A full week of activities for our family and lots going on this weekend.
Teenagers are always busy! Hannah has been working at our local Dairy Queen plus keeping up on High School, Running Start, cheerleading and gymnastics. Nate was offered two small jobs this week, yard work plus being a super sitter for our DsO picinic this weekend. He is registering for full time Running Start for the fall (just finished his testing). He is taking driver's ed now three nights a week, plus keeping up on his high school classes. I'm a tad envious that he gets to sail tonight on a 43 foot boat and camp at a gorgeous island here in the San Juans with a friend and his family. The weather and water will be a great treat for him.
Tommy and Liam have been busy too, not to be outdone by their older siblings. Liam is in T-ball a few nights a week and is enjoying preschool lots and the sunshine which means he is outdoors always. Tommy is healthy again, a little cranky though with his teachers and me, but busy at the Arc membership pizza feed and it was so sweet how the older people with disabilities just LOVE to see him and love on him a bit.
Colin has been hitting the gym this week, plus work and caught up on a few outside projects. We really enjoyed celebrating our nieces birthday this week at her pool party (she is 6 now) and Colin helped out tons with the duo. We will be setting up and helping at our local Down syndrome picinic this weekend which will be lots of fun and Colin enjoys meeting other dads.
I've been kept busy with work, children, housework, farming (our dairy goat has gone pro again with milking so soon there will be cheese) and trying to figure out schooling for the small crew for the fall. The preschool staff at our local intervention preschool have been wonderful. Absolutely supportive. But I have really been caught in the grief cycle again at an inopportune time. Right smack dab at the beginning of a school meeting with his preschool team plus an instructor from our local university who was there to access Tommy's communicative needs in terms of using an assistive device. Tommy's very favorite aide was 'pushing him' a bit that day to make choices using the pecs to communicate and well he got really frustrated and punched her in the face. Grrr. And when I heard that my heart just sunk back into that old friend grief and I couldn't stop the tears. For hours. The preschool team does such a fantastic job with Tommy and always, always has his best interest at heart. But Tommy is just so frustrated and trapped within his non signing, non verbal, barely using pecs body of a sweet self. So, hopefully the grant we received to fund a portion of an ipad will be the answer. The key. The interesting and spark that Tommy needs to become interested in communicating.
I've been given tons of grace this week. Truely each day this week has been an amazing journey in itself and such a great week with friends and family. I tell myself I can do this. My family can do this. We will all make it thru this phase of learning Tommy's communication needs and however it looks in the end will be just right for him. I've learned a new kind of patience. Perserverance. Salted and peppered with grace.
Grace Unhinged -- A mom's daily ramblings of raising a daughter and three sons. Young adults, twin boys, a farm with goats to chickens, gardening and quilting, work and my sweet husband especially. Taking a day at a time and by the grace of God, we make it thru.