Sunday morning of Memorial Day weekend. Grace turned 4 on Wednesday, and she made the most of it. She was so excited she woke up about a half hour earlier than normal that morning. She had a great day at school, as I think her classmates, teachers, cooks, custodians, and all other school personnel knew it was her birthday (most likely because she'd been telling all of them it was coming for the past month). Then we took her out to eat that night so she could get sung to (again), and right before bedtime we gave her her big present, which is a humongous dollhouse with about 80 pieces of furniture.
The previous weekend we were down in Pella, and we got to spend a little time with our friends the Turnbulls. Their little Stella is doing well, and we're excited that they're planning on heading to the FSMA national conference in Cincinatti (we are too) in June.
Tomorrow we're having a little gathering for Grace's birthday, and we have family from both sides coming, as well as some friends from in town. Should be a fitting finale for Grace's birthday week.
Grace hasn't talked much the past couple weeks about not walking, and we're wondering if maybe she' started to get a grasp of it. There for a while she seemed really frustrated with things and would get upset pretty easily, and we didn't know if it was an age thing or her coming to terms with not walking like other kids. We've tried to continue to be honest and positive with her.
We STILL don't know the results of the SMA test on our new baby, but we expect to get that call early this week. We haven't let up in praying for good news, but either way it'll be nice to know and get this waiting over with. It's been a pretty excruciating four weeks!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
May 11, 2009
I sent this to many of you in an email, but in case you didn't get that, we found out today that it will be another two weeks before we know the results of the SMA test on the baby. The clinic that did Michelle's amniocentesis called today and said that the lab doing the testing was doing a different kind of test than we originally thought--and this test takes longer. So whereas we thought we'd know by now, it will be two more weeks before we know.
I did have a revelation this afternoon. Waiting on the test results has in many ways hijacked us, as we pray for good news but worry about bad news. My revelation was not to let this wait control us. The worst that can happen (a positive SMA test) isn't life ending. If we have another child like Grace we'll be thrilled, and we'll be experts on raising a child with severe physical disabilities. So Michelle and I have resolved to try to live without spending every waking minute stressing about getting that call.
I did have a revelation this afternoon. Waiting on the test results has in many ways hijacked us, as we pray for good news but worry about bad news. My revelation was not to let this wait control us. The worst that can happen (a positive SMA test) isn't life ending. If we have another child like Grace we'll be thrilled, and we'll be experts on raising a child with severe physical disabilities. So Michelle and I have resolved to try to live without spending every waking minute stressing about getting that call.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
May 3, 2009
Sunday morning, and Grace just woke up for the day. Her usual weekend morning routine: drink a little milk and watch a few minutes of cartoons before being ready to tackle a day of play. We're in the waiting period right now on the results of Michelle's amniocentesis. It's supposed to be 7-10 days, but it might be longer now because the lab that's doing the testing called and requested a blood sample from me. Apparently the hospital wasn't made aware that a blood sample was required from the father. So, now we're thinking it might be a few more days than we were originally thinking. We're doing o-kay, because we've prepared ourselves for bad news (while still hoping and praying like crazy for good news).
Sunday, April 26, 2009
April 26, 2009
Sunday morning, and Grace and I are sitting at the kitchen table. She's eating Life cereal, singing songs, and telling me the last names of all her classmates at pre-school. She's better at learning names than I am! Also, Grace is reporting some bad news to me--her imaginary friend Hannah is sick with a broken arm. This probably means a round of Doctor Grace and Nurse Daddy after breakfast.
As if our lives wouldn't be interesting enough with Michelle's upcoming amniocentesis, we sold our house last week (to the very first person who looked at it). So now we're freaking out, because we hadn't started looking for anything. We were under the wrong assumption that it would take awhile to sell our house. Because our current house is a raised ranch, we reached the conclusion over the winter that it wasn't going to be practical for us as Grace continued to grow, as we used her Standing Dani and wheelchair more and more, and as Michelle became more and more pregnant. We're looking for a ranch-style home, which as anybody who's been in the hills of Sioux City knows isn't as common as you'd think here. We're not worried yet, but if we're still looking a few weeks from now, things might get more urgent (we're supposed to be out of here by June 17).
