All reports from the north land of Bay Cliff is that Donovan is doing very well. We are making final preparations to get our boy home with all the pomp and circumstance as possible. Bridget had a long talk with two of D's counselors, and we are very excited with the progress he is making and that he is having fun.
We received a postcard and a couple of letters from D telling us great news of adventures and fun. Sleeping under the stars, frog hunts, fishing expeditions, jumping into the pool, by himself, for the first time! etc...
It will be a challenging week as I'm heading back to Wisconsin to help my parents on Tuesday and I will meet up with Bridget and Carl in Marquette on Friday or Saturday, as we collect Emma from a Youth Camp in Munising and Donovan from Bay Cliff.
Another crazy week in a summer of them. Only this one has a wonderful happy home coming!
Can't wait to hear Donovan yell down the stairs,,,, MMMMOOOOOMMMMMMM........DDDDAAAAADDDDD!!
Donovan on his new bike
Thank you Mary Free Bed "Bikes for the Rest of Us"
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Donovan Letter #6 - "2"
The significance is mild..... Two kids I'm trying to get up (Bridget is at the Farmers Market), 2 dogs running around my feet (we are taking care of Victor, our neighbors dog), Dos rounds of The Open are left to enjoy with my coffee this weekend (love getting up and having golf with my coffee), and
TWO WEEKS UNTIL WE PICK UP DONOVAN!!!
Oh and two weeks to figure out our schedule to get up there, get back and determine how we celebrate his home coming! We still have the yellow smiley face balloons floating around our house from when he came home from MaryFreeBed (MFB), as is the big poster of him we used for a fund raiser for The Equest Center. Can you believe he started riding horses at 18 months old and now he is 9 years old....
Lots to do.......... Emma is going to a camp in the UP for a week so the last week of July we will be down to Carl in the house, and he has football camp that week so he'll be gone half the days that week. House to get in order, gardens going crazy, a another trip to the farm next week, start planning on stuff for the fall, soccer practices for Carl, Emma is joining her middle school "Crew" team (rowing)..... Getting Donovan ready to go back to school and catch up on reading, writing, math, etc....
We got a post card from Donovan last week telling us he is having fun and making progress. His counselor wrote that they went fishing, frog hunting, and biking.... The picture above is from the Bay Cliff Facebook page. When they raise their hands everyone is suppose to settle down. Bridget figures D is scolding someone to be quiet... I concur based on his facial expression!
Donovan is changing so much at this age. I was showing my dad pictures of Donovan from when we visited them in December and when he came home from MFB. The change is significant. Most of it is due to his braces and the impact it had on his face, but he is also growing up, both physically and emotionally. Guess you notice it more with your last born.
With Carl and Emma, you noticed but we also had Donovan to fall back on having a little guy, so the impact wasn't as great. I'm curious, excited and a little nervous to see the 7 week change. Not only the growing up part, but mainly the progress in his therapy. This was a lot to put him and our family through (although you'd never know it by talking to Carl and Emma), and we have to manage our expectations......
D's doctor, Dr. Forness (wonderful doc and person), said it will take a full year to recover, so even though we say great progress, much improvement in his walk and gait before he left, we want to be sure we don't expect too much from camp.
That's the final "Too"......... Maybe more significant than I thought...
TWO WEEKS UNTIL WE PICK UP DONOVAN!!!
 |
| What do you suppose he is saying? |
Lots to do.......... Emma is going to a camp in the UP for a week so the last week of July we will be down to Carl in the house, and he has football camp that week so he'll be gone half the days that week. House to get in order, gardens going crazy, a another trip to the farm next week, start planning on stuff for the fall, soccer practices for Carl, Emma is joining her middle school "Crew" team (rowing)..... Getting Donovan ready to go back to school and catch up on reading, writing, math, etc....
We got a post card from Donovan last week telling us he is having fun and making progress. His counselor wrote that they went fishing, frog hunting, and biking.... The picture above is from the Bay Cliff Facebook page. When they raise their hands everyone is suppose to settle down. Bridget figures D is scolding someone to be quiet... I concur based on his facial expression!
Donovan is changing so much at this age. I was showing my dad pictures of Donovan from when we visited them in December and when he came home from MFB. The change is significant. Most of it is due to his braces and the impact it had on his face, but he is also growing up, both physically and emotionally. Guess you notice it more with your last born.
With Carl and Emma, you noticed but we also had Donovan to fall back on having a little guy, so the impact wasn't as great. I'm curious, excited and a little nervous to see the 7 week change. Not only the growing up part, but mainly the progress in his therapy. This was a lot to put him and our family through (although you'd never know it by talking to Carl and Emma), and we have to manage our expectations......
D's doctor, Dr. Forness (wonderful doc and person), said it will take a full year to recover, so even though we say great progress, much improvement in his walk and gait before he left, we want to be sure we don't expect too much from camp.
