Holiday season

Wow, has it really been almost 2 months since I updated my blog?! Well, if I have any readers left, we are all alive and doing much better. We had about month or so that we basically lost, because we had so much sickness running through our family. We all got the swine flu and basically had to stay in our home for nearly a month! That was nearly excruciating, as we have very active boys and they needed to get out but we didn't want to infect anybody else (even though it seems everyone else kept going out when they were sick!). Anyway, we are still fighting coughs and tickles in our lungs but we all feel so much better!

We just got done celebrating Thanksgiving with my husband's family and it seems christmas will be upon us before we know it. Does anyone remember the days that seem to go by so fast, but also have days that can't get over fast enough? I hope that makes sense to those that know what it's like to have little children under-foot.

I look forward to christmas but no so much the hustle and bustle of the season. I have never really enjoyed shopping all that much, unless it's for my own kids... but that's different. I do however enjoy watching my son, Josiah, blossom this year and be able to stand in front of the congregation in church and sing songs. I do love that a lot! I enjoy singing christmas songs to my children at night-time instead of their usual bedtime songs. I enjoy talking with Josiah about the true meaning of christmas and the random times that he comes to me and says "Jesus was born in a manger but He died on a cross so that someday we can live with Him in heaven!" Well, folks if that is not what christmas is all about then I really have no idea what the hope of Christmas is all about then. It's a wonderful day when we can say we are going to celebrate what christmas really is about, and leave all the commercialism behind, and truely just love on one another as Christ loves us.

I hope and pray that you all enjoy the wonder of the Christmas season and remember not only the fun times of the past but One who came to live and die for you and I. Many blessings to you all!

Reflection of our journey

I have been pondering lately about the path that God had led my family down this past year. I could possibly say it has been the most difficult year of my life thus far, but that may not be true, because difficulty is relative.
Anyway, it all started about a year ago now, at Josiah's 5th yr Dr. appt. We met with our family Dr about Josiah and his various behavior issues and other concerns we had about his developmental growth. We were referred to a Developmental Pediatrician, but had to wait 5 months to see her. In the meantime we were also referred to Multnomah Early Childhood Program, which sent us into a long list of tests and observation times. At the end of all that, he was educationally diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, which entitled him to special education preschool held at Roseway Heights school, and also sent us on the path to get an IEP in order for his kindergarten year.

By the time we were done with all the testing through the school system we were now into full swing the Developmental Pediatrician and occupational therapy. Our Dev. Ped. told us that she was not going to give him a medical diagnosis of Autism but more that she believed he has Sensory Integration Disorder. She began treating him for that with medication. That was a very difficult road for us to choose becuase we have never believed that medication would help him, but gave it a try and it has actually helped wonders! He also has a reflux disorder which gives him terrible stomach aches, of which I can totally sympathize! So he was on temporary medication for that and currently waiting to see what we will do next to help him not feel so yucky all the time.

Back in May we met with Portland Public Schools and got his Individual Education Plan (IEP) set up. That was another road that was hard to navigate but after attending an all day seminar and doing a lot of research on the internet and speaking with several other parents about the process I felt very educated on how this process works. It went incredibly smooth and I was even told several times that I had an amazing grasp on the process and should help other parents. I have kept this in my mind, and know that someday God will use this journey for someone else's good.


All I can say about the summer is that it was filled with lots of fantastic times and trips and probably an equal amount of frustration on my end becuase of the lack of schedule in Josiah's life throws us all into a tailspin.

Through all that, it has taken us back to Roseway Heights for Josiah to start Kindergarten. It wasn't until last night, Back to School night, that I have finally understood why Josiah was placed in this particular class. His teacher, (General Education Kindergarten class) not only has a bachelor degree in Elementary Education but also a Bachelor in Special Education and Masters in Special Education. Basically she knows her stuff and I am super impressed! I am in awe of how God has used this last year to take us down a tough road, but one that has made me a better mommy and has placed Josiah in the perfect place for him at this time of his life! I truly believe that he is exactly where he needs to be and am so glad that he is set up to start his school adventures in such a positive and amazing atmosphere.

