Not Crawling Yet...Whew!

it's hard to believe that our little man is about to turn one in less than a week! i've really been struggling with his development lately. not sure when i haven't struggled with it, to be honest!

i can't remember when i last posted about the crawling questions, but i'm still getting them. "is he crawling yet?"...."scooting?"..."commando crawling?"....the list goes on! and every time i'm at church it's "in my face" more and more. when i'm at home, i don't see other babies his age (or younger) developing more quickly than he is. for that reason, sometimes it's hard to go to church without dreading the questions, etc. it's just hard. and we have such a loving church family who adores wyatt as much as we do... but most of them don't understand that he will develop more slowly.

my friend and i've been talking this week about how hard it is to deal with those questions about developmental milestones. from strangers, from friends, etc. i'm not sure that it will ever be easy. i'm also not sure if i'll ever feel like i do enough for him. i know that others deal with these feelings regularly as well. there's always something else that we should/could be working on. always more research to check out.....way too much to read everything out there. where do you start.....and stop?

i had so hoped that wyatt would be crawling by his birthday. i really thought he would. he's trying really hard. he works really hard. today he had physical and occupational therapy and he did terrific in both sessions! he still stays on his hands and knees and rocks. he scoots forward w/resistance. he can scoot backwards by himself. he's pulling up more. he pivots a lot. yesterday he got himself off his blanket SOMEHOW. we weren't looking, of course! his physical therapist has him walking a lot. he likes to walk with assistance! she keeps saying he may just skip crawling. we'll see.....

as i was thinking about this earlier, though, God reminded me that once he does start crawling and walking, he starts moving away from us. breaking some of those ties of dependence on us! and those movements of independence are just the beginning....who's ready for that? certainly not me! peace...

A Little Quiet Around Here...

my oldest son, ethan, left for his last youth camp early this morning. since he'll be a senior next year, no more youth camp for him! it always makes me a little sad when he leaves....i always miss him! and he never misses us...it's like it's such a bother when i call to check in with him....

i don't know what on earth i'll do when forrest goes to his first children's camp in august....i can't even imagine not having him around for a week! and wyatt....no way will he ever go to camp....laugh out loud! at least i have a few years until that will happen!

forrest has been granted wii privileges while ethan is gone...ethan bought the wii, so forrest always has to beg for permission to play it! he's pretty excited about it, too! right now he's pouring over a star wars visual guide of ethan's (w/permission, of course) so he's a happy camper! and very quiet, which is extremely unusual!

it's just nice to be home today. swim lessons last week took us out every day early, and it was great that we didn't have to leave first thing this morning to jump in the pool! time to catch up on things around here....

Family Cafe Was Great!

my mixed emotions were unfounded! we had a great weekend at the "family cafe" conference this past weekend in orlando. we met so many wonderful new friends. reconnected with a terrific facebook friend of mine, karen. we enjoyed getting to know our friends the walkers better...they live in our area and their baby clayton also has down syndrome. he is 4 months younger than wyatt. we know that they are going to be great friends!

we received lots of great information for wyatt's future needs and planning. tim attended sessions on social security stuff; med waivers, etc. i attended sessions on iep's; family care council; and other stuff. a lot to take in! so much to learn in this new world we've been thrust into!

i saw a lot of parents and caregivers who were eager to take in as much information as they could. everyone is so willing to share what they know with each other to help in any way that they can. i saw parents who sacrifice so much for their kids. i saw many, many tired parents. and as my friend karen said, i learned that down syndrome is "not so bad" when it comes to the vast field of disabilities. there are so many other disabilities out there that require so much more physically of their families. not that down syndrome doesn't, but there are countless parents and caregivers who are exhausted from their resonsibilities, with little or no support.

i am so thankful that God gave us precious wyatt. i am so thankful that He allowed me to see beyond my own little world into a whole other world of needs, hurts, joys....and i am so glad that He is in control! and i'm not......

