Where is the Walker? {and a CP Connection}

Nina has been a part of the Preemie Growth Project since last October. For 4 months, she has been taking extra minerals every day. While it is easy to miss the changes taking place, I am reminded of her increase in strength and stamina since she has not used a walker at school since last Thursday at school.

Today, as I quickly talked to her teacher, we agreed that the only reason she needs a walker is in the morning, as the hallways are crowded and it is more of a safety issue. Other than that, Nina is completely on her own.

When she began Kindergarten, a year and half ago, she came to school in her wheelchair. Just 18 months later and she is walking all over her school.

Simply amazing!

Time for a CP Connection! Link up if you blog about cerebral palsy! Jut make sure to link your post back here so we are all one big happy CP connection




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18 Months Post-Rhizotomy {and a CP connection}

Last week, Nina and I made a trip to Mayo Clinic for her 18 month post-rhizotomy follow up. I cannot believe that it has been that long!

Her therapists and doctors were all pleased with Nina's progress. It is so fun when you see the people that have followed her for almost 3 years be as excited as you are about her progress. Nina is walking independently, and she walked up and down halls and across rooms (over and over) for everyone to see.

Here is the gist of things we discussed:

• Nina uses her walker for balance (she still looses her balance easily). The thing is, the walker is an overkill. She uses it to, "do some tricks!" per her own words to all her therapists and doctors. She is even known to give "rides" to her friends. Her gait is terrible in the walker because she uses it for speed.
• We are going to try crutches for balance help. Actually, one crutch. Her left side is very strong, and she really only needs support with her right side. We need to start practicing one crutch.
• Nina's right knee comes in (faces her left leg) every time she walks, making her right foot come in as well. As she gains balance and confidence, she is tripping on her own knee and/or foot.
• Nina has hip dysplasia, a bone malformation on her right leg femur, and still some spasticity. 
• Veredict: Nina is having surgery this summer. Okay, surgeries. Yes, 4 of them! The doctor will fix her hips, break the bone and rearrange it, do muscle lengthening in her hamstrings and PERCS on her Achilles tendons.

Nina's left side is really amazing. When you remind her to put "heel first" when taking a step, her left side is almost...normal. Remember the "magic juice" I talked about last month for the CP connection? Yeah, we really do believe this has a lot to do with her left side improving.

And speaking of the CP connection. Do you blog about cerebral palsy? Link-up! And don't forget to visit the person that linked up before you and leave a thoughtful comment!

Oh, and PLEASE link back to this post! We ALL want to be connected, it is the CP connection after all.You can link with text or copy the CP connection code from the right sidebar.

Magic Juice and a CP Connection

Nina has been drinking magic juice. Okay, it is really a mineral supplement, but one mom called it the magic juice, and I guess we have seen some great progress with it.

Don;t be surprised if some of the people linking-up are also sharing about this magic juice. And no, we don't really think it is magic, but we are seeing that there are some real deficiencies in our children with CP and this is helping in many areas of development.

About two months ago a fellow mom brought up the Preemie Growth Project. She got her daughter involved in the research and she began to see some real changes. The changes were significant enough that many of us took notice and we began to research what this project was all about. The project/research is based on a mineral supplement. Specifically plant derived colloidal minerals. The science behind it is that premature babies lack the mineral foundations to brain and muscles necessary for optimal development. By providing these minerals, the brain and muscles are able to finally function at a more typical level. For kids with cerebral palsy, this can be huge.

If you want to know more, check out the website, and like I said, there are probably some blogs linked up here talking about this.

Also, here is a pretty good article about plant derived colloidal minerals.

We are taking a very conservative approach to the supplement and we are introducing this very slowly with Nina. We are only to half the recommended dose and we are seeing changes. Nina is balancing so much better, and she is bending at the waist to touch the floor and back up again. In only a couple of weeks, we have seen change, including some improvement with her school work.

Here is a video of Nina today, check out her balance just 11 days into the supplement and only half the recommended dose.

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Join the CP Connection!

Rules:

Make sure you at least visit the person that linked up before you and leave a comment on their blog.

Link back to this post so we are ALL connected. This is kind of a big deal. Other people are finding you because this is the gathering place, so make sure you return the favor by helping others find all the awesome blogs participating in the CP connection.

