A Tribute to Terri and Her Dad

Couldn't quite get Miles to cooperate with the sign

You may know Terri or you may not. Let me tell you, if you have met her you will not forget her. She is boistrous, funny, generous, and has a heart of gold. She came into our lives just over two years ago soon after we moved to Lincoln. We knew her and her family from church but didn't really know them well, and were surprised when she answered our plea for help with Amelia. Terri has become a source of laughter, joy and hope in our family. Amelia and Miles love her (and Gene and the kids..and the dogs..and the extended family).

Terri has consistently spent time with us on Wednesdays. She takes Amelia to therapy or watches Miles so I can take Amelia to therapy in peace. She does the dishes and folds laundry, plays with the kids so I can go shopping and takes Amelia swimming in the hot tub at her house. She is amazing.

Recently Terri, her dad Bumpo, and Steve installed a ramp for Amelia at our house. They worked in the heat for two days as a labor of love for our sweet girl. What an amazing act. We love you both.

Our beautiful and so helpful ramp!

Miles likes to use it as a ramp for his bike!

If you know Terri tell her how amazing she is. If you don't know her, thank God with us for her love and generosity.

Friends

Amelia chilaxin' in a hammock.
I will be buying one of these for our house ASAP. She LOVED it!

Miles also loved it.

Friendship is something that I often take for granted. Steve and I have AMAZING friends who love and support us (when I say "friends" I also mean family). Friendship is however something that has caused us much grief over the last six months. I should clarify, it is the lack of meaningful friendships for Amelia that has caused the grief. Let me explain...

If you have a child or know someone that is difficult or different or in someway has a hard time making or maintaining friendships you will understand our pain. We all want to have a friend, someone to be there for us. To laugh with, to cry with, to be goofy around. The fact is we NEED friends too.

There are A LOT of things that people have to overcome or be comfortable with when being a friend to Amelia. People have a hard time knowing how to communicate with Amelia and how she communicates back. Her wheel chair is intimidating. The stiffness of her arms and legs, the fact that she only moves her head and eyes well, the fact that she drools, she has seizures, she doesn't talk....really the list could go on but you get the idea. All of these things are a potential roadblock to friendships and meaningful interaction. What I see when I look at Amelia is not all the differences above but, someone made in the image of God. Someone dearly loved by Him and someone with great value and dignity. I just want others to see the same thing and get excited about it like I do.

Steve and I have been mad and sad for a while. We prayed and sought the LORD in our grief. Finally we are talking about it, with Amelia's therapists, our friends, their kids, our pastor and really anybody who will listen. What we found instead of the loneliness and isolation that we felt and feared was open arms and people who are willing to do the hard work of getting to know Amelia. It energizes me and gives me hope. I am even able to write something on this blog:)

The pictures above are from today as we played with friends. Sadly I don't have any pictures of it (only two moms with six kids didn't leave much time or ability for pictures) but Amani and Ellie were awesome with Amelia. They took turns playing charades. They asked Amelia what she wanted to be (she answered very obviously..she wanted to be a train and a princess among other things) then helped her act it out. Amelia was so happy she smiled the whole time, didn't want to leave and smiled the whole way home. It was a HUGE blessing to my heart. The girls learned that Amelia CAN communicate, that she has an opinion and that she likes to have fun like they do.

Are we ready for the hard work this will entail? Probably not, but God always give us the strength to preserve, thrive and find real joy in the pain and difficulty that having a child with special needs brings. I welcome you on the journey with us and welcome ANY questions.