Kelsey has made the move! She is now in a big girl (toddler) bed! The crib has a new home thanks to Craigslist!

Peaches...

Each Tuesday, Kelsey gets to go out to Healing Reins and ride her designated horse, Peaches. She is such an amazing animal and you can see in her eyes how much she loves these kids! Well today, James came up with the idea to take a "gift" out to the ranch for Peaches - a small baggy of baby carrots. When we arrived at the ranch, Kelsey was so excited to take her gift to her horse. Turns out that Kelsey had to exercise some patience, because Peaches trainer said she cannot get a treat until she has worked. So off Kelsey and Peaches went for their 45 minute ride. When they were back to the stall, out came the carrots again. We went and got a bowl to dump the carrots into and Kelsey proudly walked with this big bowl in her little hands over to this massive animal and held the bowl up so Peaches could consume her snack. As Kelsey was walking over to her, Peaches lips were quivering and she was literally "licking her chops" with the anticipation of the snack that she knew was coming. I have never seen anything so sweet! Those horses at Healing Reins are a gift from above. They are the most wonderful, gentle animals!

(Speaking of wonderful animals...I had to add this picture that I took this evening of Mike and Leo - we are all so in love with him! Leo loves furniture - especially the living room couch - but that's okay with us!)

The woman at the grocery store...

Yesterday, I had the luxury of going grocery shopping alone and did not have the feeling of being rushed like I normally do - like the second I pull away, the stop watch starts. As I walked though the parking lot of Safeway, there was an elderly woman with an empty cart that had just finished loading a few small bags of groceries into her trunk. I asked her if I could take her cart for her and she said, "Oh that would be great!" When I looked at her face, I had this overwhelming feeling of recognition of her. I said to her as I looked into her wise eyes, "Do I know you from somewhere?" She took my hand I said, "You look familiar too - what is your name?" I told her and it did not ring a bell for her. Continuing to hold my hand, she told me such a sweet thought... "How wonderful it is when you recognize someone and speak up to tell them - even when you cannot place the person. I may just have a familiar face...either way, eventually, everything makes sense and we do remember." With that, she let go of my hand and wished me a pleasant day.
Who was this woman? I still cannot place her, but I am so glad I had a moment with her - whoever she is.

Update on Kelsey and the insurance mess...Though we have not yet come to a firm resolution on this, I have peace about it. I know it will work out the way it is suppose to. We will be filing for an extension of therapy visits which we are confident will be approved. I know we are not the only people having to battle with insurance to get things covered - and with the way the economy is, I am just thankful that we have insurance!

My Birthday...

I had a fantastic 35th birthday on Thursday. Colette flew in from Seattle and was able to stay til Saturday morning! I so enjoyed having time with her! She was able to be here for a birthday dinner of Chinese food, we were able to go snowmobiling on Friday (which she has never done, but did fantastic - got her sled up to 50 mph!), we did a tiny little bit of shopping, and just had fun talking. Since I know you will read this Colette, thanks again for coming and thanks for being you! I love you!

A road block for Kelsey...

I normally never lose any sleep over worry. But, early this morning I was awakened by a whining Leo who had to go potty at 3am. When I returned to bed, I laid there unable to return to sleep, with the feeling of a 100 pound stone on my heart. Yesterday, we were dealt a huge blow in Kelsey's therapy. It turns out that our new heath insurance has some hang-ups with her coverage. First of all, it has a 20 visit cap on physical therapy, which we will do in about 2 months. You can file for an extension of visits, which we fully intend to do. But, it also turns out that Kelsey's medical issues are written into the contract as "non-covered" items. So even with an extension, she still may not be covered at all. I am feeling heartbroken today. I do not like to use my blog as a complaint venue - but this hits us where it really hurts and I just have to write about it. If we don't get this resolved, Kelsey will pay the price. We hope to come to a resolution with the insurance because if we don't, we will not be able to keep Kelsey in therapy. Even with the Sparrow Club's help (Which is wonderful, but to be quite frank, not even enough money to even cover 2 months of therapy should we have to pay for it out of pocket).
The outcome of her visit with the vestibular specialist last week was great. She ruled out BPPV (a kind of vestibular issue that runs in my family). She does however believe that Kelsey does have a vestibular issue and would benefit from seeing the therapist at St. Charles. Which brings us back to the insurance problem once again. She will not be able to see an occupational therapist unless we get this extension and they agree to cover her.
I will end my "soap box" here, but I ask for my friends and family to please keep this issue in your prayers. And most of all, please pray for me as Kelsey's Mom. That I will be able to let go of the INCREDIBLE anger and disappointment that I feel today. As Mike and I have said so many times before...We were given Kelsey for a reason. I believe because God knew we would be 150% dedicated to her care. I also hope this road block will be crumbled so we can continue our journey of progress for Kelsey. I also pray that if the insurance issue cannot be resolved, that a local business will step up to sponsor her with a significant enough sponsorship to actually make a long term difference.

The Week...

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY...We had a busy week and look forward to the same this next week. Here are a few highlights...
Kelsey had a great therapy week with Christen in the pool on Monday and riding Peaches on Tuesday. I am singing Christen's praises! All along, Mike and I have questioned whether Kelsey's balance issues could be because of a vestibular problem, but we have been told by a number of Doctors that Kelsey is too young to have a vestibular disorder. Since Christen has been working with Kelsey - she has been able to see what we see in this regard - and agrees with us. So as a medical advocate for Kelsey, Christen was able to set up an evaluation for Kelsey this week by a woman at St. Charles that is a vestibular specialist. YES! We might be finally getting somewhere! Kelsey is doing fantastic overall, and absolutely loves her big brother! Mike and I continue to be amazed at James's creativity! He has a special stuffed bunny that belonged to Grandma McCall. This weekend, he came up the the idea to build "Dee Dee" the bunny a crate. It's pretty amazing! He also made Dee Dee a collar with tags that he wrote her name and our phone number on - in case she escapes! We are so happy that James has the gift of creativity! He can always think up something to do. Mike and I re-financed the house this week and were very happy to get a 4.5% rate! This is the only good thing about the economic woes!
Mike's Grandpa Gunnar was hospitalized yesterday after a "spell". We don't fully know what is going on with him yet as of this morning, so we are keeping him in our prayers.
Leo the dog continues to bring our family so much joy! He has decided that he too is a human. He is learning many new commands and is eager to please. We just love him! Finally, I am SOOOO excited that my oldest and dearest friend Colette is flying here for my birthday! If the weather holds for us, we plan to go snowmobiling while she is here. She has never been and that is a true love of mine! I cannot wait to see her!
Have a wonderful week...