...to watch them play

...soccer, soccer, soccer, and baseball.

Our weekend was full of activities and it was the first time in a long time that I had to try to juggle the madness on my own.

Here in AA, much like in our former Army communities, neighbors and friends are always willing to pitch in.  Audrey attended her game with her friend Clara and then was invited to stay for a playdate until I returned from the other two girls' games.

I wasn't able to take very many photos of the activities this weekend...

Abbey was watching Isabella play in one of the rare moments this weekend when the sun was shining...

Isabella enjoyed her last soccer game of the season and played in spite of not feeling very well again the few days previous to her game.   But these two coaches were the kind of coaches you WANT to play for.  They were kind, well-spoken, demanding, and they really cared for the team.

Isabella enjoyed playing for the Strikers...

And they were a really nice group of girls.

It takes a special person to coach middle school girls...and these two guys did a stand-up job.

Not only did they send out a team Mother's Day photo earlier in the season but they also handed out personalized medals to each of the girls.  AND they baked chocolate chip cookies for them...in the shapes of each of the girls' initials.  

AND at the beginning of the season they bought the girls their soccer socks with their team name on it.

We were so pleased to hear they are going to coach again in the fall...in spite of the fact that the head coach's daughter is moving up to high school.  Isabella reported she "is definitely playing in the fall". I am so glad that I 'highly encouraged' her to play this season.  Turns out:

#itsamiracle  

#she-enjoys-raising-her-heart-rate-after-all

The rest of the day I watched Will play two baseball games between the rainstorms.  

You can't tell from the photo, but it was a downpour at this moment.

Bernie enjoyed the day of darting between games...he didn't seem to mind the mud and rain either.

one wet pup

Thanks to my darling cousin and her husband, I didn't even have to entertain the girls.  The tournament wasn't too far from their home and they brought the girls back to their house to play and hang out.  I was able actually to watch both games; uninterrupted too.  Too bad they didn't win either of their games.  

Bernie didn't care if they won or lost...He was just happy to be included.

...to enjoy a lemonade stand

...one that I didn't have to run!

This young lady and her three friends have been planning a lemonade stand since April.  Each day she would come home from school and give me additional details about this plan.  These details became increasingly elaborate.

• There was a plan to have a chef (little Olive).
• There were to be walkie-talkie's to radio the prep staff.
• There was a driver (driving his little electric car) to drive the goods from the kitchen (at the back door) to the front yard.
• There was a raffle to meet the chef.  
• Facepainting.  By real artists.
• Oh yes...and there was to be food.  Cookies and fruit.

Charley and Abbey.  Two of the four masterminds.  Charley's mom earned her mom-of-the-year badge for this event.  Not only did she agree and coordinate this event, but she went above and beyond in setting up and carrying out all of several of the important details.

Chef Olive.

Advertiser and sous chef Sylvia.

Their stand was a happening place.

The face painting was a hit.

And we even topped the event off with the release of our butterflies.

They were amazing to watch...

And a couple of them even stopped to smell the flowers.

The event was a success.  The kids really enjoyed their entrepreneurial event.  They are already planning another one.  I told Abbey that we are busy that weekend.    

...to enjoy a few activities

...over the weekend...

This weekend proved to be no more relaxing than last weekend.  But it sure was full of activity, fun, and exercise!

Isabella had a soccer practice.
The family participated in the Burns Park Run.  Mark is going to help chair the event next year so he was busy shadowing this year's event organizers.

The rest of us participated in the running portions.

Isabella, Abbey, and Audrey all did the fun run.

Will and I both ran the 5K and while I didn't break any PR's Will beat his time from a few weeks ago by 5 minutes!

The girls and I attended a local community theatre production The Little Mermaid.

Will played five baseball games this weekend.

Here are a few fun photos from the weekend...

How cute is this kid?

How about this little guy?

Like father like son.

Thanks for coming Mimi and Richard.

Thanks for coming Grandma and Grandpa.

Thanks for coming big and little sisters.

And thanks for coming Papa (not pictured).

After announcing their boredom...the little girls finally found a place to entertain themselves...

And Isabella enjoyed the peace by herself.

As for Will, his team came away with second place in the tournament!

And Mark is now home recovering from two solid days of being on his feet morning till night.

...to go to Abbey's bridging ceremony

...how can it be that she is already a Brownie?

Can you see her tiny picture in the photo below?  I have had a hard time locating other early photos of her in Daisies.

You can see just how small Audrey was...and charming too?  :)

The photo of Isabella is perhaps the most representative of how young they were nearly two years ago...

I think she has had a lot of fun in Daisies.

Here is a photo of our new troop here in Ann Arbor.  I am so glad that Abbey and Audrey got to overlap together for these few months!

There she goes...over the bridge.  On to...Brownies.

...to get some photos from our weekend

...but our schedule was a little over the top.

*Five soccer games
*A baseball practice
*A bowling birthday party for all the kids and Mom
*Soccer practice for Isabella
*Sleepovers
*And a half-marathon for Mark

I forgot to take photos.  Actually I forgot to even grab my camera.

