The last two weeks

In the last few weeks three different events stand out:

1. Our wood flooring is done- This has been a finishing touch to a year of change to our house. I didn't see this change as important as some of the others but when Kyle would get his wheelchair stuck on the thresholds and be confined to the kitchen or the living room, it would be frustrating for him. Now with everything uniformed flooring he is able to move around the house with ease.

2. Paul and I did our first presentation on "Kyle's triathlon challenge" this week at the Valpo Rotary club. Paul did the speaking and I did a 20 minute slide show. To see the project and what has happened in the last year was very memorable. We talked not only about the triathlon but many of the events Kyle has been part of since, the upcoming book, and a corporate challenge Paul and I are working on for next years valpo tri. We haven't worked all the details but are asking business' (big and small) to race money in support for helping send kids with MD to camp. Every time I feel like the story is going to go away we recieve more chances to tell our story. We are planning at speaking at Rotary in Laporte in January and ae open to share to any group.

3.This is the hard one- as we dwell many times on Kyle's pronounced disablities, it is easy for us to gloss over Ellyse' learning and largly undiagnosed disabilities.
Ellyse has been in a special ed class at school for the past two years. She doesn't have a diagnosis, and it isn't overtly obvious. She struggles greatly in school, but with inividualized attention she has succeded in her special ed class in the last year. She is in a regular classroom for science and social studies, and then in her special class for the rest of the subjects.
Jill went to a parent teacher conference meeting last week, and texted me that was the worst meeting she has ever been at. As she was finishing up I was thinking this has to be awful, we have went to some pretty discouraging meetings about Kyle. When she got home she had hives and the stress had begun to reengage the shingles she experienced last year to act up.
Not having a diagnosis is just as tough if not tougher than having one. Ellyse by many outward apperances many seem "normal" but there is that missing connection especially when it comes to school for her to make it extremely difficult. The special ed teacher and the mainstream teacher have two very different opinions about Ellyse. The mainstream teacher believes Ellyse is lazy and daydreams too much and didn't have many nice things to say, while the special ed teacher who has worked with Ellyse for the past two years sang her praises. She shared how Ellyse has excelled and has improved greatly.
As we continue on this journey, realizing and admitting we have two special need children is unfathomable. As we continue to navigate this journey we continue to pray that God will us the grace to get through every day and every situation.