Spring is in full bloom here in Olathe and we are back to living outside and loving it! We just wrapped up an amazingly beautiful weekend and are looking forward to our first really warm week. Hank and I were already outside swinging this morning before school which was a great way to start the day:) I just wanted to update everyone on Josie and fill you in on Hank's latest.
Josie has recovered very well from her surgery and (knock on wood) there have been no choking incidents which is the best sign that it is working! She is also getting back to her normal energy levels. Unfortunately, the sinus issues have persisted and we aren't quite sure if the month long course of antibiotics that the infections disease doc prescribed is going to cut it. She did great on the antibiotics but once we go off we are back to the old sinus symptoms. We saw her KC Ear, Nose and Throat doctor last week and Josie needs a new ear tube so we will be back in the OR in the next few weeks to fix that ear. We are hoping it will help with her headache symptoms. She is also getting her 5 year molars which is not an easy process when you don't eat and chew. The chewing motion really helps those teeth break through faster so it may be a long road to seeing the new teeth. Overall, Josie's health right now is a day to day, sometimes a moment to moment situation. She has times where she feels great and we can go about our regular life and there are still many times where she just doesn't feel good and is in pain. I'm starting to get tired of waiting to see her in the morning and determine if it is going to be a good day or bad day just by the way she looks when she wakes up. She is having, what we would call, little episodes of head pain that are slowing her down but she just can't really tell us what it feels like so it is a little bit of a guessing game. I think it is probably a combination of the teeth, ear, and sinuses causing them. We are tweaking her meds a little to see if we can reduce the sinus inflammation, as well, as trying a nasal antibiotic for one last push on that lingering sinus infection.
Hank is having a great time enjoying the weather and playing outside! He pretty much runs all day:) He has made amazing progress at school this year and met all but one of his speech goals so we have had to find a new school for next year. It really turned out to be a blessing in disguise because we just love his new school and he is super excited about starting. He is going to Heritage Christian School next year in the afternoon class and I was really impressed with the program when we visited. He will have a couple of friends from our church in his class so it will make it an easier transition. As always, Hank is into anything about racing right now and his favorite question is "Woo (still working on the 'u' sound:) want to race?" which is asked about 50 times a day:) He is still into drawing and coloring and got a new how to draw book for Easter that we have been working on everyday. He is very focused on his drawings which is so cute!
Chad and I are doing good. We have been working hard on the garden and Chad recently rented a garden plot at our church for the summer so he can expand his growing operation:) Its great because it is within walking distance and the kids love to go there. Of course, there is also a large parking lot there so we get a mix of running races and gardening while we are there. Chad's work has slowed down a little so he is home more which the kids and I absolutely love!
I celebrated my birthday this weekend and I have to say it was probably one of the best one's I've had. My folks came up Saturday and took us to lunch. Sunday, Chad made me breakfast:), I had lunch with two great friends (sans kids), and we went to a family cookout with our Lifegroup in the evening. The kids had a blast playing with their friends until it was dark outside. Made for a late Sunday night but those are the nights when you make such great memories.
We are excited for this weekend! Chad and I will be sharing our story and the message of Special Connections, our support group for families of children with special needs, with our congregation at church. It is an amazing opportunity to share what it is like to raise a child with special needs and recruit volunteers for our future respite nights. It has been such a great experience for Chad and I to do this together and we are really looking forward to some fun events this summer with the group.
I hope you all have a wonderful week and weekend celebrating Mother's Day. This holiday is always extra special to me because I got to share my first Mother's Day with Grandma Jo. I miss her everyday but will especially miss her this weekend.
