Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Harry Potter Birthday for Hannah!





(I know-they look wonky!  
They are supposed to look like the cake that Hagrid brought Harry for his birthday!!!
More HP cookies at the end of the post!!) 



We're not a Sugar and Spice family.

We're Snips and Snails and Puppy-Dog Tails All the Way.

No daughters for Lizy B.

(absolutely, totally fine with that by the way.  
Little boys love their mommies something fierce.)




but....




if I had a daughter, a little girl to call my own....

I would order up a Hannah.




Hannah is my niece, she's up there in the middle between her 
littlest sister, Danijela, and her brother, Mark.

I think her sister Maddie took the photo.

(can I quickly mention that I have quite a few nieces-Katie, Sami, Maddie, Danijela, Ani, Maddie, Nikki and Rachel-I love them all dearly, but today we're chatting about Hannah.)




Hannah is....well she's just amazing.

For awhile, she wanted to be a nurse.
She loves helping people, so it seemed like a good fit.









Then her little brother Mark (also my Godson-isn't he cute!) was diagnosed with Apraxia.

Apraxia is a motor speech disorder that makes it challenging to communicate verbally, 
especially for a little boy like Mark who loves people and is so outgoing and friendly.

You can read more about it HERE.

We rarely see him without a smile on his face.











I remember once Hannah asked, after helping Mark communicate with his cousins,

"How could God do that to such a great little boy?"



I didn't answer her at the time, 
and I don't have an answer, 
but I could see the seeds of something growing.




Mark is doing amazingly well.
He attends a school for children who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
His hearing is fine, but it's an environment where he can easily communicate using 
sign language and his speech is improving everyday.  

We love hearing him chat on the phone!




But Hannah....she's the gift that grew from his struggles.





When Mark started learning sign language, so did she. 
Soon after, they went to an Easter Seals summer camp together.
Mark was the official camper and Hannah was his 'buddy'.




No one was surprised when she and Mark had a fabulous time together, 
but Hannah was so amazing with all the campers that she was invited back after he went home.











She spent her summer laughing and playing with all sorts of kids who had a 
variety of special needs.






She changed her major too.

Now she's studying Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences and Special Education. 

Hannah is planning on spending her life helping munchkins like Mark, find their voices.





Hannah is still a typical, fun-loving young lady.

The kind of girl we would all love to have for a best friend, fiercely loyal, so quick to laugh and be silly and just enough of a naughty side to keep you on your toes.

  She recently turned 21 and spent the weekend in Las Vegas with a best girlfriend and....


....wait for it.....


her MOM, 2 AUNTS and her Aunt's BF.

By Choice!!!!!!





Yup.

I had the time of my life.





No...they were not all mine!

(These were the only two pictures that survived...the rest have been burned)








I know what you are thinking....

"...um, I came here looking for some Harry Potter cookies thank-you-very-much......?!
What's going on!!!"




Here's the Harry Potter part.




Hannah Loves Harry Potter!!!

Loves!!!!

So right after I won that giveaway and received the necklace, 
I heard about Hannah's birthday trip to Las Vegas.


I knew.....just KNEW.....

Harry Potter needed to go to Las Vegas!!!





I've got close-ups and all kinds of cookie talk for you in the next post

(as well as a surprise from Erin over at Bookish Charms).



I just had one more little thing to say to Hannah...

...tap-tap...
are you there?



You asked once why God would make it hard for Mark to talk.

I still don't know the answer to that.




What I do know,

with all the certainty in the world,

is that God gave Mark an amazing gift.

He's giving that same gift to countless other little hearts and minds....




He Gave Them You.




So proud to be your Aunt.

Love you, Happy birthday.


Thanks for stopping by,

Lizy B








12 comments:

  1. Wow. This young woman is an inspiration - what a story! When you follow you heart in life, happiness comes easy and "work" doesn't seem like work at all. The quote on the cookie nearly made me roll over laughing. Perfect!! The HP cookies are masterpieces as well, but you are so very talented that it is no surprise!

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  2. Cripes!....I'm bawling! What a wonderful story, and a wonderful girl! And how lucky you all are to have her in your lives! She will go to amazing places, and meet amazing people, and they will all be the better for having met her! Thanks for sharing her with us! It's a feel good moment! :o)

    Oh, and the cookies are awesome! As usual!

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  3. Amazing story....and what a sweet young woman!!! I have the chills just reading it! What a fabulous career path she has chosen....:) My major was Speech Language Hearing as well:)

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  4. What a sweet, sweet post! Hannah certainly sounds like a special human being! I bet she loved your amazing cookies!

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  5. Beautiful post. Hannah sounds like an amazing person. that's great she invited you along to Vegas, as well as her mom! I would certainly do the same if I were her...I'm very close to my mom.

    As for the HP cookies, I (again) love these and really wish you lived near me so I could have you make them for a future harry potter party. they are so adorable.

    Lauren from www.allgrownupparties.blogspot.com

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  6. What a beautiful post and tribute to Hannah and her brother. They both sound amazing both inside and out. And making and taking the HP cookies to Vegas for the 21st b-day party was so thoughtful!

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  7. This totally made me teary eyed! Wahhhhh! Wow. What an amazing young lady. I can see why you are so proud of her.

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  8. What a lucky little guy to have Hannah for a big sister! Thanks for sharing her with us. And I love the cookies!!!

    Jeannine @ The Concrete Cottage

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  9. Thank you so much for sharing! My son was diagnosed with Apraxia, so I appreciate your post more than I can say. As always, the cookies are gorgeous!

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  11. WOW!!! What a lovely tribute to Hannah. Hannah, you go, Girl! Such a beautiful family. Sharing such amazing gifts ...
    Thanks so much for linking up at I Gotta Create! <3 Christina

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  12. That is the sweetest post ever!! It brought tears to my eyes! No we don't have all the answers and yes we all have lots of questions, but there is always a plan and that special girl is right in the middle of it! What an amazing young lady!! Thank you for sharing with our readers!! :) Bonnie

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I love to read your comments (yup...I read each and every one!!!), thanks for taking the time to type out your thoughts! They truly make my day!

Your questions are so much fun, and I try to answer them by emailing you back directly. Please make sure you are not a 'no-reply' blogger so I can reach you!

Thanks everyone!

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