I have a 16 year old?

Michael is 16 today at approximatley 5:10 pm. I'm not sure how to feel: numb, thankful,amazed, greatful, blessed, in awe, enamored, dumbfounded, doubtful, strange, and excited all wrapped into one. I can't help but think back when I was a 16 year old. I was full of many of those same emotions then, give or take a few. I can remember being mixed up by all those crazy feelings. I'm not sure boys go through the same hormone imbalance as girls do at this precious, vulnerable age of
16.
Boy, was I a mess. I was the chubby ackward girl who was afriad of driving, scared I would never quite fit in, jealous of all the skinny girls, and was not giving a second glance toward Christ my savior. I was a definite follower of things that were not so great to be followed. I'm not going to share all of my imperfections with you, but I do want to openly acknowledge that I had many, many, too many to list. Michael on the other hand seems to be so opposite of me. He seems to have it all together with juggling school, soccer, church, and family. He rarely misses a beat, unlike his mother who struggled in school, didn't play sports, and didn't go to church during highschool. Now, don't get me wrong, he is far from perfect, his room is a mess, he's forgetful, and sometimes mouthy,a typical teenager.
On this day as we celebrate his birthday I will make sure to thank God for Michael's salvation, what a gift, not only for Michael, but myself as well. I thank our Lord that Michael may not have to struggle with some things like I did as a teenager because he knows the Lord at this age. Being a teen is tough and doing it without Christ in your life is tougher. I know this from experience. I pray on your birthday today Michael, that you will keep Christ first in your life always. I love you and thankful for your life.

Back to school

Summer was fun while it lasted. We are just about to start our second week of school. Michael is now a 10th grader, wow, and soccer is in full swing. We had a tournament this weekend and one next weekend. Sometimes it seems really long, but we enjoy the time spent together.
We are waiting for cooler weather to arrive. I am tired of the high utility bills, ready for a little relief.
Daniel is doing well these days. He has started back with pool therapy. He gets his best stretching done in the pool. The warm pool seems to really help him relax and be able to range his tight muscles, as best we can. I am a little worried about his hips bothering him. I hope we can relieve some of this discomfort with better stretching in the pool. We are starting therapy at PTW, we have been entirely homebound for several years now. I think this has become to routine and boring for Daniel. We will go to the office now and hopefully see some better results for Daniel. We will still receive homebound therapy through the school system and a teacher will come once a week to work with him.
Hoping to savor the moments for now. Your kids grow fast, take time to enjoy them.

Thankful for a sweet Teen!

Summer has flown by so quickly. I have enjoyed the lesser schedule of the summer. Although I have worked more than usual, I still don't have the everyday to school drop off and pick up times. Michael has been such a joy to be with this summer. I was watching him in church today (as I sometimes do), thinking about how blessed we are to have him. He is so kind and sweet spirited. He casually stokes and holds Daniel's hand during service, periodically looking over to make sure he's okay, all this while his friends from school could be watching. I was, you could say, "warned" by someone about when "he becomes a teenager", he wont want anything to do with Daniel. He will be embarassed, he wont want his friends to be around, or go out in "public". I must say, that bothered me quite a bit at the time. I couldn't imagine my son being that way, but, I had never experienced a child with special needs and a teenager before either. I guess through many prayers and including Daniel in as much activities with Michael as possible he has not objected to his brother going places with us in "public". He and his friend Steele have even played Challenge league baseball with Daniel, in public, and seemed to look forward to going to help Daniel. I am truely thankful for a sweet teenager. I have heard many stories from moms that don't have such positive stories about their teens, but for now, I will enjoy mine for as long as it lasts. Thank you Lord for your grace!

Camp New Hope here we come!

We will be headed to Camp New Hope in NC in about 2 weeks. We have not been in 2 years. We are excited about going and enjoying time away together with family. The best part is no distractions from computer and telephone. Daniel loves to be outdoors when the weather is good. Our hope is that the weather will be a tad bit cooler in the high altitude of the mountains and being near the cool water of the New River. My parents will be joining us this year for the first time. They are coming the first part of the week and Jeff's the last part of the week. Can't wait to see how the dogs like being able to run free in about 165 acres of land and a river to play in. Thank you Lord for the opportunity to spend time together in such an awsome place and for the people who run Camp New Hope.

