Summer Bucket List: The Morton Arboretum

Since the school year ended, we've been meaning to get to The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Ill., a 1,700-acre living museum that champions trees throughout the world via scientific study, conservation and advocacy.

We made it! This beautiful oasis, situated almost exactly in between our western suburb and the bustling city of Chicago, is a perfect summer day-trip. And it's location also made it the perfect half-way point for a meet up with our city-dwelling besties the Dows.

Here are 7 things that made our trip so fantastic (other than spending the day with such lovely company):

1. Shade: The arboretum, as you might imagine, is covered in shade. Trees and structures throughout made it comfortable all morning, despite the 80+ degree temperatures.

2. Accessibility: The pathways are wide and smooth, making it easy for our big crew to get around and access the attractions.

3. Colors: The entire arboretum was bursting with color. The flowers definitely drew the girls' attention. (Sorry for the picked blossoms!)

4. Nooks and Crannies: While the grounds are pristine, they aren't precious. There are lots of wild bushes and brush areas for the kids to explore.

5. Active Features: The trees are the main attraction, but strategically placed playground structures delivered a nice dose of cardio for the kids.

6. Outdoor Adventure: In one portion of the arboretum, a stream trickles through. The girls whipped off their shoes and jumped right in. The feature was something fun that Elsa could easily access, too.

7. Sensory Experiences: One of my favorite focal points was a large, interactive stone globe sculpture, that seemed to levitate and spin in water. I loved that it gave Elsa a place to stand and touch something tactically interesting, while also directly interacting with her peers. 

Simply showing up and paying your admission will secure a day of fun, but if you'd like to plan your trip around an event, the arboretum has a robust calendar of activities. Here's the link! If there's a feature of Morton Arboretum that you love, that wasn't noted in this post, please share in the comments below.

5 Great Apps for Kids 5 & Under: A Guest Post by Leslie Schulte

Travel season is upon us.

You know what that means: It's time to load up the ole minivan (or chariot of choice) for a big adventure. Are you excited? Scared? Maybe a little of both?

Road trips bring hours of fun and bonding for the fam... as well as periods of pain (let's be real) in the form of violent eruptions from back row. Fighting, screaming, tears and sometimes worse. Far worse.

Looking for a few magic tricks to stick in your car activity bag, for when the going gets tough? My fabulous sister-in-law Leslie Schulte (who lives in Gretna, Neb., with her beautiful family) has an excellent round-up of mom-approved apps that are definitely worth the download.

NOTE: Leslie's post is the first in a two-part series. My next post will be 5 Excellent Touch Training Apps - a companion to Leslie's wonderful piece. Check back for that one soon!

In Leslie's words...

Did you hear? The American Academy of Pediatrics in October 2016 lifted its "no screens under age 2" rule. The AAP now says that parents and guardians should "avoid solo media use" in the under 2 age group. (Here's how NPR covered the story.)

Parents who were more-or-less ignoring "the rules" can let out a collective sigh. Yet, we all can agree that we want our children to consume media in a thoughtful way.

When screen time happens at our house, we do our best to ensure that the boys (and one day, our daughter) get the very best that the online world has to offer. That's why when DoSpace - a digital work and play space - opened in Omaha, I jumped on board and signed up for a free membership.

To say our family has benefited from DoSpace, and its highly sought after Littles Lab seats, is an understatement.

Through this Silicon Prairie gem, our family has stayed up-to-date on great STEM books, toys and apps for kids. We have the opportunity to try out all of the aforementioned, discovering what we enjoy most and then choosing which to invest in and which to continue borrowing.

Here's my list of 5 Great Apps for Kids 5 and Under:

1. Endless Alphabet (Originator Inc.)

When silly monsters mess up the words, children are tasked with restoration and then rewarded with a silly monster sketch that teaches new vocabulary. As the letter is dragged, the letter sound is played, when the word is completed, it is said aloud. The definition sketch follows, giving children multiple learning opportunities within a brief minute or so. 

