Pray for Izzy!

new look & countdown begins...

2012-02-12T23:04:00.004-06:00

We are now in the "chute" as my surfing sister Tiffany put it... Friday, February 17, Izzy will have surgery. Spinal fusion from base of neck to tail bone. I am not looking forward to this day and have actually dreaded it for some time now. Izzy has been doing really great at school, learning so much, smiling, standing, riding her bike... and now I feel like this is a big PAUSE in her progress to fix her sweet little curvy back. I know that this ultimately will make her life easier because we spend so much time trying to make her comfortable using pillows etc. It also means more lying down to prevent further curving. She hates the tlso (back brace) and although she begins her day with it on, wearing it to school, she lets me know even before we get there that she wants it OFF. I don't blame her!

Thank you my sweet bloggy friend Judi for making Izzy's blog look fresh and cute!!!

Field Trip Fall 2010

2010-10-28T19:56:00.006-05:00

We had a fun windy cold day at Orr Family Farm in OKC today. Izzy held a rabbit, pet a chicken and a pig! She rode on a hay ride to a pumpkin patch.... It was the 2nd grade trip, the little girl in the pic above is Grace, Izzy's friend. She has been so sweet to Izzy for years and has been in her classroom for three years (Grace told me this today). She prays for Izzy nightly and is one of a handful of girls who really love Izzy. Melanie, Izzy's teacher is holding Iz for the pic. Arionna and Nathaniel also went on the field trip. Tomorrow is another trip and then yet another in November!

Hips are healing... although allergies have been an issue this week.

Izzy got an award this week at school for meeting her AR goals (AR is a reading program).

In just two weeks I get to fly to Seattle to meet a group of mothers who have children who have nearly drowned. A few of these ladies have been such good friends for years! I am so excited!

where we are now...

2010-04-08T17:53:00.003-05:00

I took Iz to the surgeon for a x-ray check on her back yesterday. He said that her back is 20 degrees improved with the brace. He was satisfied with those results so for now there will be no adjustments... other than those made by izzy getting used to wearing it. She made some acknowlegement today with Camilla that she is "wiggling" out of it, turning it sideways. When it is crooked her para Michele takes it off. So far she hasn't complained too much while wearing it.

Our next step is to visit the doctor in May to do pre-surgery paperwork etc. It's hard to imagine that her surgery isn't much more than a month away!

She had a few sleepy days this week but thankfully "came back" to us today. She was vocal and had the spark back in her eye. Melanie sent her report card home today with a lovely note about her progress that I will post when a) I have it on hand, and b) I have time to type it all out.

I cannot say often enough how blessed we are with the teachers and therapists at school.

pediatric orthopedic surgeon appointment update.

2010-02-04T20:11:00.000-06:00

Matt and I took izzy to the pediatric orthopedic surgeon Wednesday morning. The primary reason for scheduling this appointment was reports of increasing hip pain and discomfort. The secondary reason was a discussion I had with her orthotist about doing some tendon release to get her feet where they need to be (flat.). It's no secret that Izzy's diagnosis is not something that doctors can "fix" or even know what to do about. The brain is a mystery. The body parts are not such a mystery, and Dr. Herndon felt very confident in the surgery he is suggesting as very necessary. I zoned out after I heard incisions and bone cutting so I'm not sure about the exact details but I do know that it is a long surgery requiring a partner to work on opposite hip at same time for six hours total. It will require a blood transfusion. She will be put in a cast from chest to toes for six weeks. Yesterday was very overwhelming. We live in a protective cocoon... believing Izzy will get better... not seeing her through physical eyes but with our spiritual eyes. Listening to a doctor make proclamations about her condition is and always has been disheartening. Don't misunderstand, our God is bigger than those words... but we are human and words hurt. These particular words seemed to hurt a little too much yesterday.

I continue to stand on the scriptures of promise that are tabbed above. I am so thankful for family and for friends who are supportive and encouraging at times like this when we face uncertainty, and yet know where all certainty comes from. Sounds like a double existance, and honestly sometimes feels like one. I think that is just another way the enemy inhabits our thoughts and tries to cause our faith to decrease. I was especially thankful for Matt yesterday. I remembered how good we are as a team yesterday. The reason I think we stayed sane (or partially sane :) ) through Izzy's accident and hospital stay. He is strong where I am weak. I'd like to think visa-versa as well.

We could sure use prayers (of faith) right now. Our church is having a 24 hour prayer vigil for Iz. I keep thinking someone is praying for her right now. What a comfort.

I have an appointment Monday for her to see the hospital orthotist to have a brace made for her back to try to keep her back straight(er) while sitting up. The next step will be an appt. with the orthopedic surgeon for xrays again to make sure the brace is effective.

a quilt.

2009-06-27T21:58:00.003-05:00

Kate is a member of the ponds (parents of near drownings) group... she is not a parent of a near drowning, but is a quilt maker. She has a long waiting list for her special quilts. Isabelle has been on her list for years. At least two years ago Kate mentioned some of the patterns of material she had found and wanted to know if anyone on the waiting list was interested. She mentioned an olivia the pig pattern and I said I thought Iz would love that!

The Olivia the pig quilt arrived this week. Such a beautiful quilt full of so much handwork and love. The border around the edge says, "exercise is good, accessorizing is better." Isn't that cute? There are pigs with bows and different accessories on the quilt. It's a great size and I know Isabelle will enjoy it so much. We've had fun just looking at the different pigs on the quilt.

The quilt group is "Circle of Hope." Thank you Kate & Circle of Hope for such a wonderful quilt of love and... well... pigs :) !

a surprise

2009-06-24T19:02:00.001-05:00

Today was Izzy’s day for ESY … which is Summer school. She has been missing Melanie (her favorite teacher)! Today Melanie came to surprise Izzy! She brought balloons… and one was ORANGE. Izzy grabbed the orange balloon when Melanie showed them to her. Word was that Iz did better with Karen and Camilla than she has all Summer. Melanie is a great motivator. Lots of exciting things to look forward to this school year including a new classroom of their very own that is bigger and can accommodate all the things needed to make school perfect! So great.

Thank you Melanie for coming to school today to surprise Izzy. She was so happy to see you! (so was I)

izzy's teachers...

2009-05-21T18:40:00.001-05:00

I made the teachers and therapists t-shirts... they all wore them on her graduation day!

I'll be back later to post report card info for ms. smarty pants Isabelle :) !

zoo and orange...

2009-05-07T17:31:00.007-05:00

Yesterday when I was picking up Isabelle from school, they were letting her choose the color of her new hand splints. I usually just order pink or purple when we get any type of splints or orthotics... anyway, with her new found ability to make choices using her left hand for no and right for yes... they were eliminating choices and had it narrowed down to three. Pink, neon green, and orange. I watched as they showed her each color several times and she chose orange! I couldn't believe it! Gram and her love of OSU has obviously had more affect on Iz than I had thought! So she'll be sporting fancy orange hand splints.

Today was the zoo field trip. After an early morning State Honor Society breakfast, me and Izzy headed to the zoo. We actually beat the school buses by almost an hour! I was happy to see a few old friends from church and then a couple of "girls" I graduated with not many years ago :) ... It was nice catching up and then we hit the zoo!

It was a very humid day. My hair is the biggest evidence of that!!!

Izzy and Emelia (Izzy's school para/mom's daughter) got airbrushed tatoos at the zoo. They chose butterflies.

We braved the stinky snake house! Here's Izzy checking out a tortoise!

The snakes were icky! But we looked at them all!

There were two things I didn't exactly enjoy about the timing of our zoo trip. 1. It was feeding time which meant there were a lot of animals gnawing on a lot of nasty bones and other things... and 2. Those things have to come out of those animals and the gorillas made quite a show of that. I will spare you the details, but lets just say some things should NEVER be eaten!

This is teacher appreciation week and me and Izzy sure do appreciate these two girls!!! Michele and Melanie are the most awesomest bestest para and teacher ever!!!

Here's Izzy and Michele's daughter Emily. They had fun zoo-ing together today!

This is what kept me and izzy hydrated! Our favorite drink!

izzy's great day.

2009-04-28T17:54:00.003-05:00

Izzy had a great “blogworthy” day at school…

(here’s the note that came home with her today)

Special times in Isabelle’s Day

Melanie:

1. Ate lemon pudding in the cafeteria with kids and opened mouth wide!!!

2. Used yes/no response cards for lessons (and got them all right) for 30 minutes!

3. Sang all through music.

Margaret:

Told Margaret, “I want to go.” after Melanie left the room. Margaret said, “you can go when say Melanie” SO IZZY SAID (drum roll) elanie!!! Yes she got to go back to Melanie!

Michele:

Sat in Michele’s lap after a lot of hard work and smiled BIG!

A+ day - showed us how smart she is today - made Michele cry, (happy tears)!

Report Card

2009-03-17T11:20:00.002-05:00

I thought I would share the details of Izzy's report card for this 9 weeks at school. She has been doing really great at school. We are so extremely blessed with the group of people who work with Izzy at school. They are the BEST!

Izzy's IEP goals page showed the following::::::::::::::::::
Goal#1
While in supported sitting or standing, Isabelle will initiate reaching for object or switch, 3/4 presented.
10/14/08 25%
1/6/09 40%
3/11/09 50%

Goal #2
In supported sitting or standing, Iz will maintain head/neck in neutral position for two minutes, 2/5 trials, while engaged in visual or academic activity.
10/14/08 10%
1/6/09 25%
3/11/09 50%

Comments:
Izzy has been doing great with head control activities in all positions. She has been able to hold a neutral position while prone over a wedge and without complaint!

Progress report
3.12.09

Izzy is a sweet young lady who always tries hard. She has shown much
improvement this school year. Since our last progress report Izzy has
shown an increase in her ability to answer yes/no questions using her yes/no
cards. She has shown us that if given 3-17 seconds to respond she will
wiggle the fingers on the hand that has the corresponding answer.

A definite improvement in her head control and eye gaze has been made this
semester. She holds her head straighter and holds her eye contact longer
when using the new CCTV machine in the classroom. Her attention span is
longer and she seems to really enjoy looking at the material presented on the
CCTV.

Izzy loves to ride the bike and do things that are physical. I have
watched her develop an increase in fine motor control. When I place items
in her hands she holds them for longer periods of time. She likes to draw
and color.

