Homeschool

So we've finally decided to homeschool Austin, the triplets, and Hannah. We're still praying about what to do with Aidan. I feel strongly that we are called to homeschool him also but have some lingering mixed feelings, so we're praying over it.

Austin has had a lot of difficulties in school (if you wish to read any of my rants - and they are rants - you can view  his blog at www.allforaustin.blogspot.com) and we have vehemently disagreed with much of the curriculum for a LONG time, plus this year has been almost torture for him. So we are pulling him for the rest of this year on February 17. This will give me time to get our curriculum figured out, let him finish the trimester at school (this is his super easy trimester), and get all paperwork in order.

According to Iowa law, we only have to notify the school within 14 days of pulling him, but I was unsure what to really do because of his IEP. When I called his school social worker, she told me how to do it but wanted to make sure about other issues with her supervisor. When she called back, she made it very complicated (but thankfully had already spelled out how to do it easily) and now they want an IEP meeting to convince us to dual enroll him for special ed services. Ummm, no. We'll go to their little meeting, to personally deliver all our paperwork, but that's it. His IEP has never been followed and they don't do anything for him in his class, so why bother stressing him out and leaving him there an hour a day. Kinda defeats the purpose.

The triplets will finish preschool to get in as many therapy hours as possible, then they probably will dual enroll for services because theirs are speech-related. So they have one year left in school then will come home. By then, Hannah will be ready for preschool and will not step foot in a school.

For now, we are taking it one trimester at a time. For Austin especially we will see if he'll be respectful and do what I ask of him before committing to next year. For the triplets, Hannah, and Aidan, we will homeschool hopefully at least through middle school and possibly high school but we will follow God's leading through all of it. He has made it very clear that this is what is His will right now for us, and I have tried for three years to ignore that - I no longer will.

This is going to be the hardest thing I have ever done and I know there will be times when I just want to give up, but I did not have children to leave them to others to raise 8+ hours a day and to teach them a cultural worldview. I strive to raise them for the Lord and I know the older they get in the public school system, the harder that is. And when you try to buck the system (as in pulling them from things you don't agree with), they have made it almost impossible, have made snide comments in front of my children, have gotten very upset with me (I've been called many names), and generally highly dislike me. I have also never been one of the parents that dreads breaks....I dread my children going back to school and look as forward to breaks as they do! That has to be a sign. Sending them to school has never been easy for me, I have always questioned it, and I believe that has been God urging me to do differently for their lives.

Please pray for us as we begin this journey and continue throughout our journey of homeschooling. I'm anxious in myself, but completely at peace with this decision. And am extremely realistic knowing full well that this is not going to be a cakewalk, but with God's guidance and the support of others, we can and will succeed!

Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it. 

~Proverbs 22:6

WOW!

Well, I have been seriously neglecting my blog lately....but only because we have been cra-zy busy around here!! Since I know that without stressing over it and spending hours updating, I'm not going to...I'll flip in a few (ok, lots!) pictures here and there, but mostly this is going to be a list-update on what's been happening in the lives of the Calonder Crew!
Where to start???Hannah got her tube pulled!!!! On Good Friday (what an awesome day to have it happen?!?), we went in and Hannah was doing so well, we were allowed to pull the ng tube that day!! We were so excited and it has been going really well!Well, obviously you know from this post that the triplets have started preschool!! They went Fridays for three weeks towards the end of the year to get used to their new school that they will be attending in the "fall" (school begins for them August 18). During the summer they are attending a transitional preschool two days a week in Cedar Falls. It's been great for them! They also are attending VBS this week at our church with Aidan. They love it!! It's neat to see them as they get older, but hard also!

Ethan got glasses! Poor little dude couldn't see at all! I think he looks adorable, don't you agree???
Nathanial got another set of tubes and Hannah got her first set. We had no idea Hannah was having issues with fluid, but she had three ear infections in three months, so we did the referral and she had a ton of fluid. They both did awesome!Austin had his 8th grade field trip to the capital and Living History Farms. He loved it and got an awesome shot for fair of the dome!
Austin and Aidan found the tent in the back of the garage that hasn't been used in years and dug it out and had a little background camping! They had so much fun...I was positive they would be inside at some point (it got COLD), but they made it the whole night!There has been a lot of outdoor fun at our house lately...baseball playing in the backyard...
...slipping and sliding and spraying...
...bounce, bounce, bouncing good times in the bounce house....
After all those good times outside, sometimes we just like to relax inside....
...and sometimes we get hurt and have to get our first set of stitches. :-(

But don't relax too long, because if you do, Mom might redo a room on you!

Whew....that wore us out!
{and we're not done yet....watch for lots more updates soon!!!}

Wordless Wednesday - What's Different in These Two Pictures???

BIG changes at our house in the last several days....can you guess what they were? Here's two (fairly obvious) hints....stories to follow!!

Hannah's First Haircut {Bangs Only}

{Hannah's first haircut}
Done by Kayla of A New You at Cuts for a Cause to raise money for a camp for abused and neglected children in foster care - a great reason to try a haircut!!

