Easter 2008

Well Easter was a lot of fun. We did 4 Egg Hunts, Nana came over and did one with the kids. And Nate's Family came down for our March and April Birthday party/Easter Egg Hunt. Kortnee and Nic each went on one together and Whitnee had ner own. (a lot easier to find). The kids had a lot of fun. Here Nic is picking out his prize out of the prize box, Kortnee is wearing her prize, ear and teeth. lol and Whitnee is digging through her basket at all the cool eggs.

We were really happy the weather was nice enough for us all to be out side!

Welcome to "Holland"

I wanted to post this story I received from a friend in Texas who also has a little girl with SMA. It truly expresses my feelings and I thought I would share it with you so you could get a small glimpse of our lives and feelings. *Get your Kleenex ready!


Author: Emily Pearl Kingsley
"I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability--to try and help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...

Welcome to Holland

When you're having a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum, the Michelangelo David, the gondolas in Venice. You may even learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland!"

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy! All my life I have dreamed of Italy!"

But there has been a change in flight plan. They've landed in Holland and that is where you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting place full of pestilence, famine, disease and filth. It's just a different place.

So you must go and buy a new guide book. And you must learn a whole new language. And you meet a whole new group of people you would have never met.

It's just a different place. It's slower paced than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills, Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandt's.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they've had there. And for the rest of your life you will say, "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

The pain of that will never, ever go away, because the loss of that dream is a significant loss. But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to go to Italy, You may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland. Their demands are small, but their love is enormous. These are the windmills, tulips, and the Rembrandt's of Holland. You won't find them in Italy."

I am very grateful for the blessing I have of being in "Holland". It has been one of the greatest experiences of my life, as difficult as it has been it has been worth every minute!!!

Spring is in the air

Wow, we had a rain storm come through the other day and you could smell it in the air. I love springtime:) I see my tulips starting to come up in the pile of yucky junk from the winter, and I get excited to be out planting flowers and just sitting on the front porch. Whitnee asks everyday if we can go out side so I am really hoping that it is really going to be in the 50's this weekend like they are saying so we can get Whitnee out and soak up some sunshine.

I asked the Young Women and Relief Society if I could get some volunteers to help with Whitnee's P.T. I guess we had 23 sign up between the two and 6 actually show up for the training. This will be our first week with help and I am actually looking forward to it. Whitnee sure loved the 2 young women who came to the training. She does not really get to interact with anyone other then us, so it was and will be a nice change for her.

Nate got to take the 4-wheeler up the mountain this weekend and managed to get high centered in the snow twice. Thank goodness the neighbor was with him and pulled him out. He said there was so much snow up there he could not believe it. And of course he can't wait till it melts a little more so he has some nice mud to ride through.

As for Kortnee and Nic, they have enjoyed the last couple of days being able to ride bikes, scooters and just be out side. As for me, well, I was able to make it to an enrichment night last week, (hair clips) it was quite fun. I had to come home and buy all the stuff so I could make them at home. Kortnee has loved it to.

Sorry no pictures this time, we really are quite boring which is just fine with us. We don't need any excitement around here that is for sure.

SNOW SNOW SNOW

What a snow year we have had, since it is so cold out side we try not to take Whitnee outside. So we bring the snow in to her. These are just a few of the pictures taken today of her playing in her bucket of snow. She like's to wear her hat and gloves too just like Kortnee and Nic.

Today I had to convince her that the snow was really cold, but being a 2 year old she had to figure that out on her own. So once she touched the snow she was okay with letting mom put her gloves on. She got her RSV shot today, so the snow was a really good distraction afterwards, and allowed for an extra 20 minutes in her stander. Yes we actually made it an hour today:)

Enjoy the snow!!!!!!