Day 24: Beach Day

The white sand and clear warm water...the beaches in the south are heavenly. Brice and I both said today we are going to miss them so much when we have to leave. Today the water was so calm. The air was warm but not too hot and the water was warm but comfortable. It almost seemed like a lake. Levi loved being in the water and it was so nice we didn't have to worry about the waves.  It was so nice. The water was so clear we could see everything....little fish swimming in and out around us, a couple big crabs running away, a few shells, and two huge dead jelly fish. The boys had such a fun time playing in the sand and rough housing in the water. It was a perfect day. It was so nice to feel more freedom because Levi isn't such a baby anymore. It really adds to the ease of doing things as a family. I can see how things will get easier. 

haha this is the best

I hope you have had a happy weekend!!

Love, 
Em

Day 23: Cade's Zipline Ride

Friday was an extra fun day for us. We first had a neighborhood bbq and baby shower. My kids had so much fun. Water, treats, and kids...what more could you want! 






After the party Brice got home from work and we walked to the Octoberfest on post. The boys loved the jump houses and slides. It was just fun walking around and seeing some friends. Being out at night with the three boys was something brave for us but it was worth it and they all were all so good considering it was their bedtime.
   


We let Cade ride the zip line and he was so brave.  He never showed any sign of being nervous...he was just excited.  I loved his bravery. As we were waiting in line he put his arm around my neck and said how he would miss me when he is up there and as he goes down. ha too funny and cute.  As he came flying down he held on with only one hand and then walked away and wanted to put the harness back all by himself. Sometimes I see a glimpse of an older Cade and it both makes me so happy and kind of sad.  It was so fun to see him do something pretty big tonight. 

We walked home in the dark singing, looking at the stars, and trying to distract the boys from crying and throwing fits until we got home...It was a good day. 

Love, 

Em

Day 22: Bike Races

A couple days ago my kids were playing outside with their neighbor friend and they did a little race and it was so cute to watch them. Little Levi wanted to race too and almost fell over as he started going.  He has this little bike a friend gave us that is so perfect for him. He can almost get on and off all by himself and its pretty steady. I love that he has a bike too where he can play like his brothers.  You can tell he likes it too.  Sweet little memories like these make me smile. 

Love, 
Em

Day 21: Cade's Special Day

Today was Cade's special day and it was so fun to see Cade's reaction. He had been counting down the days. When he woke up this morning he was so happy to see his "you're special' plate. At dinner he ate on his plate again and we shared why we love Cade. I told Cade that I loved what a good artist he was and I love how kind he is. Then Ry Ry said something random and I think I just said, 'Ry Ry you love how Cade plays with you. Isn't he so fun? Give him a hug.' Without a hesitation he rushed over and he hugged him and gave him a kiss. Levi just sat there eating his dinner and I said Levi you love getting Cade from the bus? You miss Cade when he is at school? He shook his head yes twice. Cade said, "aw thats cute." He was genuinely happy. He had the sweetest smile each time we said something and it was so cute to see on his face how much it meant to him.

He wanted us to make him cards just like he did for Ryan's Special Day. So we made cards and he opened them up and I read them to him. He was so sweet when he opened Ryan's and saw his name and the drawing of him and Ryan together.  On my card I wrote the things I love about him and that he is good at. He seemed so happy. 

When Ryan went to bed I let Cade come into my room to play games on my phone for 15 minutes and eat 2 cookies. He wanted me to try and fly the airplane too and was trying to teach me how.  This is one of my favorite traditions Im trying to build into our family. Im seeing how it doesn't take much to make it special.  I hope my kids always remember these special days. 

Love, 
Em

Day 20: Sweet Home Alabama

Im going to really miss it here when we move.  I love the possibilities of this place, the warmth, the beautiful beaches, our house, and the people Ive met. I love the green everywhere and the trees. I love that our backyard faces a forest of trees. 

I love the military community. It really is something special. It has a similar feeling to maybe a college community. Theres a lot of activity, we are all in similar situations, and people are active and wanting to make friends. The ladies I have met are so strong and are eager to help. They know what it feels like to have your husband gone...the loneliness and long days and the stress of moving and traveling and being homeless. We have all been there. Theres a moving truck often on our street. Some one coming, someone going. 

Im so happy we have come this far...one year gone and we have passed all the bigger landmarks...I wouldnt want to do it again but its been good and I will leave stronger and maybe a little wiser then when I came. Each person that has touched my life has left me with something special. Its hard to put into words but we really do effect each other in such subtle ways and slowly you change and you cant imagine never meeting that person and you are so glad you did. 

Much love, 
Em

Day 19: Cade's Speech Journey

When Cade was two years I took him to the doctors for his 2 year old wellness check. During the visit the doctor asked me if he spoke 50 words. I said, 50 words? Definitely not 50 words. I wasn't even sure how many words he said...what could I count as a word? The few things he did say were less than a word and more of a sound that kind of seemed like a word. The doctor told me that if he didn't start talking more soon that I should refer him for speech.  He just turned two, I thought. Im sure he will catch up. 

Another year went by. I kept worrying. Why is he behind? What did I do wrong? Maybe I didn't talk to him enough when he was a baby...maybe something happened when he was born. He was so big when he was born and came out limp. Could that have caused the problem? 

One day we were playing at the park and I could hear the other kids his age talking and I could see how apparent the difference was. I could see how his speech could start interfering with his relationships with his peers.  

He was close to three now. I talked to the doctor and said I wanted to refer him to speech. The whole process was pretty smooth and straight forward once I got it started. The phycologist got a hold of me and I took him to her office to be tested. I stayed with him while she asked him questions and did puzzles. One thing I remember he had a hard time doing at all was asking questions and even answering questions. I worried maybe he had a learning disability. When she came back with the results it said he was average/above average intelligence, I was so relieved! Oh good. That rules that out. 

