Misc.

All in a row. (more from the previously mentioned hydrology field trip)

Q is asleep, so I'll be brief. Today in PT, he reached out and patted buttons to restart lights and music after they had stopped.

Take a minute and let that sink in.

He's got a very rare congenital brain malformation, he's only almost one, has had severe mental retardation forecast as his future, but he can make things happen when he wants them to. Truly, for most of us, is this not the definition of a successful experience? To set out to do something and to do it? Heck, for many of us it's more than can reasonably be expected in the course of a lifetime, never mind any other time span.

Also? No feeding problems yet. This means he'll probably not need a feeding tube of any kind, at least not in the normal range of his experiences. Plus, his seizures are under control, he seems to be getting a little more visual feedback, and he interacts verbally. Sometimes that's making his own noises and responding with various noises to whatever one might say back to him, sometimes it's him copying one's goo-ing and gah-ing.

Things could be so much worse. I am grateful for what is.

In other news, today three of the above pictured boys discovered part of a skeleton in the nearby woods, leading to all sorts of wild speculation in their fertile, imaginative brains. It's probably the deer that the local fish and game guys were looking for a couple of years ago because it was limping, wandering, likely looking to be in the throes of a wasting disease. Whatever it is, it's definitely not human. The positioning of the ribs is all wrong and the hips/pelvis (what little there is attached) do not appear remotely bipedal in orientation. So there's that at least. Can you imagine the nightmares that would spawn? And not just for the youngsters, either. Yikes.

Refreshingly, they hied themselves off to play a Bible trivia game (I wasn't aware we had one) in order to recover emotionally from the shock and horror they felt at such a find, and chose to seriously downplay all discussion of the matter in front of younger sibs in order to minimize potential trauma. When I told them to head out from "the scene of the crime" (their words), all walked out a few steps and said, "No way are we leaving you here." All this at their own behest. And my face (and dignity) will eventually recover from the tree branch I whacked into as I was trying to take pictures (it's easier for the elderly property owners to look at a digital camera than to hike out into the wet woods). But the bridge of my nose hurts and the skinned spot is gonna stiiiiing in the shower. (Pardon the little whine. I just need a pat on the head. Thanks.)

So. It's been a good week. The kids are all here, all in one piece, the nightmares are subsiding a wee bit, I have hope that we'll be able to get all the girls to bed before 11pm and to remain in their own beds all night in the next week (it's a process, and it leaves me w-i-p-e-d). We're easing back into schooling and Q is making strides like a big boy.

God is good.

May you revel in your blessings even as they grow and spread all around you. May you feel as blessed as I do. Tell your family you love them and why a couple of extra times this weekend. It will help those blessings to grow and spread.

Q's still asleep. Hurray! G'night.