SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR!!!

Many of you reading this blog know that Kate, Mary, Jackson, and I had a very scary event happen to us on Sunday. After having a nice lunch with some friends of ours in the downtown mall in Charlottesville, we were walking back to our car and Mary stopped breathing in the stroller. Luckily, thanks to our quick response and the help of lots of people nearby, we got Mary cleared out and breathing again. The ambulance was there almost immediately and Mary was in the ER within minutes. We were back home the same night and Mary is doing fine.

After something like this happens it makes you sit back and think of all the things we have to be thankful for. Here is a small list and some pictures of all the things I am thankful for:
-two wonderful kids
-a loving wife
-great family and friends who pray for us all the time
-our nurse who told us to always carry the "ambu bag" in the stroller with us when we go out
-the people on the street who called 911 and rushed to help us in our time of need
-ambulance crews/first responders/and emergency personnel
-our doctors and nurses (too many to mention by name!)
-the soldiers fighting overseas for our freedom
-The Lord our Father

Hope you enjoy the pictures. . . .

Mary's Driving Lessons

For the past several months we've been in the process of getting Mary ready to drive. Yes, we've been evaluating her for a power chair! We'll the time is coming closer to when she will have her own power chair, but for now she has a loner chair from the Kluge center where she does her PT. Here is a small video of the first day she brought it home and drove it in the driveway. Mary loves to turn in circles. We are still working out the details of how she will interface with the chair, but for now she is using proximity switches and it is working ok. Hope you enjoy the video!

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Blog catch-up!

Hello everyone!! We know it's been a very long time since Mary has posted anything - she's been very busy!

We just had a great visit from Grandma and Grandpa Windscheif! While they were here we went to the mountains, Michie Tavern, story time and a hike on a really cool trail near Monticello! We also celebrated Mary's 18 month birthday! Mary got to pick out a fish for her birthday, which she named Dorothy! Along with her fish, Grandma and Grandpa found a praying-mantis and put it in a jar for Mary to see. Mommy thought it was yucky and wanted it out of her house. We think it is still lingering outside trying to find its way in!!

Mary has been having fun playing, blowing bubbles and learning how to drive a power chair! She's doing very well and next week we get to take the demo home to practice! We're all very excited - even Jackson!

Speaking of Jackson - Mary loves being a big sister and is teaching Jackson about playing with toys - especially Elmo!

Daddy started back to school a few weeks ago and Mary really misses him during the day. When Mary hears the door open at the end of the day she smiles and says "Daddy, Daddy!". She's so smart and cute! She's also been learning all her colors and even more animals! Next we're working on the alphabet!

We hope everyone had a great summer and things are going well coming into fall and the winter months. Please say a prayer that Mary and Jackson stay very healthy during "cold and flu season" and don't have any major illnesses or hospitalizations - Mommy is very worried about this! Also, please continue to pray for all the SMA families as well as our troops serving overseas - including, Mary's Aunt Angie, Mary's Uncle David and Mary's Godfather Joe.

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers! We love you!

Here is a slide show of some of the pictures from the past few weeks:



We will remember to post more often! Love, Mary, Jackson, Ryan and Kate

Lots of Visitors and an Announcement!!!

Believe it or not, things have been a little hectic in our house.

Mary is doing well and teaching Jackson lots of things. Here she is giving him a music lesson . . . if you look closely you can see she is telling him EXACTLY how to do it. Mary has become quite the talker lately. Her new favorite word is "uh-oh!!" It is really funny, if Jackson starts crying, Mary bursts out with an "Uh-Ohhhh!!
We just had to put this picture of Mary and Elmo in here because it is SO cute!!!!

Mary also had a visit from our friends from Tennessee, Robert, Wendy, Jadon, and Emma. Mary had lots of fun showing off her new little brother and playing with her boyfriend Jadon.
Mary has also been doing very well in the pool lately. Here she is playing tug-o-war with Daddy.


We had a very nice visit from Mary's Uncle David right before he left for Iraq last week. He brought his fiance', Nicole with him. And now for the announcement . . . David and Nicole asked Mary to be the flower girl in their wedding next June!!! Mary is SO excited for this opportunity and so are we!!

Here is a picture of David, Nicole, Mary and Jackson.

Please say a prayer for Mary's Uncle David and Aunt Angie who are both serving in Iraq.

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers for Mary! Please also pray for all of Mary's friends.

Mary's Trip to the Fair!!!

Well much like everywhere else in the world summer means fair season here in Virginia. Mary got a special opportunity to go to the fair last week. Mary really enjoyed seeing all of the animals and hearing all of the animal sounds that she has been practicing so much.
She really enjoyed the cows and saying mooooooo, mooo, moooo!!!


Mary also got to pet bunnies and ducks. Here she is saying "quack"!!!
Mommy helped Mary make a very cool picture frame at the fair. Here is a picture of Kate concentrating very hard while gluing some pieces as Mary looks on and smiles . . .
Mary really liked the frame that her Mommy helped her make!
Mary got to ride on the "Mary"-go-round with her daddy. . . look at those smiles. . . I wonder who had more fun???Overall it was a great day, despite the heat, everyone had a great time! Mary can't wait to go back next year!!

Mary's 17 Month Birthday!!!

