Day 566 - Dec 16, 2009

We are back home. We got here this afternoon. We didn't do much today. My family came down and I made a huge pan of lasagna and that's about it.

Before I forgot - Linda from the glass plant - can you email me your phone number? My email is lesliekamm@live.com

And Hallie - I agree that we are heading toward a more normal existence.

And I have to say that not for one minute do I ever forget what a miracle it is that we CAN even attempt to do things like go to Disney World. I will always have it in the back of my mind what he was like a year ago or even six months ago. Heck, three months ago I would have never thought to make any plans to go to a resort. Truthfully, he wouldn't have even thought of going himself a few months ago.

But he HAS come so far and we are getting there. I believe the day will come when we can go somewhere like this and have a good time. This was just the first try and I can pretty much guarantee it won't be the last.

And It really is amazing how far he has come. I know you guys don't have a 'clear' picture (mostly because you are only hearing a few parts of our day), but Kevin makes many decisions a day now and he rarely gets overstimulated anymore. It's mostly only extreme events - which is why I thought we might be able to do this Disney thing.

Talking about this just made me realize that I haven't seen the glazed look in Kevin's eyes in a long time. The one that says he is shutting down mentally. Yippee!

But, this is not to say that he doesn't still have confusing moments - he does. And he still struggles with directions and definitely with knowing objects. But when you compare him to a year ago - he is a whole new person. A true miracle!

And we are just going to keep cultivating that miracle. Who knows where it'll go, but I suspect so much more is in the works...