Happy Thanksgiving!

As I think back to last year and how far we have come, I realize that our family has so much to be thankful for. Having children really make you realize it, especially a child that has been in the hospital for almost half his life. Obviously I am thankful for my children and for Wyatt's health. But as we continued with the tradition of going around the table during dinner to say what we are thankful for, my eyes filled with happy tears and this is what I said.... I said that one year ago, my daughter Chloe did not know her little brother Wyatt, even though he was about 6 weeks old. One year ago, holidays were just average days of going to the hospital. We spent Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and this past Labor Day in the hospital. What am I thankful for?... I am thankful for watching my children play together, interact together, and most importantly to see the love between them grow and grow. I am thankful to watch Wyatt become such a neat little boy who fought the hardest fight ever for his life. I am thankful for my little girl who is growing to become the sweetest, nicest little girl ever. I am thankful for our wonderful family who show their love and support for us everyday. I am thankful for our friends that support us so much and for the friends that I made within this past year because of Wyatt. I am thankful for our excellent medical care for Wyatt and for his doctors and nurses. Last Thanksgiving was unknown... we spent most of the time in the hospital (Wyatt was in the NICU at the time)and the rest of the time with Chloe. Our house became a hotel where Benji and I were like two passing ships. It was a place where we slept and showered and that was it. Chloe was either with one of us, Lori our ex-nanny:((, or my parents. Tonight was different, our house became a home filled with love, laughter, and a yummy dinner.

This year we got to stay home all day long and celebrate the holiday!!! So exciting not to go anywhere. Our first holiday in over a year of just staying home. It was a wonderful and day full of family fun! Benji's sister Tori and her husband Dani are visiting from Kentucky. My parent's and grandmother also came for dinner, and my sister Danielle, and her husband Gino came for dessert. In the morning we watched the Macy's Day Parade and Chloe was very excited to see Santa on TV. Benji cooked all the food all day and it was delicious! After dinner we just had family time in the family room. My father watched football and took little cat naps, Danielle designed my Christmas cards on the computer, Gino took lots of pictures with his nifty camera, my mom helped clean up, my grandmother rested, Tori read a book, Dani watched football, Duncan and Abby (the dogs) begged for leftover turkey.... all in the same room and I just observed everything and soaked it in. Chloe had a great time playing with everyone, running around, and acting goofy. Wyatt loved all the attention, and then fell asleep in my mom's arms during all the chaos. It was a magically evening full of family, love, and fun... I couldn't be happier:))) except... we don't have a night nurse for four days so I stayed up last night and I am doing it again tonight!!! But I am his Mom and I don't mind one bit! The pictures are from the entire day and last night. Last night when Tori and Dani arrived we had a sushi dinner and Chloe enjoyed putting tiny pumpkins on every one's heads, today Chloe enjoyed helping her Daddy cook dinner, and then you will see random pictures of the family in the family room after dinner. If you have time or want to, you may want to scroll throw last November's blog entries to see how far Wyatt has come! Finally I like to say thank you to my Aunt Laima and Uncle Tom for the beautiful flower arrangement. What a pleasant surprise! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com