We so Fancy

So, it has been months since I was diagnosed with a PFO (basically a hole in the heart). You would think, that sounds pretty bad, better get that repaired, right? Not necessarily. I was told that I would have to have my heart "patched" by a pediatric cardiologist. (I like the term patched- makes me feel like they are fixing a bicycle tire). This is pretty specialized- not many people do it and my neurologist only wanted me to go to a University affiliated facility- so here that means University of Miami. Anyways, the pediatric surgeon said he only repairs PFO's on adults who have previously had a stroke. So let's review the logic here. I will repair a PFO but I am going to WAIT until you have a stroke to do so. My cardiologist explained that I was wanting to get pregnant soon and explained his concerns about how high risk this would make me, but again the surgeon insisted he would only do the surgery if I had previously had a stroke. So now I will be a pregnant woman ...

One thing I don't think I will ever get used to living here is the abundance of icky creatures. I saw this giant iguana when I was stuck in traffic just cruising down the road. The quality of the picture isn't great- it is from my camera phone, but you get the idea. The thing is huge! There are three iguanas that live in the children's primary room at church. It doesn't seem to bother anyone (except me). No exterminator or removal services. You will frequently see them sunning themselves outside as you walk in the building. Every time I open my front door, there is a scurry of little lizards. This place just continuously amazes me.

We spent a couple days at the beach of course. Anthony absolutely loved it. He chased the birds and threw rocks and sea shells into the ocean. In Miami, Anthony decided to make it a nude beach. It was a blast!

We spent a day down in Miami (about an hour from our house). We went to the Seaquarium and learned about dolphins, sharks, and other wildlife in Florida. Anthony was obsessed with finding Nemo as well as every other character on Finding Nemo and Shark's Tale.

Finally! We had our first visitors to Florida. My mom and sister and her two little boys came for a week. We had a great time!!! They arrived on Mike's birthday, so we went out to Cheesecake Factory to celebrate. The next day we went to Sawgrass Mills, which is the largest outlet mall in the U.S. and shopped all day. We went to the beach, a really cool park with a carousel, the farmer's market, looked through a $1.5 million dollar model home, and to the Miami Seaquarium. Then we shopped some more and went to the beach again. We packed a lot into less than a week. Thanks for the visit mom and bears! We loved having you.

There's a hole in my heart. Well, there's one in mine. Seriously. Anyone who has known me for the last several years knows that migraines have been the bane of my existence. Enter: new neurologist. He tells me that there is a correlation between women with migraine with aura (weird visual sensations) and a specific kind of heart defect called patent foramen ovale. He suggests a special kind of EKG called a bubble study to rule out the defect. I go have the test done and what do you know- I have this heart defect. (My mom really likes this. I keep telling her that she made me defective)Not only do I have a hole in my heart, but the doctor told me that it was SO large that it was quite likely that I would have had a stroke if I had carried a pregnancy to term. WOW! Really! I know my heavenly father loves me. How do I know this? He gives me answers. Maybe not always on my time table, but they come. Why do I suffer with these debilitating migraines? Why haven't we had a baby? B...

So our neighbors put out these lovely Christmas decorations. These are the same people that left us hanging with the whole dog situation and then called animal control on us. Lots of love there. Anyways, did you realize that Santa Claus was present at Christ's birth? Me neither, but here you go....