Burn-out = Change of Heart

Our family is very blessed to live in a time and city that provides wonderful medical care for our family. Every doctor and therapist the boys need to see are readily available to us. We run across many families who travel hours to Birmingham to receive their therapy. The boys see three physical therapist, two occupational therapists, three speech therapist and a special education instructor. They also see a pulmonologist, ENT, pediatrician, neurologist, physiatrist, eye doctor, audiologist and probably a few more I can't think of now. Some times it feels like all this great care is just too much but at the same time I look at all the progress the boys are making and I know it is because of all the care they are receiving.

I was talking with one of my good friends over the weekend about feeling burned-out over the amount of appointments we have in a week. She provided me with some words of wisdom that are really sticking with me. Being a parent to kids with special needs is totally unique. If you are not a parent of kids with special needs you cannot comprehend the uniqueness (trials, success, victories, emotions, etc.) of our lives. The enrichment of our family's faith in God and seeing His hand work so miraculously in the lives of our boys is incredible. There are several families that we come across every day who do not have this hope, peace and comfort. We are in a unique position to be able to share God's love with these people who are in a similar situation. So, instead of feeling burnt-out from all the medical appointments we attend every week I am going to see each of these as a divine appointment from God to share a bit of His love, peace and comfort with these families.

As we go through our appointments every week I will blog about some of the conversations God puts in front of me. I am excited to share the wonderful story He has given us with others, to help them turn to Him.

Owen's expanding vocabulary

Now that Owen is hearing normally his vocabulary is really expanding. He is now saying Mama, DaDa, BaBa (Logan), Owen, hi there, bubble, ball, more, Oma, I love you, bye bye and PaPa. He is also babbling A LOT!!!

Day with the Comers

After Logan's basketball game we headed out to Chelsea to watch Sarah ride her horse. All three of the boys enjoyed seeing the horses and Logan was able to feed one of them some treats.After spending a few hours at the farm we headed to Zoe's, a restaurant all of us love to go together. We then headed back to our house so Nathan and Owen could nap. Sarah and Logan enjoyed playing together for several more hours while Kristen and I enjoyed some tea, straight from China.

Logan's Last Basketball Game

Logan played his last Upward game this morning. He has really enjoyed this season and I am sure he will be playing basketball again next year. His basketball skills have really improved this year...but there is still lots of room for growth. It has been a very fun, hilarious, and entertaining experience.

Logan's Valentine Fun

Logan had a wonderful Valentine's Day. When he woke up I had a big Valentine sign hanging on his closet, which he loved. If you happen to stop by our house you will probably see it. He asked that we never take it down. I also made him heart shaped pancakes for breakfast.
That afternoon Nathan, Owen and I went to his Valentine party at school. All the kids enjoyed eating ice cream sundaes and exchanging Valentines. Logan gave Valentine Cards that were full of tiny pop-tart crisps.
Owen had the best time at the party flirting with all the girls. He had at least three around him at a time doing things to make him smile and talk. He was eating up every moment of it.
For dinner we met the Cooks at Chick-Fil-A. The kids had a great time eating together, playing and celebrating Sarah's birthday with a big piece of cake.
Misty spent the night with us, which Logan loved. The two of them also got a special dessert for me from Starbucks. We all had a fun night together.

Just some random photos

Here are a few photos of things we have done this week.

Logan went to the zoo with his friend, Caroline and her cousin Eddy.

Logan played at the park with his friends Isaac and Evan. Gracie and James were also there but had to leave before we took the picture.
Logan helped Chen move in to his dorm room.
I took all three kids with me to the dentist. Logan had a fun time taking tons of pictures of the event.

Sleep Apnea Update

Today Owen had an appointment at Sleep Disorder Clinic. A few weeks ago Owen had an MRI on his brain stem to make sure he had no abnormalities that would cause his sleep apnea. His MRI came back clean!!! His doctor believes he just needs some more time to grow and have this area of his brain mature. Owen will be back at Sleep Disorder Clinic in August. At that time we will schedule another Sleep Study. Eventually Owen will no longer need to sleep with his oxygen and we will be checking in August to see if he is ready to loose the oxygen. Right now I am really grateful we figured out he needed the oxygen. He is a happier kid when he gets a good restful night of sleep.

Garage Door Fun with Friends

Logan loved having his 100 day project at school. His project was a garage door with 100 garages on it. His friends absolutely loved it too. All the kids would take turns going in the garage. To my surprise they were able to fit 2 kids in at one time. Logan would operate the garage and the kids would line up to go in. His teacher let the kids play in there a lot during their Fun Friday free time.

Valentines Fun

For something different, we went rock climbing at First Avenue Rocks for Valentine's Day. This is something we have never done before, but had a great time doing it together. We will definitely be doing this again. We decided next time we will probably bring our monkey child, Logan, who likes to climb anything he can. This type of climbing is boulder climbing, which means no ropes, but the structures aren't more than 25 ft tall. There is also a 10" mat covering the entire floor, so you can't really get hurt if you fall.

Mercedes Marathon Weekend!!!

We had a fabulous weekend. We fought the bitter cold, for Birmingham. It was about 20 degrees each morning. What happened to our nice spring 70 degree temperatures?

Saturday morning, Logan, Nathan and Owen all ran in The Bell Center Run for the Mercedes Marathon. All the boys did very well and got a very nice metal. All three of them also ended up on the local 9:00 pm and 10:00 pm news. Everyone had a great time....and froze!Visiting with some of their therapists.


Thank you to my parents, Russ, CiCi, PawPaw and Elizabeth for coming out to support the boys in their run!!

Saturday night we enjoyed a wonderful dinner. We participated in the Carbs for a Cause dinner. This was a pasta dinner held at The Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. You guessed it, it benefited The Bell Center. The food was great and we all loved walking through the museum after our dinner.
Sunday morning was my race. I raised $1381 for my run! All money went to support The Bell Center. In face The Bell Center was the benefactor of the marathon!! I loved being a Bell Runner, raising the money and running in honor of my two youngest. It made the 1/2 marathon so much more special. I felt great about my run. I ran my 13.1 miles in 1:36:28 which is a 7:22 mile/minute. This is a 1/2 marathon personal best for me. I was 38th overall and 9th for my age group.I want to say a very special thank you to my friend Elizabeth who also ran in honor of Nathan and Owen. She raise $1300 and braved the frigid cold this morning to run all 13.1 miles for them. Thank you so much for your love and support for my boys!!

Also, a big thanks to my parents who spent the weekend at our house, allowing me to run. They got the boys ready while I was gone and brought them down to the finish line.

Mercedes Weekend

This coming weekend is the long anticipated Mercedes Marathon. Our weekend starts off with Nathan and Owen running The Bell Center 50 foot dash Saturday morning at 9:00. I know they will enjoy racing in front of the crowds of people. Logan will also run in some of the sibling heats for The Bell Center Run. Saturday evening we will enjoy a wonderful spaghetti dinner at The Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in support of The Bell Center. Sunday morning is my big race. I am so excited to be running the 1/2 marathon in honor of Nathan and Owen and in support of The Bell Center. I have raised $1381.00 in support. If you are interested in supporting The Bell Center through my run please check out my donation website click here. At the end of the weekend I will post lots of pictures of all our events.