End of Summer

Another summer comes to a close.  It is always with excitement of whats to come in the new school year for the kids, and sadness that our summer adventures, roaming free, and Miguel going back to work is here.  This summer was distinct in so many ways. 

It started with a wonderful visit from Miguel's parents at the beginning of June.

 Paula turned 6.  We have watched her grow from a tiny baby of 8 lbs 11 oz to a smart, empowered, free spirited little girl.  She brings Miguel and I so much joy, she pushes our buttons, she shocks us with her curiosity and interest in adult things, and we are so proud of her in everyway. 

Her beauty and grace never ceases to amaze!

Then Sara danced in her recital to Toy Story...You've Got a Friend in Me.  We watched in delight at how much she has grown, her true and sincere love of dance, her passion for the "big stage", and her love of the lights, flowers, and applause.  Beyond all the above, she takes our breath away everytime we watch her dance, and we are in awe at how far her arm has come. 

We then went on the trip of a lifetime with Grandma and Grandpa to Disney.  The girls enjoyed so much, as did the adults!

The girls loved all the "magic" of Disney.  The characters, the shows, the ice cream, and the rides...scary and fun ones!

July came and went marked by our beautiful annual trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan.  We swam, we laughed, we hiked, Miguel kayaked, we ate s'mores...indulged in ice cream every night, learned about the ghosts of Sleeping Bear Dunes, made the first ever canoe trip with the girls which was a 3 hour trip...and ended with our annual summer visit to our dear friends, Emily, David, Ella, Colton, and Brigetta's house in Grand Rapids.  Our friendship is marked this year by 11 years.  Emily was with us when Miguel and I met, we were lucky enough to visit Emily and David shortly after they bought their first home, we splashed in the waters of Lake Michigan when Ella and Paula were just babies, we got pregnant at the same time with Sara and Colton, we have walked the same walk with food allergies....and here we are, I guess it's been one blessed friendship!  Thank you Emily and David for your hospitality, your patience with three little girls screaming, Sara and mine fear of dogs, and our adventures for blueberries!  Miguel still LOVES Emily's cooking and we are waiting for you to open the bed and breakfast!

We finished the summer with our dearest new addition to our family, Pongito.  I can honestly say, post bad experiance as a child, I never thought I would ever touch an animal again let alone be the owner of a dog.  But here we are, our family suddenly seems so big, and only to get "bigger" as Pongo grows into a full sized retriever!

I can say, that as all humans, there are times that we desire more.  More money, a larger home, more vacations, less work, and more material things.  And as we all do, I can say that I am no different.  But in these desires, I always remember how blessed I truly am, and how I have it all.  A wonderful husband who empowers me and the girls, who loves us dearly, and who inspires us all to find our inner passions and hobbies even if we thought we didn't have any.  I have two healthy, curious, smart, and fun loving girls who I wouldn't trade for the world.  They are truly my everything, and my whole life I wanted a sister and although I never had one, I am so blessed that the girls have each other, through the fights and all!  And now we have Pongito, we can't wait to take him camping, swimming in lake Michigan, walk the bike trails and local forest preserves and watch all of our relationships with him unfold.  Life is beautiful.  And the countdown till next summer begins!

Puppyhood

Last winter, Sara began therapuetic horseback riding.  Much to our worry, we thought that it was going to take a lot to get her to even touch the horse, let alone get on it,  and to agree to wearing pants which is part of the barn's dress code when you are riding.  At this point in Sara's life she had probably braved pants twice in her life, both times being with force due to cold weather.  We went first for a "meet and greet" with the staff and the horses.  They asked Sara to touch the horse and she stuck out one finger and quickly poked the side of the horse, and that was it.  I went home, said some extra prayers, thought some good vibes, in hopes that she would open up to the experiance.  Low and behold, she was sold the first time her three year old self in a tutu with pants underneath got on.  We are touched week in and week out by the volunteers who make the program happen, and moved spiritually by her connection with her beloved Thoka (the horse!). 

In May the barn was doing a special event at a fair.  We went out to see the older children ride, to pass a nice spring day, and enjoy as a family.  We saw the kids ride, and then we walked around the fair and off in the distance I saw a therapy dog booth.  I told Miguel...lets go over and see the dogs.  At this point, Sara was overheated, as she doesn't do extreme climates well, scared and mad because we were at a falconery booth that had the birds, and at the mention of the dogs she firmly said she wasn't going to pet any dogs.  We went to the booth much to her anger, and in two minutes she was on the ground laying on the therapy dogs, petting, face to face...and beyond any of my expectations, becuase this is a child who is TERRIFIED of animals.  It was a beautiful organization called Canine Companions for Independence, and they said that they gave dogs to individuals with all different sorts of disabilities.  We got in the car (as I was secretly loving the dogs to and with a purpose I felt that even I who is also afraid of animals could handle it...) and I told Miguel...hmm...I wonder how Sara would do with a dog. 

We got home and I said well maybe I should fill out the initial application, becuase there are two more applications after that and I thought we might never get past the first application and then there was nothing to think about.  We applied, and shortly after our vacation to Michigan we heard that they do not give companion dogs to children under 5 years old, and if we were still interested to reapply then.  So that ended the puppy hood thoughts.  Until...I told Miguel lets just go to a pet store and see how Sara does with a puppy as the therapy dogs are already older then 2 and very calm, which is much different then a puppy.  Much to our suprise she was wonderful with the puppies at the pet store, very confident, very in charge (bossy:)), and just fine...so our quest continued. 

With no intention of buying we found a breeder who is wonderful, bought the puppy on the spot, and we have the reciept prooving after about 15 days of waiting...tommorrow Pongo will be ours.  I have to say, I am not sure if we are crazy.  We put a lot of thought into this, I did a lot of soul searching, we took the girls begging and pleading in mind, and there is no turning back.  I couldn't help but think outside the box on how special the connection between human and animal can be as we have seen in Sara's therapuetic horseback riding and love for Thoka.  I see her tiny little voice grow in strength and confidence each week.  I see no can nots, for 45 minutes each week there is nothing that she can not do identically to other children.  It is not about how high her arm can reach, about how much it rotates inward, or about how far it can or can not go behind her back...actually it is just pure bliss for her.  And true or not true, I feel that Thoka is probably just as excited to see Sara as she is to see her.  Wouldn't this be wonderful, if this same amazing connection can happen for both girls in our home.  So crazy or not...here we go.  Miguel is anxiously awaiting a buddy to pal around with in the yard while he makes his kayaks and other things.  Sara is hoping to be able to put Pongo in a basket on her bike, regardless of the fact that she is terrified to ride a bike (even with training wheels) and her bike has no basket, and Pongo is going to be a very big dog for a toddler bike basket.  Paula is absolutely in love with animals and can not wait for his tail to wake her up in the mornings hitting the side of her bed.  And me....I am awaiting a transformation for us all as we welcome Pongito into our heart and our home, and I will take loosing a few pounds from the countless walks that we are about to take together as well!

We will keep you posted on our baby boy, our puppy training, and our sanity:)) 

~Betsy