Anika's Very Healthy Heart

Yesterday we had our annual check-up with the Pediatric Cardiologist (heart doctor). I started this blog with the title, Anika's very healthy heart because I didn't want anyone to misunderstand the nature of our visit with Dr. Spangler. Nothing to worry about... just a very interesting lesson in how uniquely we are all built!

It's also amazing to me how many images you can pull up online -- I have great pictures of what Dr. Spangler showed me -- to illustrate why Anika's heart is a little different that the average heart. Dr. Spangler called it a "variation of normal."

This is a graphic of an average, normal heart. You cannot see the aortic valve (the part on Anika that is different than the average) because it is in the center of the heart. You can see the large red tubes above and below the heart that are the aorta (descending and arch). These send blood out to the body.

This is a cross-section view of the aortic valve in the average human. It has 3 sections which open and close as the heart beats to allow the blood to flow through. This graphic shows a "bicuspid valve," you can see the comparison with the normal 3 sections and the variation with 2 sections.

Anika had a heart "murmur" detected when she was 18 months old. Our pediatrician's office has a cardiac specialist on staff, Dr. Spangler, who was brought over to evaluate immediately. He agreed there was a murmur, and Anika was schedule for an echo cardiogram (like an ultra sound of her heart). Since she was so young (little!) it was hard for them to see exactly what was going on... but he did determine that the odd sound (the murmur) was coming from her aortic valve. There was a sloshing sound in her heart beat which meant there might have been some leaking in the valve. He felt she probably had a bicuspid valve -- because the 2 flaps don't close as completely as a 3 valved aortic valve -- therefore are not as efficient, and sometime allow blood to flow back. This would have been the source of the "murmur." In text book cases of bicuspid valves there are other risk factors, tightening of the valve and eventually needing surgery to replace the valve completely.

Anika did not fit any of the risk-factor symptoms, so he told us not to worry. He did want to keep a close watch on her heart as she grew, so that if any complications did come up, we would be aware of the possibilities. Anika has never shown any signs of having a stressed heart, or any other health issues outside of the occasional cold and crud.

At the appointment yesterday Dr. Spangler had another echo cardiogram done, and since Anika was older this time (5 1/2 years) they could see the valve much better. I guess when she was 18 months old the valve was so small it was hard to "read" ... now it's just about as big as the tip of a pencil eraser!! They were able to get very good pictures of the valve... which gave us a clearer diagnosis.

Anika actually does have a 3 valved aortic valve... but it's not equally divided between the 3 sections. One section is quite large, the other two, together are not as big as the 1st section. There might possibly be some fusing between the two smaller valves, but either way it is not causing problems in the function of the valve. Her aortic valve is functioning very well -- almost no leaking, and no other complicating symptoms, like tightening. He mentioned that in young children there is often occasional leaking in various valves, hers is no greater than the average child with an average heart/valve.

GREAT NEWS!!

So the last little big of news from our meeting with the doctor is that she has unusual arteries coming out of her aorta. In this picture you can see the red arteries going vertically down the heart. In the average human heart, there are two arteries coming out to feed the right and left ventricles of the heart.

Anika has 3! She has 3 separate arteries that flow out of her aorta, 2 on left(?) side, 1 on the right(or vise versa). Dr. Spangler said this is a variation of normal as well -- but certainly not a negative variation... actually a better variation. She will have a stronger, more continual flow of blood around her heart for the rest of her life!

Anika will still get to visit with Dr. Spangler about every 3 years while she is growing up. She is still in the very low risk factor category, and has no limitations physically or medically. Yeah!!

Anika did such a good job listening and cooperating at Dr. Spangler's office, he gave her the "Best Patient of the Month" award -- a cute little "gingerbread" Boyd's Bear! She was quite tickled, and hasn't let go of her bear yet!!

Anika can you spell "s-n-o-w?"

Yes!! Winter is officially here in South Dakota. We had 70+ degree days on Monday and Tuesday. Thursday morning we have awoken to 5-8 inches of snow!!

It's not just snow... it's heavy, wet, sticky snow... and 70 mile per hour winds. I guess this is officially a blizzard! The roads, perhaps, would not have been terribly dangerous... but the visibility sure is! The Interstate is closed from Wyoming to Wall. Perhaps even further by now. I heard the storm is expected on the eastern side of the state this evening.


