Sick Boy

No FFF last week because poor Enoch got sick on Thursday night with Strep Throat.  Thankfully we caught it early and the medicine that our doc gave us worked quickly because boy was he pitiful!  Daddy took good care of him though with lots of snuggles, book reading, and love.  (Hugh took over caring for Enoch so that I could take care of Karis in hopes that that we could avoid her getting sick, which seems to have worked this time.)

Thankfully, he is better now and back to his normal routine of eating, playing, and being a rambunctious boy.  :)

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Enoch Live: Singing with the guitar

Just a short video of the live concert I received just the other day.  :)


Enoch hasn't ever actually strummed the guitar AND sang like this simultaneously until this week, so I was so thankful to get it on video!  (He is singing "Holy, Holy, Holy" in case you can't understand him.)

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Dear Future Mom (of a child with Down Syndrome)

This is a sweet, touching video that Hugh and I both enjoyed.  While we did not get a prenatal diagnosis that Karis would have Down Syndrome, some parents do.  I think this video is encouraging for those who have to wait for birth to hold and know their child with Down Syndrome. For me, seeing people who have Down Syndrome is much more uplifting and exciting than hearing facts about Down Syndrome from a doctor or website, which can get slightly overwhelming if taken in too large of doses. 

As I type, our Sweet Girl is approaching her 1st birthday.  Though my heart often gives way to fear when I think far into the future's many unknowns, I am continually reassured in the midst of my daily life with Karis that God's grace is sufficient.  That is what gives me confidence to have hope for her future as well as what helps me enjoy each sweet smile and cute laugh and wet kiss that Karis sends my way.  Videos like this also help though, as they give me a frame of reference for what older children and young adults with Down Syndrome are like and what they enjoy doing. 

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FFF: Touch A Truck

A few weekends ago we went to a city-wide event called Touch A Truck, where kids of all ages are able to get up close and personal with big trucks and machines.  The city helps organize it, and the truck/machine drivers bring their equipment to show off and talk to the kids.  It was our first year to attend, and we loved it!  Here are some of the pictures I took of the boys enjoying the large equipment.  (Us girls just followed along and took the photos...)

 walking up from the car (there were all kinds of horns and sirens being blown the entire time we were there (since kids were able to get up and sit in the trucks), so Enoch was unsure of what he was walking into)

 sitting in a big tow truck

 checking out the brand new trash truck

 standing up on the bulldozer

 admiring the bucket truck (this is one of our new favorites because we see them all over town)

 working the control levers

 telling Daddy about how the cement truck goes round and round

 standing inside the UPS truck

 checking out the tires on a semi truck

 scoping out the red tractor

touching the tow truck

another one of our favorites - the dump truck

not sure what to think about the fire truck

And one last photo with Daddy

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Karis Popping Bubbles (video)

Here's a short video of part of last week's Occupational Therapy session.  Our OT was showing me how popping bubbles makes Karis isolate her fingers and do more pointing  (as opposed to swiping at things with her whole palm).  Karis really enjoyed this, and it was a great idea from our therapist since Sweet Girl is still in the mouthing stage, meaning that every toy she was given went straight to her mouth rather than being played with.

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Does God give us more than we can handle?

I just read a great post by Jon Bloom this morning that answers the question "Does God give us more than we can handle?"  Having read through the book of Judges over the past two weeks in my Bible reading plan, I appreciated his use of Gideon's battle to illustrate his point.  Go check it out and see if you agree with his thoughts.

Why God Gives Us More Than We Can Handle  By: Jon Bloom 4.4.2014


But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

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FFF: Vacuuming for Mama

For some reason Enoch LOVES vacuum cleaners, so getting to vacuum for Mama yesterday was quite the treat!  He was so excited...  Here's a video (and if you watch closely, you can see Karis playing on the floor watching him):

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FFF: Quadraped with Daddy (video)

Here's a video I got yesterday from Hugh and Karis doing a little quadraped workout together.  This is one of the exercises we practice at PT in order to help Karis build enough strength and coordination to learn to crawl.  She has just recently been able to hold herself up like the video shows.  One of the next steps for her will be rocking forward (getting her bottom up off her heels) as well as reaching out with one hand at a time and being able to balance on her other arm.

One sweet thing that I want to remember about this exercise is that Karis does it so well for her Daddy.  When I used to work with her on it by myself, she never held it very long and would begin crying as soon as she realized what I was up to.  Now, however, she will happily hold it for her Daddy, and she's shown such great progress in only a few weeks of him working on it with her.  (In therapy, we feed her Puffs while she holds it, which she is also happy to work for.)

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