What we've learned

First off, thank you to all of your sweet comments, emails, texts, calls, Facebook messages, and tweets!  It is so nice to be able to share our good news and talk about it with everyone.

If there is one thing we can take away from this experience, I would say first of all we need to realize that this can happen to ANYBODY.  In fact, it is happening to a lot of people right now.  We are not invincible.  I used to have that naive attitude that nothing like that could or would happen to me.  Well, let's just say I have been given a HUGE wake up call!  Whether it is a job, or our health, or a relationship, or whatever.  None of us are safe.  Just watch the news!

Secondly, we always need to be prepared for any type of emergency.  I have been told this countless times by family, and once again...I never thought I would be in this type of situation.  But now I know!  I will never turn my head to that type of advice again.  LISTEN to your parents and grandparents people!  They know what they are talking about!

I think most of all, I have learned to appreciate what I have more than ever before.  Yes, we live in a small older home.  But it is ours, and Ellie has her own room and a playroom full of toys and clothes and she knows no different.  We may be bursting at the seams and we would LOVE to move eventually, but for right now we have cool air, cable TV and plenty of food in the fridge.

I have also learned to appreciate Don through this soooo much more.  He probably struggled through this more than I realized, but he stayed strong for us and came through when we had almost given up.  Our marriage is 100 times stronger than it was six months ago.  I love that!

I promise this is my last sappy, emotional post.  I just had to get that out!  I promise to get back to taking silly pictures of our wild girl and get her 18 months post up!