New Pictures

I finally put together a few new pictures. I thought I had more to share, but I need to upload more to photobucket before I can put them in the slide show.

As far as new news goes, Madison was casted for her braces (AFO's) last Tuesday. We should be getting them in 2-3 weeks. I'm excited to see how she fairs with them. She's not quite pulling up to stand yet, and I think she will benefit the most when she is able to do that. We'll just have to wait and see how best to use them.

She really hated being casted, and yelled (very loudly) the whole time, and then didn't want to be messed with at all afterward, so her PT appt. wasn't the most beneficial. Can't really blame her though. She just wanted Mommy after all that trauma. :)

We are going to PT every 2 weeks, and her therapist is very pleased with her development. I have to say, I am too. She's a trooper, and is very motivated to get around. I see her crawling around after her sisters, and wanting to get up on her feet. (camel-stance)

I will post some pictures of the braces when we get them.

Birthday Girl

Maddie is one year in a couple of hours, and I am in tears and joyful at the same time remembering this last year. It's been a whirlwind of challenges and fears, and amazing victories.

I am terrible at getting the camera out, but I promise to get some new pictures up soon of all the kids. Madison is really wanting to be part of the daily celebration in the mornings, and she is very vocal about it, if not able to follow fast enough to keep up with the running and dancing. The girls are both including her now in their play, and they spend a good bit of time playing "kitchen" in the girls' playroom, as well as "reading" books to each other. I'm excited to see how their friendships develop over the years coming up.

Seth and Ethan are wonderful brothers, and never tire of playing with the babies, even though they get frustrated at the occasional sabotage of their personal things or projects. I'm looking forward to some good outdoor weather so they can ride bikes and Madison can get a feel for the dirt. She loves textures and exploring, and crawls all over the house now.

Kirsten is still working on getting sub jobs for teaching. She has her second job this week, and is excited about it. Her first day subbing went really well, so I'm glad she's getting her feet under her. I pray she will be a blessing to the school system and reach many children for the Lord.

Linda is working for Tim and staying busy with her social life (along with Kirsten). I'm enjoying spending time with these young ladies and hope I can encourage growth where it's needed, and encouragement where it's due.

Parenting so many different ages has it's challenges, and I often fear I'm taking advantage of some, and neglecting others, but I pray at the end of the day/week it all balances out.

I also pray that I get back into a prayer and study routine for my own growth and refreshment in Christ, as this has gotten neglected and certainly adds to my down times. But the Lord is faithful, and I am always aware of His presence here.

I am extremely thankful for all those who pray for us and think of us and pass on the occasional encouragement. It really means so much!

Thank you.....

Another Milestone

Madison got up on her feet today! I really didn't think she would do this before she had some braces on her little feet. She has been standing on "tall knees" since soon after crawling, but I didn't think she was stable enough to get up on her feet. She was trying to pull up on a pillow this morning, and had both of her feet under her, and her legs straight, in a camel-stance. :)

I'm so excited for her! I just love that she is so motivated. I'm pretty sure she will be pulling up to stand next to furniture soon, with or without the braces. (we are still waiting for the appt to get this started)

Anyway, just had to share....

She will be 1 year old on January 10th. Whenever I read others' blogs, I wonder how old their children are, and scroll through trying to find out when they were born. I will try to mention her age more often.

She's CRAWLING!!!!!

Well, after scooting backwards for several weeks now, Maddie has finally figured out how to crawl forward! We have it on video and will try and get a decent copy on the blog. I'm relying on my daughters to facilitate this since I'm having computer troubles.

So, it was a very exciting night here, and we'll have great news for the ped and physical therapist next week at our clinic visit.

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!

Wonderful News!

Madison's physical therapist was very pleased with her progress this week. She's going to PT twice a month right now, and her overall strength is very good. She is a bit weak in the inner thighs, buttocks, and ankles, but all of these muscle groups are stronger than we anticipated. It's very exciting to me. :)

She isn't really interested in getting around too much. She sits, and plays, talks, and yells like crazy. But I believe, even if she didn't have SB, she wouldn't be on the move yet. She's just very laid back physically. She can sit, get into the crawling position, roll over, and almost gets into the sitting position on her own. But, she rarely does these things unless someone is working with her. She crawls backwards when she tries, which is very typical of an early crawler. She turned 9 months on the 10th, so she's a bit delayed in crawling, but not much.

She is just a sweetheart though, and we love to see her smile and giggle and talk to us. She is very kissy and cuddly too. Hannah and Abigail are starting to really enjoy her as well.

I am going to try and get some new pictures of her up on the site. We are way behind on that due to camera troubles.

Home life in general is going well. The boys are busy with school, art class, piano, and playgroup activities. Hannah is taking some horseback riding lessons. (pretty low-keyed aimed at 3-4 year-olds) She LOVES this. Abby went with us today, and was able to ride the horse a bit as well, and just threw a FIT when she had to get down.

So, we are staying busy, and enjoying the Fall. We canned about 80 quarts of grape juice this last week. A first for me, but it was worth the effort. Very good juice, thank you Grandpa Dennis!!

Also, we saw the ophthalmologist last week, and Madison doesn't have ANY issues with her eyes. I'm so happy about that. With as many issues as SB kids can have, every one we DON'T have is a huge blessing.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and interest. I'll try and keep the blog updated as needed.