READ THIS!!!

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio .

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and
parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16.. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't
save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will
this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd
grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Kiss your baby... RIGHT NOW!

I have told many people about this beautiful little girl... Gabriella... her pediatrician and my babies' pediatrician are the same... Gabriella's Grandma is also my pediatrician's Triage Nurse and a Very Dear Friend of Mine... when I heard about Gabriella going to Dr. Jones for her 4 year old well check up and him recommending she go see a heart specialist and within weeks finding out that she needed a heart transplant... it rocked my world! I have followed this family on this journey for the past year. The miracle is that Gabriella did recently receive a heart transplant and is doing wonderful... but this is Gabriella's mother describing Lillian's story... Gabriella's angel!

The website is www.Gabriellasheart.com

I want you to meet Abbie. She was born March 18, 2007 in Washington state to a loving mom and dad, Angie & Kurt, the same age as Paul and I. She was born the little sister to Lillian, who turned 6 in June. She was a little spitfire with an infectious personality that everyone loved. Advanced in her development, empathetic and loving... she was also the boss. She had aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents and friends that all loved her and were blessed by her time on earth. She loved pink and purple, dancing, Disney princesses and anything sparkly. As much as she was girly, she also loved bugs and the outdoors and was a dare devil! Abbie was excited to start school one day and wanted to be a doctor when she grew up. She loved others so much that she wanted to help people in need. Abbie was more precious than can be summarized in a paragraph.

Three months ago today, on May 15, 2010, Abbie made an unexpected entrance into heaven. While playing at the neighbor's house on Friday the 14, she endured trauma to her delicate skull when a play structure collapsed on her. She was rushed to the hospital, but after a day on life support with no brain activity, her parents made the painstaking decision to let her go and be free of pain and donate her organs.

Abbie may not have become a doctor, but she saved a one year old child with her kidneys, an adult with her liver, her beautiful eyes went to the eye bank to give someone sight and her heart to our beloved Gabriella. She will forever live on through the lives she touched.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I have known about Abbie for some time, but have attempted to keep her information confidential for the sake of the grieving process for her family. I spoke with her mom about sharing her story, to which she gave me the ok to do. As I mentioned on my blog previously, I went about contacting Gabriella's donor family by sending my (9 page) letter to the procurement agency for review and forwarding around soon after Memorial Day. Abbie's mom accepted the letter right away and wrote back almost immediately. But it takes time for the procurement agency to send letters back and forth, so Abbie's mom reached out to me through email before I received her letter just to introduce herself and begin personal communication. When I got her letter, I wept reading the details of Abbie's accident. She shared with me in personal detail everything that happened. I have been grieving the loss of Abbie since Gabriella's transplant. I have felt a connection to her and her family since I saw Gabriella with the beating heart of another child at 230am on May 18. I took on a mothers grief, seeing how close I was to being in the very position Gabriella's donor mother was living, but also filling in vital parts of our own journey with the very details that completed it.

It is now our responsibility to keep Abbie alive through Gabriella. Gabriella has been our hero, and Abbie is her guardian angel and our new hero. Without Abbie and the selfless decision her parents made, Gabriella would not be alive to experience life. Whatever Gabriella accomplishes in her life will not be without Abbie.

Abbie's mom will be writing a letter/blog for me to post on Gabriella's website one day, when she is ready. I couldn't be more honored to know this woman and feel so blessed to have formed the bond we have over such circumstances. She is family, her husband and daughter and extended family as well. We have been connected through Gods divine plan and will forever have a bond unlike any other. Abbie gave Gabriella life in a way no one else could.

For so long I asked you all to pray for Gabriella's donor family. Since the day we knew she would require a heart transplant, I began including whoever these angels would be in our prayer requests. Now, we know who they are, which enables us to pray for specifically. We can place a face, a family, and a life with those words 'sparkly heart' and 'donor family'. I ask that you please pray for her sister Lillian, who saw her entire accident happen and tried to save her little sister by lifting the structure off of her. She is struggling with so much right now, and is only 6 years old. And also for Abbie's parents and their grieving hearts. They are still struggling and dealing with life without Abbie and it is not something they will ever get over.

You all have been so amazing at lifting us up and wrapping your words around us like a hug. If you feel you would like to post any condolences to the family of Abbie, notes or anything relevant... please comment on this entry. Abbie's mom checks in with Gabriella's website and I am sure she would love to feel your loving words around her like I have over the past year and a half journey.

August 3, 2010 = Daniel is 3!

