Finding the beauty....

So it has been a while since we have been on here and in some ways it is symbolic of the fact that life is going on at a frantic pace. It is difficult to look back now and realize that it has only been a couple of months. It truly feels as if the external fixator is a natural part of our family now! I can't believe we are truly at this point. It has been such a process of growth and learning. When I wrote the little title for this blogg, I truly didn't know how correct that would be!

Caleb continues to amaze us with his determination to live his life to it's fullest without limitations! He has come through these months with a stronger sense of perserverance and determination. I would like to say he is more patient, but that is still something that tends to be a struggle for him, esp when he is tired! However who can blame him??

He is at school full time and we made the decision a couple of weeks ago to pull him out of most of his appointments. We discovered that the frustration he had when he had to stop school and trudge into the hospital, really impacted his mood and compliance. So his life is his therapy!! He is in the pool most days, climbing the playground at school, playing soccer on his crutches, even on the trampoline at parties. He is now doing his own pinsite care and I rarely have to look at them. We have only had one more mild infection and that cleared up quickly with some antibiotics.

We realized this week just how high Calebs pain treshold is- we noticed one night that his left ankle was black and blue and swollen. After asking him about it, he explained that he had twisted it at school, but just kept playing.

He has learnt how to manage his own pain and very rarely has breakthrough pain releif. It has been a mush better outcome for him to be on his new meds which keep his pain levels under control on a continual basis.

And so we are into the last to weeks of school. The other kids are now finding they have more access to mummy and daddys' attention. We have had beach day at school for Jameson, Mollys kindy christmas party, Mollys birthday, an excursion for Jameson and many other weekly things which have kept the pace of life in fast forward. We also came out of our last specialist appt only to find our car had been crashed into and was undriveable for 2 weeks. Dugald has also been travelling between here and China for the past four weeks, so it is a blessing when he is home.

Caleb gets his silver behaviour award on Monday, which is a testimony to his determination during this process. He has truly risen through the pain and struggle to not be defined or restricted by it and he has managed to find a way to not only continue to survive but thrive in the midst of it.

This process is a long way from over- we still have to have another surgery to remove the ex fix, have a cast for a week and then wear a pressurized boot for 6 months. There is now talk of possible surgery on his foot next year as well. However we have learnt to live life to the fullest in the moment we have ahead of us. We have learnt not to have expectations and to put most of our days into perspective. It is truly a freedom not to be bound by the small things that come our way- each day will bring with it challenges, but we can only control one thing- our response and our thoughts. There will always be the ugly in our life, but we can choose to look for the beauty in EVERYTHING! WE are also called to BE the beauty in all circumstances. By realising our expectations and simplifying our lives we find that there is so much to be grateful for! For us it is about coming back to the word of God!! DO I TRUST THE LORD OR NOT? If I do then what can come against us? What can seperate us from the love of God and all that He is? I'll be honest, it is not always easy but we have so much to be overwhelmingly grateful for each and every second- now we are more aware of it and that in itself is beauty for us and our little family!!