Well, it seems we are overdue for an update on where we are. We have slowed things down a bit in our home. Well, at least as much as we are able to do with five kids. :) We don't want to be hermits, but a slower pace was definitely needed for our crew.
I'm just going to jump right in with my baby girl and give an update on what each girl is up to in this season.
Madi
Madi turned 6! She is quite proud to inform you of that as well. Madi is having a big year and doing amazingly well. She started kindergarten this fall, and while she was thrilled, mom was a bit apprehensive to hand over that sweet girl for 8 hours a day. We had been attached at the hip for almost 6 years. But what a change! She is thriving in school. She has made a lot of friends, and has a new confidence that could have only come without having mom or dad around.
She has graduated from hippotherapy to therapeutic riding. Basically, she gets to hold the reins and feel in charge of the horse. As you can imagine, she loves it. Really, there isn't much that she doesn't love. :)
We have also decided to pursue more testing to see if we can finally get some concrete answers. Her neurologist really feels that there is a genetic component to Madi's condition, so we are applying to the undiagnosed disease network. Hopefully, we are accepted and can find some more answers.
Dani
Oh my. Our wild child. She is still taking piano and enjoying it. I rarely have to nag her to practice. (That's a nice change for mom!) Dani tried volleyball this fall and did really well. It seems she holds more strength in those noodle arms than I gave her credit for. We may have many more years of volleyball ahead of us. :) She is our homebody and the most introverted of our clan. I think she is really enjoying how much we have slowed things down around here. Because of that she is able to spend a lot of time playing with her cousin and Madi.
Jessi
Jessi has benefited the most from slowing down. I encouraged (and when needed, forced) her to cut back on her activities this year. She loves to participate in a lot. Unfortunately, she is a perfectionist and the stress of not only participating, but also trying to be perfect was really taking a toll on her. She is prone to stress migraines. The migraines seemed to increasing in frequency and I missed my bubbly and giggly girl. She dropped several activities and has mentioned on more than one occasion that she isn't as stressed.
Sam
Our social butterfly, Sam, has blossomed this year! We decided to pursue some of her interests and get her involved in activities to help her develop some of her talents. She really loves to sing. We put her in voice lessons and she occasionally sings with our worship team at church. Her confidence has soared. She is being promoted to "band" at her Music school, and we are really looking forward to watching her continue to grow in confidence and skill.
It is also her last year at WEA before this girl starts high school. Be still my heart! It is crazy to think that I have two teenagers, and next year I will have 2 high schoolers!
Alex
Alex has been driving for a year now. Wow! That has been more of a blessing than I could have imagined. She is a junior this year, so we are looking at colleges and she has started filling out college scholarships. EXCUSE ME? I do not know how it is possible, but it is. She has a good head on her shoulders (though, she can still drive me bananas) and has grown into quite the young lady. We are so proud of her, her accomplishments, and can't wait to see where the next phase of life takes her.
Crystal
And me, well, I have benefited the most from slowing down. And that is what this year has been for this mom, a year of (mostly) rest. While it didn't start by choice, it quickly became apparent that I needed a time out.
It began last spring. I was suffering from pain in my shoulder. As I typically do, I just ignored it and kept pushing through. By June it was evident that the pain was not going to go away and was bad enough to wake me in the middle of the night. Butch insisted (like he is the boss or something) that I see the doctor. I was hesitant because frankly, I knew exactly what he would prescribe. Rest. And that is exactly what he told me to do for one week (including no housework!).
Resting does not come naturally to me. I am a doer, and being such, I find resting hard. I may have needed to be reminded on more than one occasion to sit down. Unfortunately, for me, one week of rest was not the cure. My shoulder was too inflamed and irritated from overuse, so mom got to try out occupational therapy. Much different being the patient, rather than the mom of the patient. OT meant more rest. Like WEEKS of rest. My kids did not love me, lol. They had to pick up the slack. And that is how our summer passed this year. A lot of forced down time. It was weird, but felt good.
And then school began. ALL the kids were in school ALL day. You have to understand, my day is typically broken up into 2 hour blocks. I always had somewhere to be, and I didn't have much control over that. This year, I suddenly had 6 unbroken hours to get things done! When I run errands, I am not rushing, and I stop to eat a real lunch at an actual table. I feel like I can catch my breath. I am also able to better rest my shoulder. I learned that a shoulder doesn't heal in a few weeks, and sometimes not even in a few months. (Poo on that) All around things were looking great.
I started to feel like something was off. The last time I felt this way, I learned that I no longer made testosterone and had to go on a supplement. So here I am, feeling like something is off, evaluating and trying to figure out what it could be. ( I never go to the doctor until I am sure there is a real problem, and have an idea what that problem is) Then it dawned on me. I was relaxed! Apparently, my body doesn't remember what that felt like, so I thought something was"wrong". That is both hysterical and sad. Instead of juggling 10 things at once, I am only juggling 3. It has made a world of difference for our family.
Butch
He is holding up surprisingly well in this house full of females. We haven't driven him crazy yet. Of course, we only have 2 teenagers at the moment. Give us a few years. ;)
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