I'll try to visit here more - sorry!

Wow, I never realized how much I've turned into a facebook user until I saw that the last thing here was that I was in labor. Huh. Sorry.
So Arden was born 1/6/10 at 4:03 through natural childbirth. She did amazing! The OB made sure I had a chance to hear her cry and hold her hands before the drs swept her away. She didn't need to go to the cath lab like they thought she might, and was doing so well they moved her surgery date for her first open heart surgery to the 8th. So at two days old she had her first surgery and did amazing. They kept her chest open to allow for post-surgical swelling and were able to close her chest yesterday, the 13th. The doctors are now doing their best to stablize her. Her heart rate should be below 170 ideally, and she started on the Billy light for her Jaundice last night. That, with the following update, should get you up to speed:

Thanks for all the prayer. Arden's heart rate is currently in the low 180s to the high/mid 170s. She still has a slight fever, which is odd b/c she doesn't feel warm at all. But that is due to her body not being that great at getting blood where it needs to go yet. Dr. said that despite this hiccup, they still think they will start weening her off the respirator tonight or tomorrow since her blood pressure is good as are her lungs. She's lost all of her IVs, not b/c they aren't needed but b/c they stopped working. So they are currently in the process of giving Arden a PICC line. This is basically an IV that that can last for months, if needed. they are going in through a vein in the leg and the line will go through the vein up close to the heart. Pray this works b/c if it doesn't, they are running out of places to poke her for an IV... poor thing! She is still under the Billy light for her Jaundice and will measure her levels after the PICC line is in. She is going through SO much!
Poor Elliot was put down for a nap today and kept getting into trouble. Then around 2:30 the fire alarm went off so any chance for a nap was thrown out the window as Eric scooped him up and ran down three flights of stairs only to be told it was a false alarm when he got to the bottom. When I called at 3:15 he was still awake talking in bed. By the time I got back to the RMH at 4, he was asleep. We've decided to just let him sleep. We know he needs it... oops, it's 4:30, sounds like he's waking up. Oh well. If he isn't perhaps I can steal a quick nap. That would be AMAZING!
Eric says he has a headache. We are hoping it's just because of the events circling us right now and he isn't getting sick. We don't know what would happen if one or both of us got sick! Not only would the sick one not be able to see Arden, but we'd probably be asked to leave the RMH for the health of others. Good grief!
I'm exhausted. I'll be headed back to the hospital tonight after dinner though so Arden won't be alone. Also, my tooth that lost a filling months ago is killing me. any cold, even my finger touching the tooth if my hands are cold, feels awful. Pray for, I don't know, something. I feel like I am asking for the same prayer over and over again, but we so appreciate the support! This email might sound a bit defeated, but we aren't. We know we worship a mighty God who is sitting at the end of all this smiling at our growth. This is what drives us through the hard times. when we find ourselves in the muck, we do our best to just look around and find Jesus, because we know He is there with us. He is our strength and our courage. Today I'm asking him to be my energy. :) Much love to you all up there. We hope to join you soon.