Is she cute or what?

Today was Jenelle's last day at the Blind Children's Learning Center as they will be closed for the month of August. She will return in September, but we are not sure if she will remain there after her 3rd birthday in October. As I dropped off Jenelle today, this photo was in her cubby. I know it was taken recently, because Jenelle has only recently been smiling like this.

I went to work and saw a fellow co-worker in the elevator on my ride up to the 13th floor. I proudly pulled out this photo of Jenelle to show her, and she gushed over it as I knew she would. A man in the elevator who did not work at my firm peeked over her shoulder to check out the photo. He said, "She's a real cutie, and very tall - she'll be a handful when she gets older." The co-worker and I just smiled at each other and agreed, but both knew that she would be a handful in "other" ways he did not.

There are many times when I wonder just how much I should say. Sometimes I offer information like, "Well, my daughter is delayed" or if I have more time I tell people she has seizures. Sometimes when I give each and every full blown diagnosis and problem attributed to Jenelle, I wonder if people think I'm telling the truth! Really, there is only so much you can tell a perfect stranger about Jenelle while riding between the 1st and 8th floor where this man exited. Yet today it felt good to respond as if she were a normal child, because she certainly looks like it in this photo!

Jenelle continues to do well seizure wise, and I weight her last weekend and noted that she has gained 4 1/2 pounds since the G-tube was placed. Last week I went to dinner with friends and took Jenelle with me. She cried when I wasn't holding her, which made it difficult to enjoy dinner. However, it was inspiring to see a true "two year old" response from our girl.

Thank you all for the continued prayers - I'll keep you posted!