You can link with text or the graphic.


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Cerebral Palsy and Independence {and a CP Connection}

This week for the first time since Nina has been going to school, I watched her go inside the building all by herself. I stayed outside, with the rest of the parents and walked back to my car. For two years I have taken Nina straight to her class, helped her out to get ready for the day. Today, however, marked the day when she is on her own.

I was not sure she could do it. She is poky, and she gets easily distracted. Not to mention that opening her locker, taking her coat of, getting her folder and books out of her backpack, and closing the locker once more are challenging to do when you lack strength and balance.

"I don't think she is ready" I said to her teach a week ago.

She smiled at me, looked me straight in the eye and said, "I want her to try. She can do this."

I looked right back at her, believing what she was saying. I even gave her hug.

"I just worry." I added.

"It's okay, you are her mom, you are supposed to worry, but she will be fine, I will be here to help if she needs me."

And once again I am incredibly thankful for the teachers that believe in my children just as much as I do. And for the teachers that remind me, and help me believe when I lose focus on my children's incredible potential.

Nina might have cerebral palsy, but she will be independent. She needs to be independent, she needs to believe in herself. And what is even more important, she needs to know that we believe in her too. So much so, that mom waves goodbye outside the school, even when every ounce of her body begs to go inside and take care of her little girl.

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It is time to link up to the CP connection!

1. Link your specific post.

2. Link back here! People find your blog when you join in the connection. make sure that those reading your post can find the posts from all the other people that have linked up. The only way to do that, is to link back! We are all connected right here! You can link with text or the graphic below.

3. Visit other blogs and leave a comment.

Thanks for linking up!




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World Cerebral Palsy Day! {and a CP Connection}

Today, September 4th, 2012 is the first world Cerebral Palsy day!

My middle daughter, Nina, happens to have Cerebral Palsy. She joined our family two and a half years ago through international adoption. It has been quite the journey!

Cerebral Palsy can be very different from one individual to another. Nina has spastic diplegia, which means mainly her legs are affected (although her arms are too, but she has full use of them). We have done botox on her legs to help with her "tightness." It worked like a charm. Then last year, Nina had a selective dorzal rhizotomy (SDR) at Mayo Clinic and that surgery has made all the difference!

Nina is able to walk around the house and her school independently (just a year ago she was using her wheelchair!) She uses a walker for balance and support when needed, and for long distances we still use the walker. But this girl can walk!

So maybe I should let Nina be the one to share something with you today...

But that is enough about us, I would love for you to check out the AMAZING blogs that are linked here for the CP connection! Some pretty incredible posts going up today in order to raise awareness about Cerebral palsy. So click away on the links and leave a comment letting people know you stopped by!

Let's spread the word together about the CP connection! 

Check out the links on the CP connection celebrating world Cerebral Palsy day! Have a blog? Join us! (<---tweet this)  

(Yes, "tweet this" is a link, so just click on the words and it will link you directly to twitter!)

Linking up?

Make sure you link back to this post! You can link any way you want, but make sure you are linked so people reading your post can find all the other awesome posts linked up here. This is a party friends, an awesome celebration of those that have Cerebral Palsy!

You can use text or the graphic below. For the graphic, just copy and paste the html code under the picture.

Link your specific post, not your entire blog.

Happy linking and reading everyone!


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CP Connection is BACK!

By popular demand, CP Connection is back here at These Broken Vases!

For those of you wondering what CP Connection is, here is the scoop...

Once a month we have  a link-up party where we all link one post from our blogs related to Cerebral Palsy. We are parents blogging about our children with Cerebral Palsy, and also adults living with Cerebral Palsy. The CP community has really come together. Living with "disability" can be life changing because of the great connections that we develop.

This time, I am going to change things a little. We will be connecting the first Tuesday of every month. What is really sweet, is that September 4th (the first Tuesday in September) is world Cerebral Palsy day!

What do you need to do?

Come here, and you will see the link-up widget where you will add your blog post. You link up your specific post, not your entire blog. Then you link up back to the specific post from These Broken Vases that you are linked up to. Hope that makes sense!

Also, I send reminders every month about the CP connection. If you are not in my e-mailing list and you just want to be reminded about linking up, or just to come and read the blog posts, make sure to send me your e-mail address. You can leave it here on the comment section, or you can e-mail me directly at: ellen at ellenstumbo dot com

Hope to see you all back here on September 4th and let's get this party started up again!

