The Last

Sorry this took awhile to post. I've had a rough last 6 months due to my own health problems and I was hoping and waiting for them to go away....planning to post about Gus at that time. Unfortunately, the problems are not leaving any time soon and I am unable to continue this blog. Thank you for your prayers and support for Gus. He is still doing well.

Gus has been recovering very well from hip surgery. Unfortunately, he has been also losing weight steadily over the past spring and summer. We kept adding calories to his food, hoping that it might add some weight to him but no matter what we did, he would eat less of rich foods. The result was weight loss.

To make sure that Gus was able to handle drinking thin liquids, his doctor recommended a swallow study. They take several months to schedule but it finally happened a couple of weeks ago. The results of the study was that Gus could barely eat enough to maintain his nutritional needs, let alone drink anything. He had been able to handle eating all of his food before (last winter), but he can't do that now.

We like to theorize over and over about what happened, why, and what we could have done differently.... One of the possible reasons for this was that when Gus started to lose weight, he also started the intense therapy program which was very physically demanding (although he did enjoy it). At the same time, his diet changed with many of the calorie-heavy foods taken out. We guess that Gus was probably too tired to maintain the energy he needs to eat and was hungrier than we realized. As a mom, that was a little disturbing to me.

And so....I met with a nutritionist at the local hospital. We are now making our own formula at home and Gus gets most of his nutritional needs through his g-button again. Thankfully, he stills loves the taste of food so we feed him 3 meals a day, but it doesn't add up to much. He's already gained .4 pounds!

As everyone knows, anyone is happier with a full stomach. Since we have begun this, Gus has rarely complained, had more energy, and sleeps like a log....which makes me happy....which makes everyone happy.

One more note....we've stopped the intense therapy from the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential (out of Philadelphia) because the help we had to do it is no longer available.

I gave up for the hips to fit into the wheelchair and took the sides off the wheelchair instead. He fits great now. He loves being in his wheelchair now thanks to the surgery. He has no problems sitting and seems completely comfortable. We get to start full therapies in a couple of weeks. Thank you for praying.

quick update - Gus is doing much better. He is now moving on the floor happy to get his toys. The swelling is much less so tomorrow I think he'll fit in his wheelchair! I'll take him for a walk if he fits in. thank you for your prayers!

We are home. Thank you for praying. Gus' pain is under control and he is content to be home. The turning point was yesterday, when the pain medications were delivered on a better schedule. We are keeping them up here at home. Again, thanks for praying.

Yesterday, Gus had his hip surgery - on both hips. It took over 6 hours of surgery. He is in a lot of pain. Last night was miserable for him. The irritation from the tube going down in to his lungs caused a lot of drainage/mucus and was very painful for him. He is at the hospital on continuous pain medications doubled and tripled up. We were trying everything last night for him, to help him sleep just a little. Please pray for him.

He is either crying or sleeping, but not sleeping much. He'll come home as soon as he can. Please pray that he heals quickly and that the pain goes away.

Seeing him pale again, hearing him cough the same 'lungs filled with liquid' cough, and looking at all the wires attached, really shook me up. I know he looked worse 3 years ago, but it was hard to remember that at first. Thank you for your support and prayers.

I'll let you know when he comes home.

For the past four months, we've lived by the timer. 5 minutes, 2 minutes, 30 minutes, depending on what the activity was, we would regularly set the timer and move to the next thing. It was fairly intense but we got into the rhythm of it and it became second nature.

A large part of what I did concerned Gus' hips. The right hip was on its way out and I worked with the inner thigh muscles to try to stop this process. Unfortunately, it didn't work: the right hip went completely out of socket. Now, we have the option of surgery. It is needless to say the bitter disappointment of this was hard to swallow. Loads of chocolate, ice cream, and other avoidables (that are much easier to swallow) were consumed to try to lift the mood, but of course, they didn't work.

Abruptly, our life by the timer stopped. He hasn't had the surgery yet, but the motivation to keep it up waned considerably. Once he has recovered, we will start at square one: reevaluate Gus' development and begin a new program designed for his current stage, whatever that might be at the time.

Currently, our home is quiet – if a home with 5 children can ever be quiet. Maybe just quieter. I can't say it is any less busier, just not ruled by the noise of a beeping timer but rather by the general noise of a mom directing traffic.

