I Run 4

I wanted to be sure to take a moment to tell you about this cool program.  The story goes that the man who started this was a runner.  On Facebook one day he posted that he runs because he can, and when he gets tired he thinks of those who can't run and runs harder for them.  That day a friend of his with Down Syndrome commented "You can run for me anytime!"

That sparked an idea to form a community of runners that would be matched with a "buddy" who has a disability of some sort and dedicate their workouts, miles, and races to them.  Some runners wear shirts that say I Run 4 with their buddy's name, some send their medals to their buddies, etc.  They are asked to make contact with their buddy a few times a week whether they work out or not.  The buddy's job is to encourage the runner and give them motivation to push themselves! 

I had heard about this program a few months ago and did not sign the girls up at the time.  Just recently I heard that they have an abundance of runners and are looking for buddies so I signed the girls up.  We were matched by the end of the day and our girls have two wonderful runners!

Oksana is matched with a woman from Minnesota who is about my age.  She has 3 children and is getting ready to do a triathlon in June.  Today she sent Oksana pictures of her bike ride in the rain and the beautiful rainbow she saw!  Oksana sent her a little video introducing herself and telling her that she hopes she wins her race.  She loved it!  In just a few days they have already communicated back and forth quite a few times.

Anya's runner is from Canada and she is 19 and so incredibly excited to have a buddy!  She just adores Anya.  I sent her a video of Anya saying "Hi" to her and blowing kisses.  The next day she ran 4 miles with her sister and sent Anya pictures of them on the trail and a picture of her running through the sprinkler afterwards to cool off.  She said that it was hard but she thought of her blowing kisses and it made her work harder ;).  She has already sent me a private message and asked for our address so that she can send Anya some medals from past races.

I have been so pleased with this program!  Anya really doesn't understand it but Oksana loves getting updates and notes from her runner!  Even if Anya doesn't understand it I am talking about her runner, sharing the pictures, and telling her what she is doing.  Someday she will get it!

I'll make a quick note here to say that I have heard just a few stories of duds...runners who never contact the buddy or do anything but those families were matched with new runners and have had great success.  I think those are the minority for sure.  Most everyone I know involved in the program has really enjoyed it.  

If you are interested in becoming a runner, or can sign up a buddy (all ages are welcome) go to http://www.whoirun4.com/ for more information.

Catching up

Our family is probably in the best place we've been in a year.  We are all working hard on healing from the emotional and physical strain that Oksana's illness put on us.  She is continuing to have a wonderful time of emotional stability.  She rarely has bad days any more, but does still have bad moments.  Summer is coming.  If I said I wasn't nervous I'd be lying, but we know so much more now than we did a year ago.  I've learned that education is key when it comes to mental illness.  The more you know the more equipped you are to respond and help in the best way possible. 

I don't think I have confirmed this yet on my blog.  It took me a long time and a lot of digging to really believe it myself.  Oksana is definitely experiencing auditory and visual hallucinations.  Her therapist is fantastic.  At this time her hallucinations are not violent, she is still present in our reality, and they aren't interfering with her life to the point that she can't do anything without them.  Our therapist and our psychiatrist are going to talk, but we are kind of feeling like because of  those things we do not want to add more medication.  We are hoping to take the approach of helping her to live with them.  If we can keep boundaries around them and she can ignore them when needed and still interact with them when it is appropriate then we would love to avoid another medication.  She is already on some heavy duty stuff to keep her mood stable.  She goes back to her psychiatrist on June 3 so I am anxious to see what she says and if she changes Oksana's diagnosis to schizoaffective disorder.  If you aren't familiar with that it is a blend of bipolar and schizophrenia.  I have no idea if her diagnosis will change now, but I suspect that someday it will.

We had IEP meetings for both girls and they were fantastic.  Both of them are really in their sweet spot at school.  They are growing and thriving so we aren't changing anything.  Of course some goals were adjusted to account for growth over the year, but overall we are all just loving where they are.  Such a change from just a few months ago when we were touring schools because we thought Oksana would not be able to stay in her school.  It felt very good walking out of those meetings with a great plan for next year.

The boys have finished their school year which marks the end of my 10th year of homeschooling.  The homeschool program my boys are in now has been an incredible asset to their education.  They have grown immensely this year and they have really enjoyed what this program has offered.  It looks like we will stay with it until they graduate.  Next year they will be in 10th and 7th grade.  Crazy!

Anya had her 7th birthday at the beginning of the month!  Since we had already had a party it was low key but fun.  She got her favorite dinner and favorite dessert.  She brought cupcakes to her class to celebrate and, since she really has no idea what a birthday is, we got her a shirt so she could announce it to everyone!

Finally, we are preparing for our trip to Joni and Friends family camp!!!  We are SOOOO excited!  We got a packet in the mail with more information.  Basically it seems that the day we arrive we will get settled in, have dinner, have an opening/welcome ceremony, and then have an ice cream social.  For the next three days we will have breakfast in the morning and then we break off.  The girls will go with their helpers for a morning of music, crafts, activities, etc.  The boys will go off for some teen/youth events.  Then Larry and I will go for adult events like worship and teaching, a time for moms to be pampered, a time for dads to have a bbq, etc.  We will come together again for lunch.  After lunch there will be events for families.  We can do whatever we want.  We can swim, go horseback riding, ride a zipline, play at the beach, etc.  Then we will eat dinner and the evenings are activities planned for the whole group.  Things like western night, crazy hair/hat night, a talent show, karaoke, etc.  One night is a date night for the parents.  They have all kinds of fun stuff planned for the kids and they feed us a nice dinner and give us a night to enjoy together.  How cool is that?!  Then on the last day we have breakfast, come together for a closing ceremony, and it is over at noon.  I'll be sure to share all about it!

I also want to tell you about I Run 4 but I'll do that in another post.  I'll leave you some random pictures.

Oksana with Anna and Elsa from Frozen at her cousin's birthday party.  It was a blast!

Evan is jumping 2 foot jumps now!

Ready to go....in her underwear and a jacket, Clayton's shoes, my purse, and my sunglasses :).

Oksana with the puppy being trained to be a therapy dog at her therapist's office.