A bunch of pictures, and lots of news

So I anticipated our meeting with the "Holland Mafia" all day on Friday. If you are wondering the reason for the name please reference the poem "Welcome to Holland". On our drive there I was my normal nervous wreck due to Dallas traffic. Since our car wreck I tend to be a "nervous Nellie" in the car. Once we got to Jason's Deli we entered the restaurant unsure what to expect. We thought we were the first ones there, but soon noticed a couple walking in with a little boy, and a new daughter. The gentleman was Trevor, and he quickly came up asking if we were there to meet Katy. We told him we were, and we immediately started talking about our situations. Soon everyone arrived, and we all gathered around the tables we had carefully placed together. We seemed to knowingly leave seats between each other for purses, diaper bags, and more. We then all began chatting reliving our tales of our emotional journeys. Sometimes a person can feel most alone in a room of people, but this wasn't the case Friday night. I felt very welcome, and in the company of those that truly understood. We all scanned each others children looking for resemblances to our own child, and for possible progress our own children could make. We talked adaptive strollers, therapy sessions, state level help, and more. Mike joined in all the conversations, and when we left he said how pleased he was we went. Sometimes I have to drag Mike by the ears to events, but this meeting was so worth the struggle. We met with Katy and Charlie from birdonthestreet.blogspot.com, and Erin and Fletcher from smallestsmykay.blogspot.com, and Jamie, and Milo from iheartmilo.blogspot.com. My pictures are a bit fuzzy, I apologize.

So Saturday I was trying to feed Jude some baby food, which is always a task. I would scoop the food in, and he would spit the food out, it's a never ending battle. He was exploring the world of chicken and apples, when Emily walked by. I noticed Jude "saw" her, and turned his head. This immediately sent goose bumps down my arms, and I got very excited. I told Emily to come back, and talk to Jude. Which initiated the reactions you see in the following pictures. Granted his head would fall due to his lack of neck controlled, but he really worked at interacting with her. Ignore the food dripping down his mouth, if you can.

Later that day, we also tried out Jude's new eye patch he needs to wear. He wasn't very fond of it, but didn't complain much once we got it on correctly. I honestly, think he fussed only because we were placing something on his face. I noticed his right eye got a bit larger when we patched the left eye, but I didn't notice anything else.

Last, but not least we received an early shipment of all the fillers for Emily's Christmas version of her Smile Boxes. My dining room has a mountain of supplies in cardboard boxes.

Emily carefully sifted through each box looking at all the wonderful items that will be given to children that need them. She smile so big that I could tell her heart was beaming, and this made me so happy. She really liked the candy cane pens, and carefully sorted all the activity books. She then helped me combine everything into several boxes, and we stored them all in the dining room. I would like to thank everyone that saw Emily on the news, and those that have sent beanie babies, or money. Your contributions will really help her cause. I hope that the IRS pushes her 501c3 through soon so we can work on getting donations from large corporations. I know that will really help her as well, but every donation big or small will make a child smile.

So the big news I had was that a local radio station that has a charity contacted Emily about possibly partnering to make her boxes. I don't know any other information, but even being approached about this is such an honor for us. Emily was so excited that she squealed at the top of her lungs. Then she told me her boxes have to be made with love, and not in a factory...ha! She is so funny..... Anyway, I don't want to reveal names, etc but I will when they time comes. I have to say I have been personally drawn to this charity since the DJ started it, and supported them through the years. Now the charity is even more on my heart because of Jude. I am so proud they contacted Em, and I ask for some prayers that this all works out. Her little boxes will be able to reach so many more families with their help.