This and That

It's been a while since I've posted anything, we've been pretty busy around here. I'll do a separate birthday party post soon, I hope! This is just my general update for the last while so if it seems completely random, that's because it is!

It's not too late to comment on my Delurk for Haiti post here! I am wrapping it up, however, and am going to do the donation this Sunday. Our church is raising monies through our mission group for Samaritan's Purse so that is where I will direct all funds I raise.

I just love having the boys share a room and I think it encourages a bond that sometimes wouldn't be there if everyone had their own separate spaces. I know that someday they will complain about "having" to share a room, but hopefully they will also have fond memories that maybe they won't want to be separated.One of the things that I love about this is what I am able to witness - every night - is this:

One of the things that I do not so much enjoy is the destruction that three little boys left to go to sleep unsupervised can do:
{This was all done in a matter of 20 minutes}

This photo is also our "before" of our "major renovation project" that will begin - someday. Already talked with the carpenter and when his next project is finished he will begin on their room. They are getting all walls completely ripped out (finished ripping them, as it were); new wiring; new lighting; lath removed; insulation put in; new drywall; and finally new windows. That is what we would love to do in every room and, out of necessity, we are beginning in their room. I am very excited about my paint design and cannot wait for the project to be finished so I can paint!!!

Hannah is just growing, growing, growing! She has held steady at 19 lbs, 10 oz the last few weeks and last week dropped to 19 lbs, 8 oz, so I believe we are finding her new "curve." Dr. V wanted to see if we could recover any more weight, length, or head circumference and I am feeling very comfortable now about pulling the tube in April. I believe she is where her body should be finally and it is so exciting to see the amazing ways God has worked through this! Her home health visits have been extended out to twice monthly now (instead of weekly - per insurance) and we have a scale with which to weigh her weekly to keep track of how she is doing to be sure she doesn't fall behind.
{Hannah truly is her Grandpa Kenny's girl - she just adores him!!}

Daddy brought in some rabbits from the "new" litter - all already full grown - to clip nails, weigh, and tattoo. The boys just loved them and were so excited to see them in the house, on the dining room table that we never did get to tattooing them. The shrieks of sheer joy were well worth it, though!

{Nathanial, Noah, and Aidan were really excited, but Ethan decided to hang back a bit}

{Ethan gets a little closer and Thano is just giddy with excitement!}

{Ethan finally touches the rabbit!}

We have had so much snow this winter, which has led to a lot of fun with snow forts and castles, snow ball fights, and sledding....along with shoveling, icky drives, and cold temperatures! Austin has been an excellent help to Dad this year by actually helping to dig out so many times! Aidan has loved being outside when the weather isn't too cold (which this winter qualifies as above 15!).
{Aidan and his snow castle}

Austin is maturing all of the sudden very quickly. We still struggle with the Asperger side of things, but he also is more helpful lately. He likes his brothers and sister most of the time and does enjoy playing with them. You can read more about him on my blog for him, All About Austin.
{Austin and Ethan at my birthday dinner}

And, finally, a little birthday party preview. The boys had a ton of fun and we enjoyed having time to be with everyone who was able to make it out - even though it was pretty crazy!

Praise the Lord!!!

{l-r Hannah at the beginning of the journey in September and Hannah now}

Hannah went back to Iowa City today for another follow up with Dr. A and Dr. V. It was awesome!!! She is just doing amazing.

When she started this journey in September, she was 26.4" long (had not grown in length since June); her head circumference was 16.9" (had not increased since at least April); and her weight was 14 lbs, 2.5 oz (very slow gain, if at all) and her BMI was 14.3. She was well below any percentiles on the chart and, if you are familiar with BMI, that is well below a "healthy" number (normal is at least 18.5 and anything below 19 is underweight). She grew and grew and grew and NOW her numbers are so much better - it is sooo exciting! Her height today was 29.2" (that is almost THREE WHOLE INCHES in four months of the feeding tube!!!!!!!!!) and she is at the 8th percentile for her length compared to SAME AGE toddlers!! Her weight today was 19 lbs, 9.6 oz (that is FIVE and a half POUNDS!!!) and she is almost 3rd percentile....definitely within spitting distance! Her head circumference was 18" - almost TWO INCHES and puts her at the 30th percentile for her AGE!!!!!!!! That was a HUGE jump, especially since her head had not grown - at all - since at least April!! Soooo exciting!! Her BMI today is 16.15, which is still technically 'underweight' but definitely not as alarming. The most exciting part for me is seeing how she is doing on the overall chart...where she lands for her height and weight, irregardless of age (in other words, with peers who are the same length/weight combo as her, but not necessarily the same age) and that was slightly OVER the 25th percentile!!! And she did ALL THIS in only FOUR MONTHS on the feeding tube....God is soooo good. With phenomenal numbers like this, it is impossible to ignore the miracle of the Great Physician's Hands and to Him goes ALL the glory!!!

