Christmas Eve

GB and Ellie are waiting for cousins, dinner, then FINALLY decorating the Christmas Tree. TV distracts them briefly.

 

Trying to keep the excitement of the day from being overwhelming.

The Beginning of this Journey

GB is a beautiful 6 and a half (don't forget the half!) year old girl. She does great cartwheels, did her first back handspring, loves to dance, is solid student in a regular first grade class, has a contagious laugh and has been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). There are times when she gets overwhelmed, and times when she sees danger in everything. New experiences, even pleasant ones, are difficult for her. To expand her world and help her with transitions, we applied for a service dog in March, 2009. She was approved and eventually paired with Ellie. Tomorrow, GB and I leave for Georgia, to do our partnership training and, hopefully, bring Ellie home.