An IEP, a 6 Year Old, and CP Connection #5

Nina is 6 years old! This will be the third birthday we celebrate with her but the first one where she is not recovering from some sort of surgery. Somehow, it feels like a huge milestone! There are plans of cake, presents, birthday songs, and a party.

Yesterday, we also had her IEP (Individualized Education Plan). We went through the goals she had for this year, and this incredible little girl has met all of her goals! We then talked about the goals that we will have for her next year. I know that IEP's can be a pain, but we have an incredible team to work with. As we sat around the table Andy and I were overwhelmed by the love and care that all the teachers, therapists, and support staff have for our daughter. We are incredibly blessed by these people.

On the first day of school, a little girl with Cerebral Palsy was pushed in her wheelchair. Today, the same little girl walks independently in her school. Andy and I took the wheelchair home and her walker is rarely used. Talk about courage and determination wrapped up in the body of a 6 year old little girl that won't let her disability stop her!

One of my concerns was weather we should have Nina repeat Kindergarten or if she was ready to move on to 1st grade. Nina spent the first 3 and a half years of her life in an orphanage, and there are areas in her development where it is clear she has not caught up with her typical peers (aside from her CP). However, talking to the teachers and going through Nina's progress, we are once more amazed at this little girl. She is ready to move on and she is not lagging behind her peers. She might not have a best friend at school, but I wonder if this is because her best friends really are her sisters.

There are times when being the parent of a kid with special needs might be hard, but then there are times when your child's accomplishments are so satisfying that you smile, from a place deep down, and you feel like you are floating in the sky. We are so proud of Nina, so proud of our little girl.
__________________________________________________________________________

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It is once again time for our CP connection! Do you blog about Cerebral Palsy? Join us as we connect through our blogs!

What do you need to do?

1. Grab the code from the button above and add it at the bottom of your post. Any post that relates to Cerebral Palsy will work. It can be a new post or a previously published post on your blog.

2. Link that specific blog post to the "Simply Linked" tool. Please share a specific post and not your general blog.

3. Visit the other posts and leave a comment so that you can connect with other bloggers.

4. Spread the word about our CP connection!

5. If you use twitter, share your blog post and the CP connection using the hashtag #CPconnection

That's it! Now go visit new friends and learn from their experience as they live life with CP.

Do you subscribe or follow These Broken Vases?

Enter your email address:

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CP Connection # 4

Until we get things ironed out, here is the link-up for the month of March! Sorry for the confusion for those that have asked, but either way you can link-away!

Who Will Win Today? and CP Connection # 3

Who will win today? This is a question I started asking Nina. Is Nina going to win, or will Cerebral Palsy win?

It is like Nina is in a boxing match against her CP. She swings her little arms hoping to punch her CP, but sometimes CP comes at her with  a fierce vengeance that knocks her down.

Nina started walking with no braces, just her bare feet. This is really great progress, it means she is getting stronger and balancing better. Without her braces her left foot pops up and she walks on her toes, but she is walking, and that is always good! Actually, it is great!

The puzzling part is when she does great and the next day she just cannot do it. She gives up, she believes it is too hard, even if she has done it 10 times before. So, in an effort to try to encourage her, this is an example of a conversation we might have:

Me: Who is in charge of your body? Cerebral Palsy, or Nina?
Nina: I don't know.
Me: Can Cerebral Palsy walk?
Nina: No
Me: Can Nina walk?
Nina: Yes!
Me: So who wins, Cerebral Palsy or Nina?
Nina: Me! I can walk!
Me: Yes! And Cerebral Palsy cannot stop you from walking! It tries to stop you, but it can't! We are beating Cerebral palsy, we are winning! We are showing it who is the boss of you!
Nina: I am the boss of me!
Me: So every time Cerebral Palsy wants to stop you from doing something, you need to show it who the boss is!

I am not sure how this approach will work, but the more we can get her to take ownership of her abilities, the better and better she will do. We don't want CP to be something she sees as her "enemy" but we also do not want her to be beaten by her disability. She can do anything she sets her mind to, and slowly, we are making progress. So the last few days as Nina has been taking independent steps without her leg braces, it is encouraging to see that. Slowly, slowly, she is showing Cerebral Palsy who is the boss of her body!

