Yes, we ARE alive. Truly. The fall came upon us with a vengeance, and with it came the attempt to juggle more than I’d expected: homeschooling two 3rd graders, working almost 20 hours/week, daily therapy + weekly speech therapy, ministry commitments at church, and for the first time, sports for the dynamic duo! In the midst of all of it, something HAD to give, and I figured my family would prefer I maintain my sanity and let the blogging go.
The boys had a very 
fun soccer season this past fall. Not on the winningest team, they had fun and improved their skills greatly. And, they made new friends. We enjoyed the opportunity to see them involved, even if this season brought 2 of the foulest soccer weather days we’ve ever encountered in our years as soccer parents. The things we do for our kids!!
Logan turned 9 in October and is beginning to really blossom. His math skills are taking off and his reading is coming along nicely. It will take us much longer for him to be working at ‘grade level’ but what 
we know (and have had confirmed by his team at Children’s) is that he is definitely in the right place doing the right things for now. It is often a challenge to get through the complex learning issues, but we’re doing it. Each victory is celebrated, that’s for sure! Progress is slow, often painfully slow, but it is steady. We are beginning to see cognitive leaps and are excited to see that continue. As I tell him often, failure is NOT an option!
Ryan turned 9 on Monday. It’s been a relatively easy go with him. He’s flying through his schoolwork and knocking them dead on the things he enjoys. Currently working in a late 4th grade math book, he’s excited to finish it and move to 5th grade math. I am loving it because it’s honest, old-fashioned math, with an emphasis on mastery and application of computatio
n skills rather than the currently vogue focus on deep thinking and self expression. He gets it and can easily explain the why of it all, which comes from mastering each new lesson. He frequently floors us with what he gets and what he’s able to apply from his lessons. No worries here! He’s still struggling at night and finding the dark to be scary. Sunday night was the hardest I’ve ever seen with him: he was sleepwalking in the living room, blanket and stuffed animal in hand, calling out, “Mommy! Don’t leave me! Don’t walk away from me!! Don’t leave me here by myself!” Heartbreakingly, he was not looking for this mommy. Healing is slow, but God is faithful. He will always have those scars, but hopefully someday they won’t haunt him like they do now. I suspect part of his current struggle is related to some of the stuff going on around him, in the lives of some near and dear to us. Sadly, we can’t protect him from everything, and this situation has been very trying for everyone.
The big guys are thriving! It was wonderful to have everyone here for Thanksgiving AND Christmas. Brent surprised us all by coming home for Thanksgiving with his darling puppy. We enjoyed a great time around the table with Jim’s brothers, my parents, and a young couple from church daring enough to join 20+ near strangers for a holiday. Christmas was quiet and low-key and totally enjoyable. The only thing missing? Snow! 
So, we’re back at it. Ryan had his first ever bout of the stoma
ch flu last night so we’re playing it low-key today. I’m trying desperately to catch up on a variety of things—Thursday is my only ‘free’ day all week. Our new adventure for the winter is basketball. Ryan and Logan are playing on a parks and rec team and enjoying Jim and Hailey as their coaches! We also LOVE our gifts this year from my parents: season tickets to UW Husky Women’s basketball. Our sweet friend Katie plays on the team. Logan was hysterical when he got his gift. The tickets hadn’t come, so it was just a picture and a note. He looked at it for a long time. Then, barely able to contain his excitement he said, “Mom! Look!! Grandma and Grandpa gave me Katie for my birthday!”
And with that update, I’m headed back to see if I can salvage some school time today. Tomorrow is speech therapy, our long drive adventure. Takes a huge bite out of our school day. And since Thursday’s the day we have to focus on getting things done, I’d better get to it.
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