Picture Update Summer 2010

Many of my friends do Wordless Wednesday blogs... however, it has been so long since I have posted pictures that words are needed... These are pictures from Mother's Day 2010 in Tulsa with my mom and the puppies through my summer trip home June-July...

Mother's Day Puppy Playtime... Kodi figured out that she could stand on Zoe's leash (something she has done since she was very little) but she added the concept of grabbing the middle of the leash with her mouth and pulling Zoe to her!!! One way of making another dog stay and play with you! (Kodi is my black dog and Zoe is mom's silkie)

June 2010 - Me and the girls at the Missouri state capitol in Jefferson City. Kenzie wasn't too thrilled to be going here so she was pouting with the best of them!

Annual pictures on the diving board at Ana's house. I could go through my pictures and find the three girls on the diving board since Ana and Kenzie were about 2 years old! My how they have grown and become such beautiful young ladies.

Me with Ana and Kenzie, yet another picture that I could go back through the archives and find dozens of previous years!!

Kenzie and Ana. These two remind me so much of Ana's cousin Jami and me growing up! See each other once a month or so but always the closest of friends!!! (Even today Jami is one of my closest friends!!!!)

Friends Forever... something we declared in 1989/90... who would have thought that we would still be friends 21 years after we met in elementary school at Bell...

Me and my precious nephew Dewayne. He is a very special young boy that is overcoming so many obstacles in his life!!! I love him so much and wish that I could spend more time with him and his mommy!!

Fourth of July with my "Soul Sister" and nephew! Another of my best friends... we met at Booker T in the band... and the rest is history as they say!!!

Me with Syrina and Kenzie after the tour at Blue Bell...

And speaking of Ana's cousin Jami... here she is with her daughter Rylee, son Jace and Ana after our tour!!!

Darby 1996-2010

(Pictures to be posted sooner than later)

What a month this has been for me... My dad and I loaded up all my stuff from storage in OK, said goodbye to my nieces, mom and all our dogs... little did we know we were saying goodbye to our dog Darby for the last time...

We got Darby when we went to Montana in 1996 as a playmate for our dog Luke, who was getting old (he passed away 2 years later). We drove all the way from Kalispell, Mt to Darby, Mt to look at this puppy that we "might get..." Yea... mom was DETERMINED to get a dog "from the mountains" while on this vacation!! So needless to say, Dad and I had already named the unseen dog, Damned Dog from Darby, or just Darby for short. We bought the puppy, who proceeded to be carsick from the moment we put her in the car until we got home 2 weeks later.

She turned out to be the sweetest, docile dog ever! She played with Syrina when she was merely 2 years old and never once knocked her over! She played with Kenzie when she was a toddler... she was a great dog!

Well after 14 years of life with my family, darby went on to be with Luke on Thursday, July 22. Kenzie was crushed as you would imagine... our neighbor took care of the burial for us as dad was in CO with me and mom had left for work... he made it look like a real grave and even added a "headstone" from our field. The girls wanted to get a marker for Darby so that they can visit her grave, so mom being a good grammy took the girls to Michael's/Hobby Lobby and bought a cement steppin stone kit to make a stone in her honor.

Kenzie is dealing with the loss of Darby very slowly. Mom said that she went out to the grave to put flowers out there on Thursday and went twice on Friday... made the memorial stone on Friday as well... now to make a memory frame...

Thank You Note

Some of my friends post pictures without words on Wednesdays... I couldn't wait until Wednesday as I will be unloading my stuff into my new home in Westminster, CO... so...

Rest in Peace Sweet Angel

Today we celebrate the short life of Zoe, a student that I had the honor to work with this past year. Zoe's mom had been told that Zoe probably wouldn't live a month after she was born, and yet this January we celebrated her 8th birthday... She passed away in her sleep sometime in the night of July 10 and morning of July 11.

When I first read her background, my initial thought was honestly, what can I do to help her?? But she helped me more than I could have ever helped her. Her and her mom... Her mom is a wonderful lady, full of ideas that can help any student, regardless of their abilities. I had loads of ideas of how we could address the needs of Zoe, but no ideas as to how to implement the ideas. Our amazing OT came in and created a program for Zoe and implemented a lot of the ideas that I had!

Zoe couldn't talk using full words, but she could vocalize... you knew when she was happy by her squeals and her smile... when she was in pain by her facial expressions and when she was comfortable. We worked on using various vowel sounds and using a switch to control a toy...

I will never forget the lessons that I learned from this little girl... how every student in her class was touched by her presence... those students in her class learned how to love and respect a person with disabilities.

I have always been told that I will have the misfortune of seeing my students/patients/clients pass away, but I never thought it would be 6 years into my career. Although I am sadden beyond words, I am comforted knowing that Zoe will not suffer any more and that she is in a better place... it is also comforting to know that her precious mom will be able to continue to show her love for children with disabilities and keep Zoe's memory alive.

I can only hope that right now, Zoe is in heaven chatting some angels ear off and running and playing like she couldn't do here on Earth. She will definitely be missed by everyone that knew her!