1 year + 5 months

Good morning all. Shawna continues to improve and we are constantly reminded that God is in control and continues to provide us with his blessings. Shawnas standing at the standing pole has continued to improve and there is now a new variation to it. We park Shawnas wheelchair about 1 ft away from the pole, put her hands on the pole and with little to no assistance Shawna pulls herself to standing. This is a huge development and now we will have a standing pole installed by the w/c (toilet) to facilitate bathroom use. Shawna has been out in the community a lot and it shows by her level of excitment when she returns. She's been to soccer games, Port Maitland pier, mudcat activities and more. We've had a few more stressors especially when our son AJ was involved in a motor vehicle accident recently. We were called to the same hospital that Shawna went to, where he was sent for observation. Thankfully he only had a minor concussion and no further injuries. God is merciful and we have been spared additional hardship. Right this instant we are in the middle of our Buist family reunion at Selkirk and Shawna is enjoying this trip immensely. She was exicited about the trip before we left and the excitement continued to ramp up as we got closer. We bought a toyhauler/camper which has a ramp and lots of room for her hospital bed. Shawna enjoyed watching the little children play at the beach and feeling the sand in her hands. She became a bit upset during this time as tears came to her eyes but she quickly became happy again as Brandon Oosterhoff wheeled her speedily around the campsite. She enjoyed sitting around the raging campfire. She went to bed smiling and laughing and had an unevenfull night sleeping soundly. On Thursday morning as she was waking she started laughing before she even opened her eyes. The rest of our holiday has also been very enjoyable as Shawna enjoys the company of her family and extended family. We haven't had as much rain as the weather network predicted and certainly not near as much as last year when the bottom of the group site became a 1/4 acre lake and the campers had to be towed out by a tractor. We are thankful for the blessings we have received from God's hand and continue to rely on him for Shawna's continuing recovery. Thankyou also for your prayers and support. Al, Deb, Shawna, and family