Izzy is holding her head up for longer periods of time while on her
stomach. She is becoming more vocal when she wants something. On the
occassion that her teacher says or does something silly she cuts her eyes over
and gives us "the look!"

Michelle and I look forward to seeing her everyday. She is a joy to
work with.

Melanie C.

Like I said, these are such great people who encourage Izzy to do her best and push herself daily. I am so thankful for them!

2009-02-23T09:26:00.002-06:00

izzy rides the bike!

2009-02-12T18:03:00.000-06:00

I got a call from Izzy's teacher, Melanie, right before arriving at school today. She told me my presence was requested in the hall to watch Izzy ride the bike! By the time I got there she was pooped, but she still pedaled! The video is of her bike ride, towards the end she starts pedaling by herself again.

kid walk

2009-01-20T18:02:00.002-06:00

Here are a few pics of Iz in the kid walk today…

The first one is kinda funny because she was working to get her head out.

izzy's report card

2009-01-09T10:17:00.001-06:00

Kindergarten Progress Report
January 8, 2009
Izzy is demonstrating improvement on a regular basis in several areas since our last progress report.
Izzy is using her eye gaze on a more consistent basis to choose activities and when making her preference known from a choice of two things. She is becoming more vocal both with her likes and dislikes!
In the general education classroom she sits very attentively during group time on the carpet and has started responding vocally when the other students are interacting with her.
Izzy’s new chair is allowing her to be more on the same physical level as her peers in the classroom. The students love to sit beside her or stand by her chair and help her with her work. Izzy shows she enjoys this as well by looking at them and trying to do what is asked.
In Physical Therapy Izzy is showing major improvements. She always pushes with her legs when asked to stand and seems to be developing more head control.
My goal for Izzy is that we continue to provide her with many opportunities to communicate her wants and needs to friends and teachers and give her many opportunities to communicate what she is learning. We will continue to try to make school fun, interesting, challenging and a place where she can make many good friends.
Izzy is precious and a delight to work with!
Melanie
I HEART Melanie. She always expects a lot from Isabelle and I give God the glory for each and every improvement, but expecting things from Isabelle is wonderful because she meets those expectations.
After school yesterday Melanie mentioned she had a good day with Camilla. When we got home Camilla had emailed this:
Annie:
Sorry I had to leave today before I got to talk to you. Izzy did a fantasticjob in P.T. today. Her standing looked incredible - feet flat on the floor (shehad her braces on), working really hard to keep her knees straight, keeping herhead up. I was really encouraged today and I am so excited for that Kidwalk tocome in. Izzy seemed pleased, as well, and smiled several times. It was a greatday. I told her she brought joy to my heart!!! Hope you all have a greatweekend. Camilla
I ♥ Camilla! She has always pushed Isabelle with love!

news...

2009-01-03T10:31:00.004-06:00

We got word from Asbury that the "kid walk" is finally all ready to be delivered! It is amazing when you go through the steps/hoops for something like this and finally get it! It is such a happy "finally" moment! We first tried this piece of equipment out in June. The pic is from that first trial of the kid walk. It is pretty new and we were all excited about how she looked in it and had great hopes for her in it. After a trip to the orthotist in November we began working on getting her feet in a flat position so that she wouldn't be working against them. Gary the orthotist made special stretching foot splints with springs that allowed her to push against them, but when she sleeps they automatically pull on her feet constantly. She has made such great gains over the last couple of months wearing the splints mostly at night. We tell her that she is getting her feet ready for the kid walk and she really seems motivated to tolerate the splints. We also got the swash in November and it has made a world of difference in her hips. I wish we'd had this all along!

They will deliver the kid walk Wednesday to school. I can't wait to get her upright more and see her have an opportunity to move. All she has to do is simply lean at first and the walker will roll in any direction. I am hoping that she will be excited about moving herself.

Isabelle had a good Christmas, she had a little cold but overall seemed to enjoy the holidays more this year than in previous years.

AFO measurements... left 18, right 8! The plan is to pick up the soft body cast (removeable and for positioning) in one week, revisit in two weeks for adjustments and at that time make molds for the new standing/walking afos and order the little shoes!!! We are so close!

God is good. All the time.

Happy New Year!

CHRISTMAS

2008-12-11T18:09:00.004-06:00

results...

2008-12-11T18:08:00.001-06:00

AFO measurement for today...
left 20 degrees
right 10 degrees!!!

AFO results...

2008-12-04T10:27:00.003-06:00

Izzy with Gram & Emelia

I have been recording the angles of izzy's ankles each week since we got her new AFOs.

When we started the left foot was 45 degrees and the right was 25 degrees

After the first two weeks it was 40 and 20. (measured by orthotist)

November 24 it was 32 & 18.

Today it is 28 and 12!!! When we get within 10 degrees of our goal (90 degrees or normal flat foot) we will order the standing AFOs and shoes!

Our goal (set by orthotist) was to get 2-3 degrees per week! She has exceeded those goals.

We should be getting the KIDWALK any day now. I pray that she is inspired to move when she gets in it and that her feet are stretched enough to stand comfortably. Well, I really pray that she'll take off walking (Mark 11:24 ... 2 Corinthians 5:7).

swash

2008-11-07T10:58:00.005-06:00

Here is Izzy with the orthotist, in her new swash!

Izzy was little red riding hood for Halloween.

Izzy is doing great in the swash! She is already looser in the pelvic area and hips. Yesterday Camilla said that she sat Izzy on the bolster and told her to stand up to the count of 10. I'm sure Camilla was holding her hands. So she stood each time and when Camilla said 10 Izzy would sit down. She challenged her to go to 20 but Izzy sat down at 10 or 11. I guess she was getting tired.

When Margaret worked with her afterwards she had rhyming flash cards and a switch that simply said "yes" for izzy to push. Each time Margaret showed her and spoke the rhyming words Izzy would push yes and did not push the button for the words that did not rhyme. She did all the answers correct and consistantly. At the end Margaret told her how well she had done and Izzy pushed the button for a "yes."

She is still adjusting to the new AFO's. She lasts about 1-2 hours before demanding they come OFF. We cut back the tension on the right one last night and are hoping just getting used to them on her feet will help her adjust. We're very excited about getting the kid walk soon and having her all ready for lots of standing and moving!

2008-10-28T14:49:00.001-05:00

I took izzy to the orthotist today to pick up her S.W.A.S.H. and A.F.O.’s. The A.F.O.’s were not quite ready, they are adding springs. Here’s Izzy being fitted in the swash…

We had to wait while things were shortened and lengthened and tightened …

All done! We go back next Monday to get the AFO’s. Here’s a pic of Izzy with the orthotist.

riding the bike!

2008-10-09T21:55:00.004-05:00

Izzy has been doing great in school this year. I have been posting about it on my blog, but forget to post here too!

She spends her days with her teacher, Melanie, who is a visual therapist and Michelle who is Izzy's para. They do a lot of visual activities in their little room and then spend time in kindergarten class. Izzy has speech therapy now every day. Margaret (speech therapist) realized that Izzy gets tired of working after 20 minutes so she is seeing her daily for a shorter time. She has been using a storyboard software allowing izzy to press the mouse to have different phrases spoken. When I pick her up she is always prompted to push the mouse to say, "I'd like to go home soon." She uses eye gaze and now is using her hands to make choices. She does a lot of coloring and papers using hand over hand.

Melanie showed me a video that was taken in the classroom of Izzy coloring. She is putting it on a cd for me and when I get it I will load it up so you can see it too. Isabelle is really showing her teachers and therapists that she knows exactly what is going on and with a little patience can show them what they want her to do. Melanie works hard to keep Izzy inspired to work. She brings fun princess tiaras and clip on earrings to encourage her to make choices.

Camilla works with Izzy on Tuesday and Thursdays. This week she rode the bicycle on Tuesday and did great! She held onto the handlebars the entire time and relaxed her legs as the pedals went up and down. Today she was on a board that had wheels (hard to explain), but she was given a hoola hoop to hold and camilla pulled her up and down the hall. Camilla is great and is always coming up with fun things to try.

While I miss Barbara and Niecie who were her teachers for the last three years, this year is off to a great start! We still get to speak to them and fortunately Barbara saw Izzy on the bike and ran for the camera (she knows I love to SEE what Izzy is doing) and emailed several pics to me.

Tomorrow we are going on a field trip! We will drive to Shawnee to visit a pumpkin patch/corn maze. We'll ride on a hay ride and plan to stop for ice cream on our way home.

what's going on...

2008-09-12T08:13:00.003-05:00

I was writing a response to an email this morning about Izzy and realized there were enough things going on to warrant an update on her!

I'm seeing some new things this year and it's pretty exciting. Izzy is starting to actually show interest in certain things. This after so many tries to get her to act interested in a toy or a food. She pouted when her teacher tried to replace a toy she was holding and stayed unhappy until she was given back the original toy. I watched her reach for Barney stickers in therapy yesterday and was actually surprised to see her little hand reach high to get the sticker. She really wanted it! I brought home cheesecake from lunch the other day and offered a bite to her. She gobbled up all I would give her. She loved it! I am so excited to see her show preferences!

She loves being read to, likes to be talked to like a big girl, and enjoys her time at school.

You know that we always give God all the glory and praise for any and all improvements in Isabelle, without His healing and protection we would not have her at all. We are so thankful for the work that He is doing and the wonderful things to come!

locks of love

2008-08-12T15:52:00.001-05:00

Here she is... hair washed and brushed, ready to be measured and cut.

Sectioned and waiting for scissors... It has to be at least 10" tip to tip. No colored hair or layered hair.

One down...

Pause for tears.

Done.

Swallow hard. another tear.

The new style, she seems pretty pleased with her hair!

Whew... that was harder than I imagined. I just hope it helps someone, somewhere.

izzy is 6 today!

2008-07-26T20:19:00.003-05:00

Izzy spent her sixth birthday sleeping in late, watching Gram and Grandpa John cook, and swimming with mom, dad, and brother Bailey.

Here she is in one of her new birthday outfits (from Gymboree)! So cute!

Swimming with mom!

2008-07-06T21:53:00.002-05:00

Mom got this cute dress for Izzy. She wore it to church this morning and looked adorable. The sun was so bright she couldn't keep her eyes opened!

Her hair is so long! So long. I am seriously considering a cut. Like 10 inches... for this.

happy fourth...