When we first put the tube in, both Steve and I were under the impression (prior to hospitalization) that it was a very short-term solution and would be completed within 6-8 weeks. We were told something quite differently when we actually were in the hospital and spoke with the doctor and dietitian. They both told us at that point that 6 months was way too optimistic or even realistic of a goal, but we could shoot for it as long as we were not disappointed if it didn't come out then. They both felt that, realistically speaking, she would need the tube for at least twelve months and probably more. We went with that because they are the experts and the ones who deal with these babes all day, every day. So that has been our goal this entire time - get it out in twelve months, but if she wasn't ready for it to come out then, then we would be OK with that. When we got home and I researched it, we found out it was a very real possibility that she would never outgrow the need for supplemental feeding and may eventually need a g-tube (one that goes directly into the tummy). It is super common for babes with reflux and other issues that cause growth problems. I was not willing to accept that for Hannah, but it has always been in the back of my mind. Now, though, we were told that if we wanted to do a trial run without the tube, with the knowledge that if she didn't do well it would go back in, we could try it. Dr. V feels that Hannah has probably recovered all lost weight, length, circumference, but there is a small possibility that Hannah has more growth in her. Because of that and because Hannah is just now starting to really do well feeding orally and on her own, we decided to hold off. So the new plan is to see if we can recover any more growth between now and April 2nd and at that time, wean off the feeding tube completely. That is just astounding to me....that in less than six months, she may be done with it! Again, all glory to God who has healed her!!!

Hannah has done so well through all of this that Dr. V actually uses Hannah in her lectures! She said a lot of the medical community still believes that lack of normal physiological growth (aka failure to thrive) is always due to neglect on the parent's part. She said that she uses Hannah constantly now to prove that when parents are willing to do whatever is necessary medically, are intelligent and on board with doctors, instead of bucking them the entire way, that great things can happen. That is still not to say that all children with LNPG are all products of parents that aren't on board, either. She just said it is much easier to prove that this can happen to normal children in a healthy family and parenting situation and when everyone works together for the good of the child, amazing growth can happen. She said often parents are so angry when it is suggested and refuse to do it, so then DHS ends up getting involved and then parents won't do what is necessary for the child, either, so then they don't end up growing either. She said that she can tell with 100% accuracy that Hannah's issues are completely related to reflux and not at all related to "social issues." It was very vindicating to hear that from a doctor and she kept telling me what a great job I was doing and that I deserved congratulations, also, but I am only doing whatever is in my power to do for Hannah as her mother and praying over the rest of it so that God can restore her health in ways that only He can. It breaks my heart that there are parents so angry at "the system" that they fail to see what is necessary for their child. This was not an easy decision for us to make. This was not easy for me (or Steve) to hear that it was needed. It definitely seemed radical at the time. However, God gave me a great peace about it all when it became obvious that it was needed and He has since showed me over and over that we made the right decision for Hannah. And that's all I wanted...was a little reassurance that we didn't go outside His will through all this and we were doing what was medically needed through the doctors.

I am so excited to see the amazing strides Hannah has made. It just leaves me in awe of what is possible!!

Chuck E Cheese Fun!

I always try to take the kids to Chuck E Cheese once a year during Christmas break and this year, I knew it was going to be a challenge. Thankfully, Nicole was more than willing to go along and was an awesome help to keep track of everyone, plus be someone for me to talk to! We had a ton of fun and I am so glad we went. The boys are getting better about staying near by and staying together and Austin and Aidan are old enough to play games together away from me.

{This horse was a huge attraction for the triplets. I really didn't think they'd stay on, but they loved it!}

{Everyone had lots of fun doing lots of different things!}

{They also enjoyed the small carousel - to a point, then Noah wanted off!}

{The highlight of their entire time was dancing with Chuck E Cheese}

{Nathanial and Noah loved riding in the car with Chuck...and Hannah wasn't about to miss out!}

Family Christmases

Christmas has been a lot less stressed since we started staying home on Christmas Day for our own family and doing our extended family on weekends surrounding Christmas. This year, we had Steve's side first and enjoyed ourselves. It was fun to see how much better Hannah is starting to get to interacting with Kendra...they are gonna need to stick by each other as the only girls in a sea of boys!

{Hannah looks like she's telling Aidan something, which I loved;
Aidan and Kendra help Hannah open a gift.}

{Aidan's - and everyone else's! - favorite gift of Christmas by far was this guitar!}

{Everyone diving in to different things...it's hard to keep track of it all anymore!}

We then returned to Dubuque for a weekend to have Christmas with my mom and grandparents and my dad. It was a busy, but very fun, weekend!

{Granny and my mom with Hannah - I love these pictures!}

{Chris, solidifying his place as favorite son in law with the Lukken-making!}

{There are always plenty of presents!}
{It has become a new tradition that Austin helps Michael pass out gifts.}

{Plenty of time for lots of fun after gift opening and eating is done!}

The next day, we had Christmas with my dad at my sister's house. It was a fun and relaxing day that went by all too quickly. Unfortunately, my camera battery died and I did not bring the charger with me! I didn't get very many pictures, but love the ones I did get!