I am so blessed ...

I cannot believe it's been 4 weeks today since Nila passed away. It's been a whirlwind. Life at our house has been really crazy, for many reasons, all of which I don't have the energy to write down right now. Throughout the chaos of the last several weeks, one thing that was certainly "blog-worthy" was the showering of love and support from all my amazing friends here in NJ. So here is my meager attempt at thanking all of them and showing my sincere appreciation for all they did to take care of my family and me.

First of all, I had so many friends who really stepped up to help us with our girls when we needed it most. Those final 2 days when Nila was at the hospital, I'll forever be grateful to Maribel and Marcelo, Nicole and Chris, Lisa, and Jen ... these wonderful people took care of Reagan and Avery so that John and I could be with Nila in her final hours. Since I don't have my family near me, these people filled that role and it meant the world to me. The day after Nila died, I took Reagan to preschool and met Sandy there ... she took Avery for a few hours and Ms. Lisa kept Reagan and then Avery too for another hour. This allowed me time to search through my computer, looking for all the pictures I had of Nila so we could make a slideshow for her viewing. I also started scanning old pictures into my computer. That evening, Nicole came over and spent many hours helping me create a slideshow DVD to play at the services. She was here until midnight, even though she needed to be up at 6AM the following morning. Thank you so much to all of you for all your help!

On Wednesday and Thursday of that week, John and I needed to find sitters for most of the days so we could attend the two viewings (Wed 2:00-4:00, and 7:00-9:00) and the funeral (Thurs 9:30 - 4:00). Many thanks to Christine Capizzi, one of my friends from River Vale First Friends, who came over on Wednesday afternoon. Her daughter Caitlyn played with Reagan while Avery slept most of the time. I hired a babysitter for Wednesday night, but she backed out at the last minute, so Sandy came to our rescue ~ thank you so much! She came over that night and put the girls to bed for us. We realize that her husband Tom was home alone with their two kids in order for Sandy to help us, so we were grateful to him as well. On Thursday, Jen and Lizzie took excellent care of Reagan and Avery ... Jen was already planning on taking her son Harrison to Diane's son JP's birthday party, so she offered to take Reagan too. It was so nice of her to take Reagan, and she even took care of a gift for Reagan to give to JP. Lizzie agreed to watch Avery, even though she was busy packing all the supplies for a family ski trip since they were leaving the next day. Avery has gotten to know Lizzie well during her 15 months of life, since Lizzie and I have met at Starbucks every Tuesday since she was born :)

My friends here are so amazing and they constantly provide me with support and friendship that is unparalleled. I feel so lucky to have friends who will take excellent care of my children when I need them the most. Thank you to each and every one of you!

Not only did my friends provide childcare, but they also kept us fed for 3 1/2 weeks after Nila died. It was incredible. Honestly, I can't express the overwhelming appreciation I feel toward all these women who took care of us by providing meals. And a very special thanks to Nicole who organized all of it. She took care of everything and proved to be the best friend I could possibly have. Thank you Nicole! A meal was delivered every other day up until last Friday, March 6th. Each meal was delicious - seriously. It was wonderful not to have to worry about cooking dinner or getting to the grocery store. MANY thanks to the following extraordinary women (in order of when they provided us a meal):

• 2/10 Lizzie - Pasta with homemade meat sauce
• 2/12 Meredith - Sun Dried Tom/Goat Cheese Pasta
• 2/14 Nicole - Homemade Gourmet Pizzas
• 2/16 Sandy - Chicken & Veggies Kebabs with
• 2/18 Amy - Chicken Lasagna
• 2/20 Lisa - Gift Certificate to DiBari's Catering
• 2/22 Julie - Baked Ziti
• 2/24 Diane - Sausage & peppers over rice
• 2/26 Michelle - Inside out Ravioli
• 2/28 Jen - Stuffed Peppers
• 3/02 Audra - Baked Ziti
• 3/04 Kerry - Boston Market
• 3/06 Christie - Chicken Stir Fry

Thank you so much, lovely ladies. John and I feel so blessed to have each one of you in our lives. I hope I can make it up to all of you sometime in the near future. Thank you for making this difficult time a little bit easier by making us feel loved and well-taken care of. I also need to mention my wonderful River Vale First Friends group who gave us a $50 gift certificate to DiBari's catering. That was so thoughtful of them and very much appreciated.

And last, but not least, thank you to everyone who attended the services, sent flowers, mass cards, sympathy cards, emails, or left voicemails. Your support did not go unnoticed and it will forever be remembered. Sincere thanks to all of you as well!