Catch up!

Well Life has been less than dull in the Sherriff household these last few months. I will admit much of the news has blown me out of the water and it has taken me some time to come down to that peaceful place. Where do I start?

Well let's start with a Justin update! Justin has finally been diagnosed with Epilepsy. Man was this frightening. I thank God I had been given the skills to identify this type of seizure because it was a little less obvious if you know what I mean. Justin suffers from frontal lobe seizures that only occur at night. They started happening nightly in April and after several weeks of appointments, video taping and converting footage, and an EEG, Justin was diagnosed with epilepsy - frontal lobe nocturnal seizures. I am sure you can imagine the anguish I felt seeing my child go through this over and over and not have it formally identified as this type of seizure can be confused with sleep terrors. The EEG confirmed abnormal brain patterns in the frontal love which trigger these simple partial seizures which alter his mind to send signals to his body parts to do repetitive movements, some slight trembling, wandering and some times loosing bladder control. Thank goodness the medicine he is now on daily controls things. We still have to be on guard. Now were back to sorting out his learning problems and some genetic testing and an MRI are scheduled for October. We continue to think happy thoughts as he seems so much like a typical 7 year old - minus his academic performance which puts him 1-2 years behind in core subjects. It's up to me to continue advocating for testing and to ensure the IEP is in order.

Our summer included some fun and lots of sports! Football, soccer, hockey camp and swimming lessons kept our schedules hopping. A couple trips to the cottage gave us some reprieve form the normal grind - but not as often as I would have liked. A new pool, birthday parties and tons of sleepovers (as usual). My boys also took a mini vacation with their grandparents to the golf course resort for a 2 night stay. I think it's great they have developed an interest many of our family members have. Something they can do together. Now if only I could learn to golf! No worries - it's on my to do list. Having 2 of my boys gone from the house gave me plenty of time to spend with my youngest Justin as we ventured to African Lion Safari.

Sadness hit us last week at the death of my father-in-law, bringing us down from our summer fun for a few days. He was a great man and it was a bit nuts around here as I contributed to the memorial service with a scrapbook, a DVD presentation of Family Reflections and some memorial cards. Bill will be greatly missed.

So I am sure I forgot some things and back to school is upon us! Let the craziness begin... and I hope to get back to blogging. Check in now and again for more!

Peace

Uploaded on authorSTREAM by tracy27

Panorama of Almost Perfect Rainbow on CleVR.com

Don't forget to use the + and - sign on the photo to zoom in and out and drag on it to move it around.

My son came running - "Mommy, mommy come upstairs!" "Why - is it an emergency?" "No- but it's a rainbow." I originally deferred. "I will be there in a minute." After all. I have seen a rainbow before right? Right - but not like this one! It was truly amazing - only the work of God! So here it is - my attempt at stitching together 3 photos of the same rainbow just outside my door on June 23, 08 at approximately 8:00p.m. It was a very challenging day in my household yesterday, one that brought me to tears at one point. The rainbow was a reminder to me of God's promises, something I needed very much in these difficult time. I hope it reminds you to. Thanks Justin!

OK so it's the end of March Break - part of me is obviously sad - I mean come on the pace has been SWEET! The other part of me however, the part that craves routine, is looking forward to getting back into the swing of things. My mind has been heavy this week with thinking over and over about Justin. The endless amounts of information I receive about his challenges has begun to take his toll. I need a diversion and believe me work keeps me busy with diversions of all shapes and sizes.

So where are we at - let's see...auditory processing difficulties, visual processing difficulties, hyper mobility, low muscle tone, likely learning disability, and difficulties with his muscles integrating together - oh an the new one "an immature nervous system". Each thing on it's own is not really a big deal to me, but all of those things together is a much larger mountain. However, like always we will keep climbing. I am looking into a new therapy - we shall see if I can coax myself into giving it a try.

