Summer...so far

We hope this finds everyone well...we are doing great! Last Saturday our friend Shelby K came to Drew's game and sang the national anthem for us before the game! She is 8 (and a half!) and has a beautiful voice. And the guts to sing that difficult of a song in front of people! American Idol in training!!! :)

It was so sweet. The teams lined up on the first and third baselines, and she was on the pitchers mound. The kids had their hands over their hearts...nothing gets me more than a kid singing...except a bunch of kids listening and cheering when the anthem was over!

We are looking forward to going to visit Aunt Terri in Hilton Head in a couple weeks...we can't wait!!!! Beach days, dolphin cruise, music in the park, swimming, shopping, grillin' and chillin' is how we roll on HHI! :)

Angels among us

Today was Drew's last day of school for the year...till next week when he starts the summer program. He is classified as SXI, or severly multiply impaired so he goes during the summer too. He has a the rest of this week off, then goes for a week, then has 2 weeks off. He also has two weeks off in August. We thank God for the dedicated teachers and para's, and support staff that take care of our kids and teach them academics, life skills, creativity, and have fun!

I gotta give a huge shout-out to Dottie...the world's best bus driver. Ever. We have been blessed with great bus drivers since we started (and I have heard horror stories!), but Dottie has a loving soul and gentle spirit. She truly loves what she does, and it shows. She will not hesitate to clean the kids' faces, wipe their noses, indulge their unique personalities. She makes the ride fun for the kids...at Christmas, there is the Christmas music, the jingle bell bracelets for everyone, the thoughtful gifts. She told me once "I can't believe I get paid for this job"...and I believe she really feels that!

She is an Angel. She marks every holiday with thoughtful gifts, and now that it is the end of the year, this is what I found in Drew's bag. I know there was a similar award in each of the kids' bags...cuz that is Dottie.

The 'Piano Man' reference is cuz we tape Drew's keyboard to his tray so he can jam as he feels the urge. The 'excellence in bus riding' is pure Dottie. :)

We are so blessed. We hope you all have a great summer! Check back for baseball pics...we missed tonight's game cuz Boogie is still under the weather and actually took a nap! He needed it!

Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT SUSIE! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!

Last LOKO post

We ended Lokomat last Friday...I need to tell you that Drew supassed our goal of 50% guidance force for the legs! He did 50% for a good part of the session and then Terri brought it down to 45% Drew did 55% of the leg work for 10 minutes! He complained a bit, but I can only imagine that it was hard work for him! So proud!
We also got some great feedback from his re-assesssment. And video of his truckin' down the hall, while I was holding him up...but only if someone was 'chasing' him!

He also pedaled a lot by himself at CWJR on the bike yesterday...Terri R, are you reading this!? put that in your data for Lokomat!

Kay, I am done talking about Lokomat for a while. Oh, and he did say 'Da'...3 times to call Daddy on Sunday!
Okay, now I am done. :)
~Shout out to Drew, Kylie, ABC, Hannah, and all my other heroes!

lovin' summer

We have had a great start to Summer '09! Lokomat is ending (BOOO :( ) but we have done a lot of fun things so far. We went to the Zoo today with the Wolo Girls. Maggie, Kylie, and Taylor are fun to hang with, and the highlight of the trip was the Arctic Ring of Life. The lowlight was me getting a tinge motion sick from the Wild Ride dinosaur simulator! It's like the reverse bucket list; there are things I cannot do anymore the closer I get to 40!

The Polar Bear was so cute, swimming around and putting his giant paw on the top of tunnel. The seals swimming upside down were totally cute too.

We went to the Zoo with Danny and Monika last week...it was totally fun! Here are some pics of that trip, and a few others.