Where do I start??? I really wanted a long time to write this out but between you, my little ball of energy, and taking care of your precious sister... this mama has hardly any free time on her hands! This past year you have made some incredible progress... you have turned from my little baby into a full blown BOY! I love how you communicate with me... we can have REAL chats about life now! Like when I sit down with you in the morning and tell you that I am really going to need you to help me out on a certain day by being good, listening and helping mommy because maybe I had a rough night with Katelyn and I am exhausted... then you will get up and rub my back and play with my hair and tell me you are going to make me look pretty! LOL!

I also LOVE how you give me a grocery list before I leave the store or if I take you to the store, you will remember EVERYTHING I need... like if I was talking to Brendon and just in passing mentioned that we will need more coffee soon... it is like you took a mental note of it and you will remind me that we need coffee! Your memory is incredible!

T.V.... well, it is just not your thing! To be perfectly honest, I am so glad! However, you are completely addicted to Barney! This is the only show you will watch... I have tried every other show out there and you will beg and plea for me to turn it to Barney so I have them recorded for you to watch!

You are sooo sensitive to your friends... like today, your friend Asher was crying because he didn't want to pick up the toys for clean up time at school and you went over to take his hands and tell him you would help him... your heart for your sister is huge! You completely have her bed/ nap time routine down... you say, "Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!" just like we do... you give her blankie or silky to her, and you try to bounce her in her seat all the time repeating, "Shh! Shh! Shh!" You also got really mad at daddy yesterday because he was suctioning her nose out and she was screaming and you thought he was hurting her so you started hitting daddy and telling him to stop hurting your Kate-Kate! After the drama, he explained to you that he would never hurt Katelyn and he was helping her but he was so proud of you for protecting her!

You also are obsessed with arts and crafts... play doh, coloring, painting, markers, stickers, rubbing plates, collage projects, and SCISSORS! My nightmare came true on Sunday when you tried to cut your own hair!

You also are pretty obsessed with getting ready in the morning.... you want out of your jammies immediately and you want to pick out your own clothes, own shoes, own socks, and ALWAYS a hat! You also have to brush your teeth at least once if not 10 times... you do your own hair (you prefer spikey... which is the reason you cut your hair because your hair is too long to spike right now so you were trying to cut it short to make it spikey!) then you have to look at yourself in the mirror... this is where mommy and daddy ohhh! and ahhhh! over you and try to make you feel like a million bucks!

You love your sleep... 7PM on the dot you usually start asking to go to bed... wake up at 7AM the next morning (lately it has been a tad earlier) and you still take a min. 2 hour nap in the afternoon!

You also know what you want to eat... you tell me! You love your sugar but we don't keep it in the house so you also love good food... like when you asked me for a cupcake and broccoli and you ate them together because you happen to like both of them A LOT! You also LOVE celery and cream cheese... I think that and ice cream rank in the same spot!

You LOVE church... when we tell you that Sunday is coming up, you just start screaming, "Hoorrraayyy!" My number one desire for you, my sweet boy, is that you will always know how much your Father God loves you and desires to have a relationship with YOU every single day of your life and that you fall passionately in love with your Creator! If you do this, you will be able to face ANYTHING that comes in your life!

You love your family... you have a wonderful family... I can't even tell you how blessed you are! Whenever you get the opportunity to go to Grandma and Poppy's house or Auntie and Uncle's house, you get soooo excited! And, yes, you like me to take you somewhere EVERYDAY... I have cut back on that since having Katelyn because she is on a newborn schedule of morning and afternoon naps and usually a 3rd nap too but we do manage to get you out of the house enough that you don't go crazy!

You love ANYTHING outdoors... like your bikes, scooters, swimming, basketball and helping daddy wash cars or work on the yard! Literally, you could stay outside from the minute you wake up in the morning until the minute you go to sleep at night! You love the park in the nice weather!

Daniel, I feel like the past three years, I have blinked and we are here! How does that happen? However, this is where I have to insert the fact that I have the most amazing husband and you have an incredible daddy that knew how much I wanted to be a stay at home mommy and he has made this possible by providing so nicely for our family. I have been able to stay home the past three years and spend every day with you and not miss a minute of these most precious years... I will always be able to look back and not have any regrets that I didn't spend these precious days with you! I feel sooooooooooo blessed because I know this is a huge gift that has been given to me and I never want to take it for granted. Well, I AM SO GLAD that we still have so many years in front of us and it is just going to be a blast!

So.... here you are 3 years ago... just having entered this world!

