Answered Prayers

As I have posted in previous blogs Kaden has had some things to deal with this year. And he is dealing, and progressing. Unfortunately progress isn't always an instant fix. It takes time. Many times a day I'd love to reach for the big red easy button they show in commercials. But there isn't one. No one ever said life would be easy, they just said it would be worth it. For the past few (many) months Bob and I have had endless conversations about Kaden's future, and what the right thing to do for him is. It seems it should be easy to know what's right for your children. We have been discussing retaining. First grade times two. It seems like an easy decision, but there are so many aspects to consider. It's not just an educational decision, it's emotional and so, so much more. We stress, we worry and at the end of the day in our prayers we turn it over to God knowing He will show us the way. But alright already-show us the way. We try not to compare our kids to one another. They are all different, but honestly it's hard not to compare sometimes. This situation however is very different and the worst thing we could do is compare. None of the others had letters dancing all over the pages. In his quiet way Kaden knew he was not learning like the others in his class and at home, but he didn't know why. It took us months to help him figure it out, and now we have and we are building on that. And we pray. I hate to waste my energy on things I have no control over, but the things I do have control over are worth every last drop of energy I have. I somehow feel we should have control over this situation. But,  I feel so helpless. I don't want to mess this one up. And we pray.

One night when Kaden was having trouble sleeping he wanted to cuddle. I love my cuddle time.  Our conversation somehow got to school. He was saddened by the retirement of our schools 3rd grade teacher. "She always gets eggs for the kids to watch hatch, what if the new teacher doesn't?" We talked about the cute baby chicks. Suddenly he looked at me with the most serious and innocent eyes I have ever seen, and says (and I quote) "Mom, God has spoke to my heart. I am not ready for 2nd grade." In the next second that seemed like years my heart melted, grew and raced all at the same time. I am searching for the right words to respond. All I can manage is "Ok Buddy, are you sure?" "Yes, I am sure" again all I can manage is "Ok". I want to race to the phone and call Bob at work, but I can't move. As Kaden grabs my hand and we both drift off to the best nights sleep either of us has had in a very, very long time.

God answers prayers. We have no doubts what the right thing to do is now. We were so afraid and now we are not. Sometimes answered prayers come in a smile, a nod, a gesture. They are not always easy to spot. But somehow coming from the mouth of an innocent child I know our prayers and uncertainties were answered. With triumph comes trial, we know it's not going to be easy. I am a very laid back and patient person, but I know the first time I hear of someone teasing or taunting my son my mama bear will come out all claws bearing. But trust that I will close my eyes and see the picture of my sweet baby and the moment that is forever etched in my memory and on my heart and will have a certain calmness that will take me back to my happy place.

A lot of what I know, I learned while my son was in first grade. Thank you for teaching ME Kaden and helping ME to grow. And thank you God for blessing me so, so immensely.

Way to go Kohl

The past couple of weeks have been pretty remarkable for Kohl. But why am I surprised? He is one remarkable person. He first was inducted into the National Technical Honor Society. What's that you ask? I had to! Founded in 1984, NTHS is a non-profit organization established to recognize excellence in workforce education and award scholarships to its members. NTHS membership is now considered America's highest award for excellence in career and technical education. He was nominated by his Cisco (computer) teacher. The day after the induction ceremony we received a letter in the mail that he has been selected to the National Honor Society. Eligibility for this is based upon scholarship, character, leadership, and service. Final candidates are chosen by a committee of teachers who have observed Kohl's performance in the above areas while he has been a student in High School. Then he took his talents to track and field and managed personal bests in the high jump, triple jump, 100 and 400 meters. You would think maybe he'd be wore out by then but no, he and a group of friends danced their way to first place in a talent show held at their school. All this while maintaining great grades and having a part time job. The great thing about Kohl is he is so well rounded. He knows when to be serious and when not to be. He is always loving and caring and one person I know I can always count on. Sounds like maybe I am bragging a bit, but the thing is I am not. I am just very proud. Proud because we can guide and suggest but ultimately it's the children's choice to do with what we give. I'd like to think I had something to do with it but the truth is, I learn more from my children then they will ever learn from me. I thank God for choosing me to be their mom and I pray we are raising them in a way He will be proud of. Thank you God for blessing me immensely.

Growing up is hard to do...

