D isn't for DOUBT, it's for DARING to do it!

To all the doubters. . .
to all the people who have heard. . . "You're child is deaf. . . so they will not be able to do this or that. . ."
"They will not read till later."
"They will do terrible in school."
"Strangers will never be able to understand them."

SAVANAH proved everyone wrong!

She is reading right along with her appropriate grade level.
She is reading chapter books.
She is doing math and understanding it. She even adds and subtracts in her head, no manipulatives needed!
She is learning about history and this week can tell you all about Thanksgiving.
About the Pilgrims and the Indians, who brought what to dinner and why we celebrate it every year.
A few weeks ago, after her science lessons, she could name all the different kinds of moons that we see in the month of October. She even explained why this happened.

She is one INCREDIBLE little girl.
She is truly a gift.
Desmond and I continue to be amazed everyday at her spunk, her intelligence and her non-stop "wanting to learn everything" attitude!

Our Halloween Pirate

Savanah is not a girly girl
Not by a LONG shot.
At least I have one and she was the bride this year.
We looked high and wide for a pirate costume.
Something that was perfect for an almost 8 year old
not a 21-year old. Halloween costumes sure are turning
into things that belong in adult shops, but that's another post
for another time.

We found this costume.
It just fit Savanah's personality perfect.
She loved it and the bonus was. . . she was the only one with the costume!
Score 1 point for Mom.

I got thinking while we were out trick-or-treating
the town. . .
the reason why Savanah can say trick-or-treat,
or listen for cars coming
or hear the creepy music,
or the screams coming from other kids. . .
is because of this wonderful, most amazing device!
This cochlear implant continues to show it was the best decision
we've (her daddy and I) have ever made, next to creating Savanah!

And the reason she could say "Argh Matey's!" Well you know why! :)

To have or not. . .

Just got done with more mapping.
The question came up again. . .
another implant or not. . .
please weigh in.

Mended Hearts

I realized I haven't posted in awhile.
A lot has been going on in life.
BUSY, I cannot believe the month of October
has just FLOWN by and tomorrow is actually Halloween.
But to make a short, sweet post. . .
This is Molly.
She is our new YorkiePoo.
She is NOW 10 weeks old.
And we ADORE her.
Especially Savanah.
Savanah had been saving every penny, nickle, dime for almost four years!
She was saving because she was going to buy her very own little puppy.
A little puppy who would live in our home,
sleep in her bed and wake her up in the morning with sweet little kisses since she can't hear the alarm clock. This was all her little plan.
We love Miss Molly and she is bringing a lot of joy where an empty place in our hearts were with Koby.
We cannot wait for our house to be built, so Molly can actually come live with us and not live with Grandma and Grandpa anymore!

Tender

Savanah is the most tender child I know.
She'll cry watching Fox and the Hound.
She would give you her last crumb.
She would do anything for anyone.



Unfortunately this week Savanah
had to deal with her very first loss.
Our yellow labrador of 8 years, Koby
was hit by a truck and had to be put down that night.

Now this is rough stuff for anyone.
Especially Savanah.
Who does have such a tender soul.
And ESPECIALLY for animals.

I was so impressed with her.
She handled it well.
Aside from her outbreaks of complete despair.
She cried for him. Wept for him. Prayed for him.
She grasped the concept immediately that he would never
be coming back. We would never see him again.
He was now in Doggy Heaven.
Free from pain and suffering.
This made her happy for him.
She was able to verbalize her emotions wonderfully.
Which I know helped her cope in an unbelievable way.

Once again I was so proud of her.
Without her cochlear implant,
sometimes I wonder if moments like those
would be as impactful.
If she would be able to fully express
EXACTLY what she is feeling.
I am so grateful for everything she is teaching me.
She helped us all this week.

"Let's GO Vikings!"

So Savanah just started cheerleading.
Through a rec Center. . .
a little headstart on the house we are building
and the location we are building it at.
But none the less. . . it's great.
Yesterday was her first day.
She was so excited.
She's been to enough BYU games to know
how awesome cheerleaders are!
The cheer clinic was held in the gymnasium
at the rec center.
There were about 30 girls total
with 4 cheerleaders from the highschool team
instructing all of these eager little kidlets.
I didn't mention to anyone that Savanah couldn't hear very well.
I wanted to see how she did.
I could tell the music was a little too loud for her
in such a large acoustic space.
I could tell she was struggling a bit to hear the leaders
but she was following along right on point.
I was thrilled to see after they broke up into
their official cheer squads that they placed
her on the front row right next to the leaders.
This made me smile inside.
God's little mercies I suppose.
Helping her out when nothing is said.
She did wonderfully for her first practice!
I was so impressed and my little cheerleader did a great job!
So. . . here's the start of the season!

Whirlwind

So Savanah is officially a BIG second grader now.
It was a rough start to the week.
All because she was not wearing her hearing aid.
Her audiogram was just awful with it in
so her audiologist felt like it was better without it.
I guess not.
Those first three days of school were dreadful.
She was barely hearing anything.
Not able to follow along to what was being taught.
Extremely frustrating,
not exactly the best first couple of days I suppose.

Things are better now.
She is loving her mainstream teacher.
She is enjoying school and her new classmates.
She is catching on to math a little better now.
She LOVES that she is taking home lunch EVERY DAY.
She loves recess and all she wants to do is wear her tennis shoes.
Definitely will be buying another pair of those in a few weeks.

She's reading really well still.
I am so impressed by this.
And so very proud of her.
I am so excited to watch what lies ahead for her.
And hope that her dad and I can do everything we possibly can to give her the best opportunities in life, school etc.