Mixed Emotions

i'm having mixed emotions. i need to be packing to head to the "family cafe conference" here in florida. it's a conference that is for families whose kids have varying disabilities, from what i understand. it will help us know what services are available for wyatt probably more in the future than now, since we are blessed with such awesome early intervention. i know that i will see kids and adults with various disabilities, and i'm sure it will make me sad to some extent. wondering if it's better to have more exposure and get used to it? hmmmm, not sure! i also know that there will be lots of valuable information that we will attain!

it probably doesn't help that i am going into the trip EXHAUSTED! last week was just really yucky...lots of junk. and this week has been vacation Bible school.....very stressful and busy! but i am praising God for the 13 children who prayed to receive Christ as their Savior at vbs today! yay! that's what it's all about! now i'd really like to just lay down and rest, but i'm off to pack...

Friends

i know i talk about them an awful lot, but i am blessed with THE BEST friends. friends who call at just the right time.....friends who know when you need a cherry coke from sonic.....friends who love your children like their own. friends you can laugh and cry with. friends that you may not see for years, but you know they're always there for you! friends who even aggravate you and make you mad, but you always make up! friends who know everything about you...the good, the bad and the ugly, and they love you anyway! friends who you can disagree with but who you love and fiercely defend to anyone! even facebook friends who i've never actually met who i feel like i've known all my life!

isn't it funny how much more important those girlfriends are as adults than they were as kids? maybe it's just me, but the friendships i've made over the second half of my life have been invaluable to me! i am just so thankful that God has given me some really terrific girlfriends throughout my life; but even more so now, when i seem to need them most! i love my girlfriends! and you know who you are!

Well I Did It....

well i did it; i finally went over to reece's rainbow and looked at those precious babies and children who need adopting. oh my. i'm in tears as i write. they are so precious; it is so sad that they are sitting there needing forever families. they are beautiful children who need to be loved and cuddled and nurtured.

i know that there are plenty of babies and children in our country who need forever families as well, but these children will not be saved in their own country. they do not get the medical care that we are blessed with. these children, many with down syndrome, do not have a future if they are not adopted out of their orphanages. is it you? are you the one that God is calling to be the forever mama or daddy to one of these precious babies? "Religion that God 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" (James 1:27)

i am so thankful for those who have responded to God's call on their lives to adopt these precious children. like hector and jennifer sanchez who are in the ukraine right now finalizing their papers to bring sophia home next week! (www.savingsophia.blogspot.com ... if you want to follow their journey!) and thousands of others in the same process of adopting, or who are struggling with a desire to adopt and no finances to make it happen. if it's not you who can/will adopt, will you support financially those who desire to? contact me if you need to be connected with a family who is raising their support!

"Once our eyes are opened, we can not pretend we do not know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act." (Proverbs 24:12)

A Little Nervous

i'm getting a little nervous about going to the national down syndrome congress conference in july. (no reason to wait until the last minute to get nervous!) last weekend tim and i encountered an acquaintance whose adult son has down syndrome, and tim was able to meet him for the first time. he was not very responsive, didn't have much to say, and as we talked about him later, it made me sad. perhaps it was because he was in an unfamiliar setting, it was noisy and he wears hearing aids, etc. i don't know if he's that way all the time, but i've kind of had a sad week. is that what wyatt will be like in 30 years? or will he be like the other young man i met a couple of months ago who i could hardly tell had down syndrome? who spoke so clearly and was so engaging and personable.....

a friend reminded me this morning that our kids have so many advantages in this day and age over those born 30 + years ago. their parents were told to put them in institutions, because they would never walk or talk....surprise....they are walking and talking! and learning, and working, and living a full and meaningful life!

remember, this is my place to be honest.....i know that as wyatt grows it will be more noticeable to us and others that he has down syndrome. at this stage he's still such a baby that i don't notice it that much, except that we work hard to do the things he needs to learn to do..... and not everyone notices it either. last year we went to the florida ds conference and it was difficult to see kids and adults at different stages and levels of functioning. of course wyatt was only 5 1/2 weeks old, and everything was still painfully new to us. but sometimes it is still painful.....