2008-07-04T23:43:00.002-05:00

A pic of Izzy from today.

summer school

2008-06-11T16:32:00.000-05:00

Today was Izzy's first day of Summer School, which is basically a short session with PT and OT at school. It is on Wednesdays throughout June and July. Today we saw Camilla (our favorite :) ) and the representative from an equipment company came to try her out in a semi new product called Kid Walk. It is really hard to describe, but it holds her in place securely while allowing her oppportunity to move. It is really a neat thing and I was impressed with several things.

She is never very happy in any type of standing device and she seemed pretty comfortable in this.
She looked pretty good in it and her legs looked good.
She could easily move.
She did try to initiate a step or two at the beginning.

It did make her very tired. We moved from that to try a lightweight stroller because she is outgrowing hers and she almost went to sleep she was so comfortable in this. We are hoping to get a good deal on this demo model. They retail for about 2K and so we'll see. He's supposed to let us know about pricing later today. I don't think insurance will pay for another stroller yet because she got the big one about a year ago. We can't use it because it's too heavy to get in and out of the car so it's brand new. It is also really big. This one is lightweight like the one we've been using, just bigger. It was really comfortable to her and that's huge because she is rarely comfortable in anything.

I took a few pictures of her in the equipment because it is so hard to describe. Of course she had a slew of therapist messing with her the entire time. I'd like to see her in it alone, just left to do whatever and see if she tries to move. I think she would!

pics

2008-06-07T09:29:00.003-05:00

See Izzy's new tooth!

an update... finally!

2008-05-14T07:35:00.003-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted an update so I thought I would tell you a few things going on with Isabelle lately...

At school they are constantly looking for ways for Isabelle to communicate and share her choices. They use several things and one way they are giving her a choice is asking her to blink once for yes, and no blink for no. Camilla was with Izzy in pre-k and told her it was time to move to her purple chair. She said Izzy fussed. So she explained it was time to get into the purple chair again and Izzy fussed again. So Camilla looked into her face and said, "would you rather sit in your stroller?" and she said Izzy gave a very exaggerated blink for YES! She is getting pretty good at using this method for letting her views be known.

Yesterday Camilla was with her again in pre-k class. She said that she was in her stroller and she had put Izzy's feet on the foot rests. Izzy usually doesn't like to keep her feet in this position, but Camilla told her to keep her feet there so she does not kick her friends. Camilla said she was very careful to keep her feet in that position. She was at the play doh table and Camilla was talking to someone when she noticed Izzy had reached for a cookie cutter the kids were using to make shapes with the play doh. She was sliding it towards her. A friend helped her cut her play doh and Camilla said she opened her hand to hold it.

She continues to do little things daily that show us and others that she is so aware of her environment and she really wants to participate in things. She has been ringing her bell more and more.

Isabelle is getting so tall and is cutting one of her front teeth (finally). She has been a snaggle tooth girl for a year now.

We're coming up on four years since her accident. It's been a long four years, but we know God has been right here with us every step of the way. He has guided us and strengthened us. He has sent just the right people at just the right time to help and encourage us. I want to thank each person who has continued to keep Isabelle in prayer and has believed in her healing. Walking by faith, not sight is truly easier to place on a pretty plaque than to live, but we continue to believe God's promises over what our physical eyes see or what the world says.

IEP

2008-04-22T22:47:00.002-05:00

Today was Izzy's IEP at school.
I can't say I was looking forward to this day.
It is mostly a lot of paperwork.
I liked the positive tone of the answers to the questions on the forms.
The teachers, therapists.... Izzy's team... they are all very positive. I can't imagine dealing with negativity at school. I came away feeling like I had a great support, working with me to help Izzy. It was good.
There were goals set for the next school year.
There was no question that Izzy is very aware of her environment and that a primary goal is to help her communicate more effectively.
She will have a few new faces working with her next year. She will have her own paraprofessional who will be with her the entire time she is in school and will work with the vision therapist about an hour a day. She will also spend time in kindergarten every day. She loves her friends from pre-k so it makes sense that she will move up with them and spend circle time in that setting.
Overall Isabelle is doing really great, and next year will be a whole new chapter in Izzy's story.

happy easter.

2008-03-23T21:47:00.004-05:00

Spring break is coming to a close with a really nice Easter Sunday. Isabelle had a good week and is finally recovering from a little cough that has been hanging on for a few weeks. She is such a healthy little girl! I think she has missed going to school this past week. This morning in Sunday School her teacher, Melissa, gave her a ring with lip gloss inside. When I put her in the car Emelia reached over for some lip gloss and Izzy jerked her hand away. She didn't want big sister taking her lip gloss ring! It was pretty cute.

Happy Easter!

2008-02-05T19:28:00.000-06:00

Another picture taken at school with Izzy in her pre-k class.
Yesterday when I picked her up from school she was coming in from swinging outside and Niecie stopped by the pre-k class for Izzy to tell her friends goodbye. Several kids came to her and some kissed her cheeks. When Niecie turned her around to me she was smiling. She loves her friends and school. She also saw Bear on Monday. He sure gives her a good stretch! He showed me a few new stretches to do at home daily.
She has been really happy this week, lots of smiles.
She is really enjoying listening to books on tape while looking at the books. I ordered several from scholastic.com for her to have at home. They haven't arrived yet, but when they do I'm going to look for a portable cd player and earphones like the ones at school. They have several earphones so her friends can listen too.

2008-01-23T08:43:00.001-06:00

Izzy had another good school day working hard. She spent a lot of time with Camilla and was very intent on listening to her conversation with the vision therapist helping out. She did assisted walking again and did well, relaxing and taking cues to relax. The letter of the week is Q and her ST said she was trying to make the q sound in st. Her little pre-k friends played dress up with her yesterday and here's a picture of Izzy wearing fake hair and boa!

back to school

2008-01-08T17:09:00.001-06:00

Izzy sure was ready to get back to school today! With the week off due to the ice storms and then two weeks for Christmas... it's been a long break!

She had a good day today and was smiling when she saw me come into Camilla's pt room to pick her up.

I had a little meeting with her teacher, Barbara, about the future. I have been so blessed with the love and encouragement these teachers and therapists have shown to Izzy and me over the last few years.

Isabelle has started moving the curtain back in the mornings to reveal the light from the sun. Matt is looking for a bell that she can ring when she wakes up since she has been doing that several days now.

This week is national week of prayer and fasting. We are participating and praying for specific things everyday, today is "situations that seem impossible." I have a few of those (: ...

Hello!

2007-12-27T21:50:00.000-06:00

Just a quick note to let you know Izzy is doing great this week!
She enjoyed Christmas, but is ready for school and her friends. I explained to her (again) today that she is out of school for two whole weeks, I got a growl in return!
She is healthy and happy.
Izzy mostly got cute clothes from Gymboree for Christmas, along with some toys, bracelets, movies, and a snow globe that is musical. She will have lots of choices when it's time to go back to school... what to wear, what to wear? :o)
As always Isabelle was a trooper over all the days of Christmas celebrations. She is such a good sport about being lugged around here and there.
I re-did her blog design today, it was just too Christmas-y... now that Christmas is over!
My goal is to take a pic of the kids and mail out New Years cards with their pic since I didn't get it done for Christmas... but hey, maybe picture valentines?
Izzy made the cutest calendar and book in school for Christmas. I love them. She has the best and most creative teachers ever! They insisted she come for the party last Friday, she did... she wore the snowman dress in the picture below. She was so cute!
Thanks for continuing to pray & believe!

merry christmas!

2007-12-21T18:01:00.001-06:00

a couple of pics...

2007-12-20T20:25:00.000-06:00

Here are two more pics of Izzy at school!

Izzy at Pre-K

2007-12-05T21:39:00.001-06:00

post signature

update

2007-12-01T21:13:00.000-06:00

It's been so long since I have updated this blog... so much is the same, and yet things are continuing to change and progress continues to be made. I am so proud of how well Izzy is doing in school this year. It really makes me happy to hear all the good reports when I pick her up. I believe that even if the reports are less than positive, I know she is still improving... but hearing good things is always a good thing. Some happy things going on with Izzy lately ....
... she loves pre-k and continues to really respond to her pre-k friends. Kathy went to class with her Thursday and said she was amazed at how much Izzy has improved since last year. She also said Izzy reached out to take a toy house. That's new!
... Izzy loves letters. She pays close attention when looking at letters! She (with Niecie's help) wrote an E last week. She took the marker in her hand and held on to write. She wanted to do it.
... She has been very vocal and communicative, more all the time.
... She had some stuffiness again over last weekend and first part of the week, but is all better now!
... Bear is still doing great with her. He said Friday he could see improvements since our last visit.
... Jana, Brook, and baby Nikki visited tonight. Nikki (10 months old) was climbing on Izzy and she pushed her away.
There are so many little things but that's all I can think to write tonight.
I can't close without thanking you again for keeping Izzy in your prayers.

2007-10-31T13:48:00.001-05:00

I had to take a picture of Izzy today when she finished her bath.
Then I had to share it with you.

orlando - final post

2007-10-23T14:49:00.000-05:00

We started our morning (Monday) visiting with Pluto and Mary Poppins.
Pluto was a sweetie!
The girls with Goofy.

We left the village and headed to Universal Studios!

Our first ride was the Dr. Seuss ride.

Izzy really did like this ride! After the first spin she was really holding on though.

We stopped in the I Love Lucy shop

Not long after we came out we saw the actress playing Lucille Ball.
She was so sweet. The girls were up on the sidewalk taking her picture and she stepped down into the 'street' and knelt down to visit with Isabelle and told her how beautiful she is. Very sweet. I didn't spend a lot of time visiting the characters, but found her attention to Izzy to be very endearing and genuine.

Another ride that we all loved including Izzy was the E.T. ride!

Here's Izzy on the E.T. ride!

Well, that almost concludes our trip.... We spent our last evening at the Villa, had dinner and packed. It was a wonderful wonderful week! Thanks for sharing it with us.

day five ~ seaworld

2007-10-20T18:39:00.001-05:00

First we saw the flamingos.
I was showing Isabelle this adorable Rosita puppet and we found a really cute seaworld t-shirt for her here!

The kids all got temporary tatoos. Here is Emelia's.

Bailey is pretending it hurts :o)!

The group...

Feeding the dolphins

In the manitobe building

Waiting for the show to start.

