Time seems to pass too quickly and I find months pass before I find the time to update our family blog.
We have mostly survived the winter, aside from a recent hospitalization that finds Noah in the hospital with RSV. Jonah has started with symptoms so tomorrow I will take him in and have our pediatrician test him for RSV so we can keep an eye on him, hopefully we can avoid a hospital stay. Right now we are praying we can get Noah home in the next few days. Grandma Hanna has been in town helping with Jonah at home. I missed a Hawaii trip with the Langston family (thanks to Grandpa Langston) but Hawaii will always be there. Another time perhaps.
Exciting things include small steps of progress that Jonah has made. He now rolls everywhere on the floor which to some may seem marginal in way of something truly exciting but it is a massive accomplishment. He is so excited at his new skill and loves to roll around and find toys and get to Noah. We love to see his pride that he has accomplished something new and for a very challenged child with severe Cerebral Palsy we celebrate what Jonah has accomplished.
Noah's speech continues to improve and we find him using all kinds of new expressions. It is wonderful to see! He loves taking walks with Grandpa Langston and pointing out all the planes that fly over head or looking for the birds and saying, "Mom! A bird!! Tweet, tweet!" What a special time, sometimes I wish I could have more time to really enjoy this phase of life. It goes by too quickly.
In early January we had a family trial that put us in the path toward a new job for Shane. He started working for Imerys/World Minerals the first of February. Since that time he has been working during the week and commuting the 3-hour-drive home to see us. We have our home on the market which has been a challenge with the state of things here in California. We do have an offer, a very low offer, but nonetheless an offer so we are waiting to see if our bank will agree to the sale.
In the mean time I have been spending hours on the phone trying to find new specialists in Santa Barbara and try to get the boys set up with a new pediatrician, etc.
I am glad to be in an area close to the beach with good, clean air. I really think the awful air of this area has affected the boys. I am hoping being closer to the coast will improve things for them and for Shane and I too. It is a beautiful area near Santa Maria but it also has the typical Central CA issues (public education can be poor depending on your district, gang violence can affect some areas more than others, etc.). We thankfully are living in a smaller town called Orcutt that is very quiet and outside of the "other" stuff that we'd really not rather be a part of. I am still working on a good pediatrician that is taking new patients but hopefully that will also come together.
We are hoping this new company will be a good opportunity for Shane to finally grow and make a career for himself. The past 5 years have been incredibly challenging. There are many days we miss being in the Navy but we still hope the move outside will be the best choice for Shane's career to really develop.
I still think about going back to school some days. I wish I could as I'd love to get my teaching certification. I wish I would have stuck it through with my undergrad in education, not that I did not enjoy studying Public Relations but realistically with our "new life" a teaching career in a few years would be best for me as a Mom.
Thanks everyone for following our family and offering the prayers that you do on our behalf. We love each of you and are so grateful for all the special people and family that are a part of our lives. We really are blessed.
