Sunday, September 23, 2012

Figuring Things Out

Fall is here, and apparently it's been almost a month since I last updated my blog. You may be wondering why I would update it so early on a Sunday morning, as I would, and the truth of the matter is that with my boys and I needing to leave the house at 6:15 every morning to make it to work in San Antonio on time, sleeping in on Sundays, all of our sleep schedules are off enough to think that 7:00 is actually sleeping in.

Life has been...full? Confusing? Wonderful? A mixture of all three?

Andrew started his school (the one we specifically moved down here for) the day after Labor Day. So far, he seems to be doing wonderfully well. We get a very thorough, written update every single day about he did with his school work, what he ate, when he went to the bathroom (yes, still important that we know that), what therapies he had, what specials classes he had, and his overall social interaction. I posted on Facebook that Andrew has friends. This is amazing if you look at some of my earlier blog posts. I NEVER thought he would have real friends. And not only does he have them, but he can name them, and gets great joy out of being able to do so. So obviously we're so, so glad that we came down here.

Jeffrey has also been doing extremely well in school. His Special Education teacher makes sure to send me pictures and videos via text when he does an especially fun group activity, which I fully appreciate. I really feel like I actually know what both of my boys are doing at school, which if you think about it is not a normal thing...Neither of my boys are able to communicate past information very well, so asking what they did at school usually elicits a completely non-related answer. I'm grateful for the detailed updates.

Kadee Joy is doing well at school, and was just tested for the Gifted and Talented program. She has made friends as well...

But they all seem to be boys. Who come over to our house to play. And if you think this doesn't freak me out, you would be mistaken. I don't remember even talking to boys at her age, much less thinking it was a good idea for them to come over and play. Please pray for us. :)

Lukie is doing well, but of course I am already worried that he has autism. He's delayed on a number of his milestones, although he still is very smiley and has great eye contact. I'll admit that I've delayed vaccinating him just to see if it makes a difference...I know, I know, there's no scientific evidence linking vaccination to autism...you have two sons with autism and the third with a one in three chance and tell me you wouldn't at least think about it. :) He is a champ at eating solid foods, and has yet to actually spit anything out that he doesn't like. Except for formula, that is. Although he's pretty well given up spitting up that as well, which our washing machine is grateful for.

My job is going very well. It is a COMPLETELY different experience than any other I've had. I just wish that legislators and those in education knew, REALLY KNEW just how NOT level the playing fields are in each district. My school has a huge amount of parent support, a thriving PTO, wonderful caferia food (yes, this matters), small class sizes, an amazing amount of support staff....and it shows. And those things are simply not there in my other school district, and NOT because the teachers and administration there wouldn't love all of those things. The funding simply is not there and you can't force parents to be supportive. That's all I'll say about that for fear of getting myself into trouble. :)

And then there's my Chris. We've had a pretty up and down couple of weeks. The job we had been fairly confident he would be able to get never materialized, so we're back to square one.

My job pays pretty well, but doesn't quite cover all of our medical bills and student loans (not to mention that we didn't quite realize that you can't keep your house at 72 and not go broke when the utility bill showed up), and since a youth pastor job is nowhere on the horizon, he has jumped into a mad search for another job. We're praying that he will be able to find a job that fits his giftings well, and that it will be enough to cover the gap from what we made in Idaho to what I am making here. I want very badly for my husband to be happy in his job. Please pray with us that the right job will be available and that Chris will be able to find it.

I was thinking yesterday morning about when we had first begun to tell people that God wanted us to move to Texas. I remember that even though I was SURE that God had told me to do it, I really wasn't sure that we would actually go. So as I was reminiscing, it hit me that we were HERE. That the impossible had been made possible, and that had actually brought us here. I am grateful, if a little overwhelmed, and keep lifting my family and myself up to Him for his will to be done, even when it seems impossible.

On Being Sexually Assaulted While Having a Seizure, Reporting It, and the Aftermath

I never thought it would happen to me. I certainly never thought it would happen at work. When it happened, I reported it.  Immediately. The...