The Seaworld outing was really fun. Shamu was great and I loved the "Believe" show! We headed back to the villa and had dinner.

day four

2007-10-18T11:18:00.000-05:00

We got up Saturday morning and drove an hour and a half to Melbourne Beach.
It was beautiful. The water was so powerful and I could feel the power and presence of God there. I sat on the beach, holding Isabelle and a devo song came into my mind...
"have you ever stood at the ocean,
felt the white foam at your feet
heard the endless thundering motion,
then I'll say you've seen Jesus my Lord."
I got a little teary eyes singing the song to myself and enjoying the view.

The kids loved playing in the sand and water.

Here we are letting Izzy feel the white foam and waves on her feet.

Here's mom & izzy sitting on the beach!
Emelia building a sand castle.
Amanda
Emelia & Bailey just enjoying the water
I couldn't resist writing Izzy in the sand...
So, we left after we all got really sandy and wet and headed back to the villa to change and eat lunch. We had plans to go to Disney MGM for the afternoon. It was a perfect afternoon, no rain!

The kids posing at the Chronicles of Narnia display.
I love the shrub of Snow White behind the kids...
We ended our MGM tour with a ride!
The Tower of Terror!!!
It was very scary!
I barely opened my eyes.
That was the end of Saturday, day four of our trip.
We went back to the villa and then went to dinner.
They had a princess and pirate party there so we walked around a little and then headed to bed.
We had to rest up for Sunday (Seaworld)...

disney ~ day three

2007-10-16T14:22:00.001-05:00

Here we are first thing Friday morning, meeting Barney!
(and baby bop and TJ)
Just meeting the group...
We headed over to the pillow maker to get a special pillow!
Here's Izzy with her pillow.

We were then given a star to write Izzy's name on...

This is the ceiling of the castle of miracles. Izzy's star is in this section.
There are 36,000 stars in the castle!
All this before breakfast! Here we are sitting at the breakfast table!
Izzy is happy, it's been a great morning.

Izzy with Amanda
Change of clothes and ready to go to Epcot!

Happy in the car as we're pulling out of the drive.

Epcot!!!
We got very very wet! It came a downpour as we were walking to get into epcot.
You can tell I am saying, "I'm soaking wet!"
Here's little soaking wet Izzy!

This was Izzy's favorite ride at Epcot. It was all about Nemo.

That pretty much concluded day three. We went back to the villa and got dry... ate dinner and headed to bed. I'll be back soon with day four.

disney vacation ~ day one and two!

2007-10-13T16:09:00.001-05:00

The first day of our vacation was spent mostly traveling. We left OKC early (before daylight) Wednesday morning. Here we are at our first layover in St. Louis, MO.

We arrived in Orlando around 3:00 p.m. and made our way to "Give Kids the World" at about four. We were taken to our villa where we found a gift basket full of fun goodies and a fridge full of yummy treats! A big Mickey Mouse doll for Izzy and shamus for everyone! They brought gifts for each kid everyday with the daily newsletter of events and menu. It was so much fun! and the fun started! and then Izzy fell fast asleep!Up early Thursday morning, we met Mickey & Minnie (and Belle too!)

The kids played in the water for a little while in the morning. Here's Bailey trying to hide, he didn't want to be caught playing in the fun water park (teenagers :o)... and then we got ready to go to Disney's Magic Kingdom!

This is the monorail thingy that we had to ride into the park. I was so hot and Izzy got upset and fell asleep when I held her. This is one of the many lovely flattering pictures of me, notice the incredible amount of glow I have :o)! Here are my cool kids, getting ready to enter Magic Kingdom!

We rode lots of rides. Izzy liked the sleeping beauty ride and here are me & Amanda on the dumbo ride.

Izzy enjoying an icee!
Me reassuring Izzy on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride :o)! (kisses always help)

waiting for the ferry...

Christmas night at GKTW. Here's me and Izzy out for the night of fun.

Izzy with Santa and Mrs. Clause.Isabelle picked a glow worm for her Santa gift.

Here was Izzy with Mayor Clayton (the mayor of GKTW).
That ended our first two days in Florida!
I'll be back soon for day three!

our trip...

2007-10-12T10:30:00.000-05:00

Wow, we had so much fun! Izzy loved it! She rode rides and was a trooper. I don't think she cried one time while we were away. She enjoyed the fast pace and was perfect. It was so much fun. (did I say that already?) I'll leave you with a few pictures and plan to keep posting pics as I sort through them.

Izzy at the dinner table ... happy!

Izzy decked out for the day in pink!

Izzy in the car... ready for a day of fun!

Izzy and mom at the beach.

Emelia at the beach!

I also wanted to mention a little change in Izzy. I noticed it before we went when Amanda was taking izzy off the therapy table, she cried like she was afraid to fall. She has never acted like she was worried about falling. Yesterday Camilla said she was scared on the barrel and she attributed it to an increase in depth perception and vision! We didn't do therapy while on vacation, but Camilla said her legs didn't show it at all. All good things.

christmas...

2007-10-04T21:04:00.001-05:00

It was Christmas around here tonight. Here is Izzy with Santa and Mrs. Clause. It was complete with presents, snow, decorations, and carriage rides!

from florida~

2007-10-04T09:46:00.001-05:00

We met Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, and Belle this morning.
Izzy has been all smiles since we arrived.
Here's a pic with M & M, she is smiling at them!
Okay, off to Disneyworld!!!!

cowgirl izzy

2007-09-26T15:58:00.000-05:00

Izzy's teacher, Barbara, emailed this photo to me this afternoon! I just had to share it with you.

apples & pre-k

2007-09-26T15:12:00.000-05:00

Izzy enjoyed pre-k today, making apple hats and playing in cornmeal!
Here is a picture they took at school with some of her friends.

little bears all in a row~

2007-09-13T15:32:00.001-05:00

Izzy is watching her pre-k friend, Mykayla line bears up
on her arm...

more school news~

2007-09-11T16:10:00.000-05:00

Today was Izzy's day to stay late with Camilla, Izzy's physical therapist at school.
Camilla said that Izzy worked in her room with Margaret, Izzy's school speech therapist. She said that she got Izzy in a good tailor sitting position while Margaret worked on choices with Izzy, using her vision. She started showing her balls of different colors and then started working on same and different. She then would say, "look at the ball that is the same color as your pants." Camilla said she got every direction correct and that her eye movements are getting a lot faster.

While loading Izzy up I saw Candace, who works in the pre-k class. She stopped to tell me that they love having Izzy in pre-k. I told her Izzy loves it too. She said that Isabelle loves when they are singing and that she really follows everything going on. She said that she enjoys her friends.

I enjoyed hearing these good reports this afternoon so much I thought I would share them with you!

Some pics of Izzy this week~

2007-09-07T15:37:00.001-05:00

Izzy surfing the net with big brother Bailey...

Izzy with the arangatang that seems to interest her at school...
look at that expression!

More with the arangatang...

Feeling the buzzy bee.

Izzy went to see Bear today. He always does very well working with her and giving me ideas... We made it back home in time to eat and get to pre-k. Izzy had a good day today. Rumor has it she and Barbara (her teacher) got stuck in the ball pit... She got to sit at the computer with her friends in pre-k Jaycee & Tessa.

school news~

2007-09-05T11:10:00.001-05:00

Izzy's been a little stuffy the past few days, but she's a trooper! She went to school yesterday and worked hard. Tuesdays are her 'late' day with Camilla (p.t.). When I picked her up a little early she was putting her in the walkable. Camilla said she thought maybe Izzy wasn't up to doing this work, but she knew I would come in and say... "she's fine!" like always. I'm getting quite a reputation at that school! Anyway, Izzy did a good job in the walkable and seemed less cranky about it than last time I saw her in it.

I didn't get to speak to Margaret (s.t.) personally, but Camilla was 'around' when Margaret was working with Izzy and said that Izzy was really talking with her. She said that she had given Izzy a choice between a cracker and a cookie and she said Izzy said, "cookie." After she had a few nibbles (it was chocolate mint and apparently not a favorite of Isabelles) she asked if she wanted more to which Izzy replied, "no."

Niecie said that while in Pre-K class she put her little hand up for a stamp like the others and has been doing that everyday.

Baby steps? Maybe. I think they are worthy of praise to God, who makes all things possible.

Here is a picture of Izzy with her friends Tessa and Karis. They are two of her new bffs at Pre-K and are so sweet with her. I think I mentioned them building a castle on her tray and Izzy holding her arms back carefully as to not knock the castle down.

Last night Matt was tickling Izzy's feet and she was fussing at him. He told her if she wanted him to stop she had to use her words and say "stop" or "no," she immediately said, "no." He stopped!

pre-k updated new pic

2007-08-22T08:26:00.001-05:00

I don't have any new pics (yet) of Izzy at school. I will post any when I get them...
But wanted to share some things that Niecie and Camilla told me yesterday when I picked Izzy up from school.

The pre-k teacher has some kind of monkey that has light up eyes and makes noise. Apparently Izzy was really really interested in this thing. They said she was looking down and when the teacher passed by with it she perked up and watched it intently.

The pre-k teacher went around the circle taking their little right hand and helping them make the sign for the number seven. As she made her way around the circle each child raised their hand for her to arrange their fingers for them. Camilla said that the closer the teacher got to Iz, she could feel izzy raising her right arm and was ready for the teacher to arrange her fingers when it was her turn! Isn't that cool?

They say Izzy lights up and loves pre-k. They are going to begin giving her a choice after vision therapy to either go back to the pre-k class or to go to Ms. Barbara's class. I'm excited about this year. Another thing I've noticed is that she is more vocal, I think those children's chatter is encouraging her to try her voice too.

Keep praying, she's doing so great.
I love you Camilla!

2007-08-22T00:16:00.000-05:00

school days

2007-08-16T15:39:00.000-05:00

Here's a pic of Izzy with one of the pre-k teacher assistants (Candace) who sits with her during circle time.

Niecie told me the first day at pre-k the kids were all questioning what had happened to Izzy and she wasn't sure what or how much to tell them. I told her to tell them that Izzy got into the swimming pool without her mommy or daddy and that they must be very careful when around water without an adult. She went back the next day and told them that and one of the little boy's parents said he came home and said, "I don't know what happened, but she got in the water without her parents and now her arms and legs don't work." I think it is great that they are learning water safety. They all want her to talk to them and ask everyday, "when will she talk to us?" She will talk. I just know it.

