Goodbye 2012

January 2012:

Having Celia's g-tube only a few short months, we were still having A LOT of user errors, and we were feeling pretty overwhelmed. Feeding the bed, cords getting tangled  around her neck at night, middle of the night baths and bedding changes, resulted mostly sleepless nights for all.

Daddy had his double digit birthday

And....

We decided to get a HUGE boxer...... you know......because we didn't have anything else going on.

We celebrated the year of the dragon with our four beautiful girls.

FEBRUARY 2012:

We started Celia's Crew and raised $500 to raise support for Mitochondrial disease research.

We welcomed home our beautiful new niece Annaston from China.

Our youngest son turned 24.

My son and his(now) wife surprised me and came for my birthday.

And then, on February 21st, our whole world turned upside down when my brother fell down the stairs because of a seizure and was not expected to live.

I raced to his bedside and prayed and prayed that he would make it through.

Thankfully, he has made a full recovery.

March 2012:

We went to DISNEY and had a magical time. We got our "Disney G-tube feeding badge" and felt pretty smug at our accomplishments. Gianna turned 6 and Chelsea turned 23.

Celia shrieked, "Mi-eee" over and over.

Her excitement was a highlight of the trip.

Having our sweet, patient married kids along made the trip that much more special.

April 2012:

We had Easter with all the girl cousins.

Seven beautiful girls from China and one Vietnamese princesses.

We made a whirlwind trip to VA for Easter so I could do this:

Hugging my brother for the first time since I had reluctantly left his hospital bed after a week-long vigil where he had still not woken up.

What a gift to see him home.

Friends and Family came to show their love and support with the first ever 

"Celia's Crew"

May 2012:

Gianna had her last surgery at Shriner's Hospital in Philly, and was quite a celebrity on the plane.

And,she ate her last post-op philly cheesesteak.

Just one week later the girls had their very first ballet recital.

And the twins got cuter if that is even possible.

June 2012:

Aria turned 8 years old with a Mother/Daughter Tea.

And we surprised THE BEST Daddy in the world with a weekend at our favorite beach.

He had his toes in the sand on Father's Day.

And we got our "G-tube on the beach" badge as well.

July 2012:

I got crafty with my girls. 

We started our new school year with Aria in the 4th grade and Gianna in 1st.

We started a summer of Cousin Camps which gave us ALL special things to look forward to.

AND....

Most importantly, our son asked the love of his life to be his bride.

We rushed to VA to be a part of the magical engagement weekend.

August 2012:

We found out we had mice and a SNAKE in our basement, which may have been one of our lower moments of the year.

Justin turned 26.

Our beautiful girl took up the violin.

And all the sister's excitedly captured the moment when.....

CELIA GOT HER NEW BED!!

Custom made around a hospital bed 

from precious friends who left just days later to live in Asia for 2 years.

Blessed.

Wedding plans were in full swing and we couldn't wait to celebrate with a week-long trip to the beach.

September 2012:

The wedding week.

Cousins having fun.

And Aria went from a terrified girl in a ring, to a full blown swimmer courtesy of her brother.

He can get her to do things that no one else can.

Rehearsal Dinner.

Excited flower girls.

Man and wife.

They started their new adventure as husband and wife in a new state.

And then we came home to celebrate the twins 4th birthday.

October 2012:

Regina turned 25.

Make a Wish plans are in full swing for Celia.

She got her new eye gaze computer.

And spent 3 days in the hospital for an extended EEG.

We made lots of fun fall memories.

November 2012:

Celia got her pulse-ox and oxygen. I thought it was over kill and she wouldn't really need it.

Gianna had surgery number 9 and started "Team Awesome" with her first ever local surgery.

And we went away to the mountains for Thanksgiving with Grandma, Grandpa, big brother and his wife, and Aunt Amy, Uncle Mike and the cousins.

And then we began December with oxygen, pulse ox monitoring and such.

I think we earned a few more badges along the way.

So many precious memories in 2012.

So many highs.

Several lows.

Incredibly blessed with our 8 children.

Thankful for Grace that comes from God alone.

Blessed with a man who loves his family and his wife unconditionally.

Grateful for precious friends and family.

Bring it 2013.

With GOD'S grace,

We're ready for ya'.