There is something about the new year (and new blank calendars) that makes me hopeful for the many unknown future possibilities. Honestly, it feels like we haven’t stopped moving since the school year started and Huddle Up kicked into high gear last fall. It feels like everything has been moving forward, like a train chugging along at full speed, and that we have just been riding the momentum as we fly past town after town. Does that make any sense? It’s like the calendar and the events are dictating us rather than us getting to be intentional about dictating our calendar. And of course dictating is too harsh a word. Because with much gratitude, I must say, that we’ve been able to enjoy several months filled with ALL GOOD THINGS. But there is something refreshing about a calendar that is not as full.
That has room to breathe.
Some weeks have still been jam packed, but thankfully the time at work, in community, and as just the three of us have all felt reenergizing and uplifting. I am still working to find those windows of time where I can be alone with thoughts and prayer, and nooks in the week when I can sit with Rob and dream about goals we have for the future. Those times are always SO encouraging but involve concentrated effort, so sometimes it’s all to easy to watch an episode of West Wing rather than have to be so intensely ON. So I am praying to be more intentional with my time, and our family commitments. Being right in the thick of winter, I feel like I am hitting this wall, lacking motivation, and am ready to take a long Winter's nap and set my alarm for March, like Mr. Bear in The Brownstone. (One of Lucie's favorite books to read before bed.)
In addition to sharing some pictures from the last several weeks, I'd also like to give a quick Lucie update... She’s enjoying school, she loves singing the new songs that she learns there and she is making friends, which is so sweet. She receives therapy there (OT, PT and Speech) and is taken out of class a number of times for those sessions. Her class is led by a teacher with a background in special education so all-in-all she gets tremendous support. And it's obviously helping, because in December for her three-year old check up, the pediatrician happily told us that since Lucie has made such great gains and continues to thrive, she would be removing “Developmental Delays” from Lucie’s chart! AMAZING! It was incredible to hear that, and was exactly the encouragement we needed entering our new phase in life with a THREE year old (insert scary music here). The main objectives from the team are now to help her develop greater focus on tasks, help her quality of sound (minimize breathiness), and improve her fine motor skills (pencil, crayon, scissor, fork grasps, etc).
Lucie is displaying greater and greater independence, developing a strong will, and revealing a fun personality with the best sense of humor that shines through every day. We have had some hard days where Lucie has experienced a lot of new feelings and emotions and had no idea how to express them to us so she’d just implode. Learning to help her navigate that requires A LOT of patience and trial and error. But underneath it all, we can’t complain! She’s experiencing so many things that any typical three year old would and that is just beyond comprehension to us after everything she has gone through. Is it normal for parents to be happy that they’re child is behaving like a typical three year old? Ha! On that note though, if you have any recommendations on books or articles that we can read to continue to support her, let us know. And send prayers... because just tonight we had to ask Lucie to "stop slamming an imaginary door in mommy and daddy's faces", and her reply was, "I closed it gently." =)
So with that, hope you enjoy the snapshots!
Love,
Los Hicksons