I would love to hear from young adults and adults with Cerebral palsy. is this an okay approach? I do not want her to be resentful of her CP, but I want her to take ownership of her abilities. What would you advice?






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Linking up? Don't forget to link to a specific post and not your entire blog. If you visit the other blogs, maybe you can leave a comment and let them know you stopped by. And don't forget to add the blog button so you can link back here. You can always click HERE for a more detailed scoop.

Responding to Your Comments # 5

Blog Post: What To Say/Not To Say When your Friend's Baby Has Down Syndrome

Bottom line is that most people mean well even if their responses are somewhat awkward. They'll become more informed over the coming years as they get to know our beautiful children who happen to have a spare chromosome.
You are absolutely right. Most people are trying to show support. This is why we are all learning together.

I'm not sure if you waded through all the comments on Aaron Shust's blog.
Yes I did. Actually, that was the reasons I decided this was a timely post.  Which such a recognized christian figure, and with so many people offering support, it was clear to me who had kids with Down syndrome and who didn't! Again, people are well meaning, but some things are hard to hear.

We were offered an abortion because my numbers were borderline. (20 years ago)I guess it was the law, but I was hurt and insulted!
It is sad that not much has changed. I do wish that there was a better understanding in the medical community about what Down syndrome is like besides the medical issues.

I grew up with a girl with Down Syndrome. We went to (public) school together most of our childhood. I took swimming lessons at her parents' pool and spent a lot of time there. I knew she was different in some ways, but we grew up together and that was a gift. I learned that it was okay - normal - to include her in everyday activities and that she had a lot to contribute.
That is exactly it, they have so much to contribute!

It's always hard to say the right things in awkward situations, but it helps when we can share our experiences with others. I struggled with infertility for almost 9 years and it was hurtful to get comments from friends and even family who meant well, but just didn't know any better.
What a great story to share! Would you consider doing a guest post for "These Broken Vases" about this topic?

I think so often our desire to say something, anything, wins out over just keeping our mouth shut! When my son was diagnosed with autism the comments left me absolutely speechless and heartbroken. I'm sorry; how devastating for you; special needs kids can do so much now, yesterday I saw a child with DS working at Walmart...I would rather hear someone talk about how God made these babies with a PURPOSE!
I love that word...purpose! God does indeed have a purpose for our special children! I am so thankful for how my daughter has changed my life!

Blog Post: These Broken vases: Finding Beauty In Unexpected Places

I just changed over to a new format and got my own domain. I get it!
Tell me more about getting your own domain. How did that go with your old blog posts? With your old links?
What is the best way to respond to comments? I could go on and on with questions! Ha!
I am learning more about blogging. Slowly but surely!

Don't forget, February 1st will be our next Cerebral palsy Connection link-up! So if you blog about Cerebral palsy, don't forget to stop by on Wednesday!

Responding to Your Comments #4...and a picture!

My friend Melissa came to visit a couple of months ago with her camera. Melissa is a gifted photographer, speaker, and singer. She is involved in Children's ministry and helps churches figure out what is best for their programs.Yes, she is really amazing and she is beautiful. Also, she is single. So for you single men, Miss Mel is available, but you will have to pass many of her friend's approval first. Okay, that's that about Miss Mel. I forgot bout this picture until I saw it today as Andy's screen saver. I love this picture and I had to share!

On to your comments...

Blog post: Christmas Memories in Which...

In this post I asked about protecting your photos from being copied and stolen, and this are a couple of ideas:

There is an html code that you can add to the

There are really simple plugins that enable you to prevent people from copying text and images. It also disables right clicking.
Look in the add-ons section for "blog protector" or "disable right click" and you should find an add-on.

Let's pretend I am really not great with computer, and let's pretend I need step by step, clear, specific directions...okay, let's not pretend!

Blog post: My Favorite Posts of 2011

Wow, you have really had an amazing year!
Stopped by from Kasey's blog - she mentioned you today :-)

Thanks Kasey! Now it is my turn. Kasey writes beautiful devotionals and shares about what God is doing in her heart. Right now she is having a Kindle 3G giveaway! All you have to do is leave a comment on one of her posts for an entry. And for a second entry you just have to spread the word about the giveaway. Pretty sweet huh? Go check out her blog!