During this time of 'quiet' with Gus' schedule (from now until the surgery next week) it has been a fun to watch him play. He spends much of his time playing on the floor with his toys. Six months ago, Gus' muscle control was fairly limited – he couldn't get to his toys very well, let alone figure out different ways of getting them to his mouth.
He knows where his toys are and how to get to them. He quietly scoots around on the floor to the perfect position then gently rolls on to his back just landing him in the perfect place to play with his toys that hang. One of the greatest moments for me as a mom is to watch my kid play by themselves. He did not do this at all 6 months ago.

I also took this time to run some errands in town, taking Gus for the first time in a long time to a store. (His favorite person in the world, Aunt Deborah had just had an appendectomy so he couldn't stay home with her.) He always hated driving so the screaming, sweaty trip to anywhere was hardly worth it. Once in the store, if you didn't keep him constantly entertained, he would be noisy, and irritable. This time, I stepped into another world that hasn't existed for us yet. Gus was quiet in the car or laughing. He was relaxed in his wheelchair in the stores and very easy going in all of the situations.

And one other big thing that I should mention. Raw food. A couple of months ago Gus had blood work done again and it came back with imbalances. We had been feeding him using the diet restrictions and guidelines from the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential. The initial diet from them required an avoidance of dairy, wheat, soy, and a host of other normal food items including raw food. They included probiotics into the list of 'must haves', probably to offset the lack of raw food in his diet....but is that really sufficient? After the blood work results came back, I started him on homemade kefir, half a cup every night. We put cheese back into his diet and plenty of butter. After a couple of weeks of this, with of course lots of vegetables, beans and eggs, his belly is happier (less gas, indigestion, constipation, diarrhea, etc.). Before this diet change, Gus would get sick - not really sick, just tired and warm and not feeling well types of sickness, especially if I took him anywhere. Since this diet change, he isn't as prone to illness – even after the pre-op doctor's visit, the Milwaukee Museum of Art, parks and shopping.

As everyone knows that has a child or someone in the family with a brain-injury, if that person is unhappy, everything and everyone is miserable. With Gus being so happy, easy going, and pleasant, our home is currently 'quieter' and happier.

I'll let you know how surgery goes.

next

I said I would try to fill you in on the rest of the details and so I'll try now. We are kinda busy with all of this and the nights are late, the mornings are early. The daily discipline is really good for all of us, especially Gus. The benefits outweigh any effort we put into it. His improvements are the encouragement we need to keep going. Here are the things we are doing daily:

1.Masking
We've started a breathing program called masking. We all tend to be a little skeptical in our home, after all that we've heard and seen and it was no different with this program. Masking was the easiest part of the program to do. Every 7 minutes throughout the day, for about a total of 50 times a day, we have Gus breath into a mask for 45 seconds. Doing this improves Gus' ability to breath and therefor get more oxygen to the brain. After two weeks of his masking, his circulation was fantastic. He always had purplish hands, feet, and legs but now, we see no discoloration except slightly on his feet during cooler days. We also notice that his ability to respond has quickened.

One observation made during that week to the Institutes was that Gus yawned a lot. It's not something we've ever paid attention to, we just thought he was always tired. Well, that too has almost disappeared. He now yawns very occasionally which is great because putting him to bed takes less effort and time - he just gets tired and sleeps. Sleeping is also better - his breathing his deeper and quieter throughout the night. (I wake up at all of the noisy breathing so I sleep better now, too.)

2.Choice Board
We were introduced to the concept of a choice board for communication with Gus. We have been very frustrated (both Gus and all of us) with the lack of understanding between us. My mom witnessed this while we visited them last fall. During meal times, we would ask Gus if he was all done. We would say, "Gus, if you are all done, look at the napkin. If you want some more, look at the spoon." Unfortunately, this method relied on ability to not just look at an item, but to make sure that we understood that he was looking at it. We also were trying to encourage him to touch the item. We had been doing this for the past year or so and he started last fall to cry each time we asked. We would just stop feeding him and he had no real way to tell us he was still hungry. Gus' vision relies a lot on peripheral so we are not always sure that he sees something. Really, this method was very difficult for Gus and we didn't realize it.