One more thing that I want to express but am struggling with the right words. So forgive me if I come across in the wrong way. We are always being told by all kinds of people that Josiah is incredibly intelligent. Well I just kind of get the impression that parents are told that often. Well last night I came to understand that no, he really is "crazy smart" as Jonny and I have lovingly described him. The student teacher in Josiah's kindergarten class is a student at PSU. She already has a bachelor degree in Elementary Education and is currently working on her Masters in Special Education. She pulled me aside last night to tell me that her thesis paper that she is working on currently is about how the Special Education system in Portland and how it is helping and how it not meeting the needs of certain types of children. She went on to ask me if I knew how incredibly intelligent Josiah is? And told me that Josiah is unlike any other child she has ever met, he has incredibly unique needs and he posseses skills, talent, and knowledge that other children his age do not have. We have known that for years, but it is nice to hear a professional say it! Anyway, she went on to ask me if she could include Josiah in on her Thesis and follow his school year, to see what is working for him, what could be better for him at school, and how he progresses throughout the year. This woman wants to write part of her Thesis paper about my son! I was incredibly touched by that thought. We are constantly in awe of how amazing he is to us but to hear from other people how he touches their lives and how interesting he is to others is just undescribable! I wonder some days how we got blessed with such awesome kids?!

We are so incredibly blessed! We are not only blessed with 2 amazing boys who we love so much and but an equally amazing family surrounding us and to know that ultimately are in God's will, no matter how hard the days go, we are truly BLESSED!

School has started

Josiah started kindergarten this year. His first full day was last Friday. I think he had a good day, but most of my questions were answered with a yes or no, so it was hard to tell. He did ask me right away if he could go back tomorrow, but was sad to find out he had to wait till Monday to go back. Plus he told me that he thought his teacher "was nice, I guess." So that's a good thing. At the kindergarten picnic that night I found out from the Principal that he had a really nice long talk with her at lunchtime. :-) It's always good to know we started out on a positive note with her. :-) He is such a social guy, he will talk to any adult, and she thought that was great. She told us how nice and sweet she thought he was. Yay! :-)

I took him back to school this morning, he was very excited to go back. He will be eating hot lunch today though. A whole new world for us. So I had to make sure the teacher knew he was having hot lunch and then I went to the lunchroom to make sure they don't give him milk to drink and had to fill out a special form with the school nurse even. So his hot lunch is all set for him, and it should be a easy transition for him. Today is chicken nuggets, one of his favorite things to eat for lunch! He will be thrilled! :-)

Do you remember eating hot lunch at school? I remember it quite fondly because we didn't do it that often, I thought it was so incredibly cool. I also remember as an older elementary student being able to "work" in the cafeteria was a very cool job to have! I'm so happy my son now gets to do all these things. I know eventually it will all grow tiresome for me and maybe him, but I am so glad the whole school experience is starting so well! Happy mommy today!

Looking forward to a great school year! Blessings to you all!

A little bit of fun

Here are a few snapshots of the "little" bit of fun we have been having this summer!

Yaquina Head lighthouse
(Josiah had a yucky face because he had an owie)

That's my boys with their arms in the Columbia River. :-)

Josiah on the left with his friend, I'm sure you can guess what they were doing. :-)

Josiah going over his friend's bike ramp. cool picture huh?

Yep, that's me. I had to try out the ramp for myself.
It was scary at first but then I got into it.

We have sure had some good times this last month! Thanks for coming along on a picture tour!

This summer has been crazy!

I can't believe that is is August or that my oldest son will be starting Kindergarten in 1 month's time! This summer has almost been a blur already and it's not over. We keep our boys moving and grooving or else. (Don't ask what is "else", you don't want to know.) lol

Ok, so, since my last post we have been to the zoo twice, went to the beach 2 different weekends (one was a day trip for Nancy's birthday to Cannon Beach and the other weekend was camping with friends of ours to the Newport area) went on a short sailing trip on the Columbia River for FREE (a special organization who works with special needs children).

We also went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium and saw lots of cool fish, explored tide pools, and walked through the tunnels of the shark tanks! That was the highlight of Josiah's summer so far! We also went to the Hatfield Marine Science Center and saw a giant octopus getting fed a live crab. That was probably the highlight of Jacob's summer, he really loved that! I bought him an informative book on them. He just loves to read (look at books of animals) and can now say 3 word phrases and sentences! He is just growing so fast! Josiah has been furiously learning about all kinds of sharks and dinosaurs. He has decided that he wants a dinosaur party for his next birthday... but sharks are a close second. We are thinking of a way we can encorporate both. :-)

Oh yes, and in between all those other fun trips we fit in various hiking trips around the Portland area and the gorge, and also the occasional neighborhood park trips to keep us busy during the week. :-) I'm telling ya... we have to keep those boys busy or else. :-)

This has been a great summer and also one that never seems to end... how does that work? To have so much fun with your children and love every minute and wish that school days would never come... but then the next second be glad that those school days are coming to seperate the boys? I just love them dearly but wish the fighting would cease... something tells me that we are just at the beginning! :-)

Fishin' at Trillium Lake

Trillium Lake (see the cute little ducklings with their momma?)

