I Hafta Tell Ya......

Ian has gone 4 nights, yes 4 nights, without having to be pilled in the middle of the night! This is sooooo great! We still pill him before bed, but just having him sleep through the night is great. What's even greater (I suppose, depending on how you look at it since he does still wake up sometimes), is that twice when he has gotten up, he's told me he wanted a drink, drank all he wanted, then went back to bed. He normally has a hard time communicating what he needs when he's so tired. But I don't mind him waking up if I know I don't have to give him drugs to go back to sleep.

Still Moving Along

Okay, it's been another little while since I've written. We've had a lot going on. We sold our house....after 9 months. And we put a contract on another. It all happened so fast that my head is still spinning. I'm trying hard to just take one moment at a time. I tend to think WAY to large and then get really overwhelmed. I blame it on being a FXC. So, I've chosen to just take one prayer request at a time. The first one is that the buyers won't get the inspection done until after tomorrown (Wednesday). Jim is taking the day off so that we can hopefully get some things taken care of that we know will show up on a report....trimming bushes away from house, cleaning out gutters, adding a french drain, and digging some dirt down away from the brick. Can we get it all done in one day AND have the kids????? I've got my bets. But, no worries. We do what we can. The second prayer is that our house passes inspection as far as the foundation is concerned. That's always an 'iffy' thing to deal with.

The house we will hopefully be moving into needs a lot of cosmetic work. Paint, light fixtures, window treatments, tile, blah, blah, blah. Most will be done in little shots, but I'd like to get the painting done right away.

We totally believe that if this is the house for us, then the Lord will continue to orchestrate everything for it to work out. If not, we still trust Him and move on. Except for a soundproof room we would love to have for Ian (only half a joke), it has most of what we have been looking for space-wise.

So far, the kids are pretty clueless about what's going on. Avery did say, "I want to see my new house." She doesn't quite get what that really means yet. Ian's the one we're worried about, with transitions, but I bet after all is said and done, he'll end up having the easiest time with it.

So, I've missed reading your entries, but hope to catch up on them soon. It's always relaxing to get on, read that I'm not alone, and write out thoughts others can relate to.

And oh, Benjamin turns 1 year old this Friday! I can't believe it.

Moving Along

It's been a while since I last wrote. Here's a bit to catch things up.
Benjamin is working on getting into a sitting up position. He's doing well with it and can stay in the sitting position for a while. He still can't quite get the crawling thing done, but he still tries. I'm starting to notice some differences in him and when Ian was his age. He throws little 'tantrums' when I take something away from him or when I walk out of the room. Ian never really did that. I was always so proud of that, being a new mom and thinking, "Hey, he doesn't throw a fit like other kids. I must be lucky." So during the "well baby checkups" (something I DON'T do anymore) when the nurse would ask, "Does he......" , I would proudly say, "No." You'd think at some point they would have bothered to tell me that it wasn't normal for him not to notice. That's one of the smaller reasons we left our first pediatrician. Anyway, so now I get to actually look for things and have some clue. He also really watches my mouth when I'm exaggerating a word I want him to imitate. It's like he really wants to say it. He turns 1 year old on the 25th. I can't believe it. My last 1st birthday!

Avery was invited to her first birthday party from her preschool. Twins. She mentions their names all the time. And I was told by their mom that they mention Avery's a lot as well. They had the party at a kid's gymnastics place. It was really fun. Avery had a blast. Boy, was she smaller than all the other kids! My little, petite princess. No more poop in the potty since the first. Trying to wait patiently.

Ian still fluctuates quite a bit between good days and not so good days. I have something I wish I could write about, but better if I don't. Hmph. I've decided on something I'm going to get him in hopes he will start to leave his sister alone. Today at church our pastor used a bopping something, something, something. I can't remember the name of it, but it's a blow-up thing that is shaped kinda like a bowling pin. You put sand in the bottom of it. Then, when you hit it, it goes down, but bounces back up again. I was thinking maybe he could use that for his aggression. Think we could teach that to him? I just don't know how long we can handle him hitting Avery and pulling her hair. It's so fustrating, and even more frustrating that we just can't understand it. Sometimes I wish I could get into his little head. Sometimes I'm afraid that would make me feel even worse to know. We just keep praying for him.

That should be it for now.

A Lot of Grace Required

I hope I'm allowed more than one entry per day.

