All Systems Go!

On Monday we had a fetal echo of the baby's heart.  It was not necessary to do because he checked out just fine at the level II ultrasound, but if you have ever had a scary experience with one of your children being born with a problem, you check for everything.  This was the case for me.  Call me a sceptic, but I had to have the heart looked over thoroughly and completely by a pediatric cardiologist who looks at hearts all day. Overdramatic? Maybe! A was of time and money? Probably! Reassuring? Definitely! We were given the complete thumbs up that his little heart looks "as good as a heart can look." No issues, no concerns, not even a follow-up needed.  Marcus and I were so happy leaving we almost flew out the door.  I told Dr. Lindblade, one of Eden's many cardiologists, that it was so nice to she him and please tell everyone hello, but see you later and I hope I never see you again! How thankful I am that we have been blessed with a completely healthy baby. Most couple expect their baby to be nothing but perfect, but we just hope for health with our record.  We have been truly blessed!

Six and Counting

Marcus and I celebrated our six year wedding anniversary yesterday.  It's hard to believe that we have only been married for six years as it seems like so much longer.  What an amazing, difficult, challenging and rewarding six years it has been and I am so thankful that I can wake up every morning to my very best friend.  In six years we have experienced the birth of three daughters, a miscarriage, the death of an infant, half of our 4th pregnancy, financial highs, financial struggles, selling a business, starting a new company, 10 hiking trips to Grand Canyon, 7 trips to Disneyland and memories to last a lifetime.  Marcus, I love you more now than I did six years ago and I think it is because of all of our life experiences.  I am very grateful that I have you by my side as my strength, my friend and my companion.  The wonderful blessing is that through it all, we have grown closer together.  I love you and I look forward to an eternity spent with you!

On another note, last Sunday was a beautiful angel day for Eden.  It was so much nicer than I could have imagined and I thank all of you for your kind thoughts, your love and prayers.  Eden was very close to us that day and I was filled with love and comfort.  What a special little girl we were given and I will cherish her forever. Church was so nice that day in particular and our time at the cemetery with her was very sweet.  Although we miss her so much and the girls still talk of her all the time, I know she is where she needs to be and this is the Lord's plan for our family.

Eden's Angel Day

It is finally here, the one year anniversary of Eden's passing.  Here is an excerpt from last year;s post describing the event:

At 1:31 am on July 5th, Eden Grace Ridgway passed away.  She was surrounded by those who loved her most, I was blessed to hold her and sing to her my favorite primary song as she passed from me, her father on earth, to her Father in Heaven.  

I like to look for rainbows whenever there is rain

and ponder on the beauty of an earth made clean again.

I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain.

I want to be the best I can and live with God again.

I know when I am baptized my wrongs are washed away

and I can be forgiven and improve myself each day.

I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain

I want to be the best I can and live with God again.

We called grandparents to meet us at the hospital and around 11:00pm on July 4th we gathered in her room.  We started with a prayer by Keisa's father after which my dad gave me a Father's Blessing.  The three of us (Paul, my dad and me) then gave a blessing to Eden.  In the prayer I blessed her and released her from her mortal body so she would be free from pain and suffering, to live in peace with God until we are all reunited once again as an eternal family.  We then started to disconnect some of her medications but left those that would keep her comfortable and pain free.  All of the grandparents took turns holding her after which Keisa and I held our little girl for a time.  When it felt right, Keisa handed Eden to me and we extubated her and she quickly passed gracefully and beautifully in my arms.

The Spirit in the room was amazing and we knew what we had done was Father's will.  It was so difficult to see our baby girl leave us, but we know it will be for a short time in comparison to eternity and that we will see her again.  We were so happy she was no longer in pain.  She had reached a point in the evening that it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep her comfortable because of her condition and everyone knew it was time to let her go.  

We arrived home around 4:00 am and were soon awakened at 6:00 am by our early riser, Ainsley. It's nice to know that the world keeps turning and things continue on regardless of what we are going through.  We are so tired yet we have so much to figure out.  We know that through the Savior's Atonement we are comforted and strengthened. We feel this now more than ever before in our lives and are thankful to know that the Plan of Salvation is real.