Dirk got a call at 6 a.m. telling him to stay home. This kids only had school until 11:15 a.m., needless to say that was cancelled also. We made waffles for breakfast... with the usual topping: maple syrup, peanut butter, sliced bananas and whipped cream (in that order). The kids wanted OUT in the snow immediately. We dug out last years snow pants, and gear. (BTW Thor will need a NEW pair of snow pants ASAP!!) By the time I got Thor, Anika and Liv dressed and out the door... found my own coat and boots... Liv was ready to come back in!



After lunch and mid-day naps, we headed out into the snow again. The temps are very nice... but the wind is ferocious. Our house faces an east-north-ish direction so we have been partially blocked from some of the wind. If the kids stay right in front of the garage door, it's actually fun to play for quite a while.

Thor is actually still going strong, just over 2 hours outside now! Dirk is blowing and shoveling the drive/walks, etc. If we get a hard freeze tonight, there won't be any moving of this snow!!

You can tell from the photos, it's still coming down pretty good. It just feels gray outside, from all the blowing snow. Dirk got the sleds/toboggan out for the kids. We have sort of a ramp shape from the drifts in the front yard. Thor and Dirk discovered if they started the sleds out there, they could slide all the way across our yard, nearly across the street to the neighbors house!

Can you see the snowflakes on Liv's eyelashes?

Hollering for the moose...

I learned two things this week.

"Hollering for the moose" is Norwegian slang for spending the night pucking.

We have spent too much time hollering for the moose at our house this week.

I think we're over the hump now.


"Moose, king of the woods."

Pumpkin Spice Latte, good enough to turn your "Fall" into an "Autumn"

Thor enjoying a sunny Autumn day... playing football outside with dad.

Anika... always ready to "play model."

Liv doesn't get it... but she is cute anyway!

After getting home from the wedding I'm finding myself sinking deeper into the "pit" of not being able to get everything done each week!! And with the holidays (the REAL ones, not Halloween...) approaching, I have SO MUCH more I want to do...

If I don't make a plan, it will be a repeat of last year ... no Christmas letter, very little holiday baking, very little decorating... and worst of all ... NO LEFSE!

I really like the Family Fun website and magazine. I've gotten some very good ideas there... I'm going to share my newest inspirations, even before I use them. Maybe someone out there will help keep me accountable?

Great Idea #1: Weekly Family Menu
Actually, I've been doing this for 2 weeks now, and it really works for me. I have blank "menu" for the 3 meals each day, for 1 week. In each meal I have a color coded spot for Whole Grain (yellow); Protein (brown); Veggie (green); Fruit (red). For those of you who know me, I am NOT a detail oriented person (maybe Dirk is rubbing off on me?). I guess I need the ultra-organized shopping list.

Since Thor and Anika have started school, and taking cold lunch 4-5 times a week, if I don't plan ahead for EVERY meal, we run out of food after 3 days!! I just cannot run back to the grocery store 3 times a week... or we really will spend our whole budget on groceries every month!

I sit down on Sunday afternoons, fill in my Menu, adding thing to my grocery list as I go. It has helped reduce the amount of impulse purchases... I guess knowing what we are doing for each meal helps me be assured we won't need the optional extras?! Whatever I'm doing must be working. My last two grocery bills were each $50 less than the previous 6-8 weeks!!

Great Idea #2: Packing for a Family of 5
I know I will use this idea when we go camping next summer!! Instead of packing a duffel for each family member... laying pants, tops, undies, etc. The idea is to pack each days clothes (per person) in a plastic grocery bag, including undies and socks. Then, when you are at your destination, each person finds their handy bag, and is ready to go... for the girls, I'll probably even add the "hair pretties!"

I really like this idea for holiday trips to visit the grandparents. We usually spend our holiday time "house hopping"... and I get very tired of re-organizing clean/dirty clothes, especially if we have to go to more than 2 homes/hotels on our trip. Dirk hates having to bring in 13 bags just to stay over 1 night... I totally AGREE! This would make mid-trip reorganizing much easier!!


Great Idea #3: Family Holiday Organizer
This is posted on the Family Fun website, if anyone is interested! I LOVED the cute pre-made forms -- ready to print. Go to www.familyfun.com then, Holiday & Seasonal, then Ann's Amazing Holiday Planner!
Her basic idea is to start a 3-ring binder with divider tabs for each family holiday, birthday, etc. In each section, you can make (or use her pre-made ones) organizing forms, lists, calendars, assignment sheets, etc. She also includes a side-zip plastic pockets, so you can save "hard copies" of inspirational items or anything that won't fit in by being "hole-punched."
Not only do I love this idea for the (hopefully) organizational advantages, but also for great family memories!
I already printed out this adorable planner-page for Thanksgiving! Gets me excited already!

