2 years home

I should be one of those people who put together a slide show celebrating the day, but I'm having trouble getting our MN pics onto a post, so what can I do? We spent a pretty low key day with kids at vbs, then some fabulous fun at our friends' house, followed by a movie night supporting the girls' missionary fund for vbs. I did run some errands with Hannah, and she ran, literally, beside me as we rushed into one place after the other. I thought as I did - we've seen some big changes in her during this time. Mobility-wise is just one. We recently watched video of her from our trip to ROG and are amazed at the difference. We saw little Nika and so wish he could be home, too! Then there were the thoughts of Evan. I remember being on the plane home thinking that when we flew to be with our family, he was home in heaven. So many emotions and thoughts. Happy 2 years being in the Wright family!

July 1st. New adventures are on our plate today. To think last week we were enjoying great weather and memory making opportunities of Minnesota. I have to say, 50's for morning temps beat 80's by a long shot! E kids travelled well, and we have a chance to hang out with cousins we hadn't been with for any extended period of time in many years. There were new people to meet, good food to eat, lots of time choking in smoke from the fire the kids were good enough to feed with the leaves that were nearby, fishing and playing on the rafts. It was so relaxing we decided to stay another day. We got home Monday night, quickly unloaded the kids and travel paraphernalia, and got everyone into bed. Catherine starts a summer intensive, a day late at TBC, where she took ballet a year ago. Sadly, our travel schedule didn't allow her to be there last school year. We had to learn how to sew on ribbons and elastic,and tie them the right way. I'm thankful there is another CC student who lives close enough for us to car pool. Every day she comes home full of stories and new things she's learned. In the middle of all of this, Samuel left ths morning for Northern Tier for 2 weeks, and we had much to accumulate for the adventure. At least 8 days portaging in the Boundary Waters, wearing the same thing every day, changing at camp (wearing the same thing at camp every day), into sleeping clothes, then back into portaging clothes. They do shower and use a suana when they end the journey, which is a very good thing. Everything he needed for that trek had to fit into a 30 liter dry sack. Sleeping bag included. Packing it all in was an adventure in and of itsled! I'm so excited for him to have this opportunity. Looking forward to hearing his stories and throwing away his clothes once he gets home. To show the effects of these older kid activities on their younger brother, you would have to have been in our living room a few nights ago. I was in the back of the house enjoying listening to them trying to get his attention. C was trying to get him to do ballet with her. "good job, caleb! First position. Keep your feet just like that. Perfect! Now, releve'. (Clap, clap) pay attention! I am not pleased with this. You need to releve'!" Meanwhile, Samuel kept coming over. "Caleb, want to come fight with me? Let's go get our guns. Boys fight, they don't do ballet!" this lead to loud hand clapping by C. Back and forth it went, but I believe the fighting won out! A few funny Caleb sayings. For some reason we were talking about getting married. He asked a lot of questions- who will I marry? When will I get married? Etc. we knew she had to love Jesus. What he then informed us was- "she has to like my clothes." as we were traveling up to MN, it's frequently snack time, in their minds. Should more than an hour pass without something entering their mouths, it's almost more than they can bear. "Mom! Can I PLEASE have a snack? I'm fanished." he had a great time with his "husband" Kasi, whom he's only met one other time. Kasi was so patient with him. They were great fishing buddies. He couldn't quite understand "cousin" vs. " husband." some days reading lessons go very well. Sometimes we have to use bribery. Just think if I'd realized I was able to teach the older 2! We read a lot, but I thought the school would do it. Sad. In the midst of all of that, Hannah is having fun hanging out with every one. She just had a procedure done to fix some damage on her ear drum. She was a trooper and came out of it just fine. Back to herself that afternoon. I think she enjoyed her time in MN, and everyone was so impressed by her abilities, and the improvement from out last trip there in Oct. 2010. We did deal with some behaviors while we were there that normally we can handle in private at home. It was very tough discussing it with the extended family. I know some of the things we do in helping her overcome some issues, people don't understand. It's been almost 2 years, and I'd hoped we be farther down the road. It'll come in time, I know. Patience. I'm so glad she has Caleb. He certainly makes her keep up, and she does her best to do just that. Best friends/enemies, but great playmates over all. Tomorrow starts a week with only little ones at home. It'll be fun to see how that goes. I'm thinking this is a good time to be in the little pool and at the library. Pictures another day!

