Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas everyone! We here at the Himel house hope you all have had a very merry day. I am so in awe at the love we have felt in our house today. We started out our day just the four of us and then family and friends arrived to exchange hugs, kisses and of course a few gifts for the girls. This year has been amazing for us and we wouldn't have made it through if it had not been for our family and friends. To be able to have able to have a few of that support group at our house tonight was great. Our holiday festivities will continue this weekend with a trip to visit my mom and then maybe in s few weeks we will make a trip to Ruston. 

After a day like today I wonder sometimes why we are so blessed when others have such hurdles? But I also know that I shouldn't question such things. I just be humble and thankful for the blessings bestowed on our family such as health, full bellies and beds to rest. Thank you dear lord for our blessings, we are forever grateful for your birth and sacrifice so that we may have the lives we live today. We do have hurdles of our own but with our strength and faith we will make them through continuously. Thank you again for the prayers, and kind words that we receive daily they mean the world to us! 

Happy Thanksgving from the Himels



Gabrielle @ Halloween. She dressed up like her doctors at Cincinnati Childrens.

Its been a little while since I have posted an update so I am going to catch up several things. First off Halloween! Halloween here was yucky, rainy like possible tornados bad. So instead of going trick or treating like normal we became innovative and ran to CVS and bought some candy and  had some family come over really quick. Next put a family member in each room of the house and have Gabrielle trick or treat down the hallway. I personally think it was very memorable and I hope that she remembers it for a long time.

Hallway trick or treat with Granny and Kris.

The next thing we have going on is a continuation of an issue that was brought up at our last Cincinnati trip. There was a bump that popped up on her incision line. At the time of her follow up appointment in October Dr. Alam thought it was a sutcher that had worked its way to the skin, he put her on antibiotics and said to watch it. Well since then it has gotten gradually larger currently it is about the size of a large blackberry. I texted him a picture of it a few weeks ago and he said that he would like her to been seen locally because he was concerned it was her bladder. Well we got her worked in to see Dr. Ortenberg in New Orleans. He really didn't have much opinion about it he just kept saying that he really needed the surgery notes from her bladder closure surgery... which of course I had left laying on my desk at work, go figure! He suggested that we do a scope or an x-ray. I told him to call Dr. Alam and ask what he thought should be done. Dr. Alam texted me and said that he thought a scope was jumping the gun because it is evasive and she would have to be put to sleep. X-ray it is then but Dr. Ortenberg said we couldn't have one that day in New Orleans that her case wasn't urgent and that it would have to be scheduled.... ARG so aggravating!! Anyway long story short Dr. Ortenbergs office dropped the ball and Magnolia Pediatrics and Woman's Hospital Imaging saved the day! Can I just say really quick what wonderful doctors and staff are at Gabby's peds office and I can't say enough about all the great people at Woman's Imaging Dept! The images and reports have been sent to Dr. Alam. We have yet to hear from him about them but the radiologist @ Woman's Dr. Ruiz told me that he thought it was scar tissue that had worked its way through her skin... phew! what a relief. That means that it most likely not her bladder, this is amazing news. But I would still like to hear it from Dr. Alam himself.

Next on the list is our trip to Ruston for Thanksgiving. We had a great time... Bart killed 3 deer so we are all stocked up for the year. I got a little shopping done but still not finished yet. Gabrielle is super excited about Santa this year and we have a Elf on the Shelf spending the holidays with us her name is Applecore or AC for short. Applecore? Strange right? Gabrielle picked it (it is also what she wanted to name Avery).

My lovely little lady... sniff, sniff she looks so grown up!

 I can't believe the year we have had and we have so much to grateful for. Our year started out with the birth of a healthy little sister for Gabby. Then just three weeks later we were off to Cincinnati to live for almost 2 months for the biggest surgery to date for Gabrielle. It was a rough recovery not only for Gabby but for mama, daddy, nana and granny too (they came to stay while we were in Cinci) but we survived. Terrible three's have been a learning experience for everyone but we are getting there. Gabrielle has been healthy for the most part aside from a virus here and there. This coming Monday Gabrielle will start daycare for the first time. We have been so blessed to have Bart's Granny Dolores stay with Gabrielle everyday for almost 4 years. I can't imagine not coming home and seeing her everyday it just won't feel like home without her here everyday! Thank you so much Granny for your commitment to our family these last few years we appreciate it so much! I will keep you posted as to how daycare goes everyone... but for now it is time for bed. Much love and please keep the prayers coming because starting daycare is going to be a huge adjustment for my little girl. Thank you!