Chipped Tooth Coming Out

Nathan is scheduled to get his top, back molar pulled tomorrow morning with the oral surgeon (half of it broke off and it has been causing him a lot of pain this week). While discussing this with the doctor, we decided that we would have him pull Nathan's wisdom teeth while he was knocked out.

So, prayers are welcome that the surgery will go well and that we will all survive the recovery--I am honestly NOT looking forward to that part. I think the surgery part will be the easiest part (since Nathan is asleep). The recovery is going to be tough for all of us.

#BrokenTooth #Autism

The Nathan Whisperer

Certain people are "Nathan whisperers" as we like to call them. Uncle Chris is one of those people. Anytime Nathan sees Uncle Chris, he perks right up and wants Uncle Chris to play tag around the house or have him tickle him or "drop a pillow" on him (it is a little game they play). I am thankful for "Nathan whisperers" who love my son just as he is and include him.

#autism #NathanWhisperer

Toothache

There are some nights that seem very long. Last night was one of them. We put Nathan to bed as usual, but when we headed to bed, I could still hear him awake in his room. This isn't unusual for a child with autism to have problems sleeping (most of them do). When my husband went in to give him more melatonin Nathan was able to communicate with him, "Help. Tooth." Justin brought him out and we were finally able to see that a part of his upper back tooth had chipped off at some point and it was hurting him. Poor baby! I have no idea when or how it happened. Because he has problems communicating Nathan couldn't just say, "Hey mom I chipped my back tooth today."

After several hours wherein we gave him Tylenol and put some gum-numbing stuff around the tooth, we finally tried to put him back to bed. But he didn't want to go to bed--he wanted to skip to "6:00" so he could wakeup. Therein ensued a long night. He cried and whined and wouldn't even lay down to try to sleep. I tried to get him husband to go to sleep since he has to work tomorrow, but he stubbornly stayed by my side (bless him). Nathan was finally able to calm down and fall asleep somewhere early in this morning. There are days and hours I am sure God sends angels to stay with us, and last night was one of those times. Thank you God--I needed the peace and the patience.

So, we're off to see the dentist today. Wish us luck because it isn't going to be an easy day for any of us--he's never had any kind of dental work done (other than a cleaning).

#autism #toothache

Wheel Of Fortune

Nathan LOVES word games! One of his favorites is "Wheel of Fortune." He helped me replace the batteries in this game the other day and it has once again become one of his favorite things to play.

Black and White

Enjoy this cute Jacobism: Jacob was coloring. I asked him, "Do you want to use crayons or colored pencils?" Jacob responded, "I will use old time colors." I queried, "What's that?" He replied, "Black and white." (This is from a conversation I had with Jacob back in 2011. I found the piece of paper I had recorded it on and it made me laugh.) There's your humor for the day!

#Humor #autism #blackandwhite

Imaginations

Autism has a world of its own--and the pull is strong. Sometimes Jacob will disappear for 30 minutes--only to be found outside or downstairs doing his "imaginations." I took this photo of him recently as he was hopping from rock to rock outside thinking about whatever he was "imagining" that day. At least he is getting his exercise (because he can't seem to hold still while he does it).

#Imaginations #autism

A Little Yard Work Makes Me a little Achy

You know you're starting to get old when you mulch your beds in the yard all day and by 4:30 you can hardly move. Sigh! I'm not 25 anymore folks!

Communicating the Mission Call with Nathan

"Mom, have you told Nathan what is happening tonight?" Noelle asked yesterday afternoon. "No, not yet," was my reply. Then I had to figure out how I was going to inform an autistic young man that his older brother was opening his mission call and that he was going to leave for 2 years. It was going to require more info than I could write on our calendar, so I opted for a note. I attached a photo of the note I wrote. Nathan watched me very carefully as I wrote every word. He doesn't always understand if I communicate verbally, but if I write things down he generally understands.

I don't think Nathan will be able to tell Jordan (in this life) what having him as a brother has meant to him. Even though Jordan is shorter than Nathan, Jordan has always looked out for and involved his "little" brother. Jordan has grown up with two brothers on the autism spectrum and has love of all people--disabled and typical. I watched them sit side by side in church last week and Jordan had his arm around Nathan and was tickling him under his chin. Nathan just smiled and giggled. It was a sweet moment. And when I think of that it kind of makes me sad that he won't be here for 2 years to love his siblings. But, I am thankful he will be loving more of God's children--and so I guess I will share him:).

