I can tell when I haven't posted in a while when people start asking for another one! Well, after neglecting this blog for a few months, here we go....
Well, as usual, Mason never leaves us wanting for an interesting story. As he continues to progress developmentally, we attempt to give him a little more freedom here and there....not such a good idea!
~ I've taken the knobs off the stove because he wants to help cook.
~ We will eventually be painting a feature wall in our living room. Not sure what color yet, but it won't be blue... to match the sharpie design on the wall! We tried a number of things to take it off. Whatever took the marker off, also took off the paint. Thankfully he did not alter the artwork next to his artwork! Nor did the sofa receive a pattern....
How many balloons do you see?
~ Occasionally I linger in bed after Mason gets up in the mornings. I tend to lightly doze off and on, but I can still hear what he's doing. Watching a video or TV show, play a game on the computer, play with our new kitten (Baby), puzzles, games, pouring a bowl of cereal, etc. It is pretty neat that he can go and do some of this on his own :) Well, this morning, I guess I dozed a little deeper than usual... Sydney came running into our bedroom demanding my attention on the stairs. Mason had thrown about a dozen knives down the stairs!! Dinner knives and steak knives. I hadn't heard a thing! When I asked him why he had done that, he said "Baby". So my best guess is that he was using the knives as toys to grab Baby's attention! But I think I'm missing some steak knives! Not sure what else that boy did!
Seizures: He's having about 3 - 5 clusters a day I think. One or two during the night. Between 5 and 6 seems to be the common time right now. He usually settles pretty quick, but with the sun up so early now he thinks it's time to get up and play! When he says's "sunshine" I know it's going to be really hard to get him back to sleep! Then randomly throughout the day. Each cluster can be between 1 and 20ish seizures (and last up to 20 minutes or more). If it's one, he freezes in that position for up to 45 seconds. Sometimes he's tired after that and goes for a nap. The bigger clusters don't phase him at all. He stays alert through it all and just keeps doing whatever he was doing. Including talking... and boy is he ever a chatterbox!!! :)
Favorite songs we hear him sing a lot, and he knows most of the words!:
"You are My Sunshine" He can sing the Veggie Tales version pretty good!
"Away in a Manger" Even tho it's been quite a while since Christmas, we hear him sing that song quite regularly!
Summer is going well so far :) Mason has been going to StarClub on Mondays. He heads off to camp in a week. He'll be going for 4 nights. :)
Papa and Mama just held their 50th anniversary celebration this weekend. It was a GREAT party! We were not sure how Mason would do, but he sure surprised us all! He even sat through most of the program! And he didn't get upset that he couldn't have Papa all to himself! I had a teen family friend come with and help out with Mason for the day, so that really really helped.
Mason just completed grade 5. Wow, that was our last year at elementary school... ever! So this fall, Mason will be going to middle school for grade 6, Sydney is going to high school and will be in grade 9, Asia will be in grade 11. Yikes, now I feel old!
Mason loves going for rides with Asia driving. Yes, she is 16 and has her "L"! She and I have come to an agreement, tho, that Daddy will be taking her driving. She's taken time off learning to drive, tho. She broke her collar bone, which made it difficult to steer and shoulder check for a month. Now she's at camp in leadership training for nearly a month, so practicing will have to wait again!
Sydney will be going to camp in August. This is the second year, now, that all three kids get to go to camp! Very exciting.
Then later in August, Make-A-Wish Foundation is treating us to a vacation in Kelowna! We can't take Mason on a flight or long drive, so our vacation destination is nearby. Although we go to our trailer on a regular basis (mostly me with the kids), we have never gone on vacation as a family! (other than trips to MB to see family) We are very excited :) We'll be staying in a 2 bedroom 1200sf suite for a week. Everything will be taken care of. Food, gas, activities. The timing is really good, with our kids being the age they are, we don't have much time left before they are off doing their own things in summer or have jobs.
Imagine Ministries is something I've mentioned here before. Without Mason's medical and developmental issues, that is something that would not have been started. We now have 9 children with special needs registered for weekend services receiving care and teaching while parents attend the service.
Imagine Respite is happening once a month, and we have about 27 kids with special needs and their siblings registered. We've had to tweak a few things here and there, but it's been going very well. Parents drop their kids off for a 3 hour evening. We give them dinner (pizza donated by Boston Pizza) chicken strips veggies etc. Games, activities, singing, Bible stories, Jesus crafts. Then near the end Veggie Tales movies and snacks. The kids are deceptively calm when their parents arrive, having had a fun filled evening, while parents have had some time to themselves.
Various groups in the community are getting wind of Imagine Ministries, and we can potentially see it grow by leaps and bounds. Why? Well, first off, God is the One who makes the growth happen. The many volunteers and I are eagerly doing what He has asked of us. And that is to care for these families. Currently there are more than 1000 families on a wait-list for respite services in our area. Those are families that need help but have little or none. I could go on and on here, but if you want to know more, go to www.imagineministries.ca
Well, I shall see if I can find some missing steak knives.....