Others Originator Inc. apps: Endless Numbers, Endless Reader and Endless Wordplay (there are bundles available).

2. Lightbot Jr: Coding (LightBot Inc.)

Lightbot is a little on-screen robot that follows the child’s directions, moving around to light up blue tiles. This cute game teaches preschool age kiddos the beginning concepts of coding: humans give directions to the robot, and it follows the inputed directions, exactly as given.

Other coding apps: Lightbot has additional apps for older ages; Bee-Bot, by TTS Group, is another fun, intro-to-coding app.

3. BabyLit Series - Jungle Book Hide & Seek, and Frankenstein Build and Play (Night & Day Studios)

These adorable apps introduce children to the classic tales, then allows them to interact with the story through iPad manipulation—tilt the iPad to play hide-n-seek with the famous Jungle Book animals, drag and drop body parts to build a monster of their own, etc. Simple, sweet and fun.

Also by Night & Day Studios: Peekaboo Barn, another family favorite, introduces the youngest of technology users to animal noises while teaching cause and effect.

4. Learn to Write with Mr. Pencil (LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc.)

The child helps Dash and Dot prepare for Art Day by exploring the town and completing tasks. This app can be used with or without the LeapFrog “Mr. Pencil” stylus and through repetition helps the child practice writing letters and drawing shapes. Penciltastic!

Have an Elmo fan at your house? Elmo Loves ABCs, by Sesame Street, is another app that helps children practice their letters and is also packed full of Sesame Street clips and games.

5. Osmo Game System (Osmo)

Bring your child’s digital and physical worlds together with the amazing Osmo Game System. This is a pricier app/technology combo kit - one that at this time we’ve chosen to just play with while at DoSpace - but it is amazing! Although it is geared more to the 5+ age group, my 4 year old really enjoys doing some of the more simplistic tangram puzzles and beginning levels of the coding games.

Learn more about all of the Osmo apps and kits on the PlayOsmo website.

What are your family’s favorite apps for kids? Which apps will my family grow into as we enter the new world of school-aged kids? Post your comments below!

Safety Tip: Ever wondering about the validity/safety of an app? Common Sense Media has a great app that helps parents by providing information and rating numerous apps, games, shows and movies. They also have “Best Lists” including a whole section on Best Apps. Enjoy!

5 Ways to Approach Summer Reading

If you want your kids' summer reading to be a bit more productive than a mash up of The Wall Street Journal, old Christmas cards and winter stocking caps...

... Not that this isn't adorable and perfectly good fun...

Then hop on over to my friend Jaclyn Kruzie's blog. This week, I did a guest post for her on 5 Ways to Approach Summer Reading. You'll find fun tips for following your child's natural curiosities to keep a love of learning growing all summer long.

Click HERE to read the post. Thanks for taking the "hop"!

Lemonade Stand for Good

Nothing says summer like a lemonade stand. 

Messy handmade promo posters. Refreshing tartness in clear plastic cups. Sweet little people overseeing quiet card tables.

If you have kids, chances are good that you'll host a lemonade stand (or two) this summer. But what if your stand was more than a low-stakes exercise in entrepreneurship? What if your stand STOOD for something? What if it made a difference in another child’s life?

This summer, the Schulte girls will be hosting a lemonade stand for the Ben Smiles Memorial Foundation - the St. Charles, Ill.-based nonprofit that honors the life of young Benjamin Gerlach.

Sweet Ben passed away exactly one year ago. He was a triplet and a Chapelstreet Church Masterpiece kid, who attended Buddy Break with our Elsa. (Masterpiece and Buddy Break are incredible ministries serving children with special needs, and their families.) Here is Ben with his sister and brother.

God placed Ben's mom, Elizabeth, at my table for the 2016-17 session of Moms Together (another amazing Chapelstreet Church program). I've so enjoyed getting to know her! Elizabeth and her husband, Rob, launched a foundation in Ben's name this spring.

