Time for Joy

I'm so excited because my good friend, Rian, and her husband Josh are expecting a baby. This is not just any ordinary thing though. Josh and Rian have been struggling with infertility for the past 3 years. She has had 4 miscarriages. They have been married 8 years. They have been praying so hard for a baby they will meet here on earth. She goes in for her first sono in a couple of weeks. I would like to ask you to join me in praying for this wonderful couple and their baby. Pray specifically for this baby to sustain and grow, and that he/she and Mommy & Daddy would meet n 9 months.

Like me, I'm sure at least most of you have had at least 1 miscarriage. We also had a difficult time conceiving, but conceived Ian via IUI after about a year of trying. I've only had 1 miscarriage (which was way enough), so I can only imagine what losing 4 must feel like. Josh and Rian have been up and down on a rollcoaster ride, but have done very well trusting the Lord for His best. As you might expect, they work each day to let their joy overshadow any fear.

I can hardly contain my joy for them and am privileged to be walking along side them. We love you Josh and Rian and Baby!

Wah-hoo Moment!

This is a wah-hoo moment for our household.

Well, Avery has been doing great tee-teeing on the little potty. We're still working on doing the 'other' in the potty. Gotta look for some good books.

The big story is Ian working on tee-teeing. Today before taking a shower, he TOLD me he needed to go tee-tee. He has occasionally been going on Avery's little potty, but he's really getting kinda big for it. But, hey, whatever works! Anyway, today he wanted to stand up and tee-tee at the big potty (which is how they work with him at school). AND HE DID IT! Usually he gets so excited, he squirts a little, then stops (then sometimes finishes on the floor). I used Avery to talk him into going more. It worked. He even came back to the toilet a minute later to finish up. Oh, he was so proud (not to mention how proud Mommy and Avery were of him!). He high-tailed it, naked, to his bathroom to get his 2 M&M's and put a sticker on his calendar. Then he was proud to call his Aunt Judie and tell her what he did.

I know it will still take a while, and we will go through lots more diapers, but I'm sooooo proud everytime he goes! Every step is a big one to me! Wah-hoo!

Too Many Questions

I always knew 2 year olds start to ask a lot of questions. I just wasn't expecting some of the ones I get. Avery is very interested in my body parts. When asked about my upper parts, I told her it was called a chest - sounded safe. Today she asked about the clothing item I was putting on my chest. Forgetting what a great memory she has, I went ahead and told her it was called a bra to cover my chest. Yeah, well, she then came up, lifted her shirt and said 2 things..."Mama, I have a chest too," and "Mamma, I need a bra." G R R R E A T!

Would the REAL .... Please Stand Up!

Okay, after posting the previous blog, I kept typing in my kids' real names, and then I kept mixing the names up. So, I've decided to post as their real names. Ian is our oldest son (4), Avery is our daughter (2), and Benjamin (10 months) is our youngest. Whew! I feel better now.

Veggie Tales, Here We Come!

One of the movie theaters near us has a special showing of certain movies once every couple of months or so, just for special needs families. They show the movie in one of the theater rooms and it's only for special needs. This means they don't play the movie as loudly, they adjust the lights before the movie, and of course, the kids are welcome to make noise or walk around. This particular theater serves food as well - a must for my children. We took David to see Ratatouille (however it's spelled). He liked it, but didn't make it through the whole movie. It was quite a long one.

We decided to take both James and Grace to see Veggie Tales' The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything this morning. I couldn't wait to see Grace's face when she saw the big screen. During the week I kept preparing her for the movie and saying it was on a big screen. Then later she would come up and say, "Mommy, I want to go 'scream'." It didn't take me long to decipher that that was actually "screen".

Grace's face was priceless when she saw Veggie Tales pop up so huge! She also did really well with the size of the room and the people. She didn't act as nervous as I thought she was going to. She even said, "bye bye" and waved to one of the workers.

They did really, really well during the movie. I think they may have liked the food even more than the movie! James was able to walk around, dance when music came up, and talk to anybody he wanted to.

I met a man sitting next to me with his son and had a very interesting conversation. When I told him we had a family of Fragile X'rs, he proceeded to tell me that he was the first in five generations to NOT have Fragile X! Imagine, someone who actually was familiar with the disorder. He does, however, have a boy with Down Syndrome. He also has a sister who has a 5 year son with Fragile X and CP. This same sister is 47 years old and has a daughter who has her own family! Wow! His story is very interesting.

The first time we went to one of these movies, we didn't really talk to anyone else. We were more preoccupied with how James would do. After today's conversation I decided I was going to do better at meeting other families at these events. I only wish I would have gotten this gentleman's number so that maybe our families could have hooked up at some point.

