Thanksgiving

We had a happy Thanksgiving with my family this year. We first had a "mini" Thanksgiving dinner at my parents with my siblings on Wednesday. Then we had the real dinner on Thursday at my Aunt Barbara's house with some of my cousins and their families. It was fabulous and delicious, and Emma has been saying everyday since how much she wants to play with her cousins and how much she loves and misses them (technically second cousins). Thanks a ton to Barb for hosting such a great party! Here are some of the ones who came, watching a movie:

I would fill ungrateful if I didn't use this opportunity to express my thanks for the many, many, many blessings I've been given! I love and adore my sweet little family. And my husband is the greatest spouse I ever could have asked for. But the blessing that has struck me most significantly lately has to do with Gavin. I remember when we first found out about Gavin's hearing loss that I felt an overwhelming sense of feeling lost--no one I knew was deaf, I didn't know how to proceed, what would be best for him, and most of all, I didn't know what we could do to help him have as normal and successful a life as we wanted for him. When we found out about cochlear implants, every opinion varied--yes, cochlear implants were wonderful; no, they were an unnecessary surgery that he would forever begrudge us for; maybe, wait and see what he wants when he's old enough to make the decision himself vs. you have to do it now to get the most benefit and be able to teach him to speak. It was all so overwhelming. When we finally knew that we needed to get him a cochlear implant, there were now a whole new set of questions and concerns. Was his hearing really so bad that we should put our baby through surgery? What if it was unsuccessful? Where were we going to get help? We knew that we were supposed to move to Logan, but now all the experts are telling us that there are no services in Logan and that Gavin wouldn't benefit from an implant with no services! Once we were in Logan, the audiologist we worked with got us started with the services that were available here. I was then overwhelmed with all the government help available! There was physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, play group, and family therapy. But there weren't any services specifically for cochlear implants. Until we found out that a new preschool was going to be started that was specifically oriented for deaf kids wanting to learn speech and hearing. Within four months of Gavin getting his implant, this new program had started. Due to a generous grant to get the program going, there were no costs associated with the program (which was great because we couldn't afford more than that) and they have been able to secure government funding on top of that. Gavin was accepted into the program and I knew that we were inspired to move to Logan originally. There is no other program like this anywhere else in Utah and most of the surrounding states. At his parent-teacher conference the other day, I was struck as we walked in and there were so many incredible professionals there that spent all of their working hours trying to help my son (and a half-dozen other children) learn to speak! As time has gone on, I've realized just how lucky we are. I don't have the knowledge, experience, patience or time to work with him like he needs, but his teachers do! They have several deaf educators, special educators, two audiologists, speech therapists, and more. I am so thankful, everyday, as I realize more and more the blessing it is to have this help and to live in country where there are services oriented to helping every child achieve their best potential!
My rascal is a sweetheart who is learning and growing everyday. Someday soon, I'll be able to lecture him fully for getting into messes like this and he'll be able to understand me completely. He spilled the box that had been temperarily holding our spices and cake decorating supplies. He knew he was in trouble when the box fell, so I left him shortly to go put Josiah down and in the couple of seconds that I was gone, he found the food coloring and the sprinkles! Apparently he didn't feel like he was in very big trouble! I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving also!