A Party We'll Never Forget!

Although I know the Christmasy feeling is gone... I promised myself I would make these next few posts so we wouldn't only remember how crazy, chaotic, and even difficult our Christmas season of 2008 was. So, these next few posts will highlight the times that brought happiness and good feelings - those are the feelings we want to remember the most!

A big highlight this year was one very special Sunday. Hannah got a personal invitation from the Epilepsy Foundation of Idaho to go to a Christmas Party just for kids with epilepsy, and their families. Chip and I found out there was going to be a really cool surprise there. We were so excited and decided not to tell the kids.

On the way there, we told the kids there would be a surprise, and that we wouldn't tell them until it was time. All the kids thought the surprise was going to be Santa Clause -

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Yeah, he was cool and all, but nothing compared to what the real surprise was!

So while we waited, we participated in all of the fun activities there were for the kids, including

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Balloon animals...

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Face (or hand) painting...

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and gingerbread house building...

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I wish I had a picture of the kids reaction when they found out what the surprise was! Look what we got to do!!!
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A helicopter flight over Boise!!!
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Four people rode in the back, and one in the front with the pilot, which was supposed to be an adult, but Chip did what he does best, and somehow weaseled Taylor up there! She didn't want to, but later said she had the best spot - she got to wear head phones and talk to the pilot the whole time!

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Since there are six of us and only five could go at at time, I stayed on the ground and videoed, which was perfectly fine with me! But when everyone came back, Chip said I absolutely have to experience it for myself, so he found a family of four, and once again, did some good weaseling and I went with them!

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And I'm super glad he did! Who knew how awesome that could be?! Besides the feeling of hovering that isn't like an airplane at all, the sights were the best part! We flew right over the State Capitol Building...

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Chip's work - the Qwest Building downtown,
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and the best one - not only did we see the "smurf turf" at Boise State, but the football team was actually practicing when we flew over! That was probably about the time that Jack stopped trembling in fear over the "take off'." It was SO cool!!!

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I don't know if we will ever have this kind of opportunity again. It was amazing.
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It was so great to see Taylor, Aubrey, and Jack treat Hannah the way they did - they focused on her that day, knowing we were there because of her.
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In a conversation later that day, Hannah told Chip, "But dad, nobody there looked like they had epilepsy!" That made us wonder if she thinks she looks different to other people! She also said, "I had no idea other people had epilepsy!" It never occurred to me that she might think she is the only one. We talked a lot that day.
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I am so grateful to the Epilepsy Foundation of Idaho. I think Hannah feels very comforted in a way she might not have before.
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Hannah is amazing. She has routine blood tests next week. When I told her she said, "Yes! I LOVE the band aids they have there!"