Bethany & Chris... the BIG DAY!!

Congratulations to Chris and Bethany Fletcher... the newest bride and groom in the Moeller extended family!
There are so many details of the weekend, I don't know if I can remember everything... but here are a few of the highlights!
- Supper Thursday night, most of the family together
- Bridal Brunch Friday morning for Bethany, Moeller girls and the bridesmaids
- Decorating the community center Friday PM
- Decorating the CAKE Friday PM
- Rehearsal Friday PM (thankfully the kids didn't have to go!)

- Hair appointments Saturday morning

- Dressing at the church, Photos in the early PM - 3:00 p.m. THE WEDDING!!
- 4:30 p.m. The Reception - a great meal, great slide show and lots of fun!
- 7:00 p.m. Start the Clean UP!!
- 10:00 p.m. Finish the clean up!! Send Bride and Groom off to the Honeymoon!

It was a wonderful, but BUSY weekend... We love Chris, and have a new appreciation for who he is after meeting his family. We love them too!! By the way, Chris and his dad look like a TWINS, not father and son??!! If you overlook the slightly greying hair...(his dad, not Chris).

I really don't have many photos at all... I'll have to wait and blog again when Wendy, the family photographer sends me her pics. She has the only one taken of our Morrison 5 all together, and dressed up for the day.

Here is the cake, finally finished and ready to be served. Unfortunately the photo does pick up the slight "squish" on the left side of lowest level of the cake. It had a slight lean, that was actually less noticeable in real life.

This was the top section, with their Monogram, CFB,
There were 5 sections to the cake, with 2 layers in each section (plus a separate small double layer Birthday cake for the mother of the groom). The cakes travelled perfectly from our house to Rosholt. Freezing was a definite help. So, other than having to have my oven repaired the DAY I wanted to start baking, the rest of the procedure was a breeze!!

Dad did the "fancy" work on the cake... I love his grapevine on the lowest level. I did the assembly, base frosting and frosting pearls between each layer. We "budgeted" about 2 hours for the assembly and decorating... obviously we have not done this in a while. Reality hit us at about the 3rd hour... but really, it was only about 3 1/2 hours from start to finish. (not the baking of course).

Last but not least, the lovely bride and groom. This isn't the best picture of Bethany, but it does show off her dress neckline, and gorgeous bouquet! LOVE those roses!!

Fall Colors at Roughlock

We spent a perfect fall Sunday afternoon touring the Hills to see the fall colors. We were actually surprised to see 50% still green?! Must have been the unusually wet summer? Many aspen trees had turned a lovely shade of yellow... there were many lovely reds in the bushes and vines... and of course the evergreen Spruce and pine. The area around Roughlock Falls was even nicer than previous years, having been added as an official SD State Park. A lot of money was spent improving the walking areas... increasing the viewing areas of the falls, but also protecting the natural area by creating walkways.

The following pictures speak for themselves!!
A small branch of scrub oak... some of the few orange-red colors out so far.

Looking down over the "big" waterfall area.

Daddy and Liv looking down at the creek. She mostly wanted to climb up the railing... not sure where she thought she would go after that??

Looking down into the canyon, the photo barely picks up the large moss covered boulders at the bottom. I remember wading through this water fall in August one year (1995??)... it was freezing then! Imagine how cold it would be now!

Anika was warm enough as long as she kept moving!
These red bushes were really lovely, and many had small white berries on them. Does anyone know the variety?

Looking up at the water fall from a lower area.
Grandpa had to help keep track of Liv... she was pretty busy wanting to get to the water!
This caterpillar was eating away... he'd better hurry if he wants to have wings before the frost arrives!

Anika said...

Hunter was goofing around with Anika and Thor on the ride home and said,
"Don't mess with me boy, I know karate."

Anika replied,
"Don't mess with ME boy, I know ballet!"


At school, eating lunch:
"I love Kyle. Kyle loves me. So we are going to get married."
Mom's eyebrows raise up.
"Well, not NOW, when we grow up."
What it it with being obsessed with getting married??