Happy Thanksgiving Day!

This Thanksgiving I feel especially thankful. Not in the "Let's pause for a moment to be thankful" way. I have been feeling so aware for weeks of all that we have in our life, all that is good and all that we have to be thankful for.

1. I am thankful for the friends and family in our life who support and love us, make us laugh, care for us -- and in doing so, keep us going.

2. I am thankful for all of our therapists who have become such an important part of our life, who support us, give us knowledge, and who have a deep affection for and a vested interest in the quality of life of our little girl.

3. I am thankful for the people we have met in this process, our 1p36 family, the other fighter parents who work tirelessly to raise awareness, to increase funds, to change the future -- because if we don't, who will?

4. I am thankful for the strangers who care, care enough to learn, care enough to spread the word, care enough to help, care enough to bless us with such incredible kindness -- strangers who have become friends because they chose not to look away.

5. I am thankful for the most incredible partner, friend, husband; I am thankful for his unwavering love, his honesty, his ability to just "get it" and his integrity in fighting for not only our daughter, but for what is right.

6. And I am thankful for my girls, my sweet, darlings, beautiful Allison & Kaylee, for their unconditional love, patience, for their resilience, for their love of adventure, and for their unending zest for life.

7. Most of all, I'm thankful for Kaylee's health and her overall progress. Kaylee has been seizure free since February 17, 2009..a little over 9 months! That's been a big blessing in itself...Praise God, we have been blessed and I'm forever grateful for that.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. On this day, may you be surrounded by joy and laughter and those you love. May we each pause for a moment, amongst the chaos of the day, and look with gratitude on the blessings and the miracles that encircle us, ever mindful of those who continue to walk in the darkness of uncertainty. Peace and love to you all. Thank you for being part of our lives.

Big accomplishments for Kaylee & Isabella our true miracle!

Big Accomplishments...Kaylee is a big girl!

We are so proud of our little 15 month old love bug. On thursday, Nov 5th, Kaylee sat up unassisted for over 5 minutes...that's a hugh accomplishment! Then, the next day Kaylee sat up for over 25 minutes only falling over 3 times....we just picked her back up and she continued to play with her toys. It brought goose bumps watching her sit up like a big girl and play with her toys. She definitely has come a long way in the last 3 months. For the longest time, she avoided all toys...it was to the point where she wouldn't even look at them. Now, she wants to touch and play with them. I was amazed how well she held herself up while manipulating with her toys...she looked so grown up. Its these little moments that makes everything so well worth it...all the therapies, the emotional roller coaster rides, and so on. We can finally see light at the end of the tunnel, a rainbow after a big storm....a great sense of hope and peace. Eventually everything will work out somehow.

Kaylee has come a long way in the last 6 months. She can now sit up unassisted for over 20 minutes as I mentioned earlier. She plays with toys, vocalizes more with different sounds not so much babbling but she is getting there. She just learned to stick out her tongue while trying to mimic us...it's so precious. Kaylee has tolerated her stander very well for at least 30 minutes daily. As long we play her signing time she's a happy little girl. Thank God for baby Signing Time...its been our savior during all her therapies. Kaylee can also be on all fours now with assistance of course. She's learning to coordinate her arms when we move her knees along the floor. She still has a long way towards crawling... everyday is a working progress.

Isabella Rose... Our true miracle!

We just got back from Florida on Monday. Our little niece Isabella was born on Oct 23rd and was rushed to NICU for breathing difficulties. At first, the doctors thought it was just wet lungs but 2 days later it progressed to severe respiratory distress. Little Bella was fighting for her life. They had to put her on life support, a vent to help her breath. The doctors suspected she might have a severe viral infection but couldn't pin point the exact cause of her lung issues. At one point the doctors told her parents, Carrie & Josh, that their little girl might not make it and that we needed a miracle. That is the most devestating news anyone can possible hear..that their little precious girl might not make it. We are all shocked and devestated. Isabella is a full term baby and weighs over 7 lbs. How can this happen to her? She's so innocent, beautiful, and perfect in so many ways.

Its amazing how a horrible event like this can bring everyone together. We prayed and prayed and prayed...we had prayer chains all over world praying for precious Isabella. Our whole family flew to Florida to be with Josh & Carrie during their darkest hours. In the end, our prayers were answered when Isabella was discharged on November 6th. She is now at home with her parents who absolutely adore her. I truly believe in miracles...this was definitely God's work! Miracles can happen..God is so good!

Overall, we had a wonderful family reunion in Florida despite the reasons that brought us all together. One thing we learned throught out this all, the importance of family, unconditional love, and hope. We are truly blessed to have beautiful Isabella in our lives. She will continue to bring so much richness and happiness to us all. We love you sweet angel!!

We spent Halloween with all of our family in Florida. Allison was dressed up as Thumbelina and Kaylee was the cute little strawberry fairy. Of course Kaylee didn't tolerate her costume for too long. She cried in most of the pictures we took of her...I guess I couldn't blame her since it was in the 90's with little to no breeze. Allison and Kaylee had a blast with all of their cousins. Cousin Emily just adored little Kaylee...she was like a mother hen who couldn't leave Kaylee's side for a minute...too cute for words. We all went door to door on this one street that was blocked off for Halloween. There were many haunted houses, games, and candy. The kiddos had a blast and the daddy's had fun scaring them with their creepy masks. Sometimes you wonder who enjoys it more...the kids or our husbands? Overall, we had so much fun considering the circumstances that brought all of us together. We are just blessed that everything turned out on a postitive note....Isabella is safe & sound in her own crib with her parents watching her every breath....a true miracle!