2 Years Post-Diagnosis

Last year at this time, Dirty Jobs was non-verbal for the most part. He knew Santa says HoHoHo, and probably a couple of other things. I referred to him as being non-verbal in a post from last December.

Two years ago, he was diagnosed with 'Suspected Autism.'

Today, he told me a some things:
"I wan a movie. No Thomas."
"Git up Dad."
"Tickle, tickle, tickle."
"Hi Grandma."
"I wan a cheeseburger."
"I go to church."
"Bye, Ma."
"I get on"
"My turn"
"Water, please"
"Santa, Santa - ho, ho, ho"
"Help"
"Go to Target. Toys!"

And more.

So, if you have prayed for our boy, in any way, ever...THANK YOU. We are watching a Miraculous Gift being unwrapped before our very eyes!

Lord, we know you have BLESSED us with such a gift in our sweet son. Thank you for your hand on his life, your mercy on ours, and your answer being yes! We know you have given us great teachers, therapists, nurses, physicians, habilitation and respite workers. But we also thank you because we know You have done an amazing work in our little boys life. You've rocked our world, completely blown us away! We know this journey has only just begun...

Early morning randomness...

Just a quick update from our trip since apparently this baby doesn't want me to get any more sleep no matter what town I lay my head in...

We have traveled to a place that actually experiences winter. Up until last night, it was cold, but not unbearable. Last night, the wind kicked up, and I have never felt cold like that before! This warm-blooded girl was cracking the natives up... But, it is fun for my girl to see what snow is. She doesn't get to enjoy it much, being that she hates wearing a heavy coat.

She is, however, enjoying spending this time with her cousins! From the moment we landed at the airport, she has been asking for her cousins. And every moment we are not with them, she is asking about them. They are so precious together!

All the girls went to a nail salon last night so the bride and wedding party could get their nails done. I let the Cutie get her nails painted and it was quite possibly the most precious thing I have ever seen! She sat in the chair like she was so big. Sat so still and has loved showing them off to everyone. Her cousin, the flower girl, had hers painted as well. She sat the rest of the night with her fingers straight out so the polish wouldn't smudge. I wouldn't be surprised if we peeked in on her sleeping to find her little fingers straight out above the covers. Absolutely adorable!

Today officially kicks off the wedding stuff. It has been such a blessing to watch this family roll with each new twist and turn in the plans. Life has been crazy around here! This family has been though many ups and downs in the past few months. It is precious to see them all come together and uphold the things that really matter! In the few short days since I have been here, I have seen them appreciate the small things. Something that is easy to lose sight of when wedding plans are underway. What a precious day it will be!

Yesterday, I also got to spend some time with my newest neice. She's actually my great-neice, and I like to say it because it confuses people :) She is a tiny pink bundle of beautiful! It was so fun to get to spend a few minutes enjoying her. And her mama: She is beautiful. It's hard being a new mom and she has handled it all with such grace amidst such hectic circumstances. So proud of her.

And because I know the Racer is wondering, Jenn and I did get a belly shot yesterday. We will post it soon...

Racer's Christmas Tour

Welcome. Come in to my kitchen. Where Santa is standing on the cupboards, safe from curious hands. One Santa didn't make it. My curious almost 4 year old climbed up and broke a Santa. Curious Almost 4 Year Old's Artwork. And his dictated sentence!

The Great Christmas Tree Debacle of '08. Seriously. That's my tree, laying down on a table.

My newest favorite nativity. From KENYA. I triple heart it. It is in the master bedroom (hopefully) safe and sound. I sometimes refer to it as the Precious. My friends brought it back to me from their African missions trip in Oct/Nov. My family also collects nativities, so this was the PERFECT thing for them to bring me!!!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Tour of Homes

Well, I think I am going to make the cut off... Or I will post this a day late. Either way.

Welcome to our home:

This is our christmas tree. Let me give a shout out to the pre-lit trees all over the world. I absolutely love decorated christmas trees! But, I really dislike putting lights on. So, the pre-lit tree was a must have.

A funny story about our tree. My husband was quizzing me on the story behind each of our ornaments the other night. The only two he referred to as "hideous" were ornaments that I had made. Alrighty, then. Point taken.

Here is our mantle. This is most exciting, because this is the first year we have ever had an actual mantle and I am not hanging our stockings off a bookshelf somewhere in the house.


