2022

 It's hard to believe that it is already the year 2022.  So much is happening in my life.  My oldest daughter has moved back to San Antonio and is working at a bank.  She has her cosmetology license, but doesn't want to work in that industry right now.  Jacob left San Diego and has moved back to Utah where he is working as a waiter. He is so good about keeping in touch with Dwight.  Michael is nearing the end of his undergrad studies at BYU and is getting married on May 7th to a very kind woman, Heidi, who he met at BYU after his mission in Argentina.  Johnathon has done awesome on his first year at BYU. He really does the "adulting" thing quite well, which isn't at all a surprise to me.  My youngest daughter is having a strong academic freshman year in high school.  She is so intelligent, but seems to be rethinking the plan to take all advanced placement courses next year in hopes that she can lighten the homework load.  Ryan has had a major year, which you have probably heard about already.

In case you haven't....

In November 2021 Ryan had a T2 to pelvis spinal fusion.  It was a very hard decision to do the surgery and we postponed it for a long time. First, we postponed because it just didn't seem to be the right time to do it. Then the surgeon said it was the right time, but when we fasted and prayed about it, we didn't feel it was the right time.  So, we postponed.  Eventually, it was just the time. It still didn't feel good, but we felt at peace about the decision.   

That's interesting, right?  Interesting how sometimes a decision can still feel really hard, but we can feel at peace with the decision.  

The surgery went really well. He had a tough time with his adrenals after the surgery, but some testing post-op showed that it was just a response to the extreme stress of the surgery.  We are very thankful for that blessing.  He has been healing remarkably well.  We have one area of concern:  the hooks at the top of the spine have pulled away from the spine.  If they stay where they are, it'll be okay.  If they continue to pull away (think of it like a zipper), then he will have to go back in for another surgery.  We are praying that it will stay stable. Well, honestly, I'm actually praying for it to be healed.

This is a tough surgery and it takes a long time to recover from the surgery. He was about to be back in his chair the day following the surgery, but the bones and everything need about 6 months to heal. So, we are not out of the woods and won't be for a few more months.  Honestly though, sometimes with Ryan -- maybe with life -- it just feels like we're always in the woods -- and sometimes the woods are okay, because they're beautiful and serene.

What do I mean by that?  Well, it's hard to feel lost in the woods and to feel like you're wandering around in the woods.  But, I don't feel lost.  I feel like I get to spend lots of time with Ryan, and that time feels special to me, maybe sacred.  And, I feel guided or directed in those woods.  So, although it is exhausting at times and sometimes it feels very isolating, it really is very beautiful and serene in the woods.  

I just want Ryan to feel joy and to experience all the good things in the world.  So, it is nice to be out of the woods sometimes too.  

I hope that makes sense. 

Goofy Children

What is it?

The kids are always asking for soda and yesterday I was at this great store where they had some wonderful fun flavors of soda.  It's always fun to try something new right?

Need a Good Giggle?

We were sitting at the dinner table and I gave Ryan a few things to play with on his tray.  After several minutes of being entertained, I realized I should be recording.  This went on for several minutes.

Can you watch it without smiling?

Shots

We have a tradition in our family that whenever someone gets a shot (or shots), we let them choose between getting donuts or ice cream.  It was Johnathon's turn to get 3 immunization shots, and let me tell you:  he was impressive!

No one likes getting shots, right?  He was a little freaked out when they first mentioned shots.  It's been a few years since he's had to have any, but then we talked about how we have choices about how we'll respond and how we respond can often affect our experiences.  We talked about how if we get really tense when we get shots, it actually can make it more painful, but taking deep breaths can make it a bit better.  BUT, I reminded him that it was entirely HIS choice how he wanted to respond.  Then I sat down and continued the discussion with our wonderful pediatrician.  Meanwhile, Johnathon CHOSE to watch a BrainPop video on Immunizations. 

When the nurse came in to give Johnathon his shots, Johnathon was totally calm, smiling and really did SUPER!  I was amazed and incredibly proud of him!  Johnathon, being the super intelligent kid he is, recognized by beaming face, and immediately negotiated an extra half hour of computer time AND ice cream.  :)  But, since it was early in the morning, and the HOT sign was on at Krispy Kreme, we stopped by to get a donut and returned to school with the promise of ice cream after school.

After school, Dad suggested picking up all of Johnathon's favorite mix-in's to make homemade shakes at home.  So, that's what we did.  He choose Twix, Butterfingers, hot fudge, caramel syrup, and oreos.  Then he topped his shake with heavy whipped cream and cherries and sprinkles.

