all is well

Things have been going really well lately. The girls' DAN! doc made some changes to their regime of vits and supplements and we have seen big improvements in both language and cognition. PTL! We are waiting for some lab results that tested Abby's neuro transmitters and will hopefully tell us the best next step to take when it comes to her attending. In the mean time, we are just keepin' on keepin' on.
I do have a little abacus funny that I must share.

The other night at dinner (jambolaya for us and chicken and rice, etc. for the girls), Jimmy and I were discussing our plans for tomorrow and I asked him if he'd want a ham steak in the morning before church because I had one in the freezer that I would pull. Abby asked if she could have some with her breakfast too. I was surprised since she doesn't really like ham, but of course agreed. This was the conversation's conclusion:

Abby: "Thanks mommy. I want to have exactly what daddy is having for breakfast tomorrow."
Daddy: "Oh good. That's great Abby."
After a very brief pause Abby pointed her fork in the direction of Jimmy's dinner plate and asked:
"Excuse me, Daddy? Are you having any of what's on your plate now for breakfast tomorrow?"

My little diplomat. She knew she had to be polite, but she was hedging before she really committed to anything. She cracks me up.

banana splits...

I know this is going to be a whiney post, but I am going to whine about it anyway. Think of me what you will.
For months now, the girls have pestered me about banana splits. They can and do eat bananas. Needless to say, they recognize one when they see one. There are very few "treats" they can have regularly (though after a full year sans any kind of potato, the occasional french fry or Lay's versions of Pringles sure do make them happy now). As a reward for them (or mommy ), we stop at Sonic for a drink and they spotted the sign for those junior banana splits and asked me about them. They have hounded me since so I figured if I could find a way to make one possible I would and Jimmy's most recent absence semed like the perfect opportunity.
$40 later (that's right FORTY!!!!) I was able to purchase all the ingredients necessary to make a reasonably safe, with consideration to all their restrictions, banana split.
Oh they were so excited.
So tonight, after a pretty rough day, I made them for dessert.
Do you think they liked them?
NO.
My reaction to their dissatisfaction with the confections is so ridiculous. I feel unreasonably mad (the money and effort involved) and irritated. And frankly, sad.
Why can't even the most easy things, the most mundane, be enough? Ever?
Ugh.
Anyone in the market for some rice milk ice cream, GF/CF whipped cream stuff (at $7 per 3 oz. container), a real whipped cream cannister and nitrous cartridges, phoney dessert sauces and stupid sugar-free, but made with Splenda sprinkles?
*sigh*

And you don't even want to know the finances expended for hot dogs or rice krispie(esque) treats treat times past. Equally refused.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:12

smells like school spirit

The girls were accepted! Hooray! We are thrilled and praising God and so thankful.
They are pleased. They have been excited about going to school next year for a long time. They had no idea the home interview last week was associated with a particular school. I think they would be excited no matter where they went. That said, they have asked about Covenant in particular more than once.
I am really excited though.
It was the weirdest thing. I was out when the mail came. And the girls were out front with daddy. The mailman handed Abby the mail (which she thought was the coolest thing since pressed apple juice). She took that envelope from the little bundle, handed it to Jimmy and said, "Here daddy, it's for you. It's from Debbie."
He didn't know what she meant.
But I do.
When we went to the school a few times to drop off this and that, we visited with Debbie in the office. Abby recognized the Covenant school emblem and made that association.
She is such a little enigma.
Anyway, we are pleased as all get-out. The door has been opened, the prayers answered. Now we will see what they do with it. I am nervous, but joyful in my anticipation.

Non nobis, domine, sed nomini tuo da gloriam.
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory.
Psalm 115:1

and now.....we wait

Thanks for all of your support and prayers.
It's over.
I know that ya'll's commitment to our family had a great deal to do with the way things went tonight, especially my state of mind.
They arrived promptly at 6 pm and we were busy up to that last minute. We had to get the girls fed and then changed into something cute and clean before they got there and then there was me who needed to totally redo myself after cleaning around all day. They were very complimentary of the house (and it did look really cozy and inviting if I do say so myself) and neighborhood. The girls were just themselves, although Abby was pretty wound up and did some spinning at the end, she does that to unwind sometimes (seems counter productive, but it works for her). They were polite, used good manners, responded well to any correction and were very nice little hostesses.
In true Abby fashion, despite not really knowing why this visit was important, she honed in on who the important player was. When we opened the door to our guests, she looked at the two ladies, politely said her hellos and then as if by sonar, promptly turned her attentions to the Lower School Director. She said, "Hi. My name is Abby. What's your name?" The director replied in kind and Abby responded by telling her, "It's nice to meet you. You look very pretty tonight."
Can you believe it?
Later, the girls did some coloring, etc. while the adults visited and she made the same lady a heart shaped card with glitter no less. Jimmy and I got a good laugh about that after they had left. Leave it to Abby to economize her limited attention so effectively.
The other the interviewer was very appreciative of our forthcomingness about their journey. It was another affirmation that we had made the right decision to fully disclose. "All glory be to God," were her precise words.
AMEN!
One totally unexpected and cool thing that came out of all this was that even though I have felt alone in the trenches so much of the time throughout the last almost three years, I realized tonight what a blessing it actually was that Jimmy was not consumed by the whole remediation process like I was. He has a different and positive perspective on the girls that I am just now learning to cultivate. Unlike most parents who see all the good things their kids do and find delight in their funny little quirks, I have been trained to look for the deficits and the trouble spots and I am figuring out as we enter the world of the "earth people" that I need to not lose sight of their coolness and strengths in the midst of helping them. I don't know if that makes sense, but Jimmy's perspective on them and our family is really neat and tonight was just one of those nights that I am very proud to be married to him. He is a good daddy and husband.
All in all, I think it was a success. No matter the outcome, I was proud of our family tonight.
The director of the Lower School told me that the decision will be made on all fall admissions on March 1 and letters go out Friday.
Stay tuned.
Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm.
Nothing is too hard for you.
Jeremiah 32:17