Still Here

Yes, we're still here...and doing well!!

Noah and I go to computer training every Tuesday where I sit and discuss and brainstorm ideas and upload/download things on to Noah's computer with the beautiful and talented therapist, Laura!  It has been and will probably be a number more weeks before the "getting it right" stuff is done, but we're getting there.  A couple days ago I put the computer on and sat it in front of him with all the newly uploaded pics of his favorite foods, movies and tv shows and individual pics of family members.  When the computer opened to the home page, the first thing he went to with his eyes was the picture of his sisters kissing him(that's his opening pic to the family pics).  Then he went to the movies page and he did a very cool thing that he repeated with the tv page, as well. He started with the first movie, chose it with his eyes, which opened it to another pic of that movie and then looking again, it goes back to the movies.  He then looked at the second movie and did the same thing...then the third and fourth...all the way to the end of the top row, then started on the SECOND ROW and DID THE SAME THING!!!  Not random, not the same ones...each individually and in exact order...I can't quite explain how it made me feel?!  Not having had Noah speak to me in 5 years, and this was not really speaking to me, but the order and decisiveness with which he chose each movie or tv show had ME...a bit astonished!!!  What did it mean...well, to me...that he has some real cool stuff going on in that brain of his and I can't tell you how excited it has made me to get going with really "hearing" my Noah!!!!  He still doesn't look at things I ASK him to look at, but just getting him to look and play around a bit has been very cool!!
If that weren't enough GREAT news...there's still more!  About a month  ago, construction was started on Noah's bathroom!!  The funds from Noah's Wheels is being used towards rennovating the remainder of our garage into a shower room  for Noah!!!  A HUGE thank you to all the people who contributed to Noah's Wheels...we'll now be "wheeling" Noah to a wonderful shower!!!   The cost is huge, and the NW funds will cover a large part of the cost, but the remainder is being generously supplied by my incredible brother-in-law, Mark!! My beautiful and incredibly loving sister, Rebecca, was the one who started Noah's Wheels and has pursued this construction project...her handsome and also incredibly loving husband, Mark, has been just as passionate about Noah having a bathroom...we are SOOOOO BLESSED and SOOOOO THANKFUL to them both!!!!  Having a shower for Noah will mean no more sponge baths in bed and no more washing hair over the kitchen sink...it will be the start of a wonderful new increase for Noah's quality of life and I think he's going to LOVE having warm water shower all over him!!! Here are some pics of our rennovated garage, soon-to-be bathroom/laundry room...

 this is a view from our den into what used to be our garage(I'm not showing you my mess to the left of this shot...IT'S A MESS!!)...they just widened it today to accomodate Noah's chair into Hannah's old bedroom, now my craft room...I LOVE IT!!  It makes this section now look like a part of the house, not the way to the old garage,,,yes, I see the carpet and needing a new paint job, but LOVE IT anyway!!!  Remodeling always leads to "other" things, right?!

This is the new door, just up today, to the bathroom/laundry room 

 This is the bathroom door on the right, Hannah's old bedroom/my craft room on the left.  They also replaced the door into the bedroom with a slightly wider one.  When I would take Noah into my craft room with me, I would have to take the door off the hinges to fit him through in his chair...NOW he fits PERFECTLY...WITH THE DOOR STILL ON IT"S HINGES!!  HEAVEN!!

 This is the shower to be, the next pic shows the shower and how it will lead to the laundry room... 

 This next one shows where the sink and toilet will go...

 And here is what will be the laundry room with our extra frig and our freezer...

CAN'T WAIT...it is an exciting time in the Addesa house...and a little dusty and chaotic...but EXCITING!!!

Will have more pics when it's done...Love and blessings to you all!!!