Little Miss Wheelchair of California

On Saturday Katie was crowned Jr. Miss Wheelchair of California! 

The day was amazing. I hope she can always remember this special day. 

We arrived a few hours before the program started and Katie met everyone and got her hair done. She was in heaven! Everyone was so kind and so sweet to us!

It was so awesome to meet Jennifer, the program director. We had seen her many times in the Aladdin Show at Disneyland and we're thrilled when we learned that she was the person in charge of Ms. California wheelchair. She is an incredible person with amazing abilities! 

Before the program, family and friends started to show up. Grandma Great could hardly keep her emotions together. The crying gene runs strong in our family!! 

Daddy seeing his sweet girl with her curls for the first time. 

So much amazing support from friends and family! Family came from far distances to come to this event. It means the world!! 

Aunt Sandy came early with us, she was such a big help, but she is a crier too, so I could not look at her all day! 

Someone asked Katie to autograph their program. She ate it up! She said later "good thing I learned cursive this year!" 

Katie was through the roof when her school teacher and her friends showed up!!

 
the awesome supporters!!

Katie giving her acceptance speech (scroll down to watch the video)

 
Jr. Miss Wheelchair 2012!!

 Getting her crown and sash!

The Ms. Wheelchair competition was amazing. The girls were all incredible with amazing platforms. We were so impressed with each one of them!

A big group had gathered in the foyer waiting for the winners to come out. Katie was shocked when she turned the corner to a roar of applause and cheers! I wish we caught that on video! 

Her friends ran up to her to give her hugs! Too cute!! 

So lucky to have two sweet grandmas! 

Honestly, it was almost too much for this mommy to handle. I still need to just go have a good cry and let it all out because it was one of those days where you remember those feelings in the beginning. The unknown, the worry. How will people treat her? Will she be happy? Then there is a day like this and it confirms that it's going to be o.k. There is so much love and support and opportunities. It was pretty overwhelming for me.

Katie's acceptance speech. 

She practiced hard and was pretty nervous, but did a great job. 

So proud of her! 

Some days the pain is bad (like it is today, poor thing). Some days are hard. Some days the "extra's" can feel really heavy. But some days the days are amazing. Some days they are filled with reminders that miracles are real. Some days I wish I could go back to that doctor that said "God did not deal you a good hand" and say "Look! You were so, so wrong! He not only dealt us a GREAT hand, but He gave us a beautiful life full of experiences that not everyone gets to have. He did more than deal us a good hand! He dealt us a GREAT life. A life full of miracles and incredible moments like this!"