Random news

This morning I almost swallowed a fly. I took a gulp of coffee, felt something other than liquid in my mouth, and spit the whole lot back into the mug. When I dumped it into the sink, out came a drowned fly. I don’t know how long it was in my coffee. Maybe it flew into the grounds and drowned when I poured the water in, or maybe it had only just landed on my cup and I somehow swallowed it (ew). Not the best way to start out a morning, but not the worst way either.

Sunday afternoon, a 2 year old girl was placed with us. This little one has cerebral palsy and her mom is having her temporarily placed in our care so that she can finish her schooling, get a job, and provide a better life for her daughter. She is also caring for her 3 siblings (10-16 years old) and just has a lot on her plate. I think it is such a courageous and brave thing for her to hand her child over to strangers (us!) so that she can take care of the things she needs to do right now. We hope that she will visit often and keep in regular contact with us so that she remains close to her little one.

Sunday night we slept with little Amo in our room. Thankfully she only woke up twice; at one with a dirty diaper and again around 5, just because she wanted to scream for a bit. She eats well, is content to be on her own, and sleeps well. She does not like to be bathed, does not communicate and screeches when upset. Her face looks like she is 2, but her body is so small and fragile!

We went out for pizza with our kids on Friday night. It was a nice outing, other than the bees that kept attacking our Mountain Dew. Tyson was the most bothered by these pests and I tried to maintain some motherly sympathy while also yelling at him to sit down and quit jumping up and down like a lunatic. We watched the movie “Atlantis” (thanks Auntie Annelies!) when we came home. The night was especially relaxing for us because the TYB kids were in the capable hands of the aunties AND Uncle Lonnie and Auntie Debbie, who so graciously offered to come so we could have a night away.

On Monday afternoon we had a call from the kids’ school. Tyson had fallen off of a piece of playground equipment and had hit his head, scraped his leg and hurt his arm. This was about 45 minutes before school was over, so knowing that he was mostly ok, we left him until the normal school run. When he came home, he was dragging. We found an old sling from when he had dislocated his elbow back in Michigan and made his arm more comfortable. This morning he was still saying it hurt and he wanted to wear the sling to school. He can use the arm and bend it and move it all around, so I am pretty sure all will be ok in a few days, but he was just a bit shaken up.

On Monday night I went to a parent orientation meeting at the kids’ school. It just didn’t work for both Darin and I to go, especially with the new baby and Jori having her first experience with homework! Jori has Tyson’s teacher from last year, Miss DeClercq and Tyson’s teacher this year is Miss Lazenby. I was able to talk with Miss Lazenby quite a bit last night. I think she’ll be a good fit for Tyson. Jori might struggle having more structure this year, but I know she’ll be fine in a couple weeks. Please pray for them both, though, as the school scene is just a bit rough for them. Their differences stick out a lot in their school environment and I think they are both struggling more than we realized with being different and wanting to fit in. It’s also hard to get back in the routine of having homework and not being able to run and play all day. Growing up is hard work!

After Darin and the kids left for school, Amo took a rest in our bed.  We think she either has gas or reflux or something else that is making her very uncomfortable. She goes from total relaxation to screaming and tightening her little body. Poor baby. She did wake up with a dirty diaper again last night, but otherwise slept great til after 6 this morning! Thank you Jesus!!!

It is now after 9, which means I need to get to bed! Amo is making little cooing noises and seems to be settling down for the night. We hope she sleeps as well as she did the last 2 nights! Tonight we also discovered that, while Amo doesn’t enjoy being bathed in the sink or having a sponge bath, she LOVES the tub! Her mom had told us that she hates water, but she was smiling and giggling and seemed perfectly content when we put her in the tub tonight.  In other news, Miss O held a cup and drank water from it all by herself! She used one hand, dribbled a bit on her shirt, but managed to get the cup tipped back enough to get most of the water in her mouth. This was HUGE for her and there was a lot of clapping and celebrating for her. Did I mention that she has also learned how to get off the sofa by herself? Well, she has. She scoots down til she’s on her back and then wiggles her body until her toes touch the floor. Then she has to steady herself for the long drop to get her bottom to the floor. It is fun to watch and she is so proud to get from point A to point B all by herself!

Week 2 of school is going well for all the kids. The two preschool boys are tired and it can be rough for them to fit back into the group when they get back home. The rest of the kids also seem a bit lost without their older buddies leading their play. We are getting into a new rhythm though and know that it will just take time for things to settle down a bit. Tyson and Jori both stayed after school to do homework today. Instead of picking them up first, Darin picks them up after going to the other 2 schools. This worked great for Tyson in November and I think it will be a blessing for our whole family in this new year as well.

Ok, that is really all for now. We appreciate all of your prayers for all of us! Keep praying.