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."

Is He Crawling Yet?

i took wyatt for his 9 month check up this morning. i haven't really experienced this too much before, but i guess it will be the "norm" from now on. there were other young kids in the waiting room, and of course someone asked "is he crawling yet?" "no, he had open heart surgery 9 weeks ago, and his arms are a little weak....we're working on it..." and another child comes in who is 2 weeks older than wyatt and she is starting to walk already....and he's not even crawling. i do get that at church with the older folks; and they know he has Down syndrome and ask anyway. do i say, "no, he has Down syndrome and will get there when he gets there..." do i even mention that he has Ds? some folks recognize it right away, while others are surprised when i've told them. hmm....just trying to figure out the best response.....

then i ran into a mom from our local Ds group who has a son older than wyatt. i needed to see her today! just being able to talk to her about that, and other related stuff, was helpful, encouraging. thanks, God, for letting our paths cross today!

no matter what wyatt does and doesn't do YET...... he DOES have the BEST HAIR! lol!

Connected By The Precious Thread of an Extra Chromosome...

i must give ashley paradis moreno credit for this title...she posted this as part of a status on facebook tonight.....and it is so true. in a very short amount of time (9 1/2 months) i have become "connected by the precious thread of an extra chromosome" to an enormous group of people i would have never known had it not been for wyatt's diagnosis with Down syndrome. but God, in His infinite wisdom, knew that i needed these connections.....

my heart is heavy tonight, as i know many others are, over the news that carly, a precious eight year old girl (who had Down syndrome) died very unexpectedly today. no, i didn't know her or her family, but i can't even begin to imagine the depth of pain they are in tonight. it is my prayer that God is their Comfort and Peace tonight, and that they are clinging tightly to Him and His promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ....

it has been a very emotional week in our online facebook community also as chrissie is battling for her life in texas. her parents, siblings, family, friends and thousands of others have been bringing her before the Throne of Grace continuously, begging for His Will to be done, praying for her healing. praying she will wake up from the medically induced coma and that her heart will beat again on its' own.....dear God, let it be so...... her parents adopted her from serbia not long ago, knowing that she would need this extensive heart surgery.....giving her the chance to live a full and abundant life...

and there's micah, a precious 2 year old boy with Down syndrome, who we've been praying for all week as well. he was admitted to the er last saturday at the point of "septic," something you never want to hear....an infection raging through your body that they don't know know what it is nor if it can be stopped. as the physicians have battled for his life, they discovered that it is toxic shock syndrome, a staph infection that has invaded his little body. he is still in picu on life supporting machines, but is showing definite signs of improvement, for which we are so thankful and praising God! and we will continue to pray for his full and complete recovery...

i know the stress of handing your baby over for open heart surgery ..... and i'm so thankful wyatt's surgery went smoothly, and his recovery has been uneventful. i know that not all surgeries have that outcome. yes, it was stressful, but we're on the other side now. the prayer support we received was tremendouw. i know the power of prayer, and i can pray for these families and ask others to pray.

God is good, all the time. He is faithful to hear and answer prayers. He is in control, and He is on His throne.

A Little About Ethan

today is ethan's birthday. my firstborn. there's something kind of different about your relationship with your firstborn, don't you think? especially a mother and son ..... it's hard to explain... it's kind of like i "grew up" with ethan.....changed from young woman to young mother...which brings so very many life changes!

your firstborn are the "guinea pigs" of your parenting. you try different ideas and parenting techniques with them, trying to figure out which one works. you worry about every little thing they do; every sniffle and fever.... so many trips to the doctors and late night phone calls!

ethan was our only child for 8 years. he was a busy little guy...people find that hard to believe now! he was constantly into things...we weren't sure we could handle another child with him... but then we decided we could! being our only child for so long made ethan grow up faster; he's always been like a "little adult." included in most everything we did, he was always with us.

ethan now is quiet and introspective, much like his dad! he is a faithful friend, and he loves God wholeheartedly, for which i am so thankful! he studies the Bible and apologetics, and is a great defender of the truth of Scripture. he is smart and funny, and has a beautiful smile. he is also an excellent student and has never given us any trouble.....ever......really. we are so very proud of the young man that he has become. i love to sit and talk with ethan, he never ceases to amaze me! it's so awesome to hear how God is at work in his life. i even watch his crime scene shows with him.....and there are many!

we know that God has great plans for ethan, and are excited to see him follow those plans! he has been focused on forensics, anthropology and archaeology for some time now; it is his goal to pursue a degree(s) in those fields of study. we are praying for wisdom and discernment as he continues to seek God's direction for his life.....