My daughter, Synergy Joy, is the perfect example of being given the perfect name.  She is her name:  she is so full of life!

Synergy is eight years old.  She is also disabled.  Born that way:  she has spina bifida that's affected her lower limbs.  She can walk with forearm crutches for short trips; for longer trips, she prefers her wheelchair.  Yet none of that has ever stopped her before; don't think it's going to, either.  Synergy's always been a very determined little girl.

Synergy's way of thinking is this:  if she can't do something, then she will do all she can to prove people wrong.  She's always been like this.  Most of the time, it's a good thing; however, sometimes it can work against her, like the time she got stuck in the elevator at our apartment, because she couldn't reach the button.  She'd been gone for hours; we panicked; we thought something bad had happened to her.

Synergy is our middle child.  We also have a daughter, Severeign Michelle, ten, and a son, Silas Michael, who is five.  They are both healthy; Synergy is the only one who was born disabled.  Yet her brother and sister ere very accpeting of her and her problems, which is a lot more than I can say about most people.

Synergy is in the third grade; she is mainstreamed into regular classes, although twice a week, she does have PT at school.  She does very well in all of her classes; she is exceptionally smart, so much, in fact, that she is in the Gifted/Talented program at her school!  There's nothing "disabled" about her brain or her ability to learn!

Synergy is a typical little girl.  She loves talking on the phone with her friends, playing with her brother and sister, watching tv (her favorite show is "Ugly Betty"; she also loves "Dancing With The Stars", "American Idol", and "America's Got Talent"), and writing, drawing, or singing.  She wants to be a singer when she grows up; her favorite singers are Reba, Kelly Clarkson, and Mariah Carey.

The kids had a great Christmas.  They got what they wanted; they've been having a ball playing with their new toys or enjoying their new games or CD's.  I just hope that next year is a little easier; I've maxed out our credit cards; I'll be paying for Christmas gifts until July or August, the way things look now!  *sigh*

Now a new year is staring at us in the face; I just pray and hope the new year is a lot better, not only for us, but for the whole country!  Our country is in a hell of a mess right now, and I don't think it is going to get any easier!  We have to pray for our country now more than ever!

Well, Silas has managed to cover himself in flour, so I have a big mess to clean up.  I will go for now; I will write more about Synergy, Silas, and Severeign later on.  Until then, this is Precious Rippington saying so long!  God bless!

~Love, your new friend in New York City, Precious.  :)