In the beginning of this year, Brian and I asked God for a theme for the year, and came up with Psalm 46:10...Be still, and know that I am God. This has been confirmed all year long, as this verse has come up a multitude of times in a variety of ways. It is, however, much easier to say than to do. This has indeed been a year of waiting, of being still even in our troubles, and knowing that He is God. We have not always been good at this waiting, but I believe we are learning. I hope we are learning.
I have thought a lot about Biblical accounts of people waiting. There are the Israelites waiting in Egypt. Waiting for God to deliver them from slavery, while they are greatly persecuted and their baby boys are being killed. When Moses shows up on the scene, things get even worse! But they do eventually leave Egypt, with all the loot of the Egyptians, too! Then there's Joseph, who sat in jail for years for something he didn't do, all because a woman of power lied. He took on a leadership role there, and was released into true leadership as well, but what of that waiting time? It sure wasn't fair, and probably not fun either. And then Israel as they waited during the silent 400 years between the Old and New Testaments...about 20 generations of waiting. God did come to their (and our!) eternal aide though, in the form of a newborn baby. Waiting on God seems to be a common theme in the Bible and in our lives too. There are so many things we do not understand, and yet, maybe we need to stop trying and instead focus on truly being still and knowing that He is God.
Our year this year...
Noah is 10, in 5th grade. He has grown by leaps and bounds and will soon be taller than me, I'm sure. He has joined the rotation for the video projection at church and enjoys serving in this way. He is a lot like Brian, and loves to help anyone with anything. We are still homeschooling him, and intend to go all the way through 12th grade. Math and science are his favorites and English is very far down on the list. He will be starting guitar lessons in the new year, as well as continuing swim and gym.
Nick is 9, in 4th grade. He goes to a neighboring public school, as that is where his mom lives. In the beginning of the year, we had a great visitation schedule and enjoyed a decent quantity and quality of time with him. These past two months, however, his mom has kept him from coming here. This has been a huge source of anguish for Brian and I and also the other kids. We are waiting for our court date, where hopefully this will be resolved and we will also get back the time we have lost, though you never really can get time back. Brian has been as active as he can in Nick's life despite this, however, going to lunch with him one or two days a week, and keeping in contact with his school.
Hannah is 5, and has started kindergarten at home. She is our princess, our very social butterfly, and we have entered the world of frequent sleepovers. She especially enjoys Mommy, Auntie, or Grandma time, and can be a most delightful little girl.
Levi is 3. We have had a very eventful year with him, which started with us trying to find a way to get him to sleep at night. Since he was about 2, he has been a bear to get to sleep, very often outlasting Brian and I. His doctor suggested we try melatonin, and he can swallow pills wonderfully now! The melatonin is working, but we found that even when he was sleeping better at night, we were seeing other disturbing behaviors that were getting worse and not better as he got older. We have had Levi evaluated through both the school district special education referral program and also the county mental health department. Both evaluations came up with a preliminary diagnosis of SPD (sensory processing disorder) and mild autism. We do not have an exact diagnosis yet, but he will be evaluated more closely this coming year for that. Just knowing that we are not crazy as parents has been a relief, and knowing that there are people who know more than we do about these issues is very helpful. After trying OT and speech therapies at home, we and the team of evaluators have decided he will do better in a classroom setting. He will start at an inclusive preschool in Syracuse on January 3rd, and is very excited to get to ride the bus! We hope that excitement continues, since his bus ride will be at least an hour each way.
Esther is 2, and very much the baby of our family. We have all loved watching her blossom from baby to toddler this year, and look forward to the growth this next year will bring for her. She is such a blessing, as are all the kids, and is quieter than all of the other kids. This quietness is often used for mischief, however, and boy, is she good at that!
For Brian, this year has been somewhat of a relief from medical stuff, as he "only" had one surgery...on his elbow in July. July also marked 2 years since the accident that changed the course of our lives, and we still don't have a clear direction of the course now. Brian's femur is still not healed properly and he has a feeling his arm is not either, but we have recently discovered that he has a severe vitamin D deficiency which may be the cause of that. This adds a new doctor to the list, an endocrinologist, whom he will see in April to hopefully figure out a solution. Brian spends his days helping with the kids, the house, and a bit with homeschooling. He has become quite adept at doing the dishes without putting too much weight on his left arm, and I have gladly given that chore over to him. When he is feeling good (well, as good as it gets...), he likes to tinker on cars and Noah and other family and friends help with the things he cannot do. Some days he probably does too much, but he is determined to live his life still, and that will to live well is something no one should try to take away from him.
Last December, I decided that now was a good time for me to go back to school, as Brian is done with most of his healing. I enrolled at Morrisville State University, just 5 minutes from home, and am taking the tougher of the two associate's degrees they offer in accounting. I had one semester that transferred in, and have finished 24 credits in my two semesters there, with a GPA of 3.95! It has been a stretching experience, but a very good one. I have two semesters left for my associate's and then will need to transfer for my bachelor's. The future prospects for my family and I through this are exciting, but still pretty much unknown. But what fun would it be if we knew where this crazy journey called life was leading, right? :P
Some of our hopes in 2011...
-to spend more purposeful time as a family
-to be more consistent with family Bible reading and study
-to continue to seek God and go where He wants us to go!
It is our prayer that our friends and family will be blessed beyond measure in the coming year, and that if you don't know the Light of the world, that you would come to know Him! Jesus is our Rock in this world of shifting sand.
