Long Overdue

"The Lord is near to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

Psalm 34:18

OK - I admit it.  I've dropped off of the face of the earth for awhile.  I just needed a break!  We wanted to just focus on drawing together as a family, fixing stuff around our home that has been sorely neglected, and getting caught up with all of the work that didn't get done while Haven was in the hospital.  I think I can safely say we are back on our feet!  Finally! 

Thanks to our friends who continually ask how Haven is doing.  It moves us beyond words knowing that our daughter has people in this world who are cheering for her and care about her progress.  Our family continues to be amazed at all that God is doing for Haven.  She is such a blessing!

This summer has passed quickly.  There was not as much time to spend together as we are used to.  Those in education don't get as much time "off" work as many believe.  Admittedly, I'm still trying to get used to Aaron's 'new' job as assistant principal.  I feel like I'm doing better, but even though I may find a groove, I will never like the hours!  Anyhow, we where able to paint our deck (what a difference a couple coats of deck stain make!), refinish a half bath, and prepare ourselves for the upcoming school year.  Work with our youth group at church also kept us busy, but it is enjoyable work and we love spending time with a great bunch of teens.  We often encourage them to "think outside the comfort box" and consider what ministry/service God may be calling them to. 

My parents celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary this year.  We hosted a surprise party in their honor.  It was a ton of work, but also a ton of fun, enabling us to see many family and friends we have not seen for awhile.  My parents were surprised by the party and thrilled to spend time with their closest friends and family. 

Mom and Dad cutting the cake at their 40th anniversary celebration.

Four of our five enjoying a meal at the party.

This summer we traveled to Charleston, South Carolina for a few days where we visited Patriot's Point.  We also visited a beautiful plantation called Boone Hall Plantation where we learned a good amount about slavery.  Eden was so inspired to learn more about that time period that she began reading an American Girl book, Addy, which tells the fictional story of one child's experience escaping on the underground railroad.  I just love taking our children to historical locations!  I love setting them up for a teachable moment and opening their eyes to the world around them.  The conversations that our family has following those kinds of experiences are priceless.



We experienced much rain while we were visiting Charleston, SC.  Here we are visiting Patriot's Point in Charleston Harbor.

Haven and her buddy Eden enjoy sitting in an airplane.

Haven standing in front of the slave cabins at Boone Hall Plantation.  We were told that these cabins were the NICE cabins reserved only for slaves who were skilled laborers.  Those that worked in the fields lived in wooden shacks with dirt floors.

After Charleston, we headed to Surfside Beach for a much needed week of recreation and relaxation.  I can honestly tell you that it was the best week we've had in many, many, many years.  It was so nice to be alone with our children - without all of the distractions of home.  Haven enjoyed her first experience in the sand and the ocean.  I believe that walking around on the beach and in the water every day for a week was great therapy for her.  I know she was working hard because the poor girl took three hour naps every afternoon and still was ready for bed at 9:00!  Levi really enjoyed digging holes in the sand and catching 'critters' with big brother Micah.  Brenna and Eden liked jumping waves, but decided not to go in too far. Like me, our girls prefer to swim in critter-free water. The girls were creeped-out by the jelly fish Micah (of course) found laying on the beach on our first day there.  We counted 3 people in our condo that were stung by a jelly fish throughout our weeklong stay.  Yikes!  Thankfully, we had no problems with them.

I'm so blessed to have been given these people to love!

I just love seeing them tanned with sun bleached hair!

Love these girls!

Our trip home was an adventure.  After noticing a cut in one of the tires at our lunch stop, we ended up purchasing 4 new tires at a shop in South Carolina.  We intended to replace them after the trip (hoping to put the trip miles on the old set--hey, we're cheap!), but I guess that wasn't soon enough.  Our typical 11 hour trip home turned into a 16 hour trip.  The kids were great--despite the traffic jams and extra hours, everyone stayed calm and [generally] cheerful.  Thank God for a portable DVD player and snacks!!!

Just one week after we returned from vacation, Aaron went back to work and the kids and I started the new school year.  As I write this, we are in the midst of our fifth full week.  So far I am very happy with their progress and with our curriculum choices.  We made several big changes this year and I'm anxious to see if things work out how I planned.  Currently, I have kids who are really excited about school and what they are learning.  Yes, I am well aware how rare that is.  I pray this year will go smoothly with no catastrophic life events to interrupt their progress.

Sweet Haven continues to improve.  Just two weeks ago we discovered she is able to run once again.  She looks a little funny as she does it because her left leg is still much more weak than her right leg, but we are thankful that she has regained this function.  She was also able to jump a teeny weeny bit last week and that was definitely something to be thankful for!  Haven has been wearing some lovely neon orange ankle weights around the house to increase the strength in her legs.  They look so nice with her bright purple tennis shoes!  I am now taking Haven to physical therapy and occupational therapy only once per month.  She has speech therapy twice per month.  This reprieve in the therapy schedule comes at a perfect time as we just began the new school year and I really need to be at home with the kids most days.