Major Hunk and I have been collecting nativity scenes since we got married. This was the one we bought our first christmas together. Aaaww...


And this is actually the first nativity scene we ever bought as a married couple.
In June.
In Alaska.
We love it so.

I have so many more things that I would love to show you, but the Cutie has really been cranking it up in the whining and tantrums department. Between that and fighting off the plauge, I need to keep it brief.
You're welcome.

Thanks for stopping by. Go by Boomama's and check out the oh-so-many other homes in the tour.

Merry Christmas, bloggy friends.

The Cutie gets it from her Mama

Cpt Mom rocks the pregnant look. She is already showing, and it's about ADORABLE. I just absolutely love it! So without further ado, and with no permission from her, I present Prego Cpt Mom showing off the apron she won at a Cookie Exchange we went to. And yes, I am absolutely jealous of the belly AND the apron.

In case no one has told you, you are beautiful.

What I've Been Doing

• Last Friday, the kids and I headed to Grandma Poppa's house. Dirty Job had requested it several times a day for a week or so, and I was happy to finally be going. Saturday I headed out to my b/f from high school's wedding shower while the kids journeyed to the land of Mouse and fun. I met up with them later and we had a grand time. Dirty Job loves Thunder Mountain and it is a blast to ride with him. My most favorite moment of the evening was when they were converting Sleeping Beauty's castle to the icicle wonderland. We happened to be walking by, and stopped to watch. And then IT SNOWED. And the look on What Not To Wear's face...priceless. I know in the grand scheme of things that is not a big deal, but her innocence and awe ~ I don't think I'll ever forget it! The biggest downer of the evening was overhearing a gentleman (I use that term loosely) say that many people now get wheelchairs for someone in their party so they don' t have to wait in the longer lines. My feelings on that, well, I'll save for another post.
• My girl crouped out while in Cali, and was home the first couple days of the week. She camped out in our bedroom and was such a trooper. She just has the lingering cough now, which the nurse practitioner said could stay around for awhile. I'm glad she's feeling better though, because sick during the holiday season is NO FUN.
• I am adjusting my expectation for Christmas. Hubs and I agreed that we would get a REAL TREE this year, as this is a big deal to me. You can't replicate that smell, people. Now we are 2 weeks away from Christmas, we won't be here for Christmas, and we don't have a live tree. I'll be moving our artificial tree to where the real tree would have gone and the kids and I shall decorate it asap. There's always next year!
• I've been avoiding the air, water, people at church. As you can see in Cpt's previous post, there seems to be something going around...

Baby Fever

There is a bad case of it going around in our church. In the past 2 months, 6 couples have found out they are pregnant. Understand, we belong to a small church. Six couples is a substantial percentage of the young couples in our church. But, we do things in waves here. Six weddings last year and six babies next year (so far). Baby goodness is abounding!

So, if you don't want to have a baby next year...you may want to steer clear.

I'm just sayin...


On a related note, I had another ultrasound yesterday. It is such a special time for me to see my little one. I have felt a little unattached throughout this pregnancy thus far. I don't know if it's because I have the distractions of a toddler this time. Maybe it's the amount of stress I have had throughout. It may be some underlying fear and emotions from Baby Blues unexpected departure. In all honestly, it's probably a little bit of all of that. But, whatever the reason, I have felt a little disconnected to what's going on inside of me. But, the ultrasounds have been a really special time for me with this little one. It's a time that I feel connected with him/her. We also got a really special surprise. We were able to get an educated guess on the baby's gender. Now, it's still a little early to know for sure, but the dr thought he could tell. And on that note, I have to tell you that my husband doesn't want us to get our sights set on one over the other being that it is so early and unsure. He wants to be cautious and wait until my ultrasound next month to really begin any planning. So, in order to honor my husband, I am not going to announce what the dr shared with us yesterday in regards to the possible gender.

Just know that I really want to...

Although, I will tell you that when the Cutie told people that she is having both a brother and a sister...she was wrong.

No twins here.

Remembers for December

• To teach my daughter about the real meaning of Christmas.
  
• To enjoy time with family and friends even when my schedule gets hectic.
• To thank my husband everyday for the things he does for our family.
• To leave my financial burdens at the cross. Every.one.of.them.
• Try not to be so cranky at my family. (Apparently some hormones are flooding my body...)
• Pay attention to my body as I wait to feel this little one move inside me for the first time.
• Keep Christ in the center of all my Christmas activities
  

Dear My Deadliest Catch (Hubs)

9 years ago, I walked into a church on my father's arm and my heart set on you. You and I, we were livin on love. I vowed that your people would be my people, and your God would be my God.

