Our Vegas Trip!!!

First and foremost, we would like to say THANK YOU! In a little over two weeks we raised almost $2,000.00. Thank goodness, because it cost about $1,400 to get us to Vegas and between the taxi’s we had to take and the food it was a little more expensive than we originally thought it was going to be. If it were not for ALL OF OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY this trip would not have been possible.

This has been quite an emotional time. For a family like ours that keep our private matters private, it has been quite challenging sharing this with all of you because, as you can imagine….it is our raw emotions. We didn’t realize how little we share about our “life” and our daily struggles. It isn’t because we don’t want you to know, but more that this is just our life. We don’t really think of it as anything but that. During this process it became very apparent that most of you knew something was “challenging Maddy” but very few of you knew exactly what. Most of you were even afraid to ask, because you didn’t want to upset us. In the future if you have any questions, PLEASE feel free to ask. We love talking about our kids, as much as anyone else and even if it is a little challenging for us at times to find the words without the emotions, we would be more than honored to share our story.

NOW….ON TO THE VEGAS UPATE!!!

I am so excited to share all of the details with you. This was probably one of the most amazing experiences we have ever had. I am going to focus my story on Madison, but that doesn’t mean that Lexi didn’t have an absolute BLAST, she did. This was amazing for both girls.

The Flight!

Our adventure started on Saturday at 6am…yep, it was an early start for the girls!!! We went to the airport and loaded the plane. When we got on the plane we decided to send Dad with Lexi, and Mom with Maddy (3 seats per section)….who ever invented planes didn’t think about the fact that most families are 4????? Maddy got to sit by the window and she was pretty amazed looking out at the workers load the luggage. I sat in the middle and hoped that an understanding person would sit next to me, mostly because this was Maddy’s first real flight and I didn’t know how she was going to like it. I was imagining all of the bad things that might happen….her crying the whole way…UGH…not a pretty sight….Then a really nice lady sat next to us with her book and didn’t even pay attention to the fact that she was sitting next to a kid. I had my arsenal of toys too (books, dolls, TAD the leapfrog toy) I wanted to be prepared, just in case she didn’t like the flight. BUT….she loved it. She was so very excited when the plane took off. She laughed and told me, in her limited sign-language that she was on a plane, and that she was up in the sky. She saw the clouds and was amazed. Every time she looked out the window and back at me to show me something else, my heart beamed. Can you imagine what it would be like, if you didn’t have the words to describe what you were feeling or seeing? I watched her face and could feel her excitement and new right away that THIS was what dreams were made of. My eyes teared up. After a short while we started our decent. Once again, the giggles and laughter as she felt the plane slow and land, made me laugh. She was so excited.

When we got off the plane and got our luggage we started our venture to the hotel. First it was a shuttle ride. This was also pretty exciting, because we didn’t have to use a car seat. Maddy looked up at us, with her big brown eyes as if she was a BIG girl like her sister. She sat in her seat with the seatbelt on smiling the whole way. We tried to check into the hotel early, but no such luck we were going to have to wait the 4 hours until check in…..So we were off to the strip.

The Sites!

It was HOT in Vegas. Just a little note about Maddy, she takes two types of medication 2x a day for her seizures. One of the medications side effects is that she does not sweat. She just goes from fine to WAY TO HOT in not time flat, so we are constantly checking to be sure that she isn’t overheating. Because Vegas was so hot, we had to keep bouncing in and out of the casinos to keep her cool. We headed to “Paris” and saw the Eiffel Tower, this is where we ate lunch. We saw some amazing fountains and the overspray from them felt so refreshing. We went to “New York” and saw the Statue of Liberty; this was a really big deal to Lexi because her dream is to visit the real Statue of Liberty one day. We went to Excalibur and saw the castle. This was really cool for Maddy, because she got to see one of her favorite cartoon character’s SPONGEBOB! After all of that walking, 4 hours worth, we ended up taking a cab ride back to the hotel, we needed the A/C.

The Hotel!!

