The Sweetest Part of our Move...

We were so blessed and so incredibly grateful to have my sister Lindsay and her family down for the whole week we moved!  While I would have liked to have taken that time off work to spend time with them just having FUN, the Lord provided a way for them to be here to make a very difficult time, so-much-better!!!

Most the time, Kelbie, Keaton, Parker and Tessa were so busy playing and enjoying each other, that they barely noticed all the chaos going on around them!

I can't even imagine what this all would have looked like for Parker and Tessa if they wouldn't have had the sweet company of their sweet sweet cousins.

 

 Even though it was work-work-work, we made the very best of every opportunity we had to just enjoy each other!!

 We even brought in all my old barbies for Kelbie ~ benefits of cleaning out the attic

She was in barbie-heaven ;)

 Kelbie and Keaton could not have been sweeter to Miss Tessa.  

Kelbie still wanted to hold Tessa even though she basically squashed her like a pancake! ;)

 And Keaton was such a great big cousin.

The whole week he was always coming up with the sweetest ways to interact with Tessa.

This one melted our hearts :)

We sent Kelbie home with her selection of some of my old barbies for her birthday!  

That smile on her face says it all! 

 We all got to go out to Tessa's last Spirit League baseball game too!  It's always fun to get to share our new experiences with family...doesn't happen very often since they don't live close.

Needless to say, Tessa had LOTS of buddies that night!   

Daddy, Parker, Keaton and Kelbie all helped Tessa bat and run the bases. 

Even the HUGEST thank you would never be enough to explain what it meant to have the Blacks here for a whole week.  Kyle and Darin worked so hard loading and unloading the trailer...over and over again.  Lindsay helped me get the job done...without her, I would have just stood around looking at everything wondering how in the world we were ever going to get finished!

Thank you Kyle, Lindsay, Keaton and Kelbie!  We love you guys so much and will always have such great memories of our time together!!

~Whitney

DAFO Fitting

Just 2 days after surgery and we're already putting Miss Tessa back to work!  We had her fitting appointment for her new DAFOs yesterday afternoon and then she had PT at the house right after that. 

DAFOs #3 Pretty fancy!

Standing so tall!

So proud of this little girl...she is such a champ!

Ms. Joanne found her the most adorable shoes to go with her new DAFOs.

Size 6 Pink and white New Balance .... perfectly adorable ;)

  These DAFOs are so much bigger and stronger than her pairs before...our little girl is growing!  

Here's looking back at the progression...

DAFOs #1 with first pair of shoes Size 3 (so cute and so tiny!)

DAFOs #2 compared to DAFOs #1 

DAFOs #2 with Size 5 shoes

Size 5 shoes - pink!

Maybe the pink will get old some day...but it's still just too much fun for now!

  I must admit, by the evening, I was regretting putting her through so much in one day.  She enjoyed getting out of the house...but it was clear it was very exhausting for her and she was in quite a bit of pain by the end of it all.  This mama felt really bad, but hopefully we made up for it with lots of lovin and snuggle time before bed.

Doesn't get much better than this...

~Whitney

Surgery Update

Waiting for surgery... 

Cutest little patient ever

We can always count on Daddy for some good entertainment!

We were at the hospital by 6 a.m....and all sleepy!  

Was glad Little Miss was relaxed enough to take a little pre-surgery nap

 All is well ~ wrapped around Daddy's finger

Almost 3 hours later...

 They were super strict this time around and would only let one of us go back right after surgery...so, I had to take a pic to send to Daddy in the waiting room to let him know she was good! (awake & not screaming!!)

I could not wait to get her in my arms!  

All was right with the world (that is relief and exhaustion on my face ;)

Daddy was relieved too, but he always leans more towards cool, calm and collected ;)

Tessa and Daddy are hilarious.  She was still pretty medicated at this point...but leave it to Daddy to get some adorable giggles out of her!

 After almost 8 hours at the hospital, we finally made it home!  Tessa handled the hospital recovery time so well this time around.  Yesterday evening was a little rough because she needed more than just Tylenol, but once we got her prescription filled, she started doing much better. 

~Whitney

Surgery Tomorrow!

