Monday, October 29, 2012

Two More Days til Halloween!

Howdy, Pardner!

What is this thing on my head?

Monday, October 22, 2012

Nine More Days til Halloween!

The countdown continues...starring Annabel as:  The Stinky Pirate!  The second pic is our favorite.  :)

Arrrr, matey!

Shiver me timbers!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

The Two Annabels!

Annabel Leigh meets Annabel Grace!

Annabel had a very special visitor a few weeks ago...a beautiful little girl named Annabel Grace.  Like our Annabel, Annabel Grace has Full Trisomy 18.  She is now seven years old and she is truly amazing!

Before we were blessed with our Annabel, we were unaware of Trisomy 18.  Of course it was a complete shock to receive the news that our newborn baby was 'incompatible with life'.  So we brought Annabel home with us on Hospice and we made plans to love her and enjoy every precious moment until she was gone.  As a mother, that is really all that I could do at the time; I was unable to read and research Trisomy 18 or reach out to other parents, etc.  My mind was consumed with the daily care of Annabel while my heart was so full of love yet it felt broken, too.  Thankfully, my husband Jorge (ever the stubborn and resourceful man) set out to find out anything and everything regarding Trisomy 18 to help us in our journey.  He somehow found Annabel Grace's blog and after reading it we were filled with so much hope!  He even contacted Annabel Grace's mother Cathy a few times when we needed some general help and information.

So this meeting of the two Annabels was particularly special for us!  We visited and let the girls play with each other and though the visit was far too short, we had a lovely time!  Please enjoy the pics below of Annabel Grace with our Annabel Leigh.  And as usual, Ava had to join in and get in the photos, too!  Thank you to Annabel Grace's nurse for taking the pictures for us!

From left to right:  Cathy, Annabel Leigh (Stinky), Annabel Grace, Ava, Carrie

Stinky was all about touching Annabel Grace!


Stinky, touching again!

And who is that scary skelebones in the background?