Raising Asher

MIA

I've been missing in action for quite awhile.  Sorry about that.  It's just gogogo around here.

Next week we pick up Asher's wheelchair at Vanderbilt.  I'm really excited!  It will be soooo awesome for him to be able to get where he wants to be on his own and explore the house in a totally new way.

Speaking of houses, that is all still on.  Ours is on the market (less than a week in), and we've already put in one offer on another.  It was rejected, but that's quite alright.  God has a plan.  We've looked at several others and just haven't found the right one yet.  There are four more on the list, three of which we haven't been inside of yet.  It's nice to not be in a hurry during this process.

As of next week, we're back down to four days a week of therapy.  The 5-day schedule, with everything else we have going on, was just grueling.  It will be nice to have that day "off" again.

where has August gone?

I can't believe it's the 17th already.  Eep.

On the update front:
-therapy continues on 5 days a week
-presently there is no OT because of BCBS paperwork issues... this should be all worked out soon
-Asher's wheelchair is not in yet, which is not uncommon
-on the other hand, he has made quite a bit of progress with his standing, so we're temporarily holding off on ordering the walker (woohoo!)
-temper tantrums now involve hurling things to the ground :/
-^he must get that from his daddy because I never had tantrums (okay, that might be is a lie)
-we're attempting to sell our house and upgrade to one with more bedrooms and a bonus room - oh my!

craziness

Sorry for the lack of updates.  I'll be back tomorrow with a pertinent post, I promise.  Our state has suffered a catastrophic flood and everything surrounding that has been distracting me.  This picture is what our church looked like on Monday.

You can see more pictures here.

We are all safe and sound - and dry!  Please pray for those who aren't and for the families of those who have lost their lives (18 across Tennessee, I believe).

If you're local, be sure to join the facebook group to offer assistance to those in need, or ask for it if you or someone you know is in need.

on making decisions

Today we officially became members of our church.  We've been attending for so long that the pastor didn't even realize we weren't members.  Ha!  In all fairness, we went to the membership class about three years ago, prior to Asher even being in the picture.  I think we were still living on campus, even.  Anyway, we finally got around to making it official, so woot!

As a church, we're in the process of making a very big decision in regard to relocating.  Our lease is ending and it's time to move on.  We basically have two options before us as it stands now: 1) buy a building and renovate it so that it's up to par, or 2) go "mobile" and meet at a high school every Sunday.

When I look at the two options, the first thing that comes to mind is which one is best for Asher.  I, personally, am okay with either one.  The high school model actually has worked extremely well for two other churches here in town, and it's always fun to turn tradition on its head a little.  ;)

That said, I can't help but think that the permanent building is the better option.  Going mobile requires a weekly set-up and tear-down crew, and while I think we would have a solid group of hardcore folks more than willing to help out early on, I also think it would get old fast and help would start to dwindle - and unfortunately, we're just so small that there aren't that many people to rotate through when someone gets worn down or needs a break. 

Case in point: the lady who was in charge of the nursery (i.e. scheduled workers) has moved on to other things, so that position is now open at church and has been for a month or so now.  I went in to drop Asher off this morning, and I saw a sign-up sheet for the next several weeks for people to work in the nursery... a blank sign-up sheet.  Now, it had just been put up this week, so it isn't like it was going to be full.  But just the idea that some of those spots might not get filled, and that need might not get met, makes me nervous.  And this is in a building where we don't need a set-up and tear-down crew.

(stopping to add: no, my name is not on the list - I will gladly serve in my church, but not in the nursery... I need that respite, which is something that I know not everyone understands, and that's okay)

Anyway, I do worry about having enough hands to get everything done, especially on a weekly basis.  And if we have trouble getting people in the nursery now, how much harder will it be then?

Regardless of which direction we go, I will follow and make the best of it.  I really don't think going mobile will be a horrible thing if that's the route we take.  Yes, I have concerns, but if we head that direction I will find a way to overcome them.  And I truly think that either option is a step in a positive direction for our church, so I hope I'm not making it sound otherwise.  It's just interesting to me how my decision-making is affected now that I'm a parent.  B.A. (Before Asher) I can guarantee you that I would have been ALL ABOUT going mobile at a high school.  I really love the concept.  But now, I see everything through the lens of how it suits Asher, so I lean in a completely different direction.  Ah, parenthood.

storms and septics

Not much to report today.  Asher woke up in good spirits this morning and stayed that way for most of the day.  He took a three hour nap and woke up from that in just as good of a mood, and it's carried him until... now.

Which works out okay.  It is bedtime, after all.  Heading off to take care of that now...

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And back.

I didn't really have too much time to work on any of my projects (e.g. his room) or really work on any therapy, per se.  The first half of the day was occupied by Stinky Pinky completing a ridiculously expensive repair to our septic tank, and the second half of the day was taken up by a rather scary thunderstorm (see video, which doesn't really do it justice).  You get sort of used to them in the summer when you live in Tennessee... sort of.  I don't care how many you've been through - when they're right on top of you there's always a little fear.  Luckily everyone and everything is okay, and I never felt threatened enough to grab Asher and head to our safe place (which, for the record, is the bathtub in our guest bathroom... me, Chad, Asher, 3 cats, and a 75 pound Boxador... yeah, we try to hold off if at all possible).

We DID spend some more time working with books and pages, this time using a Dr. Seuss Hop on Pop board book.  He's not doing quite as well with actual books as he is in his roundabout, but he'll get there.