Welcome! I am Michelle, wife and mommy of 4! I am a stay at home/work at home mom. I can hardly believe we are a family of six! We also have a crazy lab named Marley and somedays I do feel like I'm living with the same dog from the movie Marley and Me. I am a children and family lifestyle photographer but have taken a break from it recently. I also became a heart mom in 2008 after having my third baby diagnosed with a Congenital Heart Defect {CHD}.
When we learned about our babies diagnosis my life shattered. I devoted myself to learning all about CHD. Read days worth of medical journals, internet sites and looked for real life stories. I was on a new road with a high learning curve and unknown destination. I learned, feared, cried, hoped and prayed a lot! I created The Heart Mom Chronicles to to help and connect with other heart families along this same road.
It's been a long journey full of exhilarating high's and abysmal low's. My daughter has endured three {open} heart surgeries up to this point. In the process I've learned so much and met many wonderful and inspiring children and families and also many highly skilled and devoted medical professionals.
As a photographer, one of my favorite quotes was:
'Do not wait for a rare and perfect tomorrow for tomorrow may never come ... we must record today - this beautiful ‘normal day’ before it’s gone.'
Our journey with CHD has impressed upon me the importance of these words even more. With CHD as I imagine with all other life threatening conditions you must adjust to losing control. You learn even more so to live by faith and enjoy the beauty and blessing of each day.
I find it ironic that what use to be my favorite quote:
"Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return." ~Mary Jean
It is still a favorite but I can see how I've grown since then as now I feel like the moment we received our daughter's diagnosis my world changed and my 'normal' life was shattered to pieces and lost forever. I know however, I have been lifted from those shattered pieces into a stronger vessel. I now feel the following quote applies better to my life:
"When you come to the edge of all the light you know and are about to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things will happen. There will be solid ground to stand on or you will be taught to fly." -Author Unknown
I have been taught to fly, we have a new normal and we went from a normal and ordinary life to an extraordinary life!
Again, I welcome you to my journey and I hope you enjoy your visits here.
