Friday, December 12, 2008

Christmas Time is Here

A few years ago pbi, (pre-brain-injury), Annie liked to sing the song from A Charlie Brown Christmas:

Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of the year

Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share

Only instead of singing the last two lines of each verse--which she didn't know-- she'd sing, "Awesome good, and awesome good, and awesome gooooOOOoood." You remember those Christmas songs you grew up listening to, but didn't quite know the words? Anyway, that song was one of her favorites. So what happens today when the song comes on the radio? Annie stops what she's doing, looks up toward the radio and smiles. She loves that song. Music is therapy to her little brain.

Her vocabulary has increased to 8 words so far this week: Daddy, (Bill's personal favorite), Olivia, Jack (we've heard that twice), yeah, no, hi, what, and star. She has a noisy toy that when you touch the shape, the recording says the name of the shape. And "star" is one of the shapes. So when she touched it yesterday she smiled, looked up at me and said, "Star!"

As I was tucking her into bed tonight, Annie folded her hands to pray, and we thanked Jesus for the awesome good things He's done this Christmas time.

Jean

It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty founder was a child himself.
--Charles Dickens

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh Jean, she is just doing SUPER! And you are such a wonderful, faithful Mommie. I am rejoicing with you.

Gretchen said...

Awesome good, indeed. xxxooogretchen

Anonymous said...

Jean, I think "Mommie" is on Annie's word list VERY soon! :)

Jean Sullivan said...

Thanks, guys--I wish I heard the "M" word. She's at the spot now, I think, where the words come out spontaneously, not always when she wills them to come out. That motor-planning element really needs prayer. But--the words ARE coming, and she's making different sounds every day.

Thanks for hanging with me in prayer--I am SO grateful for every one!

Jean

Anonymous said...

Here's a thought about the gagging/toy ruination/qtips thing. Along the lines of ignoring it, but not quite...next time you fear a toy may be destroyed by barf, try telling Annie - y'know - about consequences: "Annie, when you throw up on one of your toys because you gagged yourself to get attention, be alerted that I will not be rescuing that particular toy."

Of course, it's easy for ME to say...I'm not the one who has to keep that promise :-)

Praying along with all your buds...I'm so happy to hear about the 7%!!!!