Roller Coaster Ride

Summer is here and going so quickly. We have had quite a few months. Our family has been on a roller coaster of emotions. We have had loss, miracles, and many changes in our lives. Sometimes I wonder how we get through it all. How much can one human mind take. Then I remember, we don't do this alone, God does this with us. We don't have to handle everything on our own, our Father is there with us every step of the way. If we didn't have His grace we would surely stumble. There is so much uncertainty of the happenings in our lives lately. I told someone the other day that when I get to heaven I will have many questions for our Savior. He will problably have to tell me to come back another time and let someone else have a turn. What a day that will be when we meet Him face to face. All of these sorrows will fade away and maybe then I won't need answers to all those questions. Maybe I will see it in His face and just know why some things happen. Until then, I will continue to ask Him for help, and boy do I need it.

Sweet boy!

I love watching Daniel watch his TV in the morning in his room. His sweet big eyes through his glasses. God has blessed him with sight, not as good as ours mind you, but sight. When he first got his glasses he did something that confirmed they are really helping. Daniel gets up around 2am to 3 am every morning. He makes a little fussing noise and one of us goes in his room and turn on his TV for him to hear and see the lights. We take Daniel's glasses off when he goes to sleep. One morning he was fussing earlier than usual, so I gave him tylenol thinking something was bothering him. His foot was still in a cast at that time. That didn't work, after 30 minutes, still fussing. I went ahead and turned on his TV like we usually did, before his glasses. After about another 20 minutes, still complaining, Daniel was not happy. I went back in, talked to him, repositioned him, and went back to bed. Shortly after almost getting back to bed, I hear him again. I went back and saw his glasses on the dresser, we had only had them a couple of days at this point. I put them on his face and his eyes lit up like saucers looking at that TV with all the bright colors on the screen. I kissed his little head and went back to bed. That little sweet boy never made another peep. HE WANTED TO SEE! THANK YOU LORD, MY BABY CAN SEE!!!!

Memorial Day Weekend

It has been an eventful week. I was supposed to go to FL this weekend, but was too exhausted. We had alot going on at work, Golf tournament, and a dear friend of ours lost their little girl. Driving 6 hours to Fl one day and coming back the next was not going to work out. My brain could not have functioned through it all. Enjoying a low key weekend with my mother in law and the boys.
Daniel is doing great, he gets his cast off next week. I can't believe it's been almost 7 weeks already! Daniel is so sweet, his new glasses have opened a whole new world for him. He looks around more and blinks his eyes like never before. I can't believe the miracle in front of me when he looks me in the face. How amazing is God's love for us. Daniel was not supposed to live after his birth. He had been visually impaired right from the start with a blank stare. Now to see him looking around at things is incredible. God has given us 12 years and now new eyes. He has shown us such grace through Daniel's life. I wonder what Daniel thinks when he sees us now!

Happy Spring!

Spring is here. Daniel will be having surgery on Wednesday for his foot. They are going to have to break his right foot and reset it with screws. We are not looking foward to this, although it's nessecary. He has not been able to stand in his stander since September because it causes him pain. The benefits of standing are far too important not to correct thr deformity in his foot. I would rather have foot surgery than hip surgery from lack of standing. I am praying the pain from surgery doesn't last too long. He has to wear a cast for up to 8 weeks.

I have joined the world of Facebook

It is kind of weird to be able to pop into someone's facebook and see what they are doing at any given time. Still not quite used to what I am supposed to be posting all the time. I am still pretty bad at posting here and this requires no response at all. I can't believe it is already the middle of January. Daniel is a little mad right now, not sure what is going on with him. He has been having some difficulty swallowing and choking, but overall doing great. We will be going to the ortho doc and scheduling surgery to fix Daniel's feet soon. They are turning inwards terribly. Michael is doing great in school and playing basketball. The weather is finally letting up and not being soooo cold. Maybe we can get out in the garage to play ping pong soon.