bonfire!
Me and London, my niece. She was dying for me to take her picture :)
Noah has been diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder. We have known about his "condition" for over a year now (almost two), but it has taken us quite some time to get accustomed to it (will we ever?) We are still in somewhat of a state of denial, and it's amazing how many people try to throw in their two cents. Like, as soon as it seems we've accepted this diagnosis, someone says, "He's just a boy. He's perfectly normal." And we second guess ourselves. The thing is this: we love our son more than anything. We would do anything for him. And we are not LOOKING for something to be wrong or different with him. But the truth is, something is different with him. Something that, to be quite honest, exhausts us, frustrates us, baffles us. As new parents, we assume that these behaviors are normal, until told otherwise...until other peers are observed and we realize, WOW, his behavior is not normal. Anyway, the main thing I'm feeling is that if there is ANYTHING we can do for him to help him cope, to help him adjust to his environments, etc. etc., LET'S DO IT. Why not try everything under the sun? We've been told that he will soon alienate himself from his peers, from adults, from strangers. His behaviors will go from being cute to being really annoying, and others will not want to be around him. He will have a hard time making friends. He will suffer in school. These thoughts are terrifying to us. But so is the thought that we are "labeling" our child. What do we do? For now, we have him in therapy once a week, and we do home therapy also. But we haven't seen much improvement, or rather, we don't know what kind of improvement to be looking for. We have read books, done research online, talked with friends, caregivers, teachers, etc. And we have prayed. I just want my sweet boy to have the best, and I want to make all the resources available to him that I can. *sigh* What a complicated and emotional issue. Please say a prayer for our Noah bear.
Wow, I usually wait to blog until I have pictures to post. Unfortunately, we can't find our camera cord so we can't download any photos :( Bummer. I've really been wanting to post pictures of our house. Lots of people have asked about it and want to see what it looks like. I really want to show it off, but can't :( Another day, I suppose!
Christian & I celebrated our 6 year anniversary on the 9th of March. 6 years has gone by really fast, it seems, and yet, it seems so far away (our wedding day). Life was sooo simple for us when we got married, and we thought it was hard! I carry a letter around in my wallet that Christian wrote me (an email, actually, that I printed off). He talks about how he hopes that this (him being away at war) is the hardest thing we will ever have to go through, and how it will make us stronger, and how we will surely face hardships down the road. It's so strange to read it because it's almost like he wrote it for the present, but God meant it to be read in the future. I pull it out every now and then and read it and think about our life. One of the things I really am bummed about is vacationing. We have lots of free time to go on little excursions, but Christian is quite limited in what he can physically do. The zoo? Lots of walking--too much. It seriously IS a lot to ask of him to take the kids to the zoo for the day. Multnomah falls? Lots of walking. Uphill. The beach? Sand is THE WORST surface for an amputee to walk on. His right leg's toe has to touch a hard surface, then is programmed to make his knee bend so he can take a step. Since sand is so forgiving, his leg doesn't kick, etc. etc. Anyway--Hawaii, Mexico anyone? All the things you do on these tropical vacations--swim, hike, sunbathe, walk, jetski.....hmph. I'm not trying to be a downer, but it really has got me down lately. People often say, "Just focus on all the things you CAN do." And that is terrific advice. And I do try to do that. But when you're trying to plan a vacation it gets kind of difficult with all these hurdles to consider, and how to get around them. I'm guessing we will just probably have to vacation with other couples, or with grandparents when we want to take the kids along...for extra help. It will all work out...and we CAN still do them, we will just have to do things a little differently, I guess.
My mom told me a while back that she couldn't think of a better match for me than Christian, and she couldn't think of a better person for Christian than me. That made me feel really good. I know that in my heart, but to hear someone else say it makes me feel so blessed. He really is a special man and a wonderful dad. Speaking of, Brynnie is starting to say words. Mainly, "Da da". I try to get her to say "Mama" and "Da da" comes out. She LOVES him, and Noah too (oh and me also). Soo precious. She's also waving now. What an absolute miracle!
Noah is also a joy in our lives. He talks CONSTANTLY and always asks questions like, "What would happen if a skunk ate a car?" or "What would happen if Brynne sat on the sun?? ...would she get an owie? Would the firetrucks have to come? What would she say?" These go on and on and onnnnn. I just try to soak it all in. He is so innocent and curious. He is totally discovering the world right now and I love watching him learn. :)
We are truly a blessed family!
A pic of us entering our key ceremony! More pictures of the inside of the house as soon as I can find my camera cord!
Oops, I totally typed all this out and then lost it. >:(
This post goes with the pictures posted below! We had the privilege of going to Sun River last weekend for Christian's brother Levi's surprise 30th birthday party. We stayed in the most beautiful home with Levi's friends and family. His wife, Tiffany, had been planning this surprise for MONTHS and it was a huge success! Got some good games in, walks, and a few good drinks, too :)
Christian was also featured on Sean Hannity on Monday, November 15th. President George W. Bush was on doing an interview about his new book, and Christian was asked to go to New York to attend the taping. They did a special clip on Christian running with Bush (back in 2006), and a few other pictures. Bush wrote about us in his new book! (page 370 if anyone cares to look--there is also a pic!) Anyway, I wasn't able to go to the taping of the show because of the kids, but fortunately Christian's brother Levi was able to go. They had a blast, and Christian promised to take me back to NYC someday!
I've been thinking a lot this week about how thankful and grateful I am for my healthy, beautiful kids. I talked with a young mother in our office last week who had lost a son only an hour after he was born to spina bifida, and I found myself feeling great sorrow for her. As we talked, she held her second son, a 5 week old little boy (and a miracle). I then started thinking about how fortunate and blessed we were to have Brynne be born completely healthy and perfect after a series of discussions about how she might NOT be. There was serious concern for spina bifida, which was ruled out by ultrasound, but then there were concerns for Trisomy 18, which would have been fatal, then a malformed head, a cyst in her brain...the list goes on. This morning in church the opportunity was given to share in front of the congregation things that you are thankful for. It was a very casual, open mic time. I found myself squiggling in my seat and wanting so much to go up and say how thankful I am for my beautiful and healthy babies. They are sooo precious to me and God has laid that on my heart a lot lately. As I was considering it, Christian came walking down the aisle to the front of the church, holding Brynnie (he had been out walking her in the lobby and had not been next to me for about 25 minutes). He immediately explained how my pregnancy had been complicated and how we were given the choice to terminate it ("bail out" was the correct phrase used), and that I had quickly said that that was not an option for us. He talked about how thankful he was that we had let God lead us, that we had kept her, and thankful that she was healthy and precious and ours. I was struck with the sense that our story needed to be shared one way or another, and if I wasn't going to do it, God would put it on Christian's heart to do it! It was a really special moment to me to see him up there with our little baby girl, as healthy and as sweet as can be.
Anyway, it was really neat and my heart is feeling very full with love for my family, and love for God. I have found that I need to be more thankful and content for the gifts I have been given. We have two wonderful children and a happy marriage...a beautiful home being built for us by wonderful and caring people. I need to be reminded of the big picture very often lately and am trying to focus more on that and not so much on the details. As I learned from the young mother in our office last week, there is always someone watching and learning from us, whether we know it or not. So I am really working on being more positive and having a more thankful heart! Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. :)
