Happy Birthday Eli!

Check this guy out!  Twenty-one looks great on Eli!  He had a great day and then took off the following week to head to the Alert 30th reunion where he met up with classmates and made new connections.  Happy Birthday, Eli!

 

Joseph turns 16!

How could it be?  Yes, he turned 16 and kicked off birthday season at our house!  He is saving for something special and was able to put his birthday money towards it.  He had a great day!

And yes, Joe started driving.  He is the best driver so far out of the gate.  He is very attentive, cautious and can actually park amazingly only 3 days into it!  Impressive so far!

 

Winter Storms

We’ve not had much snow this year but we have had some coastal storms that have brought immense flooding!

Darrell and I went for a drive to Hampton Beach.  Just the two of us to see the damage…sand in the roads, lots of road crews out, debris along the roads and high water everywhere we looked. 

On the actual beach, lobster traps, tons of huge clam shells which brought in hundreds or f sea gulls-singing, swimming and looking for easy food.

We even found a lobster, horse shoe crab and a large fish.  It will take months of work to restore this beach but it seems to have fared better than the beaches north of us.

Sure was a sight to see on this sunny winter day…we walked the length of the beach and then off to dinner to together!

Treasure time together …it doesn’t have to be a big glamorous day.  Most days, the simple things are wonderful just to be together!
 

Jacob’s Cast Free

That is what we left NH in…the snow was sure coming down and the roads were a mess but our flight was still on.  We heard them say we can see the runway…let’s load up and that we did!  Deicing and then we were on our way.  I can promise you that this mama was holding her breathe until we were in the air…because I sure couldn’t see the whole run way!!

Jacob is cast-free!  Who hoo!  He has been casted since October and the smile says it all. Now THE real work begins!

This is the first time in 4 trips that Jacob hasn’t been so exhausted he couldn’t handle anything extra.  We visited the manatee’s winter place in West Palm Beach and actually saw several of them.

The next day after PT we went to the loggerhead turtle rescue.  We saw them feed this fish and enjoyed the few moments of sunshine we saw this week.

We spent one evening looking for shoes for PT..found a pair only to return them before we left.  It is so hard to find shoes that fit AFOs!  But on the return trip we found a place that served boba milk tea…a much coveted commodity at our home as can be seen from the smile!

The therapist put Jacob in this contraption and told us to make sure ours had this…oh and we should put him in the pool.  I looked at him and reminded him we live in NH snd the pool things was good impossible right now.  He was challenged and exhausted daily —a good thing!

 We are headed home-the hardest part of the trip is being away and trying to manage things at home.  Till next time Florida!  Homeward bound!

Christmas

This year…some of the kids were in the Christmas play at

Church.  There were no speaking parts and it surely was fun to watch them act out the shepherd’s story.

Christmas was quiet.  We needed it!  We’ve been running

for medical treatment for months and we found quiet peace at home!  

One new thing we did try was caroling on Christmas Eve…as we blessed people, we received the bigger blessing.  A few kids weren’t sure of going but when we were done, they excitedly talked about going again!  Blessings this holiday season!  Merry Christmas!

 

Wedding Fun

Check out these kids!  We were all headed out to Mitchell and Emily’s wedding in Lancaster, PA.

It was beautiful decorated in white trees and roses…

They sat all of the kids at the table together…they had so much fun chatting and tasting all the good eats!

   Mitch and Emily made the rounds to say hello to everyone!

 Oma and 

My cousins Jackie and Karen brought my Aunt Joan and Aunt Carol too.  Below Aunt Carol, Aunt Joan and my dad together.

Everyone got their jam on and danced together…it was fun! 

                      Oma and Opa before the ceremony.

                                   It was a fun day!

And off we go again!

Stuart Florida early morning Christmas lights as we head towards the airport.  So thankful for the staff at Molly’s house!

 A quick trip to West Palm Beach for a cast change and measuring for AFOs.  It wore this kiddo out and the little time we were here was spent resting!

We met up with our new friends for pizza…it was fun to catch up and connect…so thankful for their generosity.

Also thankful to Jess O. For her generosity towards us!we love you Jess!