I did however, remember to feed the children and get each of them to each of their respective events.  That counts for something right?

These are a few moments I captured with my phone.

Mark went to stay at our friends' house in Toledo on Saturday evening and the girl's and I enjoyed a girl's night.  Movie.  Popcorn.  And selfie to commemorate the evening.

Sunday morning we were getting ready for the birthday-party-soccer-games-events.  And Audrey came down ready with barely a reminder to get ready.

Well, that girl certainly has her own sense of style.  Her leopard long-sleeved (the only requirement I mentioned to her because it was freezing outside) shirt is actually a long-sleeved dress complimented by bright pink sweatpants.  

I think her teammates were able to locate her.

My bowling dates.

Isabella disguised as a GIANT Oriole.

Next weekend I'll be sure to remember my camera.

...to share Abbey's progress

...she's come such a long way.

This update is long overdue.  Perhaps its because we are still holding our breath that this disorder will come again...perhaps its because we are still in some kind of recovery mode from the stress of all that happened...and perhaps it's because things are getting back to normal and I don't want to jinx her progress.

 December 28, 2014 seems so long ago. 

 

Abbey was just being admitted to the DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids, MI.  At the time this photo was taken I am not sure we really understood the severity of Abbey's condition.  We just knew she was in good hands.

Within a few hours of this photo we were informed her diagnosis was ADEM.

The severity of her diagnosis hit us slowly.

She was such a good patient.  This may seem cliche but this child handled pokes, and IV's, and medications like a champ.  

This photo was taken while her favorite nurse was flushing her IV.  This was her least favorite part of any process.  And she was so good about it.

  She was a sick little girl.

After about a week of high dose steroids and intense physical and occupational therapy we were sent home to Ann Arbor.  The doctor's were pretty reassuring that this would never happen again.  And her prognosis for recovery was excellent.  Nonetheless, I was a mess when we left the hospital.  In my mind she was in good hands in the hospital.  

We took Abbey's recovery process very seriously.  She participated in her therapies and we reintegrated her into school very slowly.  The most important aspect of her recovery they told us was going to be rest.  She rested.  

And she began to recover.  She was soon walking again.  She was regaining her strength in her arms.  And she was excited about school.   She returned for just two hours a day for three days for one week.

Then she caught another virus.  We were worried.  We talked with the doctor's office each day.  They reassured us Abbey was going to be fine.  Until she wasn't.

Once again she was readmitted.  This time to Mott's Children's Hospital here in Ann Arbor where she underwent nearly another week of high dose steroids.  Her symptoms this time were more stroke-like.  Her speech was slurred and she had more trouble with her emotions.

Her recovery has been remarkable.

Within a short period of time she was playing with her sister again.  

We were taking short walks outside.  You can see the steroids made her quite puffy.

We reintroduced her to school even more slowly this time.  We panicked when she got her first fever.  We panicked again when she got her first cold.  And both time she received just fine.

About two weeks ago she received a clean bill of health from her neurologist.  He doesn't expect her to have a recurrence.

I think Mark and I would say she is about 90% recovered.  Physically she is doing extremely well.  She has been discharged from both physical and occupational therapy.  She is playing soccer, and running with her dad, and leaving Art projects all over our kitchen table.

Academically, in spite of missing nearly two months of school, she is doing very well in school.    She is diligent about doing her homework, practicing her math facts, and working on her writing tasks.  Her teacher doesn't have any concerns.

Abbey continues to struggle with the brain functions that we take for granted.  She tends to be quite emotional, she is more impulsive, she giggles very easily, angers quickly, and cries if you look at her cross-eyed.  She struggles with sustained attention, short-term memory and word-recall.  

Although these things are hard for her, she is aware of her weaknesses and works on improving them.  She reminds us when its time to work on her cognitive therapy tasks.

We are so lucky she is doing so well.  She is expected to fully recover.  We can still marvel that some things haven't changed...

She still loves to take care of little ones....

And she is always side-by-side her sister.

She is much more attached to Mark and I since all this has happened...you can usually find her right by our side...

She sits with me...

She plays with Mark...

We don't mind.  

We are simply thankful that our days have returned to normal.  Easter egg hunts, visits with the Easter bunny...

...birthday parties, and playdates...

We have big dreams for you little one.  

We are so happy playing on the jungle gym is normal again.

...to enjoy a concert performance

...was it really a few days ago already?

Will had his first guitar recital this past weekend.

He told Mark that his stomach was 'doing back flips'.  He was concentrating so hard during his warm-up.

Will had his personal posse at the event.  They were engaged...in coloring.

Will is pictured here with his guitar teacher Dave Buehrer.  He is such a patient teacher and clearly loves what he is doing.

Will played two songs.  He played the Star Spangled Banner and Cheatin' Heart.  Dave played the chords while Will played the melody.

Don't mind the videography skills...the videographer forgot her tripod.

I'm not sure I could get up in front of a crowd of people...but I sure am proud of the dedication that Will displayed.