Sorry for the gap in posts. First and foremost, all is well in NC. Amanda and ELLIE are doing great together and Katie, Dan and Susan are all doing well too! I keep waiting until I have a block of time so I can write about all the happenings and then that block of time never comes. So... I'll give you some bits and pieces now and then keep posting every couple days to add in what I forgot in this post....
1. Amanda and ELLIE are an amazing team. ELLIE is really motivating Amanda to walk, play, stand, etc. She treats Amanda like her own little puppy-- mothering over her all the time. She is very patient with Amanda and loves to be with her! Amanda reaches out and pets ELLIE all the time now. Amanda never gave Ringo half a glance but she LOVES ELLIE! It is really something to see. It is amazing how deeply they have both bonded.
2. Katie is rocking and rolling in school. She earned all As her first semester - yeah Katie!! She also has a singing part in the school Christmas pagent, so she is very excited about that. She is also participating in a program called Girls on the Run and she will run her first 5K in April.
3. Katie was in a horse show on her pony, May, last weekend. It was May's first show ever and they both did great! The earned a first, two seconds, a third, and a fourth and received a $75 check for winning reserve champion in their division. It was quite thrilling for Katie. I will post pictures soon (I have to pull them off the other computer). Katie is really becoming quite a nice little rider now and her pony is just precious.
3. Paws4people has been down a few times for Riverfest, meetings, etc and things are going well. Our local chapter is growing and their are great things happening at the national level as well. It has been wonderful to be associated with the organization.
4. Amanda is up to over 10 minutes of walking on the treadmill. I think she is the most fit person in the family. She has a 6 pack and long strong muscles everywhere. She is up to 34 pounds now and still growing like a weed. She is doing well at answering questions yes and no and following directions. She has a really silly kind of goofy Santa-like laugh now that we all get a kick out of. She is also learning to drive an electric wheel chair and she likes to drive at you and squeal. She gets a big laugh out of it. She also loves to tease and has a precious sense of humor.
5. We are excited about having some down time over Christmas. Katie gets out of school the 19th and then we celebrate Nana and Papa's 50th anniversary on the 20th. We were going to plan a big party but they just wanted it to be a small family get together. However, if you are going to be near Wilmington on the 20th, let me know as a few surprises are good :-). It is going to be a nice quiet Christmas at home this year.
We hope you and yours are all doing well. We love you all. Have a very Merry CHRISTmas!!! I will be better about posting again now that things are slowing down.
Susan