After checking into the hotel we went to our room, on the 15th floor. This was so cool because Frank put Maddy on the window shelf and let her look out at the city….SHE LOVED IT!!! She was amazed. She kept trying to tell us what she was seeing, once again how do you tell the people around you, how amazing the things are when you don’t have enough words??? Her favorite spot in the hotel room was in “her” chair looking out at the city. After we got the girls to take a short nap, it was off to find dinner and catch the Mirage Volcano eruption. This was amazing also. Lexi LOVED it, but Maddy didn’t like it so much. She was scared out of her mind when the big eruption at the end happened. She wouldn’t take her eyes off of it, until she knew for sure that it wasn’t going to erupt again. Then we headed back to the hotel (VEGAS IS NOT A PLACE FOR KIDS AT NIGHT!!!!!)

The Doctor’s Visit!

The next morning, Sunday, was our big day. The day that we were excited about. We were instructed to be in the symposium room at 8:30am, because our treatment by Dr. Jean-Pierre was schedule for 9am. When we arrived, we were greeted by Haan Elling, Maddy’s Physical Therapist. Maddy heard him coming from around the corner and let go of my hand and took off running to Haan. It was such a moving moment that it made me tear up. I believe I even saw a little glossiness in Haan’s eyes. She gave him a HUGE hug and took his hand as he led her around the corner and into the room. We all followed and found our chairs. There were about 50 doctors in the room and everyone was so grateful to have us there. Can you believe that? They were thanking us for being there? Then the guest of honor showed up and Dr. Jean-Pierre took the stage after a brief introduction.

Right before we were called onto the stage, Dr. Jean-Pierre explained that he does not treat patients based on what their medical chart says. He treats them based on what their body says, he “listens with his hands”. Then we were called up. Frank and Lexi stayed in their seats and I started to walk on stage with Maddy. When Maddy walks sometimes she is VERY clumsy. In the instance that we started walking, I could tell that this was not going to be very graceful, because there was a video camera with cords running everywhere and chairs on either side of us and people to bump into…..SO…..I scooped her up and had her on my hip facing away from me all in one quick moment and took her onto the stage. Dr. Jean-Pierre started his magic. He instantly asked me to lay her down and went to her head. He asked if Maddy talks, and I said “no”. He said she was very interesting. He said she was VERY INTELLIGENT. He asked how many words she could speak and asked me to get her to say the words…..PaPa, MaMa, baby……Dr. Jean-Pierre is French and I had to pay VERY CLOSE attention to know what he was saying and when he was speaking fast, I only caught every third word. He said that there was a small 2-3millimeter area of damage in her brain and that the connection between where the information comes in and goes to the “language” part of the brain was broken. He said it was actually routing its way around the proper path. He drew a picture up on the board, mostly for the other doctors in the room, but it was very helpful for me to visualize what he was talking about. He checked the signals from both hands and feet to be sure that they were making their way to the brain, and that was fine. The doctor focused on Maddy’s brain mostly. After he was finished treating Maddy it was the other doctor’s turn to ask questions. They wanted to know what “the mom” could expect from this treatment. Dr. Jean-Pierre said that the connection to the language was broken, but he could feel a “thread” of neurological energy getting though by the time he was finished. He said that Madison may never talk, he could not say for sure. He also said that her coordination should get better. He said that it will be up to Maddy. He gave her a tool and that she will need to “process” the information, and then learn what to do with it. She is 5 years old and typically there is an explosion of language at 18mo.-3yrs. 5yrs old is a little more challenging because the brain development slows down a little.

When we were finished listening to all of the questions and answers we headed out. I would have loved to stay and see the other 7 patients being treated, but keeping two kids quiet and still while trying to concentrate on a French doctor is an impossible task. So we left.

Maddy’s doctor Haan, stayed and had the opportunity to pick the other doctor’s brains and speak to Dr. Jean-Pierre about Maddy.


The Trip Home…
Meanwhile we had a little over an hour to go do something, so we headed to the buffet at the Luxor….How can you visit Vegas without going to the big pyramid?

As soon as we were done, we were back in airport and on our way home.

TIRED.

After we got back, we had a great conversation with Haan and we were very glad that he was there. He had a very clear understanding of what we just had done and how to move forward from here.

We feel that this was an amazing opportunity and it was worth every minute of it. What will happen now is completely up to Madison. If there is anything that Madison has taught us it is this….

“Never under estimate Madison”….She has had to work harder then most for EVERYTHING. If you give her the tools she WILL do something with them. She is AMAZING. It is now time for all of us to wait and see what AMAZING THING she is going to do with the “tools” that she has been given from this adventure.

