A year older, am I any wiser????

Friday was my 37th birthday.  I always loved having my birthday be 11/11 and this year with it being 11/11/11, I was super siked.  My mom loves to tell the story that I was 12 before I realized the whole world didn't take off just because of MY birthday:).  I was so excited I even got a lottery ticket at 11:11 am.  Much to my dismay, I did not win.  Oh well, what do you expect;).  I have many friends who are doing alot of reflecting lately for various reasons.  I thought this would be a good week to do a little reflecting myself.  In this last year, my family came from Florida for the holidays, I had a virtual New years toast with my two best friends hoping to welcome in an amazing 2011.  3 days later I was in Little Rock with my oldest daughter being admitted into the children's hospital for the most amazing and most difficult journey we've ever had.  January 25th she received the greatest gift that I could not give her and recovered as she has from everything she's ever undergone in her life, with lightening speed; grace; patience like I've never seen and continues to thrive each and every day.  Then, I learned how to adapt and become an expert on all things celiac and gluten free.  I started this blog and have kept everyone up to date on our lives and helped families with their new diagnosis.  I have written two articles for a local magazine about the one thing I am most passionate about, my children.  I have also lost an amazing friend to breast cancer that left us far too soon.  Have been privelaged enough to travel some throughout this year, back home and to New York. I have had friends and family help me in ways I could never express enough gratitude.  There are things that I endured that I never thought I'd have strength to face and then realized I was never alone in any of it.  I have the most amazing family (dysfunctional as they are) and friends (sometimes more dysfunctional than my fam;)) who have made this last year, when it could have been the worst of my life, the best.  I am so privelaged that each and every one of my children-chose me to be their mom.  Lana's check up last week was great.  She had one small med adjustment but otherwise is as perfect as she could be.  We don't have to go back until January when they will celebrate and do her one year post-transplant check up and biopsy.  Shelby has blossomed into such an amazing young woman, has her first boyfriend and is holding down an unquestionably difficult schedule of AP classes and gymnastics.  She starts her competition season this weekend in Memphis and has started looking at colleges.  Penn State is her top school for architectural engineering and gymnastics as it stands right now.  Noah has become quite the young man who is so comical in everything he says and is so smart.  He was in hip hop class and I think will start football, maybe martial arts and gymnastics next year.  And then there is my baby angel, Isabelle.  I cannot believe how big she has gotten in this last year.  She has had her dental surgery from all the celiac nutrition definciancy, handled starting preschool amazingly and will have her echo and imuune blood testing on Friday.  She is thriving and loves to ask people when they are handing her food, " Is that Gwuten fwee?"  I am now excited to see what this next year holds for my life.  I guess if you look back on all that has gone one, I would say I am definately one year wiser for all the experiences that have happened this year.  Thank you to my family, especially my mom and dad and two of my sisters, Justine and Sam, who were able to help this year so much.  Thank you to my whole family and all of my friends for praying, making this year so special and always being there.  Thank you most of all for all the wonderful birthday wishes. 

I'll leave you with the funniest thing Noah said to me today.  We were taking Izzy to ballet and he was grumpy.  He said to me from the back seat," Mom, I'm going on vacation!" I said, " Well me too!"  Izzy pipes in with, " Me three" and Noah says, "No mom, you're 37"....Lord that sounds old:)