This Proud and Sad Momma...

Jake has taken up running with John.  Currently they are running about 1/2 mile 3-4 days a week.  He ran his first race last weekend - we were so proud of him.

Over the last few months, Jake has been complaining of his neck hurting.  It has gotten worse so last Thursday we let B's ortho doctor check him out.  After exam and xrays and a little education on his occular albinism and nystagmus he recommended PT to see if we could help his muscles.

Today we had our first visist.  The PT ask Jake lots of questions and one was how often it hurt him during the day.  His answer was it hurts mostly all the time except when I am lying down.  :(
Then as we talked with the PT, I was answering questions and Jake overheard me tell the PT that his vision was 20/200 and that he was basically legally blind (we were talking in regards to distance from TV & Computer screen).  After we left Jake said momma I heard you tell that man I am legally blind.  So John explained what that means.  Momma had to excuse herself and shed a few tears.  Now that Jake is going strong in school we are seeing more difficulties regarding his vision.  The PT said we would work on this but that he didn't know how much it would help because we are working against an underlying condition. 

It just makes me sad today - that I watch my little one struggle and hurt.  Please pray with us that the PT helps - from research it seems that this could be life long for him. 

Doing Well

I really do want to pick this back up.  It will happen soon I hope.  But for now I am learning how to get my big rocks in daily.  This is a big priority for me and John this year.  So while I love this blog it is not a big rock in my life and so I haven't made it fit regularly.  Right now we are working on the following:
1. Daily Time in the Word
2. Daily Exercise - doing well with the weekdays - not so much weekends yet because we don't do schedules on the weekend.  But I am pleased with how it is coming.
3. Consistent school - I am LOVE LOVE LOVING school with my boys.  It is amazing to me how they are such sponges.  And Jake is to the age where we really have conversations during the day and I watch him grasping truths and making them his own.  It delights my heart so much.
4. Consistent home routine - this is not rigid but we are working to be diligent to do the work needed for the day so that we don't fall behind and struggle in other areas.  I am learning that all but 1 of our family members really needs peace and order to our home - and to have peace and order and little chaos requires daily work.
5. Healthy eating.  My understanding of the foods we eat has grown a lot in the past year.  We are slowly eliminating processed foods from our life and replacing them with whole, clean foods in their original form.  This makes for a bit more work in the kitchen but it is becoming a hobby (which John says I need) and I am enjoying learning and trying new things.  I find great delight in providing healthy meals and snacks for my family. 
6. Quality time as a family - this is the one we are trying to still work out the kinks with.  John going back to work out of the home is hard for us.  So we are working hard to figure out the best ways for all of us to fill our tanks with each other.  We are hoping that date nights will happen soon as well. 

So these things are filling my day.  We spend lots of time at home which my boys love.  I have seen their imaginations soar greatly over the last couple months.  Their friendships are strengthing and my understanding of what each of them needs from us is becoming more clearer - which helps us parent a little better.  Our family is in a good place right now.  Better than I think we have been in YEARS.  We are still looking for community but the four walls of our home are such a delight to me these days.  For that I am grateful.