Johnathon

Johnathon, Deborah and I visited the play center waiting room at the hospital on Saturday morning.  Johnathon had a lot of fun playing with the Wedgits. 

Great Friends

Johnathon was invited to go with his good friend today to the corn maze.  

They had a great time!  

We are so thankful for good friends!

Day 1: Whew... Success.

We made it through the first day of school! And, the best part ... everyone, me included, had a GREAT day! Whew! Jessica wasn't thrilled to take pictures this morning, but she at least let me snap one quick picture before school.

David worked hard to give me a "mildly interested" look, until he had to sneeze. The sneeze made for a really funny picture, but I decided to stick with the approved pose.

Johnathon was so excited for today! His first words to me when he got off the bus today were "Best Day Ever!"

Deborah ... Well, Deborah was given the assignment to decorate this face. The teacher called it a happy face. Deborah calls it a baby face. Even after I explained that it might be a representation of her, she would just giggle and call it "Baby Face."

Tonight when I was tucking her into bed, she said, "Mom, I'm a Kindergartener, and I have the BEST teacher."

Ryan seemed anxious to return to school today. Thankfully, Ms. Nelda is still able to go with him.

Overall, it's been a great day, with only one small hiccup. Hopefully, tomorrow will be even more smoooooth. :)

Happy 4th Birthday, Ryan!

This weekend we celebrated Ryan's 4th birthday!  Can you believe he's already 4 years old?

We enjoyed a great lunch and a fun party! 

 And, yes, Ryan even had a tiny taste of chocolate cake.  :)

The party was fun for everyone!

 About half way through the party, Ryan started to seem a bit apathetic toward the gifts.  We then noticed that he was a little bit tired.  So, we put the party on hold until he was better rested.   Then today we finished opening the rest of his presents.  I'm not sure who's enjoying his new CD player the most -- him or Deborah.  :)

It's been a great 4 years!

 A lady who doesn't know me very well once made a comment that was at once accusatory and apologetic to me that I had Ryan.  I was so surprised by her comment that I didn't even know how to respond to her.  I have since thought many times about her comment.  I have thought of the many things I wish I could share with her.  Things that she obviously doesn't know, about Ryan, about my family, about life.  I've tried a few times to share the joy that she obviously doesn't understand that comes with having Ryan as a member of my family.  But, it never seems to come out quite right.  So, tonight, I'll just say... knowing all that I know today, I'd do it all again! 

Happy birthday, Ryan!  I love you!

Back To School

You probably know that I've home schooled for the past 13 years.  Last year we did Texas Connections Academy for Johnathon and David, which technically is not home schooling, but I still had 3 children home with me all the time (except on Tuesdays when they spend most of the day with other homeschooling friends). 

Well, are you ready for this?  This year everyone is going to school!  Are you super surprised??? 

Ryan is going back to the same PPCD class, which we loved.

Deborah is going to Kindergarten at the same school, which she is SO excited about.

Johnathon is going to attend 4th grade also at the same school. He's happy about it now that he learned one of his friends is also in 4th grade at the same school.

David is going to be a Freshman at the High School.

Of course, Jacob and Jessica will continue going to High School.  Jacob is a Sophomore and Jessica will be a Senior.

AND, I'll be going back to college, too.  With everyone else back in school, I've decided it's time for me to finish my degree as well. 

So... it'll be a HUGE change around our house.  I've NEVER had all the kids in school before.  I'm not even sure how to manage it.  I'm sure I'll be asking some of you pro-Mom's how you handle different things that come up during the school year.  It'll be interesting.

It was a hard decision to make, but I feel it's the best for each of the children right now.  So, let's just hope I can handle it.  ;)

Biopsy Results

The results from Ryan's latest biopsy are back.  You may remember that they took 2 small chunks of muscle from his right thigh at the end of January.  The results are back.  There was low mitochondrial activity, but nothing diagnostically significant.  Therefore, he is negative for Mitochondrial Disease.  Some of the test results are still out, such as the copper results. 

We have an appointment with the Metabolic Geneticist next week where we will discuss the test results in more detail and what to do next.  I'll be sure to keep you posted. 

Happy New Year

 Well, no one here can hold still even long enough for a quick picture.  But, hope you all have a happy new year!

Legendary Holidays

  One of our favorite holiday traditions here in San Antonio is Westin's Legendary Holidays.  We discovered it a few years ago and every year since several of the kids insist on going again.  

I'm so glad that at least some of the kids enjoy it because I love it! 

