Christmas/Summer Holidays 2012/13

Christmas is always a fun time when you have little ones.  The one just gone was no exception.

We had a family gathering at our place with Phil's family, then I took the boys down to Mum's while Phil got organised for our camping holiday.

I made a big decision, and decided that Isaac didn't need to take his walking frame.  So Phil packed the van, and we headed down to Timaru.  There is a carnival at the Bay every year, including an amazing fireworks display on new years eve.

We had a great area for camping, away from a lot of the traffic.  Uneven ground and shingle drvieways, were a challenge for Isaac, but by the end of the week, he had mastered them.  Reuben mastered his challenge of riding his bike.  I'm so proud of both boys.

A friend of Reuben's camped there for a couple of nights, and the boys were all out playing spotlight on new years eve before we went down to the carnival.  Both Reuben and Isaac had new flashing shoes, so we were able to see exactly where they were during the game.

A lovely relaxing time was had by all!

Through the Lens Thursday

I'm starting to get the hang of this photo a day thing, and quite enjoying coming up with photos for each day. Now I just have to get a life, so that my blog has a chance of being interesting!

Animal/insect/pet

Take a photo of a little critter or a big critter today.

Had a visitor in the office the other day - I'm not really a dog person (or a cat person for that matter).  The only reason I took any notice of the pooch was because I suddenly remembered that I needed a photo of an animal.  Don't hold it against me, I'm sure that there is something you don't like that I do :)

Eyes

Take a photo of eyes, on you, someone else, a pet or even a toy.

Cheeky little monkey - you can just see the mischief in these eyes.  Both of my boys have lovely blue eyes.

9 o’clock

Take a photo of what ever you’re doing at 9am or 9pm. Your choice.

Washing, washing and yet more washing to be folded and put away.  Sometimes it feels like this is never ending and that all I do is washing, dry, fold....

Upside down

Take a different look at the world.

Take a photo upside-down or of something upside-down.

Isaac loves it when Daddy throws him upside down.  Reuben used to, but has grown too big.

Mirror

Take a photo of a mirror, or your reflection in the mirror.

When Isaac has his music therapy there are various mirrors around the room so that he can see what his body is doing and so that I can see his reaction to the activities that he's doing.

A stranger

Be brave or sneaky. Take a photo of a perfect stranger.

There are some strangers in the background of this photo!  We took this while away on holiday at Christmas. Tiny town at Splash Planet in Hastings was a huge hit, as was the gondola and luge in Rotorua.  I think that the thing that I appreciated most about our holiday was that we were away for the 5.8 and 6.0 earthquakes that hit Christchurch again on 23 December 2011.

Heart

Take a photo of a heart.

When a saw this necklace a couple of years ago, and thought it was so pretty, I just had to get it.  Love it when the sun hits the glass and the colours in the refracted light shine through.

Happy Birthday Reuben

This year for Reuben's birthday we decided that we'd have some of his friends come over for some games, dinner and a sleepover.  We were blessed with a fantastic, unseasonably warm day.

Phil was in charge of the games - having worked as a youth pastor for many years, he has loads of games to call on at a moments notice.  For the party he decided on food games.  Although it was a toned down version of what would normally be called food olympics, because this was a group of five and six year olds.

After tossing marshmallows and catching them in their mouths, the kids then threw them all at Phil (food fight style).

The trampoline is always a great attraction, we knew that getting the largest available was going to be a necessity with a family of boys.

Boysenberry drop: open one can of boysenberries, drain of juice and drop boysenberry into volunteers mouth.  Phil and I did a demo for them, but they weren't too keen on this one.  Isaac, however, was up for the challenge!

Reuben was not about to be outdone by his little brother.  You'll notice that we werre responsible and covered their clothing.

Hotdogs and chips all round.

Chocolate mud cake, mmmmm.

All in the bed and the little one said . . .

All Blacks third test match was on that night, so the boys put their haka skills to good use after the national anthems.

None of the boys were able to stay over, but that didn't stop the fun.  Reuben, Isaac and Phil had a sleepover in the lounge.

Happy Birthday Reuben, I love you buddy.

Weekend Shenanigans

We've spent a fair bit of the past week being home bodies.  I love wearing my merino tops and sheepskin slippers, snuggling under my new quilt with the pellet burner cranked up against the cold.  Sometimes the kids drive me nuts, and other times they are really cute and I just want to cuddle them.  It doesn't take much to drive me nuts! But I think it was made worse because Phil had decided that he was going to go camping in the back of the van by himself over the long weekend, so I spent the whole long weekend at home by myself with the kids.

