Change Ahead....

change (definition):  to make radically different; to give a different position, course or direction to; to make a shift from one to another; to undergo transformation, transition or substitution. 

I DO NOT LIKE CHANGE!!!!   do you?   do most people?  i don't believe that most people like change, but i could be wrong!   

CHANGE is what my life has been about for the past few months!   ethan graduated from high school, one of my very best friends moved, ethan has gone to college, i no longer hold a leadership position at church that i held for 10+ years, we changed one of wyatt's therapists.....the list goes on and on and on....

these changes have been exhausting....physically, emotionally, mentally.....whew!!  i am ready for this whirlwind of change to STOP!!!   

but some change is HAPPY change!!!  my friend christie and her family are about to undergo a tremendous change in their lives as they adopt andriy (jadon) from an eastern european country!!!   you can catch up with their adoption over here, and read more about how God has been at work in their lives to bring them to this place!!   please, please, please donate what you can to help bring their sweet boy home!   they are very close to traveling, and just need a little extra (last minute change) funding!!!   give what you can, and pray for them as God guides them on this new and exciting journey!!! 

Lighthouse Climbing....The Pensacola Lighthouse

pensacola lighthouse

during the process of taking ethan to college, there was a day between "move-in day" and the honors induction ceremony.  we were not certain if we should stay those days, or go home (120 miles) and return for the ceremony.  ethan suggested that we could do some touring around the areaon that extra day, particularly go see the pensacola lighthouse.  lighthouses are "my thing"....and ethan knows that, so i like choose to think that he made that suggestion just for ME!!! 



and so, after a CRAZY day of a huge wrong turn, late in the afternoon we eventually ended up at the pensacola lighthouse, which is located on the pensacola naval air station; home of the "blue angels," also known as the "cradle of naval aviation."  it's a beautiful base, and i was so happy to see that the lighthouse was OPEN when we arrived....on the few visits i had made there before, it had never been open! i was SO EXCITED!!!   ethan, of course, knew all this already...he'd done his research....

and they keep going, up and up and up.....

and so we got to CLIMB THE LIGHTHOUSE!!!!    woo-hoo!!!!    forrest had never climbed a lighthouse, and ethan had never climbed a tall one like this before!  



aw, the history....if these walls could talk....

177 steps to the top!!! and i had to climb BAREFOOTED because i had on flipflops!!

me and my older guys!  

an awesome shaddow!

a beautiful day and a beautiful view....

tim sat in the van while wyatt napped.....and then he and ethan climbed the lighthouse together as well!     i had not climbed a lighthouse in MANY years..... and my equilibrium is not quite what it used to be....but this reminded me of my great passion for these grand structures..... and what a blessing to share this passion with my boys.....   peace......

Moving Ethan to College.....

  i got to ride with ethan for the trip to pensacola!

i am sitting in a hotel in pensacola, florida while my oldest son is setting up his room in pace hall on the campus of the university of west florida!   it seems like just yesterday that i gave birth to that 9 lb 3 oz baby boy!   where did the time go?   i won't write much, as to avoid the tears that are on the verge of surfacing.....so here's a few pics!   

following tim and the younger boys.....

as i'm sitting waiting for ethan to pick up his id card, i see this cross hanging there, on his rear view mirror, and i'm reminded that ethan's personal relationship with Christ will carry him through the days to come, just as my relationship with Christ will carry me in the days to come as i adjust to life without ethan around 24/7......  i must cling to that truth, for the comfort and strength i will need.....

and there he comes....new id card in hand!

and so begins a new and exciting chapter in our lives......that's my boy man!

