My husband and I are never big on parties, but we always make sure to celebrate special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries simply because we believe that the gift of life and a beautiful marriage are worth celebrating. 

Apparently, this year's anniversary celebration was not quite what we have in mind because unfortunately, we found ourselves starting our day in the Emergency Room of Burjeel Hospital.  Rafa was down with a very bad case of viral infection which lasted for 5 long days. 

Don't get me wrong.  We didn't wait for 5 days before rushing him to the hospital.  He was already seen by a doctor, who diagnosed him with a viral infection, on the third day of his illness.  However, his condition didn't seem to improve so we decided to bring him back to the Pediatric ER on day five.  This time, they finally did a nose and throat swab and run several blood tests to further investigate his condition.     After a few hours, lab results showed that our son was actually dehydrated -- the culprit that's causing his fever.  His treatment plan included administration of rectal suppository and IV fluids.  And just like magic, Rafa's back to his cheerful self once again!  Praise God!!!

It had been a very tiring and sleepless week for the three of us.  So when we got the doctor's discharge order, we just decided to go home and get some rest.  In short, we really didn't get to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary -- which was totally fine as long as Rafa's healthy and feeling better already.

You know, challenging times like this make me realize how we sometimes tend to overlook and fail to appreciate the simple blessings that we receive every single day because we are always preoccupied with the worldly things that we think would make us happy.  Hence, we always end up feeling stressed, discontented, and ungrateful.  But come to think of it, life's greatest blessings are in the little things -- like waking up every single day, enjoying good health, and having a happy and complete family -- everything else is just secondary.  So if you want to live a full life, make sure that you prioritize what actually matters! 

PS. Even if we didn't have a special celebration for our 5th wedding anniversary, my husband and I are still grateful for we have received the best gift any parent could ask for -- our son's complete healing and recovery!  There's definitely nothing more that we could ask for.