7.15.2013

Tough Stuff

Life around here has been NUTTY and is about to get nuttier (is that a word!?!) my niece is heading to town, we are preparing to celebrate Gracelin Kayt's 1st birthday (sniffle, sniffle), and then I will be traveling with three children...and a teenager, to the west coast for one month...sans my handsome hubby! Oy! 

I'm super excited, albeit a little overwhelmed. I'm sure lots of pictures will follow, but if not...be patient, they will come! 

In addition to the coming things...we've been dealing with some heavy stuff at home lately. We began having Capri tested late last Summer to get a better idea of her delay, and how we can better meet her needs. As her educator, I'm always resourcing, trying to find the best things and ways for her to learn. No one knows her better than us, and I want to make sure that we provide her with every possible opportunity to catch up after such a difficult start in life.

We were recently contacted by Capri's doctor and told that she is severely developmentally delayed and that we need to be prepared for that to stay the same, or possibly get worse. The doctors aren't certain if it is caused from her stroke, when she had failure to thrive, the emotional turbulence she went through, or if it is genetic, as her biological parents are both developmentally delayed. 

I want so desperately to make it all better...I'm sure every mom would. I want to protect her from all the mean kids...and adults...that expect this beautiful girl to be "normal," then question why she isn't because she doesn't fit their idea of normal. In a sense, we are grieving normalcy around our house, and trying to prepare for the future the best we can. 

We know that GOD doesn't give us more than we can handle, and we knew that Capri had some special needs, it's just starting to become more of a reality with this recent news. My hubby is handling it all WAY better than I am...I guess I had on my rose colored glasses. I see her delay, but I also see that, since we started homeschooling, her emotional health is improving. Educationally, she's behind, but making amazing progress. We continually pray over our decision to homeschool...knowing that we always want to do what's best for the kiddos. We don't take the decision lightly. After much prayer,  we've decided we will continue homeschooling...and possibly add some additional outside resources. 

Capri takes a lot of work. We pour into her constantly...and often times feel like we are running on empty. But we're amazed at how GOD brings cup fillers into our lives. People who encourage us, pray for us, let us vent, and sometimes watch our kids so we can go on a date and regroup. We're forever grateful to you...you know who you are! 

So, as we continue to process this whole thing...we are finding that we draw closer as a family, a couple, and closer to GOD...we couldn't get through this without each other and we'd crumble without an amazing GOD...who trusts us with this little Dollie. We CAN do this through HIM!