October 22, 2006 2:15 PM
The sunshine in my life
The effects of being raised in a large family :)
Justin, our youngest set this play dinner. Note that he has crowded EIGHT - count 'em! - chairs around this teensy table and loaded every single bit of play food he could find there. Reminds me of when Maddy and Jonny had a Fisher Price playhouse and we had to get several groups of family figures in order to have enough children and babies to represent our family :)
The Downzers (for those new here, that is our family name for our four boys with Down syndrome - three adopted) all have settled into new situations at school and I am very pleased with all of them. God has been very generous with us in terms of making sure the education piece of their early development is in place. All their teachers are wonderful and I couldn't be happier. Jonny is in 8th grade and Maddy went back to school this year, so they are there together, although they have different classes.
Jonny (14) is also in Boy Scouts and the troop and its leadership have been really on board with making it possible for him to participate. Yesterday they had some kind of field day for merit badges and then a camp-out. It was Jonny's first big adventure like that. Tripp dropped him off, then went later to see how he was doing. Great! The leader called last night to say everything was going well - very thoughtful.
Jesse (11) and Daniel (10) have a wonderful new teacher who makes it a point to take them on weekly CBI (community-based instruction) trips - to places like the bakery, the vet, the post office, even the Laundromat! I really liked the idea of the Laundromat trip. I guess some people go through life without setting foot in a Laundromat, but for others, it's a skill that could be useful someday. Daniel loved the whole process, which prompted me to get him more involved in helping me with the laundry at home.
Justin (6) has a new teacher too and lots of opportunities to shine in kindergarten. He is so teachable and full of joy.
All four boys attended a six-session clown workshop where they learned about clowning. Now they are attending two workshops on Japanese theater in preparation for Very Special Arts' upcoming play. Very Special Arts is this program in Loudoun County which connects people of all abilities with the arts. Each year they do an incredible play written just for them. In the past they've done Snow White, 12 Dancing Princesses, and the Musicians of Bremen Town. This year they are doing something Japanese. The really cool thing is that the community has so embraced the program that the performances are often standing room only.
The boys are also signed up next Saturday for a volleyball clinic sponsored by Athlete-to-Athlete, which an enterprising student at Dominion High School is inaugurating. They will be matched up for one-on-one help.
What we're trying to do with them is the same thing we did for the older kids - introduce them to a lot of different activities and see what clicks for them.
Sophia and Maddy are keeping busy with NoVaPrep – a theater prep course they were accepted into which provides six hours of instruction a week in drama, voice, and dance. They are also in the cast of Not Just Shakespeare’s production of Skin of Our Teeth starting next weekend. Callbacks for Les Miz at Loudoun Valley were Friday – Maddy was the only 8th grade girl called back for the high school production, so that was an honor. She’s not sure how she did because her three weeks of coughing while we tried different antibiotics has led to intense sharp pain in her rib cage. At the ER yesterday they thought her rib was broken – yes, I just learned that you can break a rib coughing – but x-rays showed it was not. So the diagnosis is inflamed cartilage and she has to take Tylenol with codeine for the pain and to stop coughing. It was wonderful last night to wake up (I still wake up several times a night from force of habit) and hear silence rather than a helpless hacking cough.
Both girls are also cast in the Christmas play at church, so they are keeping very busy. Sophia is thinking that she would like to be a children’s theater director and is planning to go to Liberty – her decision completely. I’ve also talked to her about Regent University – a Christian college in Richmond specializing in communication arts – so she may apply there. In spite of her busy schedule, she has maintained excellent grades and was asked to apply for the National Honor Society. I am very proud of her.
We are enjoying a very fulfilling relationship now, after some turmoil for the past two years. It all seemed to turn a corner when I returned to making a big deal out of dinner every night – setting a nice table, passing the food, purposely lingering for conversation – an area I had begun to slack in after the big boys left home (read more about that here). Sophia treasures this time and it seems to have transformed our relationship. An example of how being faithful in the small things can have BIG rewards. Since the latest flare-up with her sister, she has been even sweeter. I think she sees it as a lesson in choosing early what kind of relationship to have with her mother.
Maddy and I have always had a great relationship and it continues. I can’t imagine Maddy ever being angry with anyone. To my knowledge she has never had a disagreement with a friend. She is the most consistently upbeat person I've ever met - and I see her upclose and personal every day. My biggest worry with her is her health as she seems so fragile sometimes. She doesn’t look fragile, but she does seem to be vulnerable physically.
Zach has been calling home from college once or twice a week. He didn’t do that the first year, but for some reason he has made it a habit now. It just feels so good to hear from him. He’s doing ROTC and Quiz Bowl and swimming and running and building himself up – in addition to studies, of course. Got his application into the Air Force Academy with all the spin-off apps to obtain the nomination he needs. A lot of paperwork, but he got it done. I’m very proud of him.
Ben has decided to pursue a career as an opera singer, which will probably mean six or seven years of school. His teachers think he has what it takes. His girlfriend is very supportive. We're very supportive of her too. Ben seems to have really found his direction this year. Both he and Zach have done very well at Liberty. I'm glad they chose a Christian college - just the other day Zach said how much easier it is to be in a group of young adults who share the same views on things like virginity. That's gotta save them from a lot of distraction.
We are also awaiting Grandchild Number 11 as Samantha and Kip have completed a home study and are slowly moving up the list to adopt a baby girl from Guatemala. We are just as excited as we have been during the girls' pregnancies. After the crazy lives we led before our marriage, who could have imagined that God would be so generous with Tripp and me?
So even as I am watching the cloud on the horizon, I’m grateful the sky is so big and there’s so much sunshine everywhere else in my life.
Still praying without ceasing, though - and grateful for your prayers.
Comments
I love that picture, Barbara. :) Wonderful! :) My little guys would do that too.
Posted by: Holly | October 23, 2006 9:27 PM
Holly - Have you noticed that the girls tend to be more fussy about the proper settings and the boys are just eager to pile on the food? :)
Posted by: barbara | October 23, 2006 10:40 PM
