It's been a while....

Well, it's been quite awhile since my last post. Life is busy, what can I say? I envy those who write wonderful blogs that inspire and captivate. I struggle just to keep it current enough to keep family and friends updated on how we are doing. :)

So, I'll let you all know what is new!

Kirsten and Linda are working at Camp Harlow this summer. I will miss having them here, but I'm glad for their opportunity to work with kids, and prayerfully hope that they will grow spiritually in their efforts.

Seth and Ethan are finishing up with baseball season. This is the first year we've attempted this with all the toddlers here, but it's gone pretty well. We've had practice or games 5 nights a week, so I'm looking forward to some regular family time and regular meals instead of sandwiches most nights. I think everyone needs a break from PB&J.

Hannah is getting older, and finally acting it! She turned 4 in April, and I am finally able to see her acting like a little girl instead of a toddler. She has born the brunt of me being very busy with other babies, and with her personality, would have benefited from more diligence on my part in training her. But, we are getting there!

Abigail is turning into a beautiful little girl, and talking up a storm. I keep trying to start potty training, but she has no interest yet. However, she's getting better at being compliant, and is enjoying Madison getting older, and joining in their play.

Madison is doing wonderful! She is 18 months now, and walks (with a walker) all over the place. We take the walker to the ball field, and she is hard to keep up with. Her therapist is very pleased with her progress and has told me that Madison will walk soon (by the end of this year, probably) without assistance. She will need braces of some kind, most likely forever, but that is so small a need for her. She has AFO's right now, and she wears them about 50% of the time. She also cruises and uses her walker without them, but she will need to braces to really get her balance for walking. She is walking along the wall, or holding one hand, (a new skill) and I see improvement almost daily with her balance and confidence.

I was feeling like she had plateaued with her walking for a bit, but realized that she was also fine-tuning some of her other skills. Getting down from cruising, crawling faster, just gaining agility all over. I'm very excited for her improvement.

Her urologist is pleased with her kidney health, although we will be looking at surgery around age 5 to attain social continence. I'm mainly concerned with overall health, so I will worry about one thing at a time. Catheterizing is very common with spina bifida to keep the kidneys from failing, so I'm happy that we don't have to worry about that with her.

I pray you are all well, and thank you for your continued support and prayers. :)