Sarah Rise Weekly Updates

Last Sunday we went to Idlewild for the first time. If you have never been and if you live anywhere near Pittsburgh, I highly recommend going. It is the most wonderful and pleasant amusement park! There are so many trees that even on a very hot day it is still pleasant. They have tons of… Read more »

Sarah has been making amazing progress in the pool. She now loves walking all around in the area where the water just comes to her chin. She lets us pick her up, she lets me sometimes encourage her legs to be behind her. She is skilled at spitting out water accidentally ingested. Amy continues with… Read more »

Lately I have been feeling like a hypocrite. I have my team of amazing volunteers who come to my house to be loving and focused with Sarah, but I, myself, have been having a hard time feeling loving towards her. We have small nice moments, but my overall impression is of frustration, sternness, and yelling… Read more »

We generally have a rule that we can’t have two weekends in a row with either hosting company or being out of town. Sometimes there are important events that mean going against this rule and then I am reminded of why we have the rule (it just becomes too much). Two weekends ago I was… Read more »

The girls had their first ballet class on Tuesday and it went beautifully. It is a small class with only 5 or 6 students. Sometimes when I think about our efforts with Sarah I picture being up to bat and going for a home run. With the ballet class, it felt like a home run…. Read more »

Sarah and Amy and I played many rounds of Hello Kitty Bingo while singing the song I made up to the tune of “Raw Hide.”  It goes like this: Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’ Keep those dice rollin’ Hello Kitty! Daniel, Fifi, Squirrel Gum ball and watering can Hello Kitty —- This started as just a moment… Read more »

I didn’t have quite the easily blissful, totally 100% comfortable with upset time that I had the previous two weeks, but overall the week went well. We went to the pool at my office and I supported Amy as she kicked and moved her arms so she swam little laps with my help. Sarah bravely… Read more »

I think I am finally succeeding in becoming more like my mother. I have so wanted to be the kind of mother she was/is to me, having space and clear attention for my upsets, without needing to shorten the duration of my feelings. Last week I wrote about feeling more truly comfortable when my girls… Read more »

Every time I watch Sarah doing gymnastics I feel amazed and grateful and a tiny bit teary. Gymnastics provides a clear reminder of how far Sarah has come in her physical  abilities. Tuesday was her last gymnastics class until I sign them up for another. We are going to take a break for the summer… Read more »

Sarah has a loose tooth. For real. Loose! I know the dentist had told me this several months ago but I couldn’t tell. Now, I can wiggle it myself. Wow! One morning Carl showed Sarah a new word card with “black cat” and then showed the already familiar “red rose,” Sarah spontaneously said, “The black… Read more »