Future Updates……


In order to keep up on Madison’s progress just check back here.


Please keep in mind that I have good days and bad days…this blog allows me to share BOTH from a Mother’s perspective. It is truly a glimpse into my world. Up until now I have blogged it anonymously.

All of our love,

Christa

Where is the MERRY this year?

Wow, this year has been crazy. I think that every person close or near to me is suffering in some way. Recently a friend of mine had her sister die, then another friend had a family member die and then last night one of my dear friends lost someone. How can this be Christmas?

About 3 weeks ago my husband lost his job. UGH....here we are right before the holidays and we have fell into the melting pot of US unemployment. I think I now understand how all of the people in the US are trying to figure out how to put food on the table. Can you believe it? One minute you are working along just fine and then the next you are unemployed. If it were a year ago, one would just go out and get a new job, but EVERYONE is out of work. EVERYONE is wondering how to pay their mortgage AND there isn't an end in site. RECESSION. I am so sad. Luckily my dear sweet hubby went back to work this week. But, I have a much different take on how quickly things can change. One minute we have a job and the next we might not. I think my lesson this week is...BE prepared.

I am so sad for everyone around me. People I know AND people I don't know. I pray that things turn around quickly. I pray that families survive.

#4 - Gratitude

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more." ~ Melody Beattie


This little quote is so true! I am grateful for all of the little things. Her are 2 more things that I am grateful for.

#4 I am grateful that I am a mother ~ I am grateful for the fact that moms have a special kiss that can make most things better. I am grateful for the hugs, smiles and kisses that I get from my kids!! There really isn't anything more that I need (well except my wonderful hubby). I am grateful for my kids.

Fun little activity...

Hey there, this weekend was fantastic! We had the chance to play in the sunshine and it was GREAT! Our whole family went out and raked leaves, actually it was kinda pointless because they were falling off the trees as fast as we were picking them up.....but in the mist of trying to get some yard work done, we had a HUGE pile of leaves. My girls were having the time of their life! One of them would hide in the pile, while the other one ran an jumped in. It was so fun to watch. It just took me back to when I was a kid ...THAT WAS QUITE SOME TIME AGO!! It was really a blast. We had a leaf fight and took turns throwing them up in the air....it was so fun. I love this time of year. The holiday's are here and everyone feels happy. Children's laughter just warms the heart.

I was thinking about fun little projects that we have done with our family and I thought I would share one. It is simple enough that even our SPECIAL little people can do it.

Button Cap or Rainy Day Hat

Get an old had or one that you just won't wear because it is too big. Get a bunch of buttons (I keep a jar of buttons and add to it as the goes on, a thrift store has buttons for cheap also). Take a bottle of glue and put little dabs of glue all around, let your little one put on as many buttons or beads as they want. The more buttons, the better. If you child is like mine the small buttons are things that she likes to put in her mouth, so I use the jumbo buttons. They look SO cute. I also like to take "puffy paint" and write my kids' names on the hat in their favorite color. Let the hat dry for about 24 hours and then it is ready to wear. My little ones LOVE wearing their hats around the house.

Dr. Visit AGAIN!

We had another Neurologist Appt. yesterday....I feel like that is all I report about....I really can't wait until the day that I don't have ANY unroutine (is that a word?) DR visits.

I had to report that my little one is still having seizures, this time though, I kinda felt like Charlie Brown when he was talking. All I really heard was blablablabla...bla...blabla......I felt like going to sleep, my eyes wanted to shut and I really didn't hear anything that he was saying. Do you think that I really was tired? Maybe it was the lights? Maybe I am just tired of NOT KNOWING what the hell is going on? He spoke about putting this little thing in her that goes right above her heart and sends shocks to her VEGA? nerve every 5 minutes....are you kidding me? I don't think I am ready to give my daughter SHOCK THERAPY.....For now we just UP'd her medication AGAIN!

I think the only reason that I am frustrated is because she is so darn CUTE and HAPPY that I just wish everything else would go away. Why should she have to struggle? Maybe the struggle is all mine?

What are you GRATEFUL for??

