Tomorrow Carmen gets her ankle braces. Her ankles are getting stiffer so hopefully the braces will help put her foot in a better position. We picked out some cute ones- pink with heart straps!

Also tomorrow, Rachinee, is hosting a Cookie Lee “friend-raiser” for Carmen. We will have it at our house from 2-7pm, open house style.

Last week Dave and I met with Carmen’s pediatrician to talk about our plan for Carmen’s life. Dr. Pedreira is a very wise man and we wanted his thoughts both from a medical perspective and a Christian perspective. I’ve really been struggling with what to do for Carmen- what will make her comfortable and what is just too much. I also worry about what her life will be like in the coming months and hopefully years. I want her with us for as long as possible but I don’t want her to suffer. Dr. Pedreira gave us some advice that literally lifted a burden off of me. He said to really focus on what will make her comfortable TODAY. I think I can live with all of our decisions if I know that every decision we make is based on making Carmen comfortable. I have been so worried that we will make a selfish decision and that can go both ways- keeping her alive or letting her go. So, in our quest to make Carmen comfortable, we may make decisions that prolong her life and we may make decisions that have the opposite effect, but we know our motivations and I can live with this path we are choosing.

Yesterday, we went to TJ’s birthday party and had a wonderful time! Carmen got one tiny bite of chocolate cake (like crumb size)! The party was at one of those fun kid play places and the owner gave me a free pass to bring the girls back another day. She asked me about Carmen and said she used to be a neonatal intensive care nurse. I know most people are hesitant to ask about Carmen but I really, really don’t mind one bit. I like to take the opportunity to share about Tay Sachs, AB Variant. Seven months ago, I had never heard of Tay Sachs or any of the similar diseases and now I could give a lecture on the subject- Ha! Ha! I think Dave had as much fun as the kids at the party. Well, at least with the pom-poms!

After the party, TJ’s family took us to lunch at Fuddrucker’s and that was a special treat for our family- thank you! This brought back really fun memories for Dave and me. Way back in college, we were mystery shoppers for Fuddrucker’s. We were poor college students and had plenty of time so we would get paid $20 to go eat at Fuddrucker’s and then fill out an insanely long survey on the food, restaurant cleanliness, customer service, etc.

Dave and I host a Bible study in our home (we just finished Andy Stanley’s Breakaway series) and I want to thank Claudia who keeps bringing AMAZING desserts!