Wow...not only has Christmas come and gone, but here we are half way through January already. It seems like ages since I updated Sam's blog....could be cuz it HAS been ages. So I have been kinda struggling to return to our normal daily goings-on but Meg and Luke started school again today so there's simply no excuse for me to still be lagging around in "holiday" mode. We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's and even manage to extend our little trip to six days thanks to Sam being fairly relaxed and comfortable, even with two changes to his environment over such a short period of time (pics to follow tomorrow!) and his health has been holding up quite nicely so far (touch wood).
So I cannot say that I am sad to see the back of 2009 which has been quite a challenging year for us, but I CAN say that I am unexpectedly thankful for some of those challenges...although, perhaps that is not entirely correct, rather that I am thankful for what we learnt about ourselves and each other as a family as a result of facing those challenges. I am by no means making light of Sam's "condition" or being disillusioned by what lies ahead for all of us and the chances are that when he falls ill again all positive thoughts will instantly vapourise (of course) but still, it is almost impossible not feel a certain amount of joy, thankfulness and pride at where Sam is today compared to where he was eight months ago...even six months ago. Granted his achievements are not the typical achievements a mom gushes about, but that's largely what makes them so special....like the fact that when you hold your hand out to him, he automatically lifts his own hand and places it in yours...kinda like a Sam Hi-5....and how he "anticipates" certain actions like when we are playing with him and tickle him once or twice on his tummy or neck, the second you start moving closer to him he automatically anticipates the tickling and starts laughing out loud long before you are anywhere close to making contact yet. He has also started dribbling quite alot and has discovered that the dribble in addition to his "talking" makes for far more interesting "sounds" and tends to make his "bfbfbfbfbfbf" sounds now almost exclusively when he has just finished a bottle (what's better than dribble? Milk + dribble of course)! I am almost certain that Meghan and Luke did the same things but I was probably so focused on the more acknowledged milestones or achievements like sitting, holding a bottle, crawling, etc. that I never took the time to notice the more interesting ones...but thanks to our Sam I have been given the opportunity to pay attention a little more carefully.
So, here's hoping that 2010's blessings and opportunities and lessons will far outshine whatever inevitable challenges it will also surely bring....and I pray this for each and every one of family (whether it be biological family or RTS family) and all of our friends. The thought of the unknown is so completely daunting and something we instinctively fear...who wouldn't like to know what's going to happen in the next year? But sometimes the "known" can bring with it endless limitations which cripple our paths, for example we could sit back and say "Well there's no chance Sam is going to walk this year or even crawl so there's no point focusing on those areas"....the unknown forces us to push our expectations and aspirations to the limit, where we might rather say "we just don't know if he will sit or crawl or walk" so we spend some time testing those areas and, although we might not get to that specific point, we find out along the way that there's something else, completely unexpected, that he can do.....like rollerblading or doing backstroke in the swimming pool! JUST KIDDING! But you get where I am going with this...... :-) It's all just a little exciting, isn't it?
operating the camera). The reason dad looks a little "strained" is because of his having to shorten his 6.3ft length to be able to fit into the pic with 5ft mom and half-pint Sammy!
Sammy with Oupa and Ouma (Chris' folks) who, unfortunately, rarely get to see him due to the four hour drive between our respective towns. But Oupa did offer on numerous occasions to have Sammy stay with them in Stilbaai!
