Here are some big updates;
First; April 1 was Sadie's 3rd BIRTHDAY!!! We had a great time of celebrating up north with presents and shared cake and icecream with friends up there. Sadly, I purchased a candle...but didn't bring it with us and no...not one single picture was taken. Nothing to document this big occasion. I feel horrible. I aspire to be better at taking pictures. Really.
Second; Sadie got her first set of yarn braids! I am in LOVE! Seriously, I never thought she could possibly be any cuter. I was wrong. SO ADORABLE!
A great friend took her for a day during spring break so we could have a day of "big kid fun". When I dropped off, short hair...when I picked up LONG! Crazy! It makes her look SO OLD but I totally love it! Kobe thinks she looks like Prince Fielder. I will let you decide!
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Third; Sadie started school this week! EEEEEEEEK! Seriously! We are so blessed to live where we do. Just a few miles from our house we have an amazing school, the Ottawa Area Center, that is only for children with development (and physical) special needs. We have been receiving services from them for Sadie since she came home. They have an infant program where they come up to twice a week and provide Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy. That goes until they are 30 months old. At 30 months they move on to "group" therapy, where Sadie has been going twice a week for the past 6 months. But when they turn 3 they start going to school! Sadie is going every day! The bus comes and picks her up at about 8:45. We are thankfully the last pick up and the first to be brought home after school since we live so close. We are in process of finishing up our Physical Therapy at Mary Free Bed and still in Oral Therapy as well, so three days a week I pick her up from school and bring her to those appointments in the afternoons. So Mondays and Fridays are her only two full days at this point. Yesterday just felt weird all day. Nick stayed home in the morning to see her get picked up. I will be honest and admit that I wept. Alot. There is just alot of emotions that go into having a special needs child and the fears you have when they aren't with you. I know that this will be another "new normal" for us. I kept very busy during the day yesterday with breakfast with friends, appointments, errands, a surprise of flowers at my door (THANK YOU!!!) Sadie's teacher was great and called me twice yesterday just to tell me how well everything was going. I know we will see so many changes in Sadie with this. She was very wound up last night, I believe overstimulated and it caused her to have some issues in the evening with keeping her night time feeding down. It's just an adjustment for all . But, I was a big girl today and no tears when I put her on the bus! ;) Here is a picture of my sweet Sadie waiting for the bus on her first day...(see I said I aspired to take more pictures...)
Fourth; Another big update; I said goodbye to this :(
And this weekend we will be saying HELLO to this! :)
We have learned SO MUCH about Wheelchair Accessible Vans. Something I never thought we would ever need knowledge of! But, we felt strongly that obviously we needed to find something that fit Sadie's needs...but one that also fit our families needs! Seldom do we go away without having 1+ friends along with us. So, after lots of searching we found a van that fit all our needs (and may just barely fit in the garage too!) If any of my old youth group students are reading this right now, driving a van like this feels like deja vu to me! Oh MEMORIES! So, no more driving around town incognito! I now have a church bus....with a ramp! :) LOUD AND PROUD!
But seriously, with all these changes, we continue to feel just so humbled and thankful. We are so thankful for all those who surround us with their love and support!
Sadie's Chariot Fund has been a unique experience for us. We are actually looking into making Sadie's Chariot Fund an official grant program to assist other families, like us, make their wheel chair accessible van purchase a little easier. Purchasing a van like this is not easy and it is hard to articulate. But each step in the world of special needs almost takes time of acceptance and at times mourning. The purchase of a vehicle like this is huge (financially, emotionally and mentally). We are praying we can put something in place where we can make a part of that easier for families...the way our friends, families, strangers...all those who participated in this for us, did.
