The Light at the End of the Tunnel

I see it.......the light at the end of the tunnel.  It is still quite far away, but I definitely see it.  I am feeling hopeful once again and I see our family well on its way to healing.  Levi is where he needs be and for the first time ever the help he needs is there too.  I just breathed a sigh of relief as I wrote that.  It is true.

Levi is living in a school district that is large enough to support the special education services and materials that he needs to be a successful learner.  He is getting specific supports and, as he says, "they can teach me the way that I am able to learn".  We do not fault our small school district for not being able to provide for his needs.  They certainly did their best with what was available.  But in the Parkrose School district he is learning!  Levi is striving to make personal gains, also, and his insight and determination is admirable.  He is very aware of what needs to change and he is anxious to work on his challenges.  Levi possesses a resilience that I have seen in many children with special needs or with challenging circumstances and it will serve him well throughout his life.

I mentioned before that Josh and Angie were struggling to make sense of the changes in our home and that was an understatement.  Toby and I have realized how much intense parenting our children need just in terms of our attention.  They have stepped aside out of necessity at times and we realize now that we may have missed something important in our distraction.  We have always said, "Everyone gets what they need when they need it", but what if everyone needs it at the same time?  We have amazing kids and they really are doing well in light of the difficult times we have experienced.  We are blessed by the outstanding people-teachers, coaches, friends, coworkers-who have treated the kids, and us, with compassion and understanding.  Your actions are noticed and appreciated.  Once again, we are thankful to belong to the community of Clatskanie.

So, we move right along.  It is still hard and we have some tough decisions ahead.  Seeing the progress and noticing the positives has helped and like all difficult things I think it will get easier with time. I can clearly see God's hand in our lives as He works out His plan for us.  Without that, I would be without hope.  He will work this out for good.