Good Report

I asked Anne’s special ed. teacher if I could share an email she sent me today. I was encouraged by what she wrote!

I wanted to let you know that I spent a little bit of time today with Anne in her classroom. And she did a great JOB!! With assistance in walking to the front where Ms. S was modeling how to write a sentence, Anne wrote the word go. With hand over hand assistance she did the g and independently when told to make a circle did the o. Then with assistance Anne answered two questions during calendar time: the name of her school and also one other question, which I forget. She was cued (and little bit of assistance) to raise her hand and then called on. Anne needs some reinforcements to not talk out (combination of the cue cards and some verbal reminders) But, she is making great progress. I was so proud of her. :)

Last week, her school physical therapist wrote me that Anne walked farther than she ever had before (with a walker and assistance for propulsion). So that’s awesome!! On Friday, her kindergarten teacher pulled me aside to encourage me that she thought Anne was doing really well in class.

Anne has made a great start to the school year. We continue to be both deeply grateful for what God has restored in Anne and humbly hopeful that He still has more healing to do. …Thankful for today and hopeful for tomorrow – that is a good place to be!

Thank you for your continued prayers!!! -kathryn

Absentminded Professor

I’ve always been absentminded… but it’s been BAD lately!

  • I was supposed to lead music at Bible Study yesterday, but I forgot my guitar.
  • I was supposed to do lunch duty at Canon & Kate’s school today, and I just forgot to show up. ugh.
  • On my way to get Anne from school, I forgot to get gas.
  • When I got to Anne’s school, I ran out of gas.
  • A friend from Canon & Kate’s school just HAPPENED to be driving in the parking lot of Anne’s school.  She offered to help.
  • Anne lost her shoe. My friend found it.
  • I lost my phone. My friend helped me find it.
  • We got gas. My car cranked, and now I am at home. THANK GOD.

Sometimes I wonder if I’m the one with the brain injury! But thankfully, God sent help at just the right time. His provision is perfect.

The River

There’s a place near my home that everyone calls “The River.” I’ve been to this place so many times over my life. What’s funny is that it’s not literally a river – it’s a trail – and a portion of it happens to be by a river.

I can almost define the stages of my life by that trail. I remember running with an old college friend – telling her all about Eric and his mom’s cancer, how brave and strong he was to care for her – thinking the whole time how thankful I was …to be the girl he had chosen to love. And I remember running at the river by myself after Eric’s mom died – wrestling and hoping… And then later my hope was realized – and we were married.

I remember mountain biking on the smaller trails with Eric and standing with my bike at the bottom of a hill, watching, amazed – at how easily Eric could climb the hill with his bike. And then I would go – and struggle – and end up walking my bike to the top. And then we would attack the rest of the trail together.

I remember walking by the river with a jogger stroller – Canon in tow – thinking, it’s hard to run by myself. I need a friend. And years have past, and God has given me many friends.

Which brings me to this morning. A group of moms from Canon and Kate’s school run on Tuesday mornings. So after carpool, I found myself in a Suburban with three other moms and their toddlers. I had no idea where we were going. But I wasn’t all too surprised where we ended up… the river. And so we ran… and talked (and I struggled to keep the pace) and I thought… life is so… the same. In every phase, I’ve struggled and wrestled and looked to God for answers. My companions have been different – but the river is the same. It meanders and bubbles and people run past it day after day, year after year. And so it is with God. He never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. My alpha and omega, my beginning and end.

I hope my body is able to run at the river for many more years. I look forward to the wrestling… and to the hoping.

Family Crest

Canon is studying medieval times at school. Friday’s assignment was to create his own family crest. The students were given lots of options… including colors, animals and objects all listed with its respective symbolic meaning. Canon put a lot of thought into his shield and chose symbols that had special meaning to him and to our family. Here’s his shield:

And here is Canon’s explanation…

Here is a list of the things I chose and their meaning:

  • Black: grief (I chose black because of all the grief we’ve had since my sister, Anne’s, car accident)
  • Gold: generosity (I chose gold because of all the generosity people have shown us since the car accident.)
  • Lion: courage (I chose the lion because we have to have courage to get over what happened to Anne.)
  • Wolf: perseverance (I chose the wolf because we have to have perseverance to keep hoping that Anne will continue to heal.)
  • Horse: duty (I chose the horse because if you want to be a believer of Christ you have to be ready to do his bidding.)
  • Fox: wisdom ( I chose the fox because we need God’s wisdom to make good decisions for Anne and the rest of our family.)

I think all of these things are characteristics of our family.

I’m so thankful that Canon thinks deeply about the spiritual implications of Anne’s accident. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for him!!!!

Happy Birthday Anne!!

Today was Anne’s 7th birthday! I can’t believe my little Anne is 7!

Anne has been telling everyone all week that her birthday was coming up.. “My birthday is September 9th. I am turning seven!” Last year, she wasn’t able to express much emotion, and I remember wondering if she even realized it was her birthday… She’s come a long way over the past year!!!

I’m not very good at planning social events – so my kids’ birthday celebrations have always been more practical than extravagent :-) But I really wanted Anne to feel special today. The birthday festivities started at school. She had a large “Happy Birthday” sign on the back of her chair. I signed up to be the “Mystery Reader” for her class. I was impressed as Anne sat still and attended as I read her two favorite books to her class. I brought a special birthday treat for everyone, and after the kids finished, we all sang “Happy Birthday” to Anne. I wish I could have gotten a picture of her smile. It covered her whole face. She was radiant. When the class finished, she said, “Thank you everyone for singing Happy Birthday to me.” So sweet.

