Update Tuesday morning 3/27

Praise the Lord for good days!  They're wonderful on their own merit, to be sure, but they also help keep us going on not-so-good days.  Can you imagine a life full of bad days?  Sometimes we may feel like nothing good ever happens, and it's possible to have several bad days in a row, but, for the most part, God's blessings are evident each day.......if we look.  If, however, we choose to focus on the negative events that will happen each day, we take our eyes off God, His plan, and His promises.  We see the raging wind and waves like Peter and forget that our God is able to make us walk on water---something no human has ever done before or since!  Hey, I just figured out Dale's problem......he didn't have enough water-walking faith!!!  (Joke, people!)  When I told Dale this, he just laughed!

Yesterday Dale initiated something he has not done on his own before.  While walking downstairs in the morning, he purposely used his left leg to step down some steps.  When I pointed this out, he said, "I know; I did it on purpose."  Usually he just uses his right leg to step down each time since the right leg is the stronger, so using his left leg was a real act of faith.  I told the PT therapist about this, and she had him use his left leg more as he practiced walking down the big flight of stairs.  Dale did pretty well on the stairs.  Once we got back inside the PT gym, she had him use the shallow steps to practice stepping up foot over foot (like normal).  He got about half of them without mishap, and the other half he stutter-stepped.  Once at the top of the small flight of practice stairs, Dale walked down the other side; then, on her cue, he attempted to jump off the last step to the floor.  He actually did pretty good!  She was supporting him from behind and I had hold of his hands, and he felt confident enough to jump.  His landing was shaky; I told him gymnasts have to deal with that all the time!  Then, when given the option, he chose to go foot-over-foot stepping up the stairs again.  My brave boy!  It was obvious by the end that he was tired and ready to be done.  He had definitely worked hard.

At school yesterday, Dale worked on his science PACE and surprised me with how much he got done.  We reviewed first, and, not having looked at the material in over a week, I was unsure how much Dale would remember.  HE DID GREAT!  Then, I set him to reading half a page and answering questions.  Next came the check-up test over what he'd learned so far.  I expected Dale to take a long time and need quite a bit of help.  He asked me two questions and then filled in all but six questions before the bell rang for the next period.  WOW!!!  Six questions left out of twenty-five!  Of course, he was able to finish the check-up after his next class.  When I checked his work this morning, I had to mark only three wrong.  Isn't that amazing? I am confident that Dale will continue to do well with his science PACEs; I hold the same expectations for history, spelling, and language.  Math is the bugaboo, I'm afraid.  We're not far enough into the workbook to detemine if Dale will have difficulty learning new material, but it's clear so far that his ability to accurately work a problem is impaired somewhat.  He forgets how to set up a multiplication problem; he forgets to divide correctly; he works the problems more slowly than he used to.  When mistakes are pointed out to him, he realizes what he has done wrong and is able to correct the mistake, but this does not keep him from making new mistakes.  I'm not saying this will always be a problem for Dale, but right now he does face these difficulties.

My husband suggested Dale go to bed early last night (and possibly from now on) because of his lengthened school day.  He's right; Dale will use his brain more which will be physically exhausting, and simply being required to be alert and in school instead of going home to relax after a half-day will be more tiring.  So, against Dale's wishes and amid much groaning, Dale went to bed at 8:00 last night.  The younger girls went to bed at 9:00; Chad got home from work around 9:30; I went to bed (thankfully) about 10:15.  I'm not even sure when the older girls got to sleep, but, since it was a school night, I'm sure it was not too late.  Upon awakening this morning, I discovered to my consterntation that, when I go to bed early, things don't happen in the household as they should.  The dog left not one, not two, but three puddles for unwary feet to step in.  Apparently she was not let out before bed last night.  Blankets were left unfolded; dishes were scattered randomly about the downstairs; the lamp was never turned off; and someone left a bowl of rice on the counter all night.  On the one hand, it's good to feel needed.  On the other hand, somewhere I have failed to properly train someone in the finer points of running the household if I am unavailable!  Ah, well---a mother's work is never done.  :-)

I think I'll finish the way I started:  Praise the Lord for good days!

Matthew 6: 19 - 21  "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."