I knew it was okay because 1) Those who follow us know that no news from us is good news, and 2) as the title suggests, this time is so unprecedented, nobody is faulting anyone for a break from the normal. So, we have sheltered-at-home, watched our church services live stream, and gone to the grocery store armed with hand sanitizer and sometimes a mask like almost everyone else. It’s been pretty smooth sailing on the outside for us. I was able to get into a good school routine for Joyanna, incorporating her time into Ethan’s school day. He enjoys it now too. She is primarily working on using her switch. It’s a big, very sensitive button that she can hit to either control a toy or the computer. We’re just working on her realizing the cause/effect aspect of the switch. She does use it at school when she’s there so we’ve tried to keep that going. She seems to do the best by using her foot to kick/tap it. She can “read” digital books with it when I’m controlling where the mouse goes. She provides the click. There are many sites, softwares, etc. that make things adaptive for switches. Obviously, the books are read aloud by a click. Ethan is winding down with his homeschool curriculum. The requirements have lessened so much that we are just using our own things to review and finish out. He’s reading like crazy now. I LOVE THAT! I’ve always been a reader so I really do love to see him excelling in reading but also enjoying it too! Both kids will “finish” school on Friday but I’ve already decided we’ll need some structured time each day, mostly for reading. I’ve started reading a chapter book aloud to the kids and they love that. So, Joy reads on the computer. Then Ethan reads a short book appropriate for him. Then I read a chapter or two from a book, many of them I’ve had packed away since I was a girl. It’s fun to bring them out and enjoy them again. Plus, we have all of those extra worksheets and activity papers we collect along the way. Since we usually didn’t take time to do those in school, Ethan is excited to do them this summer. All of my household chores have stayed the same.
But, inside…that’s another story. I’ve been okay overall but I’m a social person. So, my time with my family has been good and we’ve enjoyed fun activities that we normally don’t do but I need other women to talk to. And I’m not really a phone talker. So, I can tell the emotional undercurrent is disrupted and is right under the surface at all times. Around Easter, I cried and cried. I’m so thankful for what Jesus did for us, so this year, with no emotional outlets, the waterworks were flowing. And I feel every time I saw someone I knew remotely and had a minute, I just wanted to talk and talk. Phew! Poor people. But I guess we’re all like that right now so we understand.
Joy has started back to physical therapy. We are trying to do some walking at home since we brought her gait trainer back from the school but it is not easy. We can only do little bits at a time and she can’t do it as well. It requires two people to put her in so I can only do it when Ben is home. She is still getting in her stander regularly. Joy is continuing to get her infusion treatment and has always through this time. In July, she will have received it for 3 years—hard to believe!
Joy was scheduled to do another temporary stay at TCC but now with the pandemic, they are evaluating that (unprecedented). We should hear within the next two weeks if she will be able to go. She was going to move in on June 6. Please pray with us that she might be able to. We don’t necessarily need a respite but Joy needs the continuing therapy and interaction when school is out, especially since we’ve lost some now. Plus, we had hoped to update all her braces and some of her equipment while she was in TCC this summer. It’s so much easier for us and the therapists/doctors/orthotists if we do it there. But we know the Lord knows what we need for the summer.
Oklahoma has opened most things up now. It will be interesting to see if our coronavirus cases will begin to climb again. I know the whole US is watching us and a few other states who are opening businesses back up. Ben has returned to his office 5 days a week. Our church is open but in a phased approach. We’re sitting social distancing and there’s no food or drink served, handshaking, door handling, offering plates passed, childcare, etc. We will not take Joy for the month of May, but Ethan will go on Sunday am. Ben and I will switch off going to services for this month. I was able to go Sunday evening and it was wonderful to sing with everyone together again. I think I missed that the most maybe.
Well, our summer plans are in limbo but we’ll keep going in this routine we have now and trust the Lord to open up the way before us.
“As for God, His way is perfect…”
Thanks for your prayers!
He Who Holds Us In His Hands
When God says no to you, it’s such a blow to you,
when all your hopes and dreams unravel at the seam.
When God says wait to you, and God seems late to you,
it’s hard to rest within His will, it’s hard to trust and just be still,
it’s hard to simply wait until it’s all made plain.
Refrain
He who holds us in His hands, has no problems, only plans,
He who has control of all sees the smallest sparrow fall.
He who works where no one knows does not sleep as we suppose,
but works in all things, both great and small things,
for His own glory and our best good.
When God works silently in ways we cannot see,
when troubles multiply so that we ache inside.
When God does not seem kind, and hope is hard to find,
it’s hard to rest within His will, it’s hard to trust and just be still,
it’s hard to simply wait until it’s all made plain.
(Composer: Bryan Jeffery Leech)