We're still here! Again, life is busy with not much to report but the day to day "life" things that are too boring to share.

Quick updates on everyone:

Samuel- happily scouting and earning his way to Northern Teir for this summer. He's also getting ready for Philmont next summer. Thrilling that he has these chances. I haven't measured, but I'm sure he's passed me in height by now. Denial works for a while:) he's getting ready to test for Memory Master. I so enjoy how he goes off by himself to study and comes back excited about his progress.

Catherine- still happily spending time with friends, doing school with Caleb, and planning her business, "Weeds No More." She will weed all your flower beds for $5. We're looking at getting her back in ballet this summer in prep for the fall. She's missed it and I know it'll be quieter this year, somewhat, so she can make use of her talent. She has also been going with me when I teach my knitting class. Nice to have extra hands to help. She's also working hard for MM.

Hannah- has a new pair of shoes with purple butterflies on them. Her class went to the zoo this week, and she was able to tell me three things she saw. School is still very fun, as is her PT time at home. Her hair is growing out again, reminding me of when she first came home. I'll let it go a little more, but I won't be able to let it get much longer or we'll be dealing with the hot, heavy hair we dealt with the summer she came home. Too much to comb through and too hot for OK.

Caleb- learned what the 5 little monkeys did. He was jumping away on the bed telling Samuel how he would get some apple sauce in the morning if he behaved. Hmmm Next thing you know, he's crying and dripping blood from his mouth. Best thing for that is sleeping with your mom, and daddy finding some place else to sleep. He looks a lot better today, but provided a great example of how our immune system works, which we'd just been studying with the older 2. He's learning to read and mostly enjoys it. The best part is when he sees a word in a book that he knows.

Hank just got fixed and has one of the funky collars like the Little Rascals' dog had! Chasing the cats is a lot harder now!

As for the adults, life is good and full. We've been able to drive together the past few weekends we've gone to Branson. How much better to ref the kids and read to Buddy while we drive than being the driver. We're reading about Benjamin Rush. Amazing Founding Fathers we had.

Have a great weekend!

I'm enjoying the unseasonably warm weather we're having lately. It sure makes it nice to take walks and be outside. I'll take it as long as I can! It's funny to see swimsuits in the store and imagine being able to skip cold weather all together. Not so.

We are getting ready to again make some changes. Although this season has been good, it hasn't been easy. I'm seeing how many loose end are held together not so well, that I really do need to spend more time taking care of some things I've let go/band-aid treated for the past few months. Plus, we miss being together as a family. So, we're making a switch in Hannah's school so we can be in OK more. We'll still be going to Branson, but will probably be going as a whole family instead of the kids and me (and the cats.) God has good things, and we look forward to when we can all be together all the time in Branson, but we'll be patient.

Today we started having PT come to our house, which will be a great blessing. There is a possibility that we can do all 3 therapies at home! Running has its benefits, but a lot of drawbacks, too. Being in one place, being able to focus on things will be great. CC will continue in Branson, and I'm very excited about all the things we'll be doing next year in our community.

One quick funny thing from Catherine, then I'm off to tackle my counters. (Pray for me!) Back in the day, your hair was all the same color, and heaven forbid your roots show. Now, with multi-colored-no-doubt-it-came-from-a-box-with-one-hair-having-mulitple-colors fashion, I guess it doesn't matter. So last night she said to me- "Mom your hair looks so nice with that color from whole foods and then your real color showing by your head!" Gotta laugh!