Ben was a beautiful light in his family and community. Here's a little bit about Ben, in his momma's words:

Benjamin, his brother Colin and sister Ava were born prematurely at 25 weeks. They spent their first months of life in the NICU at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. Born on June 30, 2012, Ben finally came home almost five months later. He had an extremely tough time while in the NICU. A loss of oxygen to his brain at one point during a serious infection resulted in his primary diagnosis of Cystic Encephalomalacia. We knew this would impact his development but not to what extent. At 10 months, he was diagnosed as Spastic Quadriplegia Cerebral Palsy. In addition, he had a feeding tube, vision impairment, epilepsy, was nonverbal and had severe gross and fine motor deficiencies.

The last year and a half of his life, Ben struggled with respiratory viruses/illnesses and was on oxygen support full time. Where a sniffle or runny nose might not be a ‘big deal’ for a typical kid, for Ben, it most likely would mean hospitalization. After numerous viruses and hospital stays, he caught Adenovirus and passed away from respiratory failure on May 2, 2016, in the PICU at Lurie Children’s. Despite his daily struggles, Ben was a happy kid, who loved being around his brother and sister. He was in a blended preschool class for almost a full year and loved it. He had many friends who cared about him, and he laughed and smiled a lot. I miss his smile every day.

I cannot imagine Elizabeth and Rob's heartbreak. Within a year of Ben's passing, they started Ben Smiles, which donates adapted toys, communication tools and other devices to children with developmental delays, who would benefit tremendously from such technology. The foundation works with Chapelstreet Church, Easter Seals and District 303’s Early Childhood Program to get equipment in the hands of kids who need it most.

Ben's siblings recently ran a lemonade stand fundraiser for Ben Smiles, and the family would love it if their community continued the momentum in Summer 2017.

What do you say?

You too, Grandparents - what a fun and meaningful activity to do with the grandkids when they're on your home turf! Beyond the obvious lemonade stand goodness, a Ben Smiles lemonade stand helps to teach the little ones in your world that:

• Some kids are on a different journey,
• And sometimes their medical and physical needs can be involved,
• But they still love to learn and play,
• And God gave YOU the ability to help them get toys that meet their needs.

Here are 5 simple steps to running a stand for Ben Smiles in Summer 2017. Get the kids involved in every step!

1. Set up your stand with all the fixins.
2. Decorate a sign that says "Lemonade for Ben Smiles."
3. Work your magic, and sell that lemonade!
4. Share your stand pics on Facebook and Instagram, and tag Ben Smiles in your posts. (#bensmiles)
5. Pass along your donation to Ben Smiles HERE.

Elizabeth and Rob would love to see 50 lemonade stands hosted across the Midwest (and beyond?) this summer. Visit Ben Smiles on Facebook to notify Elizabeth of your stand and share your pics, to keep the fun and inspiration running all summer long!

Mapping Out Summer

Schools are closing for summer across the U.S., and parents far-and-wide are fretting about what exactly they are going to do with their kids for the next three months.

Three months.

Oh boy, are we in trouble. But perhaps, this is better reframed as a question:

Are we in trouble?

Let's all take a deep breath and remember our own childhoods. Long days at the pool. T-ball games. Snow cones. Bike rides. Family vacations. Fireworks. Fireflies. Picnics with books.

These weren't fussy times. We didn't need screens of any kind. Nor did we need a full-time activity director. We explored. We relaxed. We bonded with our parents and siblings and neighbors.

Summer should be all of these things. It is a beautiful change of pace: To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

But we also cannot ignore the fact that the long days of summer are indeed often looooooooong. So, how can we make the most of this precious time without jamming in too much activity and zapping the spontiety?

Enter Nadia Swearingen-Friesen - author, speaker and intentional parenting advocate. (Her book Sticks! presents a creative motivational/discipline system for kids. Check it out!)

