Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Loving the French Life

Yup, France is awesome.  We are in the Dordogne region, staying in a beautifully renovated barn, on the grounds of a lovely private, country area.  I am so happy to be here.
I hadn't realized how exhausting living in a big city could be.  We like Madrid, certainly.  It has a lot of great things:the metro, Retiro park, amazing museums...  But, living in such a busy place is very tiring for people from Wisconsin.  The simple act of driving through the countryside was the beginning of what I'm calling my rural therapy.  Add French cooking, cooler weather, the Olympics, crafting time, more French cooking, and time with friends ...well, the rural therapy continues.
We have had duck twice, an amazing gluten-free dessert at a bed and breakfast along the way driving to our destination, and discovered why creme-fraiche makes anything better.
The best part of our time so far, however, is how happy Andy is here.  Sure, he's had some meltdowns, but he is so happy to have a few little friends to play with all the time, and more so to be in a really safe place around which he can wander freely.  No metro.  No cars.  No stop lights.  Lots of grass.  a big front porch.  even a pony, though we haven't taken him for a ride quite yet. All in all, we love France and are glad that we have many days left on vacation here.

Update on Andy

We have some news on Andy.  Last time I wrote, we'd just met with the speech therapist to set up his assessment.  We went again the following week for that assessment, then, with Ben away at camp, I went for the follow-up report.  Long story short, she had some serious concerns about Andy's lack of receptive language, limited gesturing, and general state of development, putting aside his basically non-existent speaking.
We have followed her advice and already had an appointment with a pediatric neurologist.  In late August, early September, Andy will have bloodwork, an EEG, and an MRI.  Yikes, right?  It's a little scary.  But, we're doing what we think is best for him.  We are still planning to try preschool for him in the mornings starting in September.  If it doesn't go well, we can bail.  We have also had a few speech therapy sessions as well, focusing on eye contact with Andy and interactive play.
Please keep Andy in your prayers, and we will keep you updated on how he is doing.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Ben Away at Camp!

At about 11:30 this morning, Ben left for 9 days of camp at a place called Pinos Reales (Royal Pines).  It was really tough to say goodbye, even though I know that Andy and I are going to be just fine.  We have lots of supportive teammates and friends here.  But, it's hard being without an extra set of hands around the house with Andy, not to mention my best friend and source of conversation.

This morning, I also noticed a stain on one of our walls...right in front of the bathroom.  Yikes.  We have a very slow leak from the tube that connects the toilet to the plumbing inside the wall.  I have a bucket there now, catching the slow drip, but it's just another thing to take care of by myself tomorrow. Our lifeguard's dad is a plumber, so I'll ask him to come over if he can.

Well, Andy's almost done eating Cheetos and yogurt for lunch, so I'd better go.  Prayers for patience for me, a sweet temperament for Andy, and safety and blessing for Ben while he serves at camp are greatly appreciated!