Merry Christmas!

I just want to say Merry Christmas to you all. Not that you should be reading my blog on Christmas - but just in case. I will admit that this Christmas season has not been my favorite. I might even say that it was one of the hardest.

I try to think back to our first Christmas with her. That was a hard time, too. We only had a nurse for a couple of weeks - and she was TERRIBLE!!!! I made myself leave Harlie with that woman so I could get some shopping done, and then regretted it when I got home. That "nurse" did not feed my teeny tiny little baby the whole time I was gone. Ugh. That was the end of that nurse. Luckily, one of the nurses who worked at Harlie's pediatrician's office felt sorry for us and started to work some nights for us so we could sleep. At that time Harlie's "room" was the living room and we were sleeping on the couch. We were so happy to have Dawn come to help us. What a difference it makes when you can actually sleep at night! But it took us two more months before we found Brandy to help us during the day. We are so lucky to have such great nurses.

My struggle with Christmas is not being able to focus. Harlie has kept me so distracted. And I've been struggling with all the emotions that her surgery has brought. Not just mine, but with everyone else's feelings, too. I hate that I couldn't dive into Christmas and all the excitement that it brings. But today is a good day. The kids had a great time opening gifts. And they are very busy playing with their new toys. It is so wonderful to see Harlie feeling so much better. She looks like she is really enjoying herself today. That is the best gift ever. They are happy and so are we.

As crazy as this month has been, a lot of wonderful people reached out to us and brought us meals. I know that they don't all read my blog, but just in case...

Thank you to Cindy R., Mary Sue M., Cheryl, Bethany G., Sarah G., Donna and Mia W. for all the wonderful food! I have a funny story about that, but will have to write about it later.

And thank you to Natalie F. for coming to visit us in the hospital.

And a very special thank you goes to the Heart Institute at Children's National Medical Center for their Holiday Cheer program. What a great group of people. I feel so lucky that we ended up in their care. And they have the best social workers - EVER. Thanks Kristen and Heather for all you do!

And thank you to all of you who read my blog. Without your support, I'd be a crumpled mess by now!

Merry Christmas Everyone!
Much love,
Christy