Words can't even express...

...how awesome our visit with Jennie was this weekend. When David, Jack, and I walked into her room for the first time and my mom announced that we were there, she turned her head towards us and gave us a huge smile. (Sidenote: David is my husband and Jack is our 15-month-old red-headed cutie). Within minutes, she was out of the bed and in her chair with just a little assistance. Jack instantly loved playing with all the gadgets on Jennie's wheelchair and had her laughing right away. Next thing I knew, we were strolling down the hallway with Jennie leading the way using her feet to wheel herself swiftly along. She does a really good job manuevering through the hallways and can even pivot to turn around in as small of a space as the elevator. After checking out the gym for a bit, we decided to see how Jennie and Jack would do together with him riding on her lap. She held onto him tight, he leaned back on her and Nana (our mom) pushed them fast down the hallway. Jennie did great holding up her feet and hanging onto Jack and he was smiling from ear to ear. That would be one of many trips that they would take together over the weekend. We made our way up to the family room which has a kid's corner, couches, computers, a tv, and a kitchen area. We hung around and watched Jack play for awhile. This was a moment I had been wanting since the night of the accident...to have Jennie chilling out with us again, participating, and enjoying her surroundings. She smiled, laughed, raised her eyebrows at the right moment, tracked along with Jack as he ran down the hallway, and reached out her hand to touch his head. It hasn't been since Thanksgiving that we were all together in a relaxed setting and it truly warmed my heart. The next day, I helped Jennie with her lunch. She is now eating all of her meals! I helped by getting a bite on the fork and then she would take the fork and raise it to her mouth on her own. She also was able to hold onto her drink containers and take sips on her own. Since she is doing so much better about eating all her food, she doesn't have to drink all the Ensure anymore...great news! She makes the worst face when she swallows that stuff. :) At lunch, I was able to get Jennie to say Jack's name! I asked her if she would try to talk to me and figured I'd prompt her with some words to say. She said his name in a whisper but it was very clear two times in a row. She was trying to tell me something today before we left but I was unable to understand her after a lot of attempts. Even though I kept asking her to try again, she didn't get frustrated she just laughed and tried again. I can't wait to be able to hear her voice loud and clear once again. She is also getting better about using both her arms and hands. I showed her how to sign "I love you" and she was able to do that multiple times. She also showed me the correct number of fingers when I counted up from 1 to 10. When we got to 6, I told her we would have to use both hands and she just kept right on going slowly but surely aligning her fingers to show me the correct number. I was really impressed by that to say the least. What a week of full rehab has done! I was just in awe of how far she had come in the 3 weeks since I saw her. She will remain in the inpatient rehab program until Feb. 16th (give or take) and will then move into a Shepherd Center apartment with my mom and attend the Pathways day program 5 days a week. It is such a blessing that she was able to get into this next step in the program which will truly prepare her and my mom for life outside of Shepherd. Please continue to pray for Jennie's ability to make decisions on her own and to continue on a path to communicating more clearly. I have no doubt that she will continue to progress in leaps and bounds!