A very belated update!

Whew! The last 5 months have been a roller coaster! I'm not sure that I have enough time to sit and type what has transpired before our sweet girl wakes up from her nap. I'll start by saying that she is doing well :) She had a sedated echo on Oct. 5th, and her left side looks great. Her left ventricle is "normal" sized, as well as the mitral valve. GOD IS GOOD!!!
To sum it all up, feeding & weight gain have became a BIG issue! All summer long, Ella had a hard time keeping her bottle down which led to double feeds for us (and one antsy big brother), screening for cystic fibrosis (because she produces LOTS of secretions which spurred the vomiting), a week long stay in the hospital that included numerous tests (which didn't provide any answers), and one long, hectic summer!!! The only thing that kept us going was her beautiful smile and wonderful personality!!
I have been back to work since mid-August, and Ella and Grady are together with Miss Barb. Miss Barb has been wonderful to our entire family, and we are SO BLESSED to have her in our lives. Ella is really enjoying watching the other kids run around and play. And, of course, Grady is so happy to have his favorite girl there, too!
I thought you might enjoy a few updated pics of our sweet kiddos. I will make a promise from this day forward to sit down on Sundays to let you know how we are doing. I hope you are all doing well and I thank you for checking in on our family.
Love to all,
The Morrison Family XOXO

Astronaut Grady and his space monkey, Ella

Taking a break after the 1st round of trick-or-treating


Practicing sitting up

Why Mommy and Daddy LOVE Saturday mornings!!!

More pics to share!

Ella just conquered another surgery!

When we visited the ENT last Thursday, we found out that Miss Ella had 2 cysts in her nose. (Which explains why she sounds like a little piggy when she drinks her bottle!) We thought that we were just going in for a follow-up to check on her vocal cord, and walked out of there with this new discovery and knew that surgery was needed as soon as possible. The ENT also felt that the eye doctor should put tubes in her blocked tear ducts at the same time while she was under. Both doctors just came out to see us in the waiting room and informed us that she did great!!
We thought that we would have to spend the night here for observation, but the ENT thought that she'd be fine going home. She's just amazing!!!
I'll let know how she does in the next couple of days...
Love to all,
The Morrison's
XOXO

A few new pics to share...

Mommy's little (or should I say BIG!!) bow head!!!!

Can't find Grady? He's probably with his sissy, giving her lots of love!

In her Sunday dress after church...
Taking an afternoon restie with big brother...Grady insisted on patting his sissy's back to help her fall asleep!

AWESOME visit with cardiologist at Children's

We had a great visit with our cardiologist today at Children's. Miss Ella was her usual wonderful self as the sonographer performed the echo. The doctor wanted to sedate her, but we didn't know that we couldn't feed her for 6 hours prior to sedation, so we chanced it and she did awesome. We gave her a bottle of formula to make her tummy happy, and off to sleep she went! She was content for an hour while the lady explored her chest and abdomen with the transducers. She's such a good baby! I also need to add that she's up to 8 1/2 pounds now! She likes eating as much as I do!! (this is mommy talking, of course...have you seen daddy lately?)
The result of the echo...the cardiologist was very pleased with her heart. He said the left side looks promising! GOD IS GOOD!!! I asked him when he thought we would be "out of the woods", and his response was "You're in the edges of the woods!" I cannot explain to you how much of a relief that is for us! I was physically sick to my stomach all morning from nerves and anxiety over this appointment. He also said that he felt 90-95% confident that she was going to be okay (meaning that the left side will continue growing and will be able to function well) I could have kissed him!!! That was the best news I've heard in my entire life!! His thoughts on her future are that she'll need a catheterization to open up the aortic valve down the line, but the chances of additional open heart surgeries are very slim. I can't think of a better example of the power of prayer! We are SO blessed!!!
A lot of you have mentioned that you are having a difficult time posting comments on the blog, but please don't worry about it. We know that you are keeping up with her and we are SO thankful for your prayers and support, and that's all we need. We can feel the love without having to read it!
I'm going to work on her announcements in the next few days (do you think it's time?!?!). If I don't have your home address, please email it to me at amorrison@nisdtx.org I'll be sure to put one in the mail for you. I'll also try to post newer pics soon.
Again, we THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for your love, support and prayers during this journey. We are SOOO blessed to have you in our lives!!!
Love to all,
The Morrison Family XOXO

You've come a long way, baby!!

April 29th...that's just 3 weeks ago!!!
Hanging out this morning with one PROUD mommy!

It's hard to believe that Ella is 4 weeks old today. She has been through so much in her short lifetime, and she has taught us so many lessons. She has taught us how precious life really is... How leaning on our faith can get us through even the most challenging times in our lives...How thankful we are for our wonderful family and friends.. How grateful we are for our health and the health of others... How wonderful it is to be parents to two beautiful children... To appreciate one another everyday... And, of course, the most important lesson she has taught is to stay focused on the absolute most important things in life: our faith, our family and our friends.

Now that we are in somewhat of a routine, I've had a little bit of time to digest what has actually happened in the last 4 weeks. I know in my heart that we couldn't have remained strong without our faith, and with out you all. We are forever grateful to you for praying for our sweet girl. As Nana says, there is POWER in numbers, and Miss Ella has had hundreds (if not thousands) of people across the country praying for her. What a lucky girl to be SOOO loved!!! She is going to continue to make you all very proud of her!

Love to all,

The Morrison Family XOXO