Update

I can't believe it's been two months since we updated this blog! Time is just flying by. Pretty soon, we will have a three year old. Crazy.

Pierce has been making great strides these days and is talking up a storm. It is so fun to see his language emerging, and it's definitely not something we ever take for granted as we were told grim predictions early on.

Forgot to post this one on the blog on Valentine's Day.

We've had 2 big snows this winter and Pierce LOVED both.

A 2013 Christmas classic (Back by popular demand)

We have some pretty big news- we are going to be traveling to Michigan for an intensive therapy program for Pierce. Pierce and I will be out of town for nearly a month! It's a big trip for us, and an even bigger one in terms of what it means for Pierce.

Here's the scoop on the camp: 
It is a Conductive Education Program. Here's a little script taken from their website that should give you a snapshot of what they do: Conductive Education integrates medical knowledge with educational methods to enable the individual to learn how to gain control over his or her movements. Children are taught to see themselves as active and self-reliant participants in the world. In short, Conductive Education was designed as a therapuetic approach to help kids with motor delays/disabilities learn how to integrate and function in the "real world,"with as little adaptive equipment as possible.

Pierce will attend up to 6hrs a day for 5 days/week, so when I say intensive, I really do mean intensive. He will be grouped with 7-8 other kids and several teachers. At the end of the program, Pierce will leave with new skills, no doubt, but also with a whole packet of information to take back to his home therapists and teachers.

We are just so thrilled to see how much Pierce learns during this time. And we know our social butterfly who loves being around new people, will thoroughly enjoy being in a classroom setting for the very first time.

To make the deal even sweeter, we are so excited that our friend Colin and his mommy will be joining us in Michigan. It's going to be so fun to watch the 2 boys interact and learn together!!

How we got the funding to go:
I really just want to take a moment to thank a really awesome organization, Bee Mighty. We have been so blessed to be awarded a tuition scholarship from BeeMighty that makes it possible for us to pursue this opportunity with Pierce. When we received the word that BeeMighty would be covering Pierce's tuition, we were so humbled. So, if you feel inclined to send a little "thank you" gift on behalf of the Franks family, head over to BeeMighty's site and do so, please. 100% of their proceeds go towards funding therapy for NICU graduates in Charlotte.

And finally, here's how you can pray for us specifically:
1. For protection in traveling to Michigan.
2. For protection against illness. This will be Pierce's first time in a classroom type setting, and to be honest, he's been semi-quarantined his whole life, so this will be his immune systems first big test. Though it's hard to tell by looking at him, his preemie lungs are still pretty damaged from being ventilated for so long in the beginning and the slightest cold could still land him back on o2, which means he'd miss out on some of the program. Please pray that he can remain healthy throughout the program. Pray also for Colin as he's in the same situation as Pierce.

Thanks for walking this journey with us!