A Tribute to All The Moms Out There

Birthdays to me, have always been a big deal. I celebrate each birthday with a sense of thankfulness and joy. This is true especially for my mom's birthday that was yesterday.

My mom has always been special to me, since the day I was brought home. Originally they were supposed to be my respite family, taking care of me while my birth parents tried to decide if they wanted to put me up for adoption. My mom told me that because they were told they already had a family picked out to adopt me, that she shouldn't get close to me because I'd be leaving. So my mom didn't put up the baby crib, instead I was supposed to sleep in a laundry basket. I guess I was just too cute though, because she said I ended up sleeping in bed with them. 

When my birth parents decided that yes, putting me up for adoption was the option they wanted, I was supposed to go to the other family they had picked out to adopt me. However, that family soon found out just how sick I was but the adoption agency tried to convince them to still adopt me, in which that family still said no. My mom told me that she kept telling the adoption agency that she and my dad would gladly adopt me. "She's our little girl." Is what my mom told the agency and after convincing the agency, they were finally my legal parents. 

From day one, my mom has fought and advocated for me; ultimately saving my life. She fought to adopt me into this wonderful family I have now. She never gave up hope when I was only given a 13% chance of living to the age of 5. She has fought with doctors who wanted to just let me die. She has fought with the insurance company to get me to see the doctors and specialist I need. She has even fought with me, to convince me to do the things I needed to do to keep myself alive. My mom is the reason I am alive today. 

And during all that life saving, she still made time for her other twelve kids she and my dad had adopted. During all that she still managed to go grocery shopping, take me and my siblings to and from school, host birthday parties and found time to cook dinner. Being a mom, especially a mom to a child or multiple kids with chronic illness and/or disabilities is not an easy one at all. And yet my mom found the energy and compassion to adopt and take care of 7 kids who have been hospitalized with some form of congenital heart defect and on top of that one has diabetes and another discovered he had Lupus in high school. All in all she has taken care of 14 kids, and that doesn't include the kids she has hosted from foreign countries while they came here for open heart surgery nor does that take into count the grandchildren she has watched over and taken care of as well. Some how she managed to make it to every doctor appointment for every child, sit by each hospital bed for every child who has been in the hospital to comfort them and then make sure the healthy kids made it to school on time and had dinner when they came home.

Being a mom is a thankless job, and when asked what she wanted for her birthday she replied with, "For everyone to get along and for me not to have to cook dinner." For someone who has done so much for so many people without ever thinking about what was in it for her and barely getting a thank you for it as well, I think she deserves so much more than that not just on her birthday but every day.

Happy birthday mom, I love you so much and I want you to know; I appreciate you. And to all moms out there who have a child or multiple children who have special needs, thank you for having the compassion and love to take care of us. We really do appreciate it. 

Hope and Love,
Becca

20th Birthday

Hi guys, 

20th birthday. Wow. It's amazing to think that I have made it to this age. There were several times in my life when my family and doctors weren't so sure that I'd make it this far. And here I am. When I wave give a 13% chance of living to the age of 5, my parents didn't give up. I was lucky to have two parents who sought out doctors who found doctors and specialist who helped me beat those odds by leaps and bounds.

I know that some people say that once they reach a certain age, they stop celebrating birthdays or that they are no longer a big deal to them. Some people will even lie about their age, wanting to be younger. I know that I will never ever do that. Each year that I grow older, I will happily celebrate it because  I know that birthdays are not a guarantee. Some people hate the idea of growing old. I just hope that I will be able to live long enough to grow old. 

I have learned that each day is a gift and not something to taken for granted. Life is supposed to be celebrated and every year when I reach yet another age, I will do just that. Yes there are times in life that are hard and there are ups and downs in everyone's life. When I start to feel sorry for myself and complain about how things are going in my life; I remind myself to be thankful that I am at least alive.

To me life is too short to sit around and complain. It is too short to spend your life looking at the glass half empty. People say life is a roller coaster and I agree. It's a roller coaster and we only get one shot at this ride, so why not put your hands in the air and enjoy every twist and turn that heads your way? It takes more muscles and effort to frown than it does to smile. So why not smile? Laughing is proven to not only burn calories but to actually help your mood improve. So why not look at the world with humor instead of negativity? Since we only get a short amount of time on this planet, why don't we try to enjoy it while we can? That's what I try to do, and I invite you guys to do as well.

Hope and Love,
Becca

My Birthday!!

Hi everyone,

So on Sunday I turned 19 years old! I can’t believe it! I was just finally getting used to telling people I was 18. Ha – ha. On Saturday my parents surprised us with horseback riding near the Verde river, I was SO excited. I love horses and I love horseback riding. One part of the trail was us forging the Verde River; it was AMAZING! On our trail we saw two bald eagles sitting in a tree with their nest and we saw wild horses! On the drive away from the ranch, we saw cow just walking around. It was so cool! However, the next day we were all very sore. Ha – ha.

After the horseback ride we went to a restaurant called Pinnacle Peak Patio. If you have never been there before, I highly suggest it. It is a cowboy themed restaurant and if you wear a tie there, they will cut it off and staple it to the ceiling. It’s so cool. Ha – ha. We went down to the small dance area where they had a live band to listen to the music while we waited for our food and I heard someone yelling my name. Thinking it was one of my family members, I turn around and look for one of my siblings but instead I found a friend from camp who I haven’t seen in at least four years. My friend’s birthday is October 8^th, while mine is the 9^th. So she came down here to celebrate her 21^st birthday. She lives in California but sadly her mom has tentatively moved to Arizona to get some treatment for cancer. My friend and I have lost touch over the years but I really think it was meant to be that we would see each other that night. Please keep her family in your prayers, I know how well those work.

On a happier note, for my birthday, I got the iPhone 4! I LOVE it!! It is AMAZING!! I went through my whole contact list and added cute little pictures next to everyone’s name so when they call I see a cute little icon next to their name. I also put some of my music on it, downloaded a few games and saved a few backgrounds to try out on my phone too.

I have found out that my first blog post for Adult Congenital Heart Association will be published October 31^st. The blog post will be published at: http://www.achaheart.org/home/blog.aspx if you’d like to read it when it comes out. I am SO excited!!

College is going really well! I have either A’s or B’s in all my classes and I really like it. I was really excited because I turned in my first English paper and I got a 90% then on my first Sociology exam I got a 100%! I am so happy with how school is going!

Well not much else is new here! Thanks for checking in!

Love,

Becca