The choice board is simple: a large X with 'yes', 'no', and '? I don't know' written on three on the sections. I held him on lap when first presented with this idea. They instructed me to gently support his hand, move his hand and tell him where the 'yes', 'no', or '? I don't know' was, and then to ask a question and wait for his answer. It requires no vision and only the minutest movement for us to know the answer. I sat holding him, not sure that I was able to communicate with my son, after so long of not being able to. I asked him, "Gussy, do you like to play with Molly?" He laughed and then took a couple of seconds of thinking before moving his hand to the 'yes'. I cried. It was the first answer I had from him since his accident. After that, we asked him everything! We wanted to know what food he liked, if his diaper needed changing, if he wanted to read a book, if he liked ... you name it, we asked it! I felt that more of my son was given back to me. His frustrated crying during meal times completely stopped and because we have a clear way to know what he wants, he is happier throughout the day. (And so are we.) The choice board is modified to fit any question we have: we simply tell him that the 'yes', 'no', or '? I don't know' is whatever the options are currently. It's amazing how well it works.

3. Hips
A major concern we've had with Gus, brought to our attention here, in Madison, is his hip. We didn't know that the right femur was 40% displaced until just a week before the visit out east. Looking at the x-ray, they were able to show us what we could do at home to help prevent the need for surgery. As soon as we came home, we implemented this part of the program, as well. Every day, 6 times a day, we stretch the tight inner thigh muscles, pull his leg into position, and use a special magnesium solution keep him loose. Currently, we are seeing consistent alignment with his legs and he scissors his legs less and less (that's when the legs cross over each other while straight).

4. Slide (aka inclined floor)
The program is a lot but the parts that the kids can help with, they love to do. He continues to go down his slide, 30 times a day. We are working him up to go a meter each time (on the flat floor), after the slide but right now he only goes about 20 inches. His movement on the flat floor with all of his toys has become faster and more purposeful. He also has started to move on carpet, not just on the slippery linoleum.

5. Patterning
We are patterning Gus 8 times a day, each time for 3 minutes. Patterning is when we place Gus on a foam bolster (to protect his hips) and show him how to move his legs and arms, as if to move along the floor. We have a few other movements that we do with him at those times as well.

6. Reading
These next couple of weeks are the weeks that we start the final part of the 6-month program: intellectual. We've already been doing part of this program by having black and white checkerboard walls with simple bright pictures (moveable). Now, we will be implementing the reading program. The next step is to start teaching him words (not expecting him to read out loud, just recognize them).

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. We can tell the days that you are praying for us.

an intensive home program

The last time I updated this blog, we were taking Gus to an ABM practitioner in St. Louis. This monthly visit was worth its weight in gold. Gus improved each time and it made the other therapies worth the time and effort to go. Splints were needed less and less and Baclofen was decreased. We were happy with the progress and appreciated the insight that both ABM and Feldenkrais practitioners have shared with us. Their knowledge, kindness, and understanding put hope back into us. It was during this time that we found The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential, http://www.iahp.org/

Because of this, we are taking a radical change in our daily life: from the myriads of doctors' appointments, therapists, splint appointments, etc., to spending all day, every day doing therapy at home. Time in the car traveling from place to place is almost nothing now. Instead, we live by the timer, constantly set at 5 minutes to do the next thing. Everything we do is part of a program specifically designed for Gus. The program is incredibly intense.

We have learned so much from The Institutes that we'd like to share, but with time limited, I'll share a little bit:

The first big change for us was with food. The diet we had to start Gus on took a lot of adjustment: no dairy, wheat, soy, corn, bananas, tomatoes, rye, salt, processed fats or sugar. We started to change his diet last December, just after the course but now we have the exact amounts of protein, fat, and carbohydrates that he needs. The process is a little complicated with lots of diet sheets to fill out (especially for me who doesn't know how to count calories). He complained at us for the first few weeks but after that, he's had no problems eating his food. He doesn't even mind eating greens three times a day.


He is happy almost all of the time now. He loves this program and although it is a lot of work, we love the difference it makes for him.

Here are some pictures of Gus doing a lot of what he normally does everyday:

not settled yet

Molly visiting the cows on the farm where her dad works.

We are going a little crazy: Matt's down on the farm in Cape working and staying there. The kids are at Grandpa's fishing, playing games, and chilling out. Gus, Molly, Aunt Deborah and I are all here left to try to sort out the kinks of moving, clean the house, and pack some more. Both babies really miss the kids and are giving us adults the hardest time they can. So, with lots of coffee, chocolate, and ice cream, we've survived this past week.

Tomorrow night, our help arrives!

