1. Henry turned 5 years old on May 30th! He is pretty proud of this new number and reminds me everyday of this major milestone. His birthday celebrations were plentiful between preschool, my family and Aaron's family. He was spoiled rotten as usual but in the end the thing Henry wants more than anything is time and attention - FROM EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE!!! So while the gifts and cards were great... he still really just wants a stage and a huge audience :)2. We also completed our first overnight trip away from home during Memorial Day weekend. This was a pretty big deal for all four of us mostly because we have not traveled anywhere overnight in the last four months besides Mayo Clinic. We figured out how to pack and travel with the oxygen, pulse oximeter, feeding pump, etc.! Lots of gear to drag along but in the end it was totally worth it. We had a fantastic visit in Appleton with "Grandma Colleen, Grandpa Davison, Uncle John and Daisy". They all spoiled us rotten with great food, lots of laughs, golf for Aaron and a pedicure and shopping for me:)
3. Father's Day weekend was one of the our best weekends too - with the best dad ever. While Aaron did not get to golf on Father's Day weekend, he did get to play A LOT of golf the week before. Aaron and I were able to spend FOUR hours out of the house on a date without the kids. This has not happened in at least 6 months. It was wonderful! Hopefully we won't have to wait six more months to do that again.
4. Mason is officially 2 1/2 years old this week and he is doing amazingly well in his first cast. He is fearless and he longs to keep up with his big brother. His determination and spunk are what get him through each day. He is finally saying "Mommy" and "Daddy" and yesterday for the first time ever he actually called "Mommy" from his crib when he woke up. He is also imitating short words. While he doesn't understand how to spontaneously communicate yet, he understands a lot of what we are saying to him. Next week we will head back to Mayo Clinic for more appointments and the application of Cast #2.
5. Many people have asked how I am doing... the short answer is that I am "fine". But to be honest... I am getting there... one day at a time. I think I am finally passed the stage of being totally pissed off about this experience. Or maybe its just that I am tired of being bitter. While I know that God has big plans for me and my family, I am still grieving the life I had pictured for our family of four. I am quite certain that God's plans are MUCH BETTER than whatever I had planned in my head. But right now, the days feel so long. There are lots of funny moments... but they are still long days. It feels very awkward to write this... to say it out loud. But I feel its important because I think there are many mothers out there that are afraid to admit that they are mad or sad about the challenges that come with their special needs child. I plan on sharing more about this topic as God continues to work on my heart...
Wishing you all a happy, healthy and safe 4th of July!
I gotta tell you Keri, you've turned into quite an awesome mom.
ReplyDeleteThanks Paul. Love you guys - hope to see you this summer. I really want to see how adorable Kelley looks pregnant :)
DeleteGod bless you for saying how hard it is. What good is it, if you can't help someone else through your own pain? It's the only way to give it the middle finger.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that Mason and Henry have each other. I am guessing that Henry pushes Mason to be as good as he possibly can physically, just because Mason loves him so much.
So true Amanda - they really are made for each other these days. I have been reflecting on that a lot lately... how much Henry is teaching the rest of us about unconditional love and acceptance.
DeleteKeri, I have heard this story a few times now, as there have been a couple babies at church who have been diagnosed as a special needs child. Figured I could share it with you! God doesn't give us more than we can handle when we trust Him!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to Holland
by Emily Perl Kingsley c1987
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this....
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italiy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. the stewardess comes in and says, " Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the fligh plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around...and you being to notice that Holland has windmills...and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy...and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away...becuase the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But...if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things...about Holland.
http://www.our-kids.org/archives/Holland.html
Hi Laura - yes I love this story - discovered a few weeks ago myself. I am planning on posting it on my blog within the next week or so... it's so well written.
ReplyDeleteMiss my little Henry, can't believe he's in Kindergarten already, along with the rest of my 1st blueberry class.
DeleteI think you're pretty amazing, Keri. I admire your honesty so much. And I bet you have no idea how many moms that honesty helps. XOXO
ReplyDeleteYour strength and beauty are so well illustrated in this blog post. You are truly remarkable. And by the glowing faces of both of your boys, you can see that your handiwork has, beyond measures, "paid off". We continue to pray for Mason's progress and continuous support for you all.
ReplyDeleteMy sister shared the "Holland" story with us a few years ago as a means of explaining how she felt about parenting her son Mason, diagnosed with CP. As you said, so well written.
Blessings to you all!!!