Learning to Crawl is Hard Work!

did you know that learning to crawl is hard work? i'd forgotten, or maybe didn't even notice with ethan and forrest. i guess it came much more naturally for them! i don't remember it being a big deal for them....i do remember that they were both walking by this point in their young lives! of course with wyatt's down syndrome, those milestones might (will) come a little later!

wyatt is 10 3/4 months old, and we are working really hard at crawling! REALLY HARD! "mama's almost too old for this" hard! haha! it really takes 2 of us to practice this effectively! one on the pushing end (feet), and one on the enticing end (in front w/toys to entice him!) his physical therapist had to tell me last week (nicely) that we will HAVE TO PUT HIM ON THE FLOOR for him to be able to learn to crawl. i know that, but he doesn't like it, so before then we gave in too easily, and just picked him up when he even whimpered! they told me this week that he may even have to get a little unhappy to make it happen. but no one likes to hear him cry in this house! when he cries, which is seldom, everyone hears......because he screams!

wyatt usually prefers to pull himself up with our hands and "walk" than practice crawling! his physical and occupational therapists say he might just walk and skip crawling....he much prefers us holding his arms and him taking steps, which is sooooo cute! but, i took their advice yesterday and put him on his blanket w/toys surrounding him, just out of his reach and left him there to fix supper. we had some success......he pivoted a lot and even SCOOTED backwards about 18 inches! yay! that's progress! and he was EXHAUSTED!!! :)

Chrissie's Dancing With Jesus

i am broken hearted for the patterson family. chrissie went to be with Jesus early this morning. as her mom lorraine said, she is "dancing with Jesus now." she fought such a brave fight. her family fought for her. thousands prayed for her and have been affected by the faith of her family, as told through her mom's blog...."All Are Precious In His Sight".... pray for them during this time.

i can't imagine how anyone faces the death of their precious child without the comfort of Christ, and knowing Him as their personal Savior. do you know Him? He came to earth to die for our sins....and we're all sinners. praise God He paid the price for mine and your sins! "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith-and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8)....."For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life...." (John 3:16). it's easy. recognize and acknowledge that you are a sinner; ask God to forgive your sins. you must believe and claim that Jesus died for your sins, and confess or claim Him as your Savior and the Lord of your life. if you have any questions, just ask me....if i don't know the answer i'll find it for you!

God is in control. and He is on His throne....

So Glad I'm a Mom!

today has been a great mother's day... my first as the mom of 3 boys! church was amazing this morning...i was blessed to be asked to sing a song that i sang about 12 or so years ago; "watercolor ponies" by wayne watson. a sweet song about your kids growing up... there were more than a few tears shed! especially by our middle, sensitive son, forrest....he could hardly stand himself! (i don't think he's ready to grow up!) but the choir also sang an amazing song "we will remember...." it was awesome! and i was fortunate enough to be able to participate in the praise and worship portion of both morning services! woo-hoo! great day!

we enjoyed lunch with my parents and both sisters and their families. it was a truly beautiful day; we grilled steaks and really enjoyed our time together!

so i'm just winding down from a great mother's day...except the part where i was grumpy....i'm sure this doesn't happen to anyone else on their special day, right? where you look around the house and see all that needs to be done (that you should have done in your spare time last week...) and start stomping around doing it. yep, it's not pretty, but it happened. i'm not proud of it, but i'm being honest! tim managed to calm me down and i was able to move on....

i'm so thankful that God blessed me with motherhood; 3 precious boys that He gave us! i'm so glad that He knew better than we did that we needed 1 more son...precious wyatt to add to big brothers ethan and forrest! i'm glad that He is in control and has great plans for me!

better go finish that laundry.....

The Privilege of Prayer

what a privilege it is to pray for those in need; whether we know them or not. we were certainly the recipients of such prayer, as more than 800 people are part of Wyatt's Prayer Warrior on facebook. we certainly do not know probably over half of those people, yet they were willing to intercede on behalf of our precious wyatt and our family. we are blessed.

and now it's been my turn to pray for others that i don't know; especially this week. little chrissie in texas remains in my prayers and thoughts as she is recovering from open heart surgery. she has made great progress, but still has a long way to go. praying for her lungs, heart and her pain management as well. it is a miracle the progress that she has made! micah, who was almost septic a few weeks ago, might get to go home tomorrow! praise God that his infection responded to medications and he is recovering!

praying for two sweet babies with down syndrome who are being adopted into loving homes. jonah, who is less than 2 weeks old, is being adopted by the spier family.....praying that he will gain weight and be able to take bottles so that he can go home to his new family! thankful for this family, with four children already, who are anxiously waiting to welcome him home! praying also for the sanchez family who are in the process of adopting beautiful sofia...hector and jennifer are in the ukraine now awaiting their court date on may 6th to complete their adoption. they have been falling in love with their precious sofia during twice daily visits at the orphanage for the past week. their three sons are anxiously awaiting their homecoming!

these families amaze and inspire me.... to willingly choose to rescue a baby with down syndrome...to change a life forever. i am so thankful for them, for their love for God and obedience to Him in this area! wow! the needs are so many; there are so many babies/children with down syndrome who need loving homes....it overwhelms me to think about them. i know that i can pray for these families, and countless others like them, who are living out James 1:27 "Religion that our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."