Another Stage and Starting Therapy!

   The last two to three months have marked a new stage for us! In one sense, we feel like we can finally breathe after a year of anticipating surgeries, living on little sleep, and transitioning to life in the United States. We can finally pour more into the relationships around us and be more involved in our church community and people around us. On the other hand, we feel like we are still in transition. Marvin continues in his process of figuring out how to make a living in the United States. I have started a small business as an independent beauty consultant and, of course, continue my full-time job as a mom of two small children. On top of that, Joel is starting therapy for the first time! We are thankful to still have Hailey living with us though-she is a tremendous support and help at the Lopez house! We miss the slower pace of life in Honduras, but we know God is teaching us, shaping us, and changing us through this process, and we know this is just another stage, so we focus our eyes on Him, the author and perfecter of our faith, and as long as the pillar of cloud that led us to Dallas remains here, we will remain here also. I am learning to be more disciplined and wise with my time which does not come naturally for me! Pray that God would daily open our spiritual eyes so that we will be able to take advantage of the many opportunities in our daily walk to invest eternally and not get caught up in the busyness of life!

   I am happy we waited until now to start therapy with Joel! I feel that that extra thing on our plate this past year wouldn't have been wise, and his specialist didn't think he needed it and keeps reassuring us that he will eventually catch up. Now though, at 20 months old, as we continue to see very little motivation in him to progress with his gross motor skills, I feel more and more that I need direction and accountability to push and help him to start standing and walking, and with no more planned surgeries around the corner, this seems to be the right time! So far, we have had two initial evaluations! It has been so interesting to see how Joel has scored on the tests. He is very behind in his gross motor skills (he scored at 7 months!), which we already knew, but we were surprised when Joel scored at 25 months for his fine motor skills! It is amazing to see what he can do with his little fingers! Joel has a really good attention span and really concentrates on the tasks that he wants to accomplish-things like putting long lines of train tracks together or unscrewing all the little parts of a pen to take it apart. He scored at 30 months in the personal-social area, and 24 in the cognitive area! He really is such a smart little boy! It has been delightful to see him understanding and communicating so much! The main focus of the therapy will be to help him tolerate sensory play activities to decrease the sensitivity in his hands and feet. He will also be receiving some occupational therapy to encourage him with activities such as stringing beads and encouraging him to use his left hand (the one that has been through trauma!) like he uses his right hand. All the therapy will be happening at our home, and we are so grateful for this direction. Please pray that Joel will start standing and cruising soon and that God will give us wisdom to make the best decisions for him!
 
   Also, please pray for Joel as he goes through another routine sleep study on August 16th to be screened for sleep apnea once more! The night in the hospital will be very unpleasant for our little man! It is so hard to make him go through these things when he doesn't understand, but we know it is for his good!