Happy Holidays to one and all!
We have had a good 4th
quarter here at chez David. We started the quarter with a trip home in
October for fall break. October 6th was the anniversary of my
father’s passing and we buried his ashes (those that weren’t spread elsewhere)
next to my mother. Aggie had a very nice headstone with a barn made, very
apropos for my dad. It of course brought all the sadness of it all back
to the surface but at the same time at least for me, it also gave me a sense of
peace with it all as well. I have been visiting that cemetery for 35
years now since my mother passed away and I find comfort in knowing she is
watching over him (showing him the ropes so to speak)! My Aunt Rose
took our family pictures at the farm while we were there. 
The rest of the quarter was
inundated with birthday parties, including Peyton’s 6th. She
has lost her 2 bottom teeth already. She is doing very well in school but
longs for the Pre-K days when school was only half a day and there was no
homework! Her freedom is getting squashed at Kindergarten, she doesn’t
have as much time to play at the park these days. I thought she would
enjoy being at school with friends all day but I think being at school with
friends and playing at the park with friends is very different. Despite
this though, she is exceling academically and behaviorally.
Coleson is also doing quite
well. In fact, I think he has had only 1 sick day from school, not
because he was sick but because there was strep throat in the Pre-school
classes and I didn’t want to chance it. After we got back from home, we
enrolled him in a Sensory Learning Program. Think of it like exercising
the neuron pathway to the brain that controls focus, stability, attention and
communication. He had to lay flat on a table that moved in a circular
motion while staring at a flashing light and listening to headphones with
music that would oscillate through the decibels. He had to do this
2x/day for 30 minutes ea. for 12 days straight. By the time
we got him into it, I wasn’t quite sure that he really needed it as he has
progressed to be in the average range in every area. However, I figured
it could only help him and so we went through with it. Thank you to those
who donated to Coleson’s cause so that we could afford to send him there!
He actually did quite well despite it being a pretty intense 12 days and I have
seen a difference in his attention, focus and his communication skills.
He still remembers going and everyday says, “No Sirri”, which is the
name of the place we did this at. Rachel did most of the weekday sessions
with him and I think she says the same thing!
We have scheduled his surgery
for next year for May 24th and I booked a house for the entire
summer. I really think this will be better for us all. I still
don’t know how to break the news to him as he is very much aware of what
happens at hospitals now and this surgery will only make that nervousness
worse. He has gotten a few shots lately (vaccines and flu) and though he
handled them all quite well (better than Peyton), there is no reason in the
world that a 4 year old will understand why he is able to run into the hospital
fine but come out with a double cast and in a lot of pain.
We took the kids to Polar
Express this weekend with some neighbor friends and I think Coleson really
understands Santa now. Nothing like meeting him in person! I hope
all of you have a happy holiday season. If you are thinking about ways to
help out others during the season, I have 2 recommendations:
If you are in
Arizona, you can make a dollar for dollar tax credit on your Arizona income
taxes by donating to Waggoner Elementary School of up to $200 single/$400
joint. You don’t have to have kids in school. It is a direct $ for
$ so why wouldn’t you want this money to go to a school instead of to the
government. Kyrene.org/taxcredit,
select Waggoner Elementary. - Also, you can sign up on Be The Match (www.bethematch.org) as a bone marrow donor (or if you don’t qualify, you can donate directly). It’s very simple. This video, a parody of Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood”, puts a light hearted spin to the Bone Marrow Transplant process. A Bone Marrow Transplant parody of Taylor Swift's Bad Blood
Hope your holidays are merry and bright!
