YOU GO GIRL!!!

What an amazing couple of days it has been. The last two days I have gotten to grill. That is always something fun for me. Steaks and chicken. Both are very good. Today I am off of work. Always nice to have some time at home.

Laura is home with me today. Her being here makes the day perfect. So far we have eaten breakfast. We have played with her toys, she is a very good toy player wither. As I am typing we are listening to classical music (Mozart, Bach, etc.). And just a little bit ago she received her very first 1st birthday present.

Last night, when Tara, Laura and I got home we had a message waiting on our answering machine. It was from the director of the Rise School. She asked us to call her back. I called this morning, and had to leave a voice mail. The director called me back about 9:40 am. We talked for a few minutes then hung up. The call was to let us know that Laura has been accepted into the Rise School.

Some people may be asking, what is The Rise School? It is a private school that is focused on helping babies and children with Down Syndrome become everything that they were designed to be. It is a program that was started at the University of Alabama (sorry G.C., Grandma Coleen, but some good things do come out of that university). The school here in Houston is administered through Texas Children's Hospital. She will likely be there until she is ready to start elementary school, which will be around age 6 or 7 The goal of the Rise School here in Houston is to equip these incredible kids with everything they need to be mainstreamed through the public school systems in and around Houston.

When I got off of the phone with the director I was so excited I was shaking. When I called Tara, she said her hands were sweating. Laura's grandparents sounded like they were just short of flying high themselves. This is an amazing opportunity for Laura and we cannot wait for her to get started.

YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!