Jacie is doing so well. It brings tears to my eyes when I look back to my April posts and read all of the concern that I experienced while wondering if we have done the right things with her medically. Today, for the most part, she walks upright and strong. She still favors her right side. That could be lifelong...
Her physical therapist has been working the flexibility in her left ankle. She has a fused ankle so very little movement comes from either ankle but especially the left. Yet, the more it is stretched and massaged, the more it seems to move. I love this. Though I am under not impression that we will ever get full mobility from her ankles, I know that every fraction of an inch is a plus for her.
She has been sore since we moved into the rainy colder weather of fall. She hobbles instead of walks- it looks painful. Yet, I make her continue because I do not want her to lose her ability that she has gained. I do rub cream into it every night and that seems to help. I know that it hurts but she comes back for more the next night so I assume that it is helping her to some degree.
We just finished our fair week. Jacie loves fair and enjoyed playing with our neighboring camper- she was born clubfoot as well. Those two made quite a pair. Our neighbor girl walks with crutches and one day I walked upon the two girls sword-fighting with those crutches. I had to laugh. The little stinkers...
I think that they are good for each other because when one says, "My feet hurt, the other understands fully."
Jacie got a trophy and Best-of-Show in her breeding stock chickens. She was thrilled. She has prominently displayed her trophy in her room and asks me almost everyday, "Doesn't that trophy look good mom?" Funny girl.
She actually completed a lot of projects. She did cake decorating and got a Best Exhibit, a puzzle, sewing, scrap booking, basket making, photography, ink on glass, drawing and wardrobe personalization. That was on top of her many animals. I think that she had a good fair. She loved being 'Clover' the cow for the milk barn. I think that it was the highlight of her fair. I added pics...
Since fair, she started hip-hop dance. I really thought that she would like it because she is always dancing around the house. Nope. She did a trial month, asked if she could miss 3 out of the 4 classes and ended up quitting. I normally wouldn't let her quit but going into it she had no idea what to expect. That is why I gave her a 1 month trial. The class was great. It was big though and Jacie felt lost most of the time. She could not complete all of the moves and that made her nervous. So we have shifted our focus to swimming. She loves it and begs to go. I knew that she was a swimmer and planned on having her swim every week along with hip-hop. Now she will just swim 2 times a week. That will make her VERY happy. She is taking private lessons from Miss Melanie (she taught the boys to swim as well.) So she gets 1/2 an hour of uninterrupted pool time to learn the dynamics of swimming. Then later in the week, she will go in to have fun. She is so excited.
On the school front, I believe that she has finally accepted that she is home schooled. It was such a let down for her to not be able to leave the house with her backpack. Yet, she enjoys being at home. I think as she has gotten used to the change- she has learned to enjoy it. She is starting to work independently on some subjects. That is neat to see. When you are teaching a non-English speaking child to speak, read and write in their second language- patience is required. I was not born with a natural patience and have been perfecting the art since. Having used the word perfecting, I must go on record and say, "I've got a long way to go."
All in all, I am looking forward to a good school year. Jacie desires to learn to read and is working on it. I am not certain how to teach her because she still confuses letters of the alphabet and requires help with that. She also cannot recognize the letter T. Interesting, huh?
Jacie and her friends are downstairs this morning just hooting and hollering. She had her first sleep over and seems to be enjoying herself. It is truly amazing how far we have come. I am blessed.
~Camo Pants
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