A recent conversation between my two youngest boys and I had me both laughing and crying. It started with our 9 year old having a consult with an orthodontist. They think he may need to start ortho in 6 months or so. As we are leaving I must have looked a little down, and our 9 year old says "Well at least they are giving you 6 months to get used to the fact that I am growing up!". I don't think I'd actually come to the point of thinking about that  YET, (I would have, he just helped it along) I was more looking at the estimate for the cost of this ortho stuff and thinking "really?". It started this whole conversation of how I am so proud of all of my kids, but I hate how fast they are growing up. So Mr. Carson has to continue with "yeah, and soon Chase and Kohl will be away at school" which of course opens up new questions. Will they ever live at home again? We won't get to be with them on their birthdays? Can we move to where they are? Do we all go to the same college? It really was ending up to be quite a sad conversation, but funny the way the minds of children work. So Kaden then at some point realizes this means somewhere down the road he will be the only one home with Bob and I. After a minute of him seeming a little sad about that he decides it might be kind of fun! Whew....thought maybe I wasn't going to be cool enough! Mr. Carson then continues to add "and by the time you are 16 Kaden you could be an uncle"! Ok, so now they have me laughing at the fact that they even think about that kind of stuff and if you do the math it really is possible! Crying at the fact, I can hardly deal with our oldest leaving for college and they already have me being a Grandma! I am NOT ready for any of this. Not braces, not college and definitely not Grand parenthood! Growing up is hard to do...for me!
Thank you God for blessing me immensely.

I remember years ago,
you were so little then.
Sometimes,
I can't help but wish,
that you were small again.
I've cried when you've faced heartaches,
and saw, that as you grew,
nothing broke your Spirit,
instead it strengthened you.
I'm filled with mixed emotion,
as I hold back all the tears
and, with much pride remember,
back so many years.
When I first held you in my arms,
if only I'd have known,
the years would feel like moments,
after you had grown.
You aren't a baby
though in my eyes,
I guess you'll always be,
that baby boy who changed my life,
and means the world to me.

-Cynthia A. Sieving

Do you see what I see?

Do you see what I see? Maybe not. As I have blogged before our son Kaden has some issues with his eyes. I laugh a bit as I write that sentence because all of us have issues with our eyes, and if you don't, consider yourself lucky. We have four children and all four have had eye surgery. Three have had muscle surgery and one has had a detached retina. We have been blessed to have wonderful eye doctors and surgeons who care for our children. I think I can take credit for the bad muscle gene and am probably responsible for passing that on to my children. Sorry guys. I do not however take credit for the detached retina! Chase's retina detaching (at age 7) taught me a lot. As the specialist is rushing us to surgery he says "I can't believe he hasn't been seeing floaters" Chase says "what are floaters?" The doctor explains, and Chase says "I do see those, but I thought EVERYONE did!" Lesson learned: we just take for granted that we all see the same. Children especially don't know what so called different vision is, they don't know any better. So, back to Kaden. He has tracking issues, and no depth perception. (Weird Gregory fact: Carson and Kohl don't have great depth perception either) AMAZING to me, is what these children do with these issues they don't know they have....how does one with no depth perception play baseball, football, basketball? The brain is an extremely incredible thing that without us  even knowing helps us to adapt ourselves to be able to do these things without knowing we aren't suppose to. I noticed some things with Kaden that kind of sent me a red flag. He got by until first grade. When he was really starting to read and write. His writing was all over the page, no space between words, he'd skip lines when reading, had trouble with word cards ect... ect.... ect....So I took him to have a developmental eye exam which is different than a vision exam. You can pass a vision exam, but have other problems with your eyes which is where a developmental exam comes in. After a couple of hours of testing we found out what exactly his "issues" were. We have since started eye therapy. We have the kindest most uplifting and motivational, wonderful woman who works with Kaden. She, I am convinced has changed his life, and with that mine too. We spend hours doing therapy and he loves it. He's teaching his eyes to work together. He has a long way to go, but has come miles already. We set goals and when he reaches them we celebrate like no other! He didn't realize he wasn't seeing things properly so he didn't know to ask for help. One big goal Kaden has is to ride his bike without training wheels. Another lesson learned, when your 5/6 year old doesn't want to ride a bike and is truly scared too, and I mean truly scared too, there may be a reason! He might not just be being difficult. You see someone with no depth perception doesn't take to doing things like riding a bike! In an earlier blog I talked of Kaden being rewarded with a nerf gun, I was unsure if this was a good parenting technique. Well let's just say he has since added two to his collection and now gets to choose an activity for the weekend when he has had a successful week. I am so sorry Chase had to go through the agony of a detached retina but in some way it may have saved his brother. I feel you always have to look for the good in every situation. So the good from Kaden's situation is that he is getting help, but also if we can help someone else we would be so happy. These kinds of things are often misdiagnosed. So if you read this and think of someone it may help, please share. I am intrigued by what I am learning at eye therapy, I often think if I was ever going to change my job, I would be an eye therapist. It's truly amazing.


Update: We are (knock on wood please) pretty healthy right now =)
              Chase also received word that he has been awarded a VIEW Leadership Scholarship for successfully demonstrating the leadership qualities of Vision. Integrity. Excellence. Wisdom.
Thank you God for blessing me immensely.

I AM SICK OF THIS!!

