Our Inspired Journey

Happy 4th of July everyone! Not only was it our Nation's birthday, but more importantly (in this house), it was our little boy's 2nd birthday today too!!! We have had a fun last couple of days celebrating the 4th of July in our new state. Here are a few pictures of our fun venture 20 minutes from our house to see fireworks in a nearby city on the 3rd. For the first time since we moved here, we felt like we were back in Southern California as we fought the crowds to park and walk into the 500 acre park to set our blanket out to watch fireworks! Thankfully, other families from our church make a tradition of the event, and we were able to share their tarp for a great time with all the kids dancing around under the stars and loud blasts! We woke up this morning to rain! We were so glad we saw fireworks last night since we couldn't watch the 4th of July parade we wanted to see today! Cole was given a new train for his train set from Gramma and Gramps along with more tracks which went over very well on this rainy 4th of July and 2nd birthday! The boys had fun building new tracks and Cole had "no share" rights on his new train for his birthday :) Ryder honored that rule most of the time throughout the day as they played together, but tomorrow will be another story! For dinner, our friend and John's "music mentor," Abel along with another grad student, Mark came over to share a festive dinner with our family. We ate shish-k-bobs, rice, garlic cheese bread, drank cranberry lemonade, and laughed at Cole's cute faces and Ryder's amazing sentences...about the "Beautiful designs" the fireworks made in the sky. I know you probably can't tell...I'm no expert when it comes to cake decorating, but I made a C2 with blueberries on Cole's patriotic birthday cake this year :) Ryder thought it was cool, so that's all that matters!

Here we are eating and celebrating Cole's 2nd birthday together...

As if the 4th of July and Cole's birthday weren't enough monumental occasions to blog about, July 2nd marked Cole's 6 month hearing birthday! I'm not sure where to start first, but I will say that the past 6 months have been amazing. To watch our boy come alive in a way I'd never seen in his first, silent year of life was and continues to be a heart-melting experience.

So how is he doing, you may wonder? It's hard to explain in words. I've been trying to grasp at some measurable terms with which to describe his progress from the beginning of this "hearing journey" we're on with Cole. Whenever someone asks how he's doing, John and I usually mention some of the following...

• He loves his new ears! He asks for them as soon as he wakes up by pointing to his head where the headpieces should be :)
• He localizes wonderfully, even from a short distance...(this means he recognizes where sound is coming from and can turn in the direction of the sound)
• Some of the sounds he recognizes include his name, Ryder's name, Cora's name, beep from the microwave, airplanes, lawnmowers, animal sounds...
• Commands he responds to without visual cue: "Go get your...shoes, socks, trainchoo-choo, car, truck, "Brush your teeth," "Wipe your hands," "Let's go eat" (he gets in his chair), "Drink," "my favorite..."Kiss!"
• Words he's saying (his version): more (mo-ah), up, off, all-done (aw-d), help (hip), go (ooo!), stop (op), cut (ut), cheese (eee), eat (e), drink (ink), no (o- with a head shake), wee (eee! - whenever anything goes down a slide or hill), down (ow)
• Animal noises he'll make while pointing to the animal: cat (me-ow), sheep (aaaa), cow (oooo), dinosaur (raaaa!), he's still working on duck, dog, pig, and bird.
• He dances when he hears music :)
• He's learning to defend himself...when Ryder takes something from him, he doesn't just let it happen anymore, he says, "No! (oooo!), shakes his head, pushes Ryder aside and takes it right back! Not that I want my boys to fight, but to see Cole learn to speak for himself sheds a bright light on sibling rivalry... :)
• He's more interested in books now than ever before! Seeing my boy go to the library book basket on his own, choose a book, open it and begin pointing and babbling about the pictures brings such joy to my heart. Reading statistics on how those who are deaf have a hard time going beyond a 3rd grade reading level, has made me pray even more specifically for his eyes and mind to be opened to the gift of reading and learning. We are beginning to see answers to our prayers!

So, how is he doing? I think he's doing great. Do I ever have moments of discouragement? Definately. Sometimes it feels like we're paddling very hard, upstream and that all we're doing should produce "measurable results" more quickly than we're seeing. This is the difficult part of both John and I having an "education" background. Though I know God wants to use our teaching background and graduate degrees to benefit our boy in this journey, I've been reminded lately that the enemy does not, and will do anything to bring discouragement in his effort to destroy the ones that God loves. I've been feeling the Lord calling us to "know" our boy in deeper ways that aren't translated on the pages of a test in a "measurable score." He's given each of us our children to know and love, deeper than any other human being can and every day we must choose unconditional love over the dangerous trap comparision can bring....I'm so glad God loves each of us this beautiful way...

Though I've been SO thankful for my background in teaching lately since it feels very natural to see his quarterly goals and try and think of ways to help him achieve them, I also feel God reminding me to look past them, to see my Cole as God intended for him to be seen...as one who belongs to Him. Though very important and an integral part of our daily lives, Cole's needs go far beyond his speech goals for this quarter and for the rest of his life. He is a beautiful boy. One who draws people in with his expressive eyes that say a thousand words beyond what I listed for you today. He touches people in ways my Master's degree never could.

Coley...I love you dear one. Your soft touch, gentle spirit and unparalleled excitement for the simple things in life bring me closer the heart of God. I am beginning to realize that I should not only ask God to give me words and ways to help you grow, but to also give me eyes and ears to see and hear the world as you do...bringing it all before the feet of Jesus. Thank you for always reminding us to talk to God in the way you fold your hands and bow your head before any of us do at each meal and before bed...my favorite though, is when you decide to pray in the middle of dessert sometimes! May you always be a reminder to those you're around to thank God for the sweet moments He gives us to live...for with you my son, there are many! I'm just so thankful to be along for the ride...