'Til We Are Made Whole

Our life has been a little topsy-turvey lately. This summer we were struggling with water pressure for our well (which wasn’t unique just to us as the rainfall in the Hudson Valley has been quite low). Our landlords figured out a temporary solution, but it came to a head about 3 weeks ago. They decided to hydro-frack the well. We decided that while we were waiting we would head to my inlaws house in Pennsylvania. We packed our few belongings (and 5 children) and made the three hour trek. What we thought would be a few days is already more than two weeks and looking like closer to three before it’s fixed. We’re glad to have a place with clean and abundant water right now, but it would be nice to go home soon!

Although it hasn’t been a big waste of time. Since I lost my job at the beginning of October my full-time job has been helping my wife and job hunting. Thankfully I can do that from anywhere. We’re not having loads of luck on the job hunt side so you can please pray that the Lord would provide me a solid job that I can support my family on.

As a family we are doing well. The babies are now 12 weeks old today. We’re starting to see some of those developmental milestones for William. He smiles at you and likes making noises (talking) to us. Christina on the other hand is more limited. She rarely is calm for Tracy (she only wants to nurse) and even with  me, while she will be calm and look at you, she won’t smile and only occasionally makes a noise that isn’t a cry. We know that there’s a good chance she may have some cognitive limitations, and we want to prepare for that, but it’s a very sobering experience when one baby is making marked developmental changes and the other seems to be more stagnated. Now, it may be due to physical limitations due to her recessed mid-face or mouth construction, but we’re certainly not seeing the markers that we would normally expect. That and the constant runny nose and drooling (typical for Aperts kids) is a little different for us. She goes through 3 bibs a day!

God is good, and we love this little one. We love both William and Christina and it is amazing how we attach ourselves to them and connect with them differently and yet so much the same. In fact, I would say I’m closer to little Christina because she’s calmer with me and I like to take care of her. It doesn’t mean I don’t love William. It’s just different.

I know having twins would be a remarkable experience to begin with, and now even more so with a special needs child. But God is continuing to change us, for the better, to help love and care for all our kids, and all of the people who have been made in the image of God!

Upcoming appointments for Christina include our pediatric neurosurgeon, our craniofacial team, the genetics team to do a full work-up, and return visits to our pediatric cardiologist and ophthalmologist. Pray for all of these appointments and for us to get good support. Also pray, that if the Lord takes us out of the Hudson Valley for me to find work, that we find a new team of doctors for Christina.