Niecie also said that they left pre-k to do visual therapy. Izzy fussed and fussed so Niecie asked her what she wanted. She said do you want to go back to pre-k, more fussing. Do you want to go to see Ms. Barbara? More fussing. So Niecie said, "Okay Izzy, I don't know what you want to do. You are going to have to help me out here." So she said one more time, "Do you want to go to pre-k?" and Izzy looked straight in her eyes like, "finally" and then she said, "or do you want to go see Ms. Barbara," more fussing. They went back to pre-k and the fussing went away and she was a happy girl again. She really likes the kids in the pre-k class.

I left my camera with Izzy today to get pics and Niecie is going to ask some parents tomorrow for permission to take their pics playing with Izzy.

school days~

2007-08-14T14:44:00.000-05:00

Here's Izzy with Niecie and Barbara. I love them!
I also love Camilla who is not in the pic, I'll try to add her later. They are all a huge blessing!
Izzy had a great first day! She loved being in the pre-K classroom.
Camilla is going to have her walk (in the walkable) to pre-k two times per week.

stroller etc.

2007-08-12T21:04:00.000-05:00

The umbrella type stroller that Dawn sent arrived Friday. I took Izzy to a church outing Saturday and then used it for church Sunday. It is so nice and lightweight. I just love it. Here's a pic taken on Saturday. The sun was so bright we forgot her sunglasses so she is squinting. I think she enjoyed both outings. Tomorrow is the first day of school! I'll try to write an update and post a pic or two!

izzy standing...

2007-08-08T23:31:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pics of Izzy standing up today. She is doing great! Healthy & happy!
School starts Monday.

p.s. thanks terri for the fun light up aquarium!!!

Izzy's birthday

2007-07-26T21:38:00.001-05:00

Just thought I'd share this pic of Izzy looking at Dad while he was singing happy birthday to her... it was so sweet.

Izzy is five years old!!!

2007-07-26T00:00:00.000-05:00

I can't believe my baby is turning five
I'm so thankful to God that she is alive
the last three years have been a struggle
therapies and learning many things to juggle

So many prayers offered for my little doll
I love and appreciate them all
I can't wait to see what the next five years bring
seeing Iz progress I shall joyously sing!

Happy Birthday Isabelle

izzy update updated (added pic)

2007-07-21T10:17:00.000-05:00

How can we be so busy and yet not have that much to report?
Funny huh?
Well, here is one of the pics Izzy's Summer occupational therapist, Debbie, sent from last Wednesday's session. Thanks Debbie for taking the time to take pictures and to email them!

Izzy's new stroller was delivered right before school on Wednesday.
It is huge!
Izzy does seem pretty comfortable in it so we'll see what the p.t. thinks of it.

This is how the stroller looks right now. I ordered a new one not only because Izzy is outgrowing hers, but also because it is so heavy to lift it in and out of my suburban. This one is in two pieces and I haven't quite mastered the assemble/disassembly.
That metal part is pretty heavy, but I am hoping I get used to it.
A friend and fellow ND parent has a lightweight umbrella type stroller she isn't using now and is mailing it to us for those quick run in trips. Thanks Dawn!

We went out today so I took a quick pic of Izzy actually in her new stroller!
Bailey and Emelia have spent the week at art camp. They had such a good time. Bailey was in a film class and at the end of the week brought home a video the class made. He is the 'star.' It was so cute! and Emelia took a jewelry class so she came home looking like a different kind of 'star'... She was definitely in her element and enjoyed all the jewelry making.
Amanda is continuing to help with Izzy's therapy during the day.
We are also putting Izzy in the stander and on her tummy several times a day.
She is doing great and is so incredibly healthy it is amazing, God is good!

That's all I have for today, thank you for your prayers and the love you have in your hearts for our sweet little Izzy!

july 7 pics!

2007-07-07T20:14:00.001-05:00

Bailey & Emelia

Emelia & Izzy

Bailey

Izzy with Emelia

Matt helping Izzy float

Amanda (she didn't swim with the group) she went to a work day at church...

update...

2007-07-05T18:08:00.000-05:00

We've stepped up Izzy's schedule... with Summer we were a little lax, but Coach Matt has given us all the pep talk we probably needed and things are going well. Since Amanda is without employment he has employed her here. She is doing an hour or two of Izzy's therapy per day and other various jobs for us. It is working out well to have her on the payroll (:o)) I am thinking a job away from home is probably looking really good right about now. The good news is that she can also use her therapy hours for National Honor Society. She also gets to use hours from the Canada trip.
Our home has been a kid magnet all Summer! The neighborhood kids enjoyed popping all their fireworks right in front of our home and come to swim a lot! Bailey had a guest all weekend and then another friend stayed Monday-Wednesday. Emelia's little school friend just showed up too! Earlier Emelia was in the kitchen with a line of sandwiches she was making to carry out to the 'hungry' neighbor kids... I think I've painted a picture of what life is like around here :o).
No school this week for Izzy as it was fourth of July. I think the multitude of fireworks was great visual stimulation, so much so that she fell asleep watching them. Our neighbors chose this romantic holiday for their backyard wedding. Rumor has it they also dressed as Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam. I miss all the good parties. The best part was the after wedding firework display we were able to watch from our front yard.
Lots of therapy, tummy time, standing, swimming, rolling etc. for Izzy. I cut a few inches off of her hair this afternoon because it was just so long it got in the way of things. I almost regret it, but I know it will be easier to brush out and she will be more comfortable not getting it caught all the time.
Please continue to say those prayers for faith for our sweet little Izzy!

summer school~

2007-06-20T16:34:00.000-05:00

Izzy went to Summer school today... she spent time with Camilla (her favorite & mine too) in the walkable & with Margaret (st) and with Mary (ot). Here's a pic Emelia took of Iz and herself in the car on the way home (with my cell phone camera).

izzy...

2007-06-19T09:32:00.000-05:00

Nothing new to report this morning, we saw bear yesterday and he just kept saying, "she just looks better to me." over and over. She (Izzy) does look good and she is doing great!
A new friend "Kaedra's mom" emailed this pretty believe sign to me this morning so I thought I would share it!

update~

2007-06-13T19:38:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update on Izzy...

Izzy had her first day of Summer school today. She worked with the pt, ot and st. They said she did very well today. She was a little fussy with Margaret (ST) but that is usually the case.
Izzy went to see Bear Monday. He does great things with her. He massaged her vocal chords and had her howling. He is really good with her and she seems to like him almost as much as he likes her.
Still lots of standing for miss Izzy. She seems to be tolerating it all very well.
Matt has been taking her for evening swims, she will kick her legs and likes the water (at first)... she gets tired of it and ready to get out pretty quickly. She also likes floating on the mat back and forth from Matt to me. She always makes sure she can see me when Matt has her.
Izzy used the big girl pottie (#2) two times since this weekend.

Bailey and Emelia are at camp this week and Amanda is in Canada, so Izzy and me are having a nice quiet week.

The picture is from a my blog friend from Greece, Irene. She saw it on her calendar today and posted it for Izzy. She knows I collect believe signs.

standing & smiling~

2007-06-02T20:05:00.000-05:00

Izzy's been spending a lot of time in the stander this past week.
This is a loaner from school. It works pretty well and she is staying in it three times a day for about an hour per time. She has to wear her foot splints while standing.
We are also doing her program. She continues to do well on the assisted crawl
I think she has grown a foot this last few weeks.
School is out for the Summer.
Izzy begins summer school this coming Wednesday, and will go from 2-4 p.m.
She will have pt, ot, and st while at school.
She goes to bear on Monday for craniosacral and myfascial massage.

We're seeing a lot more smiles & she is vocalizing so much.
She is very healthy & happy!

Look at her sweet little face, isn't she just the cutest?

Romans 10:8-10
"But what does it say? "The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart"--that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.* For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved*.
*"saved" (in Greek, "sozo") means saved, healed, delivered, preserved, & in health!

Update~

2007-05-18T19:26:00.000-05:00

Well, Wednesday marked three years since the day Izzy had her near drowning accident. It was an ordinary day, I had a couple of caring friends call to see if I was handling the anniversary okay. I was. Izzy went to school this week and had the usual therapies, along with playing in lots of sand Wednesday... so much so that when Jane came over to help with her afternoon therapy, we couldn't figure out what was on the therapy table. It was sand. She had a bath after therapy! I think I heard on of her teacher assistants named Kathy mention they built a sandcastle. When I picked her up that day she had been outside swinging for a while and was really enjoying the nice weather. It has been beyond beautiful this week. Perfect for swinging outside! Thursday Camilla had planned to put Izzy on the tricycle. I told Iz all morning that she was going to ride the bike Thursday and she did! Niecie and Camilla both said that she helped push the little pedals and that she smiled and seemed to enjoy it even though they spent much of the time trying to keep her properly aligned on the bike. She is very tolerant of all the positioning we do with her. She is actually very tolerant of everything from positioning to accidental hair pulling. She does let us know when we have done something wrong though. She saw Heath Tuesday and Thursday, but was unable to see Bear on Monday. When we arrived in Edmond, Bear had been called away to work on someone who was hospitalized. So we ran a few errands and called to find out he was not back so we will go back this coming Monday. Izzy has been very vocal this week and really interactive with us. We know she is just getting better by the day. I hope to have pics to post eventually of her riding the bike, they did take pictures and I think they will email them to me when they can.

