One Month In (Updates)

I'm the worst mother...no pictures from Halloween or Thanksgiving!  :(  :(  I think I'll dress Grace up in her outfits again and have a photo session!  ha

Grace was the cutest bumblebee for Halloween!  She had fun at our church's celebration.  We were all sick for Thanksgiving.  Grace had (probable) salmonella and a cold.  I had an upper respiratory infection, and Chad never went to the doctor, but he did not feel good either.  :(  But we still had a lot to be thankful for!

I just wanted to post an update on Grace after going to TLLH for a month.  First of all, the school and its staff are AMAZING!  We love them so much and are so thankful Grace got in early!  She has adjusted well.  Her second day there was pretty hard, but other than that she has done very well.  We sent one of her favorite toys with her for a while, and we are still sending her paci and her blankie just in case.  She is eating well at school, but still will not drink anything.  Stubborn girl!

Immediately, we noticed a difference in her speech.  She will chit chat the whole way home everyday.  She tells me about her teachers and her new friends and what they do everyday!  She has started saying "w," "n," and "l" sounds.  She has been standing in a standing frame at school, and I can tell she has gotten stronger!  She tried to pull up yesterday at school (video below), and she did great for me yesterday when I was working with her on this skill.  For the past two days, she has reached for me when I picked her up.  Melts my mama heart!  She is also doing good for OT...she is almost putting rings back on her ring stacker by herself!  Grace is also crawling all over our house!  She is crawling fast and is very curious about everything!

We are surely blessed.

What I Am Thankful For

Sunday night, our pastor encouraged us to speak about what we are thankful for.  Several people spoke and their words were so sweet and their hearts were so thankful.  Of course Chad and I didn't speak (we do NOT like to speak in public).  This blog is about as public as I get, so I wanted to take the opportunity to say what I am thankful for, the big and the small.

1.  I am thankful for my big God who loves me endlessly, shows me such great mercy and grace, teaches me, and moves me.  He is good.

2.  I am thankful for Jesus, my Savior, Redeemer, and Friend.  I am thankful for His sacrifice and for the salvation He has given me so freely in spite of my sin.

3.  I am thankful for my family.  Chad is an amazing husband who sacrificially provides for our family and loves me despite my (many) faults.  Grace is my true love.  Her life blesses my heart and I cannot even put into words how thankful I am for her.

4.  I am thankful for the lessons I've learned through my daughter.  Her strength and perseverance are inspiring.  Her feisty-ness keeps me busy.  She challenges me to be a better person.  She has taught me what love really means.  She gives me a glimpse of how much my Father loves me.

5.  I am thankful for my parents, sister, brother, in-laws, nieces.  I am thankful for our extended families.  You love me always.

6.  I am thankful for my church family.  The love and support they give are amazing.  I am thankful for our church staff, our Sunday School class, Grace's teachers and nursery workers.

7.  I am thankful for my job.  I am thankful for the ability to be a nurse.  My patients and their families are inspiring.  My coworkers are like my second family and we truly love each other.

8.  I am thankful for my home, my dog, my car, the food in our house, the clothes that I am blessed with, the bed I sleep in.  These things are much more than some others have.

9.  I am thankful for Grace's therapists, Karen and Kim.  We have been going to them for almost a year now, and what a year it's been!  They have seen us on our good days and our bad, celebrated every milestone, and guided Chad and me to know how to work with Grace so that she will continue to progress.  Simply put, they are amazing!

10.  I am thankful for Grace's school, The Little Lighthouse.  We are three weeks in, and they already love Grace with all their hearts.  The staff and volunteers are selfless.  I cannot say enough how much I love them and how much I am thankful for them.

11.  I am thankful for friends, old and new.  They have taught me, inspired me, cried with me, been my support, and encouraged me.  I love you!

12.  I am thankful for online friends.  You who I have never "met," but who have joined with me in prayer and thanksgiving, and offered so much love and support.  Thank you.

These are a few of the things I am thankful for.  Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!  :)