June Prayer Request Follow-Up/ July Requests

June was a very busy month for us and I am glad we made it through! We finished the month with our first summer trip (to Tampa- more to follow) and we did great! I am pleased to report that we are making good progress.

June Follow-up:

• Like I said, summer travel has begun. I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to go with pesky Hurricane Alex coming into the Gulf, but we braved it anyway. Randy went with us, which definitely helped with the hauling all the gear. We bought a hand truck at an office supply store, which worked GREAT for hauling the car seats. So now I think I can make it by myself when I have to travel alone. Bungee cords work wonderfully for holding the seats on and they are very stable. We even pulled them up a flight of stairs when the elevator line was about 15 deep. Whew!

• Justin walking: Of course, not happening yet, but I can see the progress in that direction. He is letting go of the couch to grab the coffee table (not just plopping down and turning around to stand up again). Oh, and he managed to be able to climb on top of the coffee table too. He thinks it's funny. And he is attempting some "free standing", standing up without anything to hang on to for support. He gets up on his hands and feet and tries to push up and let go with his hands and he does a little "gymnast squat". That's the position that gymnasts are in when the land a tumbling pass or dismount off an apparatus and they're not sure if they are going to take a step or not. Kind of like they are squatting to use the bathroom, but with their hands in the air. And then he plops down after a second or maybe two. Justin is good at laughing at himself attempting this maneuver.
• Words!: We start with our new speech therapist tomorrow and I am looking forward to hearing her strategy. Justin is learning more words in sign, which helps a ton, but his favorite word is still just "more" so then we are left with trying to figure out what "more" he wants.

July Requests:

• We are going to the ENT on Tuesday this week with both boys to try to get help with their sleeping issues. This past week in Florida Travis slept on the floor in the room with my dad and Tammy. The first morning after we arrived poor Tammy came out of her room all bleary-eyed. Between Travis and my dad snoring she got very little sleep. And she said that Travis made all kinds of snorting, choking noises, and he stopped breathing a few times. Justin needs help too, so we're hoping that this is a good first step in the process.
• I haven't mentioned it before, but I have a strong desire to home school the boys. I have done lots of research and asked questions of veteran homeschooling moms. God has placed a very helpful HSing mother at therapy when we are there with Justin. And several other mothers who are there at the same time (different days) have expressed an interest. I want to do what is best of both boys, whatever that ends up being. There is a HSing conference the end of this month and while I attended last year, this year I Randy will be accompanying me for part of it. I feel like I am hearing about homeschooling from all sides, which encourages me greatly, but I still very clueless! It's so much like everything else with parenting: if you wait until you know everything you will have missed the chance. Please pray that we make the right decision for our family.
• We have our second summer trip this month to Seattle. Please pray for another great trip! Randy is going again and we are excited to see Ami and Uncle Jerry. We spent time swimming in the ocean in Florida and the water was really warm. Uncle Jerry and Ami live on a lake and the water is significantly colder there! We'll see if we can even get the kids in the water!

That is our July. Thank you for remembering us in prayer.