It was such a mystery to me. What is wrong and why is this happening? I also started noticing that he was always breathing through his mouth and had dried cracked lips. It was so sad. It made me so sad too that he always seemed to have a plugged up nose. He would snore so loudly and breathe so loudly at night. He sounded like an old man. 

When he talked it sounded kind of like a deaf person talking. Thats how it sounded to me. I felt like I needed to keep pushing forward for answers. It wasn't that his doctors didn't care but I definitely felt the responsibility to fix this problem. I had to solve this one and put the pieces together. 

Another part of finally getting him speech therapy was getting a hearing test. When he was a newborn he had a hearing test and he past it so I didn't think much of getting another one.  But when we went to his hearing test they told me he did have hearing loss. I was very surprised. It wasn't huge but he did have it and she showed me how the line should arch up but it only came up a little above the straight line.  

When I went back to the doctors I told him what she said.  He looked in his ears and said his ears looked good and some fluid but nothing to really worry about. He told me to give him allergy medicine and it should help. It was suppose to clear up any fluid in his ears. So we did that for almost a year I think. I didn't see a big difference. His talking didn't really improve. He still breathed through his mouth and always seemed plugged up.  How long are we going to be giving this to him? I didn't like the idea of giving him medicine everyday. At some point we even went back into the doctors and I pushed for another test and again the line was kind of flat line and didnt arch high like it should. 

I requested a referral to an ear throat nose specialist. It was very disappointing. He didnt really seem to have more info to help us and again said yeah theres some fluid in his ears and it could be his adenoids but we would have to put a camera up his nose and he wont like that. He wasnt a very good doctor and it was very frustrating. 

Finally when we came here to Alabama I had had it. I wanted him to see a real specialist that was actually going to care! So we went to a doctor and I told him my worries and what he was experiencing. He looked at him and suggested tubes in his ears, adenoids, and tonsils out. He seemed to really care and want to help. He said that for kids like him it is like hearing underwater. I felt hope that maybe this was our answer. 

I was so nervous the day he had his surgery. I knew it was going to be a hard recovery. I know throat surgery isn't fun. I just hoped that it was going to be worth it and they would take care of my baby. Brice took him in because he had to be there so early and I would come after he came out of surgery. He would take Levi and Ryan and I would stay with Cade. It was so hard to not go with him. When I finally came to see him I wanted to just hold him and love him...He didn't talk just pointed to his throat and opened his mouth big. I knew he felt like something was all in his throat. I looked in and it was black way back there. It was so sad. He didn't seem in pain. He was out of it a little but he ate his ice cream and popsicles. At some point I went around the corner and said Cade can you hear me? And he said yeah and kind of laugh a little. We did that a few times. It really seemed like something was different. Like the first time he could hear that way. I was hopeful at least that was true!! Then he started breathing really heavily through his nose as he sat completely still, breathing in and out, like the feeling of that much air through his nose was a whole new experience!

The doctor said he had some fluid in his ears but his adenoids were huge. They were so big they were almost completely blocking his nasal passage. I knew it! Something was not normal! Poor Cade. We later learned that adenoids can put pressure on the ear canal and cause hearing problems. 

The next few days were completely miserable for him. I felt so bad. It was heartbreaking. He had to take the strong medicine every 4 hours..through the night...and he hated it. He wouldnt take his medicine..and if he wouldnt take his medicine he wouldnt eat...he just sat there drooling because he didnt want to swallow. We had to just force him and I hated to do it but he couldnt be reasoned with. There were many times I put the medicine in apple sauce just enough we wouldnt have him eat too much but that it kind of helped mask the taste. I would put on a show and persuade/beg him to take a bite...30-40 minutes later at 2-3 in the morning he would finally be done. Miserable. 

Lots of stories I could tell about that time but that might be for another time. Slowly he got better. And we started seeing improvement pretty quickly. Within a month we could see he had improved on his own and our family could see too. They started commenting that he was doing so much better with his talking. They could understand more of what he was saying on face time as the months went on.  It was so encouraging to hear them say that. As soon as he hit the 2 week mark after the surgery he stopped breathing through his mouth and sleeps without a sound now!! Just hearing him breathe at night so normally makes it all worth it!

It was been about 7 months now and as I look back it is night and day difference. He talks so much more. He sleeps without a sound. He is still in speech once a week at his preschool and has been doing that for a year. He is working on articulation, specific sounds, and simple sentences. 

We are still plugging along this journey and hope he can be all caught up soon!

Love, 
Em 

Day 18: Pep Talk

I put up the sign I made from Ladies Paint Night and I love how it urned out. Its in the corner of my kitchen. I just used things I already had around the house. The plant I got on clearance from Burlington Coat Factory, the white stand from a friend, the black bird is part of a frame collage from my sister, and the tin and candle from Hobby Lobby. Its so fun to make things more beautiful. The next thing on my list is my pantry...it needs some serious help. 

I love Cade's pumpkin he did with the big black round eyes. He did it all by myself. 

Im moving into this week with a can do attitude. Brice said to me once how many people are able but aren't capable. I loved that. How much am I willing to give to learn or develop that talent? I must tackle a Primary Newsletter this week. I know that once I learn the program that works best and how to design it, it will be fun.  But this realm of creativity is so foreign to me. Maybe one day Ill be able and capable!

Love, 
Em

"My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage." -Aunt Frances, Practical Magic?? I don't know just found it on Facebook and liked it ha