a 10 year goal

10 years ago when i came to this town to visit my now husband, we went to the local lake to run around. Well actually i biked and he ran, because i was not in a condition to run back then. From that day i had a goal that i wanted to actually run around that lake.... well it's 10 years later and i am happy to say that i FINALY ran around the whole lake!!!! all 3.5 miles! I think maybe... just maybe i can be a runner. I never thought i would be able to do it because everytime i have tried i have failed miserably... but i think i finnaly found a shoe that works for me (i have weird foot problems), my body is finding a good balance with hormones and what not and determination to be healthy and stay there for myself and my family. Now hopefully my body will stay in tune with my determination... and now i need to find a good mix of music to run to to put on my MP3 player, any good suggestions?  :)

IMITATION!!!!!

Okay seriously... If you have been reading this you know that Daniel has something called Apraxia... he actually has a very severe form of it. HIS BIGGEST obstacle right now is just imitating words. Tonight he was asking for some beans to eat in sign language and i asked him if he could say " BA" for beans. I always do this and usually he will think about it and i will see his mouth move but no sound and he just shakes his head. Though tonight he imitated right back "BA" and he did it like 5 times... and then i took a video if it which you can see here...

http://youtu.be/5oFrmX5jxr4

100%

100%

Sorry for the bad lighting and the "GOOD JOB" sillyness.. I just get really excited when he makes strides in his communication. :) :) :)

Because sometimes life is hard...

I'm not sure how many of you have seen the movie "Meet the Robinsons".. but there is a song from the movie that is kind of my go to song. This movie actually brings up a lot of emotions in me especially this song. There are a few precious memories that are connected to this song that have brought me through some dark times. Anyway... so here you are.

"Little Wonders"

Let it go
Let it roll right off your shoulder
Don't you know
The hardest part is over
Let it in
Let your clarity define you
In the end
You will only just remember how it feels

Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders
These twists and turns of fate
Time falls away,
But these small hours
These small hours
Still remain

Let it slide
Let your troubles fall behind you
Let it shine,
Till you feel it all around you
And I don't mind
If it's me you need to turn to
We'll get by
It's the heart that really matters in the end

Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders
These twists and turns of fate
Time falls away
But these small hours
These small hours
Still remain

All of my regret
Will wash away somehow
But I cannot forget
the way I feel right now

In these small hours
These little wonders
These twists and turns of fate
Yeah, these twisted turns of fate
Time falls away
Yeah, but these small hours,
These small hours
Still remain

Yeah, oh they still remain
These little wonders
All these twists and turns of fate
Time falls away
But these small hours
These little wonders
Still remain

link to listen to it on youtube....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCWXXuOv_So

And the adventures begin

well spring is here and that means for us time to go on adventures. Matt pulled out the maps and the hiking books and found us a place to go. It was BEAUTIFUL... STUNNING... just... amazing... BUT it was scary. He didn't know it was so cliffy. Yes.. you know like 100 foot drops and a narrow trail of about 2 1/2 feet in some places. Needless to say i was pretty tense and protective of the little ones in most places and we will not be doing that hike with the children again for a very... VERY long time..

Here are some pictures that i managed to snap because we had one of our amazing helpers with us. ( She is a girl who has helped out with the boys in babysitting and what not since she was 13.. and now tomorrow she turns 20!)
There was a beautiful water fall that the trail went under... I wish i could have got more pictures and had a better camera but my heart remembers the beauty so that's the most important. I'm looking forward to soaking it in without children sometime soon.

 

 

Joshua with his goofy grin

 

 

 

Daniel was not in the mood to get his picture taken.

 

 

 

Elijah did GREAT! He is really becomeing a great hiker.

We really need to mow our lawn...

 

 

 

But in honor of all those friends still stuck in the snow.. we're just going to let it keep growing wild and green.

 

 

Yes.. it really is that green here... Maybe it's time for you to take a road trip...

 

:)

Little Victories

Seeds growing in the window sill... my husband says that seeing me garden is an oxymoron. I so desire to be a person who has a garden and I've been on and off again for the past 5 years, but i am DETERMINED to AT LEAST grow some stuff we can eat!

Sips out of a cup ... We've been working with Daniel on drinking out of a normal cup. We have tried for years to get him to abandon his sippy cup.. but with the apraxia and the sensory issues and the muscle coordination issues it's been very difficult.. but we are taking strides towards independence from the sippy cup, so YAY!

saying how i feel and offering only what i had to give- this comes back to the sister situation. She wanted something from me that if i would have given her my family would have suffered so i gave her an option on what i could offer and left it at that, and it was wonderful. I feel so much closer to releasing those bonds  that i am not responsible for. (that sounds strange but that is the best way i can describe it) Sweet freedom and release. So wonderful.

No matter how small they may seem... what are your victories this week?

April

It's Autism Awareness month... and you know what...

 

But i have to say I really like how this person put it...

 

 

 

Acceptance... yep.. that sounds great. People are aware.. now they just need to accept the beauty and the differences...

 

 

I love my boy, my friends and my friend's children who all add so much beauty to this life!

 

Are you aware? Do you accept? Do you know?

 

*Though i am not a big fan of the puzzle piece as a symbol of autism.. it has become pretty universal. I'm not sure why but it bugs me... how do you feel about it?