Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Oooops
Time for another update...I know!!!!
December 16th...that was the last one, really??? Its hard to believe we are almost into March.
Christmas was wonderful. Karter enjoyed all the festivities. Here are a few shots:
This one if my favorite...he was laughing hysterically!!!
After Christmas Karter settled back into school without issue, I was relieved that the 2 week break from routine did not set him back.
At the end of January, we spent three days in Children's Hospital having intensive EEG monitoring. Basically, they keep the EEG leeds (wires) on his head and monitor him 24 hours a day in hopes that they will catch a seizure. We had to sleep deprive him and wake him up throughout the night. He did end up having a seizure and they got what they needed for the testing.
Here they are prepping him for the leeds
Ready to go to the ward
Watching TV
Ready to go home
Karter has begun another session of horseback riding. We are now riding at a new place called Valley Therapeutic. Its amazing and for the first time he is really tolerating it well. There have even been a couple of times that I might say he actually enjoyed it.
We were shopping with my parents one evening in Costco and we found this great chair for Karter. They thought it was so cute that they ended up buying it for him. He loves it!
He can get pretty comfortable in it ;-)
Karter has had an adjustment on his meds and will be trying out a new stander soon.
Things for the most part have been going well, nothing major to report about. That should catch us up for now.
December 16th...that was the last one, really??? Its hard to believe we are almost into March.
Christmas was wonderful. Karter enjoyed all the festivities. Here are a few shots:
This one if my favorite...he was laughing hysterically!!!
After Christmas Karter settled back into school without issue, I was relieved that the 2 week break from routine did not set him back.
At the end of January, we spent three days in Children's Hospital having intensive EEG monitoring. Basically, they keep the EEG leeds (wires) on his head and monitor him 24 hours a day in hopes that they will catch a seizure. We had to sleep deprive him and wake him up throughout the night. He did end up having a seizure and they got what they needed for the testing.
Here they are prepping him for the leeds
Ready to go to the ward
Watching TV
Ready to go home
Karter has begun another session of horseback riding. We are now riding at a new place called Valley Therapeutic. Its amazing and for the first time he is really tolerating it well. There have even been a couple of times that I might say he actually enjoyed it.
We were shopping with my parents one evening in Costco and we found this great chair for Karter. They thought it was so cute that they ended up buying it for him. He loves it!
He can get pretty comfortable in it ;-)
Karter has had an adjustment on his meds and will be trying out a new stander soon.
Things for the most part have been going well, nothing major to report about. That should catch us up for now.
Friday, December 16, 2011
New Developments
Karter has a number of goals at school right now that we are working on at home as well. One of his goals was to hold his cup with assistance from the teacher or from us (hand over hand).
A week or so back, he was sitting on the couch and I set him up with his cup, hand over hand. I had to grab the phone so I let go of him so I could walk away and he continued to hold the cup on his own.
He ended up drinking the entire thing on his own! He did it again the next day. He can do it if his arms are well supported behind him however in his wheelchair, there is not enough support to make that possible. Right now, at home we are working on this and are thrilled at his progress. Here is a picture so you can see for yourself.
A week or so back, he was sitting on the couch and I set him up with his cup, hand over hand. I had to grab the phone so I let go of him so I could walk away and he continued to hold the cup on his own.
He ended up drinking the entire thing on his own! He did it again the next day. He can do it if his arms are well supported behind him however in his wheelchair, there is not enough support to make that possible. Right now, at home we are working on this and are thrilled at his progress. Here is a picture so you can see for yourself.
Friday, November 25, 2011
The Van Story
If I were to say I was overwhelmed with gratitude, that would be very much the understatement of the year. Our van is a miracle...seriously, I am not trying to be dramatic, it is a true testimony of God's faithfulness in our lives once again.
About a year ago, we made the decision to "start" the process of getting an adapted van. Looking into it we discovered it was WAY over our heads to cover the cost with our current monthly budget. We looked at used van but then even they were too pricey.
Knowing very little about conversions at the time, we sort of figured we would just convert the van we already had only to find out later that there is no such conversion kit for our van...ok back to square one.
With the help of various people at the Child Development Center, we were given names of organizations that offered grants for such a situation. I started to look into these grants.
In March we were surprised...SERIOUSLY surprised...by a fundraiser that had been thrown in Karter's honor to help raise funds to put towards this project. Just over $5000 came in from that event. That spurred us on to move forward in the process.
I spent about a month compiling all the information that we would need to put an application together for the two grant applications I would be sending. At the end of April I sent both applications out; the amount I asked for would combined equal about $50000. After getting quotes for converted vans, we knew we were looking at over $60000 as our final price...EEK!
In June, we received our first application letter back...we had been denied because our pre-taxable income was $2000 too high. This was so hard to understand because of the circumstances that surrounded that extra $2000 (I will spare you the details to keep things short). Although extremely disappointed, we picked ourselves off and gathered our slightly bruised faith and reminded ourselves that we trust that God had all things taken care of and that this was no surprise to Him.
My Grandmother passed away at the beginning of June and unknown to us, in lieu of flowers people were asked to give donations in her memory to Missions or to a fund for Karter. Over the course of a few months another $2000 came in from friends and family in my Grandma's memory...if you knew my Grandma, this would have expressed the desire of her heart perfectly. We were more than overwhelmed by this.
I started looking further into other sources of funding; different service organizations and other children's charities. I received grant applications from two other charities and completed and sent applications to them at that time.
In August I received word that one of the first grant applications I sent in had been approved for $25000...we were elated. We were more than half way there!
In September we received approval from two of the other charities; $7500 from one and $3500 from the other.