This little ray of sunshine will be having surgery to get her left cochlear implant tomorrow morning!  Between getting a contract on the house and moving all last week...this has definitely snuck up on us!  Me, Darin and Tessa will be heading to the hospital by 6 a.m. and surgery is set for 8:00.  Parker is going to stay the night tonight with some of our sweet friends from church.   

It's crazy what a difference a year makes:  I was talking to Parker last night about Tessa's surgery and he seemed to get it...he was pretty oblivious last year.  I was just explaining that he'll be staying with our friends so he doesn't have to sit and be bored at the hospital, and he said "yeah, while they make her cochlear" and I said yes, ;)  I guess it's been good we've been so busy...haven't had much time to dwell on tomorrow...but I do have my mama-worries about our Little Miss.  One year older means more awareness for Parker and more awareness for Tessa.  Last time around she wasn't used to hearing our voices...this time around...she is!  Which is 'yay' and 'nay'...her head will be totally bandaged after surgery and she won't be able to wear her right CI...so I'm just praying that we can comfort her with all we have between our physical  affection and the expressions on our faces!!

Last time around couldn't have gone any better...and since our Heavenly Father is the same yesterday, today and forever...I know all will be just fine.

Thanks so much for all the prayers!  

~Whitney

Strength & Waiting

Psalm 27
13 "I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living."
14 "Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord."

We have been waiting, 430 days to be exact...waiting on the Lord to guide our steps and direct our paths.  The Lord is good; we got a contract on our house last Wednesday!  In 430 days, I assume we've had close to 100 showings (40 just in 2012)...we had grown weary and lacking in confidence, but the Lord used those days to strengthen our hearts.  I think strength comes from weariness and perseverance.  I think when we've grown tired is when the Lord shows His love and power in our lives...and in turn, our hearts are made stronger by His grace and His goodness.  I am convinced that the Lord showed us things and taught us things over the last 14 months that required this 'perfect' scenario.  It's been such a roller coaster of longing for His provision and then doubting His provision.  My faith has been strengthened in my moments of doubt.  I am so humbled by the ways in which my faith has been made new.  I am humbled by all those moments where I doubted the Lord's involvement in my life...and fought emotions of neglect and abandonment.  But He IS sovereign.  He has taken these moments that appear negative and lacking in faith in my life, and has woven together such a beautiful design.  I have taken a lot of deep breaths in the last week.  Sure, there are still details to sort through (and lots of them), but I am so blessed to take those deep breaths seeing God's unmistakable hand-print on what is unfolding in our lives.

In the last week (and really in just a couple of days) we got a contract on our house and found a great home to lease in the Yukon School District for the next year!  Towards the end of March, we found out Tessa's transfer from Mustang to Yukon was denied.  So, our only way to make sure her transition into the school district (that starts in December) could happen with Yukon schools, was to live in the district by that time.  And things are looking good!  We don't close on our house until June 15th, but we will be signing our lease this weekend so we can get moved before Tessa's surgery!  Tessa is having her left CI surgery on Tuesday June 5th, so we decided to take advantage of this next week and go ahead and get moved and settled before her surgery date.  Yesterday, Darin and Parker had their last day of school and our inspections were done.  We will sign our lease on Saturday and I'll be off work next week so we can all work on getting us moved!

There are so many emotions circling around.  It's hard to know what to do with yourself when you've pressed on so intensely through a season of life.  It's almost a shock to our systems to be free of the burden of selling our house.  When I think about how much of our lives it has consumed over the last year...I am saddened and sometimes angry. BUT, when I look at the Lord's goodness, when I consider the work He has done in our lives and in our hearts, when I focus on what matters...I am overwhelmed by His love for us.  It's too easy to look back and only see the negative in all those times we cleaned, in all the stress that was created by having our house on the market that long & trying to juggle everything else in our crazy busy lives...and summing it all up as such a waste.  But when I stop to understand how drastically the Lord can change our lives when we wait on Him, I feel nothing but gratitude that He invested so heavily in our lives.  I am thankful for a season of 'suffering' and stress, to see, that regardless of how lacking my faith, regardless of how many times I failed in 430 days to see His love and His goodness...He provided anyway.  I am so thankful that He gives us a lens to look back and see things the way He did the whole time...because with that, my faith is strengthened and with that, His grace is revealed.