Justin woke up with a mysterious rash today - almost like hives - mostly on his lower legs and bit on his lower back (right side). I took some photo's. The mysterious part is the cause. My concern is it's another symptom of something autoimmune. My reading - and I do like to read - indicates that the hives could be related to an autoimmune response and since he is sick with a cold - it does make good sense. The myositis (also an autoimmune response) he suffered 2 winters in a row has not reeled it's ugly head as of yet. I am optimistic. But my concern is that this is yet another symptom of a similar response. I don't know why I feel this way - call it a nagging feeling that keeps pushing me to connect the dots here. Oh well, by 6:00 the rash had disappeared. Thank god for digital or perhaps I might not have even believed it was there in the first place. He has been somewhat itchy with it, but often he is scratching spots where there are no marks. I suppose that could be the case.

High school Musical on Ice was a blast. My toe was tapping and I got some awesome pictures. My hubby deserves an even bigger kiss now that I saw how just great a zoom I have on my new camera - a Christmas gift. You can't go wrong with that.

Gregory is likely going to start goalie school soon and before we know it soccer and football season is upon us. Busy busy busy. Kevin is not up to much these days, except XBOX, but come June the football should get his heart pumping. I keep trying to find ways to keep him active but it's hard. He will be graduating from grade 8 this June also - talking about grade 8 grads has brought back many memories of my grade 8 grad - remember Jess (I am sure Jess will read this - she is my faithful reader). My sweetest moment was dancing to CRAZY FOR YOU from Madonna with my classroom crush Jay Charlebois - LOL - what a hoot!

Ah well, time for bed... soon anyways. Here's to spring being hopefully just around the corner!

March break already!

Well it's Tuesday of March break. Before I know it the week will be gone. We went bowling today - had a great time. I took Greg, Justin and 3 of Greg's friends. Greg was the big winner with a 2 strike streak. Must have been that little bum wiggle and arm stretches before each ball. It was very cute! His wittiness shines through when he is out with his friends.

Life has been very busy - never a dull moment. I continue to struggle with balance and I am not really convinced I will ever get it just right! The kids are nearly finished term 2 of school - you know what that means - summer will be here before I know it. Can't wait - cottage here we come!!!

Justin's struggles have become a little more clear this past week. I continue to try to work through the big words and the suggested activities to try to make sense of it all. Central auditory processing challenges, visual processing challenges, hyper mobility, low muscle tone, significant challenges with muscle integration. I was overwhelmed last week but this week I am back on a mission. I think I have a plan that might help. Stay tuned!

I am trying to get back to my scrapbooking. The hard part is choosing what pictures to scrapbook since it has been so many months. It's a labour of love but has taken a back burner these past few months. With a little more free time this week I indulged myself into the land of creativity. It's been nice to not have the usual pace and do the things I truly love.

Well...off to bed I think. Lots to try and accomplish tomorrow!

Long time no post

So here I am, finally choosing to sit down and blog for a change. It certainly isn't like I don't have anything to blog about. The challenge is to find the time. I recently went back to school and have finally settled back into the routine after Christmas break. Being off for 17 days can throw you a pleasant curve but settling back is hard.

So the back to school part - well through Athabasca Open University I am taking a degree in Human Services. Not sure where it will lead, but I have always chosen jobs that help others. It is were I get my most satisfaction. The reading for the course is intense and the amount of essays tops 12 for the first course. Fortunately I am already 1/2 way there on degree completion due to my previous credentials and I am submitting a portfolio to hopefully earn up to 30 more credits. I am telling you - this is lots of work but I am enjoying putting my self first for a change. I have wanted to complete a University degree for a long time - 13/14 years.

It's a busy time at work. Some of the families I work with are preparing to send their special little ones to school in September. It's a time of excitement, fear and questioning as I assist families with the preparation for that first intake meeting with the Board of Education. I am most confident my assistance will be of value to these families. Having children of my own who utilize some of the resources the schools have to offer puts my in a position to share what I now from personal experience.

Justin celebrated his 7th birthday. Man...where does the time go.

I am not making much progress on letting go of the housework/chore battles. I keep hoping the clutter will stop getting to me so much. It truly is the thing that can send me over the deep end. I have to continue to try to dig deep and try to remember that screaming at my family might get my house cleaned but it won't help nurture my relationships with my children. Priorities, priorities...but that supermom thing really drags me down sometimes.

Anyways, dinner smells good so it must be nearly cooked. Till I blog again....