1000 gifts

If you're like me and the days get filled with so many needs and have to's and should do's, time goes on and I forget to notice the little things. The joys that come softly into our lives. God is faithful and good, but if we don't stop to notice, we lose somle awareness of His presence and His strength carrying us through our days. So, I was reading this blog about being thankful and looking for God's love in each day. How if we find just 3 things a day, in a year we'll have seen 1000 gifts from God to us. That's pretty significant.
Can't promise I'll do it everyday and blog it, but I'd really like to open my eyes more to His goodness around me this year. I have some catching up to do.
So, here goes...
#1- help at CC that lightened my load and enabled me to enjoy my work there many times more
#2- jelly beans that helped perk up kids during Essentials this afternoon
#3- friends for my kids to hang out with who love Jesus, too
#4-beautiful sunrises on chilly mornings
#5-sunny afternoons that lend themselves to a walk home from school (remember the 1/2 mile hilly driveway?)
#6-horses that eat apples from your hands and let 4 year olds practice giving them hugs
#7-cats that have more sense than I do- pushing themselves in front of my work, so I have to stop and pet them instead of working on something that can definitely wait
#8-soft yarn and time to knit so I can share love, wrapping around total strangers needing some hope
9#-words in season that whisper His love and faithfulness
10#sleepy snuggles

This morning, as we entered the New Year, my sweet Grandma entered eternity to be with her Jesus. I can't tell you how glad I was to hear of her peaceful passing and the hope that she is actually experiencing. To know that she's with our loved ones, the ones she knew, and all the babies of ours she hadn't yet met, is really a fabulous thing. My mom and 2 siblings were there before she passed, even though a snow storm came in as mom was driving into MN. How thankful I am that we made a trip last year, that Hannah and Caleb could meet her and make some memories.
With such a hope as heaven, what hope we can have for the year ahead.

Merry Christmas!

So far this month we had a CC party, a Sunday School class party, attended a hand bell choir concert, and listened to Christmas radio most of the day through. Tonight we went to Church on the Move's Christmas program and drove around afterward looking at lights. As we were nearing our house, the kids told us it was snowing. It was 38* out, which is too warm, I thought. When we got out at the house, behold, baby snow flakes!
We're so thankful for the truly blessed year we've had. I know it's been a sketchy year, but in and around my lack of blogging, we've had a good time.

Updates on the family-
I'll start with the biggest- Buddy. Business has been very good for him this year, which means he's away more than we wish. However, he does enjoy coming to MO on weekends he can, helping out in the parking lot at church, and relaxing with the family. Sleeping in, reading, watching football, and talking walks are his cup of tea. We did coax him into putting up a trampoline and a tire swing. Both are big hits, and we're thankful.
Yesterday gave us a little excitement. We were (big kids and I) bringing in the last of the presents to wrap for the little ones and my phone was in another room. Bad deal when your husband calls from Urgent Care saying his grinder went flying and got his toes. That morning I had been thanking God for His mercies that endure and are new every morning, not knowing how badly we would need them before many hours had passed. Thankfully, the toes are all on, and only 2 needed stitches. 9 in all. I got to help the Dr., which was actually a lot of fun. We knew the same Dr.'s from my days in the ICU. When he mentioned the need for nurses, I told Buddy I could go back to work and he could homeschool... He wasn't fond of that idea. ;) So today, he went back to work. By the time he came home and we went to the program, he was done being on his feet. Hopefully he'll use great wisdom tomorrow. The scripture that came to mind was, "It is of the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed." Lamentations 3:22. Just to think of what could have happened....

Delahne- happy knitting with a new set of projects. One of the ladies on Hannah's bus in going through chemo, and she inspired me to make lap blankets and wraps for those at her clinic. I'm hopeful they'll be a blessing. I'm enjoying the break from CC, but we're still so full of activity, it's hard to tell we're not doing it. Today we baked for our neighbors, and had a few goodies ourselves. I really enjoy cranberry season! I colored my hair for I think the 3rd time in my life. It was supposed to be "dark golden blonde" and turned out to be a bit auburn. I have red in my hair naturally, so I guess going for the most intense effect and my normal tendancies did a great work together. It's not so dramatic that people even comment, so I may try something else for fun later.

