Daddy

I think the day Nate was born was the best day of Scott's life (our wedding day was way too hot to be in the running).  Scott was so, so excited to become a dad.  He wanted kids sooner and in greater quantities than I would ever even consider.  When Nate came along, he was the happiest new father I've ever seen. 

 

I think Scott's greatest strength as a human being is the way he embraces his role as a father.  I mean, he's really, really good at it.  And being Nate's father is extremely hard work in every way something can be hard work.  Nate's condition taxes you physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and every other -ally out there.  But Scott's love for and sense of duty to Nate is way bigger than any of that. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you see Scott, Nate, and his vent sitting down way out there?  Scott was bone-tired by the time they got to that point.  And there was still a very long way to go to get to the water.  And Nate is SO heavy these days.  And his vent is heavy.  And it was hot.  And the sand was hard to walk in.  But Nate wanted to dip his feet in, so Scott took him to the water.  That's the kind of dad Scott is. 

 

I don't really know what else to say except that I really believe that Scott is the perfect dad for Nate, and I hope that someday Nate will be able to catch even a tiny glimpse of how lucky he is.

 

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

The van. And thank you.

Meet the newest member of our family, Bill.

I am in no way a "car person" but I love this car so much I want to hug it every time I see it.  It has literally changed our lives.

Check out that ramp coming down with just the push of a button on our keys.

Ta-freakin'-da!

The whole floor of the van is lowered so the ceiling height is fantastic.  Scott and I can both practically stand up in there.

Nate's wheelchair can act as his carseat.  We just lock the wheelchair base in and that's that.

 I like when he uses his wheelchair because his cute little face is right there behind me while I'm driving.

But we still use his carseat sometimes, too.  It's so easy to push his stroller into the van and put him in.  We used to have to practically throw him into his carseat in our sedan and bumped his head almost every time.  

One of the best things about the van is that it has power outlets for all his machines.  This is how we were able to go on our first road trip.  

You could probably guess that an awesome van like this comes with an awesome pricetag to match.  We never, ever could have made this purchase without the help of so many generous friends and donors.  We are grateful every single day for those of you who helped make this dream a reality for us.  

Nate gets to leave the house so much more now.  He's safe and comfortable getting in and out of the car.  We can be out for more than a couple of hours.  We can go on vacation!  Very simply, life is just better for Nate and for all of us now.  And our car could eat the rest of those non-accessible minivans out there on the road.  

If you participated in our bike ride last year, bought tickets to the BYU/SJSU football game, donated to the Fundly page, or contributed to Nate's special equipment fund, you made this van possible for us.  We cannot say thank you enough!