Busy times

I cannot believe that it has been so long since I was able to write on the blog!  Our lives have been so incredibly hectic with doctors' appointments, school (it's winding down, folks!) and just transitioning into a family of four.  The biggest hurdle has been taking care of Jackson's medical appointments.

It is no secret that Jackson came to us with an unrepaired cleft palate.  However, we have discovered some other issues that will need to be addressed.  I think I mentioned in an earlier post that Jackson had a positive TB skin test.  We are currently undergoing INH therapy to lessen the chances of him ever contracting TB to less than 1%.  Modern medicine is a marval.

Our family anticipated possible speech therapy and ear tubes being necessary as part of the cleft diagnosis.  We were not wrong in that.  Jackson will be getting tubes placed in his ears during his cleft surgery.  The speech therapy is being set up now.

The one thing we never considered was that he might come to us needing a little male-type surgery.  To put it delicately, he will be having a little nipping done to his nether region at the same time his cleft is repaired.  Poor baby!  Usually this sort of thing is done when a boy child is a couple of days old - not over two!

Miss Scarlett's kindergarten class is about to finish out its school year.  She has truly loved her first year of "Big Kid" school with Mrs. Butler (formerly known as Miss Blanton).  Having a teacher who is so dedicated to sharing a love of learning with children early on is such a blessing.  It will be hard for Miss Scarlett to leave Mrs. Butler.

This week has been a whirlwind of activities at her school with zoo outings, Field Day, and Awards Day.  In between all of those activities, there was some learning done, I imagine!

The transition from a family to three to a family of four was not as difficult as I had thought it would be.  I suppose the fact that Miss Scarlett is such a good helper with her little brother has smoothed the way a lot.  She tries to put him first, even when we tell her that she needs to be first sometimes.  The bond that they have together is so incredibly sweet and fierce at the same time.  When he cries, she tries to comfort him.  If she cries, he is patting her with an expression of such concern that it makes me catch my breath.  However do we deserve such wonderful children?  It has to be God's doing, that is all that I know!

Now I am back at work.  At first I was so upset to leave Jackson at daycare.  But after seeing his bond with Mrs. Wendy, I feel so much better.  He has definitely attached to her - and her to him!

Now that things have momentarily calmed down, I will hopefully have more time to write.  Fingers crossed!