1 Peter 1: 6-7
In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Izzy's Story

2007-05-16T16:28:00.000-05:00

Izzy was 21 months old. It was May 16, 2004, a Sunday evening. We had been to church (morning and evening) stopped at the store for a few things, came home to read the Sunday paper and watch Extreme Home Makeover... My son Bailey who was 10 at the time was going outside (the side deck which is away from the pool) to lift weights for fun. Izzy was his constant shadow and he called to tell me Izzy was with him... to which I replied, "okay, but watch her!" I have to pause here to say that Isabelle was terrified of the pool. She even hated taking baths. I had just put her in the pool with Matt a few days before this and she screamed so I took her out immediately. I guess my point is she was afraid of the water and I felt like she would never get into it alone. I was wrong. Isabelle wondered away in a blink and got into the pool. I have replayed this a million times in my mind, the what if's ... what if I had said, "no, she needs to stay in the house." what if I would have glanced outside and noticed she was headed in the direction of the pool... etc. What did happen was I had a weird thought, "isabelle... pool" came into my mind which was odd for the reasons I stated. Amanda was walking by and I asked her to make sure Izzy was still with Bailey (just to be sure), she came right back and said, "Bailey is still on the deck." What about Isabelle? She went back out and before I could get there I heard screaming. Bailey pulled Izzy out of the pool and held her upside down. Matt came second and started giving her breaths. What seemed like hours was only a few seconds and the image I saw was a lifeless blue baby. It was the worst thing I have ever seen in my life and I prayed for a year for God to take that image out of my mind. I still get shaky thinking about it. I called 911, and took over cpr while Matt talked to the person on the phone until the ambulance arrived. I did cpr until a emt took her from my arms. After that I laid on the ground begging God to spare my baby. They worked on her for about 20 minutes in the ambulance. I wasn't allowed near. I sat with the kids and we prayed for her ... We were finally told they were heading to the ER. When we followed, we didn't know walking in whether or not she was alive. We went into the family room and were told they had gotten a pulse but were still working on her. Before five minutes passed there were so many people there we had filled the family room and the hall of the er. They then took her to the Children's Hospital by medivac. We followed again and were told that Izzy would probably not survive the night. The rest of the story would take a week to write, but she is alive... it will be three years in May! She is healthy and making progress and we have learned so much about our faith and about God. We believe that she will be completely restored.

A while after her accident I joined an online support group for parent's of near drownings. I have come to learn that this happens far too often especially to children around 2 years old. I feel compelled to plead you to treat any open water as if it were a loaded gun. It is so dangerous for toddlers because they don't have the rational to know the danger involved and it happens so quickly. I have read parents stories of babysitters, grandparents, birthday parties, koi ponds, retention ponds, it happens everywhere in every way! You cannot be too careful.

Here are a few statistics...

In 2000, there were 3,482 unintentional drownings inthe United States, an average of nine people per day.(U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

It is estimated that for each drowning death, there are 1 to 4 nonfatal submersions serious enough to result in hospitalization. Children who still require cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at the time they arrive at the emergency department have a poor prognosis, with at least half of survivors suffering significant neurologic impairment. (American Academy of Pediatrics)

Drowning is the second-leading cause of injury-related death among children under the age of 15. (U.S.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

19% of drowning deaths involving children occur in public pools with
certified lifeguards present.(Drowning Prevention Foundation)

A swimming pool is 14 times more likely than a motor vehicle to be involved
in the death of a child age 4 and under. (Orange County California Fire
Authority)

Children under five and adolescents between the ages of 15-24 have the highest drowning rates. (U.S.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

An estimated 5,000 children ages 14 and under are hospitalized due to
unintentional drowning-related incidents each year; 15 percent die in the hospital and as many as 20 percent suffer severe, permanent neurological disability. (National Safety Council)Of all preschoolers who drown, 70 percent are in the care of one or both parents at the time of the drowning and 75 percent are missing from sight for five minutes or less. (Orange County, CA, Fire Authority)

The majority of children who survive (92 percent) are discovered within two minutes following submersion,and most children who die (86 percent) are found after10 minutes. Nearly all who require cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) die or are left with severe braininjury. (National Safe Kids Campaign)

little update...

2007-05-10T17:27:00.000-05:00

Izzy had a great day at school today. When we were driving to school I said to her, "Izzy, you will be walking with Camilla today, I want to hear that you inititiated steps when I pick you up. And by initiating steps I mean you move your own feet when Camilla says to take a step." She vocalized something back.
When I went to pick her up Camilla met me in the hall and said that she initiated more steps today than ever before and did very well in the walkable. She even stayed in extra time because she was smiling and enjoying the walk.
Isn't God good?

Izzy update~

2007-05-03T21:06:00.000-05:00

I haven't updated in a while, things continue to move along at a pretty fast pace.
We took Izzy to Bear again this Monday. He is really getting attached to her quickly. He told her she was his favorite client and that he looks forward to seeing her all week. He then offered to babysit with his wife anytime, he had me until he mentioned they had a really big dog (220 pounds!). He is sweet and I think the techniques he uses on her are really helping to relax her muscles.
She fell asleep Wednesday in school while standing in the stander with her foot splints on! They said they heard her snoring... so they took her out. She came home and slept for an hour after lunch too. Today she had a really busy day at school, OT, PT, and ST. After school she had her appointment with Heath (chiropractor).
Therapy continues to go well, she is tolerating the new program better and better. The assisted crawl is also going really well. She pushes along the 20 ft. each time and is beginning to use her arms to pull herself as well.
I think I mentioned that we had her IEP at school, planning for next year. They have decided that she understands so much that they want her to have more input. They are going to start her day in the normal pre-k class each day. She will go in the afternoons. I'm pretty excited about this! The group that works with her are truly a God send. I know that they all love her very much and want to see her do well. I appreciate their love and care so much.
Amanda, Bailey, and Emelia are great helpers with Izzy's therapy. Any of the three can step in to take a spot in her program and do it as well as any adult.
Amanda was inducted into the national honor society Tuesday evening. She will now begin to clock in community volunteer hours. The mission trip she is taking to Montreal will count and so will her hours she helps doing therapy. We're very proud of her!
Isabelle continues to be so healthy and strong. We're very thankful for that and for everyone who prays for her!

Pictures of the kids~

2007-04-22T13:32:00.000-05:00

CranioSacral Therapy, Myofascial therapy, Rolfing... OH MY!

2007-04-09T20:42:00.000-05:00

Well, I thought I would write a quick post about Izzy's appointment today. We met Michael the therapist (aka Bear?)... he was very nice, gentle, kind ... He had an interesting approach. I was sitting in his waiting area on the sofa and he came out and sat beside me. He asked if Izzy would mind if he held her? I told him I didn't think she would mind. He began rubbing her neck and head (I guess this was the craniosacral part of the therapy.) He talked to us (Matt met us there too) while he worked on her at least an hour. He worked on her hips, her spine, her feet... all the time telling us where and how to do these same things. He showed me with his hands pressure points and how to apply firm but gentle pressure. I liked him. About half way through the session I could tell he had caught the Izzy bug. It doesn't take long for anyone who spends any time with her to fall for her - completely :) and he did. He said he would work with her weekly. Before we left I asked him about the fees for his services to which he replied, "I will not accept payment for working with Izzy. This is the reason I love what I do and I love working with her." He teared up, Matt teared up, of course I teared up ... Anyway, he said I could bake him a pie or something but he could not accept payment for his sessions with Izzy. What a blessing! Everything we do is thousands of dollars so I was more surprised than anything at first. I left feeling very peaceful about our experience and know that "bear" will be great for Izzy! Tonight Matt did some of the techniques for relaxation on Izzy after her supper, she fell asleep in his lap (very unusual). It worked... She doesn't seem to be sick, just a little sniffly. Thanks for your prayers today, I know they blessed our socks off.

Izzy update...

2007-04-05T15:18:00.000-05:00

The botox injections went fine. The doctor gave us his opinion about Izzy's hip x-ray. He would like to refer us to a orthopedic surgeon for a tendon release procedure. After a family meeting that ended with a chain prayer, we have decided to wait. We will do exercises with Iz for the next couple of months and ask everyone to join us in prayer specifically for Izzy's hips. After a couple of months we will have x-rays taken again to decide if we should take more drastic measures. We only want the best for our sweet Isabelle. She is a precious child and we all love her more than words can describe.

I took Iz to the dds for a follow up and he was very pleased! HE gave her a thumbs up A+ on her mouth healing. We will go back in 6 months.

Izzy went to school today and did two rounds of therapy yesterday. She did a great job! I can already see the beginning of the botox results. She will begin serial casting on her feet in a week or so. This will last about 4 weeks. We will all need prayers during these four weeks.

We depend on the Lord alone to save us. Only he can help us, protecting us like a shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we are trusting in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us Lord, for our hope is in you alone. Psalms 33:20-22

~Some pics from this weekend~

2007-04-01T22:09:00.000-05:00

We went to the make a wish Easter egg hunt Saturday...
Izzy is holding onto her basket with 5 eggs. She didn't hold on to it until I helped her find and put 5 pink and purple eggs inside. All of the sudden she really wanted it close to her!
Here is Emelia & Izzy posing with the Easter bunny.

Izzy & me.

Izzy & Emelia with the big eggs (they were just decorations).

If you get a chance, say a little prayer for Izzy. She will be having botox injections Monday morning.

Izzy's New Smile~

2007-03-29T15:19:00.000-05:00

Thanks...

2007-03-25T10:16:00.000-05:00

Your prayers meant a lot and Isabelle is recovering very well from her dental procedures. I don't know that I would bounce back as quickly as she appears to be after 3 removals and 16 root canals ...

Yesterday she seemed almost completely back to normal. We are planning to bump up her program this week so hopefully her time off gave her enough rest for the week to come.

I plan to get a toothless pic of her asap, when I do I will post it.

Matt and I were talking this morning again about how healthy Isabelle is. She is just such a little fighter, strong & healthy! We are blessed.

"Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you. He will never let the righteous fall." Psalm 55:22

It's Over...

2007-03-22T16:41:00.000-05:00

Whew... what a day. I am so glad that is behind us, particularly Iz.

We arrived at Deaconess Hospital early this morning and they took Izzy in the room to prepare her for the surgery about 9:00 a.m. They were so sweet to her, they put a warmed blanket on her and gave her a pink bunny puppet. She acted very calm and relaxed as they wheeled her to the surgery room. The dentist was very sweet and let us know as soon as he was finished.

The worst part of the day was coming into the recovery area to see her afterwards. She was crying so much it was heartbreaking. Her little mouth was so swollen and her eyes were as well. She was scared and coming out of the anesthesia. I finally maneuvered around the IV and monitors to hold her and after an hour of crying she was finally ready to head home. We put her Dora DVD on for the ride home and she was pretty calm.

I waited about an hour to try to feed her anything and she was hungry. Her little mouth looks so odd to me now, without her front teeth. She looks like a snaggletooth, it will be cuter when the swelling goes down. Of course she is always precious and beautiful to me... with or without swelling :) .

This is the pic Matt took on the way home with my
phone camera.
Kind of blurry but you get the idea...

Thanks to everyone who prayed for her. One comment the dentist said was how amazingly she did with the whole thing and that he could tell she was incredibly healthy. She is. I praise God daily for her good health. She is on a very nutritional diet too, along with JuicePlus nutritional products. She is the healthiest of all our children.

