So much to post, so little time.

It's been wild around here lately. I have MANY pictures to post, but have far too much work to do tonight to get them added right now. I have thought so many times of things I needed to post, but have not made the time to do so. For those of you who keep up with us via this blog, I apologize.

First things first. Kids turned 5 on 11/06/10!! 5 years old. No denying they are no longer babies, and that makes a small part of my heart sad. We had lots of festivities for their birthday, including a trip to an indoor water park, and a family birthday party at Mom's house, complete with presents, balloons, and the flu. Yep. the Flu. Not. FUN. BUT, this is the third yr the kids have gotten the flu, and even though they are medically high risk, the sky did not fall. The media wants us to fear the flu, but please remember, we have all had the flu at one time or another. obviously, we didn't get the flu shot, but we are using the influenzinum homeopathic flu vaccine. Braylen had received his first round (out of 6 total rounds) and was diagnosed with the flu the next day. Obviously he had already been exposed. Kynsie was 4 days later and kyan 5 days after Braylen. I filled the Tamiflu prescriptions, but called our Osteopath, Dr. Michael Bernui. He suggested I treat Braylen with homeopathic medicine called Oscillococcinum. I followed his instructions and Braylen was better 20 minutes after the first dose. He had no fever the next day as I continued to give the Oscillo. After his positive flu test on Tuesday, he was completely recovered by Thursday and went to school, and never looked back. Teachers were stunned, but agreed with me that he was definitely 100%. Kyan was sick less than 24 hrs. Kynsie had a worse case adn was sick 4 days, and has a secondary infection now that basically is a yucky cough, no doubt aggravated by her asthma. So, if the flu hits your house, check out Oscillo. Homeopathic flu vaccine and meds obviously shortened the life of the virus significantly.

Other news, Kynsie had an IEP. Nothing but good news! She is no longer on Special Ed roll. That means she is not a special ed student anymore. She is in a regular class, and has OT & speech. She does have 1 hr a wk special ed consult, which means a special ed teachers talks with her teacher to offer suggestions if she is struggling in an area. That is it. She is obviously on track for regular Kindergarten and is excelling in academic skills. She reads well now, which blows my mind. I am buying her level 2 reader books. (Braylen too) Her only real struggle is fine motor, so we are going to be working on that at home and at school. The big issue now is that Knox county special ed beyond pre-k is INCREDIBLY questionable. I have friends who have had the following experiences in different Knox county schools: 1. Autistic son handcuffed by officer at school b/c he was having a fit. There are protocols for this, and handcuffs are NOT a part of it. School did not tell parents. 2. Autistic boy was slapped by a teacher (elementary). 3. Autistic child left in a puddle of urine b/c teacher didn't want to deal with potty-training even though it was in his IEP. 4. Mother of Downs Syndrome child suing Knox cty schools b/c they are not following the law in regards to offering inclusion education for her child.

This is just 6 months of info. I am less than thrilled at the prospect of my children being in that environment, but at this point have no idea what other options we might have. I am looking into a local home school co-op school and a move isn't out of the question, but there are a few hurdles to clear. First, Cutie Tooties has not sold, but I am meeting with yet another potential buyer tomorrow. Please pray. I am really stressed about it and have really questioned my decision, even though I believe I made the right choice. Just really hoping it sells. I have applied for a job to be a crisis pregnancy counselor for Bethany Chrsitian Services. I am not sure I am totally qualified, but I believe I would LOVE the job.

Brandon has applied for a couple of jobs within State Farm, but has not been offered an interview as of yet. So the limbo continues. Prayers for our future and peace in the present are greatly appreciated. More to come soon, including loads of pictures.