Six Years Ago

It was just six years ago today that my life changed forever.

It was six years ago that I delivered a beautiful baby boy that was immediately swept from my arms.

It was six years ago today that Jonah was transported to a different hospital one hour away from me.

It was six years ago today that Mike called and said, "He may not make it."

It was six years ago today that I felt a peace that passes all my understanding, and I rested in the fact that "heaven may hold [him] before I do."

It was six years ago today that I really understood the importance of a community of friends & family.

It was six years ago today that I saw the power of prayer as my little boy began to heal.

It was six years ago that, in the midst of chaos, I was unable to really celebrate Jonah's birth.

And so I celebrate him today!!!!!!!!

My army boy.


He had his first "friend party" on Saturday.

Whirlwind

There's much to say-- and no time to say it!

So enjoy this quick, ragamuffin picture of my darling daughter :)

School Update

It's going to get better. I'm staying positive.

I'm amazed at how one of my kids can effect me emotionally--and physically.

But I'm trusting that things are going to get better. Many of you have asked for more specifics and knowing that most readers of this blog are my friends and family, I feel it's safe to go into some depth here.

We've wondered since Jonah was 2 years old how he was going to handle school. We've always known that he would love learning; we just wondered how he could physically sit in his desk for the duration of a school day. Most of you know that he can't sit for more than 5 minutes while eating dinner.

After the second day of school, I gave his teacher some basic information about sensory processing disorder. Open house was that night and she thanked me for the information, had already changed his seat in class, and had put velcro under his chair that he could rub when he needed some "input."

Two days later when I picked him up from his classroom for his OT appointment, his teacher asked my permission to talk to the class about Jonah while he was away. She felt like his classmates were beginning to have a "that's not fair" attitude. He talks during seat work, but they're not allowed. He talks in the hallways, but they need to be silent. He has tactile balls & putty that he plays with at his desk, but they don't. I agreed it would be best and told her that Lydia and I were already having conversations about the fact that Brother's brain was different.

But I got in the car after that conversation and was just sad. His teacher is working hard and handling things with Jonah very appropriately (and for that, I'm VERY thankful), but it's not a good feeling to know that your child is the one that needs to be explained to other kids--

I pray for my kids to love Jesus, but I also pray that they'll be well-adjusted, confident, individuals. That thing called self-esteem, in my eyes, is so valuable. I want to protect his esteem. I want him to be liked by his peers. I want the same dreams for him that I had myself.

But it's not about me, is it? So with my sadness comes this thankfulness for Jonah. I'm thankful that God gave him to us. I'm thankful for his joy. I'm thankful for his affection. I'm thankful for that endearing personality that so many of you can see. I'm thankful that He gave him to two people that have lots of energy, are emotionally pretty low-maintenance, and can laugh a lot with our son.

I've had numerous phone calls from his teacher. It's been difficult, and she's been working very hard.

It's going to be a journey, no doubt. He's been to the principal's office twice for behaviors that were inappropriate when he was clearly out of sync.

The principal called yesterday. We're planning a meeting that includes his OT so that the school can understand him and his "invisible handicap" better. Today, his teacher contacted me and would like to begin emailing me a daily report.

I tried to articulate to Mike the other morning why I'm so emotional about the situation. I'm tense...I'm uneasy...I'm tired...I'm consumed.

I decided that I should show his teacher a bit of my heart and sent this letter to her this afternoon. I thought it would be helpful for all of you to read too:

I think it's an appropriate time to explain a little bit about our emotions in dealing with Jonah. Literally, from the instant Jonah was born, we started a journey that we were unprepared to begin. From the 12 days he spent in the NICU when he was born until today, we have been working to find solutions that help him be all that he has the potential to be. And along with extra energy, love, efforts, and special accommodations we've needed to parent Jonah well, we've also had to deal with feeling judged from people that don't know our family, pressure to constantly explain him to others, and constant worry about how he's doing when we're not there to remove him from overstimulating circumstances.

So we're on this journey-- along with our extended family that supports us wholeheartedly and our close friends that are daily present to encourage us.

I need the school to know that so many of our emotions have accumulated since he was diagnosed when he was one year old; we find ourselves programmed to be defensive, and I apologize if it appears that way to you.

We're very sensitive about Jonah's behaviors and the effect this has on the classroom.

We understand this process is difficult, but it's refreshing for us to see that you are working hard with him. We're hopeful for a productive year where Jonah matures, finds ways to self regulate apart from us, doesn't disrupt everyone else in the process, and can occasionally make all of you smile too!

Thanks AGAIN for your efforts.

***************

Thanks for praying for us.

Cupcakes

My Mom

She doesn't have a blog so I needed to pass this along to everyone. Perhaps you'll be as impressed as I am:

Here's her exact message:

"Only spent $3.77!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's the total from Target, CVS AND Kmart!!!"