My 7 year old daughter came home on Monday, with a very fun project that she had to do. Her teacher told her to come up with 5 things that she is grateful for. HMMM...I was intrigued as a mom to see what SHE was grateful for...so I didn't say anything and sat back to let her explain her whole project.....Let me explain a little bit about her....she is 7 going on about 15, very intelligent and thinks that I either don't know anything or don't understand anything that she says to me. I know she is probably just like every other kid out there, but I really thought that she "wouldn't know everything" until she was at least a teenager - WRONG!! The wars have already begun.

Back to her project, she told me in detail about what her teacher expected from her and how exactly she was going to do it. I said "have you figured out what you are grateful for yet?" She smiled and said "SURE, I am grateful for my family, because without them I wouldn't know love. I am grateful for food and water because with out food or water we would starve and die, and water helps us cool off in the summer. I am thankful for school because if we did not have school, we would not be smart and we would not be able to meet new friends. I am thankful for my sister, because I love her and she is fun to play with. And, I am thankful for warm clothes to wear when it is cold." I listened very carefully to her very simple but compelling list of 5 things that she was grateful for and realized that I MUST BE DOING SOMETHING right! She didn't say that she was thankful for a video game or candy. She didn't say that she was thankful for toys or "stuff"...she was really thankful for ALL the things that I would have had on my list.

That got me thinking of a time that I said THANKS....My youngest daughter has some very unique challenges and early on in her life she couldn't walk. We had to go through some very intense Physical Therapy, along with Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy AND we had a Child Development Specialist that worked with her as well. After a couple of years, these wonderful people helped my little girl learn to walk...first in a walker, then with leg braces and finally with out any assistance. How could I ever possibly show my gratitude to these wonderful people? I help people publish their own personal stories all the time, so I thought I would publish a "How Do I Say Thank You?" story just for them. It told how each person has touched my daughters life with their own personal magical touch and how we would not be where we are with out them. We gave it to them at Christmas time and watched their eyes fill with tears as they read their story. It is amazing to me that I still see that "Thank You" book on their desks and in their living room, even after a few years have gone by.

GRATITUDE UNLOCKS THE FULLNESS OF LIFE. IT TURNS WHAT WE HAVE INTO ENOUGH AND MORE. ~ Melody Beattie.

So, let me ask you.....What 5 things are YOU grateful for this year?

My little piece of heaven....the "property"

Back in the swing of things :)

I'm officially back. I got a question for ya?? Have you ever had a bad day for no good reason...and then find out that one of your kids is sick? It is the strangest thing. Yesterday, I felt "off" and couldn't explain it. I really wasn't upset, nothing was really wrong, but I felt like something was wrong. When my youngest got home from school she was a little quiet, I know that sounds strange for a kid that doesn't talk to be quiet, but she was. She fell asleep at about 5:00pm and I kinda knew something might be up. At about 2am she started to cry. I listened for a minute to see if it was just a bad dream or more...have you ever seen that commercial where thee mom and dad are laying in bed and they hear the kid cry, the dad says did you hear that and the mom says "was it a mom or a MOOOMMM?"......it was kinda like that. I jumped out of bed fast enough that my husband got up too. He said what's wrong? I ran to my daughter (I know a little dramatic but for my 4yr old to cry like that is really NOT normal...so I knew something was really wrong, actually I thought it was seizure related at first). I took her to the couch and then.......we were running to the bathroom.

Man, it is horrible to have to hold your 4yr olds' head over the toilet while they scream and cry because they don't like to throw up.....

She is better now!! She has a temperature and is watching the Little Einsteins right now and it gave me a good excuse to keep her home from school so that I can take care of her.

It's Been A While!!!

Ok, no I'm not gone!! I have just been struggling. Like I put in my last post, sometimes it is hard enough to just "BE MOM". My little M is doing great. We had to put our pool in this summer so that we can do physical therapy and MAN what a wonderful investment! My little sunshine started swimming and within a week she could swim anywhere in the pool that she wanted to go. It makes me so happy to float around and watch her do what ever it is that she wants. She can get in the pool, swim around, play on the steps or get out of the pool an doesn't have to ask for help once.

I have been working my tail off. Between being a mom to my girls, a wife to my wonderful hubby, being the general contractor for the construction we had done...I also own two businesses. I was ready to pull out all of my hair. I think things are finally hitting a happy plato and I am feeling somewhat normal again.

