Training Her Up!

Before....

After!!!!!!

I guess one thing about having all girls is that I can train them to help me with my chores, whereas Daddy will be left to fend for himself. Erin willingly and happily spent about 40 minutes folding her and Anna's laundry yesterday. Anna loves to help me put it in the washer and now I have this part taken care of it. Before you know it, they'll be able to do it all. I hope the newness of this task doesn't wear off anytime soon!

Anna Banana

Just thought I'd take a quick minute to update what's been going on over the last week. Anna has a renal ultrasound on her kidneys on Tuesday and we received the results today that they are both perfect and there is no need for concern! PRAISE THE LORD! We met with our genetic counselor to go over all the VCFS entails, which is a lot, but we had been doing research so there wasn't anything too alarming. The blessing of having a late diagnosis is that we've already learned about her major issues like the heart and palate, and we know that she has an immune system, just don't know how great it is. Through my reading though it looks like her immune system will get better with every passing year and won't be of too much concern in the future.

Right now our major concern is Anna's speech delay. If she does have apraxia, it will be a long road of speech therapy with her. Our new therapist is so good and is already getting Anna to show improvement after only 2 visits. We have flash cards to do with her and drill her because kids with apraxia need repetition. Children with VCFS though are good at rote memory, so she's got that going for her! Pray that during this critical year of age 2, she will begin to show improvement in her expressive language. She has learned several new signs this week as we want her to have a way to communicate with us! The therapist told us the goal is to have kids with apraxia entering Kindergarten on track and into a normal classroom. I was very encouraged by that.

How's mama doing???? Well, for the most part pretty good. Some days are better than others and I have a more positive outlook. I do have days where I'm discouraged and down, mostly because I see Anna working so hard and feel like she's so smart, she just can't get it all out. She has been healthy for 2 weeks now, and she is so happy. Even though we've been careful to avoid certain germy situations, I haven't felt trapped or lonely. I guess the nice weather helps with that! I really am learning to take it one day at a time and treasure the time I have with her! A new song came out on K-Love this week by Kutless called What Faith Can Do! Both times I've heard it I just start crying, because I know what our Faith can do, and I can't wait to see it happen. One line says, "I've seen miracles just happen and dreams that can move mountains!" I'm claiming that for Anna, still asking for a miracle, but fully aware that it is all part of God's plan for her!

Apple Picking!

On Saturday we headed down to Knott's Island to go apple picking. This is something I've always wanted to do and since picking peaches was so much fun, we decided to invite along our small group. Not everyone could make it, but we did have a great turnout. The apples were a little sparce, but from what I hear, there have already been some delicious apple pies and crisps made. I haven't quite made it to the cooking yet, but the girls sure are enjoying fresh apples. After we left the farm we all crammed on the ferry over to Currituck and enjoyed a picnic lunch which I failed to take pictures of. It was a great morning with friends, fruit and ferrys!

Daddy's Birthday!

We celebrated Joe's birthday this weekend with a trip to Texas Roadhouse. They make you get on a saddle to embarass you and Joe put Erin on his shoulders and then got on the saddle! Then we made our way to Skinny Dip, a yummy yogurt place! Here's to a new year for Joe with lots of blessings, another daughter, and many happy times. We love you Daddy!

Update on Anna's Immunology Appt.

For the sake of keeping a record of this journey, I've chosen just to copy the emails I send out after each appointment onto the blog! So if it sounds familiar....it is!

Hello All - Anna had her appointment with the immunologist today and the doctor is not overly concerned about her at this time. 10 more viles of blood were taken and some of it will come back rapidly and others will take 4-6 weeks. At this time, we are praising the Lord that she does have T cells that fight infection, we just don't know how substantial her count is yet. The main test will grow a culture in her blood to determine how well the T cells do their job and what we're working with. So for the next 6 weeks we will do our best to keep Anna out of situations where she could come in contact with "bugs" i.e. mall play areas and sadly church nursery. I am blessed with a family that is willing to chip in and watch Anna on Sundays so I can make it to service or small group and not feel isolated!

The other positive thing that happened today is we met Anna's new speech therapist. Our former therapist couldn't coordinate with our schedule so arranged for this therapist to come several weeks ago. The Lord's timing couldn't be more perfect, this therapist is an expert on speech appraxia and even started a local support group for parents whose children have appraxia. I was thrilled with her this morning and she is not ready to give Anna the diagnosis of appraxia and told me of so many other possiblities for Anna. She made me feel very confidant that we will do whatever it takes to catch Anna up with as little frustration as possible!

So you can probably tell my tone is a little different today. I know we still have lots of opinions to gather and we can't see the whole picture yet, but for today we are praising the Lord for good news and positive feedback. Thank you all for your encouraging emails and calls last week. So many of you ministered to us in so many ways! We are still taking it one day at a time and realizing that the Lord's timing is always perfect.

One last thing, Anna's palate surgery has been scheduled for October 29th. Again, I would like it sooner, but know that the Lord's timing is perfect.

Take Care,
Jen

New Traditions....Papa Joe's Pride and Joy

As many of you know ODU kicked off a new era of Football this year. Papa Joe has been excited about this for 2 years and I think I can honestly say, he was even more excited because he had 2 cute cheerleaders to show off. Erin and Anna love to be in their ODU outfits cheering the team on. I don't think Anna will go to many more games as she is a handfull, but she loves to clap her hands whenever the crowd gets really excited. Erin is convinced that her cheers have led the team to both of their victories.

It is a lot of fun as I never experienced the whole college football hoopla of tailgating and screaming at a team. Plus, we get to sit next to our good friends the Jacksons which is always a fun time! So here's to a great kickoff season for ODU with 2 of the cutest cheerleaders on the block!

Growing Up and Going Up!

The girls are growing up and since our family is expanding we decided to make room for our newest girl! Anna has successfully been transferred to a converted crib, although I did add a small rail to keep her in at naptime(little stinker). Erin's room is being transformed into a princesses castle built for 2. We fell in love with these bunk beds and since we know they will be used for years to come...we couldn't say no. Erin has adjusted very well to sleeping on the top bunk. We plan on moving Anna in November after she's had her surgery. Although she is very anxious to be in there now and Erin is anxious to have her. It's exciting and sad all at the same time, but I guess they have to grow up - it's just what they do!