In the hospital or at home, the holidays will forever be in our hearts.

As you know, Rowan spent Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and the better part of New Year's Day all in Pedi ICU in San Antonio.  We made the most of the situation, as usual.  Santa still found Rowan on Christmas Eve, and filled his room with Christmas presents.  Brian, Zoe and Ian came up to visit 3 days in a row, in an attempt to celebrate Christmas with Rowan and I.  Unfortunately though, he didn't feel well enough to even wake up most of those days.  We finally made the decision as a family, to have Brian take Rowan's presents home and put them under our Christmas tree there.  We promised each other that we would celebrate all 4 holidays (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, New Years Day) once Rowan was discharged and we were all back home together again. We did just that...and it was fabulous!  Here are some pictures of those recent holidays...first in the hospital, and then again, at home.  As I said, we did the best we could.  As you look at the photos, I think you'll agree...we definitely made memories:)

Christmas in the hospital:

New Year's Eve in the hospital:

(We wrote down our resolutions with a couple of Rowan's nurses just before midnight:)

And here he is New Year's Day getting ready to go home...at last.

At home:

(Since we got home late in the afternoon on New Year's Day, we decided to have all 4 celebrations within a 24 hour period, but out of order.) 

First, we started with a New Years Day feast:

     Second, after it got dark, we had a New Year's Eve Countdown complete with decorations, noisemakers, firecrackers...and bubble wrap:

Third, after the NYE countdown, it was Christmas Eve:

Fourth, and final, we went to bed and woke up to celebrate Christmas morning:

It wasn't ideal, it wasn't perfect, and it certainly wasn't a Norman Rockwell Christmas.  For instance, Rowan had a hard time recovering and coming off of all of the steroids for the first few days home.

And I came home to both the washer and the dryer broken, so I spent all day Sunday at the laundromat doing 11 loads of clothes, towels and blankets.

But you know what I came home to afterwards?  This... 

...so it made everything right again...the family together, at home, with Rowan .  Holidays or any days...those are moments we treasure most.

  ...and waking up to this beautiful boy asleep in his own bed the past few days...priceless!