Fullness

If I had to describe our summer in one word it would be FULL. It has been totally packed full of fun adventures with one another and with family and friends. In May I never would have predicted that we could fit so much into a single summer. And honestly, much of the reason that we were able to squeeze so much in is thanks to Elijah's new medication. The dosage still is not ideal, but we are inching our way there slowly. We know that it does something very good for his brain, so we have continued to perfect the dose. Thank goodness we have had the summer to work through the bulk of it!

This has been a long time coming, but both Dan's and my cars are basically useless. Mine is currently not working at all and Dan's is limping along like a 100-year-old man. Some big developments and blessings have come our way in the past week. We have purchased a new (to us) Camry that is seriously the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I have NEVER been more happy and grateful to drive a car in my entire life. I LOVE IT.

I love driving places and not being stared at for being so annoyingly loud. I love not having to park at the deserted end of the parking lot when I meet someone for a photo shoot. I love that the radio works and the seat moves forward and backward and that I can communicate with others in the car without yelling. Sammy's favorite feature of the car is the fold-down cup holders in the back seat. He loves them and exclaimed, "This is the best car EVER! My favorite one in the entire world!"

We have been working with my car mechanic cousin Trevor (who is sooo kind to us) to figure out which one of our pieces of junk we should salvage. In the meantime, my sister and her husband came upon an extra car unexpectedly so they offered us one of theirs. So now we have two working, non-embarrassing vehicles to drive. Yay! We are super grateful for not only our new cars, but also for the people in our lives who have helped us out so much.

All summer long I have wanted to sit down and write a post about new developments with Elijah, but things just keep developing so it never seems like the right time. I think what describes things the best is what I wrote in one of my last posts about Elijah being composed of puzzle pieces. We are learning what the main puzzle pieces are and that we need to guard those pieces with our lives and keep them firmly in place so that the smaller pieces don't fall off the table. Keeping sugar intake under control is a HUGE piece. Early, consistent bedtimes is another major piece and now so is reading his behavior carefully and changing the dosage of his medication accordingly. We have also continued with essential oils and I don't know if this is a main piece or not, but it certainly isn't hurting. Elijah does still have rough days, but the definition of "rough" has changed since last winter. Even when he is totally exhausted, he can leave a fun party without throwing a fit or use the restroom when asked (not always, but it CAN happen).

The boys have had so much fun getting to know my mom this week! She is visiting from California and we are having a great time with her. Elijah and Sammy were super excited to take her to see Inside Out (their second time seeing it, lucky boys), their most recent favorite movie obsession. They are also educating her on the topic of Captain Underpants, potty talk and brotherly "love."

It is going to be strange having both boys in school after this insanely busy summer. It's just over a week away! Thanks for peeking in and have a great rest of your weekend!