Introduction / Who am I (We)?

Introduction / Who am I (We)?

 



"The Abueg's"

Who are we?  Good question! Our story is just beginning so I can only give you what comes to my heart today and then reserve the right to change this in the future as we grow, shrink, travel, and learn.  Oh, and before we dive in, both parents are engineers by training… so any grammar issues seen here, please forgive (read please forgive me Mariah and Michaela Abueg). J

 

 

 

The kids reading.

 

Our current family is 5 in total.  We have two adults, Ray and Nicci, and three kids.  The kids are 8 (Maya), 5 (Ashton) and 2 (Oliver) years old (today).  With each kid, we move into a smaller home!   So, today we could fit into the “tiny house” movement as we move into a 790 square foot home in the Seattle area and have been in a 720 square foot home at the Pacific Ocean.  We split our time between our tiny homes.  We could also be homeschoolers, unschoolers, or worldschoolers.  I personally like worldschooling because it feels the least “defined” and I don’t like fitting into someone else’s defined box! We have kids with special needs, which I myself am still accepting and adjusting to.  Most importantly, we are a God centered family.  A big part of our lives is finding ways to travel.  I will be blogging on traveling a great deal (I hope).

Ray biking with the boys in tow at the ocean!  Wish we could do this in Seattle, but way too many hills!

 

 

So, yup, we love traveling.  One or more of us have been to Canada, around the US, Korea, Singapore, Philippines, Guam, Europe, South America, Mexico.  We have hosted international students from all over the world and have gained so much from them.  If you ever get the opportunity to host internationally, do it!  I’ll post more on this and links to agencies with good reputations in the Puget Sound / Seattle area.

Kids hanging out at our first campsite we "boondocked" at!  It's impossible to get them all to look over. 

 

After our entire family went to the Philippines in 2014 we decided to enroll the older two in 3^rd grade and Kindergarten at a Montessori just outside of Manila.  After applying and working on Philippine citizenships for the kids, we were dealt a pretty big blow.  Our oldest daughter started having clonic-tonic seizures (aka grand mal seizures).  We were initially told, she would likely never need medication and would outgrow this.  Unfortunately, that isn’t her story, we didn’t move to the Philippines and a different adventure awaits in the meantime.

 

What!? I got them all looking! Hiking in a remote area of Washington State.

 

Flash forward 3 to 6 months from the initial clonic-tonic seizure and we’re at Children’s Hospital in Seattle regularly and desperate for answers and solutions and our daughter.  During this time, our daughter has a rare form of epilepsy (ESES) and we’re struggling to manage life daily.  I am reminded of the “Footprints” poem where the man dies and looks back to see two sets of footprints in the sand over the course of his life except when he needed help the most, there is only one set of footprints.  As I’m holding my daughter in the hospital again, I know God is holding us.  I cannot stand on my own any longer. 

 

Okay, this is deep and I promise more links to what our family has experienced in hopes this helps other people.  Maya is graciously allowing us to talk more openly about her condition.  I hope others can gain from her story.  I know I have gained more from her than I could have ever expected while holding her as an infant.

 

Back to attempting travel with young kids!  My daughter has a serious form of epilepsy and has medications daily.  One of the medications is hard to find, we cannot mess around with not having access to it and need to make sure it stays at a specific temperature.  However, she is looking more and more stable, yes!  Out of the woods?  Maybe not yet but back to worldschooling  and embracing life we attempt to go!  The 5 year old has an irregular EEG (more on that) and the 2 year old is highly likely sensory processing disorder (SPD) and their regular doctors believe the older two have ADHD.  After a 6 month wait for SPD support from the University of Washington, I’ve learned enough by reading and caring for my kids to believe I can do this and still travel!  Go Nicci! J

 

Okay, so Nicci is primarily on her own with traveling and schooling for these kids, since someone (read amazing Ray) has to work full time and uhhh, well health insurance is pretty darn important currently!  So, we are doing small trips until late Spring 2016.  Keep up with our travels (even day ones) on a link I will insert (HERE)!

 

If you got this far, thank you!  I’ll be updating as often as I can with worldschooling, traveling with kids and life with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), SPD and epilepsy.  Much love!

 

Nicci Abueg (and family!)