What We're Up To

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Shower Time

Last weekend my mom hosted a baby shower for my sister-in-law Anna. I was in charge of bringing the cookies. Anna found owl cookies on-line that she thought were really cute. (The baby's room will be decorated in pink and orange owls). I tried to make similar ones. The cookies were sugar cookies, with powdered sugar icing, buttercream fondant owls, candy eyes, and fondant leaves.

I had a great time working on the baby's gifts. I made her a baby blanket. Over Christmas break, my sister-in-law Julie showed me a pattern, which happens to be the same pattern of Liam's blanket. I think it turned out really cute. I have officially become addicted to crocheting!

It was so much fun to put together a girly gift basket. I found a onesie that says, "My Auntie loves me," one of our favorite board books, I Love You Because You're You, and I made a scrapbook. I scrapbooked ultrasound pictures of the baby. I also had family members (extended as well) write a letter to baby Hart and put them all together with a pink and orange owl theme.

Now, we just need to wait patiently for the little girl to arrive. I can't wait to snuggle my newest niece!

Christmas Letter 2011

December 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power... to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 

Ephesians 3:17-19

           We pray that you are enjoying this Christmas season, resting in the comfort of God's grace, and celebrating the gifts that only God can give.

            This year has been filled with many new adventures, as only life with an active little boy can.  We began the year with a baby and now have a very creative, smart, and active little boy.  Liam has indeed become the center of activity in our home, and we are so blessed that he is our son.  Almost every day, Liam adds a new word to his vocabulary, which means we must be selective with what we say.  Liam loves to help mommy with all her chores and especially loves to cook in the kitchen.  Bath-time continues to be one of his favorite activities.  He would stay in the water all day if we let him.  He has become quite good at rearranging things around the house and hiding things.  He loves to play with daddy and runs to the door to greet him when he comes home from work.  He is sweet and gentle with Daisy and tolerates her kisses.  We are so proud of all his accomplishments.  His cheerful disposition is contagious and he leaves an imprint on the lives of everyone he meets.  God has great plans for Liam and we are excited to see what those are.

            Dave continues to work with Thrivent Financial and enjoys what he does.  He started the year by settling into a new office, which has been a great blessing.  He touches so many lives, not just by helping people plan for the future, but by genuinely caring for all his clients and viewing his profession as a ministry.  Tiffany started the year by helping with choreography for Concordia High School’s production of “West Side Story.”  She also substitute taught in first and third grade classes for teachers who went on maternity leave.  It was good to teach again, but made her realize she is not meant to work full-time right now.  She is blessed with a part-time job this school year as a Special Education teacher at two Lutheran Schools.  She is hired through Lutheran Special Education Ministries and teaches two mornings at Suburban Bethlehem and two afternoons as Ascension Lutheran.  Tiffany loves being able to stay home with Liam the majority of the week and still teach.  She is also finishing up her Masters in Special Education and is set to graduate in June 2012.  She is in the middle of writing her thesis/special project.  The whole family will be grateful when she is done with classes!

            We made many family memories this year.  When Dave turned 30 in March we celebrated with an 80’s themed surprise party.  We also spent a weekend in Chicago, and left Liam overnight for the first time.  Liam was in good hands with his Uncle Rick and Aunt Anna.  In addition to numerous trips to the park and zoo, we took a family vacation with Tiffany’s family to Branson, Missouri in June.  Liam was great on our road trip.  Some of the highlights were “Noah’s Ark” the musical, a dinner cruise, a couple’s massage, plenty of time in the pool, and the children’s museum in Saint Louis.  In November, Tiffany joined the 30 club and we celebrated with a weekend away to a spa in Detroit.  Liam stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Kusch and was spoiled, of course.  Even the ordinary, daily routines are an adventure for us.  Liam adds such enthusiasm and joy to everything we do.

            We look forward to all the ways that God will use our family in 2012 and anticipate the new adventures He sends our way.  We are currently on a waiting list to adopt again.  We trust that God’s timing and plan are perfect and He will bless us with another child when the time is right.

