Happenings

We have had a lot of major things happening lately. First off, I want to share the good news that Alexander's head is perfectly normal...flat on the back...but normal! We went to the hospital Monday morning for the CT scan. The technician looked at me with very doubtful eyes and told me that we had to figure out a way to get him to hold perfectly still for six seconds. Any slight movement of the head would ruin the entire series of pictures. We layed him down in a big piece of foam that had the shape of a baby cut out of it. Alexander is such a go-with-the-flow baby that he was completely cheerful in this strange contraption, even when the tech fastened straps over his arms and forehead. We watched him for a minute or so, but he was way too wiggly.

We decided that he needed to fall asleep...easier said than done. The tech brought me a chair, dimmed the lights and left the room while I fed baby. He had just eaten about an hour prior, so he wasn't all that hungry. It was his nap time, however, so I knew it was possible to get him asleep. The feeding didn't work. The tech suggested a dark quiet room for about 10 minutes. I agreed to try and he let me there. As we were walking through the halls I started thinking, "Even if he does fall asleep in this room we are going to, there is no way he will stay asleep walking all the way back through these halls." I wasn't sure what else to suggest, though, so I went with it. As I was sitting in the dark, I began praying asking Heavenly Father how I should proceed. I had the thought come to me that I knew my baby, and I should go with my instincts even if the medical staff thought I was silly. The tech came back to check on us, and I hesitantly asked when his next appointment was. He replied that we had at least 30 minutes. I asked if we could set Alexander in the foam on the bed of the machine and leave him there, alone, for 15 minutes. I told the tech that I thought that was our best shot. He hesitated, and then agreed.

We set him there, I spread his favorite blankie over him, sang him a little song, left the room, and started praying. After 5 minutes of whining, baby was asleep! A few short adjustments to the machine were made and then six seconds later they had a perfect image. Hooray!

My doctor called today and said that everything looked fine. The sutures on his head were not fused together. What a relief!

The next big "happening" is that I am now homeschooling Thomas. Friday was his last day at public school for this year. Jackson and I have always talked about and contemplated many different schooling options; homeschooling being one of them. We have deliberated and prayed about what was best for both Thomas and our family before Kindergarten, before first grade, and now before second grade. The answer the previous two times was to send him to public school. The answer for second grade was homeschool. We have a program here that is called Mesa Valley Vision, in which the student is enrolled with the school district, but they are homeschooled. The program offers support in various ways including funding and resource consultants. The deadline to enroll with that program came up, which is what spurred the decision making process for next year. After we made that decision, we began thinking about pulling him out for the rest of first grade. It seems crazy writing about it, but it felt so right that we did it. Monday and today were our first full days. Several times Thomas excitedly threw his arms around me and exclaimed that he was so glad I was his teacher and that he was homeschooling. I know this is just the "honeymoon stage" and that will wear off, but I hope it continues to go well. For our family records, I have never had as many spirital promptings and confirmations about anything in my life as I have had about this decision. I have definitely had periods of doubt, but I feel confident and peaceful with our decision. Honestly, at times I have felt envious of friends I love and admire who don't question sending their children to school at all. The only conclusion I can come up with is that a loving Heavenly Father knows me, He knows my children, and He is guiding me through what is best for us. I am not sure that we will homeschool forever, but I am sure that it is what we are supposed to be doing right now.

There are more "happenings" that will have to wait. My eyelids are drooping.