We went fishing this last weekend up near Mt Hood at Trillium Lake. I'm sure about a month ago it was filled with Trillium flowers but now that it's summer, there were none to see. We didn't get up there till about 4 pm, b/c well I took my time getting some groceries for dinner to take with us. Anyway, we had a nice drive up. When we got there we got ourselves settled along the shore and let the kids splash around in an area where it was safe and kids were already playing there. They had fun while we got our poles set up the way we like them. I fished for a little while but decided about 6pm that we needed to grill up our hot dogs. So we found an open fire pit and lit up our charcoal and grilled our dogs and some marshmallows for dessert. Then about 7pm we got back to fishing and Jonny and I fished for 2 hrs. We saw lots of people catching fish along the shore with power bait but sadly ours must not have had the right smell. :-( There was a really nice guy (20-something) that was fishing between Jonny and I, that had Josiah enamored in conversation for those 2 hrs, so it made it possible for the 2 of us to actually fish. It was a good evening! We are so glad that we went. We hope to go again soon, because I stocked up on fresh power bait from wally-world today! Woo-hoo! :-) Better luck next time, but I hope next time is just as much fun too! :-) Blessings to you all!

Jacob splashing in the water, and Jonny untangling Josiah's line from a bush in the background. Josiah only had a bobber, he was practice casting all day. Much safer this way, trust me!

June's whirlwind

It's only the middle of the month but we've been so busy. First we had my father in laws birthday, and nephew graduated high school, and then our son had his preschool graduation. We also made a trip to Lakeview to see my dear friend and all their new baby animals (a baby horse, a baby cow, and 6 chicks). I also made a trip to the zoo with my sister and her 2 kids. The four of us went hiking at Silver Falls State Park, which is east of Salem as well. One of my most favorite trips of the month was taking Josiah to a horse ranch for "horse therapy". It was so awesome for him to ride the well trained horses and for us to see how well he can bond with the horses.

We have had a good month but been so busy it's hard to slow down. I am trying to fill our days with fun stuff to do so the kids don't get bored and drive me crazy! Last week was Josiah's gymnastics class and this coming week, I may take them swimming one day and hiking one day. We will see. The summer is just beginning and I have a feeling it will be a crazy ride! Enjoy the pictures! Blessings to you all!

Josiah riding Star, a very well trained horse to deal with children with "issues"

My kids and Dawn's kids checking out the aquarium at the zoo

Upper North Falls in Silver Creek Falls State Park

Josiah riding Hannah's horse, Stubby

Amy, Josiah and I petting the new filly, named Rain

I leave you with a picture of Josiah getting the new blanket that I quilted for him. Yes, I made my 5 yr old boy a new blanket this month! If you only knew how much he loved to cuddle his blankets and other things to his chin you would understand why. :-)
(Dinosaurs playing sports on front and red fabric with spaceships on back.)

"May" in pictures

May 1st we took the boys to the Portland Zoo. I see lots of zoo trips coming this summer!

Mothers Day at Seaside, OR. This is Jacob's first ride on the Tilt-a-Whirl. He actually loved it, you just can't tell from the terrorized look on his face here. :-)

This is my orchid that started blooming before Valentine's day, and it's not only STILL blooming but it's sending out NEW flowers! How cool is that?!

This picture is from Memorial Day, a short trip we made to see my Gramie in Nampa. It was long overdue and we all had a great time! The boys felt the same love with Gramie and Sula as I always remembered as a child. Priceless!!!

On our way home from Idaho, we stopped at Hilgard State Park just 10 miles out of LaGrande. This is our favorite resting spot along the trip now! It was a lovely place for a perfect lunch of sandwiches and my Gramie's homemade potato salad! The boys took turns throwing rocks into the water for a while after lunch before we headed back out. Good times! :-)

Way too funny not to share

Here is Josiah shaking his best! (he's watching Dragon Tales on PBS)

See if you can spot his "Elvis" move?! So funny, I crack up every time I watch it!!!