Izzy Update ~

2007-03-19T21:07:00.000-05:00

Just thought I would write a quick update on Isabelle tonight...

This is Spring break and I think Izzy is really glad to get the break. She did really good last week in the walkable with Camilla. Kathy said she initiated some steps and that she held her head up nicely. She also spent circle time with "her boys" in the stander. Barbara commented that she seemed to really enjoy being able to see everything going on.

Isabelle shows us interesting things every day. She is quite a girl!

Thursday Izzy will be having her dental procedure. She will be having three teeth pulled in the front, and then all of her teeth will have baby root canals and caps. The front two will have white, the others will be silver. We have been waiting so long to get this done and I am just ready to have it behind us. She will be anesthetized. We are supposed to arrive at Deaconess Hospital at 6:30 a.m., they will prep her and probably begin by 10 a.m., The dentist, Jerome Miller, said it would take him a little more than an hour. They will keep her for observation for a couple of hours afterwards also, that will probably be until 2 p.m. Please pray that everything goes really well for Izzy and for her comfort and safety. It is difficult to imagine taking her to a hospital. We had so many sad times at hospitals in the beginning of this journey, but we now know that our sad days are over and it's time for many happy days. Thanks for your prayers (in advance!)

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." John 15:7

March 13, 2007

2007-03-13T15:39:00.000-05:00

2007-03-11T16:24:00.001-05:00

Isabelle is doing really great. She continues to do better and better with the assisted crawl. I think there is some confusion about what exactly that is so I thought I would describe this exercise. We begin with cross patterning which takes three people. One person at each side moving the arms and legs alternately and then a person turning her head. After 5 minutes of cross patterning she does about 20 ft. of assisted crawling in which she is put on her tummy and we raise one arm above her head and bend the opposite leg, we then instruct her to push with her leg. Each push we alternate sides. She pushes every time we tell her too. Me and Bailey were doing this last night and telling her that soon she would be crawling into his room getting into his stuff (neither of them can wait!). We got her stroller fitting finished and I don't know how long it will take but I am very excited to have a lighter weight stroller.

This is the stroller we have chosen (with Camilla, p.t.'s help :) ...

Izzy's will be raspberry colored.

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them]. Mark 11:24

Izzy's Tuesday...

2007-03-06T13:29:00.000-06:00

Just thought I would write a quick update on Izzy's day at school...

Niecie was very excited today when I picked Isabelle up today. She was doing her vision and instructing her to look at the right side but the object was on the left side. Isabelle kept looking at the right side and Niecie finally said, "Isabelle, you have to do this!" and then realized she was telling her the wrong side. She apologized and then told her to look at the left side and Izzy did and then looked to the right when asked. Niecie said that she gave her a "finally you get it" look! Niecie was excited and sees too the ability and intelligence of Izzy!

She just keeps on showing us how smart she is which is so exciting.

She did great again last night on the assisted crawl. I think she gets better every day at it.

Thanks for keeping those prayers going up for Izzy! God is listening and answering with a "YES! and AMEN."

But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us--by me, Silvanus, and Timothy--was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes. For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. II Corinthians 1:18-20

Wordless Wednesday...

2007-02-28T20:05:00.000-06:00

Yes, there is pink in Amanda's hair!!!

Izzy Update...

2007-02-27T18:19:00.000-06:00

Saturday...
Matt & dad worked on the swing. It is basically a piece of wood 3'X4' that hangs from the ceiling. She swings 4 minutes during each session of therapy. She seems to really relax so she has been swinging a lot this week. (Please remember when looking at this photo of the therapy room that we had been out of town several days and were working on all these new pieces of equipment :)

This is the inside of the hyperbaric chamber (hbot - hyperbaric oxygen therapy). We 'dive' at 1.5 atmospheres of pressure breathing 100% oxygen!

We also were trying to make "rolling" more fun so we basically

raised up one end of Izzy's queen sized mattress so that she can roll down the bed. We just put it down at bedtime...

Here is a picture of her after rolling down! She does actually enjoy it.

There have been several exciting things happen since we have been doing therapy so I wanted to update before I forget everything...

Sunday...

We were talking about Izzy doing so well identifying the cvs cards we use while masking for the Australians. (the cvs cards are basically 11X11 sheets of white paper with specific pictures of different things. When we do masking (60 sec.) we show her 10 cards 1 at a time and only say the name of the object. We rotate the 160 cards, using 10 per week. Matt was saying we should do cards to do colors and I thought she probably already knew colors... so we decided to find out. We got some toys that were bright colors and just held up two and said, "Izzy, look at the red toy." She got them all right! So, question answered... she knows her colors!

Later we did our first round of her new programme. She cried a lot but still did great on the assisted crawling.

Monday...

We went to hippo therapy. Izzy rode Doc. She did great and sat up well. She was so tired by the time we finished! It was fun for her and she enjoyed seeing the horses.

We did another round of the programme and she seemed so much happier about it this time. She did 20 ft. of assisted crawling so well. We were very impressed. She also did her new exercise called sit ups well and held her head good. She leaned for kisses when prompted.

Today...

Finally went to the dds to schedule her dental work ... YEAH!

The dentist was very nice and is making calls to get her procedure scheduled. It will probably be about two weeks from Thursday.

When we were in the waiting room I had her new baby Mozart toy that says colors in three languages...along with music. We kept pushing yellow and I would say, "say yellow." Matt says that she said yellow three times and then when we pushed red and I told her to say red she wouldn't...

Tonight we did her programme and she did well again, she was so tired tonight she kept trying to fall asleep. She did great again on the assisted crawling and even pulled her leg up herself this time which was new! She then put her little hiney in the air like babies do when they are trying to crawl... also new! This is all so encouraging!

Please keep praying! She is doing so great.

Love, Annie

"We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you." Psalms 33:20-22

AIAHP Re-assessment...

2007-02-23T08:01:00.000-06:00

Well, we are home from Ponca City. We had a nice visit with the Morris family, with Chad & Tim, and also met the family from India.

Deepa and Sumatra brought their autistic son Rik to be reassessed by AIAHP also. They were very nice people and it was interesting to learn a little about their culture.

We got four hbot dives in while there, Matt learned to run the chamber so it was pretty convenient. I am hoping he will zip down with me more often to help out with the chamber.

Okay, on with the assessment. I am looking at the progress report we were given...

Under staff's opinion it reads: With 5 profile changes and 18 functional changes, it is our opinion that Izzy has made "very good" progress. A functional change is progress but doesn't move you up on the actual scale. A profile change is a move up the ladder on the sheet with what levels Izzy is at. There may be many functional changes before getting a profile change.

A few highlights of the assessment was when put on the floor to simulate a slide (to be done as assisted crawling after cross patterning) Izzy pushed off Chad's thumb with her leg each time. She also pulled with her arm. Chad was skeptical, thinking maybe she was using tone, until Izzy cried and stopped pushing. When we told her to push again, she did. I think she really surprised both Chad and Tim on that one. Later before we left, Chad was looking at our CVS cards. He said, "do you think Izzy knows the pictures?" We think so. So he showed her two and then held both up saying "Izzy, look at the plant (or elephant, or dice, or ...)." She did five of six times. The time she didn't she just looked irritated with their little game. She looked directly and instantly at the one called out and even appeared to almost point at it. They were really excited. Me & Matt were tired and ready to go home, I think the thought we should have shown more excitement (I was excited on the inside).

We were given a new programme to do. It will take a little bit of time to get things needed to do this new programme. Also we are going to have to somehow recruit new and more volunteers as the cross patterning takes three people & they would like it to be done many times a day. I think if you asked how I felt about it, I would say positive but a bit overwhelmed. I think it is awesome that she has even shown Chad and Tim her tenacity. She is definitely a fighter and they both said that is something about her that makes her such a good candidate for recovery. They said they loved that she is a little fighter.

We know that God is Isabelle's healer. We believe that God is healing Isabelle. We are simply preparing the field. We are ready for a big crop!!!!

Thanks for the prayers & love. If you happen to live close and want to devote 30-60 minutes a week to help exercise Izzy (very simple, no experience or talent in this area needed) please contact us!

Love you all.

Lots of things happing for Izzy ...

2007-02-19T09:24:00.000-06:00

There are a lot of things going on this week for Izzy.

We have our assessment in Ponca with the guys from Australia. I'm excited to see how she does, I know she has made improvements so I look forward to seeing how the programme is changed up...

Izzy was approved for tefra so next week we see a new dentist to start getting her teeth issue resolved (yea).

Izzy recieved a letter from make a wish this last week.

Please keep Izzy in your prayers. I know that God is in control and I must simply be still... a little tough when there is so much to do :)

Love to all!

Annie

2007-02-09T22:20:00.000-06:00

We built a wood stander that has an adjustable incline so that we can Izzy can stand on her hip joints and feet more. It seems to be working well and she is tolerating it well. When Dr. Wright wrote the Rx for hip x-rays I called Izzy's pediatrician's office and was surprised to be connected to Dr. Beard. She said she would make the appointments for the x-ray etc. They later said that the specific xray requested needed to be done at the hospital so we will go there to make the appointment. I don't think her hip is compromised, but will have the xray done before the botox appointment as requested. I talked to the chiropractor that Izzy's visits on Tuesdays & Thursdays about her back and posture. Just discussing it made me realize that her posture has weakened since we started AIAHP which is when we stopped working on sitting up because it is their belief that sitting up leads to sitting up and the child should be prone on the floor as much as possible. Heath suggested that by not sitting up and utilizing those large muscles in the back they could become weak, so we are doing more sitting exercises to strengthen those muscles. Izzy went to school this week, she is such a healthy girl. It is wonderful that she remains so well. Today was her Valentine's party. She has 9 boys in her class now... she's the only girl. I made little shovels for each boy. I posted a pic on the other blog. Anyway, they turned out cute and she seemed to enjoy the party. After lunch today I showed her each valentine and read them to her. I love Valentine's Day!

Last night Matt was surprised with a call from Thurman Scrivner himself... They talked for a while and then Thurman prayed with Matt. It was a lift.

I have mentioned the ongoing quest for tefra... I thought we were at the end of the approval process. We were told to expect a call from a nurse for a home visit. She called, and came... but I was told it was still part of the qualification process. Hopefully this will be done quickly so we can finally get Izzy's teeth fixed. I am having thoughts that I should have just had them fixed and dealt with it but the more time I invest in this tefra business, knowing she qualifies (it is based soley on her income, not ours) I am more determined to see this through.

