Despite my best efforts, I have 3 very big things happening at once:

Finalizing our home build/moving in
Preparing for the Fontan Procedure in Houston
Finalizing my nonprofit, Write With Light Project

I had a really great plan, and these three things were going to be quite spread out from each other, but as I know very well, I don’t actually have control over anything. At all. So while I’m a bit busier than I’d prefer to be, all three of these things are very exciting, very emotional, very “big.” Thanks to Royal Tees, I’m also ready to finally announce that in March, we will be having a T-shirt drive to celebrate Sunley’s Fontan and to kick off fundraising for Write With Light Project! All the proceeds this year will benefit the Fontan Go Initiative at Texas Children’s Hospital, which I’ve written about before. If we can get that program going, it could DIRECTLY improve the quality of life for Sunley and so many other people like her. This is not just a raising awareness fundraiser; It is a take-action, let’s-do-something-about-this fundraiser.

The T-shirts are, of course, yellow (Sunley’s favorite color), and have a sunshine logo that I made for Sunley Summit when she was born. I drew that little logo on every available marker board in the TCH hospital rooms, and would sneak them into exam rooms too! I wasn’t sure I would do T-shirts for her surgery because I didn’t want my other kids to feel left out, but let me tell you, I really underestimated these kids. Not once in the last four years have any of them displayed any sort of jealousy, which would be totally understandable.

Below is a photo taken the morning after we abruptly moved out of our Midland house and into my parents’ house on Valentine’s Day of 2018. We had just finalized Sunley’s diagnosis, and my heart was breaking for these two babies who had no idea what was about to happen to us all, their little unborn sister included.

Derek and I have been very intentional in our language surrounding Sunley’s care. We say things like, “Look, all of these bikers came to show our family love because they know that we are a heart warrior family.” I talk about how each of them have unique bonds with each other because of the things they all went through — surgery, separation, loneliness, etc. I know I can’t shield them from all of the negativity that can come with this heart world, but I can certainly teach them how God understands their unique viewpoints, and how He can fill the voids that trauma leaves. My healthy kids have a different journey with CHD than Sunley does, but they have always attacked that world together, and I am just completely obliterated in thankfulness for that. God answered one of my most desperate prayers by giving them such close bonds with each other. Marvelous is the word that comes to mind when I think of how He has orchestrated things for us.