I wish I was better at posting...It has been awhile since my last post. So long in fact that I had to try my password a few times before successfully logging in. I think of things daily that I want to post, simply because I am not good at keeping a journal and this has been a nice way to look back.

This year started off mellow with a peak in activity in February when Emylie was hospitalized. I really hope she never gets that sick again. An incredibly frightening few weeks. We are so grateful she pulled through with her remarkable fight. She is amazing and has a strong will. The doctors said it would take her weeks to months to recover. One doctor even said it would be mid-summer before she was back to herself. Thankfully Emylie went with the few week option. Perhaps her wish to see Mickey, Minnie and Donald Duck gave her some motivation too.

In April our family had the incredible opportunity to go with Emylie on her Make A Wish trip to Disney World in Florida. I did not think we would ever be able to take a trip away from home with Emylie, let alone travel across the country. This trip meant so much to each of us. It was therapeutic, relaxing, inspiring, quality family time, laughter, memories to last a lifetime. I cannot put it into words adequately. I am so grateful for all the people who made this possible, people we don't even know to the night nurse that we couldn't have done it without.

We came home from our trip and I felt like I needed a vacation again. A dear friend saw me a couple days after returning home and said, "The one who needs a vacation the most is the man that just returned from vacation." I couldn't agree more. The laundry and unpacking seemed like a mountain...it wasn't really bad but felt like it was. Next came the end of the school year prep.  Emylie was doing home school with her teacher once a week. Emylie looked forward to the visits with her teacher, especially when she brought paints or the hammer set she loved to play with at school.  

Summer has been great and passing way too quickly. We (perhaps just me) are not ready for school to start. I love having my kids’ home. This summer, Emylie has had multiple doctor visits both at Primary Children’s and Shriners Hospital. She has recovered well from her illnesses in February and since has had some ups and downs but overall is doing well. She started us on a new adventure in June when her oxygen saturations would dip lower than normal while sleeping. That and all that comes with it we are monitoring. I struggled for about a week and a half as we waited for results from her MRI. My mind jumps to the worst case scenario and as much as I believe in the Lord’s will it still can hurt tremendously. Thankfully the results did not confirm my worst case scenario and the plan is to continue to watch and wait.  There is still worry that goes along with it but much more manageable than the previous week and a half.

A friend of mine when asked how things are going will say, “It’s always an adventure.” She too has a child with special needs. This year I have come to understand that a little more. Emylie has calm moments and then the extreme opposite (i.e. February). I guess the extreme makes us appreciate the calm on a greater level.

So far this morning things are calm…