Graduation

This time of the year is busy for lots of reasons...one of them being graduation.  As a teacher, it's special to see those you've invested in all year (or for the last 3 years in my case) grow, achieve success they only dreamed of at one point, and then witness a child changing into an adult right before your own eyes.  They begin to move on to bigger and better adventures, and you can only hope that they take a small piece of you with them into their next chapter and beyond.  As a music educator, it's even harder to see them go because you see the legacy those who are leaving have created.  A small part of them stays with you and the choirs in the years to come.  We have many more memories with our Lovejoy kids (all crammed into the next four and a half weeks of course!!), and then one year ends while another one begins.  It's extremely bittersweet and emotional.

I was also overcome with several emotions tonight at Zoe's feeding therapy appointment.  Good news, I promise!!  She has "graduated" from feeding therapy!!!  After 16 months of feeding therapy, 4 swallow studies (2 of which were traumatizing), and many trials, Zoe is cleared for normal "thin" liquids and no longer needs weekly sessions.  She has come a long way...November 2010, we couldn't go anywhere without her baptizing some poor stranger (or friend or family member) with vomit, and this summer I get to give her an ice cold juice box while we sit out at our new pool.......no more thickening, no more whisking, no more prepping everything.  She gets to eat and drink like every other 2-year-old, and for that we are thankful.  Also, her therapist Breanna, along with Dr. Swift (her neurosurgeon) helped us come to the decision to have that surgery back in January, so we know that helped as well.  

God is so good.  The bittersweet part about this whole evening is that we have come to just love Breanna, and now we don't get to see her anymore!!  It's a strange feeling.  Someone was here, made a huge impact on our family, changed our daughter for the better, and now she's gone.  It just seems so sudden.  I'm sure I'll be saying that a lot in the next 18 years though.  We will still keep in touch I'm certain, but feeding Zoe has been such an event and now she's all "normal."  I feel a little bit like I graduated too.  We are so grateful for all of the people who care for Zoe, and we pray for them daily.  We couldn't have walked these last 26 months without any of you!  

So it's been awhile since I posted, but just so you know we are in-between closing dates right now.  We sold our home 2 weeks ago (another surprisingly emotional day for me), and we are waiting on the official closing date of our new house!  Right now we are currently living at my parents, which has been AWESOME!  I'm sure they're ready for their space again, and the dog is fortunate he is still alive (he ate an entire UNCOOKED meatloaf off the counter yesterday), but we have loved being here with them.  They have sacrificed so much for me my whole life, and they just continue to do so....it takes a lot to let our crazy family and ridiculous schedules into your home, and they have been amazing about the whole thing.

Here are a couple recent pictures of our beauty.

Going "cruising" in her soon-to-be new house!  She just goes everywhere now!!

So today ended up being a great day!

We had a blast down at the Arboretum today.  Thanks to Aunt Missy (my sister, VP of sales at the Dallas Arboretum), we got VIP status down there.  It was just fabulous and Grammy got to adventure down there with us.  Zoe was so cute and loved visiting all the waterfalls, tulips, and gorgeous hills.  She loved getting all around in her chair.  We even brought her "walks" (her AFO braces) and did a little bit of standing on some large stones!

The day did not start off so well as we attempted to get a successful swallow study this morning down at Scottish Rite.  We were there to see what's happening inside of Zoe's throat since her surgery.  We definitely see improvement from the outside - no more choking, no more tearing up when she swallows, improvement in chewing, etc.....To be PC, we were unimpressed with the process this morning.  We have a history with this one lady on staff there who Zoe (actually none of us) can stand.  Zoe was just miserable sitting in that chair waiting to begin the test, and it just got worse after that.  To make a long, horrible story short, we will unfortunately be rescheduling........hopefully somewhere different.  We love Scottish Rite and sing nothing but praises about them; however, our family has a few personality conflicts this particular "team member."  YIKES!

Anyway, needless to say I am loving Spring Break!!!!!!!  Weeks like this one make me want to be a "full-time Mommy," just like all the other working teacher mommies out there.  We are so blessed to have careers that allow us to have these special times with our families.  I will never take that for granted.

