July 10, 2007
So… I realize this might have been the longest amount of time I let go between journal updates. Sorry about that for those of you that, for reasons unbeknownst to me, really anticipate these!
As far as Canon’s medical issues, I have nothing but wonderful news of his health and progress… Praise God! He was hospitalized here in Amarillo for one day (the last day of school, of course) because of kidney function issues, but made a quick recovery and came home with renewed energy.
Creed and Canon at Cadillac Ranch
We started our summer immediately after that, fitting in as many fun things in a day as we possibly could – parks, bicycle/ tricycle rides, swimming, Discovery Center, sprinklers, library story times, play dates, backyard dance parties (you have to be there), late night movies, the whole nine yards. Creed and Canon both started swim lessons this summer and Canon started hippotherapy (that’s physical therapy on horseback). They have both been wildly successful and so excited to show us how much they can do. We go to the barn for therapy twice a week through the entire summer, and still go to occupational therapy once a week. Canon is completely enamored with Stacy (his therapist) and Annie (“his” horse). Creed and I did a parent-tot class and, I must say, he was the best one in the class (wink). He lived up to his reputation for being completely fearless – by the end of the first day, he was jumping off the side of the pool and would reach out for me underwater and come up beaming. Canon just finished two weeks of private lessons with our friend, Jarred. He LOVED it. Jarred’s dad is actually a physical therapist, too, and he was telling me that with swimming and horseback riding, Canon is getting the best therapy out there for him. The private lessons were really good, and Canon has blown me away this summer with the swimming. Just today, I took them to play at the pool and Canon spent half the time holding his breath underwater. He would pounce into the water, hang underwater for four or five seconds, and then put his feet down, stand up and do it again. He absolutely loves to jump off the diving board and tells everybody about it.
Canon and Jarred at swim lessons
The second week of summer, Canon and I flew down for his 18-month check up in Houston. The report was outstanding – everybody down there just smiles so big when they see him coming. He’s a walking success story! As usual on such trips, Canon and I bonded over comical moments like me trying to carry two suitcases, a car seat, and Canon through a crowded airport, being so excited about staying in a hotel room that we can’t go to sleep until midnight, and the panic that overtakes us both when we realize there is no chocolate milk or Corn Pops on the continental breakfast. Good times. I was so thankful that I was able to contact Brandon and Ivy (mom and dad to Baby Sasha – still at Texas Children’s after over 5 months) right after Canon’s appointment. At the time, Sasha was still in PICU, so sadly I did not get to see her. But we met up with Brandon, Ivy, and Bella at the Ronald McDonald House and went to a restaurant for a lunch together. As of today, Sasha is back up to the 12th floor (transplant unit), which is a good thing. They’ve had a crazy journey down there, and we’re still sending many prayers their way.
From there we caught a plane to Austin to visit my family for a few days. We each had a wonderful time. Canon got to play with Nana, Papa, uncles, aunts, cousins, and dogs. And I got to go to IKEA and Garden Ridge! The highlight though, I think, was the day we spent at Sea World in San Antonio. Man, that place is AWESOME! If I didn’t already have a career, I might seriously look into dolphin riding. Canon spent most of the day with his mouth agape and is still talking about Shamu almost daily. It was very special!
Canon stayed in Austin with Nana and Papa for another five days after I flew back to Amarillo. When I came back, I spent one day loving on Creed and then he went to Abilene with MamaLu and Daddo for four days. So… I got on the computer and tried to make some more progress on my book. I think I have about 75-80% written. I just need to re-read several times and add some things in the middle, like different interviews I’m trying to get done. It’s awfully slow going, because I don’t ever work on it unless the boys are on grandparent vacations, and that’s only been two occasions now. But that’s okay, I’m being patient.
My mom and dad drove up and brought both boys back to us after four days felt like absolutely forever. They stayed with us for a few days and we just had a great time playing and taking pictures and catching up.
Creed
Since then, we’ve just been waking up every day anxious for what God’s going to provide us to see and do. I do enjoy the busy days, honestly; I like getting outside by 9:00 and starting something new with them. But the busy-ness sometimes makes the days go by so fast. So, there are times that I just want to sit on the couch with them and pick out a movie and just be still and soak up the stillness around us. They’re growing up so fast, and it happens whether I pay attention or not, so I’m trying hard to pay attention!
Speaking of growing up, Canon is hurdling two milestones this summer – potty training and losing the afternoon nap (sometimes). We’ve had our moments, but he’s doing a great job with both efforts. Tonight, after a full day with no nap (for Canon), they took a shower, and put on pajamas, and then I took them out on my bicycle trailer for a ride around the neighborhood. Canon was half-asleep when we pulled back onto our street and he called up to me, “Mommy, can I go home and take a nap now?” There are still some days, if he had an exceptionally busy morning, that I just can’t bear to deny him a nap. But on those days, I can plan on being up with him until after 11:00 at night. Without a nap, he crashes with Creed between 8:00- 8:30, allowing me to take advantage of the time of day I like to call “Reconstruction”.
