Last month started a busy several months for the Hall family. I had my annual work event in Indianapolis, and then we immediately left for a big family vacation (including both sets of grandparents) to Disney, which I had started planning over a year ago, around the time I started treatment. I needed something to look forward to. We were supposed to go in January but were unable to make it due to the big winter storm and some other factors. I'm so glad that we finally made it, even though it was hotter than we wanted it to be! We still had a great time and made memories.

It was an adjustment for me to be in crowds like at my work event and at Disney. I really hadn't even set foot in a restaurant in about a year. I got overwhelmed a bit. My body also wasn't used to going so hard day in and day out. That said, I was so glad to do some things that felt "normal." I had missed normal. More than I realized.

Disney with 8 people in the heat and crowds was also overwhelming, but it truly is one place where Hannah can be a regular kid. Disney makes kids with disabilities feel not just tolerated but truly welcome. So many other kinds of vacations feel unsafe or at least unwelcoming to Hannah. To go to a place where she can do everything, where her disabilities don't limit her, where she is seen and celebrated is so refreshing. And I noticed so many other families of disabled kids there. I would make eye contact with another mom, and I could tell that she just got it. We have to juggle so much more than typical families. And that juggling doesn't stop when we're on vacation. But it is so nice to have a place where that juggling doesn't seem impossible.

Next we're off to Texas for the intensive at KinActive Kids. We're just about to enter the timeframe when we should start to see gains from the stem cell treatment, so we're hopeful that this intensive will help with that. We're so grateful to Walking With Cora, the foundation that is sponsoring Hannah to go. What a blessing!

We have also been blessed by gifts from five churches (in addition to our own church, of course, which has supported us in so many ways!) across four Reformed denominations that have helped us reach our goal to replenish our savings from Hannah's stem cell treatment. We'll also use those gifts toward the long journey to/from Texas (and lodging along the way), and we're going to start to save for stem cell treatment round 2. These gifts are keeping the hope alive that we can continue to search for and try new things. That hope is truly priceless.

Once again, we are grateful. We ask for prayers over the next few months for a good, busy summer full of growth and fun time together. Fall will bring a big change with kindergarten, and we want to make as many memories as we can. I will have another scan in the fall, as well. Please continue to pray for good results for me. Thank you!