Need a laugh?

MRI

Finally the day has come for Josiah to get the MRI on his brain. It will be this Friday May 8th, at 6:30am. I know that sounds awful early but since he cannot eat or drink for 6 hrs prior this is for the best. My gracious mother-in-law will be coming over at 6am to watch Jacob for us. We did not think having him at the hospital during this time would be good for him or for Josiah, as Josiah will need all of mommy's attention!

We have decided not to tell Josiah about the MRI until Thursday. He tends to get quite upset about dr's appt's and such and this might set him off. He will not understand what is happening to him, and even when he gets there he will have some serious distress.

When we arrive they will be getting him started on a sedative to calm him. Then they will give him the anesthesia to "fall asleep" by smelling it. After that they will start the IV, if they feel he needs it. It will take 1 hour to get all the images of the brain they need. Then at 8am he will be put into a recovery room and we get to sit with him until he wakes up. So I will be there holding his hand when he opens his eyes. I am so grateful for that and I know he will be as well. As soon as the nurse feels he is recovered from the medicine then they will let us go home.

We have an appt with our regular dr next week to get some results of the MRI and talk to him about the headaches Josiah has been experiencing.

As always I will keep you all posted of the progress and how he is doing with all of this. Thank you for your prayers. Please pray for calm minds and bodies, and that we will have a "normal" brain scan. Blessings to all.

"Special Needs"

I want to let you in on a little piece of my world. I am overwhelmed from all the new information since I went to a conference last weekend concerning children with all kinds of disabilities. I learned a whole new appreciation for us parents dealing with children who are different and who the world tells us are "special needs" children. One specific comment made by one of the speakers that day was this "My son does not have "special needs" he has just the same needs as any other child in this world! He needs to be loved, and hugged, to be understood, and have friendships, and kissed goodnight at bedtime." Don't we ALL need those things?!

This really put my life into perspective. There is still so much to understand about what is going with Josiah but for right now I know that he is like many of his neighborhood friends. He wants to play and have friends and be loved just like the rest of them. And I am going to do my best to understand that sweet, beautiful, and complicated mind he has because I truly love that little boy! This is my life and I embrace it! Thank you Lord for teaching me such a valuable lesson! Blessings to you all today!

Update:
We had our first IEP (Individual Education Plan) meeting yesterday with 3 women who have been observing Josiah in his current classroom. They observed many of the issues that we have seen at home so they were prepared ahead of time to have in place the special helps in the classroom that will help him adjust. For example, if he doesn't understand or know the plan for the day, that will throw him off and good luck trying to get him to do anything. So they will make a special visual schedule that he can check off throughout the day. Another thing is that they will give him "movement breaks". This means that he can stop what he is doing if he gets frustrated with his work or feels anxious about something, then go bounce on a ball or in some way get some vigorous movement, then after 5 minutes he will be expected to go back to the same task and finish it. (I do this at home, and it works amazingly!!!) So the meeting yesterday went exactly as I hoped for and it was not all negative, I was sure to point out Josiah's strengths and how we could use those in a classroom as well. The woman in charge told me how great it was that I was so prepared and understood the process. She said I could help run these meetings with how well I did. That made me feel good. I am now looking forward to the next school year and am hopeful that Josiah will succeed in a regular classroom. He is such an intelligent boy and am so glad the ladies yesterday were able to see that in him! Thank you all for your continued support and prayers and love throughout this long process. I will continue to keep you updated.

Our weekend

We decided to replant our front flower/shrub beds. They looked atrocious and this last winter killed off at least 4 plants! Every time it rained the dirt would just drain right down to the sidewalk. Prior to us putting the cement scalloped edging it had just rocks holding the dirt in and was totally not efficient. (cement edgers cost about $15) We went to home depot and got some small shrubs marked down to 3.33 each so we bought 5 of those and a couple 5 buck ornamental grasses. Then I went to Fred Meyer and with using 2 coupons I bought enough flowers to fill my new flower beds with all kinds of color for about $25. Then our local hardware store had bark for 4.49 a bag. Altogether we spent a total of about $70! Just look at the transformation!!
I wish I had a picture of before we put in the scalloped edgers and put the plants on the spots we thought they would look good. Try to imagine how boring the ground was before the plants were there. There was absolutely nothing in the small side, very drab! All the plants completely died in that area. Then all that survived on the other side was 2 plants. Most of the rock edging actually came out of the ground in that area. We actually dug almost all of those rocks. It also has some quartz from the mine we found up in the McCall area. And there are also lots of pretty agates and rocks we have collected from different trips to the beach. It all came together so nicely. Jonny came up with the plan and I helped him dig the area and he put up the rock retaining wall then I did nearly all the plantings (except I think Jonny put in 2 shrubs is all).
Hope you enjoy the before and after pictures!

