Reflecting on October

It's the end of October and I can't help but think back on the last few weeks that we've had. So much happened this month, both good and bad. I keep seeing things around the house that are little reminders of our activities, so I thought I'd do a post reflecting back on the month.

NiteFlite VIP passes - Months of hard work for Matt paid off. He was the chairman of NiteFlite for Scottsdale 20/30 this year and the event raised $235,000. All of the money that the club raises goes directly to local children charities. He, and all of the guys in the club, did a great job and the event was a success! I just wish that both he and I could have been there to see it all.

Red wrist bands - I kept the last wrist band from the hospital and it sits in the jewelry box on my bathroom sink. I know I won't keep it there forever but when I see it I'm reminded that we are so lucky to be at home.

Radio Flyer wagon - The weather has finally gotten nicer here and we've been really enjoying our nightly family walks through the neighborhood.

Facebook and Email - The other day I was telling someone that I would NEVER wish on anyone, even my worst enemy, the feelings of fear, sadness, anger, and helplessness that Matt and I felt with Anabelle in the hospital. But, it would be amazing if everyone could feel the amount of love, support, and compassion that we felt from our family and friends. We got so many wonderful emails, messages, phone calls, and visits from so many people. I think that one of the reasons that we were able to stay strong was because we continued to get such positive messages from so many people.

Pumpkins - We carved our Halloween pumpkins last night. Uncle Ash came over and carved his pumpkin too. We got our pumpkins during a fun trip to MacDonald's Ranch with Grandma Sarah last weekend. She was here for a few days and it was really nice to see her and spend time with her.

Party Dress - The day before we took Anabelle to the hospital my mom and I went to the mall to find a party dress. I needed a dress to wear to NiteFlite and to Eric and Theresa's wedding and I found two that I really liked. Those two dresses are still hanging up in my closet in their protective plastic. I plan to take them back to the mall this week for a full refund because I hope that by the next time I need a party dress I will have lost a little of this baby weight and won't fit into those. (Yes, I'm trying to look at the bright side of having to return those beautiful dresses)

Anabelle's Blanket - Oma made a hand-sewn blanket for Anabelle. It's such a beautiful blanket and it's so cozy. She put so much time into it (working on it at night while we watched Glee, at the hospital while she was keeping me company, and late into the night). I plan to make sure that Anabelle knows how much time and LOVE went into that blanket.

PopTarts - I started back to work this week and I like to take a PopTart to work with me. It's been good to get back into a routine but hard to believe that it's already time to be working again. I feel like my time off with Ellie went by way too quickly and it makes me sad that so much of that time was spent at the hospital. But, we still got in some great bonding time which was the whole reason I took off those first 5 weeks. I get to work from home most of the time and I can take Ellie into the office with me so it's been a good transition back into it.

Medicine Syringes - We must have 50 syringes in our house. The hospital gave us a big bag of them and it's been helpful to have extras. But, because we have so many of them, I find them all over the house. Some in Anabelle's room, some in our room, in the kitchen sink, on top of the refrigerator, and as I type this there is one balancing on my phone that's sitting on the couch. It's been a little bit of an adjustment getting used to giving Anabelle medicine every eight hours but we have a pretty good system set up to make sure that we don't forget.

In a lot of ways October really was a great month in our family. We have a lot to be thankful for. We are so grateful that Anabelle's heart condition is treatable with medication (and that medication is the preferred method for WPW). We are surrounded by wonderful people that love us and love our kiddos. And, Matt and I are grateful for each other and we're so happy that we have each others support.

So November, we're ready for you! Bring it on...