Updates

I suppose since I haven't updated in a while and people are asking.....

We have slowly started to settle into things here in Pierce.  It's a big change from Berthoud in many ways, not all of them bad either!  We were supposed to buy a house, but, as most (if not all) of you know, it fell through just before we were supposed to close on it.  We had already registered our kids for school up here, school had started already and things were well underway for them, we didn't want to disrupt them, so we scrambled to find a place to live within the district boundaries.  We found a modest home for rent that allowed pets, so we moved in immediately.  The house is about 1000 sq ft smaller than where we moved from, but the yard makes up for that.  The kids LOVE playing outside most days.  We still have many boxes (because of the smaller space) to go through, but we're getting there slowly.

I'm expecting again, it was quite the shocker for us, but we're pretty excited about a new little one coming in April!  We had an ultrasound to check my dates because I was measuring big and they didn't have to "dig" for the heartbeat at my first appointment.  They also mentioned "more than one" in passing, but I brushed that off immediately, but then started having nightmares about it.  The ultrasound day came and we went in...only ONE baby is in there and he/she is measuring right on track for the April due date we originally thought.  I just have "big insides" (I think that's medical slang for, "you're fat"). One thing was found at my ultrasound, however, that wasn't the best news ever.  I've got another subchorionic hematoma (same thing I had with Aralynn).  Aralynn's was right behind the placenta and was threatening her viability.  This one is near the cervix, so I'm more likely to bleed, which isn't great either.  Since its not threatening the baby directly, I"m not on modified bedrest like I was before, but I'm still on pelvic rest (no hanky-panky and no heavy lifting).  When they first called, they just mentioned bedrest, then they called back to clarify.  Frustrating still the same, I can't do everything I'd like to do, or normally do, but as long as I don't have to lay down all the time, I think I can handle this!

A few weeks ago, we got a phone call from the Spec. Ed teacher at the school.  She had concerns for Tyler and wanted to do more assessments on him, including an Autism assessment.  It shocked me and completely took me aback.  When you discover you have a special needs child, you go through a sort of "mourning period" where you mourn the "perfect child that will never be" but then you realize just how perfect your child really is and you move on, trying to help others see this perfection too.  I never thought I'd go through that process twice.  Does this make me a bad mom for feeling that way?  No.  It's normal, but it's how we react to it all after its said and done that makes us good/bad parents.  I finally realized after letting out some frustrations that he's still going to be Tyler...at the end of the day, that's not going to change.  The only change that will happen is how *I* (and his teachers) can help him and further his education.  They're not going to send home a completely different child, complete with helmet and wheelchair, and say "Here's your new kid, deal with it, lady!"  Once I got that out of the way, I started doing research and talking with a few people I know around here to help me with local resources.  After all the evaluations were done, we had a 2.5 hour long meeting to discuss all the findings.  It was concluded that he's in a new school, new home, new environment entirely, so they are going to put the Autism thing on the back burner for now and let him adjust.  He has new hours for his therapies and new techniques that will be used to help him out.  If, in a year's time, we decide he still is "out of sorts" then we'll further the Autism assessments, but for now, we'll just stick with SPD with a speech impairment.  There have also been a few things arise this year that have thrown us for a loop and we've become well acquainted with the Spec Ed teacher and the school counselor over this.  It's just another bump in the road to overcome.

Also recently we lost a member of our family.  Our beloved dog, Shadow, had to be put down.  Her quality of life had diminished, she was very sick and it was a very difficult decision that we came to.  The kids saw Chris load her in the car and take her to work...the kids think she fell asleep in the car and didn't wake up.  We figured it would be easier for them to deal with thinking she had passed on her own.  They're not at an age that they understand fully assisting pets along with that part of life.  They struggled with it then, and still do.  There are times when they will come up in the middle of the night crying because they miss her.  It's going to be a long road to deal with, but we'll all survive.

Chris is still super busy with work, traveling around and working long hours.  I am busy with kids, boxes, morning sickness and other household chores around here.  I got a couple new callings at church too, that keep me on my toes.  Chris and I teach in primary and I am on the RS planning committee and am a visiting teacher. Terra got reading glasses over the summer, and is LOVING her new class this year.  She's starting to be at the top of the class again, with the current teacher she has giving her praise everyday!  James is still...James.   He keeps trying to outsmart and out-whit us with his antics, but he's still such a joy and a happy kid!  We must be doing something right!!  Tyler is progressing and is off the charts in math and reading/literacy.  Smart kids we have here!  Celeste is loving preschool and it has helped her rid some of her "bad habits" that she learned from her older brother, already!  The teacher said she's so much more mature than the other kids, that she has to keep reminding herself that she's still not quite 4 years old!  Aralynn loves getting into mischief and going for walks to explore this new area we're in.  She loves to try and torment the kitties and they just look at her like she's crazy for trying. LOL