Finally...some FUN (and hope too)!

Things are going so well here - Ben and I are just so happy about how well Lizzie is doing.  She finally seems stable on her meds and she is working a little harder in physical & occupational therapy.  We are seeing little improvements almost daily - it's so nice!

Since we didn't do much at all in June or July because of Lizzie's health, we are cramming as much fun as we possibly can in August.  We cancelled our trip to San Francisco because we didn't feel comfortable being out of state right now, so we did a Park City trip instead. 

(Having fun at the Oak's in Ogden Canyon)

(The kids having a lime eating contest with their friends)

It was so fun just to relax and we went to one of our favorite places in the world - Sundance Resort.  It is seriously the most relaxing and beautiful place and it was just what we needed.  Our kids came up for one day and we just swam, sat in the hot tub and had a lot of fun.  Lizzie is starting to engage more and more - it is so nice that she wants to do things with us and not just observe.  I would post pics but we were too busy having fun to take any :)  We're going to Bear Lake next week for one last trip before school starts on the 23rd. 

So here's where we're at right now with Lizzie:

Medicines - stable...we are actually weaning her off the Keppra because they don't think she's at a risk for seizures.  The rest are lifetime, but she is doing well with all of them.
Head - her head is healing great and there are no signs that she has pressure on her brain right now.
Paralysis - improving all the time - she gains strength on her left side and is able to do more every week.
Therapy - her therapists are impressed with the developments she is making.  The things that are really hard for her are when things move without her control...like when she is in a swing or on an exercise ball.  She really freaks out and we are working on it.
Weight Gain - still happening :(

All the kids every night pile in Lizzie's room to sleep - it's sweet - it's like they can't bear to be apart from each other.  They are all good friends which I'm grateful for...don't get me wrong, they still fight like cats & dogs sometimes, but overall they just love each other.

One thing that has really been a support for us is Hope Kids.  Hope Kids is a group in Utah that plans activities for kids that have life-threatening illnesses.  They have monthly activities planned to give "hope" to these kids.  They are fun filled and appropriate activities for kids with physical limitations.  A few examples of things they're doing this month are a picnic on Antelope Island with activities, free movie morning at the Megaplex, and they just had a birthday party two weeks ago at Classic Fun Center for all the Hope Kids with birthdays in July. 

Our whole family went to the party and it was so touching to see all these beautiful kids, each with a serious illness, having fun and showing their joy.  One kid in particular touched my heart.  This kid was confined to a wheelchair and his brother was pushing him around the skating rink and the kids arms and legs were just dancing all over the place to the beat of the music.  He looked so happy and it made me realize that Hope Kids is achieving their goal of bringing hope and joy to these kids.

We are going to participate in the Hope Kids 5K fundraiser on September 11th in Salt Lake.  We would love it if you wanted to join the "Tough Huff" team and come with us.  If not, we are trying to raise some funds for Hope Kids in conjunction with our team.  We would love a small donation if you can...there are FOUR fabulous bonuses if you do :) 

1)  All donations go directly to Hope Kids and are tax deductible.
2) I will personally make you a delicious loaf of homemade bread (if you live out of state, I'll give it to someone here locally that you want to give it to).
3) A picture colored by Lizzie just for you!
4) Just think of all the warm fuzzies you will receive by helping kids who otherwise may not think they have a lot to look forward to.

Thanks!  Here is the link to our fundraising page for the event:  http://www.firstgiving.com/toughhuff

If you want information on the 5K itself visit here:  http://www.firstgiving.com/wasatchadventure