What a wonderful day!

We were up and out of the house at 6:15.  Wow, Quinn was grouchy and not happy about being up so early, but I was not all that chipper either, but it's a big day and so we were on our way.

When we checked in Quinn had to tell the secretaries how she was at the CDC clinic and was going to see a bunch of therapists and doctors.  She also had to tell them about Saving Mr. Banks, and how she loved the movie.  I loved how she was so talkative.  I wonder if she would have continued talking, but we were out of her chair on the table for most of the morning, so she did not have the dynovox in front of her.  What a great start to the morning.

They start out by giving us a sheet that goes through all the folks we will see, while we are there.

We had a list of 10 folks.  Wow, amazing one morning with 10 appointments!

 Here is our room, where everyone would come to us!  Grandma Martha joined us.

We had time between folks where we would read or play. 

Quinn loved learning about Mozart on Brain Pop on my phone.

Technology sure is amazing!

We always do something fun after the doctors, and she had to get a blood draw, and she was amazing.  So she wanted to go eat cheesecake.  So we went there.  As she was deciding what she wanted, she kept telling me she wanted to get on the school bus and go to school.  Oh how I love that she wants to be in school!

On the way home she made grandma smile.  Quinn has always loved riding over bumps and railroad tracks.  This time she started giggling, and used her dynovox to tell us "thank you thank you", after I drove over the tracks.  

So a great report!  A great girl!  A great day!  

Life is good!

I got to go to this wonderful conference, I presented at it, then I got to go to some presentations, and learn about new technology and it was wonderful.

One thing I created was:

It was created in an app called Pic collage.

Tomorrow is Quinn and I's day to go to the Children's Developmental Clinic and see a bunch of folks in one day.  So we will be up and on the road at 6:15.  It should be a wonderful day!
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OK, to geek out a little more, I also made a little movie!

I did not have my camera, so we get generic pictures taken off the internet!  Dr. Martin and St. E's hospital.

Quinn had her yearly heart doctor appointment on Wednesday.  She only has to go once a year, as things were looking so stable last year!  YEAH!  We go there, having had a talk about showing off and not being a bump, as she sometimes likes to do.  So I got her out of school early.  We got there and she did a great job talking to the nurse, granted she told her that she was mad to be there, and told her that two times, to make sure she got the point!  But she was talking and letting her know that Quinn was not a bump.

Then she got weighed, she is 42.2 lbs.

Then it was time to get pictures of her heart, she has some phobia about that machine, but she actually held my hand nicely.  Granted she did try to push away the wand a few times as the team was checking her out, but over all she did a great job!

So then Dr. Martin came in, and of course Quinn had to act like a bump.  She would not look at the doctor or her dynovox.  Dr. Martin said that Quinn's heart is stable, and doing well.  So we thank God for the news and are so grateful!  Dr. Martin wants to see Quinn do something so bad.  Nurse Susan tells her how Quinn was talking earlier, and Dr. Martin wants to see it, so she said she would even stand in the hall way, if that would help.  Darn, she really wants to see Quinn be successful.  Well, I finally told Quinn if she says bye or thank you, we could go.

So Quinn looked at me, looked at her dynovox, clicked thank you, and then looked at me and away from Dr. Martin.  Dr. Martin heard her, and rushed back into the room to see if Quinn would say anything else, but that was it!  Dr. Martin said, we will see her again in a year!  YE HaW!

Oh what a girl I have!  Next week is our big trip to Omaha to the Children's Development Clinic, where we see handfuls of doctors and therapists and such, and go over all kinds of new things and what we have been doing.  I'm sure we will get pictures of things and blood draws, and such, and measure for a new this or that.  I'm so thankful for this day, as I would have to take so many days off to see all the folks we see in one long morning.  So we are praying this next Wednesday goes as well as today.

Happy 8th Birthday Isaiah!

We love you very much!

We started out by going to Sunday school, and Quinn was all giggles, so I had to get a picture.

At Sunday school they were watching a video, and Denali did not leave Quinn's side.

I love how the girls love on each other!

