Seeing her....through a lens

Today's gift is seeing her through a lens.

The lens of my camera.

This morning she had physical therapy and as we know we never know what her mood is going to be....luckily today she was in a good mood.  Not a great mood, but a good one.

I brought my camera today as I love taking pictures of her in therapy so I can see her progress.  I have folders on my computer of pictures of when she first started to present.  It really is remarkable to see how far she has come in a short amount of time.

I loved looking at her through my camera lens today.  I loved snapping continuous pictures capturing all the different facial expressions she makes.  I loved seeing her true beauty.

I loved looking at my daughter's face not as a child with special needs, but as an 11 year old girl.  I loved dreaming of what might be going on in her mind.  I loved looking deep into her beautiful eyes.  I loved seeing how she is growing into a tween...she is not a little girl anymore.  I wish I could have bottled her up at the age of three....but life moves so fast....I still can't believe she is 11.

My favorite part of seeing her through my camera lens was the fact I was seeing her for her...not her for her special needs.  This is how I want everyone to see her.

To know she is just like her peers on the inside, it is just she has extra challenges she has to face daily to express herself.  And sometimes the effects of her disorder show on the outside.  However, she likes the same things as her peers.  Some examples are One Direction, the movie Soul Surfer, she gets shy around boys she thinks are cute, she loves sports, she has her favorite restaurants, etc.

Here are some pictures I took today....

 Starting her stretching exercises, still smiling as she has her comfort with her "the ball"

 Stretching is starting to get a little more intense

 Having to balance with one foot at a different level than the other

Getting ready to fly in the cage....one of her favorite activities at therapy

Just by looking at her do you think she has special needs?

Here are two quotes for today....

Children with special needs hold the key to the pure joy of what life is really all about....our only mission to unlocking this secret is to open our hearts and minds- Author Unknown

I don't think the worst thing that could happen to me is raising a child with special needs.  I think the worst thing is to raise a child who is cruel to those with special needs- Author Unknown