Update . . . FINALLY!

When it's quiet on this end, it usually means we're 'crazy busy'. However, this time it's quiet because there's been so much stress I haven't been able to keep up with my usual routine. Since it involves our foster daughter I won't go in to too much detail, but she has been at the center of the stress.

I really wanted to something together as a family for Easter, but with Greig's schedule and area church's schedules, nothing seemed to fit. However, Greig's friend Vaughn called him and invited us to his church in Painted Post. It was a powerful presentation about 'The weekend that changed the world". We ALL went (all 7 of us). It 'would' have been just what I had hoped for, but our new addition made the 1+hour trip down and back just miserable! Of course there has the been the issue with how she treats Andrew and Sumana, but this helped push things to the breaking point.

Even though she was warned almost 2 weeks ago that we were her last chance, she seemed to not care. Now, the bottom line is that she will be moved to a diagnostic residential center. I hate to see it come to that, but maybe if she can get a higher level of care, she can return to us down the road. Please pray for Kathleen. Though we've told her what was coming, she doesn't believe it'll really happen. AND, to make matters worse, she has been a delight the last 2+ days. It's hard to know if she's ready to make a change or if she's just trying to get out of the inevitable.

Meanwhile, Sumana had her annual check up on Thursday. This is the BIG one that involves an ultrasound of her bladder and kidneys and then a 3 hour appointment where she sees upwards of 4-5 practitioners/doctors. Her kidneys have grown again (yea!) and her bladder continues to function well. Both of these areas are usually major concerns for kids with spina bifida. Also, I guess her VEPTR surgery could have negatively affected the function of these organs. (That was one thing I hadn't been warned about!) However, she was not affected at all. Praise God!

The nurse practitioner that has seen her every year for 5 years noticed a HUGE improvement in her appearance/posture and her use of language. She answered all her questions directly and even asked her questions. I also commented that her attention to schoolwork has improved a lot this year. We still need to work on her handwriting. I have the materials, it just takes time and regular practice. She's doing so well in other subjects, I guess it's time to focus on that now.

We also went shopping after the appointments and got Sumana all set for summer clothes! I had never been to the Lands End Inlet before, but what a pleasant surprise! I love their stuff anyway, but when we went to the check out EVERYTHING was half off! I guess there was a special kids sale, but I was happy with the price BEFORE the discount. If we had more time I would have gone back and looked for MORE!!!

We are looking forward to celebrating Easter at Crosswinds tonight and tomorrow at Middlesex Baptist. This is BY FAR my favorite holiday of the year. It has such depth of meaning to me. Jesus is not dead, HE IS RISEN! With all of the stress of the past weeks I am continually reminded that because of His resurrection, He proved He is God and He can do ANYTHING!