November 9 10:30 PM

Hello dear friends,
Sorry to keep you all waiting, the birthday visit went very good!  Micah was happy to see everyone and even got to get on the Skype camera and see his grandparents in India.  They had not seen him and had been anxiously waiting and even blew them a kiss (minus the hand motion).  It was good, but short and we are looking forward to the time when we get to take him home for good.  Micah has not been sleeping well again and I think a lot of it has been due to the issue of "regularity"  which they have been working on.  Last night they decided to start giving him something to help him sleep for a while so that he can get into a routine.  He slept very well last night and had a great day today.  He was happy and alert when I took the kids to see him.  I was trying to find a way to get him to stick that tongue out and I may have an answer.  I only tried it once so far, but I took a sucker with me (we're not really supposed to put anything in his mouth) and put it just outside the teeth.  Once he got the flavor, he wanted the sucker!  Eventually, with some visual aids his tongue did touch the sucker several times.  Poor kid, I don't know what he's thinking when several of us are standing around sticking out our tongues and then cheering when we see his, lol! 
Micah used his eyes several times to answer questions for me today, looking at certain people or things as a yes or no to a question.  He had not been holding his head up, and thought the OT said that we may see more of this as he tries to use his arms more, it just looks so uncomfortable.  Even when he is just sitting, his chin will literally be on his chest.  We would pull his head up and hold it putting pressure on the shoulders to get him to relax the neck.  I noticed there is also a knot on his neck and when I would massage that spot he would relax and lay his head back.  I asked him if his neck hurt to look at a certain person and he turned his head and looked right at her.  After a couple of minutes I asked again just to be sure and he looked again.  I think he needs an adjustment, so if anyone knows of a good chiropractor in St. Louis please let us know.  He smiled at me quite a lot after this, I don't know if he was just happy or happy that I understood him.  I'm sure he gets frustrated trying to communicate with his eyes only.  
One other thing, his right arm is doing much better, more relaxed and he is even trying to use it a little, praise God for that!  That arm has been a real point of concern for me for some time now.  Now if we can get that tongue moving....
That is a lesson for me all in itself.  Our tongues can easily get us into trouble due to too much use, lol.  I sometimes, and I'm sure I'm not alone, get into trouble from lack of use!  God speaks to us all the time, we don't always listen, but when we do He is speaking.  Sometimes it is only for our own growth, but sometimes it is something to be shared and when we don't share..... TROUBLE.  I've heard it said that when you share, even the smallest kindness that it can cause a ripple effect (like a rock dropped into water), this is also true when we aren't kind or don't share what God has given to us for others.  It always affects more than just one, ripples.  We get fearful and don't want to speak and so the word given to us rots in our mouths and becomes a stench.  I use this picture because I see firsthand with Micah what happens to his mouth when it is not used as it was made to be.  The only thing that seems to make a difference in the smell is when he actually swallows something, when it is used properly.  
We all have something we can share, we don't have to preach a sermon.  Sometimes the word may not make sense to you, well, if it's not for you don't analyze it just share.  It will make sense to the one that needs it.  Other times it may be as simple as letting someone know that you love them, that God loves them or that you have been praying for them.   Be the breath of life, not death.

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.  Proverbs 25:11

 A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, 

 And a word spoken in due season, how good it is!  Proverbs 15:23

“ The Lord GOD has given me
   The tongue of the learned,
   That I should know how to speak
   A word in season to him who is weary.
   He awakens me morning by morning,
   He awakens my ear
   To hear as the learned....."            Isaiah 50:4

We love you all are so touched by stories that we hear about how God has touched someone through this struggle that we are going through and it makes it somewhat easier for us to know that Micah's life is being used for God's glory.  We still hurt, we still cry, we still want this to be over, but knowing that God is working helps us to keep going.

Blessings abundant,

Tina