My name is McKenna Lee Pressley.  I live in Boulder, Colorado, with my husband, Wallace, and our three children:  our sons, Wallace, Jr. (Wally) and Wyatt (they're fifteen and thirteen), and our daughter, Adah Grace, who is ten.  I am a housewife; my husband, meanwhile, works for the railroad.

Our sons are perfectly healthy.  As for Adah Grace, she is not.  She was born with brain damage.  At the age of one year, she was diagnosed as having cerebral palsy.  Doctors said she would never walk or talk.  At the age of ten, she still doesn't walk, but she does talk, thanks to a communications board.  She also uses her face to further express what she is trying to say.

She is a very good little communicator.

Adah Grace is very smart.  She loves to read, write (via her word board), go to concerts (she loves music, especially gospel and country), watch television, and play games on the computer with her brothers (she usually beats them!), go bowling, and visit with her friends on the weekends.  We are very proud of all she has accomplished, even with her disabilities.

People sometimes stare or make comments about our daughter, or they see the wheelchair first before seeing her.  This angers me because Adah is not an object to be pitied:  she is a child who has dreams and desires; she wants to play and have fun, just like any other child! 

In addition to reading, writing stories, music, watching tv and playing games, and bowling, Adah loves to go swimming (Wally and Wylie put her on a raft, and they float her around the pool, careful not to splash her or dump her off the raft); she squeals and laughs the entire time.  She has the best time!!  She also loves to play with her Ragdoll kitten "Oliver" and go to movies.

As you can see, Adah is a very busy little girl.

Her brothers are very good with her.  They have learned to accept her and try to do all they can to help her navigate this path called life.  They have hearts full of compassion and love towards their little sister; many people can learn from them.

I wish they would!  I hate having to defend my daughter and telling people that she is able to do things for herself!

Well, Wylie and Wallace sound like they are about to kill one another, so I will go now, to see what this is about.  Until later, this is McKenna Pressley saying so long!  I will write in here again soon!   God bless!

~Love, your friend in Colorado, McKenna.  :)

*to be continued.*