water , water everywhere......and not a drop to drink

Hello Everyone

What a day we had yesterday! We attempted to have a lie down with Deqlan as he was not interested in having a nap round his normal time. Without success, we let Dada catch a few winks and i decided to try and entertain Deqlan with something else

As i walked into the kitchen a heard a drip coming from the lounge and i traced it to the ceiling! By the time I heard called Mark to come and have a look the drop, it had quickly turned into streaks going across the ceiling, and by the time i got the pot to catch the few drops, it had turned into the trevi fountain going down the lounge wall! We soon discovered that the waterfall had taken over one side of Deqlans room to! What i had only realised later in the day, was that Deqlans 1st Birthday train we had made for him, was stuck on this specific wall, and something just told me to move it that morning - God works in wonderful ways ! It was soon discovered that our geyser had burst - this had cut our power to! So we had the plumbers come in and shut off a few pipes to stop the water pouring down the walls and eventually gave us some water back but no hot water. Luckily today, they arrived with a new geyser and within a few hours we where back in business- there is definite damage to the ceilings, so we await the insurance people to come around and have a look and decided on what to do. Thank You Lord we were at home, otherwise our whole place couldve been under water and our carpets destroyed!

Back to yesterday, we had our first play date!!! Claire brought gorgeous Hannah to Nannas house for the afternoon. Deqlan was very interested in Hannah when she got there and gave a few smiles and did a few turns around her- was wonderful to see his excitement. But then, Deqlan decided that the new fountain Grandpa and Nanna had put up earlier the afternoon, was way to exciting to watch - he had to dip his fingers, then hands, then arms into the cool water - he had an absolute ball splashing and dipping his dummy into the water while we tried our best to get him back to playing with little Hannah ! Hannah had a great time in the sand pit while Deqlan did a bit of this and a bit of that, and eventually decided to join Hannah in the sand pit - both our kids were so good and loved pouring and shovelling the sand. Nannas gates magically opened when Meggy went home and Deqlan saw his chance to get outside to see the cars he loves so much - Hannah soon followed and the kids enjoyed a bit of a round around in the courtyard and then back in side for a few more minutes of playing in the sand. It was a wonderful afternoon and I am sure as Deqlan gets more play dates the more he will open up and love being around his friends!

We had play therapy today and the girls where very happy to see more progress in Deqlan - they are very excited about him saying car, and playing more with the actual car then spinning the wheels all the time. He also said 'go' when he wanted to get out the room! He is also saying 'um' for come - so his words are growing so lovely - we celebrate each one with so much excitement and pride and will concentrate on developing these. Deqlan was not a happy camper though - he hates being inside - he just wants open spaces and of course, to be able to see the cars and watch them come in and out, so its quite a challenge to keep him in a specific room for a long time. We tried just Deqlan and the occupational therapist in the room, while Nanna and i watched through the one way glass - needless to say he was not happy and so frustrated.but even though its a negative reaction - its still a reaction which we want.He made definite eye contact with her and even took her hand to the door to open it and said 'go' , which we are very happy about. We are going to try this approach for the next 3 sessions to see if we can get Deqlan to concentrate more on the exercises, then coming to nanna or Mamma to open the door to get outside, lets hold thumbs . The centre have also recommended that Deqlan get assessed by a paediatric neurologist who will determine if we are on the right track or if we should look at different options to help Deqlan develop in the correct direction. This will be done 10 June at the centre, please pray for positive results and for ideas to help us help Deqlan!

Wow - we are still continuing to collect pjs by the bags full for snug as a bug - thank you very very much for to Kelly and for all the amazing people that she works with that so graciously helped provide many, many bags full of clothes for our little friends. Thank you to Kelly, Annaliza, Henri and Michael for opening your hearts and your cupboards and for helping us reach our goal ! May God Bless you for your kindness and for keeping our friends warm this winter, thank you!

Hope you all have a great long weekend ( for us lucky folk in South Africa) ! Please , please keep our soldier in your prayers as well as all our friends around the world so bravely fighting nb and other cancers - we need your prayers army!

God Bless and all our love
Mark, Samm & Deqlan