I guess there is not really any BIG news to report for this week... I just wanted to let you know that Izzy is well and that she is continuing to improve. Please keep praying & believing!

Update

2007-01-31T21:50:00.000-06:00

We took Izzy to see Dr. Wright in Bethany today to consult about botox injections because her left foot is causing problems and the botox
was really effective last time. He agreed that she needed it and then
after examining her legs, he ordered a x-ray of her hips because he is
concerned about her left hip. There is a possibility that it could be
out of socket with is a very common occurrence for her condition. We are
taking a proactive approach to this news and are doing things now to
try to help the situation. Thebotox is scheduled for April 2 and we
will have the x-ray done before that. Please pray for the x-ray to
reveal that her hip is fine and that there is no need for more
aggressive treatments. He also discussed doing an eeg on her. We decided to get past this first and then decide. The last eeg we did was in dallas. We took her off the phenobarbital because there were no seizures. Matt asked the dr.
about her startles and left turn laughs. He suggested that if she is
having seizures they could interfere with progress because they interrupt her brain's process. Please pray that she is not having seizures and will not need anything further for this.

I talked to her pediatrician this afternoon and she is going to schedule
the x-ray etc. She has also decided to go ahead and prescribeambien.
Izzy went to school today. She seemed to have a good day. She really likes
all the little boys in her class, so much so that her ST, Margaret is
doing her therapy in the classroom. She gets mad if you take her away
from the other kids.

We went to horse therapy Monday. She did so well riding Opie. She sat up tall and rode for about 30 minutes. Opie was almost running so it was a workout for us all :)
Even Joy noticed that Izzy is really looking more and saw improved cognition.

Isabelle is so healthy, she is so beautiful and she is so sweet. She is a little
doll. I feel like an expectant mother, waiting for the birth of the
baby. I am waiting and expectant that she is going to blossom and that
she is going to do great.

Please keep her in your prayers.

I love you, Lord; you are my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the strength of my salvation, and my stronghold.
I will call on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
for he saves me from my enemies.Psalms 18:1-3

A ride on the sled...

2007-01-16T16:04:00.000-06:00

We have been blessed with a lot of ice this weekend. The kids have been having a lot of fun riding the sled down the hill. Matt thought Izzy needed this experience as well so today we bundled her up and took her out sledding.
It is so cold and so slippery out!

Back in school...

2007-01-14T20:42:00.000-06:00

Izzy had a good week back in school. We had her Psych Eval. at the school on Thursday, now when the HCA get that faxed in we should be all set for tefra and be able to move forward on getting all her teeth crowned (ugh). I am very happy that we are one step closer.
At school they worked with her switch, they are trying to use it for her to answer yes or now to questions or choices for what she will be doing. They are trying to teach her that they will do what she chooses.
I got a call on Friday letting me know that Insurance has pre-approved her new stroller. This is also pretty exciting, her stroller is so heavy!
She had the usual chiropractor visits at Heath's office on Tuesday & Thursday. Therapy daily at home. She is getting stronger everyday.
We have been wanting to stop using pediasure for a while. I have continued to use it because it is easy not only feeding it to her but also knowing that she is getting enough calories etc. I did feel like it was too much sugar and that she needed to move on. She didn't have any pediasure all weekend. I fed her blended vegetable stew last night, she ate it but I think it was too spicy because I got a lot of funny faces. I am going to have to be more mindful of making her food before spicing things up. I made her a 'shake' tonight with blueberries and cereal and her juice plus vitamins. I feel like she gets a lot of what she needs from the juice plus. She has been so healthy. I attribute this to God first and foremost. I also know that God has led us in the right direction in so many areas of Izzy's recovery. One has definately been the juice plus.
I made an appointment with Dr. Wright at the Children's Center for the end of the month to schedule more botox injections. I feel like her left foot is pretty tight and she isn't enjoying her walking at school as much. She also tends to scissor her legs and the injections in her thighs last time really helped this. I feel calmer about it because it was so easy last time. She didn't cry or act uncomfortable. Dr. Wright does a really good job.
It's official, the Austrialians (AIAHP) are coming February 21 and will evaluate Izzy the 21 and 22nd. I am looking forward to viewing the new programme for her. I know they will see she is doing great.
I cannot say, "she is walking." but I can say, "she will be walking." and she will. I know it! I serve a mighty God and I believe His promises. I also believe it is His will to restore her body.

A New Year...

2007-01-09T10:21:00.000-06:00

Izzy is doing great after a LONG Christmas break. The kids all went back to school today including Isabelle. She seemed ready to go back although she had a big pouty lip when I put her in her stroller to go into the school. I am sure she is having a great morning. I was able to go to the park and take Lady aka White Dog for a walk. It is about 32 degrees, so it was perfect!
Chad from AIAHP (australia) called last night. Izzy is scheduled to be evaluated and reassessed on February 21-22. I am excited to see how she has improved in their opinions, although I know already that she is improving. I am also excited to see how the program will change since we discussed the fact that they brought her program down a level to have a starting point. We'll see. Please keep this in your prayers. There are so many different choices on therapy, they are all very expensive so you really have to pick and choose what to do. I know God leads us toward the right people and I trust Him to continue to guide us.

2007-01-03T22:40:00.000-06:00

Thirteen Things that make me smile!

1…. hearing a friend's voice on the phone.
2... a clean house.
3... seeing a smile on the face of my children.
4... recieving snail mail!
5... good reports from Izzy's teachers and/or therapists.
6... watching our dog lady eat pistachios after shelling them carefully with her teeth.
7... seeing dad walking up the road toward my house.
8... listening to a favorite song.
9... matt.
10... watching mom do head turning every evening while singing, "turning izzy's head."
11... a good sale.
12... sweet happy memories.
13... reading comments from you.

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MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2006-12-25T14:41:00.000-06:00

This is such a busy time of the year! We are almost
finished with all the Christmas celebrating. Matt's
mother had to have surprise back surgery Thursday
so that changed our plans a bit. She is doing great
now though and we are all thankful that this has
alleviated her pain.
Isabelle had her Christmas party at school Friday
(pics will come soon). She exchanged gifts with a
classmate and pushed her button to say thank you
at the appropriate time after recieving a cute little
baby doll. She has really held a tight grip on that
baby, it is special to her. We also found out that she
apparently loves sprite.
We drove to Tulsa yesterday to visit Matt's mom for
Christmas. Emelia recieved a karaoke machine from
them so we will have constant entertainment!

I pray for blessings overflowing for the New Year!
Thank you for your love and prayers.

Annie & Izzy

2006-12-13T08:27:00.000-06:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2006-12-04T09:20:00.000-06:00

This has been a crazy couple of weeks...
I have been to three funerals...
Sylvia Johnston... a lovely lady who attended church with me.  She was beautiful
inside and out and was so kind to me & to Izzy.
Estelle Dehart... my maternal grandmother.  She was a sweet kind woman who
served her very large family.
Ozella Lemmon... my dear friend Mendy's grandmother.  She was a joy to her
family.  Mendy offered her eulogy and did a beautiful tribute in her memory.

Coming away from these funerals with the technology today that provides
slide shows which offer a life time of memories.  You quite literally are able
to watch the person's life pass before your very eyes.  I think the lesson I leave
with is that each day is truly a gift from God to be savored.  The people in our
lives are there for a reason and they are a blessing.

On another note... Izzy is doing well.  She remains so healthy.  It is amazing how
sturdy and healthy she is.  School was cancelled last Thursday-Friday because of
snow and ice.  It was a nice time to enjoy the kids.  We continue to do programming
with Izzy and have began doing some different games with blocks and toys to try
to get her more motivated.  She always surprises us with her abilities.  She is the
sweetest little girl.  (I have to stop saying baby since she is four years old).

I am about 25% finished decorating for christmas and have put the tree up.
YEAH!
I am finally feeling the Christmas feeling.

Love and blessings to all and many many thanks for your continued faithful
prayers.

Annie

2006-11-30T09:03:00.000-06:00

Thirteen Scriptures of promise I believe & base my hope on...

1. John 14:12-14 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

2. John 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you

3. Mark 9:23 Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."

4. Mark 11:22-24 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

5. Matt 18:18-20 Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

6. Isaiah 53:4-5 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

7. Matt 8:16-17 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses."

8. 1Pet 2:24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed.

9. Eph 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

10. 2Cor 1:18-20 But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us--by me, Silvanus, and Timothy--was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes. For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.

11. Jam 1:5-7 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

12. John 16:23-24 And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

13. Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Amen!

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Thanksgiving Week...

2006-11-26T17:53:00.000-06:00

This is a pic of Paula/Matt's mom with Izzy on Thanksgiving Day in Tulsa. They were just hanging out. Matt's mom hurt her back and has been experiencing a lot of pain. She is also beginning a new job that requires a good deal of travel. Please keep her in your prayers.
Last Sunday my maternal grandmother passed away. She was 88 years old, and lived in a nursing facility with her husband of 70+ years. Her name was Estelle DeHart. She had many many grandchildren as my mother was one of 13 children she had. I do have fond memories of spending the nights in Pauls Valley as a child. I remember that grandma always had vanilla sandwich cookies, she was always sweet and soft spoken, and she could cook anything and make it taste good. My mother loved her very much and will miss her greatly as will my grandfather.
My mother is one of a kind. I really was blessed growing up with Christian parents who loved me. They always made me feel like I could accomplish anything I wanted to do. My mother always has room at the table for one more. She shows her love in so many ways including cooking delicious food. She gives of herself in a very quiet way, never wanting credit for her deeds. I don't know if I will ever acquire some of her characteristics, but I admire them so much.
Izzy has been a trooper through all the holiday outings. She is so healthy and continues to do well. We are going to horse therapy today so hopefully I'll get some good pictures.
I continue to work towards getting TEFRA for Izzy. After a month of no returned calls, I finally did get to talk to a person and find out we are going to have to get some additional documentation that could take another month or two. It is a little frustrating, but I know that the effort will be worth it in the end.
I cannot believe Christmas is right around the corner. We are definately not ready! I have to say I have no desire to even decorate at this point. I think there is just so many other things going on right now.
I know I say it almost every post but I want to say it again... I am so thankful for all of you who are praying for Izzy!

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord"
James 1:5-7

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2006-11-22T18:25:00.000-06:00