Joie de Vivre

Today is Second Christmas.  Yesterday marks a year since Annika came home from the hospital.  We don't have any special plans to celebrate, although I kind of think we ought to host a play party where all of her stuffies are invited.  It might be interesting to get an official guest count.

Over the last couple of days, Salt Lake has gotten its first real snow fall for the season.  For some reason, this blanket of snow brings me back to our days in the hospital more than anything else.  Descending from heaven, it both stills the world and brightens it--kind of like the Prince of Peace.  It offers reassurance that there is hope and beauty even in the hardest trials.

Running the path between our home and Primary's yesterday, I felt such deep gratitude.  A year ago we had a small wheelchair in our living room because Annie was still quite weak. A year later, and she can trot home from hospital appointments.  (We did that a few days ago.)

While we may not be having a large Second Christmas celebration today, we definitely recognized this big milestone over the weekend.  

On Friday, Annika had her Make-a-Wish Star-Raising party. This was a beautiful opportunity to celebrate the granting of her wish with many people who love her. Both sets of grandparents were there, the Wilhoits, the Millcreek Wheelers, all her siblings, plus her wannabe boyfriend Arthur! (Brooklyn and Arthur were a couple a year ago, and he came to see her multiple times in the hospital.)

Here's Annie with her volunteer wish coordinators, Kaitlyn and Tami.  We appreciate them so much!

Nothing says party like pizza.

Oops, I take that back about Arthur being Annika's dream boyfriend.  Apparently she has a new crush in the sixth grade named Ruger.  Here she is dancing with a palm tree and singing an invented song about him.  Violet followed suit.

Checking out photos of our Hawaiian fun.

We assembled a couple of scrapbook pages that will be kept at Make-a-Wish headquarters.  So far the Utah Make-a-Wish chapter has 31 binders full of granted wishes.

Natalie gave us a lovely tour of the Make-a-Wish building.  This front wall highlights some special wishes, ranging from a drumset to a blessing from the pope to a Secret Garden.

Upstairs there is another wall with more fun and creative wishes.  Apparently Make-a-Wish began when a little boy wished to be a trooper and the community came together to support him.  As for Hayley, she wished for her very own ice cream flavor, and worked with the food scientists at Ben and Jerry's to make it happen.

This wish made me cry.  14 year-old MiaBella is a heart transplant recipient.  While she originally contemplated an animal wish because she wants to be a veterinarian, she instead used her wish to send her donor family to Disney World.  Dang it, I'm tearing up again.

One more memorable moment: there was a photo of a girl who wished for a horse to be her rodeo companion.  When Annika found out, she immediately said, "Oh man, I should have wished for a horse!"

Here is the wall of current Wish Kids and their wishes.  The different colors represent wishes to have, wishes to be, wishes to go, and wishes to meet.  Next week they are granting a wish to meet Mark Rober. 

Annika with her star.

Posing for a pic with cousins.

Oops!  She held the magnetic star too close to her ICD and started to beep.  At least we know the new ICD is working.

Opening up the Wish Wizard tower with a special Wish Kid key.  So much love and support!

A magical place, this is where you send your wish up to the wish wizard.  Annie got to light up the tower and let the community know her wish had been granted.  Personally, I love seeing Violet's tiny hand on the water wall.

Last but not least, the star raising.  Annika's star has a teal center--her favorite color because it is the color of the ocean.

We are thankful to all for making big sacrifices to celebrate this special moment with Annika.  Charles and Susie drove down from Hyde Park just for this, only to turn around and drive to Idaho that evening.  NomiAnn and Papa Kay made an extra trip out from Nebraska for this and a few other celebrations.  Uncle Justin had to fight traffic on Foothill on a Friday night in a snowstorm.  That's not to be trifled with either!  Thank you all for coming.

Having been given so much, we wanted to give back.  On January 6th, our family provided lunch for the Ronald McDonald room at Primary Children's Hospital.  This is a place where families who have kids in the hospital can come eat for free.  Jason and I ate there often while Annika was in the hospital.  It was an inviting space and welcome break from cafeteria food.

We couldn't have provided this meal without the support of NomiAnn and Papa Kay as well.  Cooking a meal for 75 is way outside of my comfort zone.  I'm so thankful to my Mom for guiding me through it!  (And splitting the grocery bill, too.)

Happy chefs.

Taking a moment to unwind.  (Okay, let's be honest.  Annika was so engrossed in her book that she never really helped at all.  We'll work on that.  At the time, it seemed okay to have a little less chaos in the kitchen.)

Who will help me eat the bread now?  I will!  I will!

Querida princesa, time to take a lesson from the little red hen.  We are delighted that your wish was granted and even more grateful that you are here to share your joie de vivre with us all!  Now take all that blessed health and happiness, work hard, and make the rest of your wishes come true.