I invited some of her favorite girls to come over for a small dinner. Again, I was impressed when she tried to smile for the camera. Anne hasn’t quite learned how to smile on cue – but she was sure trying in this picture!

Kate had a good time helping Anne open all of her presents.

I think she felt special today. Happy Birthday Anne!!!!

Aaaaahhhhhhh!

Botox, Baclofen, Physiatrist, Orthotist, Tone, Spasticity, Clonus.
I could go on, but what’s the point? Dealing with all of Anne’s doctors and wading through all of her “conditions” is just overwhelming. Advocating for your child’s well-being is stressful for me – especially when I have to navigate the impersonal systems of Atlanta’s larger and prestigious medical practices. Sigh.

When I think about it all, I feel like this:

And my nature is to procrastinate – to just not call this doctor or that doctor… But that only makes me feel like this:

Double sigh. One of the reasons I don’t like dealing with all of Anne’s doctors and “specialists” is that it’s just another reminder that I’m completely out of control. I can’t stop her seizures by myself – or reduce the spasticity in her ankles by myself. I need help. Lots of it! But what I need most of all is peace…

…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7).

Now excuse me while I go call the doctor…

Pray for Anne…

September 2011’s prayer requests:

  1. For Anne to continue to do well in school; and for her to gain more control of her impulsiveness which can be a distraction in the classroom (talking out of turn, mouthing inappropriate objects, reaching for and touching others when she should keep her hands to herself, etc.)
  2. For Anne’s left ankle… for it to loosen and strengthen so she can support her weight on her left foot without her braces;
  3. For Anne’s seizures to cease or be controlled with appropriate medication,
  4. And lastly, for Anne to continue to wrestle with God’s goodness and love for her – and ultimately for her to grow to be a faithful woman of God!

Thank you!

Anne and music

So a typical ride in our van includes lots of music on the radio – specifically from our local Christian radio station, 104.7 The Fish. We get in the van, and one of the kids will say, “turn on the radio.” And a song will come on, and everyone starts singing – including Anne. And then almost always – right when a really good part of the song is about to play, Anne will say, “Turn it off.”

Now… her reasons for wanting the music off is different than what you would expect. After I turn off the radio, Anne will ALWAYS ask me about a specific lyric that she’s heard and what it means. “What does ‘justified’ mean Mommy?”  Ugh. Have you ever tried explaining “justification” to a six year old with a brain injury? But miraculously, Anne’s comprehension – especially for spiritual concepts – is amazing. When I finish answering her question about the lyrics, she will then say, “Okay, mommy. Turn it back on, so I can listen to what it means.”

So all of this is a backdrop for something funny that happened today. It was just Anne and me in the car. Third Day’s song, Love Song, starting playing. If you aren’t familiar with this song, it’s important to know that it’s sung from Jesus’ point of view – as if He were singing us a love song (hence, the title :-)

So in typical Anne fashion she asks me to turn off the radio. And when there is silence she asks, “Who is singing the song, Mommy? Is Jesus singing this song?” So, being really excited that she would ‘get’ that part of the song, I said, “Yes, Anne! Jesus is singing this song. ” To which Anne replied (with a mix of sincerity and amazement), “Wow! Jesus is a really good singer.”

I think Mac Powell (Third Day’s lead singer) would be flattered :-)

Back in the saddle…

Well, I’m teaching bible study tomorrow morning. It’s been a while since I’ve taught… so we’ll see how things go tomorrow.

I’m giving an overview of Biblical World View, Covenant Theology, the Church AND Biblical Womanhood. I told the gal who asked me to do this… “Yeah, all of that should take me about 10 minutes, and then I can teach everyone how to line dance the last hour or so.” I was kidding. I think it’s nuts to try to cover all of that in one lesson, but hey, I’m just doing what I was asked to do ;-)

There was one interesting point I stumbled upon while studying… Have you ever noticed that in the very beginning – when God created man and woman – and gave them jobs to do… (man – go work and keep the garden – and woman, you be a helper suitable for him) – that after they sinned, God cursed them with the exact opposite of their original good design. Woman will have desire for man (or desire to be over or control the man). And man will have toil all the days of his life – and in the end, he will return to dust. And what do women struggle with? Submission. And what do men struggle with? Toil-filled work and and a sense of purposelessness. No wonder life is hard. The curse of sin put in our hearts is the very opposite of what we were created and called to be! …And when did Jesus say He was coming back??? Oh yeah. He didn’t :-)

Thank you Jesus for reversing the power of sin and providing a way for us to draw near to you. Thank you for giving us the strength to persevere until that glorious day when you will come again!!

Sisters

I was with a gal a few days ago, and she was talking about her relationship with her sister. “It’s just easy. She can look at me and tell me that my shirt makes me look fat, and I just go change. That relationship is forever.”

I hope so. I pray for Kate and Anne. Their roles in the family are all topsy-turvy since the accident. Kate has more of a big-sister role. She’s so sweet to Anne – helping buckle her in the van, going to get Anne a pull-up, carrying Anne’s bag upstairs. And Anne hates it. It’s just so hard for her to accept help from her little sister, so sometimes Anne is mean to Kate. And Kate just looks at Anne and says, “Oh, it’s alright Anne. I love you.” At least Kate does that most of the time. Other times she cries, and sometimes she’s mean right back!

But then I see moments like today… It was just me and the girls in the van. Kate looked across at Anne and said, “Anne, I miss you. Do you know what I mean? I miss the Anne that doesn’t have a brain injury. You have a brain injury, Anne. You know that, right?” I’m holding my breath… waiting for Anne’s response. Anne reached over to grab Kate’s hand, and said, “We’re sisters Kate.” I breathed out… “Oh Jesus… thank you. And please, let it be forever.”