Samuel- still doing Boy Scouts. He's looking forward to a really neat adventure this coming summer in the Boundary Waters. Funny that I'm from that area and never went! It'll be a long trip, but I think he'll really enjoy it. He's working with his dad to earn the money for the trip. He also earned enough to go shopping Thanksgiving night and get his own laptop. He really likes it alot. He's making movies, playing games, and occassionally losing it for not quite the best behavior. He's reading "Mover of Men, Mover of Mountains" and "Left Behind" in his spare time. He's been a big help to Catherine in wrapping presents for us.

Catherine- having fun with her friends here and there (OK and MO) is the best for her. She's still very creative and likes music. She has a keyboard that had a headset. Frequently uses do not include music, but rather giving instructions. She has been on a roll making beautiful scarves for Christmas gifts for friends. I think she's made 4 in one week. While we were reading together, she'd be knitting up a storm. Just one more chapter! And away she'd go. She has been busy planning Christmas presents, going shopping, and wrapping most of the presents. Her kitty is such a joy to her, still. It's kind of funny watching her go get Fluffy. I'm sure Fluffy has resigned herself and tolerates being captured and wrapped up while we read, most days.

Recent reads we liked- "Calico Bush", "Carry on, Mr. Bowditch", "The Gate in the Wall", and started "The Red Badge of Courage." It's so exciting to finish a book and anticipate the good one that will follow. We've learned so much as we've read. It's my favorite part of school. Could we just read all day knit?

Hannah- has just learned how to fasten the bottom of her car seat harness thingy. She could do the top, but always said the bottom was too hard and wouldn't try. Just this week, she's figured it out and is so pleased with herself. She can write her name and count to 15, recognize most of her ABC's, and building with blocks. She likes to show her daddy how she can run and jump. We're still working on a wide variety of things with Hannah, but I believe she is improving in many areas. We're still working on her trying' to make people happy, but not communicating what's really going on, especially when she's away from home/family. "We can't help if you don't tell us whar it is going on. You won't lose it, we can just help you better. These things take time. We did do an MRI of her lower spine to rule out any issues there since there are no voluntary trips to the potty. Although she did tell me once a few weeks ago that she had to go. We're not sure why this is, but we'll get over this, too. She has a great time on the trampoline and will jump and jump for a long time. While she jumps, she sings and talks. I wish she'd keep it up when we come around, but she always stops.

Caleb- begs to do school with me. He really likes cutting and tracing, is learning to write his name, knows most of the letters' sounds and names, and could sit and "read" books for hours. It's amazing to have him be so still with books and then turn into a big ball of energy you'd like to bottle or release to the outside world. This is another reason why we're thankful for the trampoline! I told him a story tonight about someone special going to a family's house. "What was his name?" "Santa." "Hey, that's my daddy's name!" He's looking forward to having his daddy dress up in a few days. There's a little trouble understanding why he has to wait for opening presents and why they aren't all his. But, when I suggested we go through his toys and share them with other children, he was right on it and gave quite a few away. He's quite the boy.

Pets- we have no idea what happened to the lizzard. Nora is half self-cropped and looks a little silly. We haven't quite reached the behavior modification medications yet, but she does do nicely with calming treats! She hasn't quite made friends with the kitties, but we're hopeful. Thankfully, she still comes around when the kids go to bed for some attention from me. The kitties are growing and lots of fun. Fluffy doesn't want to be held, except when captured by C, but she sure likes to be petted when you're sitting still. Smokey is sweet and sleeps with us occassionally. She's Buddy's favorite.

We're headed to spend an Ozark Christmas this year, joined by my parents. We're really looking forward to this time celebrating our Saviour. We've been doing an Advent devotional this year, complete with ornaments for a Jesse tree. We don't have a big tree, but have a few live trees on our mantle. It's actually really nice. We also go a menorrah and we going to have one of our friends say the pray in Hebrew, but that didn't work out. All in all, we're just celebrating how good our God has been and will continue to be to us and all who seek Him.

Merry Christmas! (perhaps I'll post some pictures soon...)