Quick update on Gus: he is doing great. He is improving in small ways that add up to a lot. We've taken him again to see Chad, the ABM practitioner here in St. Louis and the difference is fantastic. Gus is starting to move his arms, hands, and really, his whole body in new and better ways. He isn't rolling over yet, but getting closer. Another big plus for us- his medicine is getting reduced more and more.

Molly is almost running around the house, keeping us on our toes as she runs away carrying everything with her.

Ian, George, and Rose are all having a great time visiting at Grandpa's. They all have a bad case of poison ivy and it rained all week long but they have reassured me that the games and movies more than made up for the bad weather and rash.

new stuff to learn, part II - a quick note

not only do we have a lot of new stuff to learn, but so does Gus.

Within the last month, we have worked hard with Gus to help him relearn how to move his body. Now, as we learn the best way for him to move, we have to reteach and try to undo some of the things we taught him. So, we mostly spend our days rolling on the floor, helping Gus army crawl, and have him push off of us. The arches in his feet are starting to develop, the curve in his spine is straightening out, his movements with his arms and hands are more free and smooth, and he is definitely more opinionated in what he thinks he should be doing (or more accurately, what we should be doing with him).

His extra tone that he always has to fight is lessening and we reduced his medications more. He is starting to vocalize more clearly and a few different sounds are beginning to appear. One great thing that seems to be happening (and we hope it continues) is that Gus seems to be developing an ability to calm himself down. If he gets really upset, he now gets over it and is back to smiling whereas before, we would spend a really long time calming him down, with little success.

We are in the middle of getting ready to move. We close on our house soon and then we'll quickly move on out, returning here to St. Louis for therapies and doctors' visits.

thank you for keeping up with us!

new stuff to learn

Christmas has come and almost but not quite gone yet. We'll be celebrating until the second week of January so our festivities continue on.....

We are all caught up with the excitement of our move to the country...the kids are counting the days until they can wander the hills and woods and their dad works only a couple of minutes down the road.

Amongst this excitement of future possibilities, there is an excitement in our home about Gus. This past week or so he has 'woken up' a bit more. He is more alert, more aware, and more involved with life. He enjoys putting his hands in the glue his OT uses for crafts, smearing it around and then loudly declaring that he enjoys or dislikes putting things on the paper. His attention now fixes on people, tracking them across the room when they come in and smiling quickly when they come close to him. Even in the ER, when having a port put into his arm, I was able to distract him by singing 'Old McDonald' to him and waiting for him to sing the 'O', which he happily did.

We visited this past week with a Feldenkrais Practitioner here in St. Louis. We went for a couple of visits to see how Gus would respond. The Feldenkrais Method (as far as I understand) is a method of movement that engages the brain and is primarily an educational tool, to teach people how to move better. For Gus, the education is for me and others who take care of him. The whole session is spent teaching us how to move him and how to teach him about his body. I took notes each time. The biggest, most important lesson we learned is how Gus moves. He currently moves from his chest. All of his movement, all of his effort, all of his energy is centered in his chest. We learned that most of his frustration and lack of coordination is because he is trying to make the movements through his chest instead of his abdomen and lower back.

Over the past year, we've developed some bad habits in how we've handled or positioned Gus. We often would move his head to the center or use his shoulders to straighten his back. Now that we know that his movement needs to come from his trunk, we are using that to reposition his back, his head, or any other movement. After doing this for just 5 days, we noticed that his shoulders and upper back were loose even without stretching. His arms are loose and stretch out more. He is also happier overall with much less frustration. He usually hates being left on his back on the floor but his comfort level in this has also increased. He is a great deal more tired but not crabby, just more relaxed. He even fell asleep in the carseat (he has hated car rides for a long time now).

This seemingly simple concept was completely unknown to us and has made a big impact on how we interact with Gus. Families with children with Cerebral Palsy talk about this method as well as the Anat Baniel Method (based on the Feldenkrais Method) and how much progress their kids make with them. These are not covered by insurance but most families familiar with them say that they are more worthwhile than many of the other therapies available. We are going to continue with this practitioner for the next few months and see if Gus continues to respond well.

Currently, there is concern by Gus' other therapists about his tight wrists. They would like to use Botox to loosen the tight muscle and allow time for the weaker muscles to gain strength and elasticity. We did this last year with his upper arms and progress was made with even just a small dose. With the progress of just this past week with new ways of moving him, we are encouraged to wait and see if we need to do a Botox treatment...already his wrists are more controlled.