Nadia spoke to a room full of moms last week through Moms Together, a wonderful ministry offered at Chapelstreet Church in Geneva (formerly FBCG). I was fortunate to sit with these lovely ladies this session. Thanks for being such a great table leader, Courtney!

In her presentation, Nadia said there are 4 Keys Planning an Amazing Summer:

1. Allow for downtime and rest
2. Organize activities
3. Do things you can't do in other seasons
4. Make goals for (and with) your kids

Dan and I chatted through goals for the girls and landed on these:

• Miss E: Increase mobility, work on therapy objectives, expand communication
• Miss C: Support her hunger for academics/learning, increase personal responsibility 
• Miss L: Work on gross and fine motor through play, make progress in potty training

To meet these goals, this is how we plan to approach each week. (For us, it works best to have at least have one focal activity per day.):

And these are the things we will require the girls to do each day before screens are allowed:

Bible verse memorization was a great suggestion from Nadia. We practiced this tonight, and the girls loved it. Each week we'll choose a verse to learn - building their understanding that God's word is part of our every day and can be leaned on and called upon at any time. 

We will keep you posted on how it all goes. Congrats to your kiddos (and you) for a great school year - you made it!

Hitting the Stacks: A Field Trip to My Childhood Library

Last week, the girls and I abandoned ship - leaving Dada home alone so that our hardwood floors could be refinished. (I think there's an HGTV-style before-and-after blog post in that project... stay tuned.) 

Our outpost for the week was my hometown, Bethany, Ill., population 1,322. Here's a photo snapped at the center of Main Street. Water towers are calling cards in sweet small towns like mine.

We had a wonderful trip - got to see my niece's show choir performance, took Great Grandpa for pancakes, met up with old friends, and visited Marrowbone Public Library.

If you tallied all of the hours I logged in this library building (below) as a child, it would probably add up to several calendar years.

So it was beyond precious to see my girls in this room...

Hitting these stacks...

I always love seeing what books my girls pick out. Here's the assortment they selected during our trip. The wonderful librarians at the Marrowbone Public Library (Lisa and Lesa) told us about a fun reading they recently did highlighting the rhyme parallels between silly parody book Goodnight Goon and classic Goodnight Moon. Such a fun idea, ladies!

As for mom? Well, she had to wander over to the stack of Nancy Drew books. I read EVERY SINGLE ONE of these one summer. 

A new book that jumped out at me while I was there was Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev, illustrated by Taeeun Yoo. It was prototypical Anitra fare: Beautiful intriguing cover. Nostalgic color scheme. Love at first sight.

Then when I discovered it's theme of inclusion? While I was reading it with Elsa?? STOP IT. New favorite. I want in this clubhouse! Skunks and all. 

Before we headed out, we slipped into the back room, to see if we could find my dad in the flippable high school composites. And as luck (God) would have it, the composites were already open to my dad's class.

Look at that handsome devil...

I get a little choked up when looking back through these pics. When you're a kid - logging countless hours and days somewhere... ANYWHERE - it never occurs to you that your future children might one day walk those same streets, sit in those same chairs, breathe that same air. 

What a blessed trip. (Thank you, Zannie, for suggesting it!)

Mother's Day: Triaging Craziness on the Homefront

Happy MOTHER'S DAY to all the mothers out there! Wishing you short brunch lines and coffee that you don't have to microwave! Here's the second Mother's Day post of the week. Hope you enjoy it:

MOTHER'S DAY: PART 2

Today, I'm sharing a little something I call "Triaging Craziness on the Homefront." I don't mean to minimize true medical crises with use of the word triage here. It's just that triage is the only word that succinctly describes what we do as parents minute-to-minute. And I have a feeling many of you can relate. Here's the definition for quick reference:

TRIAGE: The process of sorting victims of a battle or disaster to determine medical priority, in order to increase the number of survivors. 

