Life- Evaluated...

I'm making some changes. Yes, it is a new year- but this isn't a resolution thing. I tend to evaluate my life as I approach each birthday, which just falls closely behind the start of a new year.

2008 was a year of many things for me- the two words that describe it best are CHANGE and CHAOS. My 30th year was the biggest year of personal growth for me, ever. I stepped out of my comfort bubble and entered into leadership at MOPS. I dedicated myself to volunteering at church every Wednesday. I became more than an employee at Medica, and now share company responsibility with my dad.

It was also my most chaotic year, ever. All of these changes made my plate very full. And I'm a half plate kind of gal- I like to leave myself plenty room. So this new plate made me a bit crazy at times.
In evaluating, I think back to how I envisioned my life- as a wee 20yr old- when I would be in my 30's. I was already married at 20, planned on kids, so much of that is the same. I, however, did not plan on setting up speech therapy for one child while discussing grade advancement testing for another. I didn't plan on struggling to find the balance between stay-at-home mom and working mom.

I am so glad that 2008 is over. I am also glad to have gone thru it. I learned so much about myself, my family and my God this past year, I won't trade that knowledge for anything.

I know that whatever 2009 holds, I can take it. Afterall, I did survive 2008!

Whoa, where has time gone??!

Has it really been almost a month since my last post? Well, it has been a busy time for me..

Connor's therapy is going so well. I'd say that he is now speaking about 80% of the time, compared to the 10-20% he was doing back in September. He has new words/phrases all the time. A new cute one, anytime there's something going on that he wants to be a part of- he raises his hand and waves it (like a child in school) and says "I do, I do!". It's adorable. His SLP said that he'll need on-going articulation therapy for awhile. John said he had this as a kid, and hated it! So now, I'm nervous.

Last week I had to 'sit in' for Jake's classs, do the Homeroom mom thing, because the teachers were having a break during a Holiday Luncheon. Yeah, that was scary. I truly think that I may have glimpsed hell. And it is inhabited by the spawn of Satan himself. I have never seen so many unruly 5/6 year olds before! There were about 5 well behaved kids out of the whole lot- and, thank God, Jake was one of them. One child kept us on our toes the entire 2 hrs. He was biting, fighting, and well- anything else he wanted to do. Oh, and I had Connor with me- whom I managed to lose in the school at one point, for about 5mins. It was scary, but I knew he was in the school...somewhere. The worst part, I had asked some other moms, who were just hanging out in the hall chatting, if they had seen him. They just replied "no, sorry.". No "OMG, let us help you find him!". Seriously, thanks for the concern. He had found his way to another kindergarten class, and was just fine.

Looks like it's time to sign off, the boys are in a fort under the coffee table, and I hear crying...(sigh).

So Blessed...

Connor is attempting his name! Hallelujah! This is something I've wanted and prayed for for so long, just for my baby to be able to say his name. And it's happening. He says "Nerner", but I love it. I love that he is even trying! Connor is also putting two and three words together, independently, at times..."Mama blue ball". He has so many new words, I can't even list them all. And he has most of the letter sounds down. Connor tries so hard and is so proud when we've jumped a hurdle. This boy is such a joy :o)

Jacob is recovering from a bout of Strep. Between these boys and the illnesses they've had, I've yet to get them their yearly flu shot. I'm wondering if it's too late now to even do any good. It'll be the first of December before we can actually get it, when Jake's off the antibiotic and gets a clean bill of health...Hmmm...

We're hosting my Dad's side of the family for Thanksgiving this year. So I'll be doing much cleaning in the next few days!! My kitchen cabinets, alone, killed a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser... I've got my work cut out for me!

Faithfulness

God is so faithful to provide as His word says He will. Connor has done amazingly well. His SLP is thinking that maybe she mis-diagnosed him- that's how well he is doing! He still has some troubles, like dropping the end sound off every word. But we're working thru them and I am confident that we will push thru to the other side, after all, we've got Jesus pushing right along with us... He is now putting 2 and 3 words together at a time, this is so exciting for us!! I've learned a lot from Laura Mize at teachmetotalk.com, she is a very generous and kind woman. An SLP that has put together a wonderful website chock full of resources and information for parents of speech delayed children. Anytime I email her she is very quick to respond, and so kindly too. They even sent me their DVD ($40 value) completely free- I love to see God use people to help people. It was just as if He audibly said "I'm with you thru this Steph, I love you and Connor, here's another resource to help you...enjoy this gift from me." I know that God created Connor with a voice, and that he will use it. I speak that over him constantly. These Carlovich boys are going to do great things for God, and I am very privileged to be apart of that!

God is Amazing

I have to say that God never ceases to amaze me. Connor's improvement in the past two weeks has exceeded my expectations. Especially since he has not actually been able to sit down with our SLP yet. Her schedule, at this time, has her only availability at 1:00 pm- nap time. So far Connor hasn't been able to hold out for her visit, last week he fell asleep 15 minutes before she got here! I ran across an interesting article on the effects of fish oil regarding the progress of apraxic children. Fish oil, of course, is linked to brain developement and is believed to help create those neuro pathways in children with speech disorders. Connor has been taking it since September. I attribute some of his progress to the fish oil, but I know it's all God. This boy has only ever used words to communicate his needs with one specific word, 'apple'. He's always said 'apple' when he wanted one. But last week, he wanted juice, instead of the usual signing/grunting/pointing method that he goes thru to get his needs. He pulled on the refrigerator, when Iasked what he wanted he said "juuu"!! I was thrilled!! This is only one example, he now is labeling the things he sees, saying the name instead of the sign. We're very excited :o)

Okay, so I had the meeting with our SLP- her name is Brook, she's very nice, I like her. We're going to meet once a week for therapy and see how Connor is progressing in a couple weeks, using a vowel/letter sound approach. If he's not showing improvement she will change her strategy and use other tools to help him to progress. She did say apraxic kids (man I hate that label) usually just take off at 3 to 3 1/2 yrs age, and you'd never have known that they had problems. That was a nice confirmation. We devised some goals for him, that I'd like accomplished by the time he is 3. One of those is that he uses one word phrases, in our day to day, to get his needs met. Instead of grunting and pointing, signing, or playing charades (!). Also, I'd love for him to be able to say his name. It breaks my heart that he can't. So, anyway, here's where we're starting.

Jacob is SIX now!

Jacob had a great birthday! He received a Star Wars light saber, the kind you have to assemble. Every boy's dream, and apparently John's too... We had a family brunch here at the house and then he had a kid party at Incredible Pizza. All the kids had a great time :o)

I'm meeting with Connor's assigned SLP in about an hour. I'll update more after I've met with her.