World Autism Awareness Day! (April 2nd)

Busy days

Well I suppose some are busy and some are not, but more often than not you can find me chasing my wild boys. We have filled our days of late with hiking adventures to prepare for backpacking trips this summer. Also in preparation to go backpacking, I have been potty training Jacob, well I should say attempting to do so. He is interested so that is good. Jacob has also hit the "terrible 2" stage really bad! He is so onery sometimes, but also surprises us with some of the sweetest things. He is a very intelligent boy, which probably gets him into only more trouble at times. :-)

Josiah has been making good progress in his new class. He has made friends and the teachers are working well with him to teach him how be a good friend, and how to behave in a classroom, all invaluable lessons! He absolutely loves that he gets to ride the school bus to and from school now. I can't believe how he has grown into a little boy. And I can't even begin to describe how hard it was for me to let him get on that bus and watch the bus drive away that first day. It was such a huge step for him in his new independence but hard for me to let him spread his wings. All in time, I am certain all will be well with him. Medically speaking, we are still waiting to get the MRI done. Insurance and the dr's office need to meet in middle at some point. As far as the medications, we have been trying 2 new med's. One is for his tummy and it seems to be helping some. He still has a few issues digestively but is getting better slowly. The other medication is basically to help his impulsive actions and we are seeing great improvement in that area as well. Now that we starting to get his impulse to run in public situations under control, we can now work on learning how to behave safely in public. This is a long hard road for him but we are trying and frankly my patience wears thin at times. Please pray for me. :-)

Thanks for hanging in and coming back to check on our family. Take care and be blessed! :-)

A hiking we will go...

A couple weeks ago we took a hike up Horsetail Falls and discovered a new waterfall called Ponytail Falls and then went to explore into Oneonta Gorge. It was a wee bit chilly that day. Snow was falling when we first started hiking but after a while the clouds rolled along and the sun peeked out for a while to warm us up. It was a much needed re-aquaintance to nature that we all desperately needed after the months of stress we have been under. The sites were lovely, we got a bit chilled but loved every moment including discovering a beautiful new waterfall that you can hike behind! Josiah was "in his element!" To say the least... he trotted along after a short time of complaining when climbing in elevation, nobody likes doing that anyway, but he picked up the pace when he saw the waterfall ahead and was eager to continue on the trail after exploring the waterfall. He is truly adorable when in God's great nature. It was pure joy to listen to Jonny (a.k.a. = Daddy) teach Josiah about the different places we were seeing and how they are cool and why. It was a good day.

On our drive home my sister's truck broke down and that was very upsetting for her. Looking back at it though, things did fall into place well. She was in right place and time for that to happen and God took care of so many details that we could not see at the time. I'm glad that everything was fixed on the truck and it is now back at home with her, although it has not deterred my wonderful thoughts of that day. It brought such joy to me to see the waterfalls, it almost takes away all the bad of the day (for me anyway). Enjoy the pictures, and be blessed.

5 days later

It truly amazes me what happens when you put tiny little seeds in the ground and give them a little water and lots of love! (Because what can you grow if you don't give it love?) We planted our flower seeds on Tuesday morning, and by Thursday afternoon we began to see teeny tiny little green sprouts and yesterday we saw more and more starting to grow. Then this morning when we woke up it's like it all came to life. I thought I would share with you the excitement Josiah had seeing his new plants come to life. These are science and life lessons, along with learning seasons, and a little about God's beauty in life, that are hard to teach with words. :-) Thanks for coming along and "watching" our seeds grow with us. Blessings to you all.

Sowing seeds

The kids and I are growing our own flowers to plant in the yard this summer. It was a valentine's gift from my dear husband. :-) It is what I asked for. :-) We had fun getting the seeds started today. I will post updates as they grow and hopefully grow big enough to put them in the ground and maybe, just maybe, we will even get them to grow flowers! lol :-) (only with help from Above, I'm thinking) Enjoy and be blessed.