Louisiana Comes To Florida!

it's been a crazy week!  i hate to go this long without blogging!  no time, lots of change in our lives, the list goes on and on!    we had the wonderful opportunity to spend some time with fellow blogger, april narretto this past weekend.  they were vacationing on our lovely beaches, and we were able to spend Friday evening together!   you can follow their family adventures over at april’s blog, the narretto family. 

april and i were introduced through my friend cassie, and we were able to meet in real life a few weeks ago when the younger boys and i went over to louisiana for a long weekend!   she and her kiddos came over and spent the whole day and evening hanging out at with us!  it was great fun!  april’s son, William (Ds) really enjoyed forrest, and  they have 3 beautiful daughters as well!  

like many other moms of kiddos i have met, april and i had an immediate friendship!  she is a delightful, warm and caring lady, and an awesome mama!    i really enjoy spending time with april!   just wish she lived closer!   april is a tremendous encouragement to me, and she cuts to the important stuff, without tiptoeing through the “how are you?”  “i’m fine” kind of chit-chat!   she is very knowledgeable about lots of Ds related stuff, and i am blessed to call her my friend!   i just love her!  

we visited in their condo a bit, had an indoor picnic….no sand that way…..then headed over to the beach for some late evening beach time!   the sunset was nice, the beach was relatively empty, and it was a great time to sit and talk!   forrest, the girls and william swam and played in the sand, but wyatt mostly sat in our laps!   it was a fun (sandy) time!!!   

The Individual Family Service Plan Day.....UGH!!!!



i don't know what i was thinking when i woke up this morning.  i did a little shopping, even baked cookies for the meeting!  i wasn't even dreading it one little bit!  i was looking forward to ALL of wyatt's favorite people (his therapists) being here together!   you see, i think that wyatt is doing terrific!   sure, i want him to walk....desperately!   i want him to talk more.....desperately!  i just forgot that he is doing terrific.....in HIS little world.   not out there in the "typical" world.....on the typical milestone charts~UGH!!!!

and then they started talking about what he's doing now, and what their goals are for him for the next 6 months.   wow.  i knew, but didn't realize how far he lags developmentally.   i don't take him in the church nursery much, because he gets sick every time we go there.....  so i forget how far behind the other kids his age he is.  

we started with his physical therapist, joanna.   she wants him to walk.  that has been her goal for him since.....forever it seems like!   so in the gross motor area he is developmentally 12-13 months.   occupational therapist, shelley, scored him developmentally at 18 months for fine motor skills, and 15 months for self-help skills.  self-help is rated low mainly because he does not consistently drink from a cup....because he is still nursing.   so some of her goals for him are to drink from a cup and draw circles and lines.  

"i am so bored!"

speech therapist, kenalyn, scored his expressive speech level at 17 months, and his receptive speech at 20 months.   she wants to hear more from him...more sounds, more words, more signs.....more, more, more!  me too!    i feel like he expresses a lot of frustration through hitting, biting, and fit-pitching because he cannot communicate his needs and desires.    

his developmental specialist, vicki, scored him at 21 months socially (he takes after me!) and cognitively at 19 months.   her goals for him include identifying 30+ objects and pictures by pointing to them, and putting together 3-6 piece puzzles.  (he DOES NOT LIKE puzzles!)    and he needs to stop throwing things!!!!!   seriously!!!!  

but wait, there's more.....so i mention that he has had a little more open mouth posture lately, with some tongue protrusion...when he is tired mainly.  someone says that might be because he is still nursing, which uses different tongue movements, etc.   and, well, maybe that nursing is affecting some of his ear infections/fluid in his ears.  maybe the eustachian tubes with low tone and nursing are combining to cause some of his issues.   UGH!!!!       oh, and i forgot to add that his developmentalist and his speech therapist both believe that he needs the bone conduction hearing aid again......just to be safe, since he's having so many issues..... UGH!!!     

so i cried.  and i've cried all afternoon.  i cried through lunch with donna....i'm sure she wishes that we had chosen a different day to have lunch together!  (not really!) lol!   i cried to tim, telling him everything over the phone.  i cried when anna called to check on me.  i cried when larramie called to check on me.   i cried when my mom asked "does anyone else think he should be walking?"   (which she asks basically every day)...... um....no mom, nobody wants him to be walking......UGH!!!!!   

it's been a long day, and now my power is out and i am getting hot.....a very long day.......