I haven't had a blog in about a month, there has not been much to blog about. We have not done anything exciting except cough, hack, wheeze, water,  have hurting ears and fever! Really that's it. For a month. And I am SICK of it! The only good news is nobody has puked, but now that being said I will get the puke bucket ready =) We have had the influenza, upper respiratory, ear infections and sinus infections turned bad. Nothing horrible, just constant. I send one back to school and they call to come pick up another. For those of you who know us you know we are used to being struck with weird ailments and accidents, so maybe it is the normality of these things that's making it seem so bad. It's boring?  I know none of this is serious. I'm not asking for pity, just Spring! I have cleaned and disinfected until my hands are raw, I carry around a sterile bowl just in case someone actually does cough up a lung. The most excitement we have had is a blizzard, which was kind of fun. We did manage a weekend away this past weekend. We took Chase to Clarke University for a leadership competition. It was a great get away, and Chase did well. (Results come in the mail and the rewards are scholarships, we will keep you posted.) The weather seems to be warming....so maybe there is hope....oh wait...what's that....my phone is ringing....guess what...another man down! Seriously, when will it stop? All I can do is laugh. I can't sweat the small stuff, and laughter is the best medicine, oh you should hear me laughing!!!! I know I am truly blessed because I have a family to follow around with disinfectant and puke bucket and a sterile bowl...
Thank you God for blessing me immensely.

Often Running

Often Running is the name of one of our favorite running stores. It also describes our family well for multiple reasons. I would consider myself a novice runner, and I would consider Chase an experienced runner. I would predict that someday he WILL win a marathon. I would also predict that Carson will follow in his brothers footsteps. Kohl runs up and down the football field, runs the bases of a baseball diamond, and what he has to for track, he stays conditioned by running, but would not consider it something he would do just for fun. I predict that Kaden will follow in his footsteps. That brings us to Bob. I think I have seen Bob run maybe three times ever. Once when Chase was hit in the eye with a rock that detached his retina, once when Kohl crushed his finger in baseball, and the time Kaden had his head stuck under a moving merry-go-round. I am not saying he's not active, but not a runner. He has always said his job when Chase and I run is to hold the camera. He takes this job seriously and does it well. But guess what? Bob wants to run a 5k! Yes, I said wants too! He has chosen The Fat Ass 5k this May. I leave it up to you to decide if he picked the right race. Chase and I and several of our friends have run this race before. Chase in fact was second place overall when he ran it. So, don't be fooled by the race name, because Fat Ass could never be used to describe Chase. It is however a very fun race. Water stations that also have beer. Along the route you can grab a donut, corn dog, french fries, ice cream and other yummy treats. To be honest Chase and I didn't partake in the menu along the way because quite honestly I think we would probably puke if we ate these things while running! Bob on the other hand being the beer specialist he is, will probably be able to drink beer and run. He probably will do it well =) I myself have not yet mastered the whole water station thing, I cannot drink on the run, I miss my mouth and drench myself. I have to stop to adequately hydrate. Bob started his training this morning. I am very proud of him. Up at 4:30 am, so we could get our run in and be home before 6:00 am, when our day officially begins. I think Bob will be a great novice runner. I am looking forward to having this activity to share with him. Once you start running you are either sucked in and love it or you hate it.  Well, he hasn't said he hates it yet! However we are going to be looking for a new camera holder! Any takers? Thank you God for blessing me immensely.

Just For Fun

As I watched Chase play hockey this past weekend my mind kept wondering, I kept thinking to myself he is having so much fun. You can tell by the look on his face, his whole demeanor just relaxed and happy. I kept thinking how stressful or world is today, and how young that stress starts. Everything is so competitive. The kids know who has 100's in spelling along with every other class/test taken, who can do the most math facts correct in one minute, who has the most books read - I think you can see where I am going with this. The extra curricular activities are no different, maybe even worse. My kids are in these activities and love them, as do I. What would my life be without baseball, football, basketball and of course running? I am not by any means bashing these activities our family loves them. But lets be honest, they are very competitive and at times quite stressful. It doesn't matter the age or level of play. I get that competitiveness is good, I get what we get out of it. I myself have a competitive streak. No one wants to be the worst at anything, no one wants to lose. I get it, but I am going somewhere else with this. (I think?!) A new session of hockey just started, and there are levels at which you can compete. This an adult league. 16 yrs. & over. I heard one of the guys ask Chase if he was going to bump up a level this session. He is quite capable of moving up. Chase's response is what got me thinking and watching closer. "No, this is just for fun for me, my outlet." Now believe me if you want to see some competitive spirit some of these grown men in hockey have it! So, I questioned how they would respond to Chase's answer. But all seemed to admire his honest answer. IT IS JUST FOR FUN! Of course he wants to play well and win. He has been on two championship teams thus far. But when he messes up he laughs, shrugs it off, not to think of it again. (Except while we razz him afterwards) When he gets off the ice it's over until next time. No stresses. Just for fun. My quest for the new year is that each of my family members find something that is just for fun, an outlet. We all need that, it's so healthy to be competitive, but fun is healthy too. It doesn't have to be a sport it can be anything as long as it's fun! So what will it be? Who knows maybe I will start playing hockey, well probably not, but that would be fun! Thank you God for blessing me immensely.