Finding Balance

I'm going to warn you I'm little bit everywhere on this post.
Here it goes.
Having a big family is a challenge because

you have so many things that need your attention.

The kids need attention, 

I have one in in each stage of childhood 

a toddler, preschooler, elementary age,

pre-tween and high schooler.

my husband,

the house,

family,

friends,

my shop.

Sometimes I feel like I'm being pulled in many different ways

....I don't know which way to go. 

I need to find a balance. 

I don't want the kids to feel neglected,

I try to support each of them in all there activities.
It can be challenging at times...actually a lot of the time.
So what usually happens is that something is neglected and
for me that WON'T be my family.
So it is the blog and my shop. (And to be honest sometimes the house.)
My shop is not where I'd like it to be.
The blog is not where I want it to be.
But in the season of life that I am in,
it will have to be.
It doesn't mean I am not going to keep trying to grow/improve my shop or write on the blog.
Because honestly these two things release stress for me, it is my creative outlet.
I love making meaningful jewelry. (More on this later)
Also I have found I love to write and not only for me but for my kids,
there will come a day
when I can't remember
a story, or how I felt that day,
or remember how I felt when Daniel turned one.
Or perhaps our love story (which I still need to finish),
or our adventures.
The blog is where my kids one day can come and read about our adventures.
Maybe learn a lesson from one of my experiences.
It is a place where I can share my thoughts, my feelings and our journey.
It is my journal.

Anyhow, I guess what I am saying is that I won't beat myself up for
not writing as much as I ought to or want to.
I don't want to write just to put something on the blog,
I want my writing to be raw & genuine......to be me.
I won't be upset because my shop isn't as big as others.
I will continue to praise God for every order I receive,
which is a blessing from Him.
Because right now I have the most important job I'll ever have in my life and
that is to be a mom to these 5 amazing kids.
I don't want to miss out on being there for them.
They only stay little for a short amount of time.
I will be present and be in their lives.
I believe God will only give you so much you can handle.
He knows me better than I know myself and He knows whats best for me
and our family.
I will continue to trust in Him and praise Him.
Because everyday I need Him.
I can not be the mom, wife, woman, daughter, sister and friend that
He has called me to be on my own.
It is with His strength and grace alone that I can live each day.

So with that I hope you will stick around
and pop in every once an awhile
to see what we've been up to.

Daniel's Speech Therapy

Daniel has always being very laid back when it has come to his milestones.  When he was born he took his time trying to learn how to latch on to nurse. But he eventually caught on. When it came to cooing, smiling, even his first roll overs, sitting up, crawling and walking, it was all in his time. Not in the time that the books all said he was supposed to. He was always off about a few weeks up to a month on some milestones. Daniel just wasn't in any hurry. Which I kept saying it's fine because I didn't want to rush him as he is likely my last baby {He is baby #5, if you didn't know}. So I want to enjoy his babyness.....(I'm not sure if that's even a word, but I'm going with it).

However, I could see his pattern and  I began to get a little worried as when it came time to talk. You see he was babbling but not very often. He has a very quiet, sensitive and shy personality. He is similar to his older brother, Jimmy who had a speech delay when he was three. Jimmy babbled more but we just couldn't understand what he was saying. We signed him up for Speech therapy through the school district (which was a challenge to get him accepted in to the program, more on that experience later) and started the program. He was blessed with an awesome therapist who helped him. He has since graduated from the program last year at the age of 8.

My sister told me about this program that could help Daniel. They come to your house every week and work with him and it's free!! I didn't even know there were programs available to help with speech at 19 months old, let alone that they come to your home for free!! Oh my!! I was so happy, that just maybe someone could help us with Daniel and that we wouldn't have to wait to get help until the age of 3.

So we called & made the appointment for an evaluation to see if he qualified. They would evaluate him to see if he really needed any help at all. So I took him to the office and I was nervous. Part of me wanted him to qualify but at the same time it would mean he was behind. I didn't want him to be behind, but if he needs help I want him to be able to get the help he needs. I had a mommy feeling that I knew he needed the help but part of me was hoping I was wrong.

So they evaluated him in:
cognitive skills, fine & gross motor skills social skills, language (expressive and receptive) skills and self help skills.
He scored low in some of the areas.
So they were going to send someone to help in all areas that he was behind in. The following week after the evaluation we started his sessions with a sweet and patient therapist.

I wanted to share this with you because this is a chapter in our story and
I want to record it.

Also, sometimes as mom's we can second guess ourselves and not listen to our instincts. If you have a mommy feeling it's always good to listen to it. There are times when I should have listened to my feeling rather than someone else. Remember you know your child better than anyone, listen to your instinct.

Daniel has been in ST for 6 months now and we can see lots of improvement. He still has a long way to go and it can be frustrating at times, but he'll get there, all in his timing.