eating eating eating. We praise Jesus!!! Another praise report is we haven’t had sickness hit our house in several months. It might have been as late as December, but I know November. That’s a record for sure. And no hospital admissions since last June!!! We’re going on a whole year. 

Believing God for a great week for all of us. We have a wonderfully packed few months ahead! Lots of plans to see loved ones! Lots of weddings, birthday and graduation celebrations! We will praise God for ALL He has done and is yet to do!!!

April 21, 2022: 

Jumping all over a bit but I only have a few minutes to type. Here goes! Hallelujah, we both made it on the helicopter!!! Thank you thank you thank you for praying!!! He had a great place to be in the local non-pediatric hospital until moving over to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. How blessed are we that we’re a few hours drive or quick helicopter ride compared to the families who fly in from other countries. I so wish they were closer but this situation worked out and he was in good hands both places for what he needed. He’s finally dozing in and out of sleep now that they’ve completed the X-rays etc. We found out the culprit is another viral cold! It’s the same one that is putting other non-special heart kids in the hospital. So everyone here is saying to not be discouraged, that so much of this is going around and putting kids in the hospital. He was diagnosed with pneumonia, and then X-rays showed viral bronchitis, and they have been treating him as though he has pneumonia. So that was actually good news before he got worse. Please keep praying for us. I’m going on three nights in a row I’ve gotten maybe 6 hours of sleep combined. I am somehow functioning.  And Azariah has BARELY slept the past three days and nights. He’s a little baby! At times I didn’t know how I was going to take another step. And God sent our dear neighbor and friend who stayed with Azariah and me all night long in the hospital so I didn’t have to face it alone. She was with me when they placed his IVs and we prayed, and when they told us we needed to transfer to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. What a strength to us that God sent! She helped comfort Azariah the entire time and encourage me. And she had to work early this morning! God bless dear Brigette!!! ❤️ So, back to the start! He was vomiting blood and clearly showing he needed to be on oxygen. Previously he had great numbers despite it all. But the doctor yesterday morning said she didn’t like the sound of his lungs at all and they still sounded like he was underwater. She said she had sent four kids that morning alone too get chest X-rays with what it seemed like he has. My husband was able to send us off in the ambulance as he grabbed everything we could grab and packed. I didn’t have our emergency bags packed at all since we came home from his last surgery because it wasn’t supposed to be like this. Mordecai slept through it all, praise God! And the local non-pediatric hospital was so kind. He got what he needed there until he could get to CHOP. Riding in a helicopter, what an experience! I had done it once before and was a little nervous. It was such a smooth and beautiful ride! And Azariah slept through it! The transfer team was so amazing. I had my bags of what we needed for the hospital…but the helicopter pilot told me they had to look at who all was going it was based on room and weight. I pleaded with them to let me come! He’s my baby! And I had no way of getting to Philadelphia without being on that flight! I grabbed my wallet, my pump, his pump, and meds, and we got on that kopter!!! I didn’t even get my purse or my toiletries bag. So my toiletries bag made it to one hospital but not to the next! 😂And he had a little accident on my lap so I’m wearing scrubs. It’s fine. They have a toothbrush for me here and I am pretending to be camping. If I get desperate y’all know I will reach out to my local heroes!!! Right now Azariah just needs to rest and recover as they decide the best plan for him. He’s in the absolute best hands. So many of you have reached out. Thank you and sorry for delays!!! God’s hand is on this precious baby, Azariah John!

P.S. When we arrived, I was the one escorting them to the right unit! 😂The representative was taking us the wrong way, and I know this place like a second home. It has been his home about a third of his little life. As soon as I see the familiar wallpaper and then the faces my heart is filled with peace. Azariah is going to be okay!!! We have a wonderful nurse. And I have eaten a little and am about to lie down!

——————————————————

Just for the heck of it, I’m going to share what we were going through three years ago on April 17, 2021. I feel like it will help anyone who is new to our journey! 

April 17, 2021. Three years ago we found out the gender of precious Azariah. Within minutes of this gender announcement photo shoot, I got a notification on my medical app where we got the ultrasound. It was a weekend, and the message said our baby had severe heart defects. It gave no further details. I was absolutely panicking. We didn’t know if our baby would even survive the pregnancy, much less survive birth. Because we got the ultrasound on a weekend, we had to wait until Monday morning for an actual doctor to call and explain. That was the toughest weekend of my life. Screaming, crying out to God. Begging Him not to let my baby die! Oh Lord Jesus. Typing this brings back so many of those memories. We pressed into Jesus. We only told one or two people. They prayed for us and stood with us. And JESUS CARRIED US. The rest of Azariah’s story, well, he’s just a miracle. Every second with this baby is a gift from the Lord. Thanks for all your prayers y’all. It’s been one heck of a ride these two years. 💙One thing is for certain. Jesus never failed us. He never will. 💙💙💙

PHOTOS are of recent fun, and of his very first helicopter ride. We didn’t know then he’d have another emergency helicopter ride Thanksgiving 2022 in Arizona! My this baby is tough and cherished!!! We will fight for him! !!