 Then Isaiah choose to go to Showguns for his birthday!

 I love this picture, can you tell the show at our table was over, and the show at the next table started.

 Then it was Ice Cream and Cake time. 

 Oh boy, black frosting is dangerous!

 and you can't have a birthday without presents!  What a fun day!

Gotcha day!  January 17th, 2014

( A picture from this last week.)

It has been a year since we got Isaiah and Denali.

In some ways it seems like it just happened, but more then that it seems like we have had them for much longer.

I think of how much they have grown physically, but more then that mentally and spiritually.  How they have overcome some big issues and have gone from being nervous to feeling safe, secure, ornery, and loved.

I remember when the kids started calling me mom, it still is not always mom, but it was amazing to hear the first time.  I remember when Isaiah gave me a real, true hug, or when Denali crawled up into Quinn's bed and cuddled her, being careful of, but not worrying about her tubes hooked up to her, and loving on her.  Oh the wonderful moments.  

There were hard moments too, when we saw the repercussions of how they had suffered.  How they had not been introduced to so much in life.  Helping them have so many firsts with us.  School was so hard for both of them, and now they are both on track and doing well.  We still have things to work on, but I can say we have done great.  We have worked hard on life skills, homework, and loving each other, it's been hard work, totally worth it, but crazy hard work.

I think I have heard why, what, and how more this year then anything else.  

I think back to when I worked at summer camp.  That summer I worked so hard, but it was one of the best summers of my life.  I feel the same about this last year.  I've been happy, exhausted, worried, overwhelmed, but more then anything loved!  This has been an amazing year and I'm thankful for every minute of it.

  

 The first couple pictures that we're taken from a year ago.  So similar, yet so different.  

Oh bring on the next year, we are ready!

Well I don't usually talk about myself on here, but here you go....

http://www.lps.org/post/detail.cfm?id=8200

I was filmed teaching.  I love my family, and I am fortunate to also love my job and my kids that I work with there, so if you want to see a bit of what I do, click on the link!

Yet another reason Quinn melts my heart!

When Quinn is sound asleep and I go in to check on her, if I give her a kiss on the cheek and a hug, she will always lean into the kiss or hug, not waking up, just loving me back.  Oh, what a sweet moment.  I love it!

Here are the poses I get from these two all the time as well!

Denali acting silly wanting to be in every picture.  While Isaiah would rather not be in 90% of them.

I am so lucky to be a mom to these three.

More fun pictures from the zoo, thanks to Chrissy!

I mentioned how we went to St. Louis over our break, and on the way back, for a good couple of hours, Quinn talked about how she wanted to go to therapy, get stretched, see her therapists....

So I called to see if I could get her in, and thankfully I got her in the same day we got home.

She said thanks, and the was calm and quiet the rest of the trip.

So she is a good advocate for therapy, she loves it!

She did some stretching, rolling and practiced driving.

 Jan 1st, we decided to go for a morning walk to get out and get some exercise, the weather did not cooperate, it was freezing cold, so we only made it a few blocks, but we did it.

 So we decided to go to the zoo later in the week instead.  Chrissy and Annette went with us, and we had so much fun.  We happened to see so many animals get fed, and they were so awake and willing to put on a show for us.

 There were not to many other folks there, so we got to go through as our own speed, and lay around and watch sharks and such.

 Quinn was super excited in the bug house, I'm not sure what she was in awe of, but she was loving something!

 Chrissy was brave and took Quinn across the rope bridge.

 We loved watching the sloth eat.

 We got to the end of our zoo experience and it was getting late and the sun was setting, and the bats came out, seriously 100's of them, and they started dive bombing us, I freaked out a little, and can be totally honest about that.  Ugg, what a way to end our zoo experience.

 Quinn got to take her friend Amelia to a one day dance workshop.  Chrissy was her helper, and that was a very fun afternoon.

 Back over Christmas break, Isaiah learned how to make bracelets, he has gone crazy, necklaces, rings, bracelets, he is a rubber band bracelet making machine!

Phew, we have been busy!  Lots of fun times!