At the end of September, we felt that we needed to take a step of faith and purchase the van. Each of the grant approvals was only good for 6 months and the ordering process takes up to 12 weeks. So we went ahead and made our choice and signed the papers. Because they required a down payment, we went ahead and traded our old van in to use as the down payment.
On the way home after signing the papers, I received an email from one of the people I had contacted in the summer about funding. He was from a local service club. He let me know that he had been away for a few months and that he would be sending me an application for funding. In the end, we received $1000 from them (actually the email came in as we were driving to pick up the van...interesting how that all worked out).
With our trade in and all of our grant money we managed to raise a total of $52,000 towards the van. There are a couple of other things that we are waiting for and hopefully those will take down that amount even more. An additional blessing is that we have had a family member offer us an interest free loan for the balance, an amazing gesture that helped us out more than they will even know.
God is so faithful. He saw our need and provided for it. This van is a testimony that He is interested in every part of our lives, even a wheelchair van! He knew that we were unable to attain the van through our monthly means, so He put people and agencies on our path to assist us.
Karter loves his new van, it has made daily routines so much easier and Karter is thankful to not be transferred out of his wheelchair into his car seat and vise versa every time we make a stop. And me...well I an thankful that I no longer have to hoist both Karter and his chair into the vehicle anymore...I think my chiropractor will see me even less now!
So if you see us driving down the road with enormous smiles on our faces just know that it is because of our extreme gratitude for God's provision! Many of you are a part of that provision, so we extend our thanks to you as well.
About a year ago, we made the decision to "start" the process of getting an adapted van. Looking into it we discovered it was WAY over our heads to cover the cost with our current monthly budget. We looked at used van but then even they were too pricey.
Knowing very little about conversions at the time, we sort of figured we would just convert the van we already had only to find out later that there is no such conversion kit for our van...ok back to square one.
With the help of various people at the Child Development Center, we were given names of organizations that offered grants for such a situation. I started to look into these grants.
In March we were surprised...SERIOUSLY surprised...by a fundraiser that had been thrown in Karter's honor to help raise funds to put towards this project. Just over $5000 came in from that event. That spurred us on to move forward in the process.
I spent about a month compiling all the information that we would need to put an application together for the two grant applications I would be sending. At the end of April I sent both applications out; the amount I asked for would combined equal about $50000. After getting quotes for converted vans, we knew we were looking at over $60000 as our final price...EEK!
In June, we received our first application letter back...we had been denied because our pre-taxable income was $2000 too high. This was so hard to understand because of the circumstances that surrounded that extra $2000 (I will spare you the details to keep things short). Although extremely disappointed, we picked ourselves off and gathered our slightly bruised faith and reminded ourselves that we trust that God had all things taken care of and that this was no surprise to Him.
My Grandmother passed away at the beginning of June and unknown to us, in lieu of flowers people were asked to give donations in her memory to Missions or to a fund for Karter. Over the course of a few months another $2000 came in from friends and family in my Grandma's memory...if you knew my Grandma, this would have expressed the desire of her heart perfectly. We were more than overwhelmed by this.
I started looking further into other sources of funding; different service organizations and other children's charities. I received grant applications from two other charities and completed and sent applications to them at that time.
In August I received word that one of the first grant applications I sent in had been approved for $25000...we were elated. We were more than half way there!
In September we received approval from two of the other charities; $7500 from one and $3500 from the other.
At the end of September, we felt that we needed to take a step of faith and purchase the van. Each of the grant approvals was only good for 6 months and the ordering process takes up to 12 weeks. So we went ahead and made our choice and signed the papers. Because they required a down payment, we went ahead and traded our old van in to use as the down payment.
On the way home after signing the papers, I received an email from one of the people I had contacted in the summer about funding. He was from a local service club. He let me know that he had been away for a few months and that he would be sending me an application for funding. In the end, we received $1000 from them (actually the email came in as we were driving to pick up the van...interesting how that all worked out).
With our trade in and all of our grant money we managed to raise a total of $52,000 towards the van. There are a couple of other things that we are waiting for and hopefully those will take down that amount even more. An additional blessing is that we have had a family member offer us an interest free loan for the balance, an amazing gesture that helped us out more than they will even know.
God is so faithful. He saw our need and provided for it. This van is a testimony that He is interested in every part of our lives, even a wheelchair van! He knew that we were unable to attain the van through our monthly means, so He put people and agencies on our path to assist us.
Karter loves his new van, it has made daily routines so much easier and Karter is thankful to not be transferred out of his wheelchair into his car seat and vise versa every time we make a stop. And me...well I an thankful that I no longer have to hoist both Karter and his chair into the vehicle anymore...I think my chiropractor will see me even less now!
So if you see us driving down the road with enormous smiles on our faces just know that it is because of our extreme gratitude for God's provision! Many of you are a part of that provision, so we extend our thanks to you as well.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
IT'S HERE!!!!
I have only a moment to update right now, there will be more details to follow...soon! We picked up the van the other day. We are thrilled at its ease on our daily routines with Karter. We are absolutely overwhelmed with gratitude right now. I cannot wait to update you with all the details....
Friday, November 11, 2011
"We Remember"
I had the privileged of joining Karter's class for a school wide assembly for Remembrance Day. Karter and another girl from his class had been chosen to participate in the Wreath Ceremony.
It moved so fast and because of the nature of the assembly, I held myself from back from jumping in the middle of the ceremony to get a shot... (but you have no idea the restraint it took ;-)). Most of my pictures are a bit blury because of movement, but I had to share them anyhow.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
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