God sent you to me because I needed you

My dear readers,

I'm not sure y'all understand the impact that Callie has made on my life. I'm the woman I am today because this amazing spirit was sent to earth with me. 

Callie literally saves me. 

How many times have I been beat down and sent into a depression that I felt I could never recover from? Many a times. It's her love, her sweet smile, her affectionate swats (Cerebral Palsy doesn't make it easy to comfort lol), and amazing spirit that gets me through everything.

She is my reason. My reason to carry on. I truley believe that she is part of my purpose in life. 

She has taught me so many of Christ's attributes. She has taught me patience. (Feeding her by mouth takes FOREVER!) Having to put her needs first and take care of her taught me selflessness. She has taught me humility. When my trials are "hard" I remember my sweet sister who can't walk, talk, or control her movements. She has taught me to find joy in service. I absolutely LOVE feeding her, giving her a bath, painting her nails, etc. The joy on her face when I paint her nails her favorite color or scrub her hair brings me so much joy.

Whenever I feel down I just go serve Callie. Serving others is the prefect way to make you feel good and fight off depression. There is never a day that she can not make me smile. :) 

I know from the depths of my soul that she was sent to me and my family because we needed her. Heavenly Father couldn't have picked a more loving home for her. She brings us together as a family and is such a beautiful blessing in our life.

-Cassie 

Love and help through family and friends

In honor of throwback Thursday today's post is to honor and remember all the family and friends that has helped with Callie and touched her heart.

Whenever I had a friend over they were always willing to hangout with Callie too. They treated her like a normal girl and we all shared secrets with each other. ;) I was lucky to have friends and family that helped with the "Callie chores"... Like getting her dressed, giving her a bath, giving her her medicine, putting her in her wheel chair, feeding her, brushing her teeth, changing her sheets, and much more. 

It's so touching to me that God put these people in our lives to help with her and to show her love. We will always be grateful for them in our lives. 

Callie chillin' with brandy & her chillens at trunk-or-treat

My handsom husband and I carrying her to get her cast removed.

Callie and I in the pool :)

My cousin kelly and I hanging out with Callie :) in our jammies

One of our dear friends,Julie, who ALWAYS helped with calliegator :)

Hope you enjoyed today's tribute

-Cassie 

Don't leave me behind!

Having such an amazing daughter of God in our home has been inspiring. Since she cannot be tempted by Satan in her physical state we believe that she will go to heaven and recieve the highest degree of glory. That one day she will be made whole again and enjoy a perfect body. Wow! What amazing happiness our church brings to our life! (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)

Since we believe in eternal families and that this mortal life isn't the end it's important that we strive to live a life like Jesus Christ. Well that can be harder than it sounds...

How difficult it is to have all of Christ's characteristics. He is always kind, humble, steadfast & immovable, meek, willing to turn the other cheek, and full of forgiveness.

Now back to my Callie girl. It inspires me to work even harder to be more like him in this life because I want to go where she's going. I don't want to leave her alone and I couldn't imagine life without my Calligator.

So I hope her gorgeous smile and love can inspire you to come unto Christ for he is the light of this world.

Ps. My mom said as a reminder growing up "we want to be in the celestial kingdom with Callie... Be good" 

Xoxo,

       Cassie

A tribute to my sister...

Our little Callie girl LOVES babies! We like to help her hold them and put their little heads by her mouth to recieve kisses. She has the same maternal mindset that any woman would have... She just doesn't have the working body to have children in this chapter of her life.

Now me being the twin and the sappy individual I am, I'm always crying to Heavenly Father wondering "why her and not me?" and "can't we switch for a while?". But then I think how special she is that Heavenly Father would protect her in a way that us mere human beings might not understand. So I just find ways to make her happy and include her in everything.

Well I got married January of 2013 and here I am now pregnant with our first child which they are fairly certain is a little girl. My husband knows how important Callie is to me and understands that we are a package deal so... He agreed to name our first baby girl after Callie.

Alyssa Mae is due August 25th, 2014 :) Alyssa is Callie's middle name and needless to say she is super stoked to meet her new little niece!

It is a small tribute to my Callie girl but I know how much that small gesture means to her. Not a day goes by that I don't wish that my sister could be walking and talking like me but she is the happiest girl I know. We still swap secrets and giggle to inside jokes and we are like two peas in a pod. I wouldn't have her any other way.

-Cassie 

Every flower grows through dirt

"Your child is deaf"

How frustrating was it for my mom to hear this when my beloved sister was in elementary school and my mother had already endured so much shocking news. It's not everyday that your perfectly healthy newborn develops Cerebral Palsy. Not to mention having two of us at a time! My mom saw Callie respond to her voice and was certain that her being deaf was not the case!

There is a misconception that because my sister is physically handicapped that it means she is mentally handicapped. I love it when people talk really slow to her (it makes her chuckle). We never get offended we just kindly explain that she understands everything going on around her and everything you say. 

Cerebral Palsy has nothing to do with your smarts and everything to do with with your motor skills (the jaundice only hurt the brain stem). It's like a perfectly intelligent brain stuck in a body that doesn't work... Yeah it pretty much sucks.

Needless to say it turns out our Calligator is not deaf and actually excelled in honors classes in high school. She graduated with honors and understands everything you say to her. I personally enjoy the looks I get in public when I carry on intelligent one sided conversations with her. 

Now despite her handicap of not being able to speak, with the help of occupational thereapy we developed a form of communication. Callie now sticks out her tongue when she wants to say yes or just agree with something that is said. She frowns in order to say no or just doesn't stick out her tongue. What a great blessing this was for our family! It made communication a million times better and now makes it easier to find out what she wants.

Learning how to give these beautiful children an amazing quality of life is a journey and takes time but is well worth it. :)

-Cassie

Callie and I taking tongue pictures ;) 

I've loved you since the day I met you

Callie and I have been inseparable since... well, the womb. She followed me out 19 minutes later and we have not gone more than 2 weeks without each other. In fact she cries when I leave for extended times and cried when I got married and moved in with my husband.


There is something about the bond of identical twins and boy do I feel it. When I was younger I would frustrate my mom with my secret twin power. She would spend forever trying to figure out what is wrong with Callie and I would prance out of my room and say "mom, she has a headache".


Callie has a severe case of Cerebral Palsy. She cannot walk, talk, has high tone, and crazy spastic movements. So we can see how my mom would get frustrated when she couldn't figure out what was wrong. Yes, having a child like our Calligator can be hard, frustrating, scary, and down right tiring but nothing brought our family closer or made us more happy than her.


I am writing this blog not only to tell our beautiful story but, to help encourage others in the same situation, to give people a good laugh, to promote Cerebral Palsy Awareness, and to show people the blessings that come from these incredible spirits.