Acceptance

I don't know when it will fully hit, but I have come to the realization that Seth will not hear normally on his own. We went to Walter Reed to get another ABR done to see where Seth's hearing levels may be and to see which of the past results it would favor. He is still measuring at the severe to profound hearing levels. And as I sit back and reflect on Seth and his speech, yes, he is probably way further behind than those his age, and yes, he doesn't say as much as other's his age. So, we again were presented with the option of Cochlear Implants. We will talk to a specialist in November. She will send us to another specialist who will review what Seth can hear, and advise us what options we have for Seth. If we went with Cochlear Implants, I hate the thought of taking away any natural hearing he does have. But then again, even if it doesn't have a very favorable outcome, what's the worse that could happen? We learn sign language? That's not bad at all! In fact, I'm sure we'll start learning to sign before we do any of this.

A few months ago we had a stake meeting and during the opening song I turned to my left and noticed the whole front section was signing the opening song! (We have a deaf branch in our stake.) It brought tears to my eyes to see it, but not tears of sadness. It's hard to explain what it was, but perhaps it's only the beginning. So, get your copy of Signing Time and let's begin!

This is for Tonnia

When I saw this, I thought of you and me, Tonnia! This was too funny!

Nothings of the week

It seems that it's easier to post when something exciting is going on or the children have accomplished something. But as this week has passed and I've pondered what to blog about, it seems like there was nothing "huge" that happend. And if I wait, several weeks could go by. The children only had a four day week. Friday they were off for the teachers to attend a state conference. Kind of like how Utah use to have UEA weekend. Kate has joined the Safety Patrol. She gets to wear a bright yellow belt and a badge and help children cross the street safely. She is very happy about it. She has to be at school half an hour earlier than the rest and stays after as well.

Alex's final day at his old middle school was on Thursday. He shows no emotion about it. When I first told him he was changing schools, he told me no. But I just kept mentioning it to him so he would get use to the idea, and now he is excited to go to the new school. He will start up tomorrow morning, and lucky him, he gets his own school bus which will pick him up right in front of our home.

The Primary Sacrament Meeting Program will be next Sunday. I've got five kids taking part in it. This will be the only time that five of the children together will participate. By the time Seth is in Sunbeams Kate will already be in Young Women's. So, this will be something special. Karsten, Dane, and Emily all have their parts memorized. Kate actually had to write a talk, so hers is a little longer and she thinks it's impossible to memorize. And Alex, well, who knows if he's got it memorized. He probably does, actually, but will never tell me he does. I'm going to make a small poster with his words on it so the congregation can understand what he is saying. He will be turning 12 here in a few weeks. I can't believe he is that old! He is so happy about being able to pass the sacrament. And you know he'll be making sure everyone else is doing it right as well! It's crazy how time passes so quickly. Karsten hardly seems like a little toddler anymore. He's four and a half! I was just thinking of how I miss the two year old stage, when they are walking around and want to try everything and are learning to talk and all. I'm thankful Heavenly Father allowed me to have this experience one last time, as I can't have anymore. The kids are great! Yes, we do have fights, and quarrels, and disagreements amongst them. But, oh well. I loved Elder Bednar's talk that he gave in General Confrence "More Diligent and Concerned at Home". http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1117-6,00.html When he described the things that their kids did during prayer or FHE, it made me laugh and it sure was comforting to know that we all go through it! Even the apostles have gone through what we are going through trying to raise a family! Anyways.

There are some teachers out there who are angels sent from Heaven!

We had another meeting at Alex's school today to finalize his hew IEP for the new school he will be attending. He only has one week left at his old middle school. I feel like everyone has been so great and have gone out of their way to help him. I was feeling a little sad that we were moving him as everyone has commented on how much they enjoy having Alex around. And then I talked to his PE teacher, Ms. Woods. I've met her before, but it was just briefly. So we got to talking and she told me she was so sad and shocked to have Alex leaving her class. She told me how much she loved him and his personality. He always kept them on schedule, always knew when the bell would ring, and wouldn't let the other kids try to cheat or misbehave. He never was a problem in her class and she was so good for him! She's been teaching forever, and she said she wanted to go where Alex was going! I was so touched by what she said that it made it even harder to have to say goodbye to his old middle school. What was even more touching was that she told me that the class never let him be the last one chosen. You never want your child to feel left out or different, and when they have disabilities, you are even more protective of them. What a great PE class he's had. I'm so grateful that he's had such a good experience. Just because it's a GIGANTIC place, doesn't mean there aren't people who care. It makes me feel good to know that when Kate enters middle school next year that there are a lot of good teachers out there wanting the best for our kids. Especially a certain PE teacher named Ms. Woods.

It's been one year!

Last year at this time, on General Conference Sunday in October, we brought Seth home from the hospital! He's been home one whole year! I remember the first night he came home, I slept maybe one hour. He was on oxygen and a pulse oximeter and I was afraid it would alarm during the night and I wouldn't hear it, even though his crib was right next to my bed! He's twelve pounds heavier now than he was than and much more mobile. It's been a long stressful year when I think about what we've gone through with just him. At least he sleeps during the night, well he does wake up twice to still eat, but he always goes right back to sleep. He's an alarm clock, though, as he wakes up at 6:30 a.m. every morning, give or take a few minutes. I don't know how he knows, but he does. He still takes to naps a day, though, which gives me a little break. The bruises on the forehead are starting to appear as he tries to climb up to everything, and falls occasionally as well. I love the little guy!

Goodbye September!

Can you believe that September is over already? Tomorrow starts the first day of October. Remember as a kid when time went by so slowly? Now I don't have enough hours in the day to do anything! I'm so far behind, I'll never catch up! So what am I trying to do in my few small moments I like to call spare time? I've got two quilts for the girls in the making, I'm trying to organize my bedroom, I've started doing Family History work again, Sarah's got me into jewelry making, and then there's the organ that I should practice more and the guitar that sits dusty in the corner. But I must admit that this computer finds more of my time than any of the other things I want to be doing. I've got to get off this computer! Ok, I'm gonna work on more of my room right now! TTFN!

Seth's Due Date!

Today we are celebrating Seth's due date, September 26th. It will kind of be like a second birthday party for him. The kids want to make him strawberry shortcake. I'm not sure if Seth will like it, but it sounds good to all of us! Seth is 15 months old now. He is pulling up to everything. It seems he is mastering everything the PT shows him how to do in about two weeks time. Two weeks ago we were teaching Seth how to go from the crawling position to sitting. Two weeks later he's doing it like a pro. This is how his crawling came along as well and going from sitting to crawling position. He mastered all these two weeks after he'd been taught. Now we are working on cruising. He pulls up just fine but doesn't quite know how to sit back down yet. And beware the stairs, he knows how to climb those. We are still on formula, though. I need to find out what's up with the whole milk. I mentioned before it makes him smell so sour. We tried soy milk, but it's way more expensive than formula, so we just continued buying formula. Sarah mentioned trying rice milk as it is even different than soy. We'll give it a try! We love you little guy!