            We wish you a very merry Christmas and happy New Year. 

With Love,

David, Tiffany & Liam Herman

Christmas Photo Shoot Outtakes

Over Thanksgiving my sister-in-law took our annual family picture for our Christmas cards.  Here are the outtakes.  They are a great demonstration of what life is like right now with a busy boy.

Craft Time

Now that Liam is coloring more often, we have more crayon bits lying around.  I decided that it was time to recycle those crayons and use them again.  Liam and I started by taking all the wrappers off the crayons.  Then, we sorted all the crayons by color and put them in my chocolate form (farm animals).  We put them in the oven at 250* for about 20 minutes and voila - we had animal shaped crayons.  Once they cooled and hardened we plopped them out and began to use them.  This was a fun project and was a great activity for Liam to practice sorting and working on color names.

Liam's First Haircut

Today Liam got his first "official" big boy hair cut.  He sat on Dave's lap and sat pretty still, considering he is a very active little boy.  This milestone is bitter-sweet (as most moms know).  It is a rite of passage from baby to big boy and one that I was excited and sad about all at once. My little man is growing up so fast.

The finished product.  What a handsome little man!

Liam's Heart

At Liam's 18 month check-up Dr. Bollier, Liam's pediatrician, found that Liam has a heart murmur.  This murmur hadn't been detected before.  Dr. Bollier asked that we take Liam to the hospital to get an echocardiogram.  The echocardiogram showed that Liam has three areas of concern in his heart.

The first area is a hole between the two upper chambers of his heart.  Every baby is born with this hole and it usually closes by the time babies turn 1.  In Liam's case, it hasn't closed yet.  If it hasn't closed by the time he is 4 years old, then there will be cause for concern.  However, it should fix itself in the next two years.  

The second area of concern is his left ventricle valve.  The valve should have three parts.  Liam has two parts that are fused together, which is creating some leakage.  Right now, it is flowing pretty well and isn't causing too much strain on his heart.

The third area of concern is in his main artery that leads to the top of the heart.  His aorta is narrowed, which is decreasing blood flow.  This is called coarctation of aorta.

Today, we visited a pediatric cardiologist.  After another echocardiogram and EKG, the cardiologist explained Liam's results and what needs to be done from here.  The good news is that there was no change between echocardiograms, which leads the cardiologist to believe that Liam's condition is not getting worse.  It also does not appear that there is a great deal of strain on Liam's heart.  He does not show signs of having heart problems.  However, this condition (coarctation of aorta) is not something that will go away on its own.  The doctor said we should have a decade or two before surgery may be necessary.  We will go back in two months to make sure that things are staying stable.  As long as things stay stable, Liam should be able to remain active and "normal."  The worst case scenario is that Liam will have to have surgery to open the artery and replace the valve.  We will probably visit the cardiologist every 6 months through Liam's childhood.  It is suggested that Liam not play high impact sports, such as football or hockey, but other sports should be just fine.  We have signs to look for while he plays, but have been encouraged that as long as things remain stable, Liam should continue to be the busy boy he is.

Liam has been a trouper through all of this.  He has charmed his way into the hearts of every nurse and receptionist he has met.  Liam's cardiologist was especially smitten with Liam.  When he asked for Liam's medical history, we explained that he was adopted.  He paused and said, "Thank you, and God bless you.  It is obvious to me that God gave you this child because you are exactly the right parents for this boy and he is the right boy for you.  It is evident that God will use you to bless him and he will bless so many people."  We of course have always known that Liam is meant for greatness.  He has an undeniable spark (which we believe is the Holy Spirit within him).  This journey in his life is building him into the man of God that he will become.  We may never know how many people are impacted through this.  I have learned that once again, I have no control.  I need to trust that God is God and that this boy has been entrusted to me, but he belongs to the Lord.  I was so touched at the witness Liam gave today, just by being himself.  He truly is my miracle and I am thankful for him every minute of every day.