AMAZING!!!

I have definitely been neglecting my blogging duties!  Life has just been going on as usual, and we have been staying busy!  But I got the most fantastic phone call from Brian at AZ Goldens a couple of days ago:

Brian: "Hi Shelley, it's Brian.  Is this a good time?"

Me: "Sure, what's up?"

Brian: "Are you sitting down?"

Me: "Ummm...yes?"

Brian: "Heidi just got a sponsor, covering the balance of her service dog fund."

Me: "AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Yay!!  So that means that we will have some very exciting announcements (and pictures!) coming very soon!  Thank you so much to everyone who helped make this happen for Heidi, and for Associated Motor Group in Scottsdale for donating the last bit of money that we needed.  We feel so blessed!

Delphina

Heidi had a very traumatic experience a couple of days ago at school.  A couple of boys threatened her and her big sister with some very awful things, things that would have been terrifying for anyone.  This event happened after school, and when I went to pick them up, they were both standing on the sidewalk just sobbing.  Heidi was inconsolable.  She wouldn't even move from where she was standing.  I had to pick her up and carry her to the car.  When we got home, I covered her with her weighted blanket, and then did some deep pressure therapy, but I just could not get her to calm down.  Finally, after about an hour in a warm bath, she started to calm down, but she was still very traumatized.  For the remainder of that day and most of the next, she barely spoke.  It was heartbreaking for me to see her like this.  As with most children with autism, she takes everything very literally.  Even sayings such as "the cat is out of the bag" will make her look around for a cat.  There was no way for her to understand in this situation that these boys were not a true threat and that they were trying to tease and get to her.

Brian and Debbie from AZ Goldens came over that next night with Delphina.  We were hoping that having Delphina around would help Heidi with this scary event, but even I didn't anticipate the effect this beautiful dog would have on her.  Heidi not only started speaking again, but she was laughing and smiling and running around, playing Hide-and-Seek with Delphina and practicing the commands that she has learned.  I was in awe, being able to see in such an amazing way just one of the many benefits that a service dog will have for Heidi and our family.  This experience was a great reminder to me about why I am working so hard to provide this tool for Heidi.  In the end, all of the work, tears, and anxiety will be more than worth it.

(For those of you that were wondering, yes, the situation with the boys is being handled.)

Heidi and Harmony

We got a visit the other night from AZ Goldens and another one of their dogs, Harmony.  Heidi fell in instant love with Harmony!  They played Hide-and-Seek over and over, and Heidi thought it was the best thing in the world when Harmony would find her in her trickiest of hiding spots.  After playing for quite a while, Heidi ran a found a book and sat down to "read" it to Harmony.  I have to admit, I teared up a bit watching this.  Heidi normally does not like to sit and read, she gets frustrated and ends up quitting.  But she sat there and told Harmony everything that was going on in each picture.  This made me even more excited for Heidi to get her own service dog, I cannot wait to see how much it will benefit her socially and academically.

Things are coming together for the fundraiser at Chuy's on the 20th.  We have added a raffle and a silent auction to the other events that will be going on that night.  I am so excited for this, it is going to be so amazing to spend the evening with family and friends.  We would love to see you all there, so click on the event link to the right of the blog for more information.  A big huge thank you to AZ Goldens, Chuy's, Jared, and Erin for helping us coordinate this event, and to my cousin Justin Harris who will be photographing the event.  It is going to be a night to remember!

New Friends

Brian from Arizona Goldens has visited our house with two of their autism dogs-in-training, Belize and Davidia. I cannot even begin to describe how amazing these dogs are! Heidi fell in love immediately and had so much fun taking them on walks around the house and having them do tricks for her. Our other three kids loved it as well!

Here is Heidi with Davidia: