Dream Night

Hi guys! Wow is it hot here in Memphis! I seriously feel like we are back in Houston. Last summer was a lot more mild and a lot less sweaty! On Friday, we were invited (by Whitney Smith--creator of Luke's Tree) to attend Dream Night at the Memphis Zoo. Dream Night is a special night for Le Bonheur and St. Jude patients. They closed the zoo to everyone else and patients and their families were able to see the animals, chat with zookeepers, and ride the rides for free. King Cotton served hot dogs, sausage, and fixin's. It was a fun time but a sad reminder of all the sick children in this world. You guys are great prayer warriors and I ask you to always keep these sick kiddos in your hearts and minds. I wanted to share some pics of the night as well as a video of the kids on the merry-go-round (James' first time)...

Tomorrow the kids and I will head to Le Bonheur for the grand opening celebration of the new hospital. I am making a sign tonight and I will post pics soon. I am so excited as Gordon and Maria from Sesame Street will be the special guests. I think they have lived on Sesame Street since I was a kid! Emily and Matthew asked if Elmo would be there as James LOVES him, but I found out today that he will not be in attendance!

Please continue to pray for sweet Blake Huggins. He will need a pacemaker placed this week and Christie and Kyle are (understandably) nervous about it all. Hopefully this will resolve his rhythm issues and he will get home SOON! Christie tells me when you all write to her and she is so appreciative. I actually spoke to her a few days ago and she sounds so strong and hopeful. It is great to hear that in her voice.

God bless you all and thanks for checking in on us--you have no idea how much we appreciate your kind words and prayers.

"You look beautiful Emily."

These were the words spoken by our handsome five year old as his sister left to dance in her FIFTH recital. How much sweeter could Matthew get? It melted my heart when he said this, totally unprovoked. The arguing began a short time later, though, so the kindness was short-lived. But it is during times like this when Tommy and I realize how much they truly love each other. As I said, this was Emily's fifth recital. She has come a long way since her first (at three years old) when she held an umbrella in front of her face during her entire dance. Emily danced as a Scottish doll during the first act, which was a scaled down version of Copelia. It was beautifully done. The second act was a variety show and Emily tapped to "It Takes Two". She continues to grow in her dancing ability and she is moving up to level 3 next year. She is so excited!

Our little Scottish doll

Goofy kids. Our sweet neighbor Bailey (who is going to college next year...so sad about this one as the kids love her) watched James for us--he wouldn't have been able to make it through the entire show.

"Matthew, give Emily a kiss." Poor Matt.

I just wanted to leave you with a pic of little chunk. He had a blast playing with the sprinklers on the last day of school. Can you see his tongue?!?! Nope, because almost half of it was cut off!!!! He is doing so great and is learning something new everyday (especially with the help of Sissy and Bubba).

I just wanted to give you guys an update on Blake Huggins. His bowel sounds have returned...I know you guys are great at praying for POOP (remember James in the NICU?), so I am asking you to pray that Blake's bowels start working like crazy and that he poops! Christie let me know that she really appreciates all of the support she is getting...thank you.

I have another quick request...she'll probably kill me for doing this, but I would like to ask you all to pray for our friends Kelly and Tim and their kiddos Dexter and Abrielle. Kelly and Tim are two of the most selfless people I have ever met. Kelly has been such a wonderful support for me since we moved here and I look up to her so much. She is also the one who made James and Matthew's awesome birthday cakes (http://www.kellylowrycakes.com/). My personal fave is her chocolate chip cookie dough cake. Ummmm...yummy! Anyway, back to the request (food always gets me off topic): in being the selfless and loving people that they are, Kelly and Tim are in the process of adopting a special needs child from Bulgaria. This process has been long and they are yearning for their child to come home to them. As I said, Kelly and Tim have requested a child with special needs (did I mention that they are selfless?) who is a toddler. I talked to Kelly today and she sent out an e-mail later in the day. Their information has been received by the Bulgarian government, but they are waiting for the "perfect match" for Kelly and Tim. As you know, the government tends to do things a little more slowly than the private sector, so things are not moving as quickly as everyone would like. Kelly and Tim were hoping to have their child home with them this spring, but it hasn't happened. Please join me in praying that Kelly and Tim get the "call" and that they can travel to Bulgaria to pick up their child. Can you imagine how difficult it must be for Kelly and Tim to know that their child is waiting for his/her Mommy and Daddy but red tape is keeping them from getting him/her? It really breaks my heart.

Thanks for all of your support...you guys ROCK! Please remember those who are suffering as well as those who have passed. God bless you all!

URGENT Prayer Request...

The other day, I told you about the Huggins Family. Blake had his Fontan on Thursday and was doing well...until today. Blake has had some rhythm issues today which they were able to get under control with an external pacemaker. His heart was beating steadily at 200 BPM--not good. Like I said, they were able to get that under control, but the rate is still higher than his usual rate. This evening, Blake's little tummy stopped making rumbling sounds. Again, not good. They tried meds and they did not work, so they told Christie and Kyle that Blake needs to rest and see if his bowels start moving on their own. Please visit http://www.kyleandchristieplus3.blogspot.com/ and leave a message of encouragement. I PROMISE you that little notes, even from strangers, make a parent feel better. It gives us hope through prayer and it reminds us how much our warriors are loved. God bless you all and God bless little Blake.

Prayer Requests

The Haberman Clan is doing well and trucking along during these HOT summer weeks. We are looking forward to a few fun trips to Georgia and Houston as well as swim lessons and VBS next week. Emily's dance recital is this weekend and we can't wait to see her perform.

I am writing tonight to ask a few prayer requests for other families tonight. I think we have hit our limit for a little bit! These are BIG prayer requests and I ask that you help these families...
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Huggins Family. Kyle and Christie have three children (Lauren, Blake, and Tristan). Tristan passed away a month ago of complications from HLHS. He was born at 25 weeks gestation and lived for 23 minutes with his mommy and daddy. Blake also has HLHS and is going into surgery tomorrow for the final stage of HLHS repair, the Fontan. Blake's heart function should improve greatly after this surgery, but it is always scary when your child has surgery, especially open heart surgery. Please pray that Blake recovers quickly so that this sweet family can be together at home soon. Christie and I talked for a long while a few weeks back and I was amazed at her strength and faith. If you have a minute, please visit http://www.kyleandchristieplus3.blogspot.com/ and leave Kyle and Christie a note of encouragement--I know they would really appreciate it.

Another quick prayer request is for sweet Baby Asher. If you remember, I have spoken of Asher in the past. He is another sweet HLHS baby who has been through SOOOOO much. He also had a stroke and is learning to use his right arm like a wild man! Asher's mom and dad (Charity and Wallace) are so in love with this little boy and he is just the cutest little chunk. Asher had an echo cardiogram the other day and it showed decreased heart function. So...Asher will have a cath soon in hopes of widening his aorta. If it works, awesome. If it doesn't work, it most likely means a heart transplant. This really scares Charity, but she is so strong and has faith that the cath will work. You can visit their blog at http://www.arocksurvivorman09.blogspot.com/. Please take the time to read Asher's story--this kid has been through A LOT! I know that Charity and Wallace would love to read any comments.

Another quick prayer request for my sister's work friend. He and his wife lost a baby girl today. I don't know the details, but any time a child is lost breaks my heart. Please join me in praying that this family finds peace in their grief.

I hope I am not being too much of a bummer tonight. These kiddos are amazing and I just want to make sure that they get all of the support they can get. They are big fighters and I know they will do great. May God bless you all!