Well, it's almost here...Christmas, that is. I am excited about Christmas, mainly to see how our kids (and Jeremiah) respond to the mountain of gifts under our tree. Cate knows who Santa is (sort of) now and enjoys looking at the tree and the lights outside. I'm not sure if Will knows what's going on, but he will have a blast opening all his gifts and then playing with the paper and boxes. I'm not excited that I have to work on Christmas. It is supposed to be out-of-house call, meaning that I go in, see the patients, and go home on my pager. However, my out-of-house call shift yesterday was anything but at home. Luckily, the clinic isn't open on Christmas, and most people try not to come to the ER on Christmas unless they're super sick. We're having lunch at home. We were invited to one of my boss' house, which is super sweet of her, but being on call and traveling too far from home makes me nervous. Anyway, I'm very proud of myself because I purchased all the food for our Christmas feast for the low low price of $37! Woohoo! I've learned to shop very thriftily (if that's a word) and use coupons, price matching, etc. to save some pretty decent money. I'm very sad that we won't be able to spend the day with our family. We'll be thinking of them all day and probably talk to them on the phone several times during the day. I'm praying for a day of excitement in the morning with presents, then a quick time of rounding at the hospital, yummy lunch, and quiet evening at home. Anyone who wants to pray for the same thing certainly can. I hope all of you have a very merry Christmas, get everything you put on your list, get to spend lots of time with the people you love, and spend a few moments reflecting on the true meaning of the day. We love you, and Merry Christmas! ~ The Saunders Family
Video of Cate Singing
Enjoy this video of Cate singing some songs she learned at school. I couldn't get them to upload to Facebook.
Thanksgiving 2009 - Part 1
We made it to Montgomery yesterday to spend Thanksgiving with our families. The trip was pretty uneventful. Before we left Tulsa on Saturday, we took the kids to Sears to have their picture made with Santa Claus. Cate freaked out. She cried and cried, and we didn't get any pictures. She wouldn't take pictures with Santa, without Santa, in the other room with the festive background...she wasn't having it. So, after waisting basically an entire day in Tulsa (we could have left Friday afternoon if we hadn't stayed for the pictures), we hit the road. While we were driving, I got a phone call from my wonderful friend who was watching Baxter, our dog, on Saturday. She went to let him out, and he jumped the fence. She looked everywhere but wasn't able to find him. We made it into town on Sunday afternoon, and Will and Cate were very glad to see Gran and Papa. We got to visit with my brother and sister and have a great dinner together. My sweet friend has visited with our neighbors, driven around our neighborhood, etc. in an effort to find Baxter. Unfortunately, we still haven't had any contacts or news about him. We did put out a Home Again alert (the microchip thing), called our vet, and notified the local animal shelter. My friend is going by the shelter tomorrow to see if they have him. Cate is getting her hair cut tomorrow. It will only be her third hair cut ever. She is getting "a big girl bob." I'm really excited because I know how cute she's going to look. Then it's off to church for the traditional EHBC Thanksgiving dinner cooked by the one and only Al Steineker. After church I get to visit with my best friend Melanie and her husband. It's going to be a very busy week, but it will be a lot of fun. I'm excited that we're going to get to be together with all our families on Thanksgiving day. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with your families and friends and that God blesses you with many things to be thankful for.
Minnie Mouse
These are some pictures of Cate in her Minnie Mouse costume for Halloween. She LOVES Minnie Mouse. The first picture is the night before her class party - she just had to wear her ears. The second is one of her trying on her costume and checking it all out. The bottom picture is of her and some of her classmates in her preschool class during their Halloween party.
Times, they are a changin!
