You've come a long way baby...

Tonight I couldn't help but feeling so grateful for the progress Annabel is making. To others it may seem slow, but to us it means the world, for her and us. With Annabel it is a race to work when she is well. By work, I mean therapy. With these special little ones, you can make two steps forward and then you are hit with illness and you take 10 backwards.
As I sat her down by the tree tonight, I realised last year that she would not have been able to sit alone. This year I can actually move away from her and take a picture. She also showed an interest in the ornaments and also playing with the bow on the presents. At this point, Annabel is doing better than she has since the storm. I am truly praising God for the healing he has allowed Annabel at this point and praying for her during her winter months. Praying that she will stay as well as possible, that she will be able to control her secretions and stay as free of UTI issues as possible. Thank you for checking in!

My very first snow....

Annabel woke up to a Winter Wonderland! I am sure you can tell from her cold little face she wasn't too keen on this white powder. My older children called and said get a picture of Annabel in the snow. I found a place in the shade and placed her little rocker there, bundled her up in two blankets and her little flannel gown. You can see this is not a happy face! We took the pictures very quickly then ran back in the house.
Some of you know that we had damage from the storm and Annabel, Carly and Colette, my twins, and myself moved to a new, smaller home right around the corner. We call this our little cottage! It looks so cute with the snow on the roof. As you can tell we am still in the process of putting up the decorations. One of the pictures is of our street. To us who never get to experience snow, we thought it was so wintery and beautiful.
School was not cancelled but was delayed. So Annabel did get to go to school for the day.






I LOVE MY SCHOOL SO MUCH...
I have always struggled with the idea of sending a sick little baby to school at such a young age. The fact is that she is fragile and nothing I do will change this. God has blessed us with so much more time than we imagined. When I first found out that school would be an option when she turned three years old, I thought absolutely NOT! We began to realize how much Annabel enjoyed other children and adults. She beams when anyone talks to her. She literally comes alive. I was told of this teacher at the school she attends and that if I could get her in this class, do it. Blessed doesn't begin to describe how I feel about this school and her class. The greatest gift to me is that I know when Annabel is at school she is LOVED. Mrs. Anne is her teacher, Ms. Lisa and Ms. Alice are the teachers aides. I have posted pictures of them prior to this post. The lady in the bottom picture is Mrs. Shan, who is also such a gift to this class. I have always know Shan in our community, but what I never knew is what a beautiful heart this lady has. She visits with Annabel when she is not there to substitute (she has two handsome boys at this same school), and then when one of the aides are out she is called upon. I am so grateful for each and everyone who has contact with Annabel. From the time I enter the doors of the school, the principal, vice principal, other teachers, the nurse, secretaries and therapist tell me about what she has done that day or how happy she has been. I have to be honest at my age, it is good to have a break to run errands or just clean my house while she is being well cared for. We are also so lucky that she has 3 very caring therapist, Ms. Linda, Ms. Dana, and Ms. Christy. So thank you to all who touch Annabel's precious little life.

Party girl...

Saturday was a day of Christmas Partying for Annabel. My son Tyler had his Christmas party for his unit in Pasadena. We boarded the RV early in the day for the trip to help set up and prepare for the Christmas Party. Annabel was so good just hanging out, taking her nap and then attending the Christmas Party with a visit from Santa!
The party was bittersweet for us due to the fact that if all goes as planned Tyler will be deployed before next Christmas.



Boarded the RV so that we could attend my Christmas party with my ACTS sisters. It began much earlier and we arrived at 10:15 p.m. I call these the die hards that kept things going until I arrived. These are some of the ladies that have prayed Annabel to be where she is today. They love her and she loves them. I think she smiled for two hours straight after arriving. It only took me about an hour to wind her down after arriving back home. Lisa thank you for hosting the party and to our social planner Denise, and of course to all the party goers. I hated that I missed so many by arriving late!

Does this look like incompatible with life??????

For those that aren't familar with her disease, Trisomy 18, the title of this post is the definition to what it means.

Update on Mallorie Rose...

I want to thank all for their prayers. Mallories fever is better, mainly dealing with repiratory issues and needing to be on an antibiotic. I know Connie and John appreciate your thoughts and prayers through this very stressful time.

Prayers for Mallorie Rose...

Several of you know about Mallorie Rose. I received a call from Connie this morning saying she was really struggling to breathe. As a matter of fact, Connie said she was considering intubating her and I knew she was very sick. The next text I received was for prayers and that they were on the way to the ER, fever 106.2 (no typo here), and struggling to breathe. I sent out prayers to our Acts community but never got to get to my computer until tonight. I do know her fever did go down and that she was in a room with a diagnosis of pneumonia. Connie's family is such a faithful prayer warrior for her little blog babies, so please lift Mallorie Rose up in your thoughts and prayers. I don't know if Connie will have a chance to update, but the next call I get I will let you all know. Thank you in advance for you prayers.