Yesterday I was in the back yard, looking around at all of our "SUMMER WORK" that we just finished a week ago and had the most amazing experience. My little M was playing on the swing set and stopped swinging. She stared me right in the eye for about 30 seconds. It was if she was trying to talk to me. She gave a little smile and then I smiled and gave her a simple little head not that said "come here". She got up off the swing and came over to me and got on my lap and stared out at our finished work with me. I was dumbstruck. She actually sat there for quite some time. Sometimes I could just hold her and hug her until the end of time. I think she is an angel sent from heaven just for ME.

I am so grateful to have her!

Monday Motivation - Dare To Dream

Dare to Dream
Don't be afraid to aim
For the highest peak
It is there that we see
All that is possible
All there is to hope for


I have had a rough week so I haven't been blogging much. My daughter has had lots of seizures. Sometimes it just doesn't feel like I can be much more than MOM....

Today I am feeling better and found this fantastic quote and thought it fit my mood perfectly. I dream that one day I won't have to sit back and watch my daughter suffer. I dream that one day her body will be strong enough to out grow the seizure, ataxia, motor delays and every other challenge she faces, for this I am HOPEFUL!

BODY SOX??? I Want One!!!

I found this very cool new thing, it is called a body sox. My daughter has Ataxia so deep pressure and body awareness is always something that we struggle with. My little girl would have a BLAST playing in one of these.....well actually my family is just crazy enough that we would ALL be playing in these (in the secrecy of our own yard :) ) I think it would be fun to play the dance freeze game!!! LOL



I found Terri Mauro's write up about Body Sox and she has given us five great ways to use Body Sox.

Body Sox are colorful bags made of a stretchy, see-through, breathable fabric. They have a long slit on one side that makes it easy for your child to get in and out. Exploring the boundaries of the bag provides comforting deep pressure and awareness of body position for your child. Besides the fun of exploring the boundaries of the bag, your child may find it very calming to have the world shut out for a while. Here are five things to do with that bag, for starters. You can order one through the equipment catalogs on the list of Sensory Integration Tools and Toys.
1. Have your child stand inside it and push against the sides with his hands, or lay down and push with his feet.
2. Start your child off in the bag when making him into a burrito.
3. Let your child walk or crawl around, with your support and protection.
4. Play a "dance and freeze" game, and take pictures of the funny positions your child winds up in.
5. Use it as a calm retreat when your child is in sensory overload.

For more info about this...follow the link

http://specialchildren.about.com/od/sensorystrategies/qt/bodysox.htm

Did you know...our kids can do anything!!

I recently ran across this wonderfully uplifting report done by ABC News -Cheerleaders Find Destiny, Troupe Geared Toward Special Needs Girls Spurs Astonishing Changes. The article was written last October, but it is a reminder that the only limitations we put on our kids are in OUR mind...as far as they are concerned...they can do ANYTHING.

If you would like to read about this wonderful program follow any of these links:

ABC ARTICLE: http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3673974&page=1
WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2007/09/20/ST2007092002763.html?sid=ST2007092002763
DESTINY PROGRAM: http://www.dreamallstars.com/cd/

I hope my daughter wants to be a cheerleader, OH YEAH...she is a budding artist :)

Wordless Wednesday....cutest little Easter bunney EVER!

this is an old picture but I just couldn't resist sharing it!

Markers, Markers, who's got the Markers???

Well, today was a hard day....isn't it amazing how much of a roller coaster life really is? I decided to fight with my oldest ALL day. If she was a teenager I think I could understand it....but she's NOT.

"L" loves to color and today she decided to color me a beautiful card. In the excitement of having some girls come over for a slumber party this weekend, when she was done coloring the card she left the markers on the couch. She ran off to her room to get it ready for the girls that were arriving.

My youngest thought this would be the PERFECT time to kick back on the couch and work on HER artwork....and have a little snack.....and do some body art.......really I didn't think she was going to be the artiest that I found out she is. In a matter of about 5 MINUTES (really doesn't take long in our house for chaos to hit) I walked back in the room to find my beige couches with scribble rainbow marks ALL over them. Green must be her favorite color because she had it ALL over her belly, arms and legs.....her lips were red and blue.....they must have appeared to be the best snack in the house because when I found them she had SUCKED the color out of them and eaten the caps! OMG!!!!!

My poor little "L" got the brunt of my anger. "HOW COULD YOU LEAVE THE MARKERS ON THE COUCH?????" I yelled.......Everyone in our family knows that we NEVER leave markers or crayons within reach of "M"......Now looking back it was an honest mistake on her part. A typical thing for a kid to do....sadly things aren't typical in our house.