Well, as I was informed on Thursday, I have 7 months and 3 weeks left of residency. Yes, I am excited. And I'm even more excited about starting my fellowship and spending my days at work doing what I truly love. This does, however, bring along with it a lot of change. This is what I'm not so excited about. Those of you who know me know I don't do so well with change. I'm excited to be in Little Rock, where we'll only be about 8 hours from Montgomery. We'll also have access to any and all doctors Will might need. I do have a few friends there, so that will make the transition easier as well. My biggest fear and concern right now is finding a house. You see, we have to find a house in the right neighborhood so Will can go to be best special ed public elementary school. This has proven to be difficult so far. All of the houses are small and expensive, not a good combination. We're praying for a 3 (preferably4) bedroom and 2 (or even 2.5) bathroom house with at least as much space as we have now (about 2000 sq.ft.). We'd love more space but I'm not going to press my luck. We also need a fenced back yard and a landlord that will allow pets. We're also having to deal with getting Will's schooling arranged from Tulsa. He's having testing done in March, and then we'll be trying to get the IEP meeting set up. This is all hard to do from 4 hours away. I'm praying that my attendings will be lenient and allow me to go to Little Rock when I need to. We'll also be traveling there over the next 3 months or so for Will's MRIs and neurosurgery and neurology appointments. I'm also praying God will provide a good preschool for Cate. She is doing so well in the one she's in now, and she really needs it for the socialization with other kids. Finally, we're praying God will provide a church home like we have here in Woodlake. God is going mighty things at Woodlake, and we love Pastor Jamie. We're really sad that we'll be leaving this summer, but are going to enjoy every minute of until we're gone. Then, we are believing God will provide the same thing for us in Little Rock. Please continue to pray for our family and all of these needs that I've mentioned. We love you all and appreciate your support more than you'll ever know. Hope to hear from you soon. And, hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving. Love you!
Good news, bad news
Well, Mini Laps is over and it was great! Thanks to all of your support, Will raised a little over $6400! We exceeded our goal of $5000 thanks to all of you. We are so grateful to have your prayers, support, and concern for Will. He is doing well at school. This is his last year at The Little Light House, a thought that makes me want to cry. We will be moving to Little Rock in June, and he will start kindergarten there in the fall. We're on the look-out for a good public school with good special ed for Will there, so if any of you know of good special ed elementary schools in the Little Rock area, please let me know.
I was able to go to Cate's speech therapy today (for the first time in a long time). She has really been doing well at home with her speech. She's up to probably 150 words and is using 3-4 word sentences and phrases. She is not, however, talking at school or church. Her speech pathologist was hoping that this was just part of the usual progression of a child with expressive speech disorder, so we waited. She told us today that she thinks Cate has selective mutism, which is a disorder where the child talks and interacts in one environment but doesn't in another environment. She told me not to freak out or go googling it, and I'm not, but I also had to let it out. You guys are always so supportive and pray for us, so I wanted to let you know so you could pray for Cate. We're trying some techniques that are supposed to help her, and her prognosis is very good according to her speech pathologist. We are going to see her pediatrician to get the official diagnosis, but our speech path specializes in expressive speech disorders and this area, and says she meets all the criteria for diagnosis.
Anyway, that's the update for now on the kids. I'm in the NICU at OSU MC. I'm done with wards at Saint Francis!!! Hooray!!! I have several electives coming up and then will start my fellowship in developmental pediatrics in Little Rock in July. I'll be going to the AOA convention in New Orleans Nov. 1-5, so if you're in the area, come see me! That's all the excitement in our lives right now. Hope to hear from you guys soon.
I was able to go to Cate's speech therapy today (for the first time in a long time). She has really been doing well at home with her speech. She's up to probably 150 words and is using 3-4 word sentences and phrases. She is not, however, talking at school or church. Her speech pathologist was hoping that this was just part of the usual progression of a child with expressive speech disorder, so we waited. She told us today that she thinks Cate has selective mutism, which is a disorder where the child talks and interacts in one environment but doesn't in another environment. She told me not to freak out or go googling it, and I'm not, but I also had to let it out. You guys are always so supportive and pray for us, so I wanted to let you know so you could pray for Cate. We're trying some techniques that are supposed to help her, and her prognosis is very good according to her speech pathologist. We are going to see her pediatrician to get the official diagnosis, but our speech path specializes in expressive speech disorders and this area, and says she meets all the criteria for diagnosis.
Anyway, that's the update for now on the kids. I'm in the NICU at OSU MC. I'm done with wards at Saint Francis!!! Hooray!!! I have several electives coming up and then will start my fellowship in developmental pediatrics in Little Rock in July. I'll be going to the AOA convention in New Orleans Nov. 1-5, so if you're in the area, come see me! That's all the excitement in our lives right now. Hope to hear from you guys soon.
