Happy New Year

2010 has started off really well.  Everyone has been doing really well and we have been spending time with our families.  We have a lot to be thankful for and the dawning of the new year brings it all into perspective.  It is amazing what we went through last year and we have met a lot of new friends and learned so much about the heart.  I usually try to think of at least one memorable moment from the prior year, but 2009 brought so many moments it is hard to pick just one.  I will share a few memorable moments here and you can see that we have had many highs and lows in 2009, but we made it and our lives our changed because of 2009:

Happiest Moments

Finding out I was pregnant was one of the happiest moments last year.  It was such a surprise and unexpected, but we were so happy and knew that our lives would be blessed.
Finding out we were having a girl.  We have two boys and were told that Hope would be a girl too at an early ultrasound.  When we found out she was a girl, we were ecstatic.  As many of you know, Hope is a name we picked out long before we found out she would have heart problems...it just makes her name that much more significant.
The birth of Hope was a miraculous moment and our families were all there to celebrate with us and be involved in her christening.  It was a profound moment in my life that I will never forget.  I still remember every minute of that day.
The day we found out Dr. Mavroudis would perform the Norwood for us.  After the devastating news from Akron Children's Hospital, just hearing the words that he would take the chance was amazing.
The day of Hope's surgery...this is both a happy and scary moment, but looking back it seems more happy. 
The day Hope came home from the hospital was another amazing day in our lives.  We were worried about bringing her home, but it has been the best for her and our family.

Scariest Moments

I will always remember when we heard the news that Hope had Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.  It was unreal and we really didn't understand what it meant.  Even after a picture and hearing all about it, we still didn't truly understand what it meant.
Hearing the words  'you should take your baby home (to die) because we don't think she will survive open heart surgery' is something I will never forget...I remember it too well somedays and I can't imagine ever hearing those words again.
Seeing Hope being wheeled down the hall on her way to surgery and then waiting for hours (although having my family there made everything a lot better).  I can't describe the feelings I had on that day and wish nobody ever had to go through that with their child.

Looking back over the year, I am really glad that I have more happy moments.  The scary moments were scarier than anything I have ever been through in my life, but the happy times made up for it in so many ways.

I hope everyone has a happy and healthy New Year!