By ourselves

We had to say 'Good-bye' to Miranda yesterday, it was her last shift before she leaves. Today was a nice day on our own, but we'll miss her easy presence and giving nature.

I'll be training someone new on Monday. Luckily I still have Lauren helping us for the first couple weeks of June, otherwise I wouldn't be leaving the house much (training someone new takes time). Lauren has worked with the girls since Ashley was two years old, I think. It's hard to remember these things.

Anyway, the day is beautiful and the girls are doing well. What more could I ask for!

Thinking of smiling

When I say that Hope is 'thinking of smiling', this is what I see. She's definitely showing a bit more response, and very sweet little 'almost' smiles. The seizures continue and they tire her out, but we usually get a bit of this each day.

And more fun...

I hosted an Epicure party yesterday and the girls enjoyed A LOT of cuddles. Here you see Hope helping Aynsley decide what to order. Aynsley was the first nurse who helped us when we first started getting nursing respite, four years ago. She started here when Ashley was 6 months old.

Now we don't need nurses anymore, and Miranda is our main respite worker till the end of this month. In the photo below, you can see Miranda's family who always impress me with their interest in the girls (Miranda is on the far left). Ashley was full of smiles the whole day, just loving the cuddles.

Today it's raining and we're going to enjoy a quiet day inside.

More fun...

We had a garage sale this morning and then hosted a 'Good-Bye Lunch' for Deanna (Alex's sister). We're now relaxing for a bit after all the fun. In the photo, you see Hope and cousin Nathalie, who was very attentive to the girls while she was here. So cute.

Ashley had some nice cuddles and fell asleep in Grandma Allen's arms. Brodie played hard with his cousins. It was nice to see.

Visitors

We had visitors yesterday. My sister and her family were in town and stopped by for a visit in the evening. Ashley thought it was fun to watch Uncle Russ and Brodie play the 'Combining game' on the computer. Uncle Russ probably gets enough practice on the real farm, but Brodie was showing him how to harvest the crop anyway!

No change here. Ashley is smiling and Hope is thinking of smiling! Have a great weekend everyone.

Good trip

This is just before we left for our 2.5 hour drive to the farm. Hope was lounging in Ashley's chair when the smiles started, so we grabbed the camera for a quick pic before the drive. Unfortunately, we have discovered that her smiles are ALWAYS a warning of a cluster of seizures (Ashley used to do this too).

Anyway, Hope did very well on the drive out (still using the Atropine drops to dry up her secretions and make breathing easier) and we had a great visit with everyone. We brought Ashley back with us, and enjoyed Brodie's soccer game tonight. 'Enjoyed' might be the wrong word, we survived the frigid winds that the kids didn't seem to notice.

Hope

Ashley went to the farm to spend a couple days with Grandma and Grandpa Neufeld, so Hope had all the attention today. It appears that she enjoyed it. This is the most alert we've seen her in weeks, maybe months. I'm not sure when the last time would be, and maybe this won't last but it was a blessing we cherished today.

She was almost smiling. The left corner of her mouth kept turning up, and we accepted that as a 'HUGE' smile, because it was definitely in response to our smiles. She even had her eyes wide open, instead of half shut. This was in the morning...

And then we took her to her weekly Chiropractor appointment. After which, she promptly fell asleep.

And now it's 4:40pm and she's sitting in my arms as I type this, trying to smile in between multiple seizures.

Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments on Mother's Day. It made my day even more special.

Saturday Morning...

Saturday morning's are for cuddles and coffee. We had a good week, with a lot of smiles from Ashley and laughter from Brodie, and not much from Hope (although we do see 'almost' smiles when she has her seizures).

We have hired a couple new respite workers and it looks like we're well set up for the summers. We even found someone to come on Wednesday evenings so that we can play slowpitch. This is our evening 'out', and Brodie comes with. It's a lot of fun.

Have a great weekend everyone, and thank you for the encouraging comments.

Jolene

Brodie's first soccer game

This is for the grandparents and Auntie's who like to see what's going on. Brodie had his first soccer game today. First he showed off the jersey...



Then we had to kick the soccer ball as we walked to Kirkbridge.



Alex got a good work out, chasing a few wayward kicks.

Then we got to the soccer field and Brodie was right in there practicing.

After that, I was so into the game that I forgot to take pictures. But it was really cute and Brodie had a great time. He's on the same team as his good friend, Reece.

The girls are back from their weekend away and doing well.

Sweet

Brodie is so sweet with the girls. I just had to share this photo. The girl's are gone for a 'sleep-over' this weekend at the couple who provides weekend respite for us (this happens once every two months). We had a wonderful day with Brodie yesterday and today is just for us. Brodie is at Grandma and Grandpa Allen's today and comes back tommorrow.

What a beautiful day.