1000 Days Old! School, Uganda and Save-theDate - By Todd and Molly

By Todd

1,000 days ago, we entered into a life-journey we never expected. As every parent does, we’d prayed for a healthy child and delivery. I had never really thought much about caring for a child who would have been disabled or frequently sick. It just seemed like one of those areas I didn’t spend too much time thinking over. When we first heard of her diagnosis at the 20 week ultrasound, I really was angry with God. Giving us a healthy child seemed so easily in His grasp, and yet He thought otherwise. While I don’t love her disability, I do love Vivien. I love how she (and He) has changed our lives through an illness we never asked for.  We are so grateful for what He has done.

After birth, the doctors told us we’d have two to four weeks with her. With that prognosis, every hour was a gift. With the nurse’s help, I made a big pink sign to attached to Viv’s incubator that showed how many days old she was that day. Every morning, we’d swap out yesterday’s number for a new one – and sometimes sang happy birthday. One day brought the next and days turned into weeks, which turned into months.

Today our sweetheart turns 1,000 days old! She has grown into a beautiful little girl full of life and joy. She truly is one of the happiest people I’ve ever met. She is the most content and easily pleased of all of our children. Her life has shaped our family in ways I never had expected. She is adored by her siblings who don’t seem bothered in any way by her limitations or the inconveniences caring for her sometimes  brings.

This September, Vivien will graduate out of the “Birth-to-Three” program. This means that instead of her therapists coming to our house, her therapy will be provided by the school district. Viv will be going to preschool four days a week. This is a specialized preschool that is only about a mile from our house and we've heard great reviews from friends who've had kids attend there and are excited for more therapy for her.

By Molly

I too am excited to celebrate Viv's 1000 days. In the Trisomy 18 community it is common to count by days, rather than months or years because of the expectation that the days will be short. So reaching the 1000 day milestone is definitely something to celebrate.

Viv and Grandma Merry on Mother's Day

As Todd wrote above, we are thinking about preschool for Viv. We've been joking about the fact that we have homeschooled all of our older children but Vivien will be going to school! It is just a couple hours a day but we are looking forward to watching her progress. We have been meeting with so many specialists at her school who are evaluating how to help her from motor therapy to audio and visual, to the school nurse and psychologist. We are excited about all the people that are going to be involved in our little girl's life.

Please Consider: Our family is going to be bringing her back and forth and volunteering at her school and we were thinking how cool it would be if she had lots of friends volunteer whether it be once a week, once a month or once a quarter. We want to invite you to come and volunteer in her classroom if you like. Just contact us and we can get you the form. So many of you have prayed for her and watched her grow. We know it may be an out of the box request, but think about it and pray about it. If any of you are local and just want to spend some time with her and give back to the community we'd love to see you at her school!

Save the Date: Vivien's third birthday party will be Sept 2 at our house so save the date! 

 
UGANDA TRIP: We'd love your prayers and support 

We are celebrating Viv's birthday a little early this year because Todd and Maggie will be heading to Uganda on a medical missions trip with City Church in mid September. They will be visiting orphanages and doing medical clinics. At the end of their trip they will visit my cousin Rachel and her family and also get a chance to visit Edith at Home of Hope. They are excited to serve and if you would feel inclined and be willing to give toward their trip we would be grateful. Click to give HERE.

Thanks for celebrating Viv's 1000 days with us!