I've decided that people who have not been blessed with a child that teaches you even more than the 'typical' child, require a lot of grace. One day, you're being told, "Hey, you don't know what the future will hold. You don't know what your child will be able to do that you didn't think he/she could do. You don't know how God is going to bless you in all this. Etc., etc., etc. Then, if the mention of the possibility of another child comes in the picture, you're told, "What!? Why would you do that when you don't know what the future will hold for what you have now?" Hmmmmm, see the dilemma? I realize there is concern, but why should I be the only one looking to a bright future? Why can't everyone else as well? I have wonderful children, and while I do have plenty of days that I worry about what the future will hold for them and the things they may or may not miss out on, I also have days where I really am excited about what God has in store for us. My life verse (even before knowing I would have special needs kids) has always been Jeremiah 29:11-13. The Lord DOES know the plans He has for us. And we don't make decisions without asking Him for guidance first.

Okay, I know this is all rambling to you all because you have no idea what I'm talking about. BUT, I'm sure you've had circumstances that cause you to relate to what I'm saying. I just needed to get this off my chest. I just know I need a lot of grace for friends and family because they are NOT in our circumstance 24/7/365. I need to remember that, and not expect them to understand all our decisions as if they were. That's not fair to them. I shouldn't expect our decisions to be okay with others all the time (nor do we really worry too much about what others think when we make decisions for the betterment of OUR children), but is it too much to ask for others to respect our decisions, whether they agree or not? We will make mistakes and I realize this...we've made enough already. :) This is also where I need a lot of grace, because I too was once without children. Oooo, how the things we say can come back and haunt us!

Okay, I think I feel better now. These feelings actually came out of combined circumstances starting from about and year and 1/2 ago. Thanks for listening.....er, reading!

Tag

I'm not quite sure what a meme tag is, but sounds fun. I also got tagged by Fragile What? So, here goes.


The rules:
Write your own six word memoir.
Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you like.
Link to the person who tagged you in your post.
Tag six more blogs with links.
Don’t forget to leave a comment on the blogs you tagged inviting them to play along.


Wife, mother, friend; blessed with much!



I tagged:

Rian at A Day in the Life of a Moody Person

Becki at We Have Big Plans

Hidi Family

Party Time! And More

***She did it!!!!! My Avery pooped in the potty this morning! Yes, I may be a bit over the limit by putting a pic on the blog, but that's the kind of mom I am. :) I put her on the potty when she woke up this morning and as I was fixing her breakfast she hollered for me. As I got closer, she said, "I pooped." Well, how many times have a heard that before!? This time, no crying wolf. She stood up, and there it was, in all it's little bitty splendor! And no, I did not smell it to be sure it was poop. I trusted my eyes on this one. So starts the celebration. She got to write in her 'special' potty book, she got a 'special' sticker, and she got 5 M&M's. AND, of course, she wouldn't forget....she gets a party tonight. She'll go with Daddy when he gets home to go pick out her cake and icecream. When her daddy and aunt Zane called, she was very excited to tell them the news. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a continuing adventure!

***Update on Avery's trip to OKC. We picked Avery up at the 1/2 way mark on Saturday afternoon. She had a GREAT time with her aunt, uncle, and cousin. Her cousin has one of those big kid-size really moves Barbie jeep. Avery is normally afraid of it. She not only rode in the jeep, but she sat in the driver's seat and worked on driving it! My sister said she was well behaved and polite. And she got to show off her incredible hollow leg appetite. She's so tiny, you'd never believe how much she eats!

Letting Go is Hard to Do

Okay, all my children have at one time or another (actually several times) stayed the night at other places or with other people....my best friend and in-laws. Not too far a distance at all. Yesterday, I met my sister half way (she lives in another state) to have lunch with her and my niece, and to give her Avery to take back and stay a couple nights with them. There was something different about this time. I knew Avery would have tons of fun because she loves playing with my niece (5) and she loves her aunt and uncle. But my heart had a hard time letting her go that far away without me. I'm better now, but I was surprised at my feelings when putting her carseat in my sister's car.

I'm not one to normally check up on my kids a bunch when they're with someone else. I have friends who will call every 10 minutes to check up....nothing wrong with that.....I just don't do that. I've done well this time too. I called last night after they were in bed to see how she did, and I called 1st thing this morning to talk to her. She's doing great.

One of the reasons we did this was to give it a test for the summer time, when we'd like for her to stay a week (or shorter, if she misses home) there. It's really been tough for my sister and I to have our kids live far apart. It's hard enough for us to live far apart. We are only 13 months apart in age and our oldest kids are only a year apart in age. ( A lot of "aparts" there) I think Jim has a hard time understanding because his family all live within 15 minutes of us. It's great most of the time (there's still those 'in-law" moments every once in a while), but you know how it is.....just not the same as having MY family when I need them. I've gotten somewhat used it since I've been here since I was 18. OMG, that's 21 years now (as of next week when I hit my last 30-something birthday). I definitely don't think we could have made it (mostly emotionally) without my best friend and in-laws here. They do so great with our kids and love them so much. My best friend even takes them all on at once by herself! And she loves doing it!

So, with growth comes heartaches too. But they're the good kind of heartaches, if there's such a thing.