What a wonderful weekend we've had!  On Saturday, we had our Farewell Cincinnati party at the beautiful, warm and welcoming home of Rick and Libby (ML Food Angels).  They opened up their hearts and their home to us and have been our family-away-from-home.  We feel so thankful and blessed to have met them and so grateful for all of their love and support.  Although Mother Nature didn't exactly cooperate, we had an amazing day.  Miabelle and Noelie had so much fun playing with all the other kids, and when they weren't having fun playing doctor and chasing balloons, they were socializing and chatting it up with everybody.  Miabelle discovered Coach courtesy of Patty (a cancer survivor and Food Angel orchestrator), and it looks like Papa is going to have someone to share his appreciation for high-end brands, in other words - another snob in the family!  And it meant so much to have Cindy's son (who as an infant was treated at Children's Hospital for a rare disease and underwent countless surgeries) stop by to say Hi and meet a fellow warrior. 

We were completely shocked and amazed when Dr. Lisa Filipovich showed up!  It was the surprise of a lifetime to have the miracle maker herself be a part of our Cincinnati send off.  And Miabelle finally got to see her without a mask on!  The icing on the cake was having Miabelle's Nurse Practitioner Jenn Dentzel and her family join us as well.  Jenn was our teacher, counselor, sounding board, nurse, and friend for the last year and a half.  She's been there throughout Miabelle's entire journey and it meant the world to us to have her there!

It was so wonderful finally getting to meet all of the amazing Food Angels who have so graciously and generously taken care of our family for the past year and half.  It was a day of mixed emotions as we were so happy to be out socializing and enjoying the company of so many new friends, yet sad at the same time that just when were finally able to begin to step out and mingle, we're leaving.  But thankfully, we'll be coming back to Cincinnati for annual follow-ups for years to come so we're definitely looking forward to our future reunions!

Words can not begin to express the gratitude and appreciation we feel for all of the amazing angels that have become a part of our lives.  We've made lifelong friends.  Thank you to everyone for joining us at our party and most of all for coming along on this crazy rollercoaster ride with us!

The girls had such an amazing time.  They barely had the energy to eat dinner once we got home, and shortly after dinner they crashed hard.  Noelie was so exhausted she slept all the way until 9 o'clock this morning - a special treat for Father's Day!

After breakfast the girls and I gave Papa the special gifts we made for him - 2 one of a kind books and 2 unique paperweight rocks! 

After skyping with Abuelo for Father's Day we headed to the Children's Museum for a day of fun and exploration!  Papa was in heaven with his little girls.  Cincinnati has so many family fun attractions and sites.  Hoboken has some very big shoes to fill!

All in all it was a weekend we'll never forget - and Papa said it was the BEST Father's Day he's ever had (grant it last year we were living in the hospital and prepping Miabelle for her transplant, but still)!