 

 This year we actually went on two different nights.  The first night I was mistaken about the time and so we missed the walk with the story teller.  Instead of just leaving right away, we visited with Santa, decorated gingerbread cookies, and made some wooden creations.

I'm so thankful that my kids are so patient with me and such great sports about things.  Even though things didn't work out the way we expected them to, we still had a great time!  Maybe even more fun than we would have had if things had happened as planned.  The best part:  we went back the next night for all the events!

Inside they have beautiful decorations that make for amazing pictures, like this one.

 At the beginning of the walk, they hand out bells and the children love the bells.

At one of the spots where along the trail, all the children gather up on the rocks and the story teller tells about the legendary snow fall.  Then he says, if we all believe there will be snow that evening.  Then the children walk toward the building and sure enough, there's a Texas snow fall. 

I won't spoil the surprise for you, but my children love the Texas snow fall!

After all the fun, there's hot chocolate and cookies to enjoy while we warm up by the fire

... and rest!

...

Gingerbread House Time

Today was the day.  We built the annual gingerbread house and I let Deborah and Johnathon take the lead.  I figured it couldn't go too bad, right?  Afterall, I bought a kit.  Actually, I bought 5 kits.  Target had them on clearance and Deborah was so cute.  (Dwight says I must have been feeling guilt about something.  A story for another day, perhaps?)

All was going well and Jessica and David were kind of helping them along.  THEN, one of the gingerbread men had an "accident" ... and it all went downhill from there.

I don't know what happened, but Deborah announced that the gingerbread man had "fallen to his bloody death."  Oh, boy.

Soon after that, there was another bloody mishap at the gingerbread house.

When I asked Deborah why all the bloodshed, she said, "You said we probably wouldn't be able to make it look just like the box."

 

 Hmmmm.... I don't think THAT'S exactly what I intended for her to take from my statement.

While the rest of the kids made the gingerbread house, Ryan rested peacefully, he's not feeling very well this week.  But, the good news is that he hasn't had a seizure since the 13th.  FIVE full days of being seizure free!  Whewhoo!

 And, finally, this week at work, we had our Christmas party and did a gift exchange.  My Secret Santa gave me the most beautiful gift!  And, in it were the most wonderful pajamas and socks.  I think I'd like to live in these pajamas all the time!  The pants are SOOO soft and the socks are super soft and cozy. Thanks, DJ!  You are awesome!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Am I the only one who is finding it hard to believe that it's already November?  And, not just November, but it's already Thanksgiving?  It seems just yesterday that it was June 30th.  It's hard to believe that almost 5 months have passed so quickly. 

In some ways I still feel like the child who wishes time would speed up so that Christmas morning will come when I open my eyes, and in other ways I wish I could just hold the hands of time so they would just almost not move.  I suppose it's good that I don't get to choose how to control time.

Anyway ...

I took the other children to see The Muppets Movie.  I love happy movies.  It's a happy movie.  I highly recommend it. 

I wanted to go see Hugo also since I had read the book "The Inventions of Hugo Cabret" to the children ... actually twice.  It's a great book.  But, when it was time to go I was just too tired and decided to stay home with the younger kids.  It was the wise choice for me to get some rest, but I'm disappointed that I didn't get to see the movie.  David, Jessica & Dwight really enjoyed it a lot.  (I hear that if you haven't read the book, you may not like the movie very much.)

We had a really yummy Thanksgiving day of food.  We choose not to overdo the food this year.  It was a nice choice.  Sometimes Dwight and I spend so much time cooking that we don't spend as much time with the kids.  We noticed in the past that the kids prefer us to spend more time with them.  It's more important than the food to them.  I think we found a really good balance this year.  Jacob commented that one of his favorite things about our house on Thanksgiving is how we graze all day.  We certainly did that again this year.  It was yummy!  I'm very blessed to be married to a good cook who loves food.

Ryan's spastic movements seem to be slowing down a little.  I wonder if it's like seizures that can come and go for no reason.  It makes me nervous.  I'm very anxious to talk to his Neurologist this week.  I should probably take a peace offering for interrupting his vacation so much during Ryan's hospital stay.  I know it's his job, but he could have just tried to call back once and then said, "Oh, well, I tried."  But he didn't.  I really appreciate that he kept trying.   Maybe some homemade toffee would be good?

That's just one of the many things we have to be thankful for at this Thanksgiving season.  I believe it's important to always have an attitude of gratitude, and know that in my life when I count my blessings, it helps me to remember my blessings.  I hope that you already know that I am thankful for you, my friends.  I hope you already know that I am thankful for my family, my faith, my God, and for all that I have. 