We are excited about this next chapter in our lives!

~Whitney

Yay For...

Yay for a new pink stroller!

And Yay for a new ramp!

http://www.wheelchair-ramp-solutions.com/5-Suitcase-Ezaccess-Portable-Ramp-Advantage-Serie-p/suitcase%20as5.htm

Yay for sunglasses and baseball!

Yay for adorable new swimsuits!

(she's such a poser ;)

 ...isn't she the cutest thing  

 ~Whitney

UCO Hearing Impaired Preschool

Darin and I had the opportunity to take Tessa to visit the UCO Hearing Impaired Preschool in Edmond last Friday morning and the experience was amazing!!  Even though Tessa just turned 2 in April, decisions for her transition into the school system at 3 are starting now.  We have lots of things to consider and even more to pray about! Since this program includes Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Assistants from UCO*, the ratio of teachers to students is great.  Both the director and the teacher of the preschool are amazing and we couldn't have been happier with the experience.

Between now and when Tessa turns 3, we can be included in the UCO program on Friday mornings from 9:00-11:00.  This is the time for the SoonerStart kids and parents to get a glimpse at what it would be like to attend Preschool here.  The only downside to the Preschool for us at this time, is distance.  It takes a minimum of 45 minutes from our house to the school.

Communication is such a big focus for us right now.  We want to make sure Tessa has the tools she needs to communicate with her caregivers...both now and when she transitions into school.  We are still gathering all of the information, but it does sound like there is a way to incorporate the UCO Preschool with Public School when Tessa turns 3.  The Preschool would only be addressing Speech for Tessa, so we would still need to make sure we were providing her with the other therapies she needs (PT, OT, etc.)  If we could get Tessa in a program for a year or two to really help build the foundation of communication for her...it would be incredible.  It would be such a gift to give our little girl all the opportunity in the world to learn to express herself!

These types of decisions are so easy and so incredibly difficult at the same time.  We are always wanting to make sure life is well-rounded...not only for Tessa but of course for Parker too.  At this point it is hard to imagine 1 1/2 hours on the road to get Tessa to and from Preschool...but when you consider how life-changing this scenario could be for her...a year or two of it seems worth every minute and every mile.  At the same time, being a working mother, and considering traffic and how the time I spend on the road would be time I'm sacrificing with Parker....the decision becomes very challenging for me.

Thus....we have Lots of praying to do.  We trust that if this is the right opportunity for Tessa, that the Lord will continue to open the doors in that direction for us.  Our job is to stay faithfully in His word and His will so when the time comes, His direction for our family is very clear! 

Here's a look at our visit :)

Tessa was just taking it all in and made some new friends too!

This was by far her favorite!

This sweet little friend wanted to join the fun!

~Whitney

*I found this information this morning, it was interesting to read how the Graduate Assistants are involved in the Preschool Program at UCO:

http://www.uco.edu/ceps/files/sps/slp-ga-application.pdf

UCO Hearing Impaired Preschool Classroom GA: (typically four 10-hour per week GA positions)
Graduate assistants in the UCO Hearing Impaired Preschool are supported each semester through an annual contract with
Department of Rehabilitative Services/Oklahoma School for the Deaf. These GAs are engaged in assisting the Teacher of the
Hearing Impaired, Ms. Melanie Coldren, who is employed by DRS/OSD. Preschool GAs must have at least beginner-level
skills in Signing Exact English. The Preschool serves 10-20 children from a number of school districts in and around the
metropolitan area who are hearing impaired and may present other challenging conditions as well. The schedule for the
Preschool follows the calendar for the Edmond Public Schools. For classroom GAs, a proportion of the assigned hours in the
Preschool will translate into a specified number of clock hours that are counted toward practicum requirements.
The duties of these GAs include at least the following:
1. Assisting with the daily classroom management activities to include
a. greeting children in arriving at and leaving the Preschool;
b. preparing and serving snacks;
c. accompanying children to restroom, playground;
d. assisting with classroom and child clean up.
2. Developing teaching materials and activities for group sessions.
3. Providing ongoing language stimulation.
4. Assisting with hearing evaluations, tympanograms, and auditory trainers