Snuggle Those Babies

Any time we are with the nieces and nephews (cousins) these two are drawn to the babies. Yes, I could have had a house-full and had at least these helping hands...but dealing with two kiddos on the autism spectrum shrunk our family because I could barely handle the four kids God gave me. Get your snuggle in while you can boys!

#SnugglyBabies

Dominoes

One of the gifts Nathan got for Christmas was another set of "dominoes." He loves to set them up and knock them down. Here he is knocking down one of his domino sets. (Yes we are in our pajamas--we stayed in them all day on Christmas).

Thankful for the Toilet

Sweet Jacob in his prayer tonight went on and on listing things he was thankful for including the "toilet and toilet paper." I smiled as he said it and realized how grateful I too was for those things, but I don't know that I had ever thanked God for them. So, tonight in my prayer I thanked God for a toilet and toilet paper too. It is amazing the things our children can teach us!

#ThankfulForManyThings #ThankfulForToilet

Making Memories

As we approached the Christmas holiday this year, my kids were sad that none of our extended family would be joining us for Christmas Eve meal. It is funny how at holiday times we desire to be closer to family. I didn't want them to be sad, so I enlisted Noelle to help me decorate the dining room table for Christmas and we set about to make our Christmas Eve "special" even though it was just our family. We had a wonderful dinner and acted out the nativity--just us. It was fun and memorable. I am thankful for my sweet, unique family!

#MakingMemories

Grateful to Live Now

I just finished reading a book that was set in the 1800s in England. In this particular novel, the eldest son was a "simpleton" (or developmentally disabled). The father pretended this son was dead and the mother lovingly arranged for him to be raised by a servant that she loved and trusted. Think how hard that would be!

As I read this, I felt so grateful to live in a time and in a place where having children with developmental disabilities, such as autism, is not as socially frowned upon as earlier times. I feel so thankful that I have been able to raise my boys in my own home and love them and help them grow. I also felt tremendous gratitude towards my husband and his open and loving attitude towards all of our children.

I know of some families where having children with disabilities becomes a hardship that can't be overcome. I feel blessed with the perspective we have gained by having faith in God. We have come to know and trust that God loves all of our children, and that He sent them to us for a reason. Each child brings a unique set of challenges. I feel so blessed to have the four kiddos that I have, and thankful to God for the perspective I have gained as the parent of children with special needs! These kids are so special to work with!

#BlessedByAutism

A Little Christmas Music

I feel like I blinked my eyes and we rushed through from November to January in about one week--that is how fast December flew by. Among all those busy days leading up to Christmas we attended so many Christmas Concerts that I actually lost count. Our favorite by far was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert--it was fantastic! I LOVED hearing them perform "Hallelujah" chorus...it reminded me of all of my friends in Arkansas singing in the Ozark Mormon Chorale. Lots of great memories conducting that song with them.

Jordan performed with his choir and bell choir probably over 20 times in December, and then we had to throw Jacob and Noelle's concerts in there as well. Whew! I am thankful for Christmas music. It is magnificent and wonderful, and I am thankful that it reminds us of the birth of Christ, but dragging Nathan to several concerts isn't always fun. He was quite unhappy about having to attend several of them (especially with the crowds, noise and change of his schedule). Thank goodness for his apple device. I don't let my other kids have electronics during concerts...but if anyone around us is going to enjoy the concert, it is better to let Nathan happily stay on his device:).

#ChristmasConcertsAutism #autism

Traveling

Traveling with kids is always hard, but when you travel with children with autism, you never know what will happen. I always seem to pack "too much" because I never know what toy or distraction I will need to keep him happy on the 12-hour drive to visit family.

Nathan's pillow and blanket always travel with us (because if he doesn't sleep well, all of us don't sleep well). We also bring Melatonin to aid in this sleeping endeavor. I also packed lots of puzzles, his handheld DVD player, Ipad, books on tape (yes we still have cassette tapes), word search books, sticker puzzles, letter cubes that he loves, squish balls, spinning tops, etc. Whew!

That doesn't include stuff for my other kids:). Sigh! Thank goodness we travel by car...I don't think I could fit it all flying--plus I don't think they'd let me bring the kitchen sink if we flew;).

#travelingautism