Bronco Riding and Standing Tall!

Yesterday was a gorgeous day in Hillbilly Valley!
We took Eli outside to ride in his Bronco. Here he is sporting his super-de-dooper cool shoes:

The "song of the day" was "Rubber Ducky" by Ernie. He cycles back and forth loving and hating this song. Today it really tickled his funny bone!

I'll never get tired of pictures of Eli CRACKING UP!!!

....or of his oh-so-serious face!

__________________________________

Then, yesterday afternoon, he had a good ol' time in his new stander!

There is a bucket that fits into the tray...and he can reach in and play with toys!

Again, cracking up at his music!

Nope. I'll never get tired of this smirk!

Right now we're only keeping him in it for 10 minutes. He has to build endurance as this position is soooo different for him. The pressure on his hips, knees, ankles, and feet are something to be very careful about. He wears his DAFO's while in here and it's just alot of "equipment" for the little guy to deal with all at once!

I caught a new face on "film".....

maybe one only a mother can love....but seeing his lips open like that is pretty cool!

Umptanum Falls

My hubby and I got to go on a daytime date today!

After a 45 minute drive, then a 25 minute hike we ended up here:

You come upon the Falls at the top of it...

You have to hike up and around it, to a huge rock...that you can slide down, on your butt, to get to this area:

The drive up there was a little further than we remembered (from the first time we went way back in maybe 2002...around the time we got married), and we ended up not having time to go to the bottom. We had scheduled Eli's caregiver for a short time today so we could go to a movie...but when the weather ended up so nice today....that plan was altered! :)

I'm so glad for the opportunity we had today to spend some quality time together! Having fun, enjoying God's creations in nature, and just visiting. My hubby and I "miss" each other sometimes. We want to try and make more time for things like this!

The scary part is there is no cell service up there. So, if there was an emergency with Eli we wouldn't know!

IN GOD WE TRUST.

Boy, that's a hard one sometimes, though.

______________________________________

Can you see the butterfly?

(click picture to enlarge)

Nice gnarly tree, huh?

Red, White, and Blue Flowers...

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

22.2

According to the scales at the doctor's office today...
Eli now weighs 22.2 pounds!!!!!

This is great news because Eli had been at 20 pounds for TWO YEARS!

I am one happy Momma today!

I've been feeling like an Ostrich lately. Scared that what we are doing maybe wasn't working, and not knowing what to do next, so just doing nothing, but trucking along status quo.

Come to find out...that little poochy tummy Eli's been sporting lately is truly a weight gain and not just indigestion.

Can I get a "Woot! Woot!"??

How 'bout a "Praise the Lord!!"??

Thanks for your continued prayers. God is so good!



Yes, you are Baby Bug! Yes, you are!

I {heart} Faces - "Blurb Photo Book" Contest

I am entering this photo of Eli in a contest (in the amateur division) over at
www.iheartfaces.com for a chance to have it published in a book they are making.

The category is "My Favorite Face".....



If you'd like to know more about this contest visit them at:

"I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb Book photo contest. I am granting I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites."

Ladies Man

Eli with the Cleopatra's Veil belly dancing troupe!

The Green Gazelle

Finally!

After more than six months...we have a stander in our possession!
This is the Gazelle by SnugSeat. Size 2.

It's a little bit big for him. But, when purchasing a $5000 piece of equipment, you want it to grow with them for a while!!! He needed this size for his heighth.....but his weight makes some of the straps too big. We'll make modifications as needed. As the parents of a disabled child, I think we get used to stuffing foam and rolled cloths into nooks and crannies to get things to work, and fit, for our children! :)

Karla, his PT, and Lonnie spent over an hour getting it all set up to fit him.

Isn't this hilarious? I just love his "evil eye"!

He spent about 15 minutes in it before he started a really sad little cry. I hope it's not hurting him. It's going to take him time to get used to it. It forces his legs into a position he's just not used to. So, dear family and friends, keep praying for our Eli. We want this to be successful for him. We want his hips to stay in place. We want it to help with digestion and BM's. We want him upright... looking at the world in the right way. He can use his arms to play with toys in front of him. God is good, and we pray for success. :) Many good things will come of this....I hope!

________________________________

Here is Eli 'walking' with Tina. I just love watching him!

__________________________________
Finally, I leave you with the beautiful Bleeding Hearts I planted last week:

How can a person doubt the existence of God, after viewing such a beautiful creation as this?

Have a BEAUTIFUL day everyone!

Happy Mother's Day!

As the family photographer/historian/scrapbooker....I rarely get in the picture. 90% of the pictures of Eli and I together are self portraits.
So, finally, on my fourth Mother's Day....someone took a picture of us together!
Yahoo!

Hillbilly Valley Parade

After moving into our house last August, Lonnie and I realized we'd moved to what we now affectionately call: "Hillbilly Valley".

Why you might ask?

Oh, could it be that one neighbor raises wolf-dogs that bark/howl all night and sound like they are eating live animals?

Or maybe all the school busses parked on the hill behind us? It's in the middle of the pic!

(click on the picture to make it larger)

Oooh...how about the neighbor who lets his goat run around the neighborhood?

No, I've got it...maybe it's the fact that most people out here have garages built, that end up bigger than their mobile homes they live in!!

LOL!

Lon and I joined in the fun yesterday.

Wednesday is garbage day. We have a very long driveway, so Lonnie puts the trash can in the little trailer we haul behind a four-wheeler. We have to have our can down at the road by 6 am!!

So, I hear Lonnie come back in the house and say, "I need your help. I need you to steer the four-wheeler back up to the house while I tow it. It died."

I said, "Ok, I'll be right out." So, I start walking down to the end of the driveway, expecting Lonnie to bring the truck down. When all the sudden I hear the lawn mower start up!!

Seriously.

So, here comes Lon on the mower....mowing a path down the side of the driveway while he's at it, no less. He comes down and hooks up to my four-wheeler....WHICH IS HAULING A LITTLE RED TRAILER, REMEMBER.....and we slowly head back up our driveway:



OMIGOSH!! I'd give anything for a picture of that. I cracked up the whole way back to the house! It was our own "Hillbilly Valley Parade" I tell ya! I was looking around for someone to wave my 'princess wave' to! (elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist)

Enjoy some more pics of our neck of the hills:

The neighbors friendly, and lonely, Llama.

My sweet Sam dog giving kisses!

Mr. Llama....hamming it up! :)