Merry Christmas!

Are you surprised that I still exist? As I was telling a friend today, it is not intentional that I set out to neglect this blog. It's just that, well, life has changed since we moved and my blogging has changed with it. The transition here has been challenging, and in the process I have lost nearly all in-person friendship and interaction. My lack of blogging reflects that same process. I have literally fallen out of practice in sharing life with others. I don't want to stay in this isolated place though, so I'm going to try to start blogging again. I started this blog to be a record of our lives, primarily for our children, and so far they aren't going to learn very much about our time in this place from reading here. So, where to begin?

Julie had ear surgery again in November. It had been 4 months since her last surgery, and the growth had already come back and was even trying to get into her inner ear. That is scary because if it does, she will lose all chances of hearing on that side. The doctor really cleaned it out and then modified the anatomy of her ear to try to dissuade the growth from returning. We had one post-op visit and we go back again in January. The healing process is slow, but so far everything is on track. If all looks well in January, we will start pursuing the hearing implant (BAHA) that I wrote about once before. We tried to get approval for it to go in during this surgery, but our insurance denied it and we're changing insurance Jan 1 anyway. I am so grateful that we found this wonderful doctor who is so skilled at what he is doing. These surgeries are scary because they can permanantly affect hearing, balance and facial paralysis (Julie's facial nerve is exposed in there because the growth ate away at the nerve covering). It's also so not fun to see her in such discomfort after the surgery. She is usually sick to her stomach for a good 6-8 hours, and this time was no exception. She had to stay 1 night in the hospital but was ready to go by morning. Physically, the recovery is kind of bloody, but the pain seems managable. We're past all that stuff now, yay! Julie is such a brave girl, really. She hates the mask they use to put her to sleep, but she held herself together up until the last minute when it was time fot the mask. Larry went back with her and helped until she was out, which is such a nice thing they do at this hospital. The surgery itself was about 4.5 hours. Again, my girl is SO brave, and I am so thankful to God for watching over her.

We have had several family celebrations recently too. December 5th marked the 5th anniversary of Julie's adoption! We celebrated in our usual fashion, with a ring-shaped chocolate chip cookie and the singing of "happy anniversary to our family." I can't believe it's been 5 years. Then on the 9th, Joseph turned 2!! That is also utterly amazing. He is not at all baby anymore. In fact, he blows us away with all is doing these days. Mostly, I am thinking about his language skills. He speaks in full 10-word sentences and has all kinds of more "advanced" language structures. I know this not just from listening to him (because I could be biased, I know), but also because both girls' speech therapists come into our home and marvel at Joseph's language abilities. He loves to call after me when I'm leaving him at naptime, "Mommy! Come back here! I have to tell you something! I have a question for you! What does the cow say?" Then we go back and forth with me giving wrong answers and him cracking up until I finally tell him "Mommy says good night!" This morning I got him out of bed and brought him to our bed, where he looked at my body pillow and told me "That's a pillow babies use. When the baby pops out, it lay on the pillow like this." Huh? I have no idea where he gets this stuff, but it sure is fun to listen to his brain work! He also loves to make up rhymes. For example, he'll ask "whatch doin' Daddy waddy?" At the risk of sounding presumptuous, we got a book out of the library about raising gifted children, and so far a lot of it fits Joseph. For example, if I give him a picture and some crayons, he quickly gets frustrated that he can't color in the lines like he wants to, and he asks me to "clean up" the parts he went over, then he asks me to color for him, pointing to the parts he wants me to color. Now I give him blank paper instead. He also knows all his colors and many letters, both upper and lower case. I don't mention the gifted thing in order to brag, really. I had a friend before we moved who had a gifted child, confirmed by testing, and she got a lot of flack if she told people. It shouldn't be that way, though, because gifted children have unique needs too, and parents/teachers need to know that. I've been all over the map with my kids' unique abilities, and this is no different. I don't know if Joseph is technically gifted, but I do know that I need to try to nurture him the best way I can, spiritually, intellectually, emotionally and every other way. Right now he's a bright, verbal, loving, silly, willful, capable, fun, affectionate, goofy, creative, helpful little boy whom I love with all my heart! There is nothing like a little boy hug followed by "I love you, Mommy." Thank you, Lord, for the precious gift of my son!

Melody hasn't had any birthdays or anniversaries recently, but she is growing so much in so many ways. Spiritually, exciting things are happening. Just yesterday she prayed about Jesus being her savior, something she's been saying she wanted to do for many months. It was so sweet to hear. I can't wait to watch her faith deepen and grow over time. This has been one of the big benefits of homeschooling. And speaking of which, Melody has been speeding right along in her studies. We've been doing preschool since we moved here, and she excels at nearly everything! Just in the last 2 months, she has learned to form all her letters and she writes amazingly neatly. Just today we started the Kindergarten handwriting book I had been saving for next year because she is ready now. She's excited to learn to read and I'm excited to start working with her on it. I am so blessed by this child...she is precious beyond words. She has such a sweet heart and helpful spirit. Tonight she covered me up with a blanket and then played with my hair for a good 10 minutes. I am so grateful to be Melody's Mommy!

And since this seems to be turning into a summary of our children, I suppose it is long past-due that I share our newest news. As many of you already know, we are expecting blessing #4! Since I have neglected this blog for so long, the baby's arrival is pretty much right around the corner at this point. I am due mid-February, somewhere around the 15th or 17th. We chose not to find out the gender this time, so it's going to be a big surprise. I have plenty more to say about this whole topic, but this is already getting really long and I have other things to do tonight. Also, I have pictures to post and job/life news to relate. So, I will have to come back and finish up. Thanks for reading and I hope you had a meaningful Christmas!