I know, I keep saying it...I gotta get on here more often...

I am going to set aside some time every couple days to try to get on here again...

My life has still been hectic, but what would you imagine, with 5 kids and appointments and trying to keep everything going...

An update on Faith, she is doing awesome!! We are being moved, slowly, from home care to facility care. That means we have to say goodbye to the people who have been in our lives for almost a year and start getting to know the new people. Right now, we are seeing a speech pathologist and an occupational therapist at the new place. We are going to miss the ones we have already gotten to know, but I have heard the new ones are just as good!

I think the hardest part is going to be readjusting to having no one in and out of our house...except friends, of course. I remember, thinking back, that I was finding it hard to have people come in, and now I don't want them to leave...

Faith will also be 1 on Sunday coming. I really feel like it has gone too quickly this time, for sure...she is developing very well, and is about 2 months behind in her motor skills, both gross and fine. We tell all the workers that we consider her "corrected age" to be almost 10 months, since she was in the hospital for 2 months. At the corrected age, she is actually reaching all the milestones. She crawls all over the house now and is pulling to stand, she walks with us holding her hands and she is starting to let go and balance without holding anything at all. It will be a while still before she gets the courage to walk, but we see the progress, so no worries!

She is also wearing glasses now. She is so cute and actually keeps them on for the most part. I think that she notices how well she is seeing, she is much more confident. The condition she has is called strabismus. It basically is the eyes go in different directions. She still sees fine, but probably in double, since the turn is in. We were so happy that the choice was glasses instead of the surgery. I didn't want her going through something drastic again...if we need it later, then we will deal with it then...but for now, this is the cute face we get to look at everyday!
We are also looking forward to our 13 year old heading to Africa this summer. How crazy is that? I can see his heart is in the right spot and I see him doing something like this as an adult. He is so helpful and really feels for others. He has to raise half of the ticket price himself, so that is $1500. The other half all the people who are going on the trip get to take on a group fundraising project. For Devin, we sold chicken. It is the first time we have done this and the church worked hard together and we earned $800 towards the trip. That was exciting and we will be selling it again in May...so, be prepared!!

He is also making a cool craft...that I would like to patent...but I am not sure how to do that...but he gets to make them himself, with some help from his dad and a very wise man at our church. Devin has a table at a local craft show to try and sell the product, along with some other crafts that we are donating...hat and scarf sets, cup coasters, pot mats...etc...and even Pooky is painting Christmas tree ornaments. That will be fun. He has also been collecting beer bottles that people are donating to him...so far he has made $65 just from those...pretty cool!

The others are doing well in school, Princess has taken very well to a new school and has joined all the leadership teams possible, she has gotten perfect on every spelling test, except 1 mistake on one, and she has read soo many books...she is enjoying making new friends and the added responsibilities that came with the school move...street patrols, walking kids home...it has been fun for her so far!

Cutie Pie is still a fireball. And yes, they did lockdown again this year...it blows my mind that when we were in school...many moons ago, our drills were for tornados...anyhow, she is becoming quite the girl. She feels too old for her grade 1 friends, but she is too young for the grade 3's. I never realized how hard being in grade 2 really is...

Pooky is enjoying preschool and doesn't ever stop smiling:-) Her speech is coming along, I can't wait until her name comes up on the list for therapy...I find it funny that Faith already has been taken for speech and Pooky, who will run out of time (due to her age) is still waiting, but I have learned that Canada is an awesome country to live in and am not going to complain about our free services...I am just happy that they are available. A funny from Pooky...our dog, Max, is a miniature poodle. He has not been groomed and has pretty long hair. She walked up to Max one day and moved his hair and came running to me screaming... (in her talk)Mom, mom, Mac ha eye, Mac ha eye...translated she said...mom, mom, Max has eyes, Max has eyes...She is funny, she notices these things, like it is the first time...like when Pete shaved one day. She was so concerned about where his facial hair had gone!! But others notice that too!!

And, I did get a job, providing home care to people with developmental delays...I still haven't been matched yet, but have been to one workshop, preparing for the job. While there, I had my teeth brushed and hands washed by a complete stranger...and I had to do that too...fun!! I also really felt compelled to ask for a home where it is palliative care. I think I probably sound morbid, but my heart was just pulled at when they were talking about the type of care that we can ask to work in. I think, maybe because of the experiences that I have been through, I feel that I am equipped to handle those situations. The loss and grief, the relationships, the light to someone else, the shoulder, the hug...I don't know, I went home crying and feeling that palliative care is the right spot right now...we will see how that goes...

Anyhow, I am going to head to bed. I am also going to work on getting on here more often, then the posts won't be so long!!