I LOVE the below picture as I look how I felt... HIGH AS A KITE! I was on SO MANY (prescription!) drugs with Daniel's birth... it was crazy!

My face and eyes SO SWOLLEN from crying so much after his birth... it truly was one of the happiest days of my life to hold OUR baby that I had carried for 9 months!

Our NEW family!
Daniel, every August 3rd we will always celebrate in style because you made the below dream come true!

So, on your actual birthday we did a lot... first, it was your 1st day of PRE-SCHOOL!!! You have been asking to go to school for such a long time and I think you were more excited about going to school than going to your birthday party! I didn't get a lot of pictures of you on your 1st day of school because you were acting kind of embarrassed when I started taking pictures so I put the camera away! I came home after dropping you off, put Katelyn down for a nap then I had the whole house to myself and complete quiet.... and I HATED IT! It hit me... some days I wish for this but one day I won't have 2 little babies running around and I will want my crazy days back! So, bring on the craziness... I love it (80% of the time!)

We also got you a kids meal for lunch, Cold Stone Ice Cream, opened presents from all of your family and you had your first Build-a-Bear experience!

Trying to pick out which one you wanted...

Out of all of the adorable teddies, bunnies, etc... you chose the ONE that wasn't even close to a bear... a BASEBALL!

Pressing the pedal to "stuff" it!

Sewing up "Mr. Baseball Man"

You picked out a heart, kissed it and made a wish then the guy put it inside of Mr. Baseball Man

Katelyn, one day you will get to do this... but she seemed content to just watch her brother have a blast!

Here he is... all stuffed or in Build-a-Bear Language... he was just born! LOL!

Bath Time!

Off to the dressing room.. he picked out baseball gear for his guy and sneakers!

I forgot to mention Daniel's love of shoes... so, Mr. Baseball Man had to have shoes and he found shoes that matched his shoes!

Now... you name your bear or baseball and print out the birth certificate! Daniel named the baseball "Mr. Baseball Man!"

Daddy helping out on this part!

Katelyn still having a great time!

Decorating Mr. Baseball's Mans' house!

The proud new owner of Baseball Man!

After this fun experience, we hit up the pretzel shop at the mall and had some fun at Barnes and Noble! We all had a super fun day! Happy Birthday, my sweet Daniel!

Sunday Afternoon!!!!

Sunday afternoons are THE BEST! We always celebrate by going to church in the morning and having family time in the afternoon! This Sunday we went over to my parents for lunch and Katelyn had her lovely afternoon nap! Beautiful Girl! Beautiful Dress! I wish I would have gotten a close up shot of this gorgeous dress!

Our Sleeping Beauty!

The cutest, chubbiest piggies=)

Luscious Fingers and Fists!

This is a total black mail picture! Daniel found my high heels and almost broke his leg trying to walk around in them!

One of my favorite things in the whole, wide world! BABY KISSES! Whole, Open Mouth Kisses! There is just nothing like it... the smell of their newborn breath too... Gold Canyon Candle, PLEASE make a Newborn Breath Scented Candle!=)

Daddy just relishing in his baby girl's love!

Present Opening Ceremony!

After the party, he came home and got to open presents!!! We let him open presents from all of his family on his real birthday and guess what? I forgot to take pictures of those but at least we have a few from the afternoon after his party=)

Holding up the card for me!=)

Thank you everyone!

Playing with Daddy with his new toys!

The week before D's Party

I have no pictures from this week=( For "journaling" purposes... I was doing lots of prep work for the party!

Tuesday was my mom's birthday! We also went to a playdate that morning that I had this feeling that we shouldn't go as Daniel wasn't in the greatest of moods BUT we went AND I should have listened to that feeling that I had! We didn't stay long... let's just put it that way! Daniel was not in a playdate kind of mood!

Wednesday night, I had coffee with April... love getting out of the house for girl time! It had been way to long since catching up with her too so it was very refreshing!

Thursday, we reciprocated the nice playdate that Daniel had at Zander's house and we invited him over... took the kids to Toy Town then to Chick-fil-a for dinner!

Saturday was the big PARTAY which has its separate post=) then that night we had my parents over for dinner for my mom's birthday celebration!

Trey's 2nd Birthday!

Unfortunately, I didn't get that many pics from Trey's super cute Basketball themed party! Daniel had an absolute blast since this is FAVORITE sport ever... right now! It was at the Tumbleweed Rec Center... they had lots of active toys laid out for the kiddos... which was very nice as the kids got to run around and the parents actually got to relax=) I was super impressed with Daniel's dribbling skills... I didn't know he had it in him=)