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!  :)

Immeasurably More

From time to time, I check my blog and update information about Grace.

Yesterday, I was reading my "Please Pray" page, attempting to make any needed changes/updates.  When I read this prayer request:

Please pray "That a spot would open for Grace to get into The Little Lighthouse next year (2013)---she is number 7 on the waiting list"

It hit me.  I was praying that a spot would open next year.  God blessed us in His perfect time this year with a spot for Grace at TLLH.  His plan is perfect.  I was praying in a way that made sense in my plan and in my time.  I'm so thankful that God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.  (Ephesians 3:20)

He continues to teach me through my precious child. 

First Day

Grace had a first of school at The Little Lighthouse today!  I left a sleepy and confused little girl at school, and made it outside and almost to my car before I cried!  Her teacher Ms. Beth said she did great!  I got updates and even a sweet picture during the day.  I know Grace had so much fun and made new friends today.  Grace was SO TIRED when I picked her up!  Ms. Beth said she refused liquids today and didn't have a wet diaper, but she took 8 ounces of milk when we got home and had a wet diaper before her 2 hour long nap!  Tomorrow is dress up day for Halloween!  :)

Here are some pictures to remember the day!  Thanks for your prayers today!

Quick Update

I have a very quick, but very important update!  I will blog about this in greater detail later, but right now I'm getting ready to have my long week at work and I'm in the middle of making Grace's Halloween costume.  :)  I wanted to let our faithful friends who have joined us in prayer over the last two years know that

GRACE IS STARTING SCHOOL ON TUESDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grace will be in the Green room at The Little Lighthouse, and we are beyond excited and thankful.  What an amazing answer to prayers and continued proof that He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine!

Thank you for joining with us in prayer for this.  Please pray for Grace on Tuesday that this will be an easy adjustment and that she will make new friends.  Please pray for Chad and me (me especially) as we adjust to the new schedule.  I cried during our screening just thinking about her not being home with me all the time.  But we are SO excited about this amazing opportunity for our sweet girl!

Two Years

Tomorrow will be two years.  Two years since we learned of Grace's heart breaking diagnoses.  Wow.

The years have taken away the sharp sting of that day.  It is now mostly a dull memory.  It reminds me of God's love and grace for our family.  Even reality is beginning to dull.

God is good.  Even if these past two years were ones of grief over losing Grace had God chosen to take her to heaven He would still be good.

He has taught me that He is good.  Period.  Not based on our circumstances.  Even during the bad times.  Even if he doesn't choose to heal.  He is still good. 

Boots and Standing Update

The punkin is doing great with her boots and her standing frame!

She wears her boots during her waking hours.  Her foot gets out of the right position at times, so we have to adjust it back, but other than that, she is doing great.  She has learned to tolerate them so well and she can even crawl in them.

We got her standing frame last week, and she's up to standing about an hour at a time.  We are working on getting in it twice a day.  She likes standing in it.  She reads books and plays with her favorite toys while she's standing.  She doesn't like to pull up or stand without the support of her standing frame, but we are working on that too.  She did not do well in PT yesterday, which was disappointing.  :(

The only pictures of have of her in her standing frame are on my phone, so they are not good quality.