Good Trip, Great Friends!

Matt and I have been good friends with K since we went to middle school. We've grown up, she's grown up, we've all gotten married, she moved to another state...but we have still remained friends. We love her husband R too, so it was wonderful to be able to spend a few days with them at their home. They were such gracious hosts with a beautiful house!

Their 3 kids are so much fun, and we absolutely loved playing with them! Abby and Caleb haven't stopped talking about how much fun they had with them.

R is a doctor, so he had to work during the day. We enjoyed lots of quality time with K and the kids!

One of the first things we did was visit the Sturgis Pretzel Factory, which was lots of fun. The kids learned how to roll pretzels and enjoyed a yummy soft pretzel after the tour.

Then we went to a local park to feed the ducks and play on the playground. Unfortunately, K's oldest got badly scratched by a dog that got scared when she tried to pet him, and she had to get some stitches. Good thing her daddy is a doctor! It sure was a traumatic experience. Poor sweet girl!

The next day, we went to Kitchen Kettle Village to let the kids graze among the free samples and look around. I got my yummy Chow Chow and we let the kids play on the playground and visit the petting zoo. (This made K a little more nervous than usual, given yesterday's events, but all was well!)

I really, really loved these alpacas!!

The highlight of the trip was Dutch Wonderland! If you've never been there, it's a fantastic amusement park for the little ones. Caleb still liked it, although 8 is probably the max age for enjoyment. It's perfect for preschoolers though!

We learned that Abby's tolerance for rides is pretty low. Anything that swung her or jerked her at all made her back hurt, and I also noticed that she really had no control over her body when she spun around. While I could hold myself up during the teacup ride, she had to be held really tightly to keep from bashing her head into the side of the ride. So....no rollercoasters for Abs!

They had a whole forest of animated dinosaurs that we really fun!

We even managed to get in a little PT during our trip. These hand trains were a workout, but she did great!

The dive show was a big hit with all of the kids.

Abby and K's oldest are the same age, and they had a fantastic time together!

Honestly, despite all of the fun we had, I have to say my favorite times were our late night talks with K and R. Our discussions about Truth, parenting, and life in general were so refreshing. God is in every single part of their lives and I'm so thankful for their insights. I wish we lived closer (K tried desperately to get us to buy the house 3 doors down!), but it was so fun to "do life" with them for a few days. We love you, K and R!!!!!!

Cerebrocostomandibular Syndrome

If you happen to pick up the latest Reader's Digest, there is an article in there about Piper Breinholt , a four year old with CCMS. If you've been around here a while, you'll remember wayyyyyy back when we first received Abby's diagnosis that I was able to speak to Piper's mom, Reagan. The article is more about their story and not as much about the ins and outs of CCMS, but I think it's probably enough to get some people googling it and I'm hoping a few will end up here. Every once in a while, I give a blog post the title of Cerebrocostomandibular Syndrome so that it would show up in Google. My ever-present hope is that people will stumble across my blog and 1) be encouraged by the hope we have in Christ, 2) feel a connection with someone in a similar situation as them, or 3) get excited over the miracles that have been performed in Abby's life!! (a combination of all 3 is great too!) :) Notice that it's not to get famous and it ...

Bath Time Photos!!

As promised, here are lots of photos of Abby's first bath. Caleb was supposed to be in bed, but the bathroom is right next to his room... "I'm not too sure about this..." Once she learned how to splash, she was all smiles! Her first good hair wash! Gotta protect the trach! She really liked getting water poured on her head. It was cute! Smiley (and bubbly) for Daddy while he dried her off. All clean!! (Note the Lysol wipes in that last picture. They are NEVER far away!)

Imagination Movers Photo Recap

Seriously, The Imagination Movers were so much fun! They played lots of their own music, with some classic rock mixed in for the adults. There were also quite a few jokes and references to Baltimore, which was kind of fun. The whole night centered around this robot named Rock-o-Matic, or "Rocko." This is Mover Scott, and he wears Wobble Goggles that help him see new ideas. Caleb and Abby have a pair of goggles too. :) There are 4 main Movers that are part of the TV show, but they have 2 extra movers to play instruments and do back-up vocals in their live tour. Abby finished up her feed before the show started so that she would be free to dance! My dancing queen did NOT want to sit in my lap. The row in front of us was empty, and that is where she stood almost the entire show--dancing the night away. My Imagination Movers Caleb did his share of singing and dancing too. He knows m...

Life as a Leach

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