Ready for Christmas

This is Allie's eighth Christmas. She's come so far in the past few years — further than anyone ever thought she would. We're so proud of her and so blessed by her company. Blessed.

It says "Ready for Christmas" across the top of this picture. I shot this over a festive but fake poinsettia and Allie is surrounded by Christmas stockings tacked up all around. The one closest to her has Elmo popping out of it. The stocking next to Elmo is mine. I've had it since I was two or three years old. 

Our Christmas tree is out of the shot. Every morning when I get Allie out of bed, we walk out of the bedroom and switch the Christmas tree lights on while the living room is still dark. Allie gets so excited. This year is the second year we've done it this way. I can see this becoming a tradition for many years to come. We're not sure how much about this season Allie grasps, but we definitely want to do something different this time of year to help her set it apart from the rest of the year.

I miss my other two kids terribly. Last year was the first year we didn't have them here. Both Charity and Aaron have their own lives going on in very different parts of the country. Life has us apart for now. Hopefully, it will only be a short time before we are able to all be together again for Christmas.

Enjoy what you have this season. No matter what your circumstances are, do good.

Allie at the beach [VIDEO]

The Charming and Beautiful Susan shot this video at the beach in Melbourne, Florida.

Susan's parents just moved into a little house a block away from the beach so there should be a bunch more of these videos in the future.

 

Our Recent Stay at Miami Children’s Hospital

We were at Miami Children's Hospital earlier this week to have a thorough MRI and video EEG. The goal was to capture good data about the seizures Allie has been having for the past few years.

Here are some findings.
Allie is having tonic seizures. Her seizures originate in her brain's right frontal lobe. Doctors arrived at this conclusion with data gathered from the MRI as well as analysis of video EEG information captured during two strong seizures Tuesday morning.

The original plan for our hospital stay was to be admitted from Monday through Friday of this week. But doctors on Allie’s case were able to collect all the data they needed on Monday and Tuesday to accurately diagnose and categorize Allie’s seizures.

We got to go home early and checked out Wednesday at noon.

Miami Children’s stands head and shoulders above the other Florida hospitals we’ve stayed in for these reasons:

• They put the patients and their families first in each and every interaction. It’s obvious that this is a part of the corporate culture.
• They are organized.
• There is always a plan and they plan for adjustments to the plan.

When families are dealing with trauma and hardships with their children, these three things lighten the load. In fact, this demonstrates a cognizant effort on the hospital’s part to help shoulder the burden. This has tremendous therapeutic and healing affect on a family working through some of life’s most difficult trials – that is, children afflicted with sickness, disabilities, or injuries.

The Center of the Universe

Beauty times two.

I feel like I know what it is to have everything a man could ever want. When I look into these faces, I know that I’m loved.

Such a beautiful face.

This picture was taken as I rocked Allie in our giant rocking recliner. Sometimes she fidgets when I hold her, but in this picture, she is just at peace laying across my lap. I love to make her feel safe and loved.

Beauty and the beast. We all know which is which.

Happy Action Allie

The Charming and Beautiful Susan caught Allie, in this action photo, having way too much fun.

Our Story on Video

Our story played on screens all across Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale’s seven regional campuses this weekend.

The Charming and Beautiful Susan, Allie and I were privileged to work with the amazing video production team at Calvary.

Enjoy this video and let me know what you thought of it.