Callie’s had a busy life since we last posted in the fall.

She’s continued to enjoy having a baby-girl cousin. Callie has regularly managed to claim first dibs on any holding and feeding of the baby.

We had a great Thanksgiving with our families in South Carolina, and Callie got her requested Lalaloopsy oven, a modern version of an Easy Bake Oven, from Santa.

We also had a really big snow in mid-December. Callie has always loved snow. She insisted on being outside as much as possible. She even went sledding. Things like that make me incredibly nervous, so I’m grateful that Callie has Nathan, who’s much calmer than I am. Otherwise, Callie would have fewer experiences that fall into the thrill-seeking category of life.

Callie had a couple of health scares in December and January. We were never able to determine an exact cause. She didn’t have a cold or pneumonia. She was just extremely tired, had trouble with aspiration and began experiencing apnea (a pause in breathing) while she slept. Fortunately, adjusting her Bi-pap settings directly addressed this complication, and we haven’t had any trouble since then.

And on February 5, Callie turned 10 years old. This is a milestone many people, including us, weren’t sure she’d reach. At the same time, it’s difficult to look back and see how strong she used to be. She’s worn her Bi-pap all night for several years, but as recently as October she didn’t need it for the majority of the day. Now she wears it anywhere from 20 to 22 hours per day, and it seems she wouldn’t survive more than a day or two without it.

Callie’s not one to be slowed down or underestimated. She loves painting, homemade Rice Krispy treats, baseball, our new local ice cream shop, Wonderful Wednesday at our church, and Dragons: Race to the Edge on Netflix.

Occasionally she lets some of her heartache come through: Like a few weeks ago when she said, “If I could ride a bike, I would get one with a basket on the front. I’ve always thought it would be fun to carry things in it.” But she always comes around to embrace the brighter side of her life, and everyone around her can’t help but to follow her lead.