Monday, October 28, 2013

I have finally returned!

UUgghhh, we have had such a long summer, that I decided to take the past couple of weeks (that might have actually not been so hectic) to catch up on forgotten items on my list.  The blog being one of them!

So, what has happened in the Barber Family from June until now?  A ton...and all great changes!  First off, our short sale was final in September, but we moved in July.  We moved really far from our old house...6 minutes away, to Verdi, NV.  Verdi sits on the border of California and Nevada, and is surrounded by mountains.  This is the sort of town that has a "market", post office and elementary school :-)  We LOVE it!  One of our biggest challenges in moving was to decide where Lila can thrive best, while also selecting an area that we, our family, can enjoy our time together.  FOUND IT!  We live 5 houses from the Truckee river, have a community pool, and tons of kids in our neighborhood.  Lila takes the bus every morning, and loves seeing her friends at the bus stop.  Nora enjoys daily bike rides with her friends on our block, and climbing the massive rocks near the bus stop.  The girls are so happy here, and so are we :-)

School...Lila attends the Verdi Elementary school where there are 200 kids (vs. the 600 kids at her two previous schools).  They all know her, as does the staff, and she is just skyrocketing in her academics!  Because of the smaller work load on all of the therapists and resource teacher, Lila gets lots of time being taught at her level, leading to her knowing all of her letter sounds and sounding out words, understanding math concepts (although the answer may not always be correct), and interacting with her peers during each and every activity.  She still LOVES music and art, but gives all other subjects her all and it is really showing :-)  Her speech has grown a lot in the past six months, and she has such a funny sense of humor.

Nora...still attending Goddard School three days a week, and is working at a level higher than her peers.  This kid continues to amaze us, and also pushes our limits like no other!  It is hard to have a child that is smarter than us....hahahah!  Nevertheless, she is always kind to her friends and very funny.  She is still in swimming class, and has taken to it with ease, so we may be up for a switch to gymnastics soon.  Nora is very excited about this, but first has to fill her chart that is working on some behavioral issues at bedtimes.  The chart has been active for about 6 weeks now, and we have only gotten it filled 2/3rds of the way...boy is she stubborn (a trait that will drive Mom and Dad crazy, but likely pay off in the long run).

Matt and I...we are happy to be done with the banks, have moved to a smaller one-story house, and are enjoying spending time outside with the girls.  It is getting colder, so that outside time is limited, but we have been out a lot lately.  Matt is running three jobs with Gallagher Construction, which is quite stressful for him.  This will settle down come the end of the year.  I am sewing bags, doing vendor shows, managing all of Lila's appointments and therapies, filling out the paperwork to start our non-profit (Change in Motion-supporting alternative treatments and therapies for children with cerebral palsy), coordinating a three week intensive physical therapy session for December and January, and looking to Lila's next stem cell treatment (more about this later).  Oh, and one more thing...I have been taking small design jobs to still have a piece of myself, tap into that creativity that I so miss, and will likely be designing a French cafe/bistro in Newport Beach this winter...should be fun!

So, we are busy, but well.  I just wanted to get this post out to everyone, as I am sorry to have fallen off of the planet for a little while :-)  We think of you all often, and hope that you too are enjoying this beautiful Fall weather.  Happy Halloween to you all!