I’m also trying to teach Canon the concept of “strangers” lately. He has a propensity for walking off, way beyond the public radius that I’m comfortable with. And, if he’s in an amiable mood, he loves to approach people and say “My name is Canon Perkins.” So, I’ve been telling him that if you don’t know a person, then we call them strangers. And some strangers could be mean, we just never know for sure, so we have to be very careful. At first, I thought I overdid the fear factor, because he started saying things like, “Mommy, look at all these strangers in their cars,” at a busy intersection. I worried that I had made him unduly anxious. But then yesterday at a large park in Lubbock, he was playing with an older little girl when she ran off to play in a different area. He ran up to me and said, “Mommy! I lost my stranger! Can you help me find her?” I see we have some more tweaking to do. And, speaking of strangers, Canon picked up a Bible off a side table at LabCorp this morning while we were waiting for a routine blood draw. He took it over to two ladies sitting across the room and told them, “This is what the Bible says:” Intrigued, I watched as he pointed to the words and read to them, “Don’t touch anything.” The ladies thought it was hysterical, at least I think they were laughing at Canon – they could have been laughing at Creed making a game of crawling under the legs of the three people lined up at the window (I promise I WAS trying to keep them relatively controlled!) Anyway, I smiled, and I made a mental note to re-iterate to Canon some things the Bible actually says, so maybe he will share one of those next time. J
Over the last three months or so, Canon has become an alphabet pro! He astounds me daily with spelling stuff! We drive around and he’ll spell “B-U-E-N-O. That spells Taco Bueno!” He can tell us what any word starts with, unless sometimes if it’s a tricky letter like “C”. I’m so proud of him – and not of myself, because I really haven’t worked with him specifically on letters very much. But he has always loved to read and be read to, thank goodness.
Creed seems to be catching up to Canon more every day. He already can catch Canon in a footrace, and, while Canon is perfecting the standing jump, Creed will now jump OFF of things like the stepstool in the bathroom or the railroad ties around the garden in the backyard. His strength and dexterity provide us with many adorable moments like yesterday, when I found him sitting square in the middle of our kitchen table, having taken one bite out of every single peach I had just bought and put in the fruit bowl. Creed is still a social butterfly and loves to talk or play with anybody. He counts to 10 all by himself and likes to sing “My God is so BIG…” Verbally, Creed is beyond where Canon was at his age. He is not even two yet, and already speaking in complete sentences. Tonight as we were riding the bicycle, they were bickering about who got to hold a flashlight I mistakenly let them bring along and suddenly I heard a cry. I stopped the bicycle and turned around. “What happened?” I asked them. Canon just looked down at his feet and Creed said, “Canon hit Creed’s head, Mommy!” And, just like that, another milestone reached – Creed is now capable of tattling on Canon with perfect clarity. I turned to Canon and said, “Andrew Canon, did you hurt your brother?” As Canon still couldn’t find his tongue, Creed spoke up again. “Yeah. Creed give Canon a hug, Mommy?” Amused, I said, “Yes, Creed you can give Canon a hug.” I didn’t try to explain that that was backwards logic… but, then again, maybe it’s not. Their ratio of getting along to not getting along is probably about 80/20 lately, which is pretty good, I guess. They really do love each other. The first thing Canon says in the morning is, “Is Creed awake yet?” and the first thing Creed says is, “Where’d Canon go, Mommy?” When reunited after Bible class or Creed’s naptime or any little thing, they run to each other and hug tightly with shouts of “Creed!” and “Canon!” I’m so happy that they have that. Lots of life lessons will be easier, I think, because they have their brother right there.
Canon was so happy that they let Creed come ride a couple of laps with him!
They are every day becoming a greater joy to me.
I could talk about the boys forever, really. But there is more going on than them. On July 4th, my Granddaddy had a stroke. They live in South Texas, and he is still in the hospital in Corpus Christi. It just hurts to be so far away, and I have been so worried, but God has been faithful through many prayers. He is on the road to recovery. My family was very shaken up when that happened and my Grandmother has been tired and scared, but always praying and always believing. They could certainly still use your prayers.
I haven’t mentioned Drew much, because he hasn’t been home much. He’s been working so hard this summer, God bless him. In June, he was taking six hours of summer school to finish up his Masters, so he was working on that a lot. Then for the last week and a half, he has been in Weatherford helping his brother, Casey, with his landscape and fencing business. In light of the fact that our entire sewer line has to be replaced this week, we decided that we couldn’t really turn down the “extra” money. So, the boys and I spent this past weekend in Weatherford with Drew and Casey. Casey took us all out on his boat on Lake Weatherford Saturday and Sunday night and the boys got to jump off the boat and show off their newfound swimming skills (jumping TO Drew, Casey, or me – life jackets on everybody, of course!) I think the plan is to go get Drew this weekend and bring him back home – we miss him so much!!
Thanks to all of you who are still checking on Canon and keeping him in your prayers! I just told my friend on the phone today that I completely believe there is a hedge of prayer keeping Canon healthy. Because there are plenty of things going around among his friends here, and even Creed was sick recently and still Canon has stayed well, even with his significantly suppressed immune system. I know that it is because of the prayers that continue to ask God for Canon’s health and happiness and his ability to lead a normal life. We are so blessed.
It is a good place to be in when I can sing “God is so Good” with Creed and pray with Canon for all of the babies in the “hostibal” and be constantly remembering that Amberly would be six years old on Thursday. I can’t say I’m always in a place this good. Actually, I probably couldn’t have said it about three weeks ago, but today is good. And, for the first time, I intend to take the boys out to the cemetery on her birthday. I don’t know what I’ll say to them, yet. I just pray the words will come to me. God is faithful.
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
Hebrews 10:23
P.S. Just a side note to all of my friends who may be reading this, if you have not read Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, go get it today! My mom handed it to me and insisted that I read it – I finished in a few days and am a changed woman because of this amazing story. Please… consider it a favor to me! Then write me and tell me what you thought! I promise you’ll be begging your friends to read it, too.