Birthday Boy

On April 5 Samuel turned 5 years old! It's crazy to me because I can so clearly remember the day he was born. It was cold and sunny and I remember looking out the window in our labor and delievery room at Spectrum Hospital at around 11:00 a.m. on Monday, April 5, 2004and feeling so anxious and fearful about what was to come. There were so many unknowns at that time...would Sam have to have surgery on his heart immediately after birth? would I get to hold him? would he be a normal little boy? And now 5 years later, all of those fears and worries are gone. God has watched over our little miracle boy and carried us and him through 2 open heart surgeries and 2 heart cathedar procedures. Those sure were some scary times for us, but it has made us love him more deeply and treasure his health and boundless energy with more appreciation and gratefulness for how good God has been. Samuel basically only functions with 1/2 a heart, but you can't tell! He is ALL BOY! He loves to run and jump and climb and get dirty and wrestle with his daddy. Praise God from whom all blesings flow! Samuel certainly is a special blessing to us.

Here are some pictures from his 5th birthday party...
Sam requested a Spiderman cake this year. Usually I just buy them from Walmart, but this year I attempted my own cake! Thanks mom for help with the baking (she taught me how to make Great-Grandma Kleinheksel's beloved pudding filing and homemade buttercream frosting). I did the decorating myself and I think it turned out pretty sweet!

Giving Grandpa Rudy a hug.

Lovin' on Grandma Judy

All fired up about the Spiderman car and action figure with Cousin Mya helping to inspect.

Taking off the blindfold to see what daddy has been building in the garage....a trampoline! His reaction was very anti-climatic. I was hoping for lots of screaming and jumping around, but instead all we got was a little smile! I think he was unsure as to what is was at first plus he's not a big fan of large crowds staring at him, so he just kind of stood there. But once he got to try it out...then the fun began!

Yahoo!

Bouncing with Mya

Here comes the cake!

Happy Birthday buddy! We love you so much!