Wow, how fast time is flying! Into the second half of March now. The older I get, the faster every year seems to pass. Makes me want to learn how to savor everything fully and properly. Haven't mastered that yet.

I'm trying to acknowledge the reality of this coming week without getting overwhelmed. Someone has an appointment every single day except Friday. Cyan's dentist says it's a good idea to consult with someone about maybe removing wisdom teeth now since they are growing forward on their sides just as mine did, but their roots are just buds yet. That's tomorrow. Brina has another adjustment at the orthodontist on Tuesday. Just a few more months to go with that and she will be free of her braces. Maxim heads back to Dr. Reinhart on Wednesday for another casting.
Thursday, I have my annual check-up. Good to stay up on that. We moms spend a lot of time, effort and love tending our families and can easily forget or put off taking care of ourselves in the blur. Don't make that mistake.

The casting is still going well but the doc did give me a reality check this last week that wherever he plateaus with progress in the casting is where they will set his feet surgically, if I'm understanding correctly. So as much as I hate seeing him have to be in casts on and on, every additional casting means his feet are into a little better position and his chances of getting up and walking sometime in the future are a little more likely. Maxim has never once complained about his casts. It always hurts some as they stretch his feet each week but once the latest set of casts is on, he just takes off at whatever he wants to do and doesn't let them hold him back. He is persistent and that will be a blessing to him for sure, just like it has been with Cyan and her cerebral palsy. Yes, wanting to be doted on from time to time but usually craving independence too. This morning, Maxim needed to use the bathroom and usually one of us will carry him in and get him all set and then he calls us when he is finished. However, this time I set things up in the bathroom so he could try climbing onto a bath chair we took out of the tub and set by the toilet, holding onto a bar we installed on the wall there for Cyan. Everything was placed right next to the toilet so I watched to see if he could get him self up onto the chair and from there onto the toilet seat. I stayed there and coached him not only where to put his hands for the best leverage but also to avoid using inappropriate things like the actual toilet seat as his handles. It took him a few minutes but he figured it out and then got himself down afterward as well. He was so proud that he called Papa to come in and see what he had accomplished. I think Daniel was afraid Maxim wanted to show what had been achieved inside the toilet; he was pretty hesitant to go in there. Anyway, this is one of the things I am hoping to balance; showing Maxim how to do things for himself as much as possible while also cuddling and loving and helping him in ways he has missed all his life. There are some people who promote the idea of really babying newly adopted children to varying degrees, even encouraging them to go back to babyhood for a time, but I can't see it. No offense to those who choose this route, and maybe it depends on the emotional scarring in a particular child, but I think there is also something to be said for loving a child like crazy while gently encouraging them to move forward in life. None of us can go back and do things over. If we try too hard, we miss living the present in the best possible manner.

Today was so beautiful out; in the low 60's and sunny. Friday was also very nice. I took all of the kids to a park called Van Raalte Farm, less than a mile from the house. It's a park with wetlands, walking and cross-country ski trails, a terrific sledding hill, all on property that once belonged to a doctor who was an original settler in the area. In the spring, it's just a delightful place to go for fresh air and stretching out if you don't have a lot of land of your own. So we headed over there and introduced Maxim to rolling on the hill. Maybe someone else does this too, but we've never witnessed it. Sometime during the day, when chores and homework are done, or we just know we need to blow off steam, we go over and walk Sydney, our Australian shepherd and we go rolling on the hill. Maxim couldn't quite tackle this because of his casts being at the angle they are, but he loved being out there and it was a pleasure to see him hustle around on the grass (and yes some slightly muddy spots too) and get nice and dirty. He really loves being outside and there was just something sweet about coming home and seeing that his pants and his jacket desperately needed to be washed. He got to just thoroughly enjoy being a child that day. He loved the playground too, with it's multiple slides and a tunnel to climb through.

Today, Brina spent quite a bit of time outside with Maxim, digging in the dirt with beach toys and shovels, drawing with chalk on the pavement, and taking him for a wagon ride through the neighborhood (she said he sang most of the way).

Several months ago, I recorded a harmony on our digital piano for an arrangement of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" that I was toying with as an intro to something else I'm working on. I had kind of forgotten about it until this last week. A few days ago, I sat down at the piano with Maxim and helped him play the melody with his index finger while the recorded harmony was playing. He wanted to do that over and over. I think in time he will really enjoy learning to play for himself.

Passover is just three weeks from this coming Tuesday, and we are looking forward in a special way since my sister Heidi is coming to spend that time with us. It's been a long time since she's been able to come our way and I haven't seen her since the fall of 2007. Wish their whole family could come but I know it's not practical. Can't wait for some together time. My girls, who are fifteen and seventeen, still made the charts where you "x" off days until the thing you're looking forward to comes. And of course, Maxim will get to meet another relative who has been anticipating and praying for him for a long time. I'm sure they will like each other a lot.

Please keep praying for those families who are still in various stages of the adoption process. Every step toward it and stage during it is in need of prayer saturation. Debbie, I'm thinking of you and Ola, hoping you will be back home this time next week and enjoying settling in under the same roof with the rest of your family. Hang in there.