Mary celebrated her 17 month birthday today!! Here is a picture of the whole family!!!


Mary got a new computer from her mom and dad, here are some pictures of her using the computer. She took to the wireless mouse very well. She doesn't have the strength to "click" it, but she got very good at pointing, so dad will have to adapt it with a switch to help her with clicking.
Here she is playing a "Clifford the Big Red Dog" reading game. Mary really liked the game and she practiced saying all of the words, hat, cat, bat. . . pan, fan, ran, etc. It was really cool!!!

Mary's mom also made her this cool Balloon Birthday Cake!!

Here are daddy and Mary just before lighting the candles. . .

A picture of Mary, mommy and Jackson. . .

Grandma Julie helped mary blow out the candles. . .

And Mary got a little taste of the frosting!!!

Mary's Stander and The Shenandoah National Forest

Sorry we haven't updated Mary's Blog in a few weeks. . . Yes, we've been a bit busy, twice the diapers, twice the feedings, and half the sleep!! Actually, Jackson has been sleeping quite well, as you can see in this picture!!



Mary has been busy also, getting fitted for her new stander! Here she is posing with her new Bunny, "Hoppy" that she got from Teleflora flowers during their "Make someone smile week" promotion. Mary really likes to stand in the stander and chase Mom and Dad around the gym. Mary also likes to play basketball with her daddy.















You can also see how tall Mary is getting. She is in the 75th percentile for height!!













Here is a cute picture of Mary and Jackson (and Pooh) relaxing on the couch. Mary really likes to hold her little brother's hands. Jackson still doesn't know quite what to think of his big sister, but I think he already looks up to her!!


Grandma Julie has been visiting from Minnesota to help out with Jackson and Mary. Today we took a drive up to Shenandoah National Forest. It was a lot cooler up on the mountain, so it was nice to get out and do a little hiking.

Mary's New Brother!!!

Mary's new little brother Jackson was born last night, 12 July at 7:19 pm, he weighed 7 lbs, 13 oz. Here are some pictures of the proud Big Sister and baby brother:

Mary holding Jackson, she is oh so careful!

Mary is twice as big as Jackson!

Big smiles!

Daddy and Jackson

Mommy with her babies

Does he look like Grandpa Bill?

Well he does have the Windscheif hairline!

Happy 4th of July!!!

We hope everyone had a great 4th of July! We went to a friend's farm for a 4th of July party and Mary got to pet a horse, a donkey, and a goat. She loved it! Of course we forgot the camera in the car, but here are some pictures of her in her festive outfit!!

Mary and Sam!

Mary's 16 Month Birthday!!!

Mary turned 16 months old yesterday! She had a busy and exciting day, as usual. Here is how the events of the day unfolded:

Mary started the day watching some cartoons with her new baby doll.

Daddy started the day making Mary a "Pool Party" Birthday Cake

Then we surprised her with her new swing! (note she is still in her PJ's!!!) Look at that smile!!!

Here is how the whole sequence goes:

Strap in!

Get ready . . . get set . . .

Go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This smile says it all!! She loves her new swing!!!

Mary and mommy pose for a picture with the new swing!!

Please pray for Mary and our family as we make a big trip to Washington DC on Tuesday to see a specialist at Children's National. We hope the trip goes well and all the doctors are cooperative!!!

Little Drummer Girl

Here is a little video of Mary playing her drum. She keeps very good beat and she even sings along. Mary has also been working on perfecting her animal sounds this past week. So far she knows: Cow, Duck, Monkey, Tiger, Dog, Cat, Dinosaur (after watching Sesame Street today!), Horse (mom's favorite), Elmo, Pig, and Sheep, and maybe a few more . . . we'll try to get a video of her saying her animal sounds and post it here as well. Enjoy!!

Father's Day Hiking!

Hey everyone, just catching up on our posts. We had a really good father's day. Mary got daddy a really cool picture book that her and mommy designed and made using Snapfish.com!! Dad really likes it. We also went hiking in a natural area near our house and then went for a nice Sunday drive in the Shenandoah National Forest. Here is a picture of Mary and daddy on the hike:

Aunt Angie Visits From Iraq!!!

Mary had a very special visitor this past weekend. Her Aunt Angie got to visit her while she was home on her R&R from Iraq. Angie and Jason were in Washington DC on some business, and since we are only 2 hours down the road they drove down to visit for a few days. Mary took to Angie very quickly. It was a great visit and great to see them.

Mary loves to help out with the cooking in the kitchen!!

Mary having a conversation with her Aunt Angie as Uncle Jason watches in the background.

We are also working very hard to get Mary fitted for a stander. Mary loves to be in the stander and loves to chase mom and dad up and down the halls!! You can really see how tall she is getting when she is standing!

Swimming Fun!!!

Hi All, sorry we have been SO bad about updating Mary's Blog! Ryan started his first week of school this week, so he has been busy "studying" every night. We all (Ryan, Kate, Mary and Jackson) managed to make it to the pool in our neighborhood one afternoon this week. Mary LOVES the water and had a great time. Here are some pictures:

Mary paddling with her arms and legs.

Mom holding Mary in the water.

Mary enjoying herself on the lawn chairs after a nice swim!!!

We'll post more next week!!!