Our Harlem Globetrotters Experience

Earlier this month the girls performed in the Harlem Globetrotters halftime show.  It’s the second time they’ve been able to perform in a show and it’s always such a fun and unique experience. They practiced like crazy and were so excited to have the opportunity to go out. They looked so beautiful and grown up and did such a great job. I’m a proud mom for sure.  

Merry Christmas from Our Family

Between dance and getting sick, we were pretty worn out.  We decided that we’d have a quiet and peaceful Christmas and did just that.  In fact, we kept the entire week after Christmas quiet too.  We slept in, took time off homeschooling, and spent our time at home.  It was pretty perfect.  We also celebrated David’s birthday and Deena’s  6th adoption day, so we had plenty of fun and things to keep us busy in there.  We hope you all had a peaceful a Christmas too.

My Three Amazing Ballerinas

 This past weekend my girls danced in The Nutcracker with Dancing in the Streets.  They looked so beautiful and did so well.  They were in multiple dances and even helped create some of the choreography. Last year’s performance wasn’t able to happen due to covid and the girls missed it so much.  They were beyond excited to hear they’d be able to perform this year.  Dance means so much to them.  It challenges them to get out of their comfort zone, it challenges them physically, it’s is a great way for them to exercise, and they love expressing themselves and helping to teach others about their abilities through something they are all passionate about- dance.  Finding a dance studio that values this experience as much as we do can be such a huge challenge.  One that we've experienced ourselves.  They always feel at home at Dancing in the Streets, though, and are always welcomed there.  If you are looking for a wonderful, dedicated organization to support, they’re it!  You can donate by going to https://www.ditsaz.org/.  Here are some pictures from this weekend.   I think you can see their joy flooding through.  

Our Day with Campbell’s Crew Cares

Our friend Campbell, who founded Campbell’s Crew Cares, had his mom contact me and see if they could take my kids shopping and let them pick out all their own clothes.  I have never actually taken them all shopping to pick out their own outfits and I knew they would have SO much fun with it.  We coordinated a day when we had to be in Phoenix for a neurosurgery appointment and met them at Walmart.  They had volunteers there waiting to take the kids around and let them pick all their own clothes. It was so fun to see what each kid picked and watch their individual styles come through.  It was such a blessing to have outfits provided for each kid too.  We go through leggings in our house like crazy!  Thank you Campbell’s Crew Cares for taking such good care of the kids.

Our Trip to the Batcave

 We recently had the opportunity to visit the Batcave with the Colton Foundation.  It was such a fun experience that I feel it deserves it’s own post.  Our friend Campbell (he runs Campbell’s Crew Cares) nominated the girls to participate and joined us there.  The kids even got to ride in the Batmobile and Batman’s motorcycle.  The kids had a blast and are still talking all about it.  

We are Alive and Well!

Oh man, I haven’t been on here in so long!!!  We’ve been so busy living our lives, time just got away from me.  Life has been full of lots of good things, but some days it feels like we are constantly on the move.  

I know I shared before that I’ve had some of my own health issues.  Because of that, I’ve had to add specialists and appointments for myself.  It’s not my favorite thing, I won’t lie.  Genetics, Endocrynologists, cardiology,  GI, neurology, my naturopathic doctor, and my mold specialist.  I’ve had a lot of testing too.  I’ve gotten some official diagnoses myself, but no real answers.  It’s a frustrating process, but I’m trying to focus on living life to the fullest and finding joy throughout it all.  Right now they have me on the carnivore diet.  The hope is that giving my gut a break will give it time to repair, and in return, will help me keep my SIBO from reoccurring.  We still haven’t been able to figure out why it won’t stay away.  The current guess is because my IgG count is low in a few areas.  The next specialist I’ll need to see is an immunologist.  

The kids are doing well and keeping busy.  We are officially back in co-op and are still homeschooling.  Being original homeschoolers throughout the whole pandemic was such a blessing. We were able to keep the kid’s lives pretty “normal” throughout everything, and I’m so thankful for that.  After some time off when everything was closed down, Conner has been back in parkour and is loving being a crazy boy and jumping off things. The girls are back in dance and have a performance coming up in December.  They are in three dances and are so proud and excited.  

Madi tuned 13 on the 11th, so we officially have only teens in the house.  It’s so crazy to think about how grown up they all are now.  Kyla, our “year bonus kid” had a baby last fall, though, so it’s been really fun having a baby around again.  Gracie was diagnosed with NEHI, which is an interstitial lung disease.  Kyla is the best momma though and makes sure she always gets the best care.  She’s growing and thriving and is such a happy and fun baby. We see Kyla and Gracie multiple times a week and love it.  

The girls are doing great in therapy and have made big strides. We were finally able to find an in-home physical therapist for the girls, which has been awesome.  Ramya has new AFOs on the way, Madi has a new wheelchair on the way, and Deena’s been doing great with walking with just one arm crutch and SMOs.  They never cease to amaze me.

I’ll post some recent photos of the kids and our recent vacation to California.  You won’t even believe how big they are getting.  They are such great kids and make life so fun.