Big Week

This week is a big one, especially for Pricey. He starts SCHOOL tomorrow! We weren't really looking to put him somewhere until the fall, but a spot opened up and well, we decided to take it. It's not without some hesitation, but we are going to give it a go. He will be in school Monday thruFriday from 9am until 2:30pm. This is longer than Ellery goes to school. It really will break my heart for him to be gone that long at the young age of 2 1/2, but we are trying so hard to do the very best for him. And right now we are thinking this is it. I also think it will make my time at home with him more fun. There will be no in-home therapy and we can just be together as a family. I really just want to be his mom, and I think him going to school will give me this opportunity.

We also have our trip to Duke this upcoming weekend. I am trying to wrap up some last minute things for the trip and organize Price's medical binder this week. Some sweet friends of mine offered to pray for me, Nathan, and Price tonight around 8pm if anyone wants to join us in prayer.

I will be sure to post pictures of Price's 1st day of school tomorrow!

LOVE

I have a little box at the top of my closet filled with letters from Nathan. They go back to when we first met, through our engagement, and now married life. I read some of them today in honor of Valentine's Day and it has been so fun. I think Nathan's love language is letters. He has a way with words and expresses his feelings much better through the written language than the spoken language. Some of our early letters are so goofy and I laughed a ton. Here's a prime example.

this was at a trip to Sea World when we were dating

When I was turning 24, Nathan filled my room in my apartment with 24 balloons. Each balloon contained a note in it, one of the 24 things he loved about me. I won't share all 24 notes because I might start turning red but a few of my favorite funny ones are:

-It's a miracle - THAT hearts fits inside YOUR body.

- You have just enough fun to be on the edge but not over it. (this one really made me laugh)

- Smiles are a consequence of being around you.

- You provide full-time flutters.

I don't really like declaring my love for someone over the internet but I really do love my Valentine. When I married him 7 years ago, I could have never imagined loving him more, but I do...so much more. We have walked through some difficult and painful times and it has bonded us together in such a powerful way.

Okay, enough mushiness...everyone enjoy YOUR Valentine!

Street is 4 months

At 4 months, Street...

-sits well in the bumbo

-plays with his feet constantly

-grasps toys and puts them in his mouth

-pretty much puts everything in his mouth

-spits up a ton...averages about 6 outfits a day

-eats whenever he feels like it which is about every 3 hours or so

-doesn't take his eyes off me when we are in a room together

-does less raging and more smiling

-is sleeping better, in fact he has gone from 9-7 the past few nights (but don't let that fool you...it includes waking up and putting his pacifier back in several times throughout the night)

-is wearing an 18 month onesie in this picture

-acts way too big for his age...and seems very eager to grow up too fast

-is bringing JOY to our family and we are so THANKFUL

The day they found their feet

It happened on Friday. Both boys found their feet. Let me explain. Price knows where his feet are but he has never been able to reach them. Between his hypotonia and low body awareness, he never played with them like a "normal" infant does. Well, Friday while I was changing his diaper, he pulled both feet up to his hands and just grinned real big. That same day I was changing Street's diaper and he did the SAME thing. Street now plays with his feet all the time, and he's almost able to get them in his mouth.

Saturday we went to the mall because we were so desperate to get out of the house after the "no snow day" on Friday. I put Price in his car seat, went to grab my purse inside the house, and came back to the car and noticed Price had taken off not only his shoes but his socks too. He just grinned. I had to put his shoes and socks on three more times that morning. When we were putting him into the car after our mall trip, I noticed he was missing a shoe. One shoe. Most moms would probably be annoyed and frustrated with this but I was just so thrilled that Price had done something so normal.

Today I ran into an old therapy friend at the grocery store. Her son is about a year older than Price and when we first got thrown into the therapy world she was always there to talk, listen, and encourage. We talked for awhile about how her son was doing (he doesn't go to therapy anymore) and she said what they were most likely dealing with was severe ADD. And she said, "And I will take it handed to me on a silver platter." They had been through tons of testing with their son like we have with Price and she was basically saying a diagnosis of ADD would be just lovely. I can relate.

A few years ago I read something that still comes to mind very often. It was listing the secrets to a content life. One was to never compare your lot to another. I struggle with this at times when I am craving "normalcy" but I try not to compare. Sure our life looks different, our perspectives have changed in huge ways, but this is what makes our life so rich. I am thankful for the richness.

{And I am thankful that my boys 26 months apart found their feet on the same day.}

Flashback

Disneyland 2010

This time last year we were just returning from a trip to Disneyland. Let's see... Price had just learned to drink from a cup, he couldn't yet roll, and had no clue what his legs are for. He still couldn't sit unassisted or if he did it was for a brief second before tumbling over.

Last weekend we went to the zoo. Price rode the carousel. All I did was stand beside him with my hand on his back. He didn't really enjoy the ride (I think he was scared?) but he DID sit all by himself and held on to the pole.

Today, Price had an evaluation at a school we are looking at sending him to at some point in the future. He seriously was showing off...doing every task the teacher asked of him. Did he have trouble getting the peg in the puzzle? Sure, he did. Are his movements the most fluid? Nope. Does he still have a really long way to go? You betcha. But, he completed every task and did it with a smile. Nathan and I were so proud.

E is for entertainment

...and there is lots of it with this E around.

Clay

Street had his parent commitment this past Sunday at our church. I couldn't wait to see what they would come up with for the meaning of his name, and as I expected they used the meaning of his middle name "Michael". It means "like unto the Lord". I like to think that Street's name means light. For some reason I am always thinking about him being a light unto this world and rocking him to sleep with "This little light of mine." He's definitely a light in our lives!

He looked so handsome in his little sweater.

Last week we saw a geneticist at Texas Children's Hospital and we really liked her. She actually showed some compassion and general interest in Price. Of course, her opinions on what Price might have were just devastating. They are degenerative conditions, most with a very shortened life-span. Nathan and I listened, I asked a ton of questions, and she told us she would talk to an expert radiologist about the findings on Price's MRI and get back to us. We left there calm and discussed what she had said on our car ride home. No one should ever have to discuss the possibility of losing a child to some devastating disease. How humbled we are. We just prayed and once again offered up our son's life to the Lord. His will, His plan, His perfection.

We had an email from the geneticist yesterday saying that the radiologist does NOT think Price has a leukodystrophy (a degenerative disorder that destroys the myelin in the brain). Basically, everything the geneticist had offered as a possibility was ruled out by this radiologist and she was unsure of what was causing the changes in Price's brain. (They are very subtle changes but still changes.) I finished reading her email and thanked the Lord and laughed. Yes, I laughed. Laughed because of course they do not know what's going on with Price. Never has one thing a doctor said to us been right. Not once.

I was reading my devotional today and it discusses the verse, "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand." (Jeremiah 18:6). It talks about how we are involved in a life-long art project. We want our lives to turn out the best possible way for us and we are diligent craftsmen. We want the perfect family, the perfect job, etc. However, there is a craftsman more skilled than us. If we would trust Him to shape us into something more beautiful, He would. He has a grander vision of beauty than we do. The work of the Potter is not a comfortable process most of the time, but the finished product is glorious. We must trust Him completely because there is nothing more beautiful than His artwork. {Worship the King by Chris Tiegreen}

We are trusting!