It Was an Emotional Week

 At least it has been emotional for Lola and Baymax.

I guess it was the previous week that got so emotional for Brother and Beowulf, but it all spread over the weekend, and then kind of spread to other kids.

Brother had an actual dissociative episode that needed to be discussed with his case manager, his psychiatrist, and our FSP.  

That's a lot of time talking with professionals!

The good thing is that his meds are working well enough that he actually was able to remember the episode after it was over, and he was able to talk about how he saw the world.  

This is unusual, but his psychiatrist still says it was a dissociative episode.

Even though the experience was tough for everyone, we are certain it was not the result of a poor medication regimen, rather it was a one-off from a stressful week of having Sir Walter Scott gone, our van not working, rehearsals and shows for Newsies, etc.

All of the adults consulting on his case agree that his meds are actually working so well that he actually was able to exercise some self-control within the episode, and we are very grateful for how well he's doing.

Baymax and Lola, on the other hand, have had massive outbursts several times in the past week.  Baymax's have been bad enough that he's needed to be restrained, and it has taken 2+ hours to talk him down into a functional state.  Lola's emotional outbursts have been short, weepy, and loud.  They seem to work for her, as she calms down and can communicate once she finishes.

All of this is to say that I have felt stretched very thin and have had a hard time thinking clearly/functioning effectively myself.

Nonetheless, the teens and I read poetry by Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor.  We also started "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Johnathan Edwards and have made progress in The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.

Nature Angel finished Algebra II!!!!

She spends hours each day working on making her own paint pigments with natural materials.  This is a project for Visual Arts, and she has thrown her heart and soul into it.  Every time I walk past her, I want to take a picture, but I don't have my camera in my hand, so that doesn't work!

One of these days I'll capture her deep in the moment!

Little Princess fell off her bunkbed (missed a ladder step) and landed on her ankle quite badly.  We weren't sure what the damage was at first, but she broke out into a sweat and felt faint when it happened.  We iced, elevated, and administered ibuprofen for the first 12 hours.  When it was clearly swollen, and she was still unable to walk the next day, we headed to the orthopedist, and they diagnosed a severe sprain.

She's in a boot for the next 6 weeks.

In those 6 weeks, she has Encampment staff training, church girls' camp, and Encampment!

We got the doctor to write a letter saying she can participate as much as her boot will allow, because all three of these events have very strict rules about permissions concerning medical issues.  We have a copy to file with each organization so that she won't be sent home!

Pain and stress affected her ability to do schoolwork, but she did an admirable amount of math, reading, research, and writing.

The younger kids' school schedule was affected by the mental health consults, the doctor appointment, picking up our fixed van, returning the rental van, and the Newsies cast and crew party.  

Nonetheless, we were able to finish Mama's Bank Account and Summer of the Monkeys.  We continued reading from The Story of Chemistry, The Story of the World vol. 1, and The Lilac Fairy Book.  

I chose Alice in Wonderland to take the place of Mama's Bank Account.  This crew of kids did not like it the first time I read it aloud to them a couple of years ago, but they're older now, and it's such a classic that I felt it was time to try it again.  We've only read the first chapter, but I caught Lola sitting bolt upright, watching me intently as I read.  A couple of the boys laughed and made comments about the rabbit hole, too, so I think I'm on the right track with re-reading it now.

Because of his experience with Summer of the Monkeys, Baymax is now reading Where the Red Fern Grows.  I warned him that it's a tear-jerker and might change him forever, but he's determined.  

Old-fashioned marble games and chess have been all the rage with these youngest 6 kids for the past week.

We made a couple more salads out of the garden, and these first 3 sugar snap peas were enjoyed by Lola, Baymax, and me.  Beowulf got the next ripe one, and the kids have kept a careful eye on the developing peas so that they can all be sure to get to pick and eat their own.

At church activities, Baymax got to plant snapdragon seeds for me as a Mother's Day gift.  He was so, so proud to give them to me this morning.  Lola wrote letters to her church pen pal, and she was thrilled to deliver her letters this morning, too.

The kids in the youth program all played physical games--the girls played chair soccer (which is more physical than it sounds), and the boys played capture the flag.  They all came home sweaty and happy.

We had crazy rain storms the previous week; now that the storms were over, my kids played in the creek almost every day.  Baymax told me he found a little spot that was deep enough to completely submerge himself, and there are muddy swimsuits and towels all over the deck.  

I wished about 15 different times that I had been out with them with my camera in hand, but I was in the kitchen most of the time.  I don't regret feeding the kids or making sure we had enough clean dishes to eat from, but I do wish I knew how to do it all. 

 Mister Man, Brother, and Ladybug went with Sir Walter Scott to help a church family move from their rental house back into their newly-fixed-after-a-fire home.  At the same time, Beowulf and Baymax went to their gardening apprenticeship session.  All of the kids came home shining with the light of service and/or new lessons learned.

The new chicks have settled nicely into their new home, and they're growing beautifully.  Little Princess got one of the chicks out for Sugar Bear, and their communion was a sweet moment.

Pixie is in her last semester of college.  She graduates in July, and she is mentally and emotionally done with the experience already!  She's going through the motions, doing what she has to do to get that diploma.  What happens next for her is not solidly defined, but she has some good options open.

Super Star is working happily and happily married.  She's doing a lot of study on her own--math, literature, history, home improvement, landscaping.  It's actually very validating to hear her talk about all of the things she is learning of her own volition because it means that she does love learning and she knows how to learn what she wants and needs to know.

Somehow, I did something right for her in our homeschool!

Belle is down to her final 6 months of missionary service on the ABC islands.  She is still learning Spanish and Papiamentu.  She is also learning leadership skills, how to communicate with others, teamwork, time management, advocacy--for herself and the other young women serving with her, humility, patience, and a whole host of other things as well.  She is in a constant state of "adulting," and I get a lot of joy out of seeing her sweet face in our video chats each week.

Rose Red is learning her own worth.  She comes across as brazen or even arrogant at times, but that's a cover for what's really happening in her heart and mind.  This past week, she printed a whole batch of resumes on her quest for a job that will fulfill her growing sense of self, and in the mean time, she keeps working hard at her current job.

Today Nature Angel gave a talk in church on honoring our mothers.  She did a beautiful job weaving scripture, literature, psychology, and practical suggestions together as she honored a myriad of ways women can be nurturers.  I've been aware that she's growing up--I've certainly written about it enough--but watching her at the pulpit today was one of those breathtaking moments of motherhood when I looked at my baby girl and saw a beautiful young woman.

I wrote a few weeks ago about wanting to be intentional about making memories with my children in these final years of childhood.  I started off immediately with a little campfire, hot dogs, and marshmallows.  I did well one week when we spontaneously headed to the art museum to look at the mummy and ancient statues.  We hosted the American Rhythm costume return (which was a big party for all of the kids).  Being crew for Newsies took up a couple of weeks straight.  So many days are filled with feeding, cleaning, and meeting their needs in boring ways that I look back and can't find anything memorable!

I did buy a rather enormous number of bags of marshmallows so that campfires are easier to decide to build.  I have a plan forming for the summer months--museum visits, swimming with cousins, etc.  Most of all, though, I hope that my consistency in having popsicles always in the freezer, reading stories most nights before bedtime, gathering for Morning Meeting each week day, and serving meals to be eaten on the deck or front porch will become joyful memories for my crew.

On that note, a new week starts in just a few hours, and I'm headed to bed.

Here's to the making of good memories!