Easter

"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" - John 11:25

Easter has always been a favorite holiday.  I love thinking about Jesus' triumph over death.  And now it has an even greater significance for me. 

Here is some of our Easter fun.

 We decorated our very own chicken's eggs this year!!!  This is one Cicily made.

 Easter egg hunt with the Watkins Fam.  Cis found a purple (her favorite color) egg hiding up high at the park. 

 Sophie discovering CANDY inside the eggs and Cicily enjoying watching her little sister learn new things.

The Friday before Easter we took the girls to pick out some new chicks.  Cicily's school nurse Tami said Cis was telling everyone -even the principal - about how she was going to pick out new chicks later that day.  As you can see, she LOVES them!!!

Spring Break

Some pictures from the girls' week off school this year. 

Maya read books to Sophie and Cicily before Soph's nap.

"Tea time"  outside in the backyard. 

A real picnic out in the yard for dinner.

 Craft time.  One afternoon while Sophie was napping we made bookmarks, bubble pictures, and crayon art.

It's always nice to have Maya and Cicily having fun together. 

Letter to Disney World

Dear,

My daughter Cicily was recently granted a wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona.  Our whole family was able to join her in a lovely week at Give Kids the World. 

We wanted to write and let you know how much the tickets from Disney World and the kindness we received at your parks enhanced Cicily's wish trip. 

Cicily's wish was to go to Disney World to ride Small World and see Minnie Mouse.  We thank you for your integral role in making Cicily's wish come true!  Cicily loved Small World and the kind ride operators even let us ride 3 times in a row on the last night of our trip.  Cicily was so excited to wear her polka-dotted dress to show Minnie when she came to Give Kids the World.  Minnie and Mickey were both so kind and patient with Cicily.  Cicily lit up when Minnie noticed her dress was polka-dotted just like hers!! 

As you can imagine, having a child with medical needs requires some extra attention and time outs from fun.  With the kind attention we received from your staff and being able to see characters and visit attractions in a timely manner, our family was able to pack a lot of fun into Cicily's trip. 

We want to express our gratitude to Walt Disney World for giving us tickets to your parks and taking such great care of our family.  Cicily's wish trip gave Cicily even more reasons to smile and our family some wonderful memories we'll always cherish. 

                                                                                                With Gratitude,

                                                                                                Chris & Janalyn
                                                                                                Maya, Cicily, & Sophie

Letter to Universal Orlando

Dear          ,

My daughter Cicily was recently granted a wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona.  Our whole family was able to join her in a lovely week at Give Kids the World. 

We wanted to write and let you know how much the tickets from Universal Orlando and the kindness we received there enhanced Cicily's wish trip. 

Cicily's big sister Maya is a true Harry Potter fan and got Cicily so excited to spend time at the Wizarding World!  We all loved it!  The authenticity was remarkable, but what made our visit truly memorable was the treatment we received from the workers.  We were invited to the front of lines at rides and shows.  Mr. Olivander even chose Maya to be the wizard for the wand show, which made her whole week! 

Cicily is also a huge fan of Dr. Seuss books and she loved Seuss Landing!

As you can imagine, having a child with medical needs requires some extra attention and time outs from fun.  With the kind attention we received from your staff, our family was able to pack a lot of fun into Cicily's trip.  Universal really added a large amount of joy and happy memories for our family. 

We thank you very much for the tickets you gave our family and the kind attention we received at your park. 

                                                                                                With Gratitude,

                                                                                                Chris & Janalyn

                                                                                                Maya, Cicily, and Sophie
                                                                                                     

P.S.  We can't wait until the Wizarding World opens in Hollywood!! 

Delight in a somersault

Last night Sophie figured out what happens if she puts her head on the ground and pushes off with her feet - a somersault!  We were all proud of her athletic prowess and cheered for her.  Then Sophie wanted "Maya's turn" and then "Daddy's turn" and they obliged with a somersault of their own.  Then it was "Cissy's turn" and daddy lifted her body and rolled her over.  After a few more minutes of somersaults I look at Cis and see her putting her head down on the carpet and painstakingly pushing along.  It's kinda how she looks when she tumbles face first so I was concerned at first.  Then she pushed enough to flip herself over onto her side.  Cicily did a somersault!!!  She laid there on her back laughing her little head off!  We all cheered and cheered for her!  Then she got up on her stomach and tried again.  She became quite proficient at her modified side somersault.  It's quite a bit of work for her - get herself on her tummy, get her legs in a frog position, get her hands in an ok spot, and then spend a bit of time trying to get her muscles to all work together to push herself over her shoulder and onto her side and back.  She was in love with this new trick she could make her body do though.  Cicily did somersaults with her sisters for quite a while last night.  We all had a blast somersaulting and cheering and laughing. 
And today I appreciate even more all the things my body can do so effortlessly.

trach ties

I'm always on the lookout for better medical equipment for Cicily.  We've been using these trach ties for about a year and love them!!!  They're from the same great company Neotech that makes her little suckers for tip suctioning. 
You can order samples to make sure you have the right size and to see if they work for you.  The company is very nice and great to work with.  We like them because they are comfortable, secure, reusable, quick-drying, cute and they never smell bad.  We use each strap for a total of about 6 weeks with changing and washing in between.
Downside is we have to order them separately from her regular monthly medical supply order.  But they're worth it!

Basically a vegan

About 2 years ago Cis started throwing up after she had eaten, usually only when she was sick.  I experimented with her food a little and found she seemed better without meat so we stopped giving her meat.  She did better for quite a while and then started throwing up again.  We went to her g-tube dr. to rule out that issue and then to her GI dr.  She ran a bunch of food allergy tests and they all came back normal (shocker!).  But she said she could still have a sensitivity to milk.  So we tried going sans-milk and no more throwing up!  Apparently her body can't digest animal products anymore. 
So for the past 6 months or more Cicily has been eating a vegan diet.  She gets her usual mixed grains, veggies, fruit, flaxseed, oil, and salt.  But now she also gets almonds and beans in place of meat and milk.  I do toss in an egg from her own chickens now and again and she seems to digest that alright.
Now not only is Cicily a healthy eater, she's an animal and environmentally friendly eater as well.