Blog post: Meant to be Together

As we are at the beginning of this journey, it is always reassuring to know that others have been where I am now and have lived to tell about it. :) Love is a process. And sometimes it is a difficult process.

Bless you for your honesty and obedience. We're usually called to those actions before we feel the happy, warm fuzzy feelings.

This is a courageous and needed post...
We've been down the adoption road twice and it is such. a. hard. road.
I love that this shares the process of growing love...to me that is even more beautiful.

The fact that I did not feel love for Nina for months after being home made me feel very guilty. Like something was wrong with me. The worst part, is that I felt so alone in the journey. I was afraid to tell other people how I really felt. But when I finally did, when I reached out to a friend that had adopted too, I realized that I was not alone. I was able to honestly share all that was inside of me, and God began to heal my heart. He grew that love! As I continued to talk to other adoptive parents, I came to refer to this as "adoption's greatest kept secret" and realize how common this is. Not for all, but some of us take time to get there. I also believe it is so important that we talk truthfully about our experiences so that we can reach out to other people that are going through the same situations we are too. If I do not share my struggles truthfully, how can I expect others to share truthfully with me?

Our newest little grandson (3 months) was born with Down's and he's a perfect addition to our family.

Congratulations! He will continue to bless your family. Yes, he is a perfect gift!

Blog post: CP Connection #2

We had our second CP Connection. Bloggers that write about Cerebral palsy coming together and sharing their lives. If you write about CP, have a child with CP, or are an adult with CP, please join us! Every first of the month we will be joining together and "blog hoping" to visit one another so we can learn. the link is open for the month. If you have not had a chance to visit the blogs that are linked, you can visit them now!

CP Connection #2

With a New year, we are looking forward to some new exciting things for Nina. After her 6 month post-rhizotomy follow up at Mayo Clinic, we have some goals and lots of work to do. Hopefully we will get Nina back in private therapy because she needs it in order to accomplish these goals.

1. Nina will walk 20 feet independently with braces and shoes in 4 weeks.
2. Nina will ambulate with forearm crutches with contact guard assistance for 25 feet in 4 weeks.
3. Nina will transition from sit to stand independently from bench (90/90) in 3 weeks.
4. Nina will increase hamstring length to 35 degree popliteal angle.

Pretty exciting to think about, although 4 weeks sounds a little intimidating, but we will work hard to accomplish these goals. It would be great if her next gait analysis is done with her crutches and independent walking.

Some new 'toys" for Nina include:

Glasses: Nina has a new prescription and new glasses. We stayed with blue, because she likes blue glasses. She has such a small face that finding frames is difficult. But I think these are pretty cute. If you know of some good deals on bifocal glasses for kids, please share!

 

 AFOs: Nina finally outgrew her first air of braces. These new friends of hers are pretty sweet, not only because they have butterflies, but do you see how they seem to be in an angle?

 There is a plastic piece that connects the bottom and the top of the AFOs. This little plastic piece provides quite a bit of resistance, so when Nina stands, she has to really push and make her legs straight. When she takes a step, her toes come up, being pushed by that plastic piece in the AFO. This is making her take steps and make contact with her heel first...for the most at. We have never seen heel-toe steps, all we saw were toe steps or straight down, but never heel first. These AFOs are awesome!

 There is a down side to these awesome AFO's. The extra little piece there that makes Nina step so well, also makes her braces very wide. So wide indeed, that we have not been able to find any shoes that go over them other than Crocs.

 So here is a video of Nina walking with her new AFO's. If you pay close attention you will see there is heel first contact in her steps, especially her left.

 Forearm crutches: And they are pink! Okay, they look salmon, but it is a shade of pink so we are happy. This was Nina the first time she held them. She was very nervous.

And here she is, practicing walking with the crutches. We have been told it takes 2-6 months to learn how to use them. I believe that!

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Now it is your turn to join in the CP Connection. A few things to remember, make sure you add the CP connection button at the end of your post, that way we can all be "connected" in one place. Take some time to visit the other blogs and leave a comment if you are able to. You can click here and read the guidelines in how to connect.