I'm off to enjoy pulled-pork tacos on our patio with Jay and Zoe.  Enjoy a few favorite pictures from today!!  It was pretty bright outside, even with all the clouds so she's a little squinty.

Zoe turns 2

As promised, here are a few pictures from the party!  It was a wonderful weekend of celebrating with family and friends from both near and far.  I'm sorry for the delay, but nasty sickness circulated our household for 2 weeks after the party, but thanks to Spring Break we have some time to post some pictures now!

More happy memories with Papa, Gramma, Rachel, "Katie," and Sissy

She loved it!  (and still does!)

A piano??!!  For me??!!  Maddy's showin' her how to use it...as if she needed any help ;)

Hugs for Rachel from Florida...we completely surprised Zoe at school on her birthday!

HUGE cookie cake!

Zoe's friends waiting to celebrate with her at school.

                                                    

                                                                  Zoe ready to party!

We have seen better days...

We have definitely seen better days BUT the Gralls are on the mend!  ...everyone is finally getting healthy again and work is slowing down temporarily for both of us.

Birthday pictures are on the way!!  It's been very hectic the last 2 weeks and we all know I'm not mother-of-the-year, but I think I should have time to blog about her birthday this weekend.

Zoe's annual review for therapy services was this past Monday, and she met ALL of her goals that we set 6 months ago!!  Go Zoe, Go!  We are so proud.  Her feeding therapy will probably continue, but we will most likely start seeing her therapist less and less after the upcoming swallow study.  Yay!  And we are going to start getting more creative with her physical therapy during playtime.  After some discussion with her PT, she has a long road ahead of her and her goals are a little vague at this point because we don't know what to expect in this next year.  One thing is for sure that we are extremely optimistic and hopeful.  Her new "leg up" game is very encouraging to see though, and we are gonna start there.

Spring Break is 7 more school days away, and both Zoe and I are excited about sleeping in, planting some flowers, playing at the park, singing and playing piano, and relaxing as much as possible.  She's earned it for sure.

Jay and I are celebrating our 5-year wedding anniversary this Sunday!!  I don't know where the time has gone, but we have a lot to celebrate this year!  Each year looks incredibly different from the last, and I am looking forward to spending some time this weekend reflecting on our life together, eating some good steak (as per tradition!), and cherishing our little family.

I hope all of you are having a great week and enjoying this incredible weather right now.  Spring doesn't last long around here, so get outside and enjoy it while you can!  Love to all!

Cupcakes, Laundry, and Elmo "Treet"

What do all those things have in common???  It's Wednesday of course!  What a crazy evening it's been!  I couldn't wait to pick up Zoe this evening...we have been a little out of touch for the past 10 days and tonight was going to be a good night to just play and hang out.  Jay even got to get home a little earlier than usual :)

Zoe's been battling an ear infection this week...no bueno, but she of course is managing it well.  She actually told her teacher at school the other day, "Ouch!" as she pointed to her ear.  We have communication guys!!!  Yay!  But sad for her.  She's still suffering from some stiffness too.  Poor baby can't catch a break!!!  We are ready for her to be back 100%!!

I had a moment last night while giving her a bath.  She was pretty mad about something and was letting me know all about it.  Immediately, that guilt started creeping in telling me that I wasn't home enough and I had no idea what to do to help her......it was terrible and made me feel so rotten inside.  Thankfully, Jay had just gotten home and popped his head around the corner just in time to help.  I realized then, that we as mothers will always wonder if we're good enough, if we're confident enough, if we can handle everything life throws at us.  I am not always going to have answers, I'm going to have hard days, I can't "do it all," and I will be completely confused by my child at times, but I love her more than life itself, and nothing compares to that.  God gave me a job to do (several actually), and I will continue to do my best and I will try again the next day.  That's all any of us can do.

Cupcakes are made for Zoe's class party, laundry is just about done for the night, house is ready for guests, presents are wrapped, and I'm running on fumes at the moment.  Can't wait to see everyone this weekend though.  Sweet Zoe is getting so excited to see everyone too!   