We would appreciate any prayers concerning our knowledge and understanding to help Gus move better. One of the thoughts behind these methods, that I've read over and over, is that these kids can move, they just need to be shown how. Simple movements that Gus was taught last week he learned. I tried them on him later, and he repeated them - even moving his right shoulder toward his left knee. This is an answer of prayer for me. We covet your prayers. Thank you for caring.

moving to the country!!

Here's a few recent pictures...

Latest news....

we are moving to Cape Girardeau in the next few months...Matt got a great job working with a fantastic farm (www.familyfriendlyfarm.com)...so, we get to live in the country again and Matt gets to do what he loves best - working with sustainable agriculture.....

we are really busy with school, therapy, church, buying a house, and transfering everything (Gus is signed up to have therapy services from the Kenny Rogers Center in Sikeston, Missouri: http://www.kennyrogerscenter.org/ but we won't yet cut the ties we have with Ranken Jordan here)....

Gus really enjoyed watching Luke from our church perform in the Nutcracker on Ice (he really liked the lights and colors all over the place). It was a pleasant surprise to take him to an event and enjoy it.

Thank you for your continued prayers. Please pray that everything goes smoothly for our moving venture. I'd also like to ask you to pray that we get a vehicle that would meet our needs better. As Gus gets bigger, having a van that is handicapped equipped would be vital. We don't need one right now, but I'm putting my prayers in anyway. :)

Also, I'm concerned about Gus' back. We stretch, exercise, and move him around but scoliosis is a very real possibility for him unless he learns to sit up on his own and begin to move around (crawl, walk). I'm researching a bunch of stuff that others have said worked for them but most are too expensive. One method, offered close to here, is just within the affordable/but expensive range. We hope to try it out before we move to see if it helps him function better. It's called ABM: the Anat Beniel Method. Please pray that I would know exactly what to do and where to look to help Gus the best that I can.

We will be doing a swallow study on Gus again, to check out what he's doing in there.... Lately, he's been having panic attacks (freaking out) while eating, but not everytime. They want to make sure he's doing okay with food. Please pray that he is. We ask him what is wrong, but he can't tell us.

Thank you for your prayers. I know that is why God's grace is evident in our lives.
Gratefully, esther

Sleepy day today....


The next project we finished...a table for Gus' feeder seat (we do tons of stuff in the feeder seat so it's really nice to have the table for him). Matt and George just finished it last night and Gus already loves it.

Here's a picture of Rose reading Gus to sleep today...we wondered why he was so quiet.

beautiful day

Yesterday out again on his trike. (His hands are wrapped with Coban tape to keep them on the handle bars.)

...keep happening

Gus is doing better all the time. We thought he might plateau on his progress any time now but he just keeps surprising us. His desire to keep moving, suddenly rolling over or throwing himself out of our arms (only to laugh really hard at us) keeps us moving.

He is making new sounds but not really any words. We'd really appreciate prayer that he could speak clearly. It is so frustrating to him as he makes the same sounds over and over and we just don't understand him. He looks worried and confused often.




We finally finished the book:



We 'read' it every night to him, talking about the events of the day. Each of the items in the book are the same items we use when we go to do each thing. (For example, the rug stands for 'belly time' and the keys represent going somewhere in the car.) This will hopefully lead to an understanding that books are a representation of a story that happened, like with his book.



Molly is desperately trying to walk, but loves to show off how she can stand without support. We tell Gus that he feels the encouragement from her because lately, he wants to stand more on his own too. He suddenly holds himself up, with little or no help from us to maintain the stance (we do help him get to that position to begin with).

Thank you for praying...miracles keep happening. God is so good.

Communication Board

We had a visit yesterday from Jo, Gus' vision specialist. Her genius for communicating with kids with vision difficulties is amazing. I showed her the board we made last week and she modified it. The side with all of the 'visual cues' are some of the options we give Gus and would like him to choose from. She put two tabs of Velcro on the other side so that the choice is simplified. We take two options, place them on the other side and Gus chooses one. We are having him look at the one he wants and then touch it. Some days he refuses to look...other days, he refuses to touch...and then other days are fantastic and he does exactly what he needs to do. So, here's the modified version of the board. We'll be changing it as he gets faster and better at letting us know what he wants.





My homework from Jo is to make a book that we read to him each night with object cues representing the activities of the day. I'll let you know when that's done.

Trike Time!

Here's the finished tricycle...











He loves it. We've been around the block and he enjoyed every minute.














Even Molly likes it.












