The Angel Forever

Brother Snuggles and Being Silly

Posted on February 11, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL and JSL,

There are days when the two of you fight like siblings always will. Those are not the moments that I care to remember. Of course, I know Uncle I and I used to fight a lot when we were growing up. What I love is that the two of you genuinely are really good with each other.

The other morning, as I was rushing around getting everyone ready for a day of school, something caught my eye. The two of you were curled up on the couch. It was too cute to watch the two of you just resting and watching something together while waiting for clothes to get dressed.

By the time I pulled out my camera to take a photo, NHL was on to me.

NHL, you saw me coming and decided to be a clown. First, there was the tongue and then you were suddenly sleepy. Of course, JSL, this made you laugh at your big brother.

These moments help to melt away the other stresses that are happening. The two of you truly are great brothers to each other and I love watching you grow up together.

Love,

Mommy

Categories:
brothers Dear Kid Saturday jsl nhl photos

A Week of Awareness for the Heart

Posted on February 10, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

With Valentine’s Day next week, it only seems fitting that February 7 – 14 are CHD Awareness Week. Prior to three years ago, I had very little understand and/or knowledge of CHD. Now, thanks to my friend, Kristine Brite McCormick, and her angel baby Cora, I know much more.

Yesterday, Kristine had a guest post on my blog that explained how she learned about CHD. Her story is a hard one to read about, but by doing so – many babies and others have had CHD identified and saved their lives. If you do not know about CHD, I ask you to take some time to familiarize yourself with it. If you are expecting a baby, please check and see if your hospital does pulse oximetery testing on newborns to try to catch these heart defects that are often not caught otherwise.

My question to you this week is inspired by all of the CHD warriors and their families:

Did you know that it was CHD awareness week? Also curious to know what you plan on doing for Valentine’s Day on Tuesday.

Please also think about spreading the word about CHD awareness. The more that people know, the better informed they can be to watch for these items in their lives.

It's Me

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #190

Categories:
Aloha Friday bloggy friends health awareness PSA

CHD Awareness Week 2012

Posted on February 9, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

This is the third year that I’m aware of congenital heart defects (CHD)—and my third year marking CHD Awareness Week (February 7 to 14). Some of you might remember because Beth has kindly opened up her blog to me each year.

My daughter, Cora, was only five days old when she passed away suddenly and unexpectedly as I fed her in December 2009. We thought she was healthy. She wasn’t. She had a congenital heart defect.

I’d never even heard the term. Now I make it my mission to make sure that every pregnant woman and mother has at least heard the phrase.

I know it’s scary. Luckily, Cora’s story is only one. And, it’s at the worst side of the spectrum. Some of these so called “CHD babies” live to be old men and women. Some of them are even athletes, movie stars and politicians.

The face of CHD is so varied. And, because the scars are hidden, often the faces of CHD are blurred and hidden too.

About one percent of the population has a heart defect, which doesn’t sound like a big deal until you compare it to other conditions, like autism (which I’ve seen various numbers for but often tapped at 1 in 110), Down’s Syndrome (1 in 800), and pediatric cancers (CHD kills more children than all forms of pediatric cancer combined). That’s not to say that those conditions need less awareness. I wish they’d get more, and I firmly believe there’s enough compassion around to advocate for them all, but I think somehow CHD has been overlooked. That’s changing. I thank Beth, and all of you, for being part of that change for standing up and speaking out for these babies and adults with hidden scars.

If you’d like to read more about Cora, visit http://www.corasstory.org

Kristine Brite McCormick writes about Cora (almost) daily on her blog http://www.corasstory.org. If not on her blog, she can be found on Twitter, @kristinebrite or Cora’s Facebook Fan page, telling Cora’s Story. Follow Kristine for more information about congenital heart disease or to learn more about the acts of compassion and kindness Cora has inspired.

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Note From Me: Three years ago, I met an amazing woman. A women who lost her baby girl Cora to CHD at five days old. Her strength, grace, and fight to save other children has inspired me. Today I am honored to call Kristine Brite McCormick a friend. I am so proud with how her work to get pulse ox for new born babies is taking place in more and more locations. Here is a segment that was on CNN last Friday about how Kristine and other mothers fighting for CHD awareness were wearing red for baby heart health.

Categories:
bloggy friends Guest post health awareness PSA

Valentine’s Day Preparations with Mickey

Posted on February 8, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Categories:
Disney holidays Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Tales – Protecting Our Kindle

Posted on February 7, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

It is hard to believe that there was once a time when I was unsure how I would feel about reading with an eReader. When we got our Kindle, I quickly realized some of the big perks and possibilities. I could keep multiple books with me at all times, I could instantly get books from the library for it, I could purchase a book and have it ready to read within minutes, and your kids can’t knock a book mark out of it.

TechyDad and I wanted to get something to protect Kimberly Kindle. Yes, we named her – just accept that. Here is Kimberly when we first got her without anything to protect her screen.

There were some gorgeous Kindle covers on Etsy. As much as I adored them, they were just a cover and did not help to protect our eReader. Thanks to several people on Twitter, we focused on M-Edge products. They seemed to be the most focused on protecting electronic devices. Many of them specifically suggested the M-Edge Latitude Kindle Jacket and it had good reviews. We liked that it not only had a soft cover inside to protect the screen, it was also durable in case it –er, you know, fell just a bit.

After a bit more research, we bought the M-Edge Latitude Kindle Jacket. I love that it zips up to cover all of Kimberly. I love that it has a pocket for a little lamp should we opt to purchase one down the road. I also like that the cover flips back completely to make it each to hold and read my books. I can keep it in the case to recharge and the keyboard is still able to be used without any fuss.

Now I can’t wait to start my next book on the Kindle. Actually it’s a series that everyone has been talking about. Here’s it is all ready to go:

Yes, my next three books will be The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. They are all ready to read on Kimberly. With the movie coming out, more and more of my friends have been chatting it up and trying to read them before it comes to theaters.

I would love to know your thoughts on The Hunger Games Trilogy, eReaders, and anything else. What have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.

Disclosure: Two Amazon Affiliate links are included in this post with the two items mentioned. I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to buy the books through that link. We bought the M-Edge Jacket on our own and I wanted to share since we enjoy how well it works with our Kindle.