Fall Update

Sorry Ann...I couldn't resist. This picture just screams Fall. :)


Weeelll, I'm back! I feel like it's been forever since I've updated but it's all been for good reasons. This October and beginning of November we were spending every minute we could with Ann, Derran and the girls so I had no time for blogging. This past Thursday they left to go back to Thailand so instead of wallowing in my sorrow I figured it was time for a little update. I love that my last post was about them arriving in Texas and now this one is about them leaving. Where is the in between??

We had such a fun time having them here. We ate way too much Sonic,Chick-fil-a, and Taco Bueno for anyone in a such a short period of time, took fun trips to Target, went to the zoo, the pumpkin patch, went trick-or-treating, played with friends and just had a good time being together. Since they left I've been in a little bit of a funk...you know me and my funks. I haven't been in one in awhile so it's high time for one ya know. It's getting better and I know we'll all be together again soon so it's okay but it STINKS saying goodbye! Stinks I tell you, not fun at all. :( However, we're so proud of them and the work they are doing. They are such a blessing to us and we're so thankful for the Reese family!








October and November seemed to have flown by but I don't want them to pass by and not share with everyone some good news about Ella. We have much to be thankful for! First, yesterday, Monday, November 15 Ella was discharged from Feeding Therapy!! We are so excited for her and are beyond thankful for all the progress she has made in the past year. Last year her first feeding therapy appointment was on September 14 and she went in not being able to eat any kind of food wihout gagging and vomiting and was being fed primarily by her feeding tube with a little supplement from a bottle. It was a slow, hard and demanding process and honestly I believed that it would be years before she would be eating sufficiently by mouth and I felt like she would be relying on her feeding tube for many years as well. Deep down I hoped and prayed I was wrong but there was just so much to overcome and with her diagnosis I didn't want to get my hopes up. Wow!! Was I ever wrong! I am still in shock that we are at this point where just ONE YEAR later we are done with feeding therapy AND it's been five months now since she has used her feeding tube for anything. Unbelievable! Thank you God!

Last time walking in to Feeding Therapy

Ella and her AMAZING therapist Miss Sara
Ella started off the day with a cookie bar for breakfast. Awesome. And yes, I still give her any food she asks for so it thrilled my heart that she wanted cookies for breakfast. :) Then we celebrated with Taco Bueno for lunch followed by some ice cream with Pawpaw.


After dinner we took a little family outing to Sonic to get another treat. Yea Ella! We're so proud of you! We love to celebrate around here can you tell?


Thank you also to all of our friends and family that have prayed so much for Ella. Your faithfulness and commitment to prayer for Ella has been life-changing for not only her but for our entire family. I pray that Ella's story serves as a testimony to the power of prayer and what a mighty God we serve! I never would have dreamed the night and day difference we have seen in just a matter of a year and I am overwhelmed and humbled at what the Lord has done and given us this year. We have so much to be thankful for and I don't take any of it for granted.

Second, another praise for Ella is that she had her annual review with Early Childhood Intervention last week and she is doing so well in Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy that they have decreased both of those therapies to just once a month. So, obviously our schedule has quickly changed with all of these therapies decreasing. I have to say that it is bittersweet which may sound weird to some people. But, this has been our way of life since Ella was born and her therapist are some of our good friends so it's just kind of emotional letting go. Can you tell I don't handle change well?? Even when it's good change it's still an adjustment. Don't get me wrong, I'm so thankful that we are at this point where we don't need as much intervention because this is what we've been working toward so it's definitely a welcome change but for me it does come with some mixed emotions. I'm just so thankful for the specific people, therapists, and doctors the Lord sent to us to help Ella. They are truly such a blessing and have worked so hard to help get Ella to where she is now.

So, what's next? There is nothing scheduled at this point as far as surgeries. There will be surgeries to come but hopefully not for another couple of years. In December we have several follow-up appointments with surgeons to check on Ella's tummy and her left arm and shoulder then later in the winter we'll have some other follow-ups for other things so it's not like we are done with appointments and doctors. :) Many have asked when Ella will have her G-button taken out and that will probably happen this spring. We'll see her GI doctor in February or March and make more definite plans then when to remove it. Makes me excited but nervous! So for now we will just be enjoying our new schedule and thanking God for these blessings!

To conclude this massive post I leave you with Halloween pictures. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you...Albert Einstein.

Einstein checking herself out. Loooove the hair!

GENIUS costume isn't it? Lots of good laughs at the tiny Einstein while trick or treating. I wish I could take credit for this idea but I can't. We copied it from our very funny and creative cousins in Alabama. Love you Rory, Ginny and Hayes!

Round 1-Eva was Minnie Mouse for her Halloween at school...safe choice. She is the cutest Minnie Mouse I've ever seen by the way!

Round 2-She decided last minute for trick or treating that she wanted to be a pizza again so she wore her old faithful pizza slice costume from two years ago. Why the change you ask? Well, after seeing how many laughs Ella Einstein was getting she opted to go for the funny and went for the pizza. It was hilarious, I was helping her get dressed and she looked up at me with a smile on her face and whispered so no one could hear her, "This be funny?" I assured her that yes, this costume would indeed be very funny! So cute! Love her sense of humor.


Hope everyone has a very blessed Thanksgiving!