Tonight, Zoe asked over and over again "treeeet!!!" and I had no idea what she was saying until she added Elmo to the request.  She was saying Elmo Treet instead of Sesame Street......She wanted to watch Sesame Street so bad!!!  It's quite perfect that Elmo is the theme of the party this weekend :)  Hey, I at least I got that right this week!  There's still hope.

Almost back to normal!

Zoe is just about back to herself!  We are so thankful to have her "back."  She is still a little stiff, but there is no pain associated with the surgery.  Yay praise the Lord!!!  Jay said at her follow-up last Thursday, Dr. Swift was grinning ear to ear when we told him her snoring has completely gone away.  That was immediate confirmation that the surgery was a success.

She has not had a full day back at school yet, due to crazy contagious RSV sickness in her classroom which we wanted to avoid like the plague, literally, and a low grade fever this morning which sent her home.  It broke within an hour, without any medicine.  So we will try again tomorrow!

I was cuddling with Zoe on the couch tonight.  We played with one of her new sweet little teddy bears.  It just reminded me that amidst all the craziness of balancing work and home, friends and family, loading and unloading the car over and over again everyday (with Zoe, or any toddler, that's no easy task), work-outs, laundry, and cleaning, that each moment with Zoe is to be cherished.  She will be two in ten days.  That's just unreal.  It seems impossible that it's already been two years.  Our little girl is growing up and gaining more and more independence slowly but surely.  One day we will be putting away that little bear that got the biggest hug and kiss tonight, or maybe it will go to another little Grall eventually, but all the "little things" need to be cherished.

I feel like we got a bonus when we had her - she was not mobil as early as most, took a bottle for way too long, couldn't sit independently for the longest time, I could go on and on.....BUT I have always looked at it like she just got to sit in my lap for a few months longer, and I got to feed her a bottle a little more than most.  I get to be needed a lot more than some mommys do.  Those are moments that happen and then they don't one day.  That extra time with her was a blessing in disguise all along.  She's not a burden, she's just Zoe.  She makes me work harder than I ever thought I could, and she just makes me appreciate the little things more and more.  I'm probably a little thinner than I use to be, I'm sure I'll be getting my first grey hair soon, and I may not be as rested as I wish I could be, but I wouldn't trade her for anything in the whole world.  I wish everyone could have someone like Zoe in their lives.

Can't wait to celebrate with our family here in our home next weekend (not this one, but the next).  Zoe's grandparents and cousins from Florida will be here, Zoe's sister Maddy is coming in for the weekend, all of Zoe's local family, and our very special guest-of-honor Zoe's great-grandmother "Nana" will all be here to celebrate her.  There is a lot happening between now and then, including a trip down to San Antonio for TMEA (Texas Music Educators Association), a big "event" for Jay at work, a few doctor's and therapy appointments, and hopefully a few house showings (maybe an offer??? please???), but we can't wait to see everyone next week!!!

Love to all and hugs from Zoe...

Little Miss Thang is hangin' in there!

We have been able to keep down her pain meds with very little vomitting since yesterday afternoon.  She is responding well to the antibiotic, and as long as she keeps us her fluids, we will probably avoid another hospital visit.  Thank God!  I just hope she starts to feel better physically soon.  She's very sore still.

We appreciate all of you being so kind to us by keeping us in your prayers.  All of the Facebook notes, texts, e-mails, gift cards, meals, and generosity have gotten us through this week.  I'm so thankful for all of you in our Lovejoy family, Prestonwood Church family, and close friends and family in this community.  Wow sums it up completely.

Tonight's our last production of Music Man and I've been so impressed by our kids and musical directors this week!!  Good luck to everyone tonight!

I think the Gralls are going to sleep in tomorrow and enjoy a quiet Sunday at home.  We are hoping to see a few visitors tomorrow, and then we hope to have a regular week of work and school starting on Monday!  We shall see...enjoy the rest of your weekend.