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!!