Josiah's hand carefully placing multiple Candytuft seeds in the peet pots.
Something tells me we won't have any problem growing these flowers.

Jacob turns 2!

Good times!
He knew exactly what to do with that candle when presented to him!

We had a family party for Jacob on Sunday the 22nd. There were 19 people here! WOW, what a wonderful turn-out of some of the most important people in his life! He had such a good time and received lots of clothes and most importantly lots of new toys. I think his favorite of the day might have been the xylophone from Auntie Rachael, and Josiah's favorite was the Tonka remote control car from Grandma Marilyn. Although, all the toys were played with equally after everyone left and the boys were left to their own "devices."

2 yrs ago today my little miracle was born. He lived through so much while inside me that was truly a miracle! His birth meant so much to me personally, and so much happened within a short time after his birth, I am just so happy that he is the happy and healthy little guy that he is today! Do you all remember the "contest" we had regarding the day we all thought Jacob would be born? So funny! It's the little things that make me smile today. I hope you are all blessed and have a wonderful week!

The good, the salty, and the sweet! What else is needed for a party spread?
I decorated the train cake with ideas given by Jonny, it was fun!

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I also looked back through months of Jacob's early life and we never wrote anything on our blogs about the "guess the day" contest all of my family did. Dawn and I guessed very early dates, and Dave and kids were only a couple weeks early. And Jonny specifically guessed Feb 22nd b/c it was his Aunt Doris' birthday, and Nancy guess Feb 23rd b/c she wanted to guess a date closer to my due date of Mar 1st. So she won that contest too, guessing the exact day he was born! Glad I wrote these things down in the baby book, since some of us obviously don't blog everything. lol :-) Dawn... do you remember the envelope of money we had on the refridgerator for months? We were so funny to actually bet on a day when we are sooooo not a betting family.

New additions to the family

I would like you to meet our new pets...
Walle, Molly, Jolly and Olie. :-) They are white cloud fish. Although, I have no idea why, they have a silver stripe through their middle and red tipped fins.


It all started because Josiah really likes the name Walle, because of his favorite movie he says, (although we all know that The Incredibles is really his favorite movie) so he asked what we should call the others. We decided together that naming the rest of them after Walle would be fun so we made all their names rhyme. :-) We are silly. :-)
Enjoy, and be blessed today.

New interests

My kitchen table, excuse the mess

Jonny and I have some new interests... I guess his is more one of his favorite hobbies. I have been growing some lovely flowers on my kitchen table. The window they are in is fabulous for my orchid plant. I also have been growing an Amarylis I got for Christmas from my sister. All are blooming just in time for Valentine's Day!

My Amarylis almost open

My beautiful orchid~this is the 2nd time I've got it to bloom in this window

Jonny set up his 10 gallon fish tank this last weekend. Josiah and him enjoy talking about it and looking up what kinds of fish they will get. We told Josiah we will go get the boys some fish on Valentine's day. He decided that would be a perfect gift! What an awesome kid! Jacob is quite enamored with the tank already too. He says "feeesh" and taps on the side.
Enjoy our pictures! :-)

My wonderful sister, Rachael, gave these to me for Valentine's Day!
Isn't she awesome?!

Our wonderful, Josiah

After meeting with the Early Education Program this week, we have all agreed to place Josiah with an IFSP (and soon with an IEP with Portland Public schools) within the Autism Spectrum or ASD. He will be recieving help in a special classroom provided by them to prepare him for kindergarten next year. He will get more educated help and assistance and learn skills faster in an environment made for kids like him. You know what I mean... for kids with sensory issues and stuff like that. We thought he would also be ok being around kids like him and possibly kids a little worse off than him. He can learn how to be a good example plus learn more compassion for others. But most of all I think we will be placing him in their special ed. classroom becuase we feel he will learn the skills needed for Kindergarten a lot faster in a safe environment a lot faster and easier than if we went him back to the preschool he was not functioning in. Also this will be a place he will be wanted and not feel dumb (as he so often calls himself now).