I pray that you,too, are safe and blessed this Thanksgiving season!

Natural Bridge Caverns with Aunt Joyce

 Today we went with Aunt Joyce to the Natural Bridge Caverns in Texas.  It was a lot of fun.  Ryan and I were unable to go in the Caverns, but we hung out and just enjoyed the beautiful Texas weather.  It was a gorgeous day!

 One of my favorite places in Texas is actually right next to the Caverns.  It's the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch.  I love it!  We didn't get to go to the Wildlife Ranch this time, but if you're ever in this area you should check it out.

Dentist Visit

If you've followed us for awhile, you probably already know that we LOVE our dentists and their staff at The Dentists for Kids!  Today was another great visit. 

When we were on our way over to the office the kids were talking about how much they were looking forward to their visit.  Deborah was listening to the boys talk about it, and then said, "Well, we all know I'm the favorite!"  Geesh, that girl!

Haircuts

I took the Johnathon and David to get their hairs cut today. Very overdue. Especially for David.


He was enjoying his hair being longer. Me, not so much. But, he didn't give me too much grief about going to get his cut. (Thank you, David.)

Mama Bear came out while we were there.

Have I ever mentioned that I am a HUGE Mama Bear? I do not like people being rude to my children, especially when my children are being very polite.

So, we went to the barber shop that we have been taking the boys to for the past 7 years. There's a fairly new guy who obviously doesn't like kids. He's rather unkind to the kids, even when they aren't in his chair. As we arrived, our favorite guy was already doing another man's hair and had another man waiting for him. So this man told Johnathon to get in his chair. I hesitated, but the man insisted. Hmmm... this should be interesting I thought.


Since he volunteered to do it, I thought perhaps the man would be on his best behavior. But he wasn't. I eventually had to step in and remind him that someone else could finish the job if needed.

He seemed surprised by my assertiveness. I wasn't mean or rude. I simply reminded him that there was no need for him to be so unkind to my son. He had volunteered to do the job. We were perfectly willing to wait for someone else. He was quiet as he finished the rest of the hair cut. Quiet is fine. The hair cut looked nice.

He left immediately after finishing Johnathon's hair cut and told the other man not to charge us for it. I still paid. I was not looking for a free hair cut. I just wanted Johnathon to be treated respectfully. He deserves that. We all do.

By the way, the pictures were by Deborah. :) Oh, and if you're wondering ... yes, we will go back to this barber shop. Why? Because, there are still other people who work there that do a great job. And, who knows, maybe this man too will be kinder next time. We'll see.

Johnathon's Nativity

Johnathon has a great Cub Scout Den Leader. Ida Ewing is one of those rare gems who does something super fun and creative each week. Johnathon is always excited to attend and I always look forward to seeing what activity she did.

This week she sent the mom's an email asking for some help with supplies. It seemed she might be planning to make gingerbread houses. Instead she did something even better. Check it out:


Can you see the sheep are made from large marshmallows and black licorice? Joseph & Mary are in the stable? Of course, that's baby Jesus lying in the manger. There's a donkey made from snickers & tootsie rolls & black icing. And a shepherd with a cane. Isn't that clever?


Johnathon was so proud of it and had such a great time! Thanks, Sister Ewing for being so awesome (and patient)!

Is it innate?

What is it about a pile of leaves that attracts children? Is there an inborn desire that forces them to run and throw themselves into even the smallest pile of leaves?


Tonight I took Johnathon and Deborah with me to a store. Just outside the store was a small pile of leaves. I probably wouldn't have even noticed them if it hadn't been for the way Deborah darted from my hand bee lining directly to the pile and started joyfully jumping. Johnathon quickly joined her and I stood in amazement wondering where they even got the idea.

I grew up in Indiana. We always had an abundance of leaves. I can remember raking huge piles of leaves. Of course, the best part was jumping on top of the pile when the work was done. But, my 4 year old has never seen us rake leaves. I don't remember reading any books about it with her and I don't recall Blue jumping in any leaf piles. Hmmm.... perhaps it's an innate ability to recognize ways to find joy.

Wouldn't that be great? Wouldn't it be great if we all had an ability to know just what would give us great joy? Just to know instinctively. Maybe you do. Or maybe, like me, you've had to work a little harder to figure out what brings you joy. Maybe you've had to experience some sorrow in order to realize that you have joy, or to more easily recognize the joy.

I don't know that a few years ago I would have stopped to appreciate the joy that they felt tonight as they jumped in the leaves. I might have just hurried them along to finish the shopping. I'm glad I could watch and share in their joy.

What gives you joy?