The Daily Life of Sweetpea[s]

I'm nearly 25 weeks pregnant this week. I had a checkup with my midwife today and everything looks good. I've gained a whopping 25 pounds to match my 25 weeks, but the midwife wasn't concerned, so I won't be either. =) I've been feeling fantastic this past month (lots of energy) and I've managed to shoot 4 weddings in 8 days and nearly get all the editing done. Things slow down from here on out. I should have a pretty low-key next few months. (Low-key until the baby is born, anyway.)

I'm off to Texas on Thursday. See some of you soon!

This past weekend we shared a fun day at the beach with several families from our church. Ethan and his friend were snuggling up in their warm towels after playing in the frigid northern Cali waters. Sam was with us, but hard to capture on camera....like an animal in his natural habitat.

Tomorrow is Harry Potter day!!!!

In early May we learned that our oldest, Sam, was severely dyslexic. The hallmarks of a learning disability are high intelligence and low processing speed/working memory. The discrepancy in Sam's scores are about as wide as the Grand Canyon. His I.Q. is staggeringly high. I actually cried in front of the psychologist when she told us. I never would have believed it. His working memory, his ability to simply keep up and remember the conversation is staggeringly low. Extremely low, almost non-existent. His processing speed is well below average as well. This wide range in scores tells us he is severely dyslexic. Anything concerning language is difficult for him

For the past several weeks I have been grieving. Grieving the difficulty of Sam's future and grieving the tough road I have ahead of me. He will deal with this for the rest of his life. He will be in and out of various therapies for many years to come.

I had to change homeschool co-ops, because ours simply couldn't serve our needs. We joined a homeschool ISP for special needs children. ****special needs....Its hard to swallow that term**** I know it is what we need and already they have been a storehouse of information and comfort, but putting on that label that I for years pushed away is uncomfortable to say the least.

We attended a park day this week with the ISP group and one other family was there. They have 5 children, the oldest of which has Down Syndrome. Even though he was 17, he was Sam and Ethan's favorite. Sam said he really like the big boy with the beard. : )

Despite Sam's obvious challenges I see God's hand on him. He loves to worship, making up songs and dances all the time. A friend told me she observed Sam in children's worship and was greatly moved by his heart for worship. He unabashedly stands in the back of the sanctuary and belts out the worship music. It doesn't bother him in the least that people turn and stare....and usually smile. I see the wisdom of God spill forth from him and that will simply serve him far more than the knowledge the world holds dear.

He paints and draws with uncanny sensitivity and freedom. He is definitely a fine arts kid, which makes his artist mommy and philosopher daddy...happy.

While most 6.5 yr old boys are busy running and careening into objects, if there is a baby or toddler in the room, that is where Sam is. He LOVES small children and is intuitively gentle and loving toward them. Maybe he connects somehow with them. He just seems to know how to speak their language. I cannot wait to see him with our future daughter.

But there are very difficult moments as well. A majority of our conversations go something like "Whose on first, whose on second??" Mostly going nowhere. We have left numerous events, parties, etc with Sam screaming and hitting himself unable to control himself. Frustrated beyond comprehension. Those moments are dark, painful, at times embarrassing and utterly confusing. What do we do?? I simply cannot be patient at all times, in all situations.

I'm coming to grips with this news, but falling more in love with the beautiful complexity of my son.

I have to say that Boston is a super cool place to be on the 4th of July. It's such a big deal. We no longer live right on the Charles river with front row seats to the spectacular 30 minute fireworks show, but as we found out last night it's just as good of a show from 2 miles away up on Bunker Hill.

I hope y'all had a nice day with family and friends. Do any of you have 4th of July family traditions? Cookouts? Sparklers? Since we lived outside of the city limits growing up in Waco, Tx, my brothers used to put on their own fireworks display. Those were good days...

After a full weekend of weddings I took the day off today to watch a little Wimbledon. I'm always impressed by these amazing athletes--especially the women. I couldn't take my eyes off the Hantuchova-S.Williams match. It was a nail-biter. At one point Serena collapsed with "a spasm-induced left calf strain" and still went on to win with the help of a long rain delay. Both women played a phenomenal game.