The boys were disappointed that they hadn't been able to go with Phil, so the other night Phil took them out to the van for their bedtime stories.

Since he hadn't packed it down, the bed and everything was still set up.

I really enjoy how well Reuben and Isaac get along with each other and play together.  Sometimes they are so funny . . .

I have been determined to become more regular with my posts, and tried loading this on Monday.  But what do you know, I encountered more technical glitches.  I'm getting really annoyed at things not going right, might just have to give our work IT guys a call.

Mother's Day

I love that my boys still enjoy giving me kisses and cuddles, and even more-so when it's Mother's Day.  We stopped at the supermarket to get fresh bread for lunch on the way home from church.  Reuben had given Phil strict instructions to also get flowers and chocolate.  The instructions even included a reminder that the chocolate couldn't contain nuts (I found out at the end of last year I'm allergic to a variety of nuts).

This afternoon, I even got to have a wee snooze on the sofa, the sun streaming in the window, and after I woke up Reuben and I had more cuddles.  Isaac must have picked up on this when he awoke from his nap, because he kept on insisting on pickup cuddles, too.  We don't do those for Reuben much anymore, 'cos he's getting to be such a big boy and too heavy to lift for any length of time, and once you start, he won't let you finish.  But because Reuben asks for something, Isaac will too.  So today I enjoyed getting lots and lots of cuddles.

Five months old

Tomorrow is Isaac's first day at Champion Centre.  I'm looking forward to seeing what happens there, and the different kinds of therapy.  But at the same time, I'm a little apprehensive.  What if Isaac's disabilities are worse than we thought?  I'm noticing more and more things with his movements that could be Cerebral Palsy related.

I'm keeping a couple of scriptures in the forefront of my mind.

Matthew 6:34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Philippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Isaac was a very sick little boy - but God is a God of miracles

I kind of got side tracked the other day when I was talking about technology (the clothes peg thing). . . .so I'm going to finish that now.

With all the options for communicating with people, social media, etc it can get a little overwhelming, but at the same time it can be a lifeline.  Blogs, facebook, twitter, various email addresses (home, work, plus others - I keep a seperate one for my blogging), add to that cell phones (text, pxt, call) and regular phone lines.

A good friend of mine also has a special needs little boy.  He's been fighting for survival since their 20 week scan, and is now 2 years 7 months.  We worked together for a while, but remained friends after we both changed jobs.  We had really been looking forward to our babies being able to hang out and run around together.  Now that Isaac has been accepted into Champion Centre, we might have a better chance of catching up with each other - even if it is at therapy.  Last time we saw each other, it took months for our calendars to sync to enable us to do this, even though we only live five minutes around the road.  So we really rely on technology to keep in touch.

Isaac being transported for his MRI at 48 hours old



What a great day

It's been a really good day today, and the boys have been fabulous.  I've been having issues with Reuben getting ready in the mornings.  Occassionally he behaves, but more times than not, it is a huge drama just to get out the door  to get to school on time.  Phil leaves for work before any of the rest of us get up, so I'm basically a solo parent in the mornings.

Not sure where I found this, hopefully I'm not breaching a copyright!

This morning Reuben was super good, got himself dressed, had breakfast, etc no problems, no disagreements.  Then tonight when we got home, I had a terrible headache.  Although I hadn't said anything to Reuben, he was being really helpful.  Then we sat on the sofa and practised the sign alphabet.  His class have been learning a bit at school.  After we'd done that for a bit, and spelt out all of our names, he said to me right out of the blue, "Would you like me to brush your hair mum?"  Not something I'd normally go for, but why not it might help my head feel better, and it'll be relaxing anyway.  It was soooo nice and very relaxing.

After both boys eating all of their dinner (doesn't happen very often), I got Isaac through the bath and Reuben had a quick shower.  It was a reward for him since he'd been really good, but only on the condition that it was quick.  Now, yours and my idea of quick, and that of an almost 6 year old boy, are two totally different things.  For a while he has had to have baths because he was taking over 20 minutes to shower.  Tonight he was nice and quick, and both boys were in bed on time!  Again another rareity in our house.

Sometimes it just a combination of small things, that make it feel like a big deal.  Let's hope that this behaviour continues.  What have your little rascals done lately that makes you feel really good?

  

Creative Images

I haven't heard from the Champion Centre yet, so I'll be phoning tomorrow to see if I can get things moving along.  It's over six weeks since Isaac's appointment with the consultant, and we still haven't had an apointment with Speech Language.  I think it's time for me to get that moving along too.

I've added a couple of You Tube songs to the sidebar of my blog.  They have been a source of hope and comfort during some of the most challenging times in my life.  Take a listen, and see what you think of them.