And here's the attached picture:



OH MY GOODNESS. I've been entertaining freshman students in my home this afternoon. Looks like I have my work cut out for me tonight!

First Day of Preschool

It was a big decision for us. With Lydia's summer birthday I initially assumed we would wait another year for Lydia to start preschool. But we thought, and we prayed, and we analyzed, and we listened to the advice of this wise woman who taught preschool for more years than I could count, and decided that Lydia would love it.

It was a good decision.

She came home the first day singing songs she had learned, she's excited to go every morning, and other than carpooling with Mr. Ochs today, the transitional week has been a breeze :)

a little explanation

Jonah's OT just passed along this little cartoon:

the apple doesn't fall far

school

Jonah started school this week. Life changed.

Here's some stories from the week.

- While walking Jonah into school the first day I explained that he would be eating his lunch at school. I don't remember exactly how the conversation continued, but he said something along the lines of "just lunch? I thought I was going to be at school ALL DAY."

- The night before school began I explained that I would let him buy his lunch if he liked everything on the list. I read the list to him. "Chicken nuggets, buttered bread, peaches, and a cookie."
"I can like peaches tomorrow, Mom," he said.

- After school one day this week he said, "Mom, did you know that you can't keep your lunch tray?"
"Oh yes, Jonah, those belong to the school cafeteria."
"I thought I could keep it. I had to give it back to them."




to be continued...

It's Cheaper than Therapy

Today I officially started training for another 13 mile race. It's on September 26. It's good to be out again with my friend, Carrie. Perhaps you remember what happened the last time we trained together.

I'm ready now. I have a goal time. We've got a good three mile base.

It feels good to be back at it.

Violet & Lydia

My mom took this picture of Lydia with her second cousin, Violet. I think it's adorable.

this week

loving life with Uncle T

brother

Been spending time with Troy this week....

Usborne Books

We're fans of Usborne puzzle books at our house. That's what Jonah asks for on a regular basis. We check out at least one puzzle book every time we're at the library, and we've read them all over and over and over and over again.

A friend is starting an Usborne business, and I told her I'd have an eShow for her because we love the books so much.

Go here if you'd like to check it all out.

Here's a direct link to some of the puzzle books.

Cinderella Lydia

Look who's THREE!

We had a small party with cousins yesterday. Here's a few pictures:

Vacation!

Are you ready for this? You must assume that a photographer would certainly have plenty of family vacation pictures to share with her family & friends!
We had a great vacation. We purposely chose a "low-key" vacation this year. Mike is in grad school from May-August so it's hard for him to be away from his studies for very long during this time. Ironically, we ventured to that lovely northern state. I laugh at the irony b/c we wouldn't think about vacationing in Michigan when we lived there!

We started in Petoskey and were welcomed with a frigid chill that didn't keep us away from the water!



The following morning we headed to Mackinac. We layered ourselves with every piece of clothing in our suitcase (and still stopped at Wal-Mart for some socks, rain parkas, & pants:) to shelter us from the cold Mackinac weather. As the ferry was leaving, literally, I realized my camera battery was blinking and my spare battery was in the hotel room. AAAAGGGHHH! So throughout the day I turned my camera on, took a quick picture to document a moment, and turned it back off again. I barely took time to look through the viewfinder! Let me say it again, AAAAAAGGGGHHHH!

As soon as we got there, we rented bikes and spent the first few hours bicycling around the island. Jonah loved every minute of it. He wanted to stop at every trail that we passed. It was the perfect adventure for him. Lydia, on the other hand, was scared of the bike and horses all day. Yes, she was scared of horses......
and we were on Mackinac.......
That was interesting...




I love this picture because it's so typical-- Jonah leaning to get out of the picture with his infamous tongue that tells us he's overstimulated. I think it's one of my favorite pictures from vacation.

All day, we said, "Vacation!" and held up our fingers in a "V." Here's a side of Lydia that most people don't get to see, enjoying fudge on the ferry, of course!

After spending the night in Mackinac we took the scenic drive-- and boy did we take the scenic drive-- to Charlevoix and met our friends, the Ross family. It was still cold so Carrie creatively thought we should visit Avalanche Bay, an indoor waterpark. WE LOVED IT! Jonah could ride every water slide and even little miss Lydia was a daredevil riding down some big slides on her own. As Carrie mentioned in her blog, "Vacation Carrie" and "Fun Traci" were alive and well. We were even spotted riding a double tube down the "flushie." Sure wish I had a picture of that! I think that the adults had as much fun as the kids.





The following day, we experienced some warm northern Michigan weather and enjoyed lake activities at the Ross cottage.



Pop and Grammy spontaneously met us in Holland for our final grand adventure. The kids were so excited they were there; I don't think they ever settled down!


Mike and I had been worried about vacation. A road trip seemed like a good idea when we planned it, but how would the kids handle the constant change in hotel rooms, the driving, the sleeping arrangements, etc.? It was great! We made so many memories, and we can't wait to do it again next year!