We've stuck that covenant in a fiery furnace a time or seventy, and yet through the fires I've watched the impurities melt and your character emerge.

What a journey it's been, and I'm so glad I get to continue to walk this out with you.

You make me proud to be your wife everyday.

I love you. Beyond words.

A Place of My Own.

Last night in our bible study, the pastor touched on a topic that I have heard so many times. But, last night, it hit me in a whole different way.

John 14:2- In my Father's house, there are many rooms...I am going there to prepare a place for you.

He explained to us that in the original language, this word meant a place just for you. It can't be filled by any other. If you don't fill it, it will be left empty. I guess in the past I have always taken that verse to mean that He prepared a place for us. A place for all of us believers to go, meaning heaven in general.

It really got me thinking. I think our hearts are made in this image. I think there is a place in each parent's heart that has a place prepared for each of our children. And it is a place that no matter how many we love, it can not be filled by anyone but them. No other child can fill the other's place. No matter how many children we have. Our hearts just grow bigger allowing new spaces to be created for each child the Lord intends to be ours.

I love how the Lord uses our relationship as parent and child show us a little bit of Himself.

Reminders for December

• Remember WHO we are celebrating, not how we do it.
• Listen for the laughter of my children. Do things that will spark that laughter.
• Cook and bake with What Not to Wear. As much as she wants to.
• Therapy Dirty Jobs until he can't take anymore. So many fun memories can be had through the work.
• Give. Give as much as I can, whether that be time, talent or treasure.
• Pray- pray for my dear friends who are missing their sweet Baby Blues. I can't imagine trying to balance that kind of sorrow with the joy that comes from parenting Elf. Have we mentioned here on the blog that Dinoboy loves Christmas/Santa SOMETHING FIERCE!
• Love my husband in word and deed.
• Celebrate with many friends and family. I am so blessed to have so many people in my life.
• Worship the One who was sent to save me. The act of God Most High sending His Son for me in the form of a baby? Blows me away. I am overwhelmed by that kind of love.
• Do NOT be deceived by my ovaries. They are working overtime as they see all the baby cuteness and the round bellies showing evidence of the miracle of life.

Big Sister

We have been introducing Cpl Cutie to the idea since we first found out I was pregnant. In fact, two days after I found out, I picked up a shirt that says, "I'm the big sister." We thought that would be a fun way to tell our parents. (By the way, my parents totally did not get it. We had to spell it out for them.) I have also been talking to her a lot about the baby in mommy's tummy. She has come to the conclusion that since she is the big sister, there must be a little sister in there. She won't even consider the fact that it could be a little brother. We are working on breaking the possibility to her.

A little background on my girl:
She is our first.
She is the youngest of all the children she spends most of her time with. She has learned quickly that the little one will get pushed around if allowed. So, due to her quick learning and her first born tendencies, she has developed some bossy habits.
She loves to play with dolls and likes to dictate to me how the baby needs to be cared for. "She wants you, she wants me, she wants her baba, hold her like this" etc.
She loves to pretend play.
She is a big time mama's girl.

So, I am excited for her to become a big sister, because I know she will be great at it. Bossy, but great. I also think we will have some big transitions on our hands. We did a short dry run yesterday. We watched a cousin's 7 month old on an outing and I thought it would be interesting to see how she reacted to mama spending so much time with him in her presence. Well, she was such a champ! She didn't show any signs of jealousy. She wanted to help push him in the stroller, even let him use her stroller without much ado. She held his bottle and she got down on the floor with him to play. She could not understand why he couldn't walk and play with her though. All in all, I was so excited about how the day went. I know that this is just a small snapshot and it will be totally different when the baby lives in our house 24/7. But, I did feel like this was a positive sign.

On a related note, I have some concerns about how the transition will be for me as well. How will I handle a toddler and a newborn? Will it be a replay of "Cryfest 2005"? Today, I felt like I did well with both of them. I was exhausted when I was done, but other than that, I wasn't too ruffled by a toddler and a baby. I had a preschooler with us as well, so I went from one to three on this outing. Again, I know it will be totally different come June, butI still count it as a good sign.

Unfortunately, there is no way to tell whether we will have a Cryfest 2009. More to come on that this summer...