A few sweet things

My super talented and sweet friend Jen gave me a belated birthday present this week -- this adorable pin cushion! Ain't it dandy? It's the perfect small size, and such cute colors. They remind me of her. And I love how you can prop it upright since it's made out of a frame.

She said she found a tutorial for making these somewhere but can't remember where. Thank you to whoever that genius is! If you'd like to make your own, it's simply a matter of painting a cute frame a sweet color, wrapping a piece of sweet fabric around a piece of cardboard, filling it with batting and then smooshing it through the frame, with the glass acting as the holder-inner. (That's a word, right?) Make sense?

She also made Luke these...

 

 ... fabric letters! So sweet. I will soon be making a similar one for Jack. The question is whether to spell out "Jack" or "J.J"  I don't even know what I call my own kid! 

Thanks for all the sweetness, Jen!

And one more thanks. A very, very sweet one indeed. 

The quiet, sweet moments before I handed Luke over for his open-heart surgery, three years ago.

 Thanks to all the doctors, nurses, cardiologists and countless others, and most of all to our fabulous surgeon, Dr. Ohye, who three years ago this Sunday ensured my baby would live. On July 24, 2008, Luke had a  open-heart surgery to fix three heart defects -- . coarctation of the aorta, ventricular septal defect and an atrial septal defect. Modern medicine is amazing. A few decades ago, he would have surely died from those heart issues, likely in infancy. It i s so hard to fathom. Thanks to advancements in pediatric cardiac surgery, he now has as good a chance at a long, healthy life as anyone. That day was the toughest day of my life, and also a day I'm so very grateful for. I'll be thinking about it tomorrow. And about the kids who aren't as lucky as Luke, those who have congenital heart defects that require multiple surgeries or lifelong health struggles. For the parents who weren't as lucky as me, and who have lost their babies. CHDs kill more kids each year than all childhood cancers combined. Isn't that astonishing? And sad? I think so. 

So, tomorrow will be a sweet day, remembering how lucky we are. We really truly are so so lucky.