Cheers!

Okay, where to start? Dustin and I have been really busy the last few days. Aunt Karee is becoming our Nanny of sorts now as she spent the night here two nights in a row while Dustin and I were out quite late (Brian Regan on Thursday night and a work dinner on Friday night). Nana and Papa and Uncle Christian visited Saturday morning. Later that day, Lara and I and our friends went to the parade for Atlanta's Fall Festival so Mama could get a big bag of candy. That evening, we went to scope out the carnival scene. Lara won an airplane at a game she insisted on playing (it involved a tub of water and floating ducks-what toddler could resist?). Lara really likes airplanes.

Mama and Daddy also played a game where we entered our first homemade Apple Pie into the pie contest; we did place. Although it can't be taken seriously since the same woman won both 1st and 2nd place-she brought in TWO apple pies.

We really live on the edge, here in Atlanta.

Today was our first Sunday in our new church building. Lara has officially moved out of Babies and into Toddlers. She'll be two in about 1.5 months, but we figured we might as well put her in her new class in the new building. And she did great.

It was almost exactly a year ago that Dustin and I discovered that Lara has CP. In fact, it was just the next day that we went to the Atlanta Fall Festival's parade. We hadn't told anyone because we didn't know for sure, and we know how rumors fly. There were a lot of things Lara couldn't do then. We learned quickly not to focus on Lara's delays, but to be optimistic and proactive. Sometimes it felt like we were the only ones willing to do that. We had no idea what we were up against, but once we had the official diagnosis, we learned it wasn't, and isn't, that bad. That's hard for most people to understand because a diagnosis of any form of CP sounds terrible, and they don't live with Lara to see that it's not bad. Lara is happy and healthy, and we are blessed and lucky. I have had some people in my life who have been nothing but encouraging to us. Friends who always stop to say how they are impressed with Lara's progress. People who are encouraging to ME also. I can't tell you how great it feels when someone tells me they think I am a great mother and inspiration. I wonder a lot if there's something more I should do for Lara. But then a friend praises me when I can take the time to sit with Lara everyday and do exercises...they are all a Godsend. I focus on their words (because I often do not believe them) and remind myself that God is in control.

So here's to the people in my daughter's life who have learned to look past the CP and on to the bigger picture in life. May God bless your lives with the encouragement you've given to me. May God continue to bless Lara (and me) with you in the next year to come.

Here's to another New Year of CP. May it be great. CHEERS!