A few words stand out here:

• Victims
• Battle
• Disaster
• Priority 
• Survivors

Does this not sound like everyday mom life? How many battles do we witness daily? How many disasters unfold before our very eyes? There are always victims (not always the dueling children), and the survivors weather plenty of injuries.

However, the key word in the definition of triage, for me, is PRIORITY. Exactly how do you determine who or what gets attention first? Especially when things are going downhill? Fast.

"Triaging Craziness" is a fluid, evolving concept of what constitutes an emergency, and this is different for every family. Here's what it looks like for The Schultes. NOTE: The most serious situations are listed first, and priority descends from there. The rankings may surprise you... I know a few surprised me as I was writing it!

CODE BLACK:

Life Comes to a Screeching Halt

• Seizures
• G-Tube malfunctions
• Children running into traffic
• Children running into a parking lot
• Children running away... anywhere
• Screaming
• Bleeding
• Explosive poopie
• Vomiting
• Crabby hunger (Hangry)

Medical crises obviously come first. Luckily we have had very few of these recently (AMEN). Elsa's been seizure free for more than two years, and the deflation or pulling-out of her G-tube balloon is something we can generally handle without too much anxiety these days.

But running away. Oh my. This is my new worst. I simply cannot handle it. Running away = distance from me = room for negative interference = anything can happen. If there is too much physical distance between me and my babies, there's nothing I can do to help them. COMPLETELY POWERLESS. I constantly bribe my littles to stay near when we enter a parking lot. ("Fruit snacks in the car for anyone who stays with me!! Who's with me?!")

The rest of the list: Screaming before bleeding? Screaming before poopie?? Screaming before vomiting??? Not a typo. I cannot deal with any of those problems if someone is screaming. Screaming breaks me. It always wins, or at least must be addressed immediately in some fashion, for sanity's sake. Moms who can deal constructively with screaming deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.

Here's a photo of something that COULD have been a Code Black moment. To photograph, or not to photograph? That is the question. Luckily this has never happened again!! Yet.

---

CODE RED:

Momma's Gonna Lose It... Time Out!

• Sneaking outside
• Throwing a fit
• Biting
• Hitting
• Stealing toys
• Throwing food
• Refusing to get in the car
• Refusing to get out of the car
• Taking off clothes that should be on
• Begging for a snack
• Begging for juice
• Begging for a show to be turned on
• Ripping out pages of library books
• Ripping out pages of our books
• Jumping off of furniture
• Regular poopie diaper

This is a long list. So many things fit into this category. These are the things that get under mom's skin because this brand of chaos breeds more chaos, and all of it prevents her from doing the things she NEEDS to do: Phone in prescription refills. Email a teacher with an important note. Empty the dishwasher. Put away clean clothes. Eat. Shower. 

You'll notice that poopie diaper is dead last. This means that my kids are often walking around with poop in their pants for a good while. The old adage of "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" is never more true than in a home dripping with toddlers. I cannot tell you how often I think of Carol Burnett in Annie, singing this song...

Little girls, little girls, everywhere I look... I CAN SEE THEM. Little girls, little girls, night and day I eat, sleep and BREATHE them. Joking of course, but in my case, it also happens to be true!

IMPORTANT NOTE: I always remember to pray during Code Black, but I almost never remember during Code Red. I do everything in my power to "handle it." But naturally, it doesn't take long to realize that I cannot handle it - not alone. Ninety-nine times out of 100, the second I pause and pray, "God, I can't do this. I'm gonna need your help," within 2 minutes, the situation has resolved. I promise myself that I won't forget to pray - that I'll remember next time and do it first before stress builds to peak levels - but I never do. Why do we think we can do anything apart from God? Not sure, but it's a lesson God is set on teaching me!!! 

