Zoom Zoom!

One Saturday about a month ago (or longer!) we spent the day out before Isaiah's first brace fitting. Thomas had picked out an activity that he was sure would be a hit for Isaiah, and he was right!

Getting ready to go...


Listening to the instructions...


And driving! Thomas said that at one point he leaned over and asked Isaiah, "Are you driving?" Isaiah then yelled at the top of his lungs, "I DRIVE! I DRIVE!" over and over. Now that would have been fun to hear. :)


I think we'll have to do this again before we head back to Russia!

A Great Combination

What could be better than going to the zoo? Going to the zoo with friends, of course!

My wonderful friend, Victoria and her 2 adorable children invited us to join them on an outing to the Jackson Zoo, which was actually a lot bigger than I thought it would be. We had such a great time! We took tons of pictures, so here are a few of my favorites:

Isaiah was more interested in Connor and Brooklyn Claire than the coolness of sitting on an alligator (or crocodile, I don't remember).

They had giant dinosaur eggs just begging for a photo.
Isaiah loved the little aquarium section at the zoo with the turtles and a few fish. My favorite part though was the place for the beavers. They had built these caves to be able to sit in a bubble in the water where the beavers were supposed to be swimming around. Connor realized that Isaiah could fit inside, too, even in his wheelchair, so he entertained Isaiah for a long time in there! It was so sweet!
And you have to have a picture with the elephants, it's a rule.
Though this was a long time ago, we're still enjoying the memories! Thanks, friends!

SEW: Cheerio Car

Because cheerios like to ride in sports cars, apparently.

A Special First

Although our guest room had enjoyed several people already, we were excited to have our first non-family guest come and visit! My friend from college flew to see us for the Labor Day weekend.



Being able to catch up with my dear friend for an extended time (relatively speaking) for the first time in over 2 years was wonderful! Thomas was great to even give us some girl time by staying with Isaiah so we could paint the town. Well, go out for dinner at least.


Isaiah had a great time playing with Aunt Kathy, who even taught him some Greek! Oh for the mind of a child to be able to pick up languages.

A Long Time Ago, But Not So Far Away

After our first week in MS (yes, this is a long overdue post!) and all the doctor appointments, we took a little break and went to Baton Rouge to spend time with Thomas' family. We had already been able to see his older sister and her family with their new addition and Thomas' parents earlier in August, but it was a treat to see his other brother and sister and their families.

Isaiah enjoyed lots of play time with his cousins, aunts, uncles and, of course, Mimi and JanJan!

He really enjoyed driving JanJan's truck

Getting some "boy time" with cousins, Nevil and Nathan and Uncle Carlos

Building with JanJan and Luke

Aunt Emily invited us to Gymboree where Isaiah got to play with some other children on all kinds of fun equipment!

But I think his favorite thing was driving around the garage and driveway with Luke, with the help of Mimi and Uncle Rich.

We enjoyed that visit before Isaiah's surgery, which you already know went very well, and we've even been back a couple times, but you'll just have to wait for those pictures, eventually.

Heading Home Soon

We have had a wonderful week in sunny, beautiful California! Tomorrow we spend another Sunday with our friends at CVP, and Monday morning (very early) we head back to MS.

Thank you for your prayers for this week. We have enjoyed our time and had some true relaxation. I have however managed to get a cold, so I would especially appreciate your prayers for our flying on Monday. I would love not to have earaches when we are landing. So far my symptoms are fairly minor, but annoying. Thankfully Thomas and Isaiah have managed to avoid catching my cold!

We look forward to reuniting with our friends in MS and showing off Isaiah's progress with his walker to his therapists!

Have a blessed Lord's Day tomorrow wherever the Lord may have you.

Pardon Me Boys,

is that the Chattanooga Choo-Choo?

We enjoyed a few days in Chattanooga, TN last month. I will warn you that there are a lot of pictures in this post, but I promise I did narrow them down.

We enjoyed a nice cool albeit foggy morning at Rock City. As we were leaving the sun came out and began to burn away some of the fog. What you see behind Thomas and Isaiah in this picture was pretty much our view for the time we were there. But we had fun anyway!


Here I am gripping the edge of the swinging bridge; this was not my favorite activity, but I did it.
We walked across the river on the pedestrian bridge and found this great park with a fountain area for kids (of all ages) to play in. Animal statues circled the main fountain area, but the animals would shoot out water, too.


Isaiah really liked playing in this little fountain, until it shot up and squirted him in the face! He recovered quickly, though.



The aquarium was a surprisingly big hit with Little Man. I had no idea he would love the fish so much!


This is how I looked before we took the Incline Railway up the side of Lookout Mountain. You don't want to see what I looked like after the ride was done. Let's just say that I would take the swinging bridge above this ANY DAY! And there was an incredibly thoughtful woman behind me talking to her friend about all the problems that the railway had had in recent years; um, yeah, thanks!


And this was the view during part of our ride. Just looking at the pictures brings back all those yucky feelings!


We went to Five Points once we topped the mountain. I was never so glad to be out of a moving vehicle!

The view was really something, but I refrained from getting to close to the edge. Thomas did the photography duties at this site.


And there she is, the Chattanooga Choo-Choo. You can actually stay on this train, if you pay a lot of money, which we didn't. But it was fun to walk around.


What would a trip to Chattanooga be without some Clumpies ice cream? Well, we wouldn't know because we all enjoyed some!


Isaiah was the only one who got official souvenirs on our trip. He fell in love with a car (naturally), and he got this huge shirt, which is a story in itself. We were enjoying a lovely meal at a Texas Roadhouse not far from our hotel, and Isaiah decided that his meal would be just as good on the outside as on the inside, only after he ate it. He was a mess, and the manager found this t-shirt, and gave it to Isaiah. We were all pleased with the situation, and Isaiah liked his big shirt.


But these are my favorite pictures from the whole trip...
So there you have it. We have had about 3 full days of vacation since being in the States; and we did our best to enjoy them to the fullest!

First Steps

So, today Isaiah did this in therapy...

And we did let him get the car. :) This one doesn't show his legs as well, but he was doing a lot more of the work on his own this time. Most of the noise in the background is from the other two therapy sessions going on at the same time.

He had a little help from the therapist, as you can see, but the last time he did it more and more on his own! Praise God with us for all that He is bringing to pass!

SEW: Cruisin'

Check out Little Man's new wheels!


Nothing like a trusty set of wheels for visiting the zoo with friends! We're thrilled to have Little Man's special chair, and thankful for all the people who helped it get here extra quick!