Haven's last eye appointment was a little surprising.  It appears that she has developed a pretty significant astigmatism.  So now we have a fifth member of the Walker clan in glasses.  At least she fits in with the rest of us!  We think she looks really cute in them!

One frustration that I've encountered with Haven this summer is the 'Daddy factor'.  Daddy is Haven's favorite person.  Throughout the summer Haven preferred Daddy over Mommy, which is difficult for this Mama to accept.  I don't begrudge my husband, but I long for our little girl to regularly wrap her little arms around my neck and tell me how much she loves me.  I long for freely given kisses that I don't have to coerce out of her. Alas, I keep praying that Haven learns how much her devoted Mama loves and cares for her.  I wonder if my Heavenly Father feels the same about me.  Does He miss me when I give my time to worldly pursuits?  Does He long for my time and affection?  Do I hurt Him with my distraction and inattentiveness?  My struggles with Haven are a wonderful reminder to me that my Father in Heaven desires my attention just as I long for Haven's attention.  I'm taking positive steps to give more of my attention to Him this year.  Haven is starting to mellow out now that Aaron has been back to work for several weeks.  Now when we are together she prefers Aaron for fun and me for nurturing.  That's fine by me!

Check out Haven's wild hair do.  Can you tell our girls are anxious to put her hair in pony tails?

I just love this photo of our little Chinese Princess!

 Speech continues to be the area where Haven struggles the most.  As a family we struggle to understand Haven when she attempts to make the sounds needed to form words. Although I recognize that Haven has been improving, this mama has been encountering some heart break as a result.  It's excruciatingly difficult for me to witness my child struggle and struggle despite all of her hard work.  Occasionally I have found myself filled with despair, asking God questions like:  "Will she talk?  Will she be able to function?  Will we EVER understand what she is saying?"  Early last week I was so desperate to understand my child as she was repeatedly screaming the same thing at me over and over that I broke down in tears.  As I was pondering the situation I realized that I haven't been praying for Haven in this regard.  So, I took a Mommy time out to fervently pray that God would give Haven words.  What a relief it was to give my burdens to my God!  Since then I have continued to pray for Haven nightly and to faithfully work with her daily.  Sometime over this past weekend I realized that Haven was saying some new words that I hadn't heard her saying before, so I got out a piece of paper and I began to make a list.  In two days we had two very full columns of word phrases on that paper to take to Miss Patti, Haven's therapist. As we were getting ready for speech therapy yesterday Haven brought a book to me and said, "This is my book."  It was rough sounding, but I was shocked that I clearly understood her words.  It was also an exciting moment because that was her first full sentence.  Speech therapy went amazingly well.  The therapist was so encouraging and excited with all of Haven's new words.  On the way home from speech we hit a rumble strip and Haven plugged her ears, laughed, and said, "That scare me."  All night last night she imitated and spoke to our big kids.  In fact she talked so much that we were all happy for the quiet once she went to bed.  She was telling them things like:  "get out, go away, all done, more please, Bubbie come he-ah (Brenna come here), catch me, hide, and that's funny."  Best of all was when she told me, "I love you, Mommy," when I put her in her crib for her nap this afternoon!  Her words are still not completely clear, but she is definitely talking...A LOT!  I praise God for those words and I pray someday they will be so clear that she will praise the Lord for all He has done in her life and all who listen will understand her clearly.

The final bit of news from the Walker family is regarding our youngest son, Levi.  Not many people know this, but last year roughly a week and a half after we returned from China with Haven, Levi was diagnosed with a seizure disorder.  It was so bad that he was having between 40-60 seizures per day.  The seizures look like staring spells, so for awhile we did not realize what was happening.  Levi was sick when we left for China and as the illness worsened, those staring episodes did also. That's when we realized he was having a problem.  To make a long story short, we have been trying for over a year to find a combination of medications that will completely eliminate his seizures to no avail.  We have come so close a few times, but each time we are close he ends up at the max amount of that particular medication he is able to take.  For the past three months we have been working with a new medication.  In about two weeks Levi will be up to the maximum dosage for that medication.  It looks promising, but so did the others.  Please pray our boy will be seizure free soon.  What a burden that would lift!

This isn't the best photo of Levi.  I really do try to take photos of him, but never get clear ones since he's rarely still!

There's so much more I could report, but it will have to wait until another day.  Our schedule is filled this month and I have a long 'to do' list.  Before closing, I want to remind those of you who are broken-hearted as we have been that the Lord is close and He loves you.  Give your burdens to Him. 

We treasure your prayers and find them so helpful and encouraging!  Thanks for reading!

Love in Christ,
Sarah