Camp

At moments like these, I feel both overjoyed and saddened. I dropped my eldest off at camp today. She no longer needs me to stay and fix her bed or wait until she connects with a friend or two. There are no more kisses good-bye, but she did throw over her shoulder an "I love you" in return to my own. My heart swells with pride that she no longer needs me for so many things, but it is a mixed emotion indeed. I cannot wait to hear the tales she will tell and the adventures she will take this week on her own. I hope she will have fun, meet new people and learn new and exciting things. I will let you know on Friday.
Christine K.

New and Exciting

All kinds of new things are happening in our life right now. After our trip to communication device camp (Jabberjaw) and then a trip to Seaworld, we are now home and recuperating. While home, I have been working to complete our home study in preparation for a possible adoption. I called a company in California today to tell them what we were looking for and they told us that they have a child now who fits our description! There is a 2-year-old little girl from Russia that is absolutely beautiful. It is exciting to think that this could be the final addition to our family. I look forward to this journey, no matter what the future holds and hope that you will follow along with us.
Christine K.

Seaworld

We arrived the day before yesterday in Florida and it is a special kind of hot here. Temperatures reached 100 degrees and it felt that hot and more. We visited SeaWorld yesterday during the day and we plan to go again today, during the night. The girls loved it and had a wonderful time seeing the sea creatures. My eldest's favorite was petting the sting rays. My youngest enjoyed viewing the beluga whales. Personally, I enjoyed the shows and am looking forward to riding the coasters! Since we're going at night today, it should be fun to see some different shows and possibly enjoy the fireworks.

An additional note: my cousin and his wife recently had a baby, very early (26 weeks) and obviously is facing some challenges. If you feel so inclined, please keep this little one in your prayers and thoughts.
Christine K.

Week at Camp

So, I'm finishing out a week at camp Jabberjaw in Mississippi. This is a family camp where communication device users attend in order to have fun and learn more about their devices. We have been attending for three years and it has always been great fun for us. This year it was even more exciting. As some of you know, my youngest uses a communication device and has does so via scanning. Basically this means that there is a box that moves automatically through the selections and she clicks a switch when the box is on the right choice for what she wants to say. At camp this year, though, we discovered eye gazing. This is where she merely has to look at the selection she wants in order to activate the voice of her device. It is amazing how quickly she learned this and how easily she was able to make her selections. She could say 10 things in the time it was taking her to say 1 before. We are so excited about this possibility and are hopeful that insurance will be helpful in our latest quest to find technology that can assist our daughter.

Reasons for Being

One of the main purposes in my life, at this juncture, is to help to create a world where all people are welcome. What does this mean? First of all, it means that locations should be physically accessible to everyone. Secondly, it means that people should feel welcome when entering a location. Finally, people should want to return if they are truly made to feel welcome. I am starting this with me, in my home, and working outward. I would love to hear your thoughts about how to make places more welcoming for all people.