So close, but still so far from vacation...

A few quick updates and a story about God's sense of humor...

-Grace did great at the dentist this week.  She definitely didn't love it, but they were able to clean her teeth, get a good look in her mouth, and nobody lost any fingers.  We were grateful to learn that Grace doesn't have any of the common traits that kiddos with Up's can have that might be problematic.  We also learned that kiddos with Up's usually don't get cavities because of their increased saliva production. Pretty cool, huh?  Lastly, the dentist could see that she is cutting 3 of her molars and her canine's at the same time (all of the most painful teeth to get in).  Once all of these teeth are in, she will have all of her teeth in ahead of schedule.

-Aunt Becca, Uncle Brian, and cousin Joe came down for Abigail's soccer game and for lunch afterward.  It's always a treat to get to spend time with all of them!

Grace at the game sitting with my Dad...

I've been meaning to post a picture of Abigail's "mommy hip" as she holds Grace.  As I've mentioned before, Abigail is like a second mommy to Grace, so she totes her around everywhere.  It cracks us up how strong she is because Grace is literally half her size.  

-Today was "Team Day" at church, so we all represented the Niners!  Trusting Lu Lu is proud :-).

-I leave tomorrow for my work meeting in Las Vegas.  So far the kids have held it together pretty good; however, I can tell that the anxiety is mounting (especially for Abigail).  I'm dropping the kids off at school tomorrow before I head to the airport, will you please pray for a joyful drop off with no tears? I get home on Friday night and we leave Saturday morning for our celebration trip to California. We will be celebrating God's goodness and faithfulness, as we never slipped from the tender grip of our Heavenly Father, weathering the most difficult year of our lives.

Sitting in church today, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself as I thought about our last trip to California and God's sense of humor (sorry Pastor Joe, I was totally paying attention, in fact I was very convicted by today's sermon, but I did appreciate God's brief moment of comic relief in that moment) ...  You see, the last time we were in California was when Grace was still in my tummy (before we knew anything was wrong with her heart or that she had designer genes).  We were staying at a hotel across the street from Disneyland and one morning as we were leaving the hotel to go to Disneyland we walked past a group of special needs adults (many of which had Up's) that appeared to be on a field trip of some sort.  I said to David "I hope you don't mind that your daughter will be on a similar field trip when she grows up, fanny pack and all."  Remember, I always knew that I would have a Downsy Doo and this was before we had any medical reason to suspect designer genes, I just knew, so I said that jokingly, but with a level of seriousness to it.  I can't even remember David's response, but I'm sure in typical David fashion it was something like "that would be awesome!"  Fast forward two and a half years and on our next trip to California, and more specifically Disneyland, and now we will have our little Gracie Doo in tow on her first field trip to Disneyland!

-Lastly, here is what I posted on Facebook on the first day of October... Today is the first day of Down Syndrome Awareness Month!!! We our celebrating Gracie's extra chromosome this month (and every month really ). I've been trying to think about what we could do to positively impact our community for all people living with Up's (Down Syndrome), and others with mental disabilities. I thought of something simple, but so profound... Will you help eradicate the "R" word from your vocabulary (we were totally guilty of using the "R" word before Grace came into our lives, so please don't feel bad if you have used it in front of us, there is absolutely no bitterness or judgement there)? It is so easy to unknowingly use a word that is derogatory toward a group of people that are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of Christ just like the rest of us!

Since I won't have time to post again before we leave for California, will you PLEASE join us in praying for an obstacle free (especially for the health of everyone in our family because we know how the enemy likes to use that tactic a lot in our family), and blessed trip that is full of sweet memories?  We hope to see as many of you as possible while we are in California!