He Misses Him

Cheney is back at Wheaton.  He is so excited to be back and so thankful that he has the opportunity to return for his junior year.  Since things were up in the air about him returning, we did not prepare ourselves mentally to say goodbye.  We decided on a Wednesday morning and Alan and Cheney boarded a train for Chicago that night. It was hard.  Davin had gone to bed that night since he still had school the next day.  Cheney went in to lay with Davin for a while and then told Davin that he needed to go take a shower, but would come back.  Davin (who usually goes right to sleep) waited for Cheney to be done.  I went in and asked if Davin would like to get up and sit with Cheney a while.  Davin just pointed to his pillow where he wanted Cheney to lay down.  Cheney hopped in with his brother and laid with him while Davin fell asleep.  I think that is the hardest part for me.  When I watch them together, I feel like my heart is hurting to think of them not being together.

The next night, it was just me and Davin.  Davin had been fine in the morning, but he does not usually see Cheney in the mornings.  After he had been in bed for a while, I went in to check on him since he was still awake and that was odd.  I believe there were tears in his eyes.  I thought my heart would break.  He missed his brother.  It is hard to say goodbye to your  big brother.  Davin had a rough night trying to sleep that night and the next day his teacher wrote me that he looked lost and sad.  Poor Bubby!

Thankfully our Bethany Alyssa arrived here on Friday and we get to enjoy her company for a week and Daddy returned home today:-)

Which Way?

We are having some major problems with Cheney going back to Wheaton this year.  He was all set to head back, but finances are far from situated.  I'm watching a young man try to figure out what to do and be pretty content with whatever way God leads. 

Lord, whatever you have to do in Cheney's life to grow him into the man you want him to be, please do it.  If you can do it at Wheaton, please provide a way.  Please let us be content and know that You are in control. 

Special

Davin has quite a few cousins.  They all love him.  They are all happy to see him.  No doubt about that. 

There is one cousin who has a special relationship with Davin, though.  I got to watch them together this week.  It was priceless.  My boy has had friends through his life, but very few friends who talked to him, included him, and understood him.  Trey is that kind of friend. 

Aside from Cheney, I do not think I have ever seen someone else know that Davin wanted to hold their hand as they were walking beside his chair.  Trey knew.  As soon as Davin reached out his hand, Trey (who is 13 years-old, by the way) took Davin's hand and held it as he walked next to Davin. 

Every day that Trey was here visiting, he made sure he was outside in time to see Davin get off the bus.  He knew how excited Davin was to see him. 

Trey takes the time to figure out what Davin wants to do and he spends time with him.  It is a beautiful thing. 

Friendships for our kids can always be difficult to watch.  We watch our kids be ignored at times, left out at times and treated badly at times.  When you have a child who cannot speak, it happens a lot.  Many times other children just don't know how to include Davin.  I don't know why Trey knows how to do it, but he does and I feel blessed to have watched their relationship this week. 

Can You Tell?

Can you tell Davin is glad to have his cousins here?

We went for a walk tonight and I am pretty sure that most of our town could hear Davin squealing, hollering and laughing:-)

Passing on Some Memories

My sister and I are only 18 months apart in age.  My kids are quite a bit older than hers, though.  My kids grew up with my parents pre-traumatic-brain-injury.  There is a difference. 

When my kids were growing up, my Mom and Dad would come and visit us in upstate NY.  My Dad would always ask for a volunteer to go with him to Wegmans.  Without fail, while in Wegmans, they visited the HUGE bulk candy section and came back with HUGE bags of candy for everyone.  It was special because it was just my Dad and one of my kids at a time going on an adventure.  My Dad still talks about those trips to Wegmans. 

My sister's kids are young enough that most of their memories of my Dad are after his traumatic brain injury.  My Dad no longer has a driver's license, so he can't just take one of my sister's kids to the store or to Burger King or to look at birds in a favorite spot. 

Today I got to take my niece and nephews to Wegmans and show them the HUGE bulk candy section.  It was a big hit.  My Dad wasn't there, but it is still part of his memory.  I called my Dad and left a message letting him know that his grandchildren got to experience Wegmans' candy section.  I know it will bring a smile to his face and now Jen's kids share in this Pop Pop memory just a little bit:-)

The Beach

To me, growing up in New Jersey, the beach is at the ocean.  In upstate New York, the beach is at a lake.  Today we visited a state park and swam in Lake Ontario.

My sister and her kids are here visiting this week:-)