Amanda & ELLIE Playing Ball

Thought you would like to see this video and picture of Amanda and ELLIE playing ball. They played for an hour tonight. Amanda probably threw the ball to ELLIE close to 80 times. The video was taken toward the end of the session. The picture was a little earlier. It is amazing to see how much progress Amanda is making these days. ELLIE is certainly playing an important role in that progress. Thank you paws4people!! It was a very fun evening seeing both of them play so nicely. Everybody was having fun. We can't wait to play again tomorrow night.

We have had an eventful few weeks but nothing too crazy. As you can see from the pictures, Amanda and ELLIE are doing well together. Amanda and ELLIE seem to really enjoy each other’s company. Amanda is learning to walk next to ELLIE while holding on to the handle on her harness. She also loves to snuggle with ELLIE. ELLIE is doing really well with commands like “get meds, get phone, etc” and she even gets diapers (clean ones) when we do a diaper change. She has been a tremendous blessing to our whole family. She not only helps Amanda, but she loves and comforts everyone else as well. When Amanda had her “issue” last week, ELLIE provided great comfort to Katie while we were getting things checked out medically.

Amanda did all of her blood work for Johns Hopkins last Monday so we should be hearing something soon. We also talked with UCLA today and hope to have a phone consult regarding medicines, behavior, etc. Amanda has had a few bumps the last couple of weeks, first with a spider bite and next with another vomiting episode (that makes 4 in 4 months). We went to the neurologist on Friday to talk things through and we have decided to try a medicine change. He is not sure if the vomiting episodes are seizures or migraines but either way, they are becoming too frequent. Plus, there are other side effects of the Keppra that might be rectified with a medicine change. We are optimistic that her language will improve on the new medicine and that she will lose some of her desire to be aggressive or need to do self stimulation (e.g., pinching, biting, pulling hair, etc.). It is always both exciting and a little scary when we do medicine changes. We will keep you posted.

Katie has had a big couple of weeks. She has started 4-H again, is enjoying her new school, and her pony. She also had a big event on Saturday, when she got her ears pierced! This is a big step for Katie, who is not a big fan of blood or pain. She went to Merle Norman so that Ms Tharpe, her first grade assistant teacher could be the one to do the piercing. The whole family, including ELLIE and Nana and Papa (& Amanda in her mask) went with to watch the big event. She got both holes put in at the exact same time by two different people so that she wouldn’t have to do them one at a time. She picked some cute faux diamond studs that really look nice on her. We are all proud of her for overcoming her concerns and following through with the ear piercing. She was quite happy once it was all over and she had earrings. She is already planning which earrings she will wear once her trainers come out. She has a lot more homework this year than she did last year, but she is handling it well. She is making nice new friends and seems to enjoy her teachers. So far, we are very happy with the new school. In 4-H, she will be competing on a horse bowl team, and will be learning a lot about animals, plants, etc this year. This weekend, she will be volunteering at a local horse show in support of 4-H. She also continues to enjoy horseback riding. She took a lesson on Sunday and will probably be taking lessons at least once per week this year.

Things are finally slowing down for me and Dan. The beginning of the semester was busy but things are starting to slow down now. Thankfully, Dan’s parents made it through Hurricane Ike safely. They live just north of Houston. They do not have power yet, but their house made it through the Hurricane ok. We hope all is well with you and yours. God Bless!
Susan

All is well after TS Hannah

We made it through Tropical Storm Hannah just fine. Amanda seemed unbothered by it all and the rest of the family, including ELLIE & Ringo slept peacefully with no reaction, although Amanda did find the need to wake up and play from 4 am until 6 am. Luckily, she went back to sleep around 6 and stayed asleep until 8. The only time the storm seemed bad at all was from about 3-3:30 am when the winds really picked up. They were really howling for about a half hour or so. The center passed about 20 miles to our south so we got the eastern eyewall (It wasn't bad given the tropical storm rather than hurricane status but we still had sustained winds probably around 60-70 mph with higher gusts). We have a tiny bit of debris in the yard (pine cones etc) and around town there are a few branches down but no major damage that I could see. The horses all made it through fine as well. Hope all is well with all of you. God Bless.
Susan

Settling In

Things are going well here. We finally finished our busy two weeks of school and now we face a more normal schedule from here on out. We are all healthy again, except for Papa who still has "the cold" but he is on the tail end of it. Nana was the only one with a strong enough immune system to avoid the cold.

Amanda and ELLIE are doing well together. They seem to really enjoy each other's company. Amanda has been walking next to ELLIE holding on to her harness and giving her lots of pets. The rest of us are really enjoying ELLIE as well. She is the neatest dog ever!

Amanda has made lots of progress this week. She has learned to "show me your toes" and to drink out of a cup by herself (this works well in the bathtub as opposed to over the wood floors). She is much more aware of her surroundings and is quite the silly kid these days. She did the best ever at therapeutic riding yesterday. She rode Katie's pony, May, essentially all by herself yesterday. I had my hands near her in case she lost her balance, but didn't have to touch her much at all. She did fabulously. This week, we will do the second set of blood tests for the clotting issues. We had to wait until she got off the antibiotics from the ear infections before doing them. She has been off the meds for about 5 days now so the tests should be fine now.

Katie is enjoying her new school. She is in a private Christian school this year and seems to love it. She is working hard at her studies and enjoying her new study area - the Bible. She comes home and quotes Bible verses, which is pretty cool. She really likes her classmates and has already made some nice new friends. Her best friend, who lives next door, also goes there. They are in different classes but enjoy being together at lunch and recess. I think it will be a good experience for her. I also love the fact that uniforms are required. It makes it so much easier to get ready in the morning. She can wear Khaki pants, shorts, or a skirt and a blue, red, or white golf shirt.

We are all enjoying our new Wii Fit game. I am hoping it will be the impetus for a healthier lifestyle for all of us. It is so much fun that you don't even feel like you are exercising.

We are spending a quiet day at home prepping for classes, cleaning house and relaxing. We will go to the barn later and do some riding. I am anxious to see if Mandy does as well today as she did yesterday. I am also looking forward to watching Katie ride May. Those two just love each other. They are are perfect pair.

I hope you all have a happy Labor Day. God Bless.

Susan