Kids

What have the kids been up to lately?

Rachael is in the third grade in a self contained classroom and is progressing very well. She is reading on a first grade level, which thrills me, and has learned how to jump. She has an excellent memory and gets 100% on her spelling tests almost every week. She still loves playing on the computer, taking pictures with my cell phone, and making messes. The kids in our church and neighborhood are wonderful to her and I think they are setting a trend that it's cool to be nice to Rachael. I pray this will continue into middle and high school. Rachael is my beautiful angel girl. She is very impulsive especially when there are changes in the barometric pressure but I can't help but adore her!

WMDs lately include: spray paint, spray bleach, spay deodorant, marker, scissors, toothpaste, gel, baby powder, soap, tape, the spice cupboard and craft paint. I had everything up and away but she is getting smarter and is figuring out how to get to them. Brian has made many modifications this month to prevent repeat offences.

I probably wiped away 10 crayon and marker drawings on the walls that all said "NO" or "NOT". I asked Rachael what she was writing and she said "NO, Do NOT write on the walls, Nora." She's such a good big sister.
Brody is my very special helper. He has a very mature mind and grasps concepts like I can't believe. I chose not to put him in pre-school and he will start kindergarten this fall. He writes very well, enjoys simple math, and is starting to read. I'm expecting him to struggle a bit this fall because he can't sit still and talks too much...but he is super smart. He wants to be a chef and a doctor when he grows up (because he's good at cracking eggs and he helps grandma test her blood sugar) but he is open to the possibility of being a pharmacist or map maker. After he goes to college to learn how to drive a car and motorcycle, he would like to take me to China because it is very beautiful and they have red roofs (?). I love that boy!

He dresses himself. Okay, so he's not perfect:

Nora started pre-school Monday through the early childhood development program with the school district. She's barely three and she rides the bus!!! We now have two short buses pull up at 8:30 in the morning because the girls go to different schools. Nora qualified for the program because she has speech delays. We went to genetic counseling before she was born because she is a Fragile X premutation carrier. Nora is very smart and with the exception of speech, she is right on track. I expect her to catch up quickly and I don't anticipate any long term disabilities at all. She loves to dance, sing and shoot Nerf guns. She has this sweet little voice, is independent and has a smile that lights up the room. I love my Na-Na.

I got my stent out Monday and feel fine. By changing my medications, my cortisol and ACTH levels are now normal so the mystery is solved and I will have no further scans for tumors. Because I was on the medications for so long, I have been left with some symptoms of Cushing's syndrome like the ugly buffalo hump on the back of my neck. We are still working on getting my other hormones balanced and have not found the cause of my almost-daily headaches, but overall I am doing much better!

We are praying that Brian's employer will pick up a job here in Vegas. They have been out of work for close to a year now. He is one of four employees left here of the dozens that kept busy last year. We are so thankful to his wonderful company for continuing to keep faith in the Vegas division. Rather than running jobs, Brian now bids work and has become almost comfortable as a white collar worker. He bought a new wardrobe, I bought an ironing board and discovered that I like to iron...who knew?