That's the final "Too"......... Maybe more significant than I thought...
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Donovan Letters #5....
Traveling.
I haven't been home much since dropping you off and it just adds to the "weirdness" of this summer. I've been away more than at home. Mom received another card from you with a little more description of you activities for the week. You talked of frog hunting (slimy frogs), swimming and going on the deep end, the 4th of July parade, playing with your friends, all under the context of having fun!
Can't wait to see you. 23 days, 5 hours, 51 minutes and 30 seconds, 29, 28, 27.....
This will always be known for me as the "Transition Summer". Someday I'll tell you why it is that, but I have to process it all a little more before I can talk about it in a single blog post. I'm just glad you are having fun, learning, working hard, and enjoying mom's care packages with your friends.
Nana and Papa ask how you are doing all the time. I've been spending time with them this summer to help out with the farm and around the house. This is the last summer Papa is going to make hay and grow oats. Transitions....
Did I tell you I miss you.....
Dad.....
I haven't been home much since dropping you off and it just adds to the "weirdness" of this summer. I've been away more than at home. Mom received another card from you with a little more description of you activities for the week. You talked of frog hunting (slimy frogs), swimming and going on the deep end, the 4th of July parade, playing with your friends, all under the context of having fun!
Can't wait to see you. 23 days, 5 hours, 51 minutes and 30 seconds, 29, 28, 27.....
This will always be known for me as the "Transition Summer". Someday I'll tell you why it is that, but I have to process it all a little more before I can talk about it in a single blog post. I'm just glad you are having fun, learning, working hard, and enjoying mom's care packages with your friends.
Nana and Papa ask how you are doing all the time. I've been spending time with them this summer to help out with the farm and around the house. This is the last summer Papa is going to make hay and grow oats. Transitions....
Did I tell you I miss you.....
Dad.....
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Donovan Letter #4....
It's Tuesday, July 2nd and I'm in my chair thinking of D as Carl and Emma play on the tramp, Buster is jumping around them barking and Bridget is walking around her gardens, seeing how they grow. No cockle shells required...
We got another post card from Donovan with funny stuff, a phone call from Erin, a phone call from the Bay Cliff staff and several other interactions reassuring us D is doing well. God continues to provide us with little signs of reassurance that He, and all our family who have joined him, are watching over Donovan with great care.
When I got off the ferry in Ludington last Friday night to start the last leg of my journey home, a rainbow formed over the highway as I entered the ramp to get on it. Sunday, at church, Bridget was praying for Donovan after receiving communion, and a clown (dressed up in full rainbow color attire) walked down the aisle next to us to receive communion too! (The church was celebrating their summer festival) Emma, Corinne and Aunt Julie Kaboolie saw lots of rainbows on the PALM ride during the week.
All the reassurance in the world doesn't change how odd I feel, or how much Bridget misses our D. A friend of mine called today to ask we are doing. I said we are fine, etc. etc. but it is the most unsettling summer I can recall. I just feel weird.
A large part of it is Donovan being gone (almost three weeks now), my dad announcing this is the last year he will make hay and oats on the farm (we are leasing out the remainder next year), the maturing of Carl and Emma, as they have stepped it up since Donovan left, and the realization that none of our kids are little any more.
Of course it could be too that I watched two Adam Sandler movies with my kids and they are getting most of the humor now. Happy Gilmor and Grownups. Just doesn't seem right!
Oh well..... Life transitions ....
We got another post card from Donovan with funny stuff, a phone call from Erin, a phone call from the Bay Cliff staff and several other interactions reassuring us D is doing well. God continues to provide us with little signs of reassurance that He, and all our family who have joined him, are watching over Donovan with great care.
When I got off the ferry in Ludington last Friday night to start the last leg of my journey home, a rainbow formed over the highway as I entered the ramp to get on it. Sunday, at church, Bridget was praying for Donovan after receiving communion, and a clown (dressed up in full rainbow color attire) walked down the aisle next to us to receive communion too! (The church was celebrating their summer festival) Emma, Corinne and Aunt Julie Kaboolie saw lots of rainbows on the PALM ride during the week.
All the reassurance in the world doesn't change how odd I feel, or how much Bridget misses our D. A friend of mine called today to ask we are doing. I said we are fine, etc. etc. but it is the most unsettling summer I can recall. I just feel weird.
A large part of it is Donovan being gone (almost three weeks now), my dad announcing this is the last year he will make hay and oats on the farm (we are leasing out the remainder next year), the maturing of Carl and Emma, as they have stepped it up since Donovan left, and the realization that none of our kids are little any more.
Of course it could be too that I watched two Adam Sandler movies with my kids and they are getting most of the humor now. Happy Gilmor and Grownups. Just doesn't seem right!
Oh well..... Life transitions ....
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