---

CODE GOLD:

Classic Minor Offenses (The Good Stuff)

• Raiding your jewelry
• Raiding your makeup
• Raiding your purse
• Raiding the cupboard
• Adding "events" to your planner
• Unmaking just-made beds
• Stealing your phone and sending texts
• Brutal honesty
• Picking out 10 bedtime books
• Watering or feeding inanimate objects 
• Making "pee-pee milkshakes" (*see below)

This is the stuff that's perhaps a little annoying in the moment, particularly if you're trying to get out the door to church or an event. But a few hours later, you know it's true: These are the golden moments of parenthood. The snapshots of your life that you wish your mom and dad were in the room to see. The incidents that you try to quickly capture on your smart phone, or try to do justice to later in a story, but can't.

* One of our favorite stories is when Cece and Lola were scooping toilet water with their toss-and-go cups in an effort to make what they coined "pee-pee milkshakes." Of COURSE they did. Why wouldn't they, right? Sounds delicious. Just when you think you've seen it all, your kids have a way of blindsiding you with disgusting yet somehow charming and innocent antics. Just remember: This is perfect fodder for your speeches at their rehearsal dinners and weddings.

Here's a slideshow of some of our golden moments:

There's no doubt about it. Parenthood is designed to grow us. To wear us down and show us our limitations and humanity. To draw us closer in dependence on our Lord, refine our faith and build our wisdom. So when we say that kids are God's greatest gift, it's for several reasons. They are beautiful reflections of his love, and they also deepen our relationship with our Creator.

Some women are dripping with diamonds. Some women are dripping with pearls. Lucky me, lucky me. Look at what I'm dripping with... LITTLE GIRLS. 

Lucky me is right. I am extremely lucky to have been blessed with these babes. So happy and proud and honored to be their momma.

Happy Mother's Day everyone! 

11 Questions to Jumpstart a MealTrain

As someone who's often on the receiving end of other people's generosity, nothing makes me happier than to be able to be return the favor.

Nine times out of 10, I'm going to do it by cooking.

I like to pack my old-timey picnic basket (regardless of the season) with goodies for new neighbors. When friends or family come to visit, I typically go pretty overboard planning out daily menus. Shoot, I even kinda love cooking on my birthday. Thanks for indulging me on my 37th, Dows and Arturis!

So when a friend has a new baby, or when an acquaintance is having a rough time medically, I'm gonna bring you a meal. It's best to just give in.

That's why setting up MealTrains is among my favorite things to do. Cuz if I can't make all the meals, I want to make sure the meals are coming!

MealTrain makes this so easy. 

(I'm sure there are other such services out there. I'm partial to MealTrain because it functions so well that I've never needed to search for an alternative.)

MealTrain, in case you're unfamiliar, is an online platform that enables you to create a group-edited meal calendar and schedule for someone in need of meals - for several months, or in some cases longer. Here's a screen grab of a sample page:

When you start a MealTrain, you're building a webpage, more or less, but it's not at all intimidating. It's really just a fill-in-the-blank process. All you really need to know: How can I best meet my friend or family member's needs?

There's only one answer. Ask. 

Once my friends green-light the idea, I jumpstart the process by sending them 11 questions. With these answers, I can set up a MealTrain in the same amount of time it takes me to half-watch an episode of The Americans. 

Here are 11 Questions to Jumpstart a MealTrain: 

• What date would you like the MealTrain to start, and when would you like it to end?
• What days of the week would be best for you to receive meals (M, Th, Su)?
• How many people will your friends be cooking for (2 adults, 2 kids)?
• What is your ideal food delivery timeframe (5 to 6 p.m.)?
• How would you like to arrange day-of delivery specifics (via text, via email)?
• Do you have any food allergies or restrictions?
• What are your food preferences (Italian, Thai, comfort food)?
• What are your favorite local restaurants for takeout?
• Would you like to provide a brief message to your family and friends?
• Can you provide email addresses for those whom you'd like to receive the invite?
• Can you text or email me a photo that I can use on the MealTrain page?

