The GOOD:

Lu’s therapy got reinstated! It was the biggest relief. A judge ruled that it’s unlawful to take away aid from special needs kids, and man oh man is he ever right. We are so thankful.

I got to go on Grace’s field trip to see the play Pippy Longstocking with her:
We were both pretty excited about it.

And then we went to the dairy/farm for Claire’s field trip:

Dave’s brother and his wife have been here for a few days for a visit to the warmth from their home in Milwaukee. It’s been so great to see them since we never get together. Too far away. Too many kids.But it’s a double-edged sword to get to “know” them better because now I’m even more sad they don’t live closer. They are so great.

My brother came to visit. He’s the best. He even fixed my bike for me while he was here. Thanks, Jo.

Dave’s parents came to visit from Idaho…and took us out for scrumptious In & Out:
My parents came to visit to speak at this conference for families. This is the only picture I got but I love it because this is pretty much what they do when they come:
The kids got such great grades that they got to go get a free donut for every A. They were in Heaven:
The kids have followed Lu’s lead and made some serious towers out of cups:
Lucy can string three words together. She is making serious leaps and bounds progress right now right before our eyes. I think it’s mainly because she has such loving siblings.
We celebrated my sis-in-law’s b-day together. Love that girl:
I signed books…wait, maybe that’s not a “good.” I’m not in love with stuff like that. But it was a great experience.
Our mother/daughter book club is still going strong:

I took the older girls to see the Easter Pageant at the temple:
We loved it.

The girls especially loved that we went out for ice cream with the cousins after:
And checked out the new book in town in the nearby store:

The BAD:

Lucy loves milk…WAY too much:

Lucy’s progress is so great that she didn’t qualify for “long term care” which is what we were really hoping for. (Of course this is also good…very good. Love the progress. But we sure wanted the additional security of keeping her therapies by getting her qualified for this.) We’ll have her re-evaluated when she’s three.

We have a couple couch potatoes:(they really aren’t that bad, but I love this pic. with Lucy’s new favorite accessory: the mickey ears)

Three families of best friends are moving from our neighborhood. We are SO sad. Click here to see Elle’s blog about one of the families who are deserting us. She’s really gonna miss those guys!
We went to a spring training game.

“Hmmm,” you may think to yourself, “that should be in the ‘good’ category,” right?

Nope.

Because this picture epitomizes what happened at the game:
…and that picture doesn’t even show the other part… Lu throwing herself and her popcorn all over the place in sheer desperation of being way overly tired.BUT, yes, it was good to have Dave and his siblings together. I’m sure they had a great time once I hauled out the cryers.

Claire’s field trip (up in the “good” section) was great for Claire…not so great for Lu who I told to kiss the chicken for a good photo op and it ended up pecking her…HARD right on the lips. Oh man I felt pretty bad.

The UGLY:

Lucy decided to wake up and scream again the other night starting at 2:30a.m. The problem with that was that I didn’t go to bed until 1:00 and couldn’t sleep because of the dang allergy situation that continues to haunt me.

Dave was a gem and got up and watched Dora with her from 3:00 until 6:00. Then I drove around the neighborhood with her until I had to practice with the other kids at 6:45.

Needless to say, she was even more a pistol than usual that day.

Nice that it coincided so perfectly with her first ophthalmology appointment that morning. SUCH an important and long awaited appointment. She was so beside herself with grouchiness she could hardly stand up.

And to be honest, neither could I.

But to end on a good note, the doctor was amazing and actually knew a lot about Bardet-Biedl. Hallelujah.

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15 Comments

  1. You must be so tired! I hope you can get a nap in at some point! Or at least try to konk out early tonight. I have horrible allergies too – have you tried Breathe Right Strips and Claritin D?

  2. I am so sorry about your allergy situation. But I love how you have more goods than bad or ugly. It shows how to look at the positives in everything!

  3. Hey, Shawni, miss seeing you. I just bought your book today. fun to look at all the darling pictures of so many people I know. Even cousins in Utah.

  4. Great news about Lucy! YEAH!! I love all the photos of your activities. Fun Stuff! Your book is so inspiring. The talent just oozes from you. Perhaps you could ooze some my way.:) Hang in there with the allergies…wind doesn’t help.:(

  5. Shawni I have had the WORST allergies ever since I moved back east. Well I have always suffered with them until last year I finally went to the Dr. She gave me Nasonex the spray and then I take a claritin at night and Oh my gosh you wouldn’t believe the difference it has made in my life!I am a new person during the spring!
    Looks like you have had a lot of fun visitors! Hope you have a great Easter!

  6. WOW! that was a lot! so happy for the happy stuff of course. so sad that your friends are moving…that is so hard. sorry about not getting good sleep, i, unfortunitly am in that same dang boat and i WANT OFF!

    i have to tell you, i was SO excited when i oppened my deseret catalog and the first page had your book on it. i haven’t told you but i want you to know how impressed i am and i feel proud to say that i know you. not just because of the book but i just think that you are such a great person.

  7. Love that your good list far outweighs the bad and ugly. You are doing something right!

    Shawni, I wish I could have been there to have you sign my book! I had a warm fuzzy for you when I opened up my deseret book catalog and saw your book. You are simply amazing!

  8. Urgh, I should have known I’d be missing something by not being on your blog in a while…I missed a whole book signing! How exciting! I love that Lucy is sitting there with her mouse ears on. Good to know that mine aren’t the only ones that are hypnotized by the TV. Even the commercials.

  9. We absolutely loved spending time in your home and enjoying your family. Like you, it makes us wish even more that we could live closer. We could have photog and illustrator sessions weekly…what fun that would be! Perhaps someday…we love you guys!

  10. Such awesome news about Lucy’s therapy and finding that doctor that knows so much about her condition. That picture of her with the Mickey ears is priceless! I am a milk lover too and have been since about her age. It is my comfort drink.

    You must be running purely on adrenaline with all the stuff you are doing. I bet having all that company was a fun pick me up though! LOVE the picture of your parents on the floor playing/reading with the kids. Those are my favorite kind of pictures. I need to show my kids the picture of the cups stacked up. They love that stuff.
    Great update!

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