4-17-10

Here Quinn is multi-tasking! Kicking her feet to make that toy vibrate and light up. Eating,being sure to close her eyes when I have the camera by her, but I caught them open once. As well as pusing a hand switch to make the music box play and the dancers dance. She is also ready for the Nebraska Football game, Red White scrimmage. What a good day this is starting out to be.

Well, our last journal showcased how naughty Quinn can be, while this one focuses on the other extreme. Today she almost made me cry twice because of her willpower and amazing strength. Well Martha was watching her today and when I got home to a smiley Quinn, ready to go swimming, I ended up finding out that while Martha was feeding her thickened lemonade, she always puts a second spoon dipped in lemonade in Quinn’s hand. In the past she has gotten her hand up to her mouth, but that is about it. Today 3 times in a row, she not only lifted the spoon up to her mouth with her right hand, but also turned her head to meet her hand and put the spoon in her mouth. The third time Martha had to help her so she would not choke, since she was putting the spoon so far back into her mouth. Yeah Quinn!

The other big excitement was at the pool. Two weeks ago, she did a good job kicking, last week she did a good job moving her arms around more. Today she kicked and kicked, and did a good job using her arms and hands to knock a ball out of my hands with just a tiny bit of help, anyone watching could see she was doing almost all the work, and every time she did it, she got more confident and stronger with each push. She even talked, not to many real words, but that is a start for her with new people. Finally to end the session, she said bye, plain as day, only I was still talking so Michelle could hardly hear her, so I then said can you wave to her? This is a big deal for Quinn, because it takes a lot of muscles to get her arms to move the way she wants them to, but easy as can be, she got her arm up and waved, no question at all as to what she was doing.

Wow! What an amazing little girl!

Well, on another note, I’ve been having some fun figuring out what we want to do for a few other days in Colorado when we do the rafting trip with the National Sorts Center for the Disabled. Well John brought up the natural hot springs, and how that could be so good for both of them. So I’ve been looking into that, they go from extremes of staying in a holistic tepee of sorts to posh luxury. It’s fun looking, but we need to find one that is safe and geared for Quinn. I think I found a couple good places that are not to far off from where we will be for the rafting trip. The strange little coincidence that made me think we really need to do this is right after I found a couple of places, I had take out Chinese, I’m still being pretty good with my diet, this was my splurge for the week, and it was veggie based, but the point is the fortune cookie said “The physician heals, nature makes well.” How crazy is that! Right after looking at the sites of these natural hot springs and how they help heal our bodies. Hmmm! Oh, we have our doctor appointment Monday for Quinn and her adenoids and maybe tonsils. I am nervous about it. Any surgery for Quinn is a big deal, that anesthesia is scary stuff, but at the same time, I know how much it will help her. So I’m praying and asking for more prayers for the correct decisions to be made and Quinn to continue to improve and flourish! Whew, I can tell it’s been a busy week. Kids at school are squirrely, Quinn was all over the board with her behaviors, I’ve got a canker sore the size of Mt. Rushmore in my mouth, well maybe not quite that big, but it sure hurts. I have to say that John is actually doing good right now. So I’m glad to have the weekend to snuggle and cuddle Quinn and get outside for some good walks and fresh air. I know how hard this time of year is for teachers, parents, and kids alike. I also know how hard life is in general. I keep thinking of the saying - Be kinder then necessary, for everyone you meet or speak to is fighting some kind of battle.

So since I am asking for prayers from you I will also send some up for you, some of my kids at school, a few close friends, a few family members who are struggling, and I continue to remind myself how lucky I am to find the silver lining and be grateful for all our days.

Blessing!
Susan