We had a great time!

They Really DO Love Each Other!

I was witness today to a beautiful sight. James and Grace were sharing and playing WITHOUT FIGHTING this morning. They were rolling the ball to each other and taking turns bouncing it. The beautiful moment lasted about 15-20 minutes, but it was a glorious 15-20 minutes!!!!!!

My Child Can Do More!

Oh, how I hate the 'testing' time at speech therapy for James. She's a great therapist, so I'm not dogging her at all. However, she only gets him 45 minutes once a week, and he's out of his 'element' there, with new toys, new books, etc. AND, sister is not there to distract him, although he gets plenty distracted even without her. Oh, and let's not forget how difficult it is for him to do things "on command" when they only ask once or twice. And he only has 45 minutes or less to say things 'sporatically'. So, when I was told that in a year's time he's only made about 50% or less improvement, I was less than ethusiastic. I was downright depressed, and cried all the way home. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting. He's got Fragile X. Without a miracle, he's not going to drastically improve over time, especially as things get more complicated. BUT EVEN THE SMALLEST IMPROVEMENT IS GREAT FOR ME! So, I went through a lot of emotions. As I was driving home, the Lord showed me some great things.

One, He reminded me of all the things I mentioned above about how once a week 45 minute testing in therapy just isn't reality for testing. His everyday life at home and at school are better indicators. He also showed me how far James has come in his vocabulary, especially since Grace has been talking.

Second, after we got home that day I started to fix James' lunch. He came up to me and sporatically said, "May I have turkey please." FIVE WORD PHRASE! I decided reading the same books over and over and over and over again is a gem. That phrase came from the book, "May I Have a Cookie Please."

So, needless to say, I couldn't deny all those reminders and blessings. The Lord also reminded me that He alone entrusted my husband (okay, I have to fess up....his name is Jim....I can't keep calling him Henry - doesn't fit him - HAPPY RIAN?!) and I with these great kids, and He alone will continue to hold all the plans in His hands. While I wish I could see them all layed out, I know that would ruin all the joyful moments of watching them happen.

Marathon Mom

Okay, I wanted to give my sweet and wonderful husband a break. So, I decide to go to Oklahoma for my sister's 40th birthday party....with all three kids! What was I thinking! Actually, it wasn't all bad. The 3 1/2 hour road trip took a bit longer due to 4 stops. One to seatbelt James back in after he undid himself. One to check on David, who was crying and NEVER cries on roadtrips, and one to clean up James and change his clothes after he vomited! Yuck. I forget the last reason...oh yeah, I was hungry and wanted to get something to eat on the go. I can deal with poop and pee, but vomit...not my forte. Henry is the one who saves the day on that one, except that day. To top it off, James vomited again (smaller this time) about 10 minutes from reaching our destination. Okay call me a horrible mom, but I didn't stop. After he had sneezed once and, well, I won't even say what came out, I figured he was messy enough and could hold on til we stopped.

So we get there and guess what. I basically missed the party! Must have been the shortest party in history cuz I didn't think I was THAT late. My brother in law was kind enough to come to the van to get James and stick him in the tub. I wouldn't let anyone near him cuz he smelled so bad.

At first, I figured his vomiting was due to getting hyperaroused, which happens quite often. The next day after nap time I found out this wasn't the case. He woke up extremely flushed with 103.8 temp. Could it have happened at any worse time!? He puked again that day all over the carpet. Again, brother in law came to the rescue with the clean up. I hope they were able to get the stain out better after we left! Poor James was so sick and so sad to watch. However, he was WAY calmer than normal. My husband and I always joke that as much as we hate for the kids to have to go through sicknesses, they are easier to handle in some ways when they're sick....more calm anyway. So, he sat in the chair watching Cars most of the day while Grace happily played with her cousin without her brother chasing her to hit her.

That was basically the worst of the trip. James' fever never really went down and he didn't eat a lot. On the trip home I called the pedi to get an appointment for when we got home. They said they couldn't fit him in!!!!!!!! 103.8 fever and they can't get him in?????? Hmmmm.

We only had to stop once, really quick, to retrieve James' "puppy" (I'll have to blog on "puppy" someday) that he through out of reach. Then, about 5 minutes or less from home.....you got it, Grace vomited! So I did clean up duty on this one since Henry was still at work. So, not only did I have the kids all weekend, now they've been home from school all week too. Yes, I've lost my cool a few times, but overall, not a bad week. Funny thing is, when Grace went to get in the van 3 days later she went to get in James' carseat. When I asked her why she was getting in his seat, she said, "Mama, vomit in my seat." So I explained the glory of the washing machine!