Happy Birthday, Sam!

December 20

6:45 AM - Sam FaceTimed me to say that she slept very well last night. Great news to start my Sunday! She said the nurses only came in every four hours to check on her, which was nice. She's looking forward to walking around more and Zooming in to the church meetings today, and she's really looking forward to a shower, whenever that might be.

8:00 AM - I texted Grandma (Sam's mother) to let her know about my schedule this morning. She's going to bring our children back home around midday. I told her that if the children ask to bring toys back with them, she can put them on FaceTime with me and I will remind them that Grandma's toys stay at Grandma's house. One of the reasons Grandma's toys are so fun is because they are not at our house. Grandma wrote back saying that yesterday, Schofield (one of the children's young cousins) asked if he could take a toy home. Penny (our three-year-old) told Schofield that Grandma's toys stay at Grandma's house. Yes, my training is working! 😁

9:20 AM - Sam met with her surgeon just now. "How do you feel about going home tonight?" he asked. Sam didn't hesitate. She still needs to meet with the occupational therapist, but there's a good chance she will come home today. Wahoo!

2:00 PM - I picked Sam up from the hospital and brought her home.

Sam is happy to be home.

Diana is happy to have her mom home.

We're all happy to have mom home!

December 21 - Happy Birthday, Sam!

We were blessed with a beautiful, sunny day for Sam's birthday. We went over to the church parking lot to walk around and enjoy the weather.

Penny: "See ya!"

Neighborhood friends left a lot of love by the door for Sam. 

This one might be my favorite. The Sam/Daniel DNA is pretty awesome, in my humble opinion. 😁

Blowing up balloons for the birthday celebration.

Singing Happy Birthday in French to Sam's awesome twin sister, Stacie. This video is a bit more realistic (the crying toddler).

Douglas made this cool little Lego birthday cake for his mother. I love Penny's face in the background.

Our neighbor made this delicious carrot cake for Sam's birthday. Sam loves carrot cake. Another neighbor brought dinner for us. We are so blessed!

The "Samantha?" hat (from Frozen II) was my gift to Sam.

We were told to frown in this photo. Apparently, my mouth was in the process of transitioning from smile to frown when the photo was taken. Freaky.

Keeping her head cold while listening to birthday messages from friends and family.

Despite all the recent craziness, today turned out to be a great birthday for Sam.