#MissionCall #Autism #Siblings

Mission Call

Tonight this envelope gets opened and everything will change! Jordan decided that after high school he wanted to serve a 2 year mission for our church, so he went through the application process. The "mission call" arrived earlier this week and he can hardly wait to open it. We will open it tonight (we were waiting for everyone to be able to be here when he opens it) and see where in the world he will be going.

I am proud of him that he is willing to give 2 years of his life to serve God and others. I'm also glad that he has been saving his money so that he can afford to do this. It will be a tremendous character building experience! We will miss him so much! Now, let's hope I can wait patiently until he opens the letter:).

#MissionCall

My Sweet Little Terror

Oh the sheer energy Jacob used to have as a child! It literally almost put me in my grave trying to keep up with him. He had a dual diagnosis of autism and ADHD--and it was apparent! I was looking at a family photo album a few days ago and ran across these photos of Jacob and they made me smile and recall the exhaustion! I love the photo of Jacob reaching for Jesus' hand--even though he was a terror, he could be so sweet. I also love the photo of him literally trying to get out of my sister's arms--that is what it was like to try to hold him at any time.

He was a master escape artist--even from our home. I had double bolts on all the doors that could only be opened with a key and he would still escape. From the age of 3 he could scale our 6 foot fence and run through the neighborhood with no thought of danger. Sigh! I do not miss those days! I am glad I survived! I remember literally praying to God one night after chasing him all day and trying to keep him safe that I was doing my best to keep him alive. I am sure God had to double-up his guardian angels for a few years there or he never would have made it to age 5. He was a dare devil!

So, to anyone with a dare-devil child--they do grow up and mature a lot! Hang in there!

#autism #DaredevilChild #SweetMoments #HardMoments

Sore Throat

Last night Nathan had a sore throat. He took my hand and put it on his neck and said, "Hurt." (I am proud of him that he was communicating). Poor baby! Then he took me into my room and got out the back massager machine and wanted me to use it on his throat. I giggled out loud. He figured since the massager helped his back when it was achy that perhaps it would help his throat. Nope--he got his 6 chewable Tylenol instead and some other vitamins that will help him fight the sore throat.

#SoreThroat #Autism

This Little Piggy

This morning as I was sitting down to help Nathan get his shoes and socks on, I couldn't help myself...I had to do "This little piggy" on his toes. Only, they aren't so little anymore. He has 17-year-old man feet now. But, he still LOVES it when I play these little kid games with him. Yes--he has a big body but there is a sweet little boy with autism inside. In some ways I feel very blessed that though my other kids are growing up and growing out of little kid games, Nathan still loves them. That brings it's own set of challenges, but I choose to see them as blessings. Have a blessed day!

#ThisLittlePiggy #autism #ManFeet

Push Ups

I went downstairs the other day to make sure the boys were awake and found this scene. Jordan and Jacob were doing pushups together. It was so cute that I had to run up and grab my camera. I guess they had decided before they went to bed that they would work out together in the morning. They make me smile!

#Brothers #WorkingOut

Drinking Problems;)

The other day I saw Nathan get a drink of water out of the corner of my eye. I thought, "What a big boy! I am so proud that he has learned to take care of himself and get himself a drink when he is thirsty." Then, he took the cup he had just drunk out of and stuck it right back in the cupboard. I laughed out loud! What a character! You see, to most of us (without autism) this is taboo--but Nathan is totally oblivious to this concept and so he was just putting his cup back where he found it. It did make me wonder how many times we have reached for an "already been drunk out of" cup in the cupboard courtesy of Nathan.;)

#DrinkingCups

Choir Tour

I had a blast in California this weekend chaperoning the high school choir kids. They competed in a choir festival and did very well. We had to visit Disneyland, the beach, see Wicked, and go to Medieval Times. We had lots of fun--Choir kids are such good kids. I have also slept like a log since I got home;).

#ChoirTour

Working Out

While most teenage boys know long before the age of 17 what a gym looks like, cute Nathan has just discovered ours. He found out that he can pull down on the bar and make the weights go up and down. For someone with autism, this can be quite entertaining (but I do have to be his spotter because I don't want him getting hurt.) Not that I need my 6'1" son getting any more strong than he already is, but he is fun to watch. Enjoy!

The Hair-do

Jacob decided on his own that he wanted to start, "Doing his hair." For years now I have simply asked, do you want to comb your hair and his answer has always been, "No, I'm good." That is one thing about having a child on the autism spectrum--good luck getting them to do something they don't want to do. He finally just decided he wanted to do it on his own. He looks pretty good, huh?

#DoingHisHair