Just copy and paste this into an email to your friend. If this seems too impersonal to you, or if it feels like you're pushing a bunch of work into your friend's lap, perhaps you're right.  

But, I think - and hope I'm not off base - it's actually going to be more-than-OK by your friend. He or she probably needs meals but isn't going to ask for them. As the organizer, you're simply helping to facilitate a schedule, and you're giving your friend the opportunity to shape it in a way that works for them.

In my experience, MealTrain schedules fill up fast. That's because when you want to love on someone, food is an act of service that almost everyone can get behind.

PS: You cannot go wrong when bringing these items (Not all of them at once, of course. Although I have received this volume before #peopleareamazing):

• Banana bread
• Rotisserie chicken
• Caesar salad
• French bread
• Soup
• Cookies
• Bottle of vino
• And for the win... Your family's weeknight favorite, cooked with love xo

Sister Time

We watch a lot of Disney Junior's Elena of Avalor at our house, and there is an episode that we have watched no less than 25 times: Model Sister.

The rallying cry of the episode is a song called "Sister Time." Here's the vid. Warning: It's extremely catchy. ("But Elena!!")

My girls really relate to the episode's theme: Sisters come first and are always top priority. Disney is really on a roll with this sister stuff...

Elsa was our first-born. (Two years before that other Elsa...) So when our daughters Cecilia and Lola (both typically developing) followed in short order, we hoped and prayed that they would have a deep, protective and nurturing love for Elsa. It's a prayer that God answered without delay. From day one, they have been in Elsa's corner.

Where Elsa goes, they follow. Not begrudgingly, not dutifully, but with happiness and joy. 

That's why it's so apt that the receptionist at the front desk of Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital (our present therapy center) has given Cecilia and Lola the nicknames Happy and Joy. Most days, the names fit.

Cecilia and Lola LOVE going to Marianjoy. I thought they might despise the grind of traveling there twice a week, and waiting around for Elsa to complete her sessions. But the reality has been entirely the opposite. (Note: I have nothing to do with fashion choices you are about to observe.)

Here's are 5 reasons why the girls love it: 

• The facility is connected by a labyrinth of passageways. Twice a week, Cecilia and Lola can be found skipping through the corridors, singing songs and listening to the echo of their voices. 
• At check-in, there is a waterfall feature with smooth gray stones in the basin below. They love to touch the water wall and are always trying to steal stones (so that's a small problem).
• Jello. The Marianjoy cafeteria has jello in spades. Every time we go, there is a new flavor, topped with whipped cream. I split a jello cup between the two of them, and then we just sit and chat about what we see.
• Because Marianjoy is a rehab hospital, there are fun sensors that open doors with just a wave of the hand. Cecilia paves our way throughout the facility by waving the magic doors open for us.
• Probably most of all: They get mom's attention - divided not by 3, but by 2. It's not one-on-one time, but it does mean extra hugs, coloring practice and sticker book fun. 

Here are 5 reasons why I'm a fan of Marianjoy sister time:

• As much as Cecilia and Lola love getting my attention, I love giving it.
• They bring SO much joy to the rehab patients, who light up when they see their carefree little faces.
• Again, jello - for the simple pleasure it gives my children, and for the 20 minutes of peace it affords me!
• Elsa is the focus of our trips. Whenever we visit, they are absorbing and accepting that their sister's needs are a high priority for our family, and that Elsa's thriving requires our time and dilligence.
• Probably most of all: Marianjoy helps people off all ages, races and ethnicities. There are children who have lost limbs. Adults with special needs whose words are hard to understand. Elderly folks in motorized wheelchairs and on gurneys. No one looks the same, or acts the same. Everyone is on their own journey, hopefully to improved health and function.

Out in the real world, facilities aren't overwhelmingly accommodating. People with physical needs don't blend in. But it's wonderful to have a place that gives our family such support, and gives Cecilia and Lola a special, private world in which they can explore and learn enormous life lessons.