It was without a doubt the most spiritual experience of my life that night and I am so thankful that my Heavenly Father made something so very difficult so peaceful and spiritual as well.  I am amazed at how much I learned from one single evening.  I learned that the Lord never leaves us alone.  This does not mean that he takes all of our trials, challenges, pain and anguish away from us for He does not, but He will help us through them if we search for Him and allow the Spirit into our lives.  I learned that I love my husband and companion more than I ever thought possible.  He is an amazing man and I believe that God gave him to me to carry me through difficult trials like this one.  I learned that life is precious and every moment should be seen as sacred and treasured.  

I miss my Eden something fierce, but I know that she is happy, healthy and safe in the arms of the Lord.  I know that I will see her again.  Today is for her and the wonderful addition she is to our family, it is for her memory and the special moments we shared.

We love you Eden!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARKIE B

Today is my sweethearts 39th birthday and I have to admit that I got a winner!  I waited a long time for someone like Marcus to come along and I tell him all the time that he is my knight in shining armor.  I am so thankful to have my very best friend in the world as my husband and companion.  Thank you Marcus for your strength when I am weak and for your support when I falter.  Thank you for treating me like a true princess and making me feel like the most beautiful woman in the room. Thank you for being an amazing father, the girls adore you more than life itself.  I love you Marcus and I wish you a very happy, prosperous year.  I am so thankful that I have you to travel through life's journey with, for I could not survive all the "bumps" in the road without you by my side.  I LOVE YOU FOREVER!!!

Here are a few facts about Marcus:

• He was a very accomplished juniors and high school tennis player.
• He was state champion in FFA (Future Farmers of America) for Dairy Cow Judging and Public Speaking/Interviewing.
• He served a mission for our church in Helsinki, Finland.
• He is a closet chef, he LOVES to cook.
• He was a professional fly fishing guide at Robert Redford's Sundance Resort.
• He started, owned and franchised a frozen custard (very rich ice cream) shop.
• He passed the L-SAT.
• He passed the M-CAT.
• He graduated from ASU with a degree in Communication - Conflict Negotiation.
• He is an entrepreneur at heart starting his first business at age 5 (polishing and selling rocks).
• He owns a successful real estate management company to date.
• He is a plumber, gardener, farmer, handy man, mechanic, electrician extraordinaire at our house.
• He loves me better than I could have dreamed possible.
• He treats his children so well that the cry every day when he leaves for work.

Marcus, I am proud to be your wife.  You truly are the love of my life!!!!!

ALREADY?!?!?

Is it really "that week" already?

I can not believe that this is the week of Eden's anniversary.  It has come so fast, but passed so slow at the same time.  It's hard for me to know what or how to think most of the time as we lead up to Sunday, the 5th.  However, I really want to make it a more happy day than a sad one and I want to focus on the wonderful memories of Eden that we all still talk about.  Of course I miss her terribly and I wish that it could have been different.  But, if I truly believe that the Lord has a plan for me and my family, than I have to be comforted in the fact that this was the Lord's will and it was the best thing for her and our family.  I might not know the full extent of His plan until much later in life, or not even until the next life, but I can not deny that He watches over our family.

You might remember me talking about the very last Tuesday I had with Eden, it was a marvelous day.  She was not progressing at all, in fact she was beginning to decline.  I had a very frank discussion with one of her doctors that day and it was not positive.  When she and I were finally alone, I stood over her bed and for the first time in weeks she was so very alert and focused.  She looked right at me and we "talked" for more than an hour.  I told her everything going on at home and how much her sisters loved her.  I told her that I was trying to be strong and make the right decisions for her.  Most of the time, I just told her that I was so proud of her and that I loved her so very much.  At that moment, I KNOW that she knew me and felt my love for her.  She drifted off after that and was never really conscious again.  I did not know it that day, but I would never see her little eyes open again.  I wish I would have stayed and talked longer, however I thank my Father in Heaven every day for giving me that special time with her.  I believe that both Eden and the Lord knew that the end was close and this was a "tender mercy" from him to comfort me.  A memory that I will always cherish.

The journey is a rough one, definitely a dirt road, and the road to peace and recovery is so long.  But it has been a good year and I am a better person because of Eden.  Our family is stronger and Marcus and I have a better relationship.  These are blessings that I am thankful to have.  I am grateful for all of you as well for sustaining me and lifting me through to darkest of days and for letting me grieve as I need.