The communication board this past week has been a little bit more effective...he's actually grabbing the spoon when he's hungry!













This is the latest art project done with his home therapist (OT).
Hopefully we'll finish another project this weekend....

Over the last year and a half, we've been thrown into a world we knew nothing about. I found whatever I could online about anoxic brain injury and read tons of blogs. Some were helpful in just helping us to feel that we weren't alone. Others were helpful in telling what therapies worked well and which ones were not worth the effort. I've appreciated all of the help that others offered and in light of that, I'd like to let you know of the different projects we've come up with that have been helpful to Gus.

The Swing
This past spring, we made a swing, similar to the ones posted by others who have children with autism. I altered the design to use heavy duty upholstery material (super soft on one side) and made it with plenty of material so that he could grow with it. On one side I put snaps to support him so that he can sit sometimes while swinging. We put a dragon pillow in it for him to ride on when he is on his belly which helps support his head when he is a little too tired.

Eating
We've worked hard this past summer on having Gus eat by mouth with the goal of getting rid of his g-button. There were definitely some ups and downs but we've come far. One of the things that has made the biggest difference for Gus to want to eat is eating with us, especially the same food we eat. Now, if we are eating and holding him (after he has finished eating), he complains very loudly until we give him some of our food, until it is all gone (or at least until we say it is). Because he has done so well, the dietician said yesterday that we can cut back on more formula...hoping to be formula free very soon.

The Communication Board
To help with understanding him, our latest project is the communication board. A lot of the communication devices given to kids like him are electronic and expensive. Gus isn't at the point that he could get one of those (through insurance) but we needed to work on understanding him better so we made this board. Each of the objects represents something - the cloth diaper (to have his diaper changed), the red cup (to have a drink), the purple spoon (to eat some yummy food), the blue ball (to bounce on the exercise ball), and the pink wind-up butterfly (to play games with someone). As he gets faster, we'll add more options. The goal will be to have him look at the object and then touch the object that expresses what he wants to do. Eventually, we'd like him to be able to take them off and bring them to us (they are stuck on with a Velcro strip).

The Tricycle
Our next objective is to help him with walking. To help his brain establish the pattern needed for walking and running, a cycle is very helpful. The tricycles available for kids like Gus are pricey so we've bought a Radio Flyer trike with a long handle in the back (for the adult to steer with) and we're working on making a seat to support him. He loves being pushed around outside with his legs moving like that. We hope after a while he'll be walking better at therapy. I'll let you know when we finish with that one.

The Backpack
Last spring we started using a backpack for Gus. He rides on our backs when we go for walks. The rhythm of the walking and the outdoor input/stimulation has helped to calm him and give him the exercise he needs (he sits up straighter and his neck is stronger from it).

E-Stim
One of the therapies that have been really successful for Gus is E-Stim on his face. Twice a week, Gus has stickers put on his face that emit a small amount of electrical current, enough to stimulate the muscles to contract. Since this has started he has made new noises and is better at closing his lips.

HBOT
Many of the nearly-drowned children stories that I've read mention using HBOT, Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment chambers. They sound like they might help...but the cost is too much for us, thus we've not tried it yet.

Nutrition
For supplements, we've tried Spirulina and have seen remarkable difference within a few days for awareness with a quicker ability to respond. Also, we have not had any problems with his g-button irritating him as long as we keep up the spirulina and his daily dose of cod liver oil.

If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

Gus and the rest of us

The rest of us.... The kids are doing well in school, each absorbed in the different subjects they are studying. With all of the appointments I have to go to, we don't do much else besides school when I'm around. When I'm gone, they often do pottery, drawing class, guitar practice, read and other fun activities.

Ian enjoys the stretching of higher education. He is being introduced to Algebra, basic Chemistry, and Physics. However, his main love is still reading and sword fighting with George.

George has a growing interest in woodworking. We hope to get some practical lessons soon. As always, his culinary skills are fantastic and improving as he and Ian take over the dinners. He mostly enjoys spending his time reading and making food.

Rose at the grand age of 7, is beginning her apprenticeship in the kitchen but her favorite pastime is still fashion designing. She really enjoys drawing all sorts of fancy dresses for me...some covered in diamonds.

Fergus is learning to grab toys, make choices, and tell us what he wants. He is happier and happier the more we ask what he wants to do.

Molly is learning to not attack everything or everyone. She gladly takes the toys away from Gus and seeks after stray pencils.