Cherished Visit Today

Gabriel's face was full of gleeful expressions as his cousins came to visit him in the hospital. Mike and I were happy we made the decision to invite his cousins rather than deterring them any longer based on his inability to fight infections. His happiness is the most important and we needed to see his brilliant smile light up the room. They played cars, which Uncle Todd and Noah captivated him for a while. Madelyn, Cassidy, Mackenzie and Noah made Gabriel some wonderful drawings for his "bedroom" (Gabriel's term for his room in the hospital). His room has been decorated as a replica to his own bedroom at home. He has his planet comforter, pillow sham and a poster of the planets. We have been decorating his walls with many cheerful pictures of his friends and family. We describe our accommodations as our "bachelor pad" made for our family. It is not home, but we are happy that we are able to be together as a family. You realize when confronted with such turmoil that all that really matters to me is having my husband and my two children with me. Nothing else truly matters! Today was a good day and we thank Uncle Todd, Aunt Tina and Madelyn, Cassidy, Mackenzie and Noah for making our son smile and laugh. Most importantly, we thank you for giving him the opportunity to be a child and play as he only should at this stage in his life. We love you all!

Gabriel wants to thank Matthew too for the balloons and his webkinz. He was so gracious to talk on the phone today with Gabriel. They are too cute together! Thanks Jen for dropping the balloons off for Gabriel. Skinner family, you are very dear to us! I would like to express our thanks to Ben and Tina for coming to see us at the hospital to be supportive. Thank you to Mark for coming by to see my husband as he certainly needs a chance to escape reality of the hospital environment. Sorry, you missed him.

Until next time...