I went back to my posts from this week last year and here is what I said last year on Tuesday:

"It always amazes me that although I am at my breaking point with inner turmoil, as soon as I enter her room I am filled with a very calm, peaceful, loving feeling. I pray daily that the Lord's sweetest angels are attending her right now and giving her the comfort that I can not always provide. Her doctor on Sunday said that she is truly a miracle to have made it this far and she is my hero."

I miss that feeling so much, but I still catch glimpses of it when I need it most.

For the Last Time

Let it be known that I am very nostalgic lately.

It was exactly one year ago today, June 17, 2008 that I held my Eden for the last time before her passing.  It was also the day last year that Dr. Pearl and his team did Eden's second open heart surgery.  For those of you who can recall, it was a VERY scary day for us and little Eden was in the OR for just shy of 12 hours.  I remember so well sitting in her room, waiting for updates and then updating each of you.  I will never forget the horrible news we received a few times that she was not doing well and might not make it out of surgery alive.  Oh how hard we prayed then that she would come back to us alive because I DID NOT want my baby to die surrounded by near strangers.  I remember praying at that moment that if the Lord wanted her to come home to please just let her live until she came back to us, her parents and family, so that we could shower her with love and affection in her last moments.  How thankful I am that He answered my prayers and even blessed us with 2 and 1/2 more weeks with her. 

As we get closer to her anniversary, her "angel" day it is on my mind constantly.  How will I feel?  What will I do that morning?  Will I feel her near that day?  I can not lie that I am scared for that day and I am nervous to face my fear.  One year without my baby.  So much has happened, yet I wonder where the time has gone.  Her bedroom is still untouched, just as it was when I arranged all of her things following the funeral.  I know it's time to pack it all away and prepare for our little boy, but it's hard, scary, all too final.

Today I thank all of you for continuing on this journey with me, with us.  I also give you all a very belated thank you for staying with us throughout her entire surgery last year.  As I went back to last year's posts and read the comments and looked at the time, I am humbled and grateful for your friendship, faith and prayers.  I know that they sustained us at the most dark of moments and they continue to bless us even today.

I love you Eden and I miss you - everything about you.  But, I know that you are in the Lord's hands and I know that you watch over us as only the best of angels can.  We are blessed because we have our own, personal angel.

JUNKIES!!!!

Marcus and I are officially addicts.  If you consider going to Grand Canyon twice in two weeks to hike (over 16 miles each time) an addiction, then we are junkies with no desire for an intervention!  We absolutely LOVE the Canyon and who can blame us for heading there as often as possible when it's less than four hours from our front door.  It has not been until adulthood that I have learned to appreciate living so close to one of the Seven Wonders on the World. Marcus took a couple of friends with us in late May to do the Death March again.  I have learned better and just hiked down to the Colorado River and back, about 17 miles.  Then, last weekend Marcus and I hiked again with my dad, my Uncle Bob and my brother-in-law Jake.  We all went down to the river and back again, but took a different trail down this time and it was extremely beautiful.  If I wasn't such a cit gal, I really think I could live at Grand Canyon and hike every day.  I just LOVE to hike.

  

This is a wild bunny that has made his home in our yard.  We see him every couple of days snacking on the grass.

Marcus, Jonathan and Chad beginning the Death March (that is rain and it's 3 am!)

The clouds were very low in the canyon and it rained almost all day.

My sweetheart who is like a mountain goat on the trail.

Chad and Marcus at the North Rim, half way.

We took Grammy and the girls up to Flagstaff with us and while we hiked, they enjoyed a day and the Deer Farm where there are live deer to feed and pet.

All the gang beginning the hike (from left: my dad, Jake, Marcus, me, uncle Bob)

What a backdrop and me in all my 5 month pregnant glory.  We start them hiking young!

Look at how breathtaking that is, just beautiful!

They did a great job and should be very proud of themselves.  Am I my dad's daughter or what?

Just beautiful and the weather was perfect.

Jake's very first time to Grand Canyon, what a way to experience the magic.

Little did uncle Bob know that  he would be harassed by a "wild" squirrel while eating lunch later.  There are signs posted saying "do not feed the WILD squirrels", but they are the most domesticated animals I have ever met and will crawl right on you.

Can you see the trail below us?

It was a wonderful couple of weekends and I soaked it all in as it might be the last big hiking I do for some time now.   I am still getting used to the thought of "thinking blue" and how we will do him room.  I really can't wait to do some shopping!