CP Connection #1

We load up the girls in the van, then I fold Nina’s walker while Andy folds her “pixie-dust” blue wheelchair. Once we are all packed in the vehicle, Andy reaches for the glove compartment to make sure we have the handicap tag.

“I never thought I would be one of those parents.” He says looking through the rearview mirror as we back up the driveway.

“What do you mean?” I ask puzzled.

“You know, the parent that has a wheelchair in the trunk and the kid with a disability…Two kids with a disability!”

“Ha! Yeah, me neither.”

“Now it is just part of life.” He adds.

“I cannot even imagine what our life would be like if we were…normal!”

We laugh. We have come a long way as we learn to do life with special needs. Down syndrome has been enjoyable, almost easy compared to Cerebral Palsy. The equipment and physical strength can take a toll on our bodies sometimes. The simple tasks now mastered by Nichole, who has Down syndrome, are difficult still for Nina, who has Cerebral Palsy and is 5 years old.

Two years ago, when Nina joined our family through international adoption, all we knew about Cerebral Palsy came from books. We thought we were ready, prepared to tackle her special needs. Yet, actually parenting a child with Cerebral Palsy is not something you learn in a book, it is something you do. For example, I knew all the stretches I needed to do with her, but finding enough time became a challenge, along with the reality of the painful experience stretching is, and how against it Nina would be.

Spastic Diplegia were words I did not have in my vocabulary before I had Nina. Now, those words feel so intimate, so personal. I care about what color Nina’s forearms crutches will be. I push for her to take some independent steps, and try not to be frustrated when she gives up. But we keep working at it, we press on.

No, we never thought we would be one of “those parents.” Although it can be hard, it can be so good! The celebration of milestones cannot be compared. The pride of seeing your child achieve something they have worked so hard on is joyfully intoxicating. 

And we like being one of “those parents.” The flashes of color we experience because of our girls are better than being "normal." We wouldn’t have it any other way.

 Now it is your turn, if you blog about Cerebral Palsy, link up! 

But don't forget to copy the "CP Connection" button and add it to your blog post!

You can read more about the linking on this post.

Calling All Cerebral Palsy Bloggers!

Tomorrow is the day we will all link up and connect with one another. I shared before that it has been in my heart to create a "Cerebral Palsy Connection" or community. This connection will allow us to support, encourage, and learn from each other.

So here is the scoop...

1. Write a blog post that relates in some way to Cerebral Palsy. Not sure what you should write about? Here are some ideas.

• Introduce yourself, or your child. What type of Cerebral Palsy do you/your child have?
• What was it like to recieve your child's diagnosis?
• If you are an adult, what advice would you give to us moms?
• What has helped the most in this journey? Therapy? Surgery? Emotional support?
• What has been your biggest challenge?

2. Once you have your blog post finished, make sure to include this image at the bottom of your post.

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All you have to do is copy the code (the code is all the "writing" in the box underneath the image) and then paste the code into the body of the post.

3. Publish your post and come back here. You will see a blog post titled "CP Connection #1." At the bottom of that post, you will see a "Simply Linked" widget. It will ask for 3 things.

1. Link Title: This is where you post the title of your blog post.
2. E-mail address. It will not be displayed!
3. URL: Here is where you post the link to your blog post. Be sure you are linking to the specific post, and not to your general blog.

Submit your link and you should see it appear in the widget.

4. Once you are linked, take the time and visit the other blogs. Make sure you leave a comment too, so they know you stopped by and visited.

There are so many adults with Cerebral Palsy out there that have much to share with us moms, I value their insight tremendously. These adults help me understand what Cerebral Palsy might look like for us in the future, and how much Nina will be able to accomplish. They inspire me, really. And as moms, it is nice to hear what other moms deal with. It is nice to know someone else "gets it" and understands our challenges and struggles. Some of my closest friends are those that have children with special needs, we just have a special connection.

Spread the word, and I cannot wait to visit all your wonderful blogs together so that we can connect and learn from each other!

Responding to Your Comments #2

Blog post: When Cute Makes a Difference

Go to the Walk Easy Website. They're what I've used most recently. The PT who told me about Walk Easy said if insurance won't cover it then you can do a tax right off, since you have a prescription.

Thank you Sarah! This is great to know and to pass along!

I will take a moment and encourage you all to visit Sarah's blog. Sarah is a young woman with CP, and I am really looking forward to having her join the CP connection.

