No Christmas letter this year and I only got about half of my Cmas cards out. This was originally going to go out with all my cards. I don't own a printer either. So here it is.
We have had our house on the market for almost a year now, with little bites. Some may think it’s a bad thing but we truly believe that God is helping us “keep it real” as if it would have sold sooner I can pretty much guarantee we would be living in Alaska right now. Not that it wouldn’t be super fun and exciting to be in Alaska, as our hearts still want to move there, we know that it is probably God saying “now just isn’t the right time”.
This summer we had our annual camping trips. One in June, and another in August. Our annual trip to the coast was cancelled due to the stomach flu going through the house, but it was quickly redeemed as Ron had an extra week off before having to return to work that we were able to squeeze in another trip at the lake. This was by far a huge blessing. Although my sister ended up in the ER which resulted in a week stay and a gall bladder removal (with a 4 week old baby we helped take care of), a dear friend of our family saved the trip while my parents were gone to help/be with her. Randy has become like another dad to Ron and I and a true blessing to us. He took the kids for walks, rides on jet skis, his boat and even made us breakfasts and dinner. It was a real blessing that he was camping that same week and right next to us.
In July I received a beautiful little gift of a new niece, Samantha. She was born in the end of July to my sister and it was exciting to be a part of her hospital life and first few months, as Lili (her big sister) was premature and in the hospital for four months. She is a sweet blessing. She is getting such a personality.
Ron and I also celebrated our 11th anniversary with 4 night’s kids free. We stayed home again this year and went out for a few lunches and a few dinners. Once again our anniversary evening was spent with my brother and his wife Michelle. It has become a tradition to go out to a nice dinner with them on our anniversary. We now look forward to enjoying celebrating with them each year.
July also brought many things to change the course of our family forever. One of those events was Tj being diagnosed on the autism spectrum. This answered many questions for us concerning his speech delays and many other issues we have been having for a few years. At that time he was also diagnosed with about a 2 year Global Developmental Delay, Disruptive Behavior Disorder and sleep disorder. Talk about a huge blow to us as parents, for our only little boy. It was by far the worst day of our lives. I fell into a mild depression as I learned to adjust to his needs, accept the situation and learn to take one day at a time and not worry about what his future may hold. (This is the simple version) We spent the next few months having evaluations after evaluations because everyone has to see him for themselves and give him their own diagnosis for him to receive the therapies and treatment he needs. This was extremely overwhelming. I knew God was carrying me/us through it all but it was a very difficult time for us. TJ is currently in specialized preschool, speech therapy and occupational therapy. We have been blessed by the people that are a part of his life in these areas of development. Although we have hit some major hurdles in the past 6 weeks, he is improving before our eyes. He went from practically no retained words in March to retaining all vocabulary he takes in and now uses anywhere from 1-4 word “sentences”. We are working on simple life skill tasks, fine and gross motor skills.
In the spring Dad Worst spent about 6 different Tuesday afternoons with Tj, just giving him attention and playing with him, while blessing me with a break as we were waiting for a diagnosis. My dad also took him a few times to play out in their backyard, help him mow and just take him to ride into town to get my mom. These little breaks add up to sweet breathers for me. It was greatly needed and perfect timing. It was beautiful to see him build relationships with his grandpa and papa as he was starting to communicate some.
God is so good and has blessed us greatly. It took him flipping our lives upside down to help bring us back to HIM. He has shown us through TJ what really matters and that no matter someone’s shortcomings, life is not easy and we all need love, support and encouragement. That is how we each grow. Special needs or not.
The kid’s school year began great as they were all at Stayton Christian again. Brooke was ecstatic to be in school all day and have lunch and two recesses. She loves school. In November however, we pulled Brookelyn from school (with her consent) ;) and put her in at the local public school. They have a few more resources for her in reading and she is SO BLESSED to have a fabulous Christian teacher there. She knew a few kids in her new class, one being her cousin, Kyonna. She helped Brookelyn learn the ropes of the classroom and she even introduced her to a few new friends. Brookelyn LOVES her new school and is so very happy. She is thriving and improving right before our eyes. God opened our hearts to public school and we are so grateful that we listened. She is growing taller by the minute. I can’t keep up and I can’t wait to find out if she will really hit 6-3 like the doctor has predicted. At this pace I will not be surprised. She is starting basketball again and loves it.
