A Sigh of Relief

I am breathing a big sign of relief....

Tabatha is finally feeling better! She is still mellow and tired, but much better than a few days ago.

The musical was last night and it went so well. I was very proud of my students! What a blessing it is to hear 250 kids singing God's praises with all of their hearts. I LOVE teaching at Zeeland Christian and I am so glad my own kids get to go to school here!

Mark leaves for the Big Ten Tournament tomorrow morning. I am glad he gets to have a break. I have been working extra at school this past week so with that and Tabatha being sick he has put in overtime as a parent.  Mark's Mom is here to help which will be so nice.

Ruby did have a seizure at school yesterday...I HATE them! Please pray we don't see more; I really don't want to have to mess with meds again.

That's all for now...

Sick

Tabatha was sick all weekend. She threw up for two and half days and then Saturday night I finally took her to urgent care because she was so lethargic. They gave her meds to control the nausea and that seemed to help. Finally Saturday night she kept down some apple juice and hasn't thrown up since. She still is very lethargic, but she did eat toast yesterday and some apple sauce this morning.  I felt so bad for her; I have never seen her so punk and mellow. For two days she didn't move if she could help it.  Poor baby. Hopefully the worst is behind us.

Funny how a busy week can change so fast.

Not my plans, but Yours.....

Updates

We are in the middle of a busy few weeks over here!  Here are a few random updates...

-The performance for the elementary musical I help direct at school is next week so there have been some last minute details to pull together. I am excited about it and the kids have been doing well in rehearsals. It will be fun to see it all come together next week.

-Charlie started a brain-training program through Neurocore for some ADHD concerns we are having with him. We are very encouraged about it, but it means 3 more appointments a week for a couple of months.  More on this later...

-Ruby's IEP is on Thursday; this is where we meet with all her teachers and therapists at school to see how things are going. They set new goals for her and let us know what areas we are going to focus on for the next six months. Theses meetings are always informative, but they are sometimes discouraging for me because her goals are so small.  Her teachers are WONDERFUL though and they always share lots of positive things about my sweet girl which warms my heart. One step at a time, right?

-Tabatha and Charlie have been struggling with colds this week. Tabatha is also getting over another ear infection.  They have been okay, but a little emotional.  I'm hoping they are on the mend soon! 

-Mark is going to the Big Ten Basketball tournament for a few days next week. He is so excited to go with his Dad, one of his brothers and several friends. The time off will be so great for him. He looks forward to this every year. Thankfully, my mother in law is coming to spend some time at our house next week while he is gone. It will be great to spend time with her and have help with the kids.

That's the latest on us....more later!

Saturday Night

Mark was gone with friends tonight. I had plans to get stuff done with my free night.  I was going to upload a bunch of pictures to Shutterfly so I could start catching up on scrap booking. I planned on making road signs out of foam board for a musical at school. I wanted to clean (well, I didn't really WANT to clean, but I thought I should at least scrape the toothpaste off the bathroom mirror :)

Instead, I found myself browsing a new website for an hour. Then, I experimented with a muffin recipe. Next I vented to my mother in law on the phone for awhile (thanks for listening Mom) and then I ate some muffins while I browsed more of the website.

Not exactly what I had planned.  The foam board is sitting on the kitchen table untouched and the toothpaste will have to stay on the mirror for at least another day.

Yet, all in all, a pretty good night. Sometimes the healthiest nights are the ones where the least amount is accomplished.

Sibling Love

Once in awhile, I wonder how Charlie and Tabatha will react to Ruby's special needs as they grow up. 

Will they resent the time we had to give to Ruby? Will they be embarrassed of her drool or her wheelchair? Will they feel burdened by caring for her?

As I was looking back at pictures I had taken over the last several months and I realized they aren't phased by Ruby's needs one bit. In fact, they don't know any different and they LOVE their sister; they do a lot to try and help her.  

I know as they grow there will be questions about Ruby, but I truly believe God will use Ruby to shape  Charlie and Tabby to be caring and sensitive. 

I think they will always have a very special place for her in their hearts.

A few pictures of Charlie and Tabatha loving on Ruby...

Charlie loves to cuddle by Ruby

Charlie helped her open her Christmas presents (or maybe he opened them for her :)

More cuddles

Tabatha grabs Ruby's hand a lot...melts my heart :)

Tabatha likes to "help" feed Ruby. I often find her sticking things like granola bars and cheerios in Ruby's mouth. This is sweet, but could be bad since Ruby doesn't chew...

I have to keep my eye on this little monkey.

Sweet Kisses

Cuddles again

A little help pushing the wheelchair on a family walk

This one makes me tear up

The kids sometimes hang out in Ruby's room just to be by her

More kisses

Tabby is always worried that Ruby doesn't have enough toys. 

She often empties Ruby whole toy tub and then brings them all to her, one at a time.

Charlie wanted to read Ruby a bedtime story one night.

Charlie playing a "tune" for Ruby. He also let her "play" with

 Buzz Lightyear (thanks for letting us borrow that toy Molly!)

Just when I start worrying about how my kids will handle Ruby,

 I am humbled by their display of love and affection for her. 

These photos warm my soul. 

From the mouth of babes...

Happy Birthday Charlie!

Charlie turned four this past Thursday. It is hard to believe my tiny baby boy is four!

Charlie- You are such a blessing to our family. You are creative, energetic, passionate, and full of life. You make me laugh and you definitely keep me on my toes. Your smile is contagious. We pray you will grow up to follow God with your WHOLE heart. We love you! --Dad and Mom

We celebrated with a trip to the aquatic center, pizza and cake with the West MI cousins. 

Charlie got his cast off on his birthday!

Playing his new game from "Minnesota Grandpa and Grandma "

Tabatha was a little unsure of the water at first. I think this was her first time in a large pool like this.

After awhile she warmed up and love the water.

Alex (Charlie's cousin) and Charlie NEVER sat still in the water so it was hard to grab a photo :)

Jogging Stroller

I am on the hunt for a special needs jogging stroller for Ruby.  Her wheelchair is great, but it limits us as a family. It can't go on grass, up hills, on trails, in the sand...etc. There is no sun shade and it doesn't recline well for naps. Also, it is black so if Ruby is out in the sun in her chair, she bakes.  Last summer, I often left Ruby inside on the video monitor while I was outside with Charlie and Tabatha, just because I didn't have a good place for her to sit outside.

A stroller like this would enable me to have Ruby out in the yard with the other kids and I all summer.  I could push her around the yard, even around to the backyard, which means going down a grass covered hill.  She could doze off in the shade while being outside with us. It would also allow us to go on trails, dirt, sand...etc. I think we would be able to do more as a family if we had a comfortable place for Ruby to join us.

So-- my friends with special needs kiddos---I need your advice/opinions.  Any of you have a special needs jogging stroller? What kind is it? Do you like it? What don't you like? Is it worth the money?

Also-- anyone in the West Michigan area have one that I could try? I would hate to purchase one and then find out it wouldn't work for Ruby. It would be so nice to try something out first.

I would love some help on this! Let me know what you know :) Thanks!