(An IFSP stands for Individualized Family Service Plan, and once a child enters public school, it turns into an IEP, or Individualized Educational Plan.)
(ASD stands for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Sometimes easier just to write the acronym)

We all feel that Autism may not fully describe who Josiah really is, and we are not saying that neccessarily is his medical diagnosis either, but what we are admitting is that he does carry enough characteristics to say he needs to recieve services that will help him adapt in certain areas of his life that he has a hard time with. Does that make sense? Josiah is an awesome child who is so unlike others his age. He has the most amazing smile ever! He has a great sense of humor and a super cute laugh! He is an amazing bike rider and talented in many sports. There is so much good about him to focus on during these times when we have to think about the problem areas.

On a side note here I want to let you know he is meeting with the Developmental Pediatrician on February 26th. I'm not sure what she will do exactly but I believe she is the one who can diagnose Josiah with a medical term, and offer what help medically he may need.

Please be praying for our appt next Monday with Early Education Program. Pray that we all agree on the same decision and that it will be what is best for him. This coming Sunday, February 8th, is the worldwide Day of Prayer for the Autism Community and those suffering from Autism and Aspergers. Please remember our family on that day and pray for all those others who are suffering in silence. Thank you for all the support through these last few months, we have made some great steps in bettering Josiah's life but we have so many more to make. Thank you all and may God bless you all!

Short update

Things are moving along quite nicely with the Early Education Program for Josiah. They are finishing up some observation times, and then Jonny and I will meet with them next Monday to make a plan on how they plan to help Josiah succeed and learn better. He is at preschool this morning with the 2 people from the program observing him. I am hoping he is good, but then again I hope he shows some of the things I am most worried about. It's like... I don't want him to "fail" but I also want help for those certain things that are difficult about him as well. It's a fine line, but I truly just want what's best for Josiah. So I am trusting that Josiah is resting in God's will this morning and all will go according to His plan for Josiah's life. That is a hard place to be in as a mother but I am getting there.
Very soon I will write again and update all of you with our "new plan". We may not know anything until after our appt next Monday, so be patient with me until that that time, and please keep Josiah and all of us in your prayers. Many blessings to you all.

Camping in January

We recently went on 2 different camping trips to the beach. The first we went on Sat Jan 10th and my sister Rachael came along. We went to Beverly beach and had a wonderful time. It rained and drizzled a bit on us the night we got there but we did manage a night-time beach walk before it started drizzling. The campfire that night was very enjoyable under the comfort of the big trees though. Lots of good chatting was done that night. The kids slept great but breakfast the next morning was something less than desirable. :-) Oh well... oatmeal isn't always great at home either. The waves were fun to watch on Sunday but the traffic home was terrible.


The next weekend, Friday Jan 16th, we went to the Manzanita area to Nehalem park to stay in a yurt with our friend Jared and his young son, Aaron. We were able to get there in time to hike into an awesome beach and watched an amazing sunset with the kids running all over and getting covered in sand! After that we headed back to the yurt for some chili dogs. We tried to have a fire that night but unfortunately it got so windy it made it nearly impossible to stand by the fire. I couldn't feel any heat from it because I was too scared to stand close enough to feel the heat. I went to bed while the guys stayed up and chatted late into the night. The next morning I made scrambled eggs and served on top of my famous camp toast (used sourdough bread this time, very good choice!) and some cheese was between the eggs and toast. It was so awesome! I can't even describe it without my mouth watering! yeah, it was that good! I sure wish camp food tasted that good made at home. Just isn't the same though! After another trip down to the beach and letting the kids get fully sandy and tuckered out we headed back to pack up our stuff and headed to lunch at a restaurant! Yeah! After going to another lookout over the ocean, it was just a beautifully celar day, we headed home. It was a good weekend that we will not soon forget! Good times!

Cute Christmas pictures

How is it that all year long I can take umpteen million pictures of my kids in 100's of ways but come christmas day I walk away with 10 pictures?! So, my repertoire of pictures to show you of our holidays is quite slim this year... if any of you took any great pic's of my kids this christmas, please share! :-) Anyway, enjoy the few posted. :-)

Christmas eve, Josiah, Justin, and Jacob on the couch at Dad & Nancy's
(you can't tell they are all related, can you?) lol

Christmas morning, Josiah and Jacob making good use of their new workbench
(was it really so early that it was still dark outside? sadly, yes it was.)

This is just the cutest picture ever! That's my sweet "Jake-y" and his cousin Daisy
(He's a wild thing for sure!)

All the Green family grand-kids on Christmas Day at my in-laws house.
(This is truly the best of 4 pics taken... my little "Jake-y" would not take his eyes off his new truck, not even for mommy to take a pic of sweet face!)