As if our lives wouldn't be interesting enough with Michelle's upcoming amniocentesis, we sold our house last week (to the very first person who looked at it). So now we're freaking out, because we hadn't started looking for anything. We were under the wrong assumption that it would take awhile to sell our house. Because our current house is a raised ranch, we reached the conclusion over the winter that it wasn't going to be practical for us as Grace continued to grow, as we used her Standing Dani and wheelchair more and more, and as Michelle became more and more pregnant. We're looking for a ranch-style home, which as anybody who's been in the hills of Sioux City knows isn't as common as you'd think here. We're not worried yet, but if we're still looking a few weeks from now, things might get more urgent (we're supposed to be out of here by June 17).
Monday, April 20, 2009
April 20, 2009
Monday night, and Grace has been in bed for about 45 minutes. Tonight we read the standard two books at bedtime, including one that was about an older sibling adjusting to his new little sister. It was probably wasn't an accident that Michelle checked that one out at the library. We do think that Grace will adjust very well to the baby, although not always being the center of attention will be a challenge for her.
I had sent this in a big email a few days ago, but it bears repeating. Michelle is scheduled to have an amniocentesis on April 28, and we'll find out within 7-10 days after that whether our new baby has SMA. It will be a stressful time, but we're prepared either way. We continue to pray for good news, and we appreciate all of the prayers and thoughts that so many of you have sent. We'll be sure to get word out as soon as we know!
I had sent this in a big email a few days ago, but it bears repeating. Michelle is scheduled to have an amniocentesis on April 28, and we'll find out within 7-10 days after that whether our new baby has SMA. It will be a stressful time, but we're prepared either way. We continue to pray for good news, and we appreciate all of the prayers and thoughts that so many of you have sent. We'll be sure to get word out as soon as we know!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
April 5, 2009
Sunday morning, and Grace and I are sitting at the kitchen table. Grace is stalling during breakfast time, which is not suprising as the stall is one of her favorite mealtime moves. Today her breakfast is cinnamon rolls and bananas, so I don't understand what's taking her so long.
We had Grace's final parent-teacher conference of the preschool year this past week, and Grace received a favorable report. She's learning a lot, she's very receptive to teaching and very eager to learn, and she's doing well socially. We also learned that at times she gets a little too talkative, so I guess we'll try to work on that.
We have decided to sell our house. We love our home, but the fact that it's a raised ranch has become an increasing problem as Grace gets bigger and as we use her equipment more. We're going to take our time selling the house and then look for a more standard raised ranch that will allow Grace to come in on the main floor in her Dani or wheelchair. Part of the issue is that we're concerned with Michelle having to carry Grace up and down our stairs while she's pregnant or after the new baby is born.
On that note, and this probably repeats an earlier post, but Michelle is scheduled to have amnio testing the last week of April. Supposedly we'll know in 7-10 days after the testing whether the new baby has SMA.
We had Grace's final parent-teacher conference of the preschool year this past week, and Grace received a favorable report. She's learning a lot, she's very receptive to teaching and very eager to learn, and she's doing well socially. We also learned that at times she gets a little too talkative, so I guess we'll try to work on that.
We have decided to sell our house. We love our home, but the fact that it's a raised ranch has become an increasing problem as Grace gets bigger and as we use her equipment more. We're going to take our time selling the house and then look for a more standard raised ranch that will allow Grace to come in on the main floor in her Dani or wheelchair. Part of the issue is that we're concerned with Michelle having to carry Grace up and down our stairs while she's pregnant or after the new baby is born.
On that note, and this probably repeats an earlier post, but Michelle is scheduled to have amnio testing the last week of April. Supposedly we'll know in 7-10 days after the testing whether the new baby has SMA.
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