Blog post: This Man

Happy Anniversary!

I had to read back and I can see why some of you thought it was my anniversary. Sorry about that, it is not our anniversary yet! Still a few months away. I just wanted to take a moment and thank my husband for being the stud he is!

I do hope that someday I can at least have the opportunity to hear Andy preach. :)

When I figure out how to link to his sermons, I will do that!

Reading the story of your struggle with Nichol's birth, I noticed that Andy never judged you; never tried to "Fix" you. That was the true test of a wonderful husband. He is truly a Godly example to all who know him.

 Yes, you are right, he never tried to "fix" me. He allowed me to take the time I needed and he listened to me. I love how well he listens and how willing he is to get in the "hole" with me.

So often we hear so much more about how bad marriage is, how it's impossible, how you may as well count on it not lasting. It is so refreshing to read about women who are in loving relationships. No, it isn't always easy, but it is definitely worth it!
And what a legacy you are leaving for your daughters, showing them how a husband and wife love one another!

It is worth it! My parents are divorced, and while they were wonderful parents, I was not able to learn from their relationship. Their divorce affected me, even as an adult.  It is my heart's desire that my girls know that their mommy and daddy love each other. They find their security in us, and we work hard at being connected and in the same team.

For the rest of you that left your thoughts on this post, thank you! And yes, I encourage you to thank your husband for what he does. You can write a blog post, you can write him a letter, leave a sticky note where you know he will find it, or send him an e-mail. Let him know you appreciate him.

Blog post: Cerebral Palsy Connection

In an effort to connect with other CP bloggers, I will be hosting a "blog hop" Thank you for all of you who will be participating! I am really looking forward to this!

Blog post: Much to be Thankful For

I came across your blog as IDSC for life posted some of your links on facebook.
We have two adopted girlies, our youngest (two weeks old today) has Down syndrome.

 I love the work that the IDSC does! I am their hispanic outreach coordinator. I really need to do a better job at that job and get some more information here on this blog!

And congratulations on your baby! I love babies with Down syndrome and I am not biased at all! 

I'm thinking you should get Nichole in the modeling business.

 Well thank you! I think she is beautiful too! There are times I find myself gazing at her blown away by her beauty. She gets to me.

What a blessing for two orphans to have a connection between their old world and their new world. That will be so valuable to them as they grows and seek to develop their self-identity. Blessings!
Yes it will. They remember being together at the orphanage and you are right, they will have each other. They have similar backgrounds, as if we do not know anything about their biological parents. While we won't be able to bridge that, they will look at each other as their "family." And I will add that Oksana's family, all of them, have become dear friends. The type of friends you have for a life-time. So these 2 little orphan girls, have given us a precious gift by bringing our families together.

Cerebral Palsy Connection

Do you see this image on the sidebar?

Let me tell you what this is all about. 

When Nichole was born, I quickly discovered that the Down syndrome community is very connected. This "new family" came along with Nichole's extra chromosome. Any question I had, any frustration, any joy, anything at all regarding Down syndrome, there was a group of people around that I could go to, learn from, and lean on.

When Nina came along, I tried to find the same support and connection in regards to Cerebral Palsy, but it was not the same. I called all Cerebral Palsy moms right here on this blog, because sometimes CP is just plain puzzling! Yes, I have met some wonderful people. There are great moms out there advocating for their kids, and there are some incredible adults that do their own self-advocating. I am so thankful for those connections made, but, I know there are more of us out there in this blogging world.

In light of that, I decided to host a "Cerebral Palsy Connection." I want to hear from other moms that have kids with CP. What has worked? What has been hard? What is life like? I also want to hear from young adults and adults living with CP. What can you share with us moms with younger kids? What is life like as an adult having CP? What has worked for you? What advice would you give to us moms?

What will it look like?

Every first day of every month, we will all come together and link up so we can do some blog hopping. (Yes, I am letting you know some time in advance because of Thanksgiving break and so that we can spread the word.)

On the mean time, you can grab the button on the sidebar, and share it on your blog.

Then, on December 1st, come back here and join the linky! That easy! 

And don't worry, I will remind you about it so you don't miss out.

I am so excited! So very excited to meet new friends that travel the same road we travel as we do life with Cerebral Palsy.