I feel bad tonight for my oldest....she really is getting the raw end of the deal. She thinks that her sister gets all of the attention (therapy, meetings, special schools, bus rides...you name it), L gets in trouble for things that are really normal, but could seriously hurt her sister.....they share a room and "L" has to pick up more stuff than "M". The balancing act that we have to do as parents of a special needs child (and typical child) is fragile.......

Speekings of a child?

All to often I forget the my little girl is getting older. I think part of the reason is because she doesn't talk. She just seems younger than she is. This weekend she got to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa. When she came home she seemed a little standoffish, (is that the correct spelling???). Grandma and Grandpa came over a little after she came home and she didn't want anything to do with me. WOW...that is different, normally she is glued to my hip. Finally after about 3 days of her showing me that she didn't appreciate me going away for a night, she warmed up to me again. On Sunday we were playing and at a one special moment I looked into her eyes and saw that she is growing up. She isn't a baby anymore. She has likes and dislikes. It is harder to tell what they are because she can't talk yet, but she still has them. I decided that we need a better communication system...somehow I need to know what she wants, likes, doesn't want.....

I know, all of you speech pathologists would tell me to have pictures or signs....that just doesn't work very well in my home. We are spontaneous, on the go, always have things going on - we don't always know the sign or have a picture handy....I wish there was a magical device that could read my little M's thoughts and speak them....

OH, the wonderful world of special needs. It is forever adventurous.

FREE THERAPY....Bubble Blowing

My daughter doesn't speak yet and "lip rounding" is VERY challenging for her. We have used bubble blowing therapy for several years. We never realized that blowing bubbles was so therapeutic! Take some time, have some fun and blow bubbles....its FREE!

I found this great website that offers a recipe for making your own bubbles, I use some scented dish soap so for scented bubbles....have fun!

http://www.cerebralpalsy.org/category/treatment-and-therapy-news/

#1 on the list of free therapy- Blowing Bubbles!

Yes, this is one of the most effective things you can to to develop muscles needed for speech. You use the same muscles to blow bubbles as you do to form sounds in speech.

Here is cheap and easy bubble recipe :
Bubble Recipe1/2 cup of dish washing liquid (Dawn or Joy)
2 cups of water2 teaspoons of sugar
Add your choice of food coloring if you like.

Here is more information about cerebral palsy therapies.

Don't think negative thoughts

Did you know? Strong negative emotions lead to damage of immune system.

Sunrise

I love this picture. It reminds me of a VERY special place to me.

Holding Back the Tears

It is a HOT HOT HOT day today. I walked outside at about 6am and it already felt like it was 80 degrees. UGH......smoke fills the air and the heat is smothering.....what is the world coming to? Global Warming?

My little one rides the bus to school. I spoke with one of the other bus drivers a couple of weeks ago and mentioned that the heat was affecting my daughter because her latest medication keeps her from sweating, therefore when she gets hot her temp rises and rises until eventually we end up with heat stroke or something.....who in the world should have to worry about this.....definitely not a child! I have to always carry a squirt bottle or little mister with me where ever I go. My poor little angle. Anyways, I told this bus driver about my daughters ability to over heat and she said I should request a bus that has air conditioning. I really don't like to put people out and decided not to call the transportation department. Mentally, I decided to pick my daughter up when it was to hot so that she can cool off in the nice A/C of the car. Well, today I went to put my little one on the bus and told the driver that it was just to hot and that I was going to pick her up from school myself and the driver looked at me and said......"OH GOOD!Your daughter has been on my mind for the last day or so. I have been worried about her being on this hot bus. I am glad that you are picking her up.".................I can't express how terrible I feel right now. Our bus driver felt bad for my daughter and did not say anything to me? Should I even be putting her on the bus at all? Am I a bad parent? Why do I worry about putting others out, I should have told them I WANT an A/C bus for my daughter?

Sometimes I just need a little break and with the price of gas, I thought I was doing the right thing........

Adversity

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant;
If we did not sometimes taste of adversity,
prosperity would not be so welcome.

~Anne Broadstreet

Right now this fits right into my life. I can't wait until the adversity passes so that I can have a taste of prosperity!