Madelyn is a smart little 3rd grader with the most amazing teacher. We saw so much personal growth in Kaelyn last year with her, that we have been excited for Maddy to have Miss B. Madelyn loves school, aces almost every spelling test, and loves to learn all those fun facts that no one else pays attention to. She is reading so much better but if given a choice she wants to read Dr Seuss. Madelyn is happy to be in the same class as her cousin Lili this year too. It’s a blessing when cousins get to go to the same school, let alone be in the same class. What great memories. She prays for her friends every night and never forgets to pray for all the people that don’t know Jesus. Madelyn is a great kid with a huge heart and a ton of compassion for others. She recently passed her big sister up in height. She is pretty proud of this. ;) Maddy is playing basketball and is having a lot of fun. She is on the same team as Lili. This is fun and makes seeing them both play a lot easier.
Kaelyn is in 5th grade and recently transferred to Salem Academy, Ron and my Alma matter. This is something that we always talked about happening for the kids somewhere between 5-6th grade. After starting at SCS, per partially her request, we went to SA asking if we could enroll her there. At that time there was not a spot for her. We kept praying and felt that if it were meant to be that they would call. Long story short, Kaelyn was able to start at SA the Monday after Thanksgiving. We were a little nervous about the larger school but knew without any doubts that God had opened the doors and a spot for her. It was a complete blessing how this fell into place. She LOVES her new school and has made new friends, recognized some basketball players from Upward, and has gotten to know two old friends from her previous school that transferred before her. She is always smiling and is ahead in some areas, and working extra hard in a few others. She is thrilled to change rooms for science and history with the other 5th grade teacher and even more thrilled about participating in two recesses again. The simple things in a child’s life. She is now selling pepperoni sticks for Out Door School. I can’t believe she is old enough for ODS. She is not playing basketball this year. There was no way I was going to pressure her to. She is still happy with her choice. We are too.
Ron is still at the school and was an assistant coach for cross country this year. A few kids made it to state with one of the runners bringing home gold in the final seconds. This was a super exciting for Ron to be a part of. Ron will also help coach track in the spring and possibly taking on an additional position soon. In the winter he drives the bus if needed and is considering pursuing his masters in teaching. We are ready to support him when he does. He is so close and what a beautiful thing for him to do with his family and children watching. He is still duck hunting and usually goes with my dad and/or his buddy and some other “hunting” friends. In October, the girls and I went with him to Summer Lake again and hung out while he went hunting. It was a fun trip that the kids and I look forward to. Hunting makes for early to bed, early to rise for him, but he loves it. He takes Carbon and she has done a great job retrieving birds for him.
I am still staying home. My job mainly consists of driving all over getting kids to and from three schools, Tj to OT once a week and some days making sure I am home just in the nick of time for him to get off his little bus. I have not helped in the classrooms at all this year as I am feeling the need of a break. I still am part of SCS’s Parent Alliance group and hope to get involved with the PTA’s of the other 2 schools. My personal loads have lightened but it was required in order to remain sane. I miss Bible study and seeing the kids at school but am taking advantage of no kids at home twice a week for a whole hour and a half. I can clean without recleaning and finding a mess somewhere else. I will sit and watch a movie or read one of the dozen books I am always accumulating that are waiting to be read. My goal is a new novel every other week. It feels great to be reading again like I did when I was a little girl and to just have some me time. I hope to someday have enough books to have a mini library in a new home.
Although 2010 was the worst year we have ever had, it wasn’t a total loss. We grew in our faith, relationship with Christ and in our marriage. Without the trials we were faced with this summer and lessons learned, we would not be in the personal place we are. We have had to make some big decisions and each one made with no regrets. We are desperately praying that 2011 brings growth by simpler means but we are ready for whatever God has in store for us. Our prayer for each of you receiving our big long wordy update, is renewed strength, restored faith, physical and